Nutritional Supplements For Stem Cell Function Health Benefits

Stem cells are cells that can be used by the body to replace or rejuvenate other cells in the body. The body releases stem cells on a daily basis. As they are constantly degrading, they cease to carry out their usual roles and the body sends other adult stem cells to replace the worn out cells.

The adult stem cells can also reduce in number due to several factors such as diseases. An individual's whose body encounters a faster rate of cell death than cell renewal may suffer from diseases and discomfort.

Aging also results when the body renews more slowly than it repairs. The adult stem cells released by the body decline with age.

However, several measures can be taken to increase the number of adult stem cells in circulation; these include dietary changes, nutritional supplementation, as well as exercising.

Studies have revealed that stem cell nutrition can increase the number of adult stem cells in the body without any harmful effects. High levels of stem cells in the body provide more repair and rejuvenation of damaged tissues.

Stem cell nutrition has also been shown to increase response to cells and tissue damage. It also enhances the transportation of adult stem cells to damaged tissues that require repair. Other benefits of stem cell nutrition include improvement of mood and healthy sleep.

Recent scientific research has also revealed that stem cell nutrition is the best anti aging remedy. According to the studies, the loss of adult stem cells in the body is the primary cause of aging. Scientists have concluded that boosting the number of stem cells in the body helps to protect the body from aging.

According to three studies that were published in 2016, several nutraceuticals can be used to boost the performance of the adult stem cells in the body. The study demonstrated the effects of extracts from berries and green tea in individuals with low levels of adult stem cells. The extracts can alter gene expression which leads to powerful regulatory effects on stem cells and their surroundings.

How Nutrition Protects Aging Stem Cells

Degradation of adult stem cells is one of the common effects of aging. The deterioration of the adult stem cells among the elderly population has prompted research work on how to enhance the functions of stem cells among seniors.

Studies have shown that when the circulation of a younger animal is connected with that of an older animal, the performance of the muscle and stem cells of the younger animal declines. The younger animal also undergoes aging at a faster rate.

The increased aging rate is a result of an interaction between the blood components of the two animals. The older animal's blood components impair the performance of the younger animal's stem cells.

Researchers from the James A. Haly Veterans Affair Hospital located in Tampa, FL carried out a study with the aim of reversing the effects that develop in the younger animal. Older rats were administered with a particular nutrient formulation. The rat's nutrient-rich blood was then transfused to other rats, both young and old with the effects recorded.

Both the young and aged rats were put on either a standard diet or a diet that was a mixture of vitamin D, carnosine, blueberry, and green tea. All these nutrients have a known protective effect on the stem cells that could last for 28 days. Blood serum of the older, supplemented rats was then collected after the 28 day period. The blood serum was then applied to the cultures of adult rat stem cells.

The stem cells were obtained from different parts of the body including the hippocampus of the brain, and the bone marrow where the blood cells are synthesized. The serum that was obtained from the aged rats that were on the controlled diet slowed the division rates of the cultured stem cells. As a result, the cultured stem cells produced fewer stem cells.

The serum that was acquired from the aged rats that were on the supplements did not cause the changes. According to this study, nutrient supplementation plays a significant role in rescuing aging stem cells that participate in the functions of the brain and the bone marrow.

How Nutrition Helps With Multiple Sclerosis

Another study revealed the importance of vitamin D in the performance of the brain stem cells. The study was carried out using a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a form of autoimmune disorder that degrades the nerve cells. Multiple sclerosis is incurable and the treatment regimens available only help slow its progression.

Researchers conducted a study with an objective of determining whether an increased intake of vitamin D could improve the performance of the nerve cells. The results of the study showed that vitamin D could reverse the effects of multiple sclerosis by protecting the neuronal cells and enhancing their functions. The study also demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation promotes the proliferation of neuronal stem cells.

The enhanced proliferation of the neuronal stem cells improves the brain function and recovery from multiple sclerosis.

Genetic Changes

Another study was performed to determine the effects of specific nutrients on the performance of the brain. The study was based on the fact that the levels of inflammatory signaling molecules also known as cytokines are directly related to the decline in the brain stem cells. The study was performed on rats which were put on nutrients including green tea, vitamin D, and carnosine.

The study revealed that the nutrients had a significant impact on the expression of genes that are involved in the variety of cellular functions.

One of the most important effects was the reduction in the production of proinflammatory cytokines. The supplementation also promoted the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the supplemented animals. The researchers went further to reveal that the nutrient combination produced genes that develop progenitor cells to functioning adult neurons.

Progenitor cells are stem-like cells that are located in the brain tissue. The study demonstrated that the nutrients used are important to individuals who are at a risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinsonism and Alzheimer’s.

Nutritional Supplementation Promotes Stem Cell Vigor

A group of scientists performed a study to find out the effects of polyphenols on the proliferation of human stem cells. The researchers conducted their study using blueberry and green tea which are rich in polyphenols.

They also used vitamin D and carnosine. The study found out that these nutrients promote the proliferation of adult stem cells in healthy humans. The nutrients also protect the adult stem cells from destruction by oxidative stress. The enhanced proliferation of the brain stem cell promotes an improved memory and cognitive function.

Other studies have shown that readily available nutrients can be used to enhance the performance of the brain cells. Supplements formulated with green tea, ellagic acid, astragalus, and vitamin D increases the number of bone stem cells in the circulation system. The increase in the number of circulating stem cells was a result of an enhanced natural repair mechanism of the stem cells.

Another study demonstrated the importance of polyphenols which are found in blueberry extracts. The proactive molecules have several health benefits to the human body.

A study that was performed on rats revealed that blueberry could promote the synthesis of active bone-mineralizing cells from bone-forming stem cells. The formation of the active bone-mineralizing cells has been shown to reduce bone fractures that are common in post-menopausal women.

Spirulina was also demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory effects. A study conducted recently showed that the supplement could be used to prevent a decline in brain cell proliferation that may result from inflammation. The study also demonstrated that Spirulina could improve the functions of the mitochondria leading to an enhanced utilization of energy as well as reduced oxidative stress.

The Effect Of Vitamin B3

According to a study that was published in the Journal of Science, vitamin B3 does wonders in restoring the performance of an aging mitochondria organelle. The researchers administered vitamin B3 to aging mice.

The mice showed massive changes, including regeneration of the muscles through the stem cells activity. The brain and stem cells also developed as well. The mice that were put on the vitamin lived longer than the mice that were not put on vitamin B3 supplementation.

Once the vitamin has entered the blood system, it gets converted to nicotinamide adenine nucleotide. Every cell in the human body has nicotinamide adenine nucleotide. The molecule helps transfer energy from food to the mitochondria where it gets converted to cellular energy.

The decrease in the levels of nicotinamide adenine nucleotide leads to an impairment of the performance of the mitochondria. As a result, an individual begins to encounter aging signs including degeneration of the brain, inflammation of the blood vessels, and insulin resistance among others.

Nutritional Supplements For Stem Cell Function Conclusion

Studies have revealed the importance of the stem cells in the repair and healing of tissues resulting from damage. Rejuvenation of the adult stem cells can help reverse the changes that occur during aging. The studies discussed above have shown that renewal of adult stem cells can be achieved using nutrients which are readily available.

