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The Mind Unleashed
6 Ways Travel Is Good for Your Health
The Notorious 'Gateway to Hell' May Finally Be Sealed, Turkmenistan's President Says
Turns Out Schrödinger, the Father of Quantum Physics, Was a Shameless Pedophile
Queen Strips Prince Andrew of All Royal Titles as Child Sex Abuse Trial Looms
In World First, Man Receives Heart Transplanted From Gene-Hacked Pig
North Korea Claims It Invented Burritos in 2011 as Mexican Food "Booms": Report
Twins Born In Different Years, But Only 15 Minutes Apart, In Rare Birth
Keanu Reeves Donated 70% Of His Matrix Earnings To Fighting Cancer
The Worlds Largest Pot Brownie Has Been Unveiled and Weighs 850 lbs
Keanu Reeves Praised As Video of Him Offering Seat to Lady in Subway Resurfaces
Insanely Terrifying Footage Shows Tornado Ripping Through Kentucky Town
China Was Just Caught Literally Changing The Weather For Communist Party Celebration: Study
Scientists Thrilled by Discovery of Rare, Mammoth 400-Year-Old Coral
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University Says Students Intentionally Getting COVID So They Can Sell Their Plasma
Sarah Landrum
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Everyone loves vacationing, but did you know that travel is actually amazing for your health, too? In case you needed another excuse to book that trip for the summer, this is it.
It turns out that research is now pointing toward traveling as a means for achieving better health and a happier life. The numbers speak volumes for how much a good vacation can benefit the body. Ranging from reducing the risk of having a heart attack to relishing in a better sex life, the advantages are undeniable.
Still skeptical? Read on to be fully convinced on why your next vacay needs to be this summer.
Prevent Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
After turning 65, the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years, which is why it is awesome to have something so enjoyable that can combat the risk. One study found that traveling can actually prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This was particularly true for retired members of the study. It's one of the scariest risks that comes with age, but being able to fight it with travel is a total win.
Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack or Coronary Death
The same study also found that women who vacationed at least twice a year had a lesser chance of having a heart attack or coronary death compared to women who vacationed only every six years or less. The benefits are pretty similar for men: Those in the study who did not vacation every year had a 20 percent higher risk of death and were 30 percent more likely to experience death from heart disease. The more you vacation, the better. So don't skimp on your vacation time, and get away whenever you can.
Enhance Your Mood
So not only are you reducing your risk of dying, but you'll also feel better while doing it. The same study also focused on mood, and it found that travel, not surprisingly, can definitely be an enhancer. According to the study, 86 percent of people who travel claim to have a more positive view on their outlook on life. Only 75 percent of people who don't travel can say the same.
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Some time away from daily stresses can definitely help boost your mood, but being able to immerse yourself in new cultures and spark your curiosity is great for the soul.
Pump Up Your Sex Life
If you're feeling a lull in your sex life and are looking to spice things up, you might want to consider taking a trip with your significant other. According to the research done by The Travel Effect, one-third of leisure travelers have more sex while they are vacationing. Not that sex on vacation comes as a giant shock, but that 33 percent should be pretty convincing.
Don't forget the many health benefits of having sex. These benefits include: strengthening your immune system, boosting your libido, improving bladder control, lowering blood pressure and more – but do you really need another reason?
Relieve Some of That Work Stress
Being in a better mood and having lots of sex on top of sipping that daiquiri on the beach – well, of course you're going to reduce some stress. There's more to it than that, however. According to the Travel Effect, employees who take time off from work are actually less stressed, more productive, have better confidence in their work and are not as prone to checking out at the office. Nothing good comes from never giving yourself a break from your job. You'll be doing yourself and your company a favor by taking some time off and doing some exploring.
Take Advantage of Cooler Exercise Opportunities
As opposed to sitting home avoiding the same old run around the neighborhood, traveling gives you exercise opportunities that will totally peak your interest. Planning a trip that will keep you outdoors is great for you, so you might want to consider one of the awesome camping destinations across the United States. There are no excuses for not working out when you're on a trip. Check out these 10 ways to fit one in while on vacation.
Camping is great for your health. Being outside will boost the body's amount of vitamin D, which means healthy blood and stronger bones. Vitamin D can also prevent depression, high blood pressure, cancer and heart attacks. It will also help you get a better night's sleep. Camping keeps you active through hiking and biking, but it also has many other benefits that are mental, social and emotional.
Have you booked your trip yet? It might be the easiest way to rejuvenate your body. Whether you need some much needed relaxation, some help in the romance department, a mood boost or just want to prevent some horrible health risks, traveling could be the answer. It's a great feeling that you're not only treating yourself by taking a trip, but that you're also treating yourself right.
Typos, corrections and/or news tips? Email us at [email protected]
Related Topics:ExercisehealthStressTravelVacation
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Elias Marat
In a groundbreaking world first, a 57-year-old man in the U.S. has become the first person in the world to receive a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig.
The revolutionary procedure's apparent success offers hope to hundreds of thousands of people who are struggling with failing vital organs amid scarce supplies of human organs.
The patient, David Bennett of Maryland, is in good shape days after the experimental seven-hour operation took place in Baltimore on Friday, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
The surgical procedure is the result of years of fervent efforts by researchers to develop pigs whose organs would be compatible with the human body, and was made possible by recent advances in gene editing and cloning technology. The heart transplant was preceded months ago by a successful kidney transplant in New York which also used an organ harvested from a genetically engineered pig.
"This is a watershed event," said David Klassen, chief medical officer at the United Network for Organ Sharing, reports New York Times. "Doors are starting to open that will lead, I believe, to major changes in how we treat organ failure."
The University of Maryland doctors received a special dispensation from regulators to carry out the procedure due to the fact that Bennett's death was certain in the absence of a transplant.
Surgeon Bartley Griffith, who took part in the transplant, expressed pride in taking part in bringing the world "one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis," reports BBC. Roughly 17 people die every day in the U.S. while awaiting transplants, which are in extremely short supply.
"People die all the time on the waiting list, waiting for organs. If we could use genetically engineered pig organs they'd never have to wait, they could basically get an organ as they needed it," said Christine Lau, Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
"Plus, we wouldn't have to fly all over the country at night-time to recover organs to put them into recipients."
English-language tabloid newspapers are abuzz about the latest alleged bombshell from North Korea – that the country's late ruler and father of the current ruler is being touted as the inventor of the beloved North American dish, the burrito.
According to The Sun, North Korean official news outlet Rodong Sinmun has made the implausible claim that the U.S.-Mexican staple food was invented by Kim Jong Il, who came up with the idea of what he called a "wheat wrap" in 2011, shortly before he suffered heart failure.
The newspaper added that current ruler Kim Jong Un has taken a "meticulous interest" in the food, which is generating "booming" interest among the population.
The dish can also be seen in official footage circulating online, with Pen News airing clips showing a vendor selling the food outside of Kumsong Food Factory in the country's capital, Pyongyang. Children and soldiers can be seen eagerly devouring the wraps, which apparently contained vegetables including cabbage and carrots.
Meat on a rotating spit, similar to the kind used for tacos al pastor or shawarma wraps, can also be seen in some of the footage, reports Yahoo! News.
North Korea claims Kim Jong Il 'invented burritos in 2011' as street food 'booms' pic.twitter.com/4BrLlgY5oM
— The Sun (@TheSun) January 4, 2022
The footage also shows a billboard of former ruler Kim Jong Il smiling while standing in a kitchen alongside workers preparing the tubular delicacy.
North Korea has been submerged in food insecurity and famine-like conditions as a result of decades of sanctions imposed on the country by world powers keen on preventing the country from developing its nuclear energy and weapons programs. The precarious conditions faced by civilians was exacerbated by the pandemic and accompanying health measures.
In October, a U.S. rights investigator blasted the sanctions as inhumane and primarily impacting ordinary citizens in the country.
"People's access to food is a serious concern and the most vulnerable children and elderly are at risk of starvation," said Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is officially called. He added that citizens are placed in the unjust position of having "to choose between fear of hunger" and fear of the pandemic thanks to global apathy over ongoing sanctions.
One can only hope that the burrito news is a sign that conditions may be slightly improving for average citizens in the DPRK.
According to popular lore, the burrito grew popular along the U.S.-Mexican border when street vendors used donkeys, or burros, to carry and sell large flour tortillas filled with meat, beans, and vegetables to workers in the area.
Since then, the food item has exploded in popularity in the United States and across the world as a convenient and delicious food, and is often seen as a symbol of Mexican gastronomy despite the dish's relative obscurity in much of Mexico.
Keanu Reeves has had no trouble endearing himself to filmgoers and non-filmgoers alike, even if this is more for his off-screen endeavors than his film roles.
The "Bill and Ted" actor reportedly donated a massive chunk of his earnings from the original "The Matrix" to cancer research, according to LADBible.
In 1991, his younger sister Kim was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of blood cancer that she battled for a decade prior to entering remission.
During that period, Keanu served as her caretaker and put his career on the backburner, even going so far as selling his home so that he could become closer to her and devote his life to assisting her.
Reeves, now 57, was given an up-front payment of $10 million for the 1999 sci-fi classic "The Matrix" before the film smashed box office expectations and earned him an additional $35 million.
Keanu apparently didn't hesitate to donate 70 percent of his earnings – or the huge sum of $31.5 million – to researching leukemia in hopes of sparing future patients and their families the pain that the Reeves family underwent.
Since then, Reeves has quietly poured his Hollywood earnings into cancer research, even establishing his own private foundation for the purpose.
"I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research," Reeves told Ladies Home Journal in 2009. "I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does."
In 2020, Reeves also auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom date with himself to raise funds for Camp Rainbow Gold, a summer program for children with cancer.
Since his breakout role as an aloof teen headbanger in the 1986 drama "River's Edge" followed by his iconic performance as the airheaded stoner Theodore "Ted" Logan in the "Bill & Ted's" films, Keanu has become beloved by audiences.
However, he has since far outgrown his public persona as a simple airhead who says "Whoa" in the SoCal dude-bro accent and is now seen as the quintessential nice guy of Hollywood, who not only doesn't take himself too seriously but is also distinguished by his big heart and generosity.
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Bringing home a puppy or kitten can lead to a lot of excitement. However, discussing issues that may arise and preparing in advance for a new pet's arrival can help make for a smooth transition. Consider these tips from the pet experts at PetSmart Charities to help make your new pet's adjustment to its forever home a resounding success.
There are literally thousands of animals of all breeds and ages looking for loving homes. Consider adopting a pet that needs a home from a local shelter or adoption event. When you consider an option like adoption, you can make sure one less dog or cat is living in a shelter while also providing the gift of unconditional love to a furry friend in need. As a way to make adoption more accessible, we work with local adoption partners to bring adoptable pets into PetSmart stores each and every day, and especially during our National Adoption Weekends, which take place in stores nationwide.
Integrating a pet into your household, especially for a first-time pet owner, can take some work. It's important to consider factors like how often you travel, whether your work schedule will allow a visit home during the day for a potty-training puppy and if you're willing to provide necessary care, such as daily brushing for a long-haired animal. Also consider whether you truly want a puppy or a kitten; an adult pet offers numerous benefits, such as potentially being house-trained already and more resilient for play with small kids.
In a new family, a pet will often look for where he or she fits in and try to understand the rules of the house. Dogs, especially, crave routine, boundaries and rules. Cats like to know what to expect, too. When pets don't understand, they can feel uncertain and some pets might hide until they feel more comfortable. Sensible rules can help pets feel secure in their new environments. Being consistent with training, helping pets understand what behavior you want and providing a solid routine can help them feel comfortable and confident.
The sweet kisses and cuddles are fun, but a new pet requires some preparation. Stock up on items like age-appropriate food and toys. Look into training classes and find a veterinarian you trust for regular checkups. Also take time to pet-proof your home, removing items that may pose a health threat or create temptations for undesirable behaviors.


