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World Tuberculosis Day 2020
Dr Kate Harrison tells us about the causes of Tuberculosis and why it's still hard for us to control, even in an age of vaccines and antibiotics.
Dr Kate Harrison , Lecturer
HomeUndergraduateBlogWorld Tuberculosis Day 2020
"It was on Friday 3 March that I suddenly coughed up mouthfuls of blood. I phoned the doctor, who said that he would call later in the evening. I gave Mark his tea, put him to bed, did some ironing, had my supper when Dr Henderson [general practitioner] arrived. Said I ought to go to bed and stay there—explained that I had no help, so he said 'do as little as possible in the morning and go when Bill comes home at 1.30 pm', and he would come again in the afternoon. Thought I had better have a cook up for Bill. I little knew it would be the last cooking I should do for a year or so!"
Excerpt from the personal diary of a 32-year-old woman with tuberculosis, 1944
Although we are currently in the midst of a global health pandemic, this isn't the first time that a respiratory disease has wreaked havoc around the world. For centuries, tuberculosis (TB), or consumption, has been considered one of the deadliest diseases in human history, and even now causes around 1.4 million deaths per year – the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent and outstripping even HIV/AIDS. So what causes this disease, and why is it still so hard for us to control, even in an age of vaccines and antibiotics?
To understand this, let's start by looking at the history of TB. As TB is one of the few infectious diseases that eventually causes skeletal lesions, we can trace it all the way back to Ancient Egypt, with several mummies exhibiting the bone ulcerations and deformities that are typical of long-term infection. Since then, there is widespread evidence of TB being a persistent presence throughout history, though it didn't really spring to the forefront of public consciousness until the 18thcentury and the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The birth of industry brought more people than ever before to cities to live in cramped, unhygienic conditions, rife with poverty, pollution and malnutrition. This was an ideal breeding ground for M. tuberculosis, and TB, or consumption as it was then known, exploded, becoming responsible for one in four deaths by the early 19th century. Before the discovery of antibiotics, it was thought that TB could be treated with pure air, good food and plenty of bed rest, leading to the establishment of enormous sanitoriums where patients stayed for months or years at a time… with mixed results. Pneumothorax was also used as a treatment, deliberately collapsing an infected lung to allow the lesions time to heal. Although cases began to decline in the 20th century due to improved public health and the discovery of a vaccine, it wasn't until 1944 and the discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin, that TB infections could be tackled in full force. Unfortunately, this relief is now mitigated by the rise in multi-drug resistant TB.
A vaccine for TB is available – the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine – and is one of the oldest vaccines still in use. Just 40 years after Robert Koch discovered that the intracellular bacteria M. tuberculosis was responsible for the consumption that ravaged the 19th century, the BCG vaccine was developed in France by Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin, using an attenuated bovine strain of TB. After first testing it in a newborn infant of a woman who died of TB shortly after giving birth (ethics were distinctly looser in the early 20th century) with no adverse effects, Calmette and Guérin went on to test the vaccine successfully on 664 further children before it was declared safe and mass production began in 1924. The BCG vaccine has been used safely for almost 100 years, but controversy has arisen recently about its efficacy. Although it is 70-80% effective against the most severe forms of TB, evidence suggests that it does not protect sufficiently against respiratory TB, and though it is still given to infants deemed at risk, widespread vaccination of children with BCG was halted in 2005 in the UK.
As with almost all diseases that attack the respiratory system, TB is spread from person to person in aerosol droplets caused by coughing, sneezing or breathing. It takes only a few of the Mycoplasma tuberculosis bacterium behind TB to infect a patient, however, in 85-95% of people, this infection will remain latent, never displaying symptoms. That leaves 5-15% of infected people who will go on to develop TB, more likely those living with compromised immune systems, or other diseases such as malnutrition, HIV and diabetes. Even when an infected person does develop active TB, the symptoms – cough, fever, night sweats – can be relatively mild, delaying medical attention and increasing the risk of transmission to others at a rate of 5-15 people per year. In active TB, the most common form of the disease manifests as a productive, bloody cough, chest pains, muscle weakness, fever and weight loss, and despite the availability of antibiotics, drug resistant strains and poor treatment adherence results in a 3% mortality rate. Severe TB can also move into many other body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, the genitourinary system and the bones, causing lesions in the long bones, spine and joints and resulting in pain, stiffness and eventually lower-extremity paralysis.
One of the main factors that continues to make an ongoing threat is its persistent antibiotic resistance, and ability to evade the immune system. The causative bacteria of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, doesn't have the same basic structure that most bacteria do. While most bacteria can be classified as "gram negative" or "gram positive" due to the structure of their rigid cell walls, M. tuberculosis has an extra, waxy covering called mycolic acid. This acid makes it difficult to gram stain, and enables the bacteria to survive inside the phagocytic white blood cells that would usually attack and destroy bacterial invaders, such as macrophages. Instead, it replicates inside these cells, safe from the rest of the immune system until the thousands of new bacteria burst out of the macrophage. The death of the macrophage recruits more immune cells, which then surround the site of infection, creating a granuloma. Within the granuloma, the bacteria become dormant, entering a persister state, relatively resistant to immune attack and antibiotics. Bacterial escape from these granulomas is possible, and can results in the infection of other body systems described above.
More importantly than its immune evasion capabilities, M. tuberculosis today carries a number of antibiotic resistance genes. While many other bacteria carry antibiotic resistance genes on mobile genetic elements called plasmids that can be passed from cell to cell, M. tuberculosis is unusual in that its drug resistance is present in its permanent, chromosomal DNA. Efficient treatment of TB requires long courses of antibiotics, taking a regimen of 4 different drugs for at least 6 months. This can be expensive and demanding, particularly in developing nations, meaning that adherence rates are often low. Improper prescription can also contribute to poor treatment. Incomplete antibiotic courses leave partial infections behind, and allow for the survival and proliferation of drug-resistant mutants. Strains of TB resistant to at least one for the classic anti-TB medications have been found in most countries around the world, and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is now extensive. While MDR-TB is still treatable using second-line, rarer antibiotics, extensively-drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) is now on the rise and is resistant to almost all treatment options, leaving patients in a situation much like those in the pre-antibiotic era.
The World Health Organisation is working hard to reduce the incidence of TB, and is aiming to end the TB epidemic by 2030, by reducing TB related deaths by 90% and new infections by 80%. While TB cases are in decline, this endeavour must still combat a number of roadblocks, including poor public health, an inefficient vaccine, and most importantly, increasing levels of drug resistance.