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How Many Seats Does A Van Have

Is there a 10 seater car?

API quota exceeded. You can make 500 requests per day.

How many seats does a transit van have?

Ford Transit Van Specifications The Ford Transit comes standard with seating for up to 12 passengers, and has an incredibly comfortable interior with auxiliary climate controls in front and back.

How many seats are there in SUV?

Prime Sedan can seat upto 4 passengers. Prime SUV can seat upto 6 passengers.

Are 15-passenger vans comfortable?

2. It’s no surprise that a 15-Passenger Bus is More Comfortable than a 15-passenger Van. This is because of Easier Access, More Headroom, Center Aisle and More Comfortable Seating.

Does Dodge Caravan have 8 seats?

The Grand Caravan isn’t designed for eight seats. Seven passengers fit comfortably with two in the front, two in the middle, and three in the back. The middle row is designed for two riders in either a bench seat or two bucket seats with the Stow ‘n Go system.

Is there a 4 row SUV?

It is called the Kia Carnival and is a mini van with an SUV-inspired design meaning it looks more like an SUV than a van. What is this? The doors slide open much like you’d see in a VAN and the seats move forward and sideways to allow passengers to enter the third and fourth rows.

Do Ford Transits have 3 seats?

The Ford Transit cargo van comes with just two seats — front bucket seats for the driver and a passenger.

Does a Transit Connect have 3 seats?

Available with three seats, the Ford Transit Connect displays a practical design which has been well thought out. It comes in two different lengths, and is always going to be a solid, reliable choice from a respected brand.

How much is a 7-seater?

The prices for the top 5 popular 7 seater cars are:Kia Carens Price is ₹ 9.59 Lakh, Mahindra XUV700 Price is ₹ 16.53 Lakh, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Price is ₹ 8.35 Lakh, Toyota Innova Crysta Price is ₹ 17.86 Lakh and Tata Safari Price is ₹ 15.25 Lakh.

What van can hold 9 people?

2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4 (continued) Think of the Sprinter as the largest minivan you can buy that seats nine or more. There’s a sliding door on each side for convenience, and there’s so much room inside the Sprinter most people can stand up inside the van and not hit their head on the ceiling.


Promoting Music on TikTok and Other Social Platforms

Promoting Music on TikTok and other Social Media Platforms

Two things have to happen before your music can complete its journey to the fans; production and promotion. The production side deals with the creation of the music while the promotion side deals with getting the music to the fans. Promoting music can be done through various ways. A musician can choose to leverage online advertisements. They can make appearances at events where they’re most likely to meet their fans. They could even choose to promote their music through word of mouth.

Promoting Music on Digital Platforms

Among the many ways musicians can promote their music, digital platforms have become indispensable profit centers for music businesses. Besides music streaming, music businesses have discovered a fast growing profit avenue. Through partnerships with social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, among others, music businesses are improving their bottom line while embracing new ways to promote signed artists’ music.

Shifting Environment with New Opportunities

Less than 10 years ago, music rights holders were up in arms against social media platforms over copyright infringement claims on their platforms. Fast forward a few years later and social media has become one of the top profit earners for music businesses. TikTok, for instance, has become one of the most influential tools for marketing new music and undiscovered talent. Sony Music’s president of global digital business Dennis Kooker sees short form video as an exciting part of the music industry. In a statement, he praised the social platform’s contribution to the growth of music and fans’ experiences.

Licensing Deals Boosting Promotion of Music

In 2020, TikTok signed a licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment. SME is home to top artists and musicians such as Lil Nas X and Travis Scott. The deal would allow the short-form video content app access to an extensive catalogue of recorded music.

Promoting Music | Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X | Photo:@lilnasx on Instagram

In November 2021, Snapchat’s parent company Snap announced a new deal with Sony Music Entertainment to include some of the label’s signed artists’ music in Snapchat’s sound library. Snapchat has partnered with several other music partners including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG as well as independent songwriters and publishers.

Social Media as a Tool for Promoting Music

Music labels have recently been a topic of discussion on social media. This is after top international musicians expressed displeasure about being coerced to promote their music on TikTok. The intended goal being to make the music popular by inspiring lots of interest in the music through the power of virality. There’s no question about whether artists should promote their own music (yes they should). The contention lies in the manner in which the music is promoted. Music is not a one-size-fits-all affair. Different people listen to varied genres of music. The way an artist like Mahalia promotes her music will look different from the way Kendrick Lamar would promote his. After all, the two artists resonate with different audiences.

Promoting Music | Cover of Mahalia's 2022 EP 'Letter To Ur Ex'
Cover of Mahalia’s 2022 EP ‘Letter To Ur Ex’ | Photo:

Several factors come into consideration when choosing what platforms to use while promoting music. The age of the target audience matters. The nationality and hence the language spoken matters. The subject matter of the song matters and so do several other things that need consideration before making a decision about what platforms to promote music on.

In Conclusion

Promoting music is just as important as making great music. Otherwise, how will the music get heard. More musicians need to take an example from Lil Nas X who is highly active on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Lil Nas X understands where a majority of his audience is. With that strategic insight, he is able to double down on the avenues that bring most value to him. Data from Viberate, the stats tracker for musicians progress, shows the positive impact which relevant marketing and music promotion can have on streams, followers and artists’ authority in the music industry.

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Market Volatility
Commodity prices drive differentiation within EMD
Kirstie Spence
Portfolio Manager
  • The rise in commodity prices is a key channel through which the conflict in Russia/Ukraine might affect the rest of emerging markets (EM). If commodity price increases are sustained, it is likely to support external balances of EM commodity exporters, but could weigh on manufacturing exporters.
  • Latin American commodity exporters should benefit the most from the shock to commodity prices, while countries Central/Eastern Europe and Turkey could suffer the most.
  • EM exchange rates (FX) have tended to be positively correlated with commodity prices in the past, although this relationship seems to have reversed now, possibly reflecting a supply driven shock rather than a demand driven rise in prices.

Spike in commodity prices

A key channel of contagion to fixed income markets outside of Russia/Ukraine is likely to be through commodity prices. Russia is the largest exporter of natural gas and the second-largest exporter of crude oil and petroleum products. The US has now banned Russian oil imports and the UK said it will phase them out by year end. As a result, Brent oil prices have crossed US$110/bbl for the first time since 20141. Both Russia and Ukraine are important food commodity exporters and with Russia and Ukraine accounting for roughly 30% of the world’s wheat exports, wheat prices are at decade-high levels. Russia is also an important exporter of nickel, palladium, and titanium. In this paper, we look at how the increase in commodity prices might affect EM debt markets.

Macroeconomic impact of a supply driven shock to commodity prices

1. Economic growth: Tighter supply of commodities risks exacerbating supply chain bottlenecks in the global economy, while a decline in real income (initially via private consumption because of higher prices and with a lag through trade as a second income shock) will impact consumer spending on the demand side. Both of the effects will negatively impact economic growth. The reverse is true for net oil exporters as the value of exports increases, raising the economy’s profits and wages. In countries in which domestic oil prices are heavily subsidised, a rise in international oil prices will likely have a limited effect on demand or supply.