Tumor metastases account for the majority of cancer-associated deaths in patients. There are very few effective treatment options. Evidence from recent years strongly suggests that the tumor-stroma interactions are indispensable participants in the metastatic process. Our research program uses TGF-β as a molecular model to study the mechanisms underlying this tumor-stroma interaction. In addition, we identify molecular mediators in the inflammatory tumor microenvironment that are important for metastatic colony formation. Our work will provide molecular insight into the "seed and soil" hypothesis in cancer metastasis and help develop new treatment options.
Identification of metastasis-promoting mediator of TGF-β. TGF-β is a powerful metastasis promoter in the later stages of cancer progression; however, it mediates growth inhibition in early stages. The factors mediating the functional change of TGF-β are largely unknown, which poses significant challenges to our understanding of TGF-β cancer biology and to the successful application of TGF-β-targeted therapy. We use focused genetic models in which TGF-β signaling is inactivated in specific cell types in the tumor microenvironment such as tumor cells, host myeloid cells, or stromal fibroblasts to discover molecular mediators and pathways important in tumor-stroma cross-talk. We use comprehensive gene and protein profiling technology, as well as a number of mouse models for identification and functional validation. We are currently working on the effect and molecular mechanisms of myeloid-specific TGF-β signaling on tumor metastasis.
Premetastatic environment in distant organ. Many tumors demonstrate a metastatic predisposition to specific organs. This is believed to be influenced by inherent molecular differences in the tumor cells themselves and their interaction with host factors, namely the "seed and soil". Our ongoing studies suggest that inflammatory myeloid cells actively contribute to the establishment of metastasis colonies in distant organ. Our laboratory uses a number of in vitro and in vivo model systems to dissect the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this process. We also use advanced ex vivo imaging technologies to analyze the molecular and cellular events in real time during early metastatic colony formation.
Inflammation, tumor progression and metastasis. Alteration or down regulation of TGF-β signaling is frequent in many cancer types. We have previously shown that deletion or down-regulation of TGF-β signaling in tumor cells induces inflammation and immune cell recruitment in the tumor microenvironment (Yang et al., 2008, Cancer Cell 13, 23-35). However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the effect of inflammation on the epithelial compartment remain to be investigated. We are investigating genetic and epigenetic alterations in the epithelial compartment through inflammation-mediated mechanisms. We use integrated genomic-wide genetic and epigenetic technology to discover key mediators.
In summary, our research program investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor-stroma interaction in the metastatic process. Our research approaches include cellular and molecular biology, cancer biology, immunology, biochemistry, as well as integrated genomic-wide genetic, epigenetic, and proteomic technology. We collaborate with several basic research laboratories as well as clinicians and epidemiologists for translational studies.
Yan HH, Jiang J, Pang Y, Achyut BR, Lizardo M, Liang X, Hunter K, Khanna C, Hollander C, Yang L. CCL9 Induced by TGFβ Signaling in Myeloid Cells Enhances Tumor Cell Survival in the Premetastatic Organ. Cancer Res. 2015;75(24):5283-98.
Pang Y, Gara SK, Achyut BR, Li Z, Yan HH, Day CP, Weiss JM, Trinchieri G, Morris JC, Yang L. TGF-β signaling in myeloid cells is required for tumor metastasis. Cancer Discov. 2013;3(8):936-51.
Achyut BR, Bader DA, Robles AI, Wangsa D, Harris CC, Ried T, Yang L. Inflammation-mediated genetic and epigenetic alterations drive cancer development in the neighboring epithelium upon stromal abrogation of TGF-β signaling. PLoS Genet. 2013;9(2):e1003251.
Yang L, Pang Y, Moses HL. TGF-beta and immune cells: an important regulatory axis in the tumor microenvironment and progression. Trends Immunol. 2010;31(6):220-7.
Yang L, Karin M. Roles of tumor suppressors in regulating tumor-associated inflammation. Cell Death Differ. 2014;21(11):1677-86.