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Facebook's new privacy changes for Instagram's teen users met with both praise, scrutiny
by Terry Collins
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Facing an onslaught of ongoing criticism, Facebook said that it's taking several steps to make Instagram safer and private for teens.
On Tuesday, the social network said it's making changes to Instagram, the photo- and video-sharing app with more than 1 billion users. They include automatically defaulting teen users under 16 into private accounts, making it harder for potentially suspicious accounts to find teens, limiting the options advertisers have to reach those younger viewer with ads, and using AI to detect users' age.
"We think private accounts are the right choice for young people, but we recognize some young creators might want to have public accounts to build a following," Instagram said in a blog post. "We want to strike the right balance of giving young people all the things they love about Instagram while also keeping them safe."
While the changes on Instagram starting Tuesday are praised by several tech experts, they also face criticism from other experts who raised several questions including whether the changes have been vetted by federal regulators and whether Instagram is doing enough to make young people safe.
"We've been telling Facebook for years to stop targeting to teens on both Facebook and Instagram and to protect their privacy," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. "We have a lot of questions. We're not alone."
The changes on Instagram also come amid ongoing momentum among several groups and lawmakers to collectively stop a potential Instagram for kids. In May, Facebook received more than 180,000 signatures in a series of petitions from a collective of nonprofit and grassroots organizations including Fairplay (formerly known as the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood), SumOfUs, and a joint effort led by the Juggernaut Project all urging the tech giant to scrap its plans for an Instagram for kids.
The groups collectively claim that a version of Instagram—the popular photo- and video-sharing app with more than 1 billion users—is unsuitable for kids under 13.
Meanwhile, Facebook says it's "exploring" a version of Instagram for kids. The company said it will make safety and privacy a priority and "consult with experts in child development, child safety, and mental health, and privacy advocates to inform it." Facebook also said it will "not show ads in any Instagram experience we develop for people under the age of 13."
The strategy is backed by both Instagram Head Adam Mosseri and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who told lawmakers in March that plans for an Instagram for kids are in "very early stages."
Currently, Instagram doesn't allow users under 13 to use the platform. But, in regards to Instagram's teen safety update taking effect on Tuesday, the platform admitted that creating a safe, private but also fun site "comes with competing challenges."
Users under 16 now defaulted into private accounts
Instagram said everyone who is under 16 years old (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into a private account when they join the platform.
Instagram said it previously let younger users choose between a public account or a private account when they signed up, but said recent research showed they appreciated "a more private experience." Instagram added recent testing showed that eight out of 10 young people accepted the private default settings when signing up.
Instagram said for young users who currently have a public account, they will send a notification "highlighting the benefits of a private account" and explain how they can change their settings.
"We'll still give young people the choice to switch to a public account or keep their current account public if they wish," Instagram said.
In the blog, David Kleeman, a senior vice president for global trends at United Kingdom-based Dubit and a former president of the American Center for Children and Media said, "Defaulting accounts to private for under-16s encourages young people to develop comfort, confidence and capability as digital citizens during their younger years and help them develop habits to last a lifetime."
However, Josh Golin, Fairplay's executive director, believes the decision to make Instagram accounts for teens private by default are also part of Facebook's commitment to comply with the Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) in the UK. According to the AADC, Facebook and other tech companies must set the most privacy protective setting by default for users 18 and under by Sept. 2.
Also, Instagram said it has developed a tool that automatically detects potentially suspicious adult accounts and stops them from interacting with teen user accounts. For example, an adult's account might be marked as suspicious if it has been blocked or reported by multiple teen users.
And in a few weeks, advertisers will soon be restricted in how they can target users under age 18 on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Advertisers will be allowed to target younger users based only on their ages, genders and locations and will no longer be able to target them based on their interests or activities on other websites and apps, Facebook said.
How AI might help
In an article written by Pavni Diwanji, Facebook's vice president of youth products, the AADC "has been a model example of how Facebook can play a role in informing, and subsequently implementing, thoughtful age-appropriate solutions to protect young people on our services."
Diwanji also said Facebook is creating new ways to stop those who are underage from signing up, and "developing AI to find and remove underaged accounts," and new solutions to verify and estimate a user's age.
Diwanji wrote they will "train the technology using multiple signals," including when a young user gets birthday messages and and the age written in those messages as well the age users gave on Facebook.
"(We'll) apply it to our other apps where you have linked your accounts and vice versa—so if you share your birthday with us on Facebook, we'll use the same for your linked account on Instagram," said Diwanji, who admits it's a work in progress as the company is also developing options for users to prove their age.
"This technology isn't perfect, and we're always working to improve it, but that's why it's important we use it alongside many other signals to understand people's ages," Diwanji added. "This technology is also the basis of important changes we're making to keep young people safe."
"We routinely recommend that teens have all of their social media profiles set to private so that they have better control over who can see what they post," Justin Patchin, co-director, Cyberbullying Research Center, said in the Instagram post. "Defaulting to private just makes sense as adolescents explore the boundaries of what they want to share with whom."
Although he remains "skeptical," Golin, the Fairplay executive, said on the surface, Facebook and Instagram are taking much needed appropriate steps.
"I hope these are real changes," Golin said. "We'll see when this rolls out if this lives up to the hype."
Meanwhile, Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy said he has concerns and has reached out to the Federal Trade Commission to ask it to review Instagram's changes.
Titania Jordan, a chief parenting officer for Bark, an Atlanta-based tech watchdog group, said Monday that while it's "wonderful" seeing Instagram and Facebook release specific, concrete ways they believe will work to keep children safer online, she also has many concerns.
She said even though Instagram appears to be addressing online predation, underage users, and advertising standards for teens, they also must be mindful of other issues including cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, self-harm and exposure to misinformation, violent, and sexual content.
Facebook's Diwanji said in her article that "with no foolproof way to stop (young) people from misrepresenting their age, we want to build experiences designed specifically for them, managed by parents and guardians."
Dwanji added, "We believe that encouraging (young users) to use an experience that is age appropriate and managed by parents is the right path. It's going to take a village to make this experience compelling enough so that this age group wants to use it, but we're determined to get it right."
The mother of a pre-teen, Jordan also said that parents need to be constantly notified by both Facebook and Instagram about options to protect their kids.
"Parents are on the front lines when it comes to protecting their children, both online and in real life," Jordan said. "If Instagram and Facebook aren't involving the parents in thoughtful and empowering ways, it's not going to work."
In its blog, Instagram said it is committed to listening to its younger users, their parents, lawmakers and experts to build a platform that won't "compromise on their privacy and safety," and is trusted.
One tech accountability expert said he's curious to see if Facebook will do what it promises.
"These long overdue changes are an important acknowledgment from Facebook of the many harms kids and teens face on their platforms, from manipulative product designs and pervasive surveillance advertising to unwanted contact from predators," said Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. "It should not take years of tireless advocacy from child safety and tech accountability NGOs to earn bare minimum protections for platforms' most vulnerable users, but it nonetheless speaks to the unprecedented pressure Big Tech is facing over their exploitative business practices."
(c)2021 USA Today
Citation: Facebook's new privacy changes for Instagram's teen users met with both praise, scrutiny (2021, July 27) retrieved 27 January 2023 from https://techxplore.com/news/2021-07-facebook-privacy-instagram-teen-users.html
Instagram adds safety features after critics fret over service for children
Instagram for kids? Facebook explores creating a platform for users under 13
US states oppose a children's version of Instagram
Instagram boosts child protection tools, including age prediction
Instagram to require birth dates in move to block underage use
WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger suffer brief outages
'Internet of Light' integrates illumination, communication and ministration
Researchers work to avoid future FTX debacles
Twitter leak exposes 235 million email addresses from hack
A greener internet of things with no wires attached
Signal processing algorithms improve turbulence in free-space optic tests

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information, this article can get you started.
Wouldn't it be nice to just look at a page and never forget what was on there? What if you could never again forget a friend's birthday? The bad news is, almost all scientific experts agree that photographic memory — the ability to recall facts, images, and events perfectly — simply doesn't exist.
The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started.
1. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly "exercising" the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills — especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.
2. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental "pictures."
3. Reduce stress. Chronic stress can damage the brain in the long run, and even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.
4. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine).
A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.
5. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don't really learn people's names at first because we aren't really concentrating on remembering them.
You'll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you'll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph.


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How much does it cost to keep a business lawyer?
How much does a small business lawyer cost?
Should I hire a lawyer for my small business?
How much does an LLC lawyer cost?
What is a business lawyer called?
What's the difference between attorney and lawyer?
Do start ups need a lawyer?
Do business lawyers go to court?
Should I have a lawyer set up my LLC?
Is an LLC expensive?
What is better LLC or sole proprietorship?
What is the highest paid lawyer?
What can a business lawyer do for me?
Which kind of lawyer makes the most money?
The average business lawyer retainer fee as of 2020 ranges from $2,000 to $100,000.
The small business lawyer cost can range from $150 per hour for junior lawyers to over $1,000 per hour for senior partners at large firms in major cities.
The line between business and personal life can often be blurry for entrepreneurs, observes Dana. It's therefore important to find a lawyer that is engaging and who you can relate. … Like every person that you will work with in your small business, it is important to find the right fit for both personality and skills.
If you hire a lawyer, it will cost you between $1,000 and $1,500. If you go through our free online course, it won't cost you anything. Regardless of which method you choose to form an LLC, you will still have to pay state filing fees. LLC state filing fees range between $40 and $500.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Frequent question: How should an attorney in fact sign?
A Business Lawyer is an attorney who focuses on providing legal advice to business owners on issues that affect businesses, such as taxation, business transactions, and intellectual property rights. The Business Lawyer may also be known as a Corporate Attorney, Corporate Lawyer, or Commercial Lawyer.
Lawyers are people who have gone to law school and often may have taken and passed the bar exam. … An attorney is someone who is not only trained and educated in law, but also practices it in court. A basic definition of an attorney is someone who acts as a practitioner in a court of law.
Startups do need legal support. But startups don't necessarily need to engage lawyers for all the legal support they need. There are alternatives – self-help, hiring a lawyer to join the founder team, engaging alternative legal service providers, doing nothing.
Most business lawyers do not get involved in litigation or argue cases in court. … Most of the business lawyer's time will be spent on negotiation, legal analysis, contract drafting, advising, and writing.
There is no legal requirement to hire an attorney to form an LLC. Most states allow LLC formation by registering the business entity on your secretary of state's website and with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The main cost of forming an LLC is the fee to file your LLC's articles of organization with the Secretary of State. This fee ranges between $40-$500, depending on the state. Other LLCs costs might include: Business licensing and permit fees.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Can a child have a solicitor?
Most LLC owners stick with pass-through taxation, which is how sole proprietors are taxed. However, you can elect corporate tax status for your LLC if doing so will save you more money. … However, due to the combination of liability protection and tax flexibility, an LLC is often a great fit for a small business owner.
Highest paid lawyers: salary by practice area
Patent attorney: $180,000.
Intellectual property (IP) attorney: $162,000.
Trial attorneys: $134,000.
Tax attorney (tax law): $122,000.
Corporate lawyer: $115,000.
Employment lawyer: $87,000.
Real Estate attorney: $86,000.
Divorce attorney: $84,000.
Business Lawyers help business owners to understand different legal issues, such as lawsuits and legal violations, that might impact their operations. They provide the required advice and legal guidance to help you come out of the legal situations or avoid breaking the law in the first place.