2. Inflation: The direct impact on inflation depends on the proportion of commodities in the consumer price basket. EM countries generally have a higher proportion of food and energy in their CPI baskets. As an example, food and energy make up nearly 60% of the CPI basket in India, compared to 22% in the US and 32% in the Euro area2. Another factor is government intervention. Many of the major oil exporters (such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) subsidise or regulate fuel prices and so higher commodity prices may not feed through to inflation as much.

3. Fiscal balance: For commodity importers, higher commodity prices can lead to a deterioration in fiscal accounts if governments subsidise commodity prices, such as in Indonesia. For commodity exporters, an increase in commodity prices will help the fiscal balance. Many EM exporters have significantly lower breakeven prices3 for oil than current prices. So, for example, Qatar only needs an oil price of $44 to break even, while Saudi Arabia needs an oil price of $674.

4. Current account balance: Commodity exporters should see an improvement in current account balances through better terms of trade. The chart below shows the net commodity exposure by country as a percentage of GDP. According to the chart, Russia, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa and Brazil are the largest beneficiaries of higher commodity prices, although they vary in the type of commodity that they are exposed to.

1. Source: IEA, Global EV Outlook 2021.

2. As at January 2022. Source: Inside EVs.

3. The price which would balance the budget

4. Source: IIF. Breakeven prices for 2022 budgets. As at 12 October 2021

Risk factors you should consider before investing:

  • Past results are not a guide to future results.


What Is An Arm Mortgage Rate

Fixed mortgage rates have been the market preference in recent years but ARMs are on the way back. For now at least. An adjustable-rate mortgage (“arm“) is a mortgage loan with an adjustable interest.

5/1 Arm Explained I use as my example a 5/1 ARM on which the initial rate holds for 5 years, after which it adjusts every year. The initial rate is 5%, the index value is 5.5%, the margin is 2.5%, and the maximum rate is 12%. If there is no rate adjustment cap, the rate in month 61 would jump from 5% to the FIR of 8% and remain there.Arm 5/1 After the initial introductory period the loan shifts from acting like a fixed-rate mortgage to behaving like an adjustable-rate mortgage, where rates are allowed to float or reset each year. If a loan is named a 5/1 ARM then what that means is the loan is fixed for the first 5 years & then the rate resets each year thereafter.

The five-year adjustable rate average edged up to 3.46% with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.45% a week ago and 3.86% a year ago. Last week’s employment report surpassed expectations, sending mortgage.

Interest rates are trending upward.They’ve only been going down since 2009 and now the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. When rates start to go up, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) starts to make a lot of sense.


Sample Nursing Essay Paper on Economic, Legal, and Political Factors Affecting Patient Outcomes

Economic, Legal, and Political Factors Affecting Patient Outcomes

Due to escalating healthcare costs, health institutions around the world are establishing models that optimize patient outcomes. A focus on patient outcomes has also been instigated by an increasing demand for better care by informed patients, more healthcare regulations, rising cases of medical malpractice litigation, and stiff competition among providers. Consequently, medical facilities have embarked on promoting more well-informed treatment, encouraging optimal treatment planning, ensuring greater transparency, and enhancing care continuity. While healthcare organizations strive to achieve the above, there are economic, legal, and political factors that impact patient outcomes.

Economic Factors

Economic factors like employment and income are strong determinants of health factors like health status, healthcare expenditures, life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity. Economic stability dictates significant health factors like housing, food, education, and access to medical care (Razi, 2017). Patients with low income might be unable to seek quality healthcare due to associated higher costs. For instance, economically unstable patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, kidney failure, or cancer may resolve to cheaper treatments that only focus on treating symptoms and relieving the pain, which ends up jeopardizing their conditions.  Even though such economically disadvantaged patients can access medical insurance, the insurance cover may be limited to certain diseases or costs, which can inconvenience their treatment, thus, affecting health outcomes. Since food and living conditions are essential in patients’ recovery, economically disadvantaged patients may lack the money for buying the required nutritious foods to boost their health and enhance recovery. Also, bad living conditions like polluted environments and poor ventilated rooms can exacerbate patients’ conditions, thus, poor health outcomes. Lastly, economic status influences literacy levels due to access to education. Poor patient outcomes have been associated with low literacy levels because patients lack the knowledge of practicing what is favorable to their health conditions.

Legal Factors

Legislative requirements play a significant role in patient outcomes because they determine healthcare access and quality of healthcare. Health bills like rights of patients, employment laws, and direct payments influence patients’ accessibility to care and the quality of services offered. For instance, health bills like Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP are aimed at improving accessibility to healthcare. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the United States allows patients with pre-existing conditions to access health insurance (FamiliesUSA, 2017). ACA also guarantees children up to 26 to receive coverage on their parents’ plans, expands Medicaid program to low-income families, promotes preventive care, and improves the coverage for mental health and substance use disorder (FamiliesUSA, 2017). Countries with weak legal health provisions expose individuals to poor quality health services or limit their access to health services, which in turn leads to poor patient outcomes.

Political Factors

While factors impacting patient outcomes have been intensively studied, political factors have received scarce attention. Political factors like government stability, levels of bureaucracy and corruption, and tax policies greatly impact patient outcomes (HealthKnowledge, 2017). Unstable governments are less likely to provide excellent medical services and policies, which leads to poor patient outcomes. High levels of bureaucracy and corruption in medical systems subject patients to limited or poor health services. Also, unfavorable tax policies are likely to increase medical care costs, which may in turn inconvenience economically unstable patients.

Economic, legal, and political factors greatly influence patient outcomes. Economic stability determines factors like healthcare accessibility, quality of care, education, food, and living conditions, which contribute to patient outcomes. Also, legal and political factors like health bills and government policies and stability determine medical accessibility and quality, hence, patient outcomes.

FamiliesUSA. (2017). 5 ways the Affordable Care Act is helping real people. FamiliesUSA. Retrieved from

HealthKnowledge. (2017). The impact of political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental and other external influences. HealthKnowledge. Retrieved from

Razi, R.R. (2017, May). Socioeconomic factors: Affect on health care outcomes. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from


How humpback whales use stealth, deception to mime huge catch of fish and gulp them in

Whales capture fish using stealth and deception that is seven times more energetically efficient per lunge than feeding on krill

A giant humpback whale, attacking small fish at speeds about as fast as a person jogs, is able to eat enough fish to sustain itself for a while. Based on previous field studies, laboratory experiments and mathematical modeling, researchers at Stanford University have found a surprising answer to this seemingly paradoxical feat -- Whales capture fish using stealth and deception.

The work also derived the first quantitative estimates of how many fish humpbacks consume in a single feeding event and it will provide future conservation efforts. "Lunge-feeding whales need dense concentrations of prey to forage effectively, yet fish schools could easily disperse and render lunge-feeding ineffective if they sensed a threat," said David Cade, lead author of the study.

Incredible Footage Shows Humpback Whales Under Kayaks off the Coast of Newfoundland

Like other animals, humpbacks engage in lunge-feeding. This means they lunge after prey, take in a volume of water that can be larger than their own body (thanks to expandable oral cavities) and then filter out the excess water before gulping down their catch.