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Review: Tempest 4000
Posted 3 years ago by Joel Peterson
Feed your head to the web
It is a rare thing that I would ever purchase a console for one game, and it's usually for some pretty strange titles. Back when Katamari Damacy came out on the PlayStation 2, I bought the game before I even owned the system fearing it would be a rare and obscure gem. A month later I bought a PS2 and never looked back, and although I did own a ton of other games after, I never got rid of Katamari until the day it got lost in a move. (I still miss it.)
The second time was when I bought a PlayStation Vita just to play TxK. My love for the Tempest series didn't begin until I was running a small eBay business selling old games and got my hands on an Atari Jaguar. Immediately I realised the brilliance of Tempest 2000, from the frenetic arcade gameplay, to the soundtrack and the ultra trippy and bizarre graphics. I sold the thing off eventually, and all the rest of the games on the system were crap, but Tempest 2000 was magical. So when I got TxK, I played it for months on end and still do, feeling it was an even better experience overall than 2000, although the Vita was not the ideal way to experience and I was pining for a proper console/PC port.
Drama between Atari and the two-man development team Llamasoft (responsible for Tempest 2000, 3000, and TxK) meant this would never happen – at least not with the original name. A legal misunderstanding ensured that Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin (Giles) of Llamasoft would be prevented from porting their lovechild TxK to any other platform, as it was "too much like the IP Tempest," a game that Minter himself had essentially revitalised and created from the ground up. Without getting into the legal nonsense and pointing fingers, this story had a happy ending when Atari and Llamasoft were able to work out their issues, and agree to finally port TxK to other consoles under the name Tempest 4000.
Tempest 4000 (PS4 [reviewed], PC, Xbox One)
Developer: Llamasoft
Publisher: Atari
So no, Tempest 4000 is not exactly a "new" game. There are certainly new things about it, but it is absolutely a remastered and slightly improved port of TxK. Whether this will be a problem or not depends largely on how you feel about the Tempest series at large, including a couple of issues that may hold the game back for some.
The premise of Tempest is simple enough to understand. On a vector graphics landscape, you control "the claw," a little yellow polygonal shape tied to a "tube" of grid lines with enemies emerging from the opposite side. You shoot them. The screen erupts in an orgy of colours and screen-warping effects that make you feel like you just took a hit of LSD. You collect power-ups throughout the stage such as the ability to jump off the grid to attack enemies which have reached the top, and an A.I. droid my wife named "fuzzy" who helps you wipe out enemies and can save you if you are captured by an enemy touching you. That's it, for a hundred levels. And it's fucking glorious.
There is a lot going on visually in Tempest 4000, which is par for the course when it comes to Llamasoft titles. Jeff Minter is the father of the visualiser, going back to his days programming on old computers like the VIC 20 and the Commodore 64. If you have used a visualiser while listening to music, there is a chance Minter either had a part in its creation directly, or that it was heavily inspired by one of his creations. Tempest 4000, among many of his other games, blends this aesthetic with the gameplay to trippy effect. It's an absolute incomprehensible shitshow when you aren't used to it, but as you familiarise yourself with the enemy types introduced throughout stages and become more comfortable, you enter a zone where you become one with the game, and you can cut through confusion. But first-timers will likely be put off pretty early until they have had enough time to acclimate.
If you can get used to the screaming, overbearing visual style, T4K is a fist-pumping rave with a heartbeat of thumping techno at its core replete with breathtaking moments of tension and skin-of-your-teeth close calls marbling its meaty action centre. Bonus stages are triggered occasionally with the collection of triangle-shaped icons, and mercifully break up rounds by giving players a brief trance-like breather before dropping them back into the action.
While not a rhythm game by any stretch, shades of Rez and Thumper are present aurally and visually while T4K still strongly identifies with and sticks to its arcade roots. And the two primary soundtracks available – one from Tempest 2000 (along with a CD audio variant of it) and the other from TxK – are triumphant to behold and suit the game perfectly. (You select between these with the triangle button on the level select menu which the game does not seem to indicate anywhere, FYI.)
If there are any problems, they stem from what was retained from TxK. There isn't a great deal of extra content here; there are two primary game modes, Pure and Classic, where you will spend your time. All that means is that in Pure mode, you start from level one and play as long as you can and it has its own leaderboard. Classic just gives you the ability to choose from any stage you have played, starting with the number of lives you began that level with before you had a game over. You will be thankful Classic exists if you want to see all the levels; shit gets real after level 60 or so.
The volume is a little unbalanced between the sound effects and music depending on the soundtrack chosen, so if you are like me and flip between them frequently, you will be adjusting this in the options menu often, which is scant and basic at best. PC users have also complained of control issues and problems with 144hz monitors doubling the game's speed. While I experienced no issues on the PlayStation 4, this is something you will want to be aware of should you choose to play it on PC. Also, the price of Tempest 4000 is significantly more than TxK was which is going to sour a few people, but it is nice to have a physical copy available at launch, so there's that.
It's hard to be "objective" about one of my favourite games of all time, which Tempest 4000 effectively is. It is the best version of TxK available, and although it only has minor tweaks to the actual mechanics, the addition of one of the best game soundtracks ever made from Tempest 2000 enhances what I already felt was the definitive Tempest experience.
If you are not a fan of simple arcade games, which it most undoubtedly is, you probably won't find much in Tempest 4000 to win you over. But for those who have any love for the series, and appreciation for the era of the arcade, you absolutely can't go wrong with this one. I prolonged this review longer than necessary because I just wasn't done playing it – and I'm still not. It's a winner.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.
How we score: The Destructoid Reviews Guide
Joel Peterson
Filed under... #Arcade#retro
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Would Anyone Be Interested In AN Off Topic Subforum?
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A szegedi városháza Szeged megyei jogú város főterén, a Széchenyi tér 10. szám alatt található copf stílusú műemlék épület.