PUBG.ME has created this guide to help you configure PUBG to optimize performance for competitive gameplay, As soon as PUBG was released, Low-end PC gamers / Mid-range immediately knew that getting the game to run well with every single graphical settings turned up would be a challenge because of the poor optimization. This guide guide will help you to achieve good performance on low-end systems.
This section is recommended for advanced users who are comfortable with editing config files.
Similar to the autoexec.cfg in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds also has an editable config file which can be modified to improve performance.
Make sure the game is closed before attempting to edit the config files.
These changes will remove post-processing effects which will improve performance and visibility.
The FrameRateCap=0 will remove the FPS limit of 144, which will increase performance for some users. If removing the frame rate cap causes lag, you could try a limit of 240, or the default value of 144.
Setting this to Very Low disables anti-aliasing, which is sometimes useful for spotting enemies in foliage.
Try using Very Low Anti-Aliasing instead of Reshade sharpening.
If you can't stand the jagged edges we recommend setting this to Low.
If you have low VRAM we recommend setting this to Very Low.
Setting this to Ultra can help you spot objects that are further away, which is very useful while parachuting.
Disabling this setting removes the 3d view of your character in the inventory UI, which will improve performance and inventory loading time.
Holding Q or E to lean makes it difficult to lean peek out of cover because you have to also press A or D. Use Toggle or DoubleTapinstead of Hold to lean peek with ease.
Some users rely on Reshade to add saturation, but this will slightly affect your FPS. We recommend changing the settings using your graphics card control panel instead.
For NVIDIA graphics cards, this setting is called Digital Vibrance.
For AMD graphics cards, this setting is called Color Saturation.
Changing the settings on the graphics card will change the vibrancy on your desktop too. There is a tool which can automatically change these settings when you open/close the game.


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Learning English Ndebele Shona
Live Talk
Live Talk TV
Indaba zesiNdebele Ekuseni
Indaba zesiNdebele
Nhau dzeShona Mangwanani
Nhau dzeShona
VOA Zimbabwe TV
Live Talk - Diaspora Forum
Live Talk - Women's Roundtable
VOA Zimbabwe Audio Tube
VOA Zimbabwe Audio Tube For Studio 7
Zimbabwe DTH
ZimPlus
ZNNP+ Report: Prominent HIV Positive Zimbabweans Can Reduce AIDS Stigma
Truvada pills, initially used to treat people with HIV, are a main component of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), where the drug is used to prevent infection. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
HARARE —
The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) says there is need to continuously raise awareness for people to know their HIV status, as part of efforts to reduce the HIV stigma.
In its latest report titled The Zimbabwe Stigma Index Research Report, ZNNP+ says it is important to engage government, the private sector and individuals in targeted interventions to address sources of discrimination against people living with HIV.
National AIDS Council communications officer, Tadiwa Nyatanga-Pfupa, says the ZNNP+ report is an important indicator of the need for people to disclose their status. She says people with a high status in society can play an important role in curbing the HIV stigma.
"There are people who are mainly looked up in society by virtue of the positions they hold as headmasters, as teachers, as pastors who hold positions of influence. For them to go back and tell people who look up to them that they are HIV-positive, they will think people will feel badly let-down, they have set a bad example."
Report on HIV Disclosure Filed By Safari Njema
Tadiwa says those who are influential in society are critical in changing negative perceptions about HIV.
"When they do disclose their status people will also become free to go and get tested and disclose their results because they will say if this popular footballer, this popular musician or pastor has disclosed that he is HIV-positive I can also do the same."
IMPORTANCE OF DISCLOSURE
But why is disclosure important? "If one discloses his status that will make those that will have been holding on to their status without disclosing to open up. They will then get into support groups and encourage each other to take their medication to share ideas on the proper nutrition to take. The moment one does not disclose his or her status, they will lose a lot of information."
"While HIV-related stigma is still widespread in communities, some people are beginning to come forward to show the importance of revealing one's HIV-status. Studio 7 spoke to 49-year old Barbara Farashishiko, a counsellor with ZNNP+ in Tafara, who has disclosed her status."
Farashishiko, who works with 16 support groups in the suburb and is a tuberculosis survivor, says she was thrown out of her matrimonial home when she fell ill in 1985.
"I was thinking of my baby boy and how my in-laws couldn't accept my condition. They said I was a moving grave and they were stigmatising me. I was so stressed. After I was discharged my parents took me in. I was carried in a wheel-barrow and all the people in the community were watching, saying "is she going to survive, she is going to die. Look how she is and she has a baby, she cannot survive."
Farashishiko says staying with her parents was very difficult. "I had to sleep together with my father and my mother in the same bedroom. And I couldn't share with other children because they were afraid they would also be infected. And I had to use my own plate and my own cup so as not to infect others.
"I told them that you cannot get TB from a plate, you cannot get TB on a cup or sharing the same toilet seat or the same blankets."
She says disclosure is therapeutic for someone who is living with HIV. "You should accept what you are and disclosure is very important because once you disclose your status or what you are when people point a finger at you it will not worry you because you have disclosed your status. That is how I manage my stress."
Farashishiko says she needs $4,500 to undergo an operation because she cannot read or see things in the distance.
"I have a conical cornea problem, so I need a transplant, that is I need a cornea from another person to be donated to me. Normally here in Zimbabwe it is not done but in South Africa. Last time I visited the eye unit there were corneas that were donated."
Farashishiko stays with her daughter-in-law,Cynthia, who says she has learnt a lot during support group discussions about the importance of disclosing one's status and understanding HIV issues.
"I used to stigmatise people but now I know through my mother-in-law. I also go to the workshops and learn with other people, hear new ideas. Now I know everything about TB and discrimination. Here we have a studio and my mother used to go there and talk to young people about TB and circumcision. She used to go door to door and talk to people, young people, mothers, everybody."
PAINFUL DEATH OF HIV-POSITIVE MUM
Eighteen-year old Nathan Chihunje, who stays in Tafara, says he has been inspired by Barbara Farashishiko's counselling sessions and work with support groups in the area.
Chihunje lost his mother, who was the bread-winner when he was only 15. He says the experience of caring for her mother taught him to be compassionate towards those living with HIV.
"She died of HIV and that affected me because I was still young. It was very difficult because I was the only person in my family. I did all household chores like cleaning the house and plates. She was not able to bathe herself and I assisted her."
Zimbabwe has adopted the Fast Track concept of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, which aims at ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The concept outlines a set of targets that would need to be reached by 2020, including 90-90-90: 90 percent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 90 percent of people who know their HIV-positive status on treatment; and 90 percent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.


The following is an excerpt of our latest whitepaper, Disciplinary Literacy: Helping Students Develop Insider Knowledge.
If we want students to learn biology, why not teach them to think, read and write like biologists? If we want them to learn history, shouldn't they learn to think, read and write like historians?
These experts don't just rely on one resource. Their expertise is contingent on their own observations, along with the perspectives of others, expressed across several media types. Likewise, the days of using a single textbook as a teaching resource are over. Educators must begin using new types of resources in the classroom, including digital content and media to immerse students in real-world reading, writing and thinking.
Read the full whitepaper: Disciplinary Literacy: Helping Students Develop Insider Knowledge.
I totally agree with the author. For example, writers should be taught accordingly how to write. Even writing blogshould be correct and professional. Your words are showing your personality. And an educated person makes his or her speeches in a sophisticated manner.
High school students are in their adolescent stage and therefore, they are very sensitive and should be handled appropriately.


Over the years many Waldorf schools and individuals have approached us for support with Waldorf education. Experiencing their challenges and solutions has been very inspiring. The valuable resources that we have built over the years has compelled us to offer to share our knowledge and experience to the greater Waldorf community through offering a number of services.
Having an experienced teacher from outside your school or community evaluate teachers is a healthy choice for any school.
Whether they are new plays written for the classes, new ideas and inspirations to support teachers or books, we are constantly working to improve, inform, innovate.
Copyright 2016 ANBIS. All rights reserved.