Opening the mouth costly

Opening the mouth, then, is hydrodynamically costly - like opening a parachute at high speeds, and feeding on fish requires the whales to time their lunging in ways that can be energetically costly. However, these costs are outweighed by the high energetic gains from captured prey. Researchers estimate that, for humpbacks, stealthy fish feeding is seven times more energetically efficient per lunge than feeding on krill.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, made use of off recordings from whale-mounted video tags that the researchers deployed in Monterey Bay and Southern California made and used results from these experiments to predict how many fish would escape from an oncoming whale based on their reaction times.

Predator data developed

"One of the innovations of this study was to use predator data to inform the models we played back to fish," said Cade, who was a graduate student in the lab of Jeremy Goldbogen, assistant professor of biology at Stanford, during this research.

They found the range at which a fish responds to an oncoming predator. All fish "passed nearly simultaneously at a point when the whale opens its mouth, suggesting that by precisely timing its engulfment, the whale can avoid triggering escape responses."

The fish have been evolving to avoid being eaten by smaller predators for at least 100 million years, but lunge-feeding is a relatively new feeding strategy, evolutionarily, said Cade.


Site Consultations

Site Consultations from the Moss Experts

As experts in moss gardening, Mountain Moss offers valuable advice to "wanna-be" moss gardeners.

The first step is to assess the micro-climate of the intended site. During this consultation, Mossin' Annie determines the effects of environmental conditions and identifies existing moss species already growing on the property. It's like having your own personal moss gardening lesson. Expect to spend at least 1.5 hours exploring moss potential together.

Landscape Design

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Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

BP 8210 Computer Labs and Public Computers

Statement of purpose

PCC provides many technology products and services to support the academic and administrative needs of the College. Individuals who use the College’s IT resources are expected to follow certain defined behaviors in order to minimize information security risk and protect the College and its constituents.

Protecting students, faculty and staff from the risk of identity theft or unauthorized disclosure of personal information is the primary goal of adopting the best practices described in this policy.

This policy enables PCC IT staff to perform key operational and maintenance tasks, manage information security, and respond to legal requests.

The primary purpose of the PCC computer labs is to allow students and guests a place for computer-based learning and related research. This policy seeks to ensure that high-quality computing resources in a welcoming and productive environment are available to all users of public access computers at PCC.

Scope statement

All Portland Community College (PCC) employees, students, and affiliates or other third parties that create, use, maintain, or handle PCC IT resources are subject to this policy. This policy applies to use of all PCC owned and managed IT resources, use of any computer or mobile device connected to a PCC network, all controlled sensitive data stored or transmitted using PCC IT resources and all users of such data.

Policy summary

PCC students and guests shall use PCC computer labs and public computers in accordance with the guidelines documented in this policy, publicly posted procedures, and as directed by authorized PCC staff (including, but not limited to library staff, supervisors, lab assistants, and lab coordinators).

Use of public access computers is subject to all policies regulating the use of any other IT resource.

  1. PCC provides public access computing in designated areas only. Use of these public computers is subject to applicable PCC policy.
  2. Users of public access computers must comply with all requests and instructions from the lab assistant, lab coordinator, or any other authorized PCC employee. Should users have an issue with any instruction, please request to speak to a supervisor.
  3. PCC provides Accessibility stations for individuals with special requirements.
    1. Rules of use shall be clearly posted.
    2. Support staff shall be familiar with accessibility software and hardware.
    3. Anyone may take advantage of accessibility stations, if available, but shall be asked to relocate for individuals with special needs.
  4. Children are not allowed in public computing labs unless accompanied by an adult:
    1. Children are not to be left unattended anywhere on campus.
    2. Please be aware that computers in labs have full access to the Internet and there are no content filters to prevent children from accessing or viewing inappropriate materials.
  5. Password sharing and logging in for other users is prohibited.
  6. Users are not permitted to install software or otherwise tamper with the hardware or software of lab computers.
  7. Public computers shall be logically or physically segmented from subnets that process controlled sensitive data.
  8. Faculty and staff shall not access or handle controlled sensitive data on public computers.
Computer lab guidelines
  1. If you are unsure of any policy or guideline, or if you need help regarding any matter when using PCC public computing resources, ask a computer lab assistant, instructor, or other support staff.
  2. We recommend you encrypt data on personal mobile devices. PCC is not responsible for lost or stolen devices in public areas.
  3. Public computers are connected to the PCC network, which can potentially be infected from malware on personal devices:
    1. Unless necessary to support your work activities, avoid plugging personal devices into public computer USB ports.
    2. Find alternative ways to charge your cell phones, laptops, etc.
    3. If you need to plug a device into a computer’s USB port, please ensure it has been scanned for malware.
  4. Be considerate of other users. Labs are intended to be places of study and academic work and every effort is made to maintain this environment.
  5. If conversation is necessary for work, please converse quietly. Acceptable noise volume levels are at the discretion of the support staff.
  6. Cell phone conversations are strongly discouraged. Individuals may be asked to terminate their cell phone conversations at the discretion of the support staff.
  7. Music or other audio should not be audible to other patrons or the support staff. Please use headphones in the labs. If others can still hear your audio, you will be asked to turn the volume down.
  8. Printing in computer labs is limited to GoPrint and student accounts.
  9. If eating at a public workstation, make best efforts to avoid spilling food or drink on computing equipment. Be considerate of cleaning staff and dispose of any trash in the waste receptacles provided.

Policy violation

  1. Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action in accordance with PCC Human Resources and/or Student Conduct guidelines.
  2. PCC reserves the right to report security violations or compromises to the appropriate authorities. This may include reporting violations of Federal, State, and local laws and regulations governing computer and network use, or required accreditation reporting.
  3. Anyone who violates this policy may be held liable for damages to PCC assets, including but not limited to the loss of information, computer software and hardware, lost revenue due to disruption of normal business activities or system down time, and fines and judgments imposed as a direct result of the violation.
  4. PCC reserves the right to deactivate any user’s access rights (whether or not the user is suspected of any violation of this policy) when necessary to preserve the integrity of IT resources.

Complaint procedures

Report non-security-related violations (such as receipt of inappropriate content, other Human Resource policy violations, general college policy violations, or regulatory compliance violations) to a supervisor, HR, or EthicPoint.

Report information security and general technical policy violations to the IT Service Desk at 971-722-4400 or servicedesk@pcc.edu, or contact the CIO or CISO.

Governing standards, policies, and guidelines

  • Chief Information Officer (CIO)
    Senior manager of the Information Technology (IT) Department and a member of Cabinet.

    • At PCC, the CIO is responsible for all technology, with the exception of:
      • Online Learning (Academic Affairs)
      • Some specialized technology that supports CTE or other engineering programs (e.g. software that supports machine labs, specialized dental technology, etc.)
      • Some technology that supports auxiliary services (e.g. Point of Sale systems in the cafeterias and bookstores)
  • Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
    Senior manager responsible for information security compliance at PCC.
  • Encryption
    The process of converting data to an unrecognizable or “encrypted” form.