Története

Első formájában 1728-ban készült el. 1799 és 1805 között újjáépítették Vedres István tervei alapján. 1849 júliusában a két alkalommal itt ülésező országgyűlés emelte törvényerőre a zsidók egyenjogúságát és a nemzetiségi törvényt, majd augusztus 5-én Haynau az épület régi tornyából figyelte a szőregi csata eseményeit, mígnem egy magyar ágyúlövedék csaknem eltalálta. Ez a torony falába fúródott ágyúgolyó sokáig a szabadságharc egyik szegedi emléke volt. Az 1879-es szegedi nagy árvíz után a belvárost fel kellett tölteni, így 1883-ban új emeletet húztak rá, s az épületet eklektikus-neobarokk stílusban Lechner Ödön és Pártos Gyula tervei szerint átalakították.

Leírása

A rizalitos épület lépcsőházába három színes üvegablakon keresztül szűrődik be fény. A középsőn Szeged címere látható, alatta a "Szeged szebb lesz, mint volt" királyi mottóval; Kratzmann Ede munkája.

A városi közgyűlés termének falairól Erzsébet királyné, I. Ferenc József magyar király, Tisza Kálmán és Tisza Lajos (miniszter) arcmása tekint le ránk. A mennyezeti freskó közepén angyalokat emelik Szeged város címerét az egekbe. A kép sarkain olyan jelképek jelennek meg, amelyeket az akkori városi vezetők fontosnak tartottak.

Az épület körerkélyes tornyát a pályáját itt kezdő Babits Mihály "a csipkéit kacéran hordó, kecses táncosnőhöz" hasonlította. Minden órában harangjáték játszik népszerű dallamokat, többek közt a Valahol a Volga menténét.

A Városháza napjainkban

A Városházában átadása óta a városi önkormányzat testületei és hivatalai működnek. Az önkormányzati üléseket a díszteremben tartják, amely házasságkötő teremként is funkcionál.