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More construction coming to Glenville industrial park
GLENVILLE — Progress continues at the Glenville Business and Technology Park, where a building will be constructed, an old building may be reused, and the county is seeking to buy 40 acres from the federal government for further development.
The town of Glenville Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved construction of a 98,000-square-foot building by the Galesi Group, which owns a significant chunk of the former Scotia Naval Depot. The Galesi Group is undertaking the $5 million project on spec — it has no tenant lined up for the space and expects no trouble finding one when construction is complete.
CEO David Buicko said Galesi has 10.8 million square feet of light industrial space at its cluster of four Capital Region industrial parks, and undertook a similar 100,000-square-foot expansion at the Rotterdam Industrial Park on spec two years ago. It is now fully occupied.
"We're fairly full in most of our spaces," Buicko said. "We need new product and we're very confident."
Read Full Story: Here
John Cropley | August 17, 2017. "More Construction Coming to Glenville Industrial Park." The Daily Gazette, dailygazette.com/article/2017/08/17/more-construction-coming-to-glenville-industrial-park.


Powered by Convective Water Vapor Energy (WAVE®) technology, Rezūm applies thermal energy to safely and effectively treat lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH. Each treatment uses 0.42ml of heated sterile water vapor which rapidly and uniformly disperses through the tissue interstices.
The condensation of water vapor releases stored thermal energy. Cell membranes are gently denatured, thereby causing immediate cell death, the vasculature is closed, and there is denervation of the alpha adrenergic nerves within the treatment zone providing you with an efficient, uniform, predictable treatment.
Over time, this ablated tissue is reabsorbed by the body's natural healing response, reducing the volume of tissue allowing the urethra to open relieving LUTS.
Rezūm is a treatment for BPH that can be performed in a clinic or out-patient setting. Rezūm uses the stored thermal energy in water vapor (steam) to treat the extra prostate tissue that is causing symptoms such as frequency, urgency, irregular flow, weak stream, straining and getting up at night to urinate.
1 McVary KT, Roehrborn CG. Three-year outcomes of the prospective, randomized controlled Rezūm system study: Convective radiofrequency thermal therapy for treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Urology. 111C (2018):1-9.


I Vertigo Sunrise IV you EED rise, Dow, left indicator, right Meawhile Avoidig obstacles such as police choppers, brick display tubs.
Hit down then go on S. Press W and up down button then moved down. Press the right button then move left arrow key right. One then press D to move left.
Spy is dangereous and in the dangereous....!
Warning: extremely large file size: over 11 mb be ready, wait a while for it to load. It takes about 40 minutes of your time to beat the game. This game was worked on more than one year from the guys in ratubaworld.com.
Has your computer ever breakdown on you for no reason? Here is a quick fix solution from us to fix your computer for good!
Unreal Tournament soldiers now here your 2D solution comes. Master all Mission in this nice remake.
The Suset comes the power of Darkess will begi display. You must stop the Ruiatio of the world of Kamara all dark warriors before the ext sunrise.
Help of Otis serve milk to the party Aimals at the bar before sunrise. To collect bottles ad retur, in the bar to ear of hotspots. How to get discovered or the party will be over! Switch from cow positioning or ru way to the thew, in the spotlight.
Ivan Drago is a fictional Boxer played by Dolph Lundgren was ıv in the Rocky series.take Rocky your raw Soviet power to the ground and make 'em with red blood run all lawbreakers.
Swords of ad Sadals 4: Taver quests - the swords & Sadals saga Cotiues with S & SIV as our embattled Gladiators in terms ad step, from set I a larger display of next Dagerous world. Up to four Gladiators I fight a variety of Miigames, Advetures ad fights in an epic eight areas in the dager ad Adveture set. Swords & Sadals IV: Taver quests... it is the game the Gladiators are Playig!
Operation Chaos is the ultimate space shootout. Don't worry about getting carpal tunnel syndrome while firing your weapon - your guns are always on, all the time! Instead, use the mouse button to enter super-slomo bullet time to dodge the dense clouds of shrapnel all around you. Each level presents different challenges, but they all have one solution: shoot to kill!


The NHL season is back and so is the Elk & Oarsman Puck Party starting tomorrow with a local derby.
Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers.
Wednesday, October 4th at 8:00pm.
Come on down for a pint and some food and enjoy this furious rivalry!


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Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra at Midland Theater this week
Mara Kilgore
The Masters at Midland
The Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Russel C. Mikkelson, will perform works from the classical repertoire: Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Dvorak's Czech Suite, and Beethoven's mighty 4th Symphony.
What: NGSO performance
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Midland Theater
Cost: $15-$30
To buy: https://midt-internet.choicecrm.net/templates/MIDT/#/events or call 740.345.5483
Jasey Schnaars at Thirty One West
Jasey Schnaars is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter out of Delaware, Ohio. Jasey started young in the Philadelphia Folk Scene. His first chart record was "Sing Me That Rock and Roll" for the Kansas City Jammers, and he later wrote Eddie Rabbitt's top-ten country hit, "Nothing Like Falling In Love."
Jasey has also written for radio, television and film. His instrumental composition, "Evolution" is the theme song for the nationally-syndicated television series, "Songs At The Center" on PBS. Jasey has toured extensively in this country and abroad.
What: Jasey Schnaars concert
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Thirty One West
Becoming a Ninja 101
This event is a chance for all curious kids to learn the ways of the ninja. Try an obstacle course, hear ninja stories, and test your balance and strength with ninja activities.
This program is designed for children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade.
What: Library family event
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: West Newark Library
For more information visit https://lickingcountylibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar


Semiconductor Engineering - It's Late Q3 – Do You Know Where Your Chip Is? Semiconductor Engineering - It's Late Q3 – Do You Know Where Your Chip Is?
Home > Low Power-High Performance > It's Late Q3 – Do You Know Where Your Chip Is?
It's Late Q3 – Do You Know Where Your Chip Is?
Complexity now stretches from the SoC to the supply chain and involves a lot of hands you never knew were there.
Design complexity is increasing. We all get that. But there are other forces at play that may be more significant. Supply chain complexity is also increasing. Outsourcing and off-shoring continue to rise. There exists a general tendency to surrender the fate of your chip to more people. Overlay this situation with the simple fact that in more and more cases the chip defines the product. The fate of many new products hinges on the ultimate goal of a successful, right-first-time implementation of the product's SoC. And that chip has a lot of hands on it, making it harder and harder to figure out if the ultimate goal can be reached. Who gets involved?
Third party IP suppliers to start with. More than 70% of most SoCs today are composed of re-used third party IP. Then the design team takes the ball. At the very least, this group is located in a few places around the world and parts of the design could easily be outsourced to teams with specialized skills. Let's not forget the EDA tool chain, which has a fundamental impact on the quality of the design. This tool chain is constructed of software from multiple vendors, which everyone hopes will interoperate flawlessly.
When it's time for tapeout, the foundry gets the ball. And then assembly and test operations. Did I mention that the substrate, package and test hardware come from other vendors as well? You get the picture. For this long, complex, multi-national supply chain to work perfectly and deliver the desperately needed working chip on time might be considered a miracle. Sounds like the whole process could benefit from some kind of logistics management and coordination, right? Maybe an integrated, Internet-enabled information backbone that tracks all this in real time.
There indeed are systems that aim to fill this need. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools are supplied by many large enterprise software companies such as Dassault Systemes, Oracle, PTC, SAP and Siemens. If you search Wikipedia, you'll find a nice holistic diagram of what PLM software manages.
Look carefully around the 10:00 mark on this chart. You will find "EDA" and "CAE" there. This is a pretty small piece of the process, yet for many products these processes have the largest and most profound impact on a product's success. OK, I'm an EDA and semiconductor guy and perhaps I have a biased point of view. If you look at some of the most successful consumer products of our time, I don't think so however.
So, what do PLM vendors do to monitor and manage those two little areas on the above chart? I've looked at a few reports from various PLM vendors. You will find statistics about the SoC portion of the project – the data source is often labeled: "extracted from operations review slides." That information source can be out of date and can also suffer from subjective bias. If you work in the EDA community, you should start smiling right about now. What do a lot of our products do on a daily basis? We analyze the quality of the chip, enumerate the errors found and help to repair those errors with the ultimate goal of delivering a working chip on time. Many EDA tools generate up-to-date, objective and accurate information about the state of the design. Software that performs these functions is found throughout the far-flung supply chain that is working on that precious chip.
What if this information source could be merged with a PLM data backbone? Could information accuracy and decision support be substantially enhanced? I think so. This line of reasoning suggests there is an opportunity for collaboration between EDA and PLM vendors – a collaboration that could potentially open up new markets and new applications for EDA. Is this a win/win/win (customer/PLM vendor/EDA vendor)? Could be. Will end product developers pay for a transparent, accurate picture of the status of the SoC they so desperately need? They should. Time will tell if they will.