    • Encryption is commonly used to protect sensitive information so that only authorized parties can view it.
  • Hardware
    The collection of physical components that constitute a computer system (a desktop computer, a server in a datacenter, a network switch, a printer, etc.)
  • IT Resource
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    • IT Resources include resources administered by IT, as well as those administered by individual departments, college laboratories, and other college-based entities.
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    • A network is a primary component of technology infrastructure and consists of hardware (e.g. routers, switches) that control and direct traffic; transport technologies (e.g. cables, fibre, wireless radio waves) that transport messages from Point A to Point B; and standards (e.g. Internet Protocol, Ethernet) that facilitate a common understanding of the messages being sent and how they are to be processed.
    • End points (or nodes) on a network are the senders and receivers of the messages and are usually computers (e.g. servers, desktops, laptops) – but can also be technology such as machine controllers, audio/visual devices, etc.
    • The Internet of Things (IoT) largely replaces people interacting across a network with machines and other technology devices interacting across a network, often using artificial intelligence (AI).
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Ski and thermo socks

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What Is Special About Ski Socks?

Ski socks, also known as thermo socks, are designed differently when compared with a standard pair of crew or sports socks. The main features that stand out in ski socks are the specifically padded areas, use of breathable materials and the shape to match the contours of your feet.

All ski socks should be warm and comfortable, but there are some small differences between men's and women’s ski socks. As women generally have lower sitting calf muscles, the ski sock cuff is a little shorter when compared to men's ski socks. Thicker socks are also found in the women's category for added comfort.

The Design of Ski Socks

Extra padding is used on the shin area to prevent “shin bang” against the tongue of your ski boots. It is also found on the sock heel for a snug fit and at the toe areas for extra warmth during the cold weather. The best ski socks are made with breathable fabrics such as merino wool, polyester and polyamide. These moisture-wicking fabrics prevent sweat from building up inside your ski boots, so you don’t get cold feet.

Thinner socks turn out to be the warmest ski socks. This may seem counterintuitive, but the thinner material creates more room for blood to flow freely around the feet and in turn create more heat. High-performing pairs of ski socks tend to be thinner and are frequently used by ski racers.

How Many Ski Socks Do I Need?

Firstly, it is not a good idea to wear two pairs of ski socks at the same time. This can decrease the blood flow, cause sore points and give you less control over your skis. For a week-long ski trip, it's advisable to take no less than 3 pairs of socks with you but ideally one for every day of skiing. Changing socks regularly will allow them to breathe properly and prevent bad-smelling ski boots.

Ski socks are considered to be the base layer for your feet, but for your upper and lower body, you can check out Thermal Underwear & Long Johns.

Политика конфиденциальности Куки Условия


Taking Flight

Risograph Zine/Poster, 2019

'Taking Flight' is a risograph poster-zine about a flightless bird, the result of a strange encounter with a taxidermy Greater Rhea bird left on a trolley at the Discovery Centre in Leeds. I imagined how it might have dreamt of flying like the other birds... and how the trolley could allow the bird to take flight.

Printed with the fabulous Footprint Workers Co-op in Leeds

riso poster insta.jpg


Information for your patients

The heart has four valves that direct blood flow between the chambers of the heart. These valves act like one-way doors, allowing blood to flow forward into the next chamber. The valves close to prevent backflow.

On the left side of the heart, blood flows through the left ventricle into the aorta—the main artery of the body—through the aortic valve. The aortic valve has three flaps of tissue, called leaflets, that open and close to ensure that blood flows in only one direction.

Aortic stenosis, or AS, occurs when the leaflets become thick or stiff, which causes a narrowing of the aortic valve. Because of this, the valve doesn’t open and close properly, which restricts the flow of blood out of the left ventricle into the aorta.1,2 This makes it harder for the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood to the body, which can affect overall health.

Aortic stenosis is a common
valve disease, affecting more than
12% of people aged 75 and older.3

Aortic stenosis most commonly occurs in people 65 and older as a result of scarring and calcium buildup on the valve leaflets. Aortic stenosis causes include scarring and calcium build up that may be from a normal sign of aging or from prior chest radiation. It may also result from having rheumatic fever during childhood, which is now rare in the United States.1,4

Aortic stenosis may be present in young people due to a birth defect, the most common being a bicuspid aortic valve. This is where only two leaflets grow instead of the normal three.1,4

Aortic stenosis symptoms may not be noticeable during the mild-to-moderate stages of the disease when blood flow is not significantly reduced. As damage to the leaflets worsens, the valve further narrows and blood flow is greatly reduced.1

Once the disease progresses to this severe stage, aortic stenosis symptoms may include1:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Feeling dizzy or light-headed, even fainting
  • Difficulty walking short distances
  • Decline in activity level or reduced ability to do normal activities
  • Chest pain
  • Rapid, fluttering heartbeat
  • Swollen ankles or feet
  • Difficulty sleeping or needing to sleep sitting up

The symptoms of aortic stenosis can be misunderstood as “normal” signs of aging—if someone is experiencing any of these symptoms, see a doctor right away.

If someone is diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and start to experience symptoms, it is important to get treatment right away. A doctor should be contacted if any of these symptoms happen or if symptoms are worsening.

Patients diagnosed with mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis who have no symptoms should receive regular clinical and echocardiography exams to monitor the progression of their valve disease.5 Echocardiography is a test that uses sound waves to produce live images of the heart that allows a doctor to monitor how the heart and its valves are functioning.

Aortic stenosis is a progressive disease, which means that it will become more severe over time. As leaflets become more damaged, the heart must work harder to pump blood through the narrowed valve opening. This causes the wall of the left ventricle to enlarge and thicken and the heart to weaken, reducing the amount of blood supplied to the body. In time, this may lead to heart failure and death.1,4

From the onset of symptoms, risk of death from severe aortic stenosis is as high as 25% at 1 year and 50% at 2 years in patients who do not undergo aortic valve replacement.6

Aortic stenosis treatment depends on the severity of the condition, whether someone is experiencing, and if the condition is getting worse.5

Early treatment is key to prevent progression to heart failure.2,4,5

Patients with mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis may be prescribed medications to help manage their symptoms or reduce the burden on their heart.5 However, medications cannot cure aortic stenosis.4

In some cases, the valve is temporarily opened through a procedure called balloon valvuloplasty.5 In this procedure, a small balloon catheter is threaded into the heart through an artery and then inflated to open the valve. However, the valve will eventually narrow again, requiring additional procedures.

Aortic valve replacement

Once aortic stenosis progresses to the severe stage, the only aortic stenosis treatment option is to replace the diseased aortic valve. In some cases, a doctor may recommend aortic valve replacement even if someone is not experiencing symptoms.5

There are two options for replacing your aortic valve:

  • Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR): SAVR is an open-heart procedure, where a surgeon removes the damaged valve and replaces it with a mechanical valve or a bioprosthetic (tissue) valve.2
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR or TAVI): TAVR/TAVI is a less invasive procedure that uses a catheter threaded through an artery to implant a new valve within the diseased aortic valve.2

Most patients can resume a healthy, active life after valve replacement.