Források
 városom.hu-n

További információk

Szeged 19. századi építményei
Magyarország szecessziós építményei
Szeged
Csongrád-Csanád megye műemlékei

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Since joining St. Edward's as chair of the chemistry department four years ago, physical chemist Tricia Shepherd has been focused on reinventing the department and its research program.
Dr. Shepherd adds that this new approach gives more lab time to the most interested and promising students and has already resulted in more students continuing on to graduate programs.
"The Welch grant – and the research it makes possible – has been key in helping in recruiting new faculty interested in research," she says. With three out of five faculty members new in the past five years, the department has increased its diversity and expanded research projects and funding.
Most Welch grant money goes to support the school's summer research institute, but a change in the Welch budget cycle freed up funds to purchase a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscope, which has significantly expanded the school's research capability.
Summer research projects range from the development of a prion-like model that explains aspects of potential causes of the debilitating disease ALS; work to detail the functions of a fungus with biocontrol properties; synthesis of a family of model enzyme complexes and electronic structure calculations characterizing their properties, and the development of a portable imaging system.
St. Edward's offers undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biochemistry as well as environmental and forensic chemistry. During the 2016-17 academic year, three papers were published based on Welch-supported research and 12 students received summer research stipends. All presented their work locally, seven at a national conference, and five at the American Chemical Society's spring meeting. Eighteen students went on to either graduate programs or industry positions.


is at the very centre of what is important in your lives.
As part of our portrait design appointment, we will discuss the many options we have for displaying your portraits.
Having an idea of how your images are to be displayed is important when choosing your images after the shoot. An image that is going to become a large wall mounted acrylic will be different to something that is going to be a small acrylic block sitting on your bedside table.
Sometimes all it takes is one image to tell the whole story. As a hero piece in your lounge or family room, this is a piece of art that no one will be able to ignore. We have had families rearrange their whole lounge room so that the centre of attention in the room is their portrait. Imagine how good that must feel to a child, to see that they are indeed the centre of the family's life and home.
Hero Wall Art pieces start at $495.
Perfect for those areas with limited display space - office desktops, bedside tables, book shelves and mantles.
Our Icetiles allow you to make picture stories just like you can with wall collections, that don't need to go up on your walls.
Over the years our family has used icetiles to keep adding to our family story, and we now have a collection of 15 icetiles in our family room.
If there are a heap of images that you love, and you want to have them all, our portfolio boxes or albums are the thing for you.
Over the years we have done some amazing albums for families, and we have a number of clients who visit us every year to get another album or box of matted prints to add to their collection. We will show you the options during the portrait design meeting, and make sure that you have all the information with which to make your decisions.


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Episode #1: Child Welfare in The 21st Century: Supporting Families Who Provide Permanence
In this episode of the QIC-AG podcast, Dr. Mark Testa, QIC-AG Professional Consortium Chair and Spears-Turner Distinguished Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and host April Dinwoodie have a conversation about Child Welfare in the 21st Century.
http://qic-ag.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/QIC-AG-_MarkTesta_Final.mp3
To see more about QIC-AG's key messages click here and for more on Child Welfare in the 21st Century click here.
Episode #2: Empowering Families to Seek Support
In this episode of the QIC-AG podcast, Melinda Lis the QIC-AG Senior Project Director and Vice President of the Academy for Family Support and Preservation Spaulding for Children and host April Dinwoodie examine the reasons families may not seek support and how the QIC-AG, guided by the permanency continuum framework, is moving the needle on how services are being provided to families pre and post adoption.
http://qic-ag.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/QIC-AG-Episode-2-Melinda-Lis_Final3.mp3
To see more of the QIC-AG's key messages click here and for more on the QIC-AG's Permanency Continuum Framework click here.
Episode #3: Responding Expediently to Families' Unique Service Needs
In this episode we welcome Leslie Cohen, QIC-AG Project Director to have a conversation about the importance of responding to families' unique service needs and the collective commitment necessary in setting a strong foundation to support families throughout their lifelong journey of adoption and guardianship.
https://qic-ag.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/qic_ag_podcast_episode3.mp3
Episode #4: Allocate Resources to Engage Families in Services and Supports
In this episode we welcome Project Director, Leslie Cohen back to the podcast as well as Christina Shuma, Site Implementation Manager in Vermont to have a conversation about the importance of allocating resources to engage families in services and supports.
Episode #5: Not Every Family Will Have a Service Need
In this episode we welcome QIC-AG Site Consultant, Dondieneita Fleary-Simmons to have a discussion about the importance of understanding that not all families will have a service need and managing expectations related to offering services to families.
https://www.qic-ag.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/qic_ag_podcast_episode5.mp3
Episode #6: Ensuring Supports for Intercounty and Private Domestic Adoption
In this episode we welcome Ryan Hanlon, Vice President of Education, Research, & Constituent Services National Council For Adoption to have a discussion about the importance of ensuring the availability of and the access to services and supports for families that adopt via intercountry or private domestic process.


The Dominican freighter we saved from sinking. When we arrived at about 2330, her decks were awash. LT Bob Daughenbaugh was OIC of the rescue party along with a couple of Damage Control and Deck ratings. We were afraid to put too many people on it because it was so very low in the water. All that was keeping it afloat was the air trapped in the reefer spaces. We found out it was loaded with frozen lobster. No, they did not offer us any. I thought the shot through the towing eye was pretty dramatic. When we dropped them off in the harbor of a Haitian village, we left one of the U.S. Navy's submersible pumps on board.
This is just an attractive early morning shot of an unknown DD standing out of Naples harbor with Vesuvius in the background. It was totally unplanned. You can see I didn't even take time to get it framed properly as part of the Johnston is on the right side. That is the USS Massey on the left.
ASW operations! What we were all about. S2-F's in the air, sonobouys in the water, tin cans on patrol. This shot was taken a few minutes before we fired the practice ASROC in #5.
At the time the slides, these prints were made from, they were the only existing photos of an ASROC leaving the launcher. So far as I know, they still are. The slides were borrowed from me by CINCLANTFLT to be used in a presentation to Congress. After they had been gone for a few months, I thought I had seen the last of them. However, after the best part of a year had passed, they were returned to me along with a letter of commendation from Admiral King, then CNO.
This was not in any way a planned shot. I happened to climb up to the bridge wing with cocked and loaded Rollieflex in hand and saw Captain Fay in an obviously pensive mood. I Quietly put the camera on the just recently installed high gloss teak (I think) coaming and used the squeeze bulb air trigger. I don't think he even knew I was there until the shutter snapped. I also did not realize I had captured the reflection until I saw the proofs. The location was always our favorite stop in the Med.: Asinara Bay, Sardinia.
The significant part of this shot from the flying bridge of the Long Beach is that I am the conning officer out on the bridge wing. It was the first time I had ever taken the ship alongside another. Captain Pringle gave me a couple of tricks that made the approach much less difficult than I expected. The trick? Keep the stern light of the other ship 3 degrees off course at 600 yards; 6 degrees at 300 yards. Drop speed to match when our bow passes the stern. Walk in the park!
To see a much closer view click here.