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Q: is there a way to open text file in notepad++ from python script in other some other IDE? I am trying to open a text file from python script written in pycharm in notepad++ I found from  the previous answers that we can use the command in the python from the subprocess module to open the specific file but I want to open the notepad++ to open a file at specific line
I used  this
    import subprocess
    subprocess.call([r"C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe", r"C:\location\myfile.txt"])

but it is opening without any specific focus but i know the following command prompt option to open the my text file at specific line using below command line command
start notepad++ "C:\location\myfile.txt" -n1500

this is opening the myfile.txt at line number 1500 highlighted in notepad++ but when I am trying to add the -n(line-number) to the subprocess.call([r"C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe", r"C"\location\myfile.txt"]) the it is  not able to execute. Is there any way to execute this command in python script using subprocess or os module?

A: Yes, you actually can, by appending the additional arguments to the list of arguments that was already specified.  The following should achieve the command launched from the command line:
subprocess.call([
    r"C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe", r"C:\location\myfile.txt",
    "-n1500"
])

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"Thank you for inviting me to the Merwin Gallery.
My first formal assignment was photographing a college homecoming dance here. As a high school student I remember standing timidly in the doorway with a small camera and a flash making pictures of the homecoming court as they made their grand entrance.
Some of you have visited my studio which has been described as a culinary destination because of its location on the Hill, famous for its forty restaurants. It is also famous for its small houses and unchanging landscape. And its baseball players. Yogi Berra grew up a block from the studio, and the legendary Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola, the catcher and announcer, lived close-by as well.
I never studied photography in school, but I was fortunate to learn from other photographers, from visits to galleries and from the cinema which I attended regularly from a young age and always loved.
Currently I work with Hasselblad and Nikon cameras. The Hasselblad film camera is the Swedish-made box camera with Zeiss lenses and no electronics inside, not even a battery. Most of my photographs are made in available light, in the long shadows of afternoon or later.
You cannot imagine how much information is in a photograph. Film is inexpensive and records data at the molecular level. Which may explain why is has been so hard to beat. My Venice photograph in the exhibition, the Rio Delle Eremite mural, stretches six feet across. It was originally recorded on a piece of 35mm Kodachrome film. The resolution in the print is high enough you can read addresses along the canal.
Photography is about finding beauty in the stars, in the branches of a tree, or in a simple object like a matchbox. It is about seeing things in a new light, in a unique way. The challenge for me in visiting a place like Paris (which was the birthplace of photography and has been photographed at least as much as the Grand Canyon) is to come away with something not seen before. If there can be such a thing.
Vision is the most magical of the senses. The human eye is the most magical of cameras. No piece of film or digital file can match the eye to penetrate a scene and render an image. If you want to know how incredible the eye is, try this simple test. Go out into a meadow and stand in the bright sun. Then put on a hat with a brim and stare into the deepest shade of the woods. Or wonder at how you can see in the dark at home in the middle of the night.
Evelyn Sheean, the woman who gave her name to the chapel on this campus, entrusted me with her collection of travel photographs. Evelyn was an amateur photographer and an avid traveler. She had no children and she knew of my love and passion for photographs. We exchanged travel stories over the years. Her photos are what you might expect: vacation pictures, pictures taken on trains, the tour group, breakfast at the hotel. It took me several years to sift through the thousands of images she made with her small Olympus camera.
Many have started to fade away, but there are some that are memorable and then there is . . . this one. One wonderful photograph that could hang anywhere in my opinion. An accident perhaps? A lucky shot? Not if you believe that photographs are not accidental.
The place is London. The scene is a gathering. The street is jammed with working people and onlookers, swirling scarves, brown hats and drab tweeds of the day. Double-decker buses, line up; traffic is dense. People fill the corners of the image and lean in various directions like a field of wheat divided by wind. The colors are muted in Rembrandt tones.
Evelyn must have held her camera over her head or stood on a step to capture this spectacle of movement. Her point of view is picture perfect. The photograph is titled in her hand-writing: 'Crowds at Trafalgar Square.' We know what is about to happen: a parade, foot soldiers, gilded horsemen, and soon a glorious golden coach. Inside a woman dressed in white and silver.
We know this because of Evelyn's subsequent frames and the date on the Kodachrome mount. The year is 1952. The occasion is the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.


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https://www.gameinformer.com/impressions/2021/03/15/why-the-xbox-wireless-headset-is-a-good-option-for-series-x-owners
Why The Xbox Wireless Headset Is A Good Option For Series X Owners
by Brian Shea on Mar 15, 2021 at 09:00 AM
When Xbox Series X launched earlier this year (check out our review here), it delivered several improvements over its predecessor, the Xbox One. However, while one of Xbox Series X's main legs-up over PlayStation 5 is in how all the accessories you had for Xbox One, including controllers and headsets, were instantly compatible with your new system, PS5's Pulse 3D wireless headset delivered audio quality and features that no first-party offering from Microsoft could match. Now, Xbox is here with its own new-gen, first-party wireless headset to rival the PS5-launch offering of Sony.
True to the mission of Xbox's entire pitch this generation, the Xbox Wireless Headset connected almost instantly with my Xbox Series S and updated wirelessly via the Xbox Accessories app. Once updated, I could go into the app and fine-tune how I want the audio to come through the headset, including various equalizer settings and bass boost, as well as how sensitive I want the mic's auto-mute functionality to be or how bright I want the mic light to be. Once I have the headset just the way I like it (or at least how I think I like it... I won't know for sure until I'm playing), it's time to jump into a game.
In a game, the oomph the headset packs was immediately evident as I cracked open some loot boxes in Overwatch. Once I join a party, I had to do some adjusting with my teammate. For one, the headset seems to pick up more volume from party mates' microphones than other headsets I've used, as her voice almost sounded multi-tracked. I'm not sure if this is a result of a setting I had (I had my own mic-monitoring on, but that shouldn't affect how her voice sounds in chat), but when I switched between the Xbox Wireless Headset and the LucidSound headset I had been using since the launch of the Series X/S, her voice returned to normal. Upon switching back to the Xbox Wireless Headset, her voice once again sounded layered in weird ways. She also tried multiple headsets to no avail. I asked her to move her mic further from her mouth, and that seemed to rectify the problem. Again, I'm not sure if it was a connection issue, an Xbox issue, a setting issue, or a sound-pickup issue, but it was resolved fairly quick.
Once we were in game and the initial chat-audio problem was solved, voice chat was crisp and easily leveled against the game audio. My teammate also commented on how my voice sounds clearer using the Xbox Wireless Headset than it normally does with my other headset I typically use. The adjustable auto-mute functionality, which blocks out background sounds, works well, though I didn't have very much background noise on as I was testing it out; I anticipate I'll just keep the feature off either way. The mic monitoring, even when set on "high," didn't deliver the level of output of my own voice into my headset I was hoping for, but other than that, my criticism of how voice chat works with the Xbox Wireless Headset is minimal.
The in-game sound comes through very clear; in one game of Overwatch, I thought the entire opposing team was in front of me, but I suddenly heard a charging Reinhardt from behind with enough time to react and avoid his attack. Weapon sounds also come through very clearly, delivering a strong sense of presence. While the headset works great as is, I found I got the most out of it when using the Dolby Atmos setting, enabled through the Dolby app. Whether I was watching a tech demo for the Atmos technology (the ear cups literally vibrated as thunder roared during the video), enjoying a scene of the critically acclaimed 1917, or playing through a mission of Gears 5, the 3D sound is impressive and precise.
Perhaps the most novel part about the Xbox Wireless Headset is in how the device can connect to your Xbox and mobile device simultaneously, delivering sound from both pieces of hardware. Using this, I fired up Mortal Kombat 11 on the Xbox Series S, then put on the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack and had both devices outputting to the headset at the same time. While that use-case might be less common, it was a fun way to test the functionality. I also threw on a podcast while I played a few runs of Dead Cells, and even played a little Madden set to my favorite workout playlist. If one device is too overpowering, you can easily adjust the output volume on either piece of hardware. Obviously, since it can connect to a mobile phone via Bluetooth, you can wear the headset as standard headphones on the go if you so choose.
All of these features and options are great, but I was most pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the headset is over extended use. I typically don't even like wearing headsets for longer sessions because the headband often hurts the top of my head after a short period. Thankfully, that is not the case with the Xbox Wireless Headset. Even after a couple hours of continuous gameplay, I only had to adjust the headband once for mild discomfort. In addition, the ear cups are soft and fully encasing, but my ears never once felt overheated or sweaty. The Xbox Wireless Headset is among the most comfortable gaming headsets I've used.
At $100, the Xbox Wireless Headset delivers excellent value for those who want to get the most out of their Xbox consoles without breaking the bank. The 3D spatial audio sounds terrific in action, and with crisp, clear communication, both incoming and outgoing, it's a great option for those who like to hear every detail while remaining in close contact with their squad. The Xbox Wireless Headset launches on March 16 and is compatible with the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs, and mobile devices via Bluetooth.
Brian Shea
Online Content Director
Brian has written about video games for over a decade across multiple publications. When he's not writing or gaming, he's usually listening to music, watching UFC, or hopelessly rooting for a Baltimore or D.C. sports team.