The choice of proceeding with SAVR versus TAVI is based on multiple factors, including risk score, frailty, comorbid conditions, and personal preferences and values.7

To determine what type of valve is best, a doctor will take many factors into consideration, such as age, overall health, and medication requirements.7

The information provided is not intended for medical diagnosis or treatment as a substitute for professional advice. Consult with a physician or qualified healthcare provider for appropriate medical advices.

MAT-2201404 v1.0 | Item approved for Global OUS use only.

Copyright © 2022 Abbott, 3200 Lakeside Dr, Santa Clara, 95054, U.S.A.
Caution: These products are intended for use by or under the direction of a physician. Prior to use, reference the Instructions for Use, inside the product carton (when available) or at or at for more detailed information on Indications, Contraindications, Warnings, Precautions and Adverse Events.
Illustrations are artist’s representations only and should not be considered as engineering drawings or photographs. Photos on file at Abbott.

MAT-2000631 v8.0 | Item approved for Global OUS use only.

Please be aware that the website you have requested is intended for the residents of a particular country or countries, as noted on that site. As a result, the site may contain information on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other products or uses of the product that are not approved in other countries or regions.


American Standard is providing four $2,500 scholarships annually through the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association for students who are enrolled in a PHCC-approved apprenticeship program; a full-time certificate or degree program at an accredited two-year community college, technical college or trade school; or an undergraduate degree program at an accredited four-year college or university. The deadline is June 1, 2005. To access the application form, visit, e-mail, or call 800-533-7694.


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I recently gave a talk for HSU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) about human-caused earthquakes. The talk focused mainly on earthquakes related to resource extraction and the filling of large reservoirs. Afterwards someone asked about climate change and if it could cause earthquakes. The short answer is no, but, as I think more about the question, it’s worth some clarification.

First, there is no doubt that climate change is real and human activity plays the major role. I’m not going to use this space to weigh the preponderance of evidence behind that statement. The question is whether increased sea levels, warmer waters or other consequences of climate change in any way affect the nature of earthquake activity on the planet.

Step one is to consider the cause of earthquakes. My OLLI talk was about human-caused seismic activity. My first point was that natural tectonic forces cause the overwhelming majority of earthquakes and all of the really large ones. I made a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation that perhaps 3% of the earthquakes in 2021 could be ascribed to a human cause.

Tectonic earthquakes are caused by the heat within the earth that drives plate motion. “Within the earth” is the crux of the matter. Earthquakes occur at miles beneath the surface in an environment where the thermal regime is entirely controlled by heat flowing upwards from the deeper parts of our planet. When people ask if there is such a thing as earthquake weather, I say of course just name it — snow, sleet, frost, rain, wind, drought, heat wave — are all earthquake weather. Earthquakes occur in every season, every time of day and under any weather condition. A one-, two- or even ten-degree change in average surface temperatures won’t make a bit of difference to earthquake generation.

But temperature is not the only consequence of climate change. What about sea level rise? Could the additional weight of all that water trigger earthquakes? The evidence says no. The earth’s surface is stressed twice a day by much larger variations in sea level height. The tides predictably load and unload the sea floor twice daily, adding far more weight than current sea level increase. Many studies have looked for a correlation between seismic activity and tidal cycles; a few link levels of microseismicity (tiny quakes too small to be felt) with tidal forcing but there is no credible connection to larger quakes.

It’s not just the weight of water that can have an affect on earthquakes. All crustal rock has space (pores) between the grains. Earthquakes occur at depths well below the water table and the fluid pressure is what makes fault slip possible, allowing rocks on either side of the fault to slip relative to one another.

There is ample evidence that increasing the pressure of fluids in these pores can trigger earthquakes. The USGS conducted an experiment in the early 1970s injecting water into deep wells and measuring pore pressure and earthquake activity in Western Colorado. The correlation was striking; earthquakes occurred when pore pressure exceeded a certain value and abruptly stopped when the pressure was reduced. In the last decade, a similar but uncontrolled experiment has been playing out in the Midwest as waist fluids from well drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations are injected into deep underground wells as a disposal method. The increase in earthquake activity led the USGS to redraw hazard maps of the region (see “More lessons The Geysers can teach us,” Times-Standard, Dec. 12, 2020, Page A2).

We can rule out increased pore pressures as an earthquake trigger beneath the ocean for the same reason as the weight — tidal forcing would create much larger pressure changes than the slow increase in ocean level. But pore pressure may play a role in a secondary way. A warming planet increases demand for water and the need for larger and larger reservoirs. The majority of reservoirs on the planet have not affected earthquake activity but circumstantial evidence points to several exceptions — notably the M6.7 Lake Koynanagar, India and the M5.7 Oroville earthquake in 1975 that followed large changes in reservoir water levels. Some scientists have proposed that the 2008 M7.9 Sichuan earthquake was related to the filling of a nearby dam.

Another localized effect is due to the melting of glaciers. Melting removes weight and changes stress. Several studies suggest this could affect both fault and volcanic activity. The tsunami threat from great earthquakes is unlikely to change, although even modest sea level rise will expose more ports and low lying areas to a tsunami threat. The tsunami hazard due to landslides is likely to increase, especially in areas like Alaska where glacial retreat destabilizes hillslopes.
The ocean is the critical piece of the climate change picture, storing nearly 95% of trapped greenhouse gasses. It’s easy to measure ocean surface temperatures with buoys, ships and satellites. Probing the ocean depths is much more difficult. Oceanographers can send probes to the bottom, but that only provides information in a small area.

Seismology to the rescue! Seismic wave velocities are very sensitive to temperature. A study last fall ( utilized sound waves from undersea earthquakes to study the Indian Ocean. No surprise that temperatures were rising but the study suggested the warming rate is nearly 70% higher than previously believed.

My answer to the OLLI question still stands. Climate change is not going to affect the incidence and severity of earthquakes. But that should not put your mind at ease. We can’t stop earthquakes but we can learn to live with them by building earthquake resilient structures and knowing what to do when the ground shakes. Climate change is the opposite story. It will be nearly impossible for human societies, as we know them, to adapt to climate change without profound and disruptive change. But unlike earthquakes, we actually can do something to put on the brakes. The big question is whether we will.

For more on climate change and earthquakes, visit

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Malaysia’s third largest state, Pahang, has seen a surge in cases of melioidosis since the massive flooding that started in late December 2014.

According to a Sun Daily report,  Pahang health officials say there are already 21 cases detected during the first 2 months of 2015, from 16 cases throughout 2014. The most cases in the state this year have been reported from Jerantut district, which accounts for a third of the cases.

Pahang Health director Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar advised the public to take the necessary precaution to avoid getting the disease, such as wearing water-proof gloves and shoes for those working in estates and plantations.

map of Malaysia

Melioidosis (also known as Whitmore disease and Nightcliff gardener’s disease) is caused by the bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei. The disease though somewhat rare has been seen in areas of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, particularly after heavy rains. In Thailand it is considered a disease of rice farmers.

The organism is saprophytically found in soil and water. People usually get infected by contact with contaminated soil or water through skin wounds, inhalation or rarely through ingestion of contaminated water.

Person to person transmission can occur through contact with blood and body fluids of an infected person.