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There are no opening credits. The title isn't shown until the end of the film.
There is a credit for "Caffeination".
One of the credit listings is for "Production Babies." This is a Disney tradition of listing the names of children born to the movie's crew during production.


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Bay City kan verwijzen naar de volgende plaatsen in de Verenigde Staten:
Bay City (Michigan)
Bay City (Oregon)
Bay City (Texas)
Bay City (Wisconsin)


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Keti Medarova-Bergstrom and Pawel Swidlicki put their heads together to identify why and where EU budgetary spending has got it wrong in the past and propose how roughly €1 trillion can better serve Europe's environment, economy and people in the next funding period.
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom is Senior Policy Analyst at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP). Pawel Swidlicki is Research Analyst at Open Europe, a British conservative think-tank.
The following dialogue was first published in the newsletter of the CEE Bankwatch, an environmental NGO.
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom: Europe's future challenges are very different from when the EU budget was first created. They include globalisation, climate change and an aging society as well as the ongoing economic and debt crises. Most of this agenda is not sufficiently reflected in the EU budget. The preoccupation with the scale of the EU's resources continues to overshadow more important discussions on substance, resulting in only incremental changes.
The central question for the EU budget is spending it in the right way on the real priorities. The budget simply hasn't kept pace with the changing needs of Europe and now the goal is re-alignment. There is a lot to play for.
Of course size matters too but a compromise on this is a political certainty, and the protracted and self-interested rows can distract from the substance. This discussion needs to be led by a focus on areas of outstanding EU 'added value', where the EU can complement national expenditure. Areas of longer-term strategic relevance, such as research, innovation and infrastructure are key. Without a well-managed, better targeted and quality-focused EU budget many of the EU's objectives will not be achieved.
Now there is a historic opportunity to set the EU on a path to a low carbon and resource efficient economy – building recovery on a longer term vision. This requires investment in appropriate infrastructure, including cross border measures, on energy supply and conservation, on training and human capital, innovation and research.
There are enormous investment requirements in improved electrical transmission and renewable energy on their own, some identified in the chronically under-funded SET plan. There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that investing in climate and resource intelligent measures can deliver multiple benefits for different policy areas, including security of energy supply.
Climate change is real and the impacts are already unfolding. Any expenditure that is not climate-proofed runs the risk of wasting scarce public money. The EU is in a good position to assist member states with stepping up action to promote 'win-win' solutions and ensure better targeting of spending that delivers genuine EU added value. This requires the underlying logic for intervention to be revisited thoroughly, and more stringent criteria adopted for priority-setting in each of the different funding mechanisms.
Currently, though, such a debate is not happening and the risk of perpetuating business as usual is increasing.
A second and necessary step would be to embed certain safeguards and procedural requirements in the future EU budget. More weight needs to be put on ex-ante conditionality, effective monitoring and securing the desired outcomes; with less weight on an ex-post control system. Such a move would promote better performance and quality of spending.
The EU is facing complex, interlinked problems that require knowledge-intensive governance. Blindly cutting back 'administrative burden' can lead to higher overall inefficiencies in decision-making. In many cases the EU is in a comparatively better position to handle certain policies, including the single market, aviation, strategic rail, food safety etc than the sum of national authorities acting individually. Appropriate EU action can be cost-saving for member states, rather than cost-increasing. Therefore, possible administrative 'costs' should be seen as 'investment' in improving the implementation and result-orientation of future spending.
A focus on results means accepting some well-considered administration, not necessarily freeing the member states to spend as they wish.
Pawel Swidlicki: I agree with you that the EU budget fails to reflect the ways in which the world has changed since the EU was first established, with the bloated and inefficient Common Agricultural Policy probably the best example of this. It is vital that the debate on its substance – well represented in academic, business and journalistic circles – is finally properly reflected at the EU policy-making level.
Unfortunately, due to the number of vested interests dependent on EU spending and the EU institutions' (and some member states') bias towards the status quo – partially driven by fear that reform would undermine their competencies – means that this is a real struggle.
However, I think that the size of the budget is just as important as its substance, not least at a time when national budgets are under unprecedented strain. In the Eurozone in particular, tough austerity packages are being imposed at the behest of the Commission, which then perversely demands an increase in its own budget. This is unsustainable not only financially, but also politically, especially given that there is ample scope for savings at the EU level.
You mention re-aligning the EU budget with Europe's priorities and ensuring that spending delivers 'EU added value', both of which I wholeheartedly agree with, but this must also include a critical examination of what these terms mean. For example, while there is a benefit to pooling EU expertise and spending on innovation, research and development – an area of the budget that should be increased – there is no benefit to having the EU involved in regional development in all EU member states. It makes sense for the EU to assist infrastructure in the new member states, but there is no reason for regions in countries like the UK, Sweden and Luxembourg to send their tax revenues to Brussels only to receive it back with strings attached.
You mention the large scale energy and infrastructure projects that Europe will need in the future and undoubtedly there is a role for the EU to play in terms of funding and coordinating niche research projects, and also in terms of facilitating the exchange of best practices. However, I'd be very wary of locking policy objectives and funding at the EU level for two reasons.
First, the EU's track record in delivering such large-scale projects is very poor, with its global navigation satellite system (Galileo) and Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor projects experiencing significant delays and/or cost overruns. Second, locking energy policy at the EU level leaves little scope for member states to adjust their own national responses to climate change and energy provision – a crucial policy area – if they feel this is necessary.
EU expenditure needs to be scrutinised to determine whether it delivers added value. The priority is of course the 'big ticket' items such as the agricultural subsidies and the structural funds, both of which need to be radically slimmed down and refocused. But many of the smaller items – the European Parliament's 'communications' budget to take but one example – also need to be looked at to show that the EU budget cannot remain untouched by the world evolving around it.
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom: I agree that the size of the EU budget is indeed a very important issue, especially in the current context of austerity and debt crises; at a political level, unfortunately, this discussion usually comes at the cost of a healthy discussion on priorities and substance.
Both of us argue that 'EU added value' is a critical criterion that should guide future spending. However, the problem is that there is no common agreement or definition of what this actually means in practice. In fact, one of the problems is that the various Commission proposals on the post-2013 EU funding instruments interpret EU added value in different ways. Often this concept is used to justify current patterns of spending rather than introducing a yardstick for a serious approach to re-focusing and priority-setting. This points to the need for more operational criteria for what is meant by EU added value. Such an exercise would be valuable, even at this stage.
Let's take the issue of climate change and energy. You argue that action on climate change and energy should not be locked in to the EU level. There is indeed a rationale for national intervention in a wide variety of fields and circumstances, for example bottom up climate adaptation responses are likely to be more effective if they are tailored to specific local conditions, needs and institutions.
However, we have now committed to joint EU action in several important areas, including a combined effort to meet mitigation targets. This makes sense within a single market where competitiveness considerations inhibit governments from acting alone. EU level action will deliver higher added value and potential savings in many spheres, for example promoting low-carbon infrastructures, particularly across borders and/or kick starting riskier innovations which are likely to be underfunded by national governments alone or by the private sector.
Further to this, of course there is a lot of EU spending which is not only inefficient but also inherently in contradiction with EU policy objectives. For example, supporting carbon intensive developments (eg, fossil fuels extraction or road based transportation) can be in conflict with long term climate and decarbonisation objectives.
EU added value, therefore, should be understood not only in relation to better alignment of spending to EU objectives but also by ensuring greater policy coherence.