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Home - User Guideline - Get To Know The World of Legend Guardians
Get To Know The World of Legend Guardians
Once upon a time, when the world was still in darkness, a strange stone appeared. Its brilliant light illuminated the whole world and created the stars, since then all things were born and thrived. Then, humans appeared and that land was called the Holy World. Legend said that the world-creation stone existed somewhere unknown, it was called the Soul Stone.
Although the world was filled with light and people, deep down inside still existed the forces of darkness. Those who went against evolution were the nightmare witches. These witches cooperated with the ghosts to bring the world back to the dark age (hollow age). To do so, what they needed to do was to find and destroy the Soul stone — turn off the light of the sky.
After decades of failure, there came a witch with natural talent and tremendous power named Tensi. She succeeded in finding the stone after taking over the world with the "nightmare" potion. Along with her six minions, Tensi ruled the world and prepared the final ritual to destroy the stone.
Finally, the day Tensi could break the Soul Stone had come. Unexpectedly, the Stone was not destroyed but broke into many small pieces that were scattered around the world. Your mission is to collect all the shards to restore the Soul stone.
Currently, there are a total of 6 areas in the game, and more will be added in the future. We will have articles about them in the future.
Lightka Kingdom
Frontier Forest
Ennu Swamp
Frozen Mountain
Mahara Desert
Volka Volcano
essence, gamefi, hero, legend guardians, lgfi, nft, rofi


The climate change issue has become a significant part of the global discourse today. Climate change poses an 'existential challenge' to the entire humanity. This could lead to the greatest environmental threat facing the planet. Moreover, this daunting challenge is often described as the 'defining challenge of our age'. But there is a visible dearth of unanimity over the question of inception of the phenomenon of climate change.
However, these issues became part of the scientific discourse since 1896, when Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish chemist, analysed the linkages between the atmospheric carbon dioxide and air temperature in order to clarify the existence of the ice ages. Svante's analysis of the atmosphere helped him to forecast that if carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubled, the earth's mean average annual temperature would be warmer by varied degrees. His estimates, nevertheless, attracted little public attention and concern.
In 1824, the first theory of global warming came to light at a time when Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a French mathematician, exposed that the temperature of the earth was slowly increasing. He argued that solar radiation is trapped by the earth's atmosphere that is again reflected back towards the earth. Prof P.C. Joshi, in his article titled, 'Antiquity and Novelty of Climate Change', revealed that the phenomena of warming of earth were recognised by John Tyndall in 1859. Tyndall argued that the water vapour, carbon dioxide and other ingredients were primarily responsible for the warming of the earth. Thereby, it is considered that Tyndall was the first person to assess the phenomena of global warming; and the very same phenomena are identified as the basic cause for adverse climate change.
Etkins and Ho, in their work, 'Climate Change: Perceptions and Discourses of Risk', stated that sensing the susceptibility to the future climate change thrust due to the high concentrations of greenhouse gases, that might be detrimental to humankind and natural ecosystems, there have been an extensive commotion on this subject that encompasses scientists, politicians, special interest groups and the general public. From the late 14th century to the end of the 19th century, the earth went through the 'little ice age'. By that time, severe cold and insensitive conditions led to a number of famines and the expansion of glaciers, particularly in the Alps, Scandinavia, Iceland and Alaska. The scientists were in search of finding an answer, as the temperature of the earth had steeply soared by the 1850s.
Climate change is often linked to the changes in modern climate, which have resulted due to human activities in recent usage. It is strongly believed that human beings have always influenced their environment, and it is only since the inception of the industrial revolution in the mid-18th century that the impacts of man-made activities have begun to traverse globally. R. K. Pachaury, in his 'Global Climate Change: Indian Perspective Revisited and Restated', has enumerated that the problems of climate change came to light in 1988 at a time when North America incurred severe drought and an unusually hot summer. This thing not only led the experts to make an assessment of the situation, but also the global worries for the phenomenon of global warming and climate change resulted in the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 through the efforts of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Nitin Desai, in his 'Climate Change: economic and historical perspective', has clarified that the issues of climate change did not came into focus very long ago. For him, it meant that the climate change phenomenon is a recent one. Desai believes that atmospheric scientists were the early movers on the concerns of climate change rather than the activists of the Green movement. The references to the climate change are embedded in the Brundtland Commission's report titled as Our Common Future, published in 1987. The green movement could not exert its pressure upon the issues of climate change when this Commission report was being made, and not even in the Rio process. At this stage, the focus was much on the issues of classical conservation.
Moreover, Desai stipulated that at the second level, that is political in nature, the first two heads of state from the developing world who highlighted the matter of climate change at the global level were President Ershad of Bangladesh and President Gayyum of Maldives. These heads of state raised the issue in the 1980s. President Gayyum was the one who mentioned climate change for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly, and not any leader from theOrganisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The first intergovernmental organisation to set up a process on climate change was not in the UN, but the secretariat of the Commonwealth. This secretariat set up a group under Martin Holgate. Therefore, the concerns came mostly from the developing countries, scientific community, and certain NGOs outside the UN.
The President of Maldives, Mohammed Nashid, in the first gathering of the newly established Climate Vulnerable Forum, underlined the great ordeal his country was facing from the inescapable fury of climate change. He argued, "For us, climate change is no distant or abstract threat; but a clear and present danger to our survival. We are not responsible for the hundreds of years of carbon emissions, which are cooking the planet. But the dangers climate change poses to our countries means that this crisis can no longer be considered somebody else's problem. For all of us gathered here today, inaction is not an option." (Quoted in The Environment Emergency: Exploring solutions for a sustainable future, Teri: 2010). Hence, the political process that we see today emanated mostly from those concerns of developing states and the scientific world. In the early days, people used to use the term 'global warming' that, in the view of Desai, was misconstrued. In the Northern Hemisphere, folks did not think of warming of the world as a bad idea. Therefore, the terminology got changed to climate change.
As far as the milestones in climate change negotiations are concerned, the year 1979 has been remarkable as the first World Climate Conference took place in that year. This conference recognised for the first time that climate change is a serious problem. In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in Rio de Janeiro with the ultimate objective "to achieve the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentration and to prevent 'dangerous' human interference with the climate system". Nevertheless, the first Conference of Parties (COP1) took place in 1995 in Berlin, where the parties pointed out that commitments in the UNFCCC were not adequate and decided to set up a process whereby developed countries will take the lead on climate change. At COP3 in 1997, the Kyoto protocol was formally adopted under which it was agreed upon that signatory parties would have to commit to internationally binding emission reduction targets, with a much heavier burden accorded on developed countries. This protocol came into force in 2005. The most recent agreement that is known as the 'Paris Agreement', was adopted in COP21 in 2015, with the "goal of keeping the temperature rise to 'well below 2° C above pre- industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C'". This agreement came into force on November 4, 2016 and it has been ratified by 110 members.
Following the above enumeration on the area of climate change, it is understandable that the enigma of climate change is not new to the scientific world. Rather, we can say that this phenomenon is new to the political world at a time when its adverse impact is being felt socially, economically and politically across the nook and corner of the globe. What is most important is that as of now people are becoming aware at least of the climate change phenomenon, if not to the full extent.
Prashant Kumar Sharma is a Ph.D Research Scholar at the Centre for South Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.


Andrew's work was included for a second year in the ASMP New York Photo Annual, along with photography by ASMP New York's top commercial and fine art photographers. One of his photos from Night & Day was selected for this year's Annual. You can see the entire Annual here.