Depending on how heavy the infection incubation can range from hours to weeks. Infection may show nosymptoms but it can quickly progress to disseminated disease involving skin and a variety of organs.

Pneumonia from B. pseudomallei can be seen either in acute or chronic disease. Chronic pulmonary meloidosis may present itself years after exposure and can mimic tuberculosis.

Fatality rates of melioidosis can reach up to 75 percent even with appropriate antibiotic treatment. Fatalities are particularly greater in those with underlying conditions like diabetes mellitus or renal disease.

Related: Malaysia dengue death toll up to 62

People at higher risk of contracting this disease are those with jobs or hobbies that increase their exposure to contaminated soil and water like military, construction, farmers, eco-tourists and other adventure travelers.

Prevention is based on avoiding exposure of cuts and other trauma with soil and water in endemic areas. This is especially important if the person has an underlying disease. The use of boots and gloves are recommended for people whose work involves contact with soil and water, like farmers.


Refugee Policy Is The Latest Battleground for German Democracy

 /  Nov. 30, 2020, 9:30 a.m.

Pro-Refugee Banner, Berlin, 2014.
Pro-Refugee Banner, Berlin, 2014.

Two Syrian defectors—Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib—applied to Germany for asylum in April. Unlike most Syrian refugees, Raslan and al-Gharib were complicit in the very conditions from which they sought refuge as longtime officials in Syria’s destructive political machinery. Raslan, a former commanding officer at a Syrian intelligence unit, faced charges of crimes against humanity, aggravated sexual assault, rape, and fifty-eight murders, while al-Gharib faced charges of assistance to torture and murder on thirty counts.

Their war crimes trials are the first of a number of accounts exposing the atrocities of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Although only these two men were charged in the trials, seventy prosecuting witnesses provided critical testimony of weathering torture, abuse, and brutal detention conditions under Assad’s rule. With these trials, the first steps to uncovering the full extent of the damages from the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011 to the present-day are finally underway.

Potential consequences of the trials include policy shifts in Germany, especially toward friendlier legislation for refugees. Prior to the trials, the interior ministers of the German federal states discussed the possibility of returning the refugees to Syria. Deportation is no longer seen as a politically viable option, and it is possible that softened attitudes toward refugees may contribute to friendlier asylum policies.

The trials also coincide with changes in Germany’s cultural and political landscapes: the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has been growing in political influence since 2015, when the first waves of Syrian refugees entered Germany for resettlement. AfD openly focuses on Islam and “invasion of foreigners” as its main policy platform, and holds a nationalist, anti-immigration political stance. As of 2020, the AfD is still a fringe party, although its power in German politics has considerably increased since its founding.

Mainstream German politics are unlikely to change dramatically, as dominant political parties like Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are still haunted by Germany’s nationalist past. However, the German election is fast-approaching, and Merkel has announced that she will not be seeking re-election in 2021 as chancellor, Germany’s highest leadership position. Merkel has been chancellor since 2005, so her departure signals a massive political shift approaching. The relative power dynamics between Germany’s political parties is undergoing a sea-change: while the CDU experienced a decline in power from the 2013-2017 elections, the AfD nearly tripled in support within the same time span. While the 2020 trials show promise for adjusting public opinion toward refugees, the results of the 2021 election will likely determine the future of refugee policy in Germany.

The Successes and Failures of the 2015 Refugee Crisis Policy

At the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, one phrase dominated the German mindset as Merkel adopted an open-borders policy that would lead to the resettlement of nearly 965,000 refugees: “Wir schaffen das,” or “We can do it.”

For a while, Germany lived up to this phrase. By the end of 2015, close to one million refugees arrived in Germany before border closures in southeastern Europe and a refugee deal with Turkey ultimately slowed refugee entry in March 2016. Germany alone resettled more refugees than twenty-seven EU countries combined—an impressive feat on its own, to say nothing of the work required to help integrate the newly resettled refugees. The government then pushed refugees through language acquisition and cultural integration courses, preparing them for a smooth transition to their new lives in Germany.

Some refugees indeed emerged with new lives and stable careers. The government subsidized job programs to assist refugees in finding work, and within three years, 43 percent of working-age refugees were either in some kind of training program or were already working. Mohamed Rachid was one of these refugees. His story was profiled in The Los Angeles Times: having arrived in Germany at the age of sixteen with little understanding of his host country or the German language, Rachid is now fluent in German and interns at a Berlin barbershop. He is optimistic about the future, is hardworking, and hopes to save the money from his work to eventually open up a barbershop of his own.

Rachid’s story is far from an anomaly, but wide-scale media attention to successes like his obscures lingering shortcomings in Germany's refugee integration process. For one, a number of German natives, particularly on the right, did not take well to the rapid resettlement of refugees: as dissent surged, so did anti-immigrant protests and instances of Islamophobic violence like the Hanau shootings. Critics of resettlement pointed to violent crimes committed by refugees, claiming that Merkel was “ruining Germany.”

Right-wing dissent was only the beginning of a laundry list of problems. Integrating the refugees into the German job market was an ambitious task, despite government-sponsored language acquisition and cultural competency programs. Language schools, though in high demand, remained underfunded and many teachers were poorly qualified. Pass rates for the B1 standard on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages were below 60 percent, indicating that the classes were not sufficient in helping refugees gain a working knowledge of the German language. This further complicated job placement for asylees—with limited German language skills, it would be extremely difficult to operate in a German workplace. Today, barely half of refugees work skilled labor jobs; 189,000 are unemployed

Compounding the economic hurdles faced at the national level, local government bureaucracies, while proactive during the resettlement and education processes, were inefficient and experienced confusion with orders from Berlin. Germany’s decentralized system of states gives local officials large amounts of power over their respective territories—much like the American balance of power between states and the federal government—but issues regarding legal status for refugees are directed from the capital and are often unclear. For instance, failed asylum seekers were given “tolerated” status, meaning that while they had no right to be in Germany, they would not face immediate deportation. Such hazy legal designation hinders integration efforts: with limited options for movement within the country, the “tolerated” have limited access to jobs, and their children further carry that burden, as Germany has no birthright citizenship laws.

Limited economic opportunity means that refugees have no choice but to rely on welfare: at the end of 2015, approximately 975,000 asylum-seekers were receiving welfare benefits in accordance with the Act on Benefits for Asylum Seekers. Since then, the number has declined: in 2018, approximately 411,000 asylum-seekers were on the welfare system. However, because the number of German citizens on welfare has declined steadily for a number of years, the refugee welfare system is frequently criticized by the AfD. The German government spent 21.7 and 21.3 billion euros on refugee assistance in 2016 and 2017 respectively, which seem like staggering numbers. However, contextualized within a federal budget surplus of 6.2 billion euros in 2016, in addition to the fact that this spending has acted like an economic stimulus package, the refugee assistance can hardly be considered irresponsible spending.

Germany as a whole has not suffered an economic burden as a direct effect of the influx of refugees. In fact, it has experienced substantial growth over several years, low unemployment, and federal budget surpluses. Over the long term, the difficulties of the refugee policy do not seem to have impacted Germany negatively from a macro view so much as it has upended the lives of individual asylum seekers in legal limbo.