You mention implementation delays and mismanaged projects. Unfortunately, these are not limited only to EU projects and I have never suggested additional large-scale Euro projects, simply a more forward looking approach to national investment receiving EU support. While I would not argue for inflating administrative budgets, I stress that investing in soft measures such as new skills, training, improving the knowledge base and governance tools are vital as they can improve implementation and reap efficiency benefits in the long-term.
Pawel Swidlicki: It is often said that EU politics exists in its own unique bubble removed from the real world, and unfortunately the negotiations over the EU budget – both the 2013 annual budget and the 2014-2020 financial framework – are in danger of lending credence to this claim.
Given the spiralling debt crisis and the resulting austerity and reform packages implemented in member states, there could not be a better or more appropriate time for the EU institutions and member states to take radical and innovative action on the budget – both in terms of size and substance – and I'm pleased that this is something we both agree on.
Alongside the high-level political discussion which needs to occur, EU and national civil servants need to simultaneously look critically at current spending priorities in order to determine where they have helped to stimulate jobs and growth, where they have had no overall effect and where they have been actively harmful. This exercise would hopefully go some way to identifying the currently nebulous concept of 'EU added value'. For example, as I said in my first response, there is added value in funding infrastructure schemes – including in the low carbon sector – in the new member states which could not otherwise be delivered, but less so in wealthier member states.
Indeed, our research has found that in the most crisis affected countries , and Spain in particular, EU funding contributed to the overheating of the construction sector by flooding it with extra money, with the country still struggling to clean up the mess from the resulting financial bubble. Across Europe many projects have been funded via the EU budget which are now under-utilised or abandoned altogether, including a new airport in Spain. Such projects were funded more due to the fact that there was money available, and less due to the existence of a genuine economic need.
The crisis affected countries in particular need more flexible and more targeted EU funding instruments than what the structural funds can offer, especially in terms of restricting their labour markets. Yet this has barely been reflected in the Commission's proposals.
Instead, the prevailing school of thought seems to be that the mere act of spending money will somehow deliver jobs and growth, ignoring the very different records that EU funding has had across member states and even across regions within member states.
I agree that in some areas there is also a coherence gap between EU policy and EU spending, such as between supporting carbon intensive developments while also funding – and legislating for – low carbon alternatives. Another good example is the EU funding anti-smoking health campaigns while at the same time providing subsidies to tobacco farmers. Many of these instances are the result of effective lobbying and special pleading by vested interests, and it is an area where the European Parliament really needs to step up its game.
On a final note, while I also agree with you on the need to invest in skills, training and innovation, a parallel review must take place into EU regulations – not least in the area of social and employment law – to ensure that EU funding and EU policies work in tandem and do not serve to undermine one another as is sometimes the case.
Keti Medarova-Bergstrom: Indeed, there is evidence showing several cases where there has been a big pot of money available for the wrong things. But let's not forget that more than 80 per cent of the EU budget is managed at national and regional levels. Decisions on spending priorities under two of the main segments of the budget, Cohesion Policy and Rural Development, are not made in Brussels but mainly in national capitals.
Theoretically, a more place-based agenda should be pursued where development opportunities, built on robust assessments, capitalise on local assets and develop indigenous potentials. Often, however, decision-makers, especially at lower levels of governance, tend to opt for solutions and traditional infrastructure projects, based on inflated traffic forecasts and poor cost-benefit analyses. Your example from Spain is an excellent illustration of this. Once again, this points to the need for greater EU level coordination of spending with a reinforced use of ex-ante conditionalities geared towards improved results. Blindly cutting back on EU administrative capacities therefore would not be helpful.
'Additionality' of EU spending is also key. In other words, funds should only be used to address existing market failures, deliver public goods and complement existing national/private funding, rather than crowding it out.
One option to address this is to strengthen the ex-ante assessment of investment needs in order to maximise the benefits of EU spending. Another helpful development would be to move towards the greater application of financial instruments (eg, loans, guarantees and equity) compared to traditional grant-based support. Arguably, due to their revolving nature, financial instruments could incentivise better quality projects, mobilise additional public/private capital and reinvest the profits/revenues in new projects. If properly designed and with associated risks being well managed, financial instruments could offer better value for money in certain instances.
It is interesting that we both agree on a number of fundamental issues even though we come from different perspectives. We both point to the urgent need for genuine reform of the EU budget. Similar aspirations accompanied the 2007 EU Budget Review process that was originally initiated as a 'no taboo' process aimed at revisiting every element of EU spending. The mood and good intentions however have changed over time. As demonstrated at the last General Affairs Council that took place on 24 September in Brussels, member states are as divided as ever on their positions regarding the future MFF. Regrettably, this could produce close to a zero-sum game for the European economy, citizens and the environment.
In conclusion, even though it is small in size compared to national budgets, the EU budget remains a critical tool that should be used to facilitate competitive and greener development pathways in Europe. Now is the time to be bold, the time for EU leaders to make firm commitments on EU spending priorities with at least 20 per cent of the overall MFF concentrated on low carbon and climate resilient developments. In the current economic context, the stakes are simply too high to revert to a business-as-usual approach yet again.
Pawel Swidlicki: You are correct to point out that many of the actual spending decisions are made at the national and local level, but in fact the truth is slightly more complex because the money comes from Brussels with various strings attached.
While some of these are necessary, for example to counteract fraud, many restrict what national authorities and member states can spend their own taxpayers' money on. For example, we found that in the UK's Cornwall region EU funds could not be used to assist the niche food sector even though this was an industry with huge growth potential in an economically disadvantaged area. I would argue this requires less EU co-ordination and more scope for wealthy member states – while still contributing to the common pot – to be able to finance and execute their own regional development policies.
Another problem at present is the lack of clarity where responsibility lies for spending decisions, with accountability all too often disappearing into a black hole somewhere between Brussels and national capitals. The most extreme manifestation of this are some of the absurd projects financed with EU cash, such as the ski slope built on Bornholm, a flat and temperate Danish island. When the media highlighted the case, both EU and Danish officials blamed each other for the lack of appropriate scrutiny. While similar examples of waste and poor decision-making can of course be found in national spending, at least it is easier to exercise more control and scrutiny over the latter.
We both agree that 'additionally' is an important criterion, especially in the context of delivering public goods. This is why we have proposed a radical transformation of the CAP from a vehicle for delivering billions of euros in subsidies to farmers, landowners and organisations – many of them already very wealthy – to an EU-wide system where funding is premised on the ability to deliver environmental benefits such as biodiversity. This could be delivered at the same time as cutting the cost of a policy area that is wildly out of sync with the social and economic realities of 21st century Europe.
I would also agree with a greater role for ex-ante and ex-post conditionality, albeit it with the caveat that this would be most effective in combination with more simplified objectives. At the moment EU funds suffer from a range of objectives, some of which, as you also pointed out earlier, can be in direct conflict with one another. In this context your proposal for diversifying funding instruments away from only using grants is interesting and deserves to be explored in greater depth.
A quick point regarding EU spending on 'administration' – of course this should not be cut back blindly. Yet while also enabling the essential functioning of EU institutions, far too much spending under this heading is directed towards dubious vanity projects. While the overall sums may be small in the context of the overall budgets, we are still talking about millions of euros at a time when member states are cutting back essential services, something which is politically unsustainable.
In conclusion, I think it is possible to have an EU budget that is smaller, and yet delivers far better value for European citizens, businesses and the environment. It is encouraging that despite coming from different perspectives and not agreeing on all the details, we agree that the status quo of the EU budget is unacceptable and that it is time for radical action.