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HomeMotoringBMW 3.0 CSL rebooted as ultra-exclusive, purist sports car with 412kW
BMW 3.0 CSL rebooted as ultra-exclusive, purist sports car with 412kW
Munich – As the first road-going car conceived by BMW's motorsport division, the 3.0 CSL of the early 1970s was a homologation special that quickly became one of the Bavarian brand's most iconic cars.
And now the BMW Batmobile, as it was affectionately nicknamed due to its flamboyant aero tech, has just been recreated for the modern era. Not to be confused with the almost-as-hardcore BMW M4 CSL that was revealed earlier this year, the new 3.0 CSL is an even more exclusive proposition, with the M Division planning to produce just 50 of them – to mark its 50th anniversary of course.
Although loosely based on the BMW M4, the 3.0 CSL is a very unique car in its own right, and it's built with numerous handcrafted lightweight components at a special facility outside the Dingolfing plant in Germany. Each car takes up to 10 days to produce as it passes through eight different assembly cycles.
The new BMW 3.0 CSL is also the most powerful six-cylinder road car that the company has ever produced. Based on the competition engine that powers the DTM-winning BMW M4, the 3.0-litre turbocharged unit shoves out 412kW and 550Nm, and can spin to a maximum of 7 200rpm. That's 7kW more than the M4 CSL offers, and 37kW more than the M Competition musters.
Keeping with early BMW M tradition, power goes to the back wheels only through a six-speed manual gearbox, which probably explains why BMW dialled back the torque by 100Nm, making it no torquier than a range-topping Toyota Hilux. But power is king for a track tool like this, although we can't tell you how fast it is just yet as BMW hasn't mentioned any acceleration figures
Of course, this wouldn't be a true successor to the original 3.0 CSL if it wasn't a moving billboard for lightweight materials. And to that end, BMW has made extensive use of hand-crafted carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) on virtually all sections of the body, from the roof to the bonnet, boot lid, rear spoiler, diffuser and even the front and rear aprons.
The cabin is also bristling with carbon fibre and CFRP trimmings and components. It's literally everywhere, and don't be surprised if BMW sends you a complimentary carbon fibre toothbrush just for the hell of it.
To save further weight the back seats have been replaced by helmet holders for you and the front seat passenger, and you both get to sink into M Carbon full bucket seats that can only be adjusted via a three-stage screw linkage in a workshop.
Keeping you in control whether you're on the race track or that favourite back road is an M-specific Adaptive M suspension system, M Traction Control system with 10 intervention thresholds and an Active M Differential that apportions torque between the rear wheels as needed, while M carbon ceramic brakes provide the necessary stopping power.
You could probably fill a novel with all of the design and aerodynamic features that separate the new CSL from your typical M car.
The striking rear wing, for instance, translates the 'Batmobile' spoiler of the '70s into a modern design, while also generating additional downforce to keep the rear axle planted. It is paired with a strongly pronounced carbon diffuser in the rear apron. Up front we see a unique BMW kidney grille, while two boldly sized air intakes in the front apron hark back to the original CSL.
At the side view, flared wheel arches house unique Y-spoke alloy wheels, measuring 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the back, while a gold paint finish and 'Filigree' spokes are a further salute to the '70s icon.
The wheels are shod with Michelin tyres that were developed exclusively for this car, and to ensure that fact gets noticed, the number 50 is embossed on the sidewalls of the tyres.
But perhaps the biggest point of distinction is the paint finish, which combines Alpine White Uni with a stripe decor package in the BMW M GmbH colours. The base colour and M stripes are applied mostly by hand, BMW says, in a process that involves a great degree of time and effort.
Needless to say, the new BMW 3.0 CSL is going to cost more than your organs and your uncle's mansion. BMW hasn't mentioned pricing as yet, but previous rumours have pointed to a price tag of around €750 000, which equates to R13.2 million at today's exchange rate.
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Female Artistes In Ghana Feels Threatened By My Presence – Nana Yaa
Legendary Ghanaian singer, Nana Yaa has revealed that she thinks her colleague female artistes in the country feels threatened by her presence in the industry.
The 'My Hunny' hit maker and former backing vocalist for Kojo Antwi in an interview with Andy Dosty on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz Fm Friday morning revealed that most of the female musicians in Ghana do not support her work like she does to them. She stressed that she been retweeting and sharing posts from other female acts but they do not reciprocate her gesture. This she says makes her look like a threat to them as they are not willing to lend her a helping hand either because they feel she is too legendary due to the works with high life guru, Kojo Antwi or they are afraid of the power she possesses in her voice and music.
They do not support me like I do to them. Ghanaian female artistes don't support each other and I feel they threaten me a lot. Check my twitter and all social media pages and see how I talk about them but they don't do same about me and it's bad – she said.
Nana Yaa is set to release her first official album on the 20th December and has already released a single off it titled, 'Condom'. She has also worked with a lot of musicians including Kojo Antwi, Becca, Sonnie Badu among others.
Tags: Hitz FM, Nana Yaa
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27 Vibrators That Sex Experts Love and Recommend
Because who knows how long this quarantine will last.
By Frankie May Wong
All this time in isolation can make a person intensely horny, but as the CDC maintains that people should stay home as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19, your safest sex partner is ultimately still yourself. Masturbation can not only help you de-stress (a release we could all use right now), but also boost your mood and potentially help you fall asleep faster. If you're looking to expand your collection from that tiny bullet vibe you picked up at Spencer's years ago, or if you're a first timer, you may be unsure how to navigate the many, many options out there. To answer all of your questions on what to buy and how to use 'em, we tapped a range of sex experts to get their read on the best sex toys for people with vulvas, whether you're using them solo or testing them with a partner. Here, some of the best expert-recommended sex toys to use on a vulva or in a vagina.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Suction Vibrators: Womanizer Classic
Suction vibrators are a great option for targeted clitoral stimulation, and for anyone who wants something that mimics the sensation of oral sex. Makayla Elkin Odom, MA, NCC, ACS, ACS, a certified sexologist and doctoral candidate in human sexuality, tells SELF this toy's four-hour battery life and waterproof design are ideal for those "looking to experience remarkable clitoral pleasure." The nontraditional shape of the Womanizer, which has a hollow silicone tip like other suction-heavy toys, also allows for pinpointed sensation on the clitoris.
$129 at Babeland
Suction Vibrators: Lelo Sona 2
Here's a suction toy that sexologist Malika O'Neill, founder and CEO of The Pleasure Collective LLC, suggests for long-lasting orgasms. The design of this toy in particular fits a wide range of vulvas, thanks to the deep and long mouth, she adds.
$139 $118 at Lelo
Suction Vibrators: Satisfyer Pro 2 Travel Clitoral Stimulator
Indigo Stray Conger, LMFT CST, certified sex therapist and writer for Choosing Therapy, says this is an affordable, high-quality toy for clitoral suction, that may provide a superior option for pleasure compared to traditional vibrators. "This toy can be used directly on the external head of the clitoris or along the internal anatomy," she adds, if you prefer less intense sensation.
$60 at Adam & Eve
Suction Vibrators: We-Vibe Melt
Dr. Jordin Wiggins, ND, sex expert, recommends the We-Vibe Melt as a toy with "just the right amount of suction and vibration." She likes that the design is slim enough to fit between couples in nearly every position for coupled sex, as well as being great on its own for solo play. Like many We-Vibe toys, this one can also be hooked up to an app, "so your partner can control the intensity while you hold it just where you want it," she adds.
$139 at Adam & Eve
Wand Vibrators: Rechargeable Magic Wand Original
With their broad heads and long handles, wand vibrators can be used in a variety of different positions and offer pleasure to all bodies. This souped-up, rechargeable version of the classic Hitachi Magic Wand came recommended by both Odom and Danielle Bezalel, MPH, host of the podcast Sex Ed With DB. When it comes to clitoral vibrators, they don't get much more powerful than this (it's way too big for insertion, so don't be turned off by its large size). Odom considers this toy an essential, and Bezalel adds that this is the toy to try if you have trouble orgasming.
$90 at Babeland
Wand Vibrators: Le Wand Petite
If you want the power and functionality of the Magic Wand, with just a hint of personality, Dr. Katherine Zagone, N.D, the medical director and a sexual wellness expert at Gentera, says this is like a more elegant version of the classic wand. It's rechargeable, slightly smaller, and also comes in rose gold, violet, and blue shades. Plus, unlike the Magic Wand, it's also waterproof, so you can even use it in the tub.
Wand Vibrators: Lovehoney Deluxe Extra Powerful Wand Vibrator
Rebecca Blanton, a kink educator and sex blogger, likes this wand over other vibrating wand models because it's got a very powerful, intense "thuddy" sensation. "The length of the handle is long enough to suit most bigger-bodied folks and wide enough to be comfortable to handle for people with arthritis," Blanton explains. She also adds that the company Lovehoney works to be inclusive of all bodies, including bigger bodies and trans folks, in its modeling, so you can feel even better about supporting them.
$120 at Lovehoney
Wand Vibrators: We-Vibe Wand
For couples who are long-distance or just after some fancy tech, We-Vibe's version of a wand vibrator can be controlled via app from anywhere in the world. Sarrah Rose, a tantric sex coach who runs Tantric Activation, likes these toys for long-distance games or video-chatting sex: "You can go back and forth so that you can be in control or your partner can be in control."
Rabbit Vibrators: Fun Factory Miss Bi G5
Rabbit vibrators are the best of both worlds: A longer, tapered head for penetration, plus a (typically) rabbit-shaped component that can stimulate your clitoris simultaneously. This rabbit-style toy has two vibrator motors inside—one with a higher-pitched vibration for clitoral stimulation, and the other with deeper, more rumbly vibration for G-spot stimulation—explains Odom. The curve and girth of the toy also means it's perfect for G-spot play and for providing a sense of fullness inside you.
Rabbit Vibrators: Lioness
For a slightly more high-tech version, Conger likes the Lioness because it syncs to an app that can map out your sensual experience, from temperature and muscle contractions to orgasms, all in a high-quality rabbit vibrator. "You can explore the intimate details of your erotic blueprint through seeing exactly how you respond physiologically to stimulation," she says.
Rabbit Vibrators: Svakom Vesper Dual Stimulation Warming Rabbit
Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, who specializes in urological, colorectal, and gynecological conditions, likes this self-warming rabbit vibrator that has a flexible shaft and 10 vibration modes, and can heat up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There's even an extra vibration setting called Climax Mode, if you want to dial it up a notch. "The intravaginal shaft warms and helps with muscle relaxation so you can sink into the vibration easier," she explains. Not only is it a novel experience, it'll also be extra pleasurable.
$80 at Lovehoney
Rabbit Vibrators: Greedy Girl Rabbit
O'Neill considers a rabbit vibrator a must-have, and her top pick is this Greedy Girl option that comes with a whopping 36 vibration combinations and a waterproof body.
Rabbit Vibrators: LELO Ina Wave
Here's another rabbit vibrator that actually flexes up and down to provide a stroking sensation inside you, instead of just stationary vibration. "The Ina Wave by Lelo mimics the come-hither motion of a lover's hand on the G-spot combined with clitoral vibration to provide intense orgasms," explains Zagone.
Rabbit Vibrators: Rabbit Triple Curve
Adina Mahalli, MSW, relationship expert and women's health specialist at Maple Holistics, calls this rabbit-anal-bead-combo toy the "trifecta of pleasure." While she cautions that it might be too much for some pleasure seekers and beginners, if you know that you like G-spot stimulation combined with clitoral and anal stimulation, this is the toy for you.
Rabbit Vibrators: Adam & Eve G-Gasm
Mahalli also recommends this toy as "one of the best sex toys on the market today," as it can stimulate both the clit and G-spot at the same time. The smooth design and seven vibration modes also make it easy for anyone to insert and great for beginners.
$68 at Ella Paradis
Rabbit Vibrators: Womanizer Duo
Jessica Cline, a clinical sexologist and licensed therapist, also suggests this toy for both G-spot pleasure and suction stimulation for the clit. It might look a bit weird at first, but it's basically a rabbit vibrator, only instead of bunny ears to vibrate against your clitoris, there's a Womanizer attached to it. Genius.
G-Spot Vibrators: The Rave by We-Vibe
Another awesome toy for G-spotting that Odom recommends is the We-Vibe Rave. The pronounced angle and curvature means you can maintain complete control of the toy, and the asymmetric shape can be twisted internally to increase your chances of squirting, she says.
G-Spot Vibrators: Fun Factory Stronic G Pulsator
If standard vibrators are meh for you, Conger also recommends trying one like this that pulsates instead of simply vibrating. "The clitoris can be overstimulated by the sensation of direct vibration, and many women respond more pleasurably to a sex toy that thrusts back and forth on its own," Conger explains.
Compact External Vibrators: Dame Products Pom
And if you want something slightly more discreet than a wand vibrator, you can invest in a small flexible vibrator like this one that still allows you to apply targeted pressure wherever you need it and can easily be tucked away when it's not in use. As Bezalel notes, these are often quieter than a rumbling wand option. She recommends the Dame Products Pom for "if you love to keep it quiet under the sheets and have some flexibility in your toys." This vibrator fits in the palm of your hand, making it perfectly portable and discreet.
$95 at Dame
Compact External Vibrators: Dame Fin
Wiggins also likes the Dame Fin, a fingertip vibe that can work wonders as an external couples toy for extra stimulation (though it's great for solo play too). "Most women need clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm," she explains, "and this is the perfect handheld device that you can add into your sex sessions to give you exactly what you need."
$139 $85 at Ella Paradis
Compact External Vibrators: We-Vibe Touch
Jeffcoat also likes this purple handheld toy with a curved tip for external stimulation. "The gentle curve makes it easy to rest over the mons pubis," she explains, also adding that you can use it to stimulate nipples and rimming around the anus as well.
Anal Vibrators: Picobong Tano 2
Since the anal region is filled with sensitive nerve endings, a vibrating anal toy like this one that can be pleasurable for external stimulation as you work your way toward penetration, and fun to use with a partner too. Since anal play can be intimidating for beginners, O'Neill recommends this Picobong to her clients as a "beginner-friendly" butt plug that's easy to insert and remove, plus it's waterproof. O'Neill suggests starting with a smaller, beginner plug like this one and working your way up.
$60 at Lelo
Anal Vibrators: Lelo Hugo
The Lelo Hugo might be marketed as a men's prostate toy, but Mahalli says anyone can use one. "It provides both internal and clitoral stimulation," she explains, all the while being lightweight, portable, and rechargeable. It also has a remote-control, which is perfect for hands-free pleasure.
Couples Vibrators: We-Vibe Sync Chorus
And, of course, if you're social distancing with a partner and want to get a toy involved, there are lots of vibrators that are specifically designed to be used in pairs. Dr. Zagone likes this remote-controlled toy as either a couples toy or for solo experiences as it provides both clitoral and G-spot stimulation. It's also "small and discreet and has some creative controls that are beyond intuitive," she adds, explaining, "the harder you squeeze the remote, the stronger the vibration gets."
Couples Vibrators: Tiani 24K Vibrator
Rose says this exclusive vibrator is peak opulence and luxury. The toy can be worn during partnered sex or by yourself, comes with a remote, and is preprogrammed with different stimulation modes.
Couples Vibrators: Je Joue Vibrating Cock Ring
Robert Thomas, a licensed sex therapist and founder of Sextopedia, recommends vibrating cock rings as a must-try item for couples looking to get into sex toys, as they're hands-free and easy to use. Not only does it bring you pleasure while vibrating against your clitoris, but it might also make your partner harder for a longer time, Thomas says.
Vibrating Kegel Exercisers: Impulse E-Stim Remote
For clients working on restoring or having better orgasms, Jeffcoat recommends the Impulse Remote Kegel E-Stimulator, which works as a vibrator but also has internal electrical stimulation. This can help people get a better understanding of the location of pelvic floor muscles. Others may just enjoy the light electrical stimulation for itself, from a purely kink perspective.
TopicssexShoppingvibratorssex toys