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John Cena To Star In 'Transformers' Bumblebee Spin-Off
The Transformers franchise may have provided five feature-length films but they're not done yet. With many planned sequels still on the way, there is also a spin-off film focusing on the character of Bumblebee which is slated for a December 2018 release date. The film will star Hailee Steinfeld and a number of young fresh-faced castmembers. Here is the plot:
The story is set in the year 1987, where Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. Charlie (Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow VW bug.
John Cena will not only be in the film but he has apparently been cast in one of the lead roles. Pre-production started on the film today.
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Current issues/
Article/
Government appointed a delegation to the International Labour Conference
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment 28.3.2019 13.40 | Published in English on 3.4.2019 at 12.48
On 28 March 2019, the Government appointed a delegation that will attend the International Labour Organization's International Labour Conference held in Geneva on 10–21 June 2019. In the delegation, the Government delegates are Liisa Heinonen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and Minister Sari Lehtiranta from the Permanent Mission of Finland, Geneva.
Deputy delegates are Hanna-Mari Pekuri, Senior Counsellor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and Antti Närhinen, Counsellor from the Permanent Mission of Finland, Geneva. Employer delegate is Mika Kärkkäinen, Senior Adviser, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, and worker delegate is Paula Ilveskivi, Senior Legal Adviser, Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions. Deputy employer delegate is Riitta Wärn, Chief Policy Adviser, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, and deputy worker delegate is Miia Kannisto, Chief Legal Adviser, Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff (Akava).
Items on the agenda of this year's conference include a second discussion of the treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work and of the supplementary recommendation, preparation of the ILO Centenary outcome document, and thematic debates and events connected to the future of work, the Director-General's Centenary Initiatives included. Standing items discussed annually include reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director-General, programme and budget proposals for 2020–21 and other questions, as well as information and reports on the application of Conventions and Recommendations.
The International Labour Conference is the highest decision-making body of the ILO. It convenes once a year. The tripartite structure of the International Labour Organization ILO means that workers, employers and governments all participate equally in the organisation's work. This year marks the 100th anniversary ILO.
Inquiries:
Elli Nieminen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 29 504 8247
Valtuuskunnan asettaminen Kansainvälisen työjärjestön (ILO) 108. työkonferenssiin 10.-21.6.2019 Genevessä
ILO decisions work working life