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The answer to the question "How to Wash Clothes without Detergent?" has never been clearer. Contact your local authorized RainSoft dealer today if you'd like to learn more about CleanStart®, a money-saving and eco-friendly detergent-less laundry solution for the home.


With her recent breathtaking rendition of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" featuring the Southern California's Children's Chorus at the Oscars, a spot in Pharrell's super-artist roster during the show (playing bass with the orchestra), and her monumental Grammy win for Best New Artist last year, it wouldn't be incredulous to say Esperanza Spalding has been quite the busy bee. Now, with her 4 studio album release Radio Music Society coming up on March 20th, she has both skeptics and fans alike all in a tizzy. If you're already familiar with Esperanza's work, it's amazing to hear just how uniform, consistent and fresh she is. Radio Music Society is without a doubt laced with Esperanza's signature light-as-a-feather vocals and jazz/soul-infused sound, accented with an Afrocentric groove and fantastic guest appearances picked from the cream of the crop – Algebra Blessett, Q-Tip and Lalah Hathaway to name a few. And that's only the beginning.
The album begins on the right note with "Radio Song," a fun and melodic track that just doesn't let up. Its Top 40 friendly feel and lyrical content go hand in hand. The blazing brass on "Crowned & Kissed" is a precursor to what you can expect on the track. Proclaiming her love and support to her love, from Queen to King; it's certainly fitting. The powerful single "Black Gold' featuring Algebra Blessett, is an ode to the African American man who is "black gold with the diamond soul." Algebra and Esperanza compliment each other naturally on vocals, leaving absolutely nothing more to be desired. The fabulous "Hold On Me" is reminiscent of greats from the past: a little Lena Horne, with a dash of Ella's grace and control. With composure and a purr, Esperanza takes the horse by the reins and never let's go. The surprise on the album comes in the form of the stellar Michael Jackson cover of 'I Can't Help It." Esperanza managed to take a favourite and make it her own. There's no mistaking the jazz undertones, but to hear Micheal's song with a whole other twist is absolutely outstanding.
It's not difficult to shower Radio Music Society with accolades. From start to finish, it is an impressive album that will get you prepared for Esperanza's upcoming tour. While you're updating your Esperanza Spaulding collection, make sure to take note of March 20th! Don't let the day pass you by.