Islamophobia and Dissatisfaction: The Rise of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)

Throughout refugee resettlement, Angela Merkel said “We can do it.” Meanwhile, Alexander Gauland, one of the leaders of the AfD, was saying “We don’t even want to do that.”

Founded in 2013, the AfD did not actually start out as an anti-immigrant, openly Islamophobic party. Instead, it was founded on a softer version of Euroscepticism that was generally supportive of German involvement in the European Union, but critical of German-funded bailouts of southern European states. When founding party leader Bernd Lucke quit his post in 2015 over Islamophobia, xenophobia, and pro-Russia sentiment within the party, Frauke Petry—far more right-wing than Lucke—took over, essentially marking the AfD’s shift to the far-right. Islamophobia and xenophobia became the primary characteristics of the AfD that we see today.

Lucke’s resignation and the subsequent change in AfD’s platform coincided precisely with the refugee crisis. The massive influx of refugees marked a significant demographic change, causing unease amongst many Germans. Central to this unease was the idea that German culture is fundamentally opposed to the cultures of immigrants, a sentiment upon which the AfD swiftly capitalized. As Gauland said in an interview with The Atlantic, “Germans are losing control of their country.” Asked if a German way of life could survive with immigration, Gauland’s response was just as bleak: “No, it can’t.”

The AfD has markedly grown in influence since its founding: from barely five percent polling in the 2013 German federal election to 11 percent polling as of November. The AfD also won more than 20 percent of the vote in the eastern German state of Thuringia in 2019, and polled surprisingly well in Bavaria as well, remarkable feats for a party still largely regarded as fringe.

But interestingly enough, citizens’ compulsion to vote for the AfD did not arise from active approval of the party’s platform. Polls from German state television in 2017 reported that only 34 percent of voters for the AfD voted out of conviction; 60 percent voted out of a hatred for other parties. The AfD’s far-right, nationalist rhetoric—like many of its sibling parties in the rest of Europe— speak to dissatisfaction with the status quo writ large. In Germany’s case, the status quo is the result of nearly fifteen years of Merkel’s chancellorship, where Germany opened its borders, led the European Union through economic turmoil, and took charge in the refugee crisis, one of the largest humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century.

Underlying this contrarian approach to mainstream politics is fear—generally, a fear of changes to a German society that once seemed familiar, but more specifically, a fear of Islam and ‘Islamization’. Many AfD voters were defectors from the CDU or the SPU, the two main political parties in Germany. Others had not voted at all until recently. Most are working- or lower-middle class. Regardless of differences between individual voters, they hold in common a belief that the refugees will eventually replace the German people, and that Merkel and the CDU have not done enough to answer the concerns of the real German people. Their response is to vote for the party that understands them—namely, the AfD.

Islamophobia, the Mainstream, And An Election: Where is the Future for Refugee Policy?

As likely indicated by the ascent of the AfD, Germany is experiencing a rise in Islamophobia. Echoing Gauland, 44 percent of Germans stated that they see a “fundamental contradiction between Islam and German culture and values,” an alarming statement considering that Germany has experienced many instances of far-right extremist violence over the past several years.

The AfD has also gained more popular support (and mainstream recognition) over recent years, and the question of whether Germany will eventually return to the extreme fascist government of its past feels to many citizens more relevant now than ever before. Mainstream political parties have long been careful to avoid nationalism, personality-based political platforms, and demagoguery, echoes of twentieth century totalitarianism.

But while the German state has remained vigilant against the dangers of nationalism, its average voting population has not. In fact, scholars of German nationalism argue that the antisemitism foundational to Nazism never died, but rather morphed to shift the guilt of the Holocaust onto German Jews who reminded Germany of its horrific past, upending the narrative of perpetrator and victim. An Anti-Defamation League poll about German antisemitism illustrates an unsettling reuslt of this displaced guilt, reporting that 42 percent of poll participants agreed with the statement that “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.” Nearly ninety years after the rise of Hitler’s Third Reich, it seems that a significant proportion of German voters hold on to the desire to forget the warning signs of nationalism and authoritarianism.

Much is also uncertain about Germany’s immediate political future. The next election will be held in 2021, and Merkel’s successor within her party is still unknown; it will likely be decided in January of next year. Approval for Merkel in 2020 is high, with 82 percent of German adults saying that she has done a good job. If Merkel’s successor runs with her support and promises the continued successes of Merkel’s tenure, another CDU victory for chancellorship may be in view.

On the other hand, the AfD challenge cannot be dismissed so easily. While the CDU and its coalition partner, the SPD, both poll at higher rates than the AfD, polls provide only a snapshot in time—a snapshot that misses the AfD’s steady rise in power, and the greater share of power in the Bundestag, Germany’s national assembly, that goes along with it.

Holding 91 out of 709 seats, the AfD are a growing force in the Bundestag. And though the AfD remains a minority party, they have already changed many of Berlin’s inner workings. Germany’s traditional parties wish to limit the AfD’s influence as much as possible, but have struggled to carry out any policies to counter the AfD due to fears that doing so might contribute to existing narratives of the AfD’s persecution. As a result, the AfD has pushed the limits of acceptable political discourse, from raising blatantly Islamophobic policies to decrying rule changes to Bundestag procedure of which they claim to be the victims. An increase in AfD seats in the Bundestag would clearly indicate the decline of normal political discourse, but more importantly, without a way of combating the harmful rhetoric of the AfD, the traditional political parties would have no alternative but to further cooperate with the party, normalizing a dangerous political shift to the right that could persist in the long term.

Despite political inclinations toward nationalist policies and rhetoric, an openly discriminatory and hostile immigration and refugee policy is not currently well-received by most Germans. Adopting the rhetoric of a demagogue across the Atlantic, the AfD is continuing to develop its immigration program branding, calling for a “Germany First” stance: Germany is portrayed as a country overwhelmed by immigration, and is in need of a developmental policy that focuses on stabilizing North African countries in order to incentivize them to “take their people back.” Disregarding the irony in calling for a (likely, costly) developmental approach to foreign policy while decrying the costs of maintaining welfare for refugees, the softer rhetoric hides the original repulsive intent, and makes the AfD’s existing platform of far-right conservatism more socially acceptable.

In the worst-case scenario, a far-right shift in refugee and immigration policy would be realized in closed borders, increased deportations, and a “zero-immigration” policy—a cap on immigration until deportations lead to net zero or net negative immigration. Reunification of immigrant and refugee families would be unheard of under a policy implementation heavily influenced by the AfD, and a sharp decrease in refugees or immigrants from Africa or the Middle East could reasonably be expected. These steps would indicate a 180-degree reversal from Merkel’s open-border policy of 2015, which, despite its flaws, was motivated by reasonably humane intent. An AfD-led policy likely would not guarantee even basic humaneness, especially given the AfD’s favorable view of deportations. While AfD leadership has not yet made any comment toward the Raslan and al-Gharib trials, it would be naïvely optimistic to expect that a party with an openly Islamophobic platform might have a sudden change of heart.

This is not to say that these changes to immigration would take immediate effect under a Bundestag with a greater proportion of AfD seats. It is more likely that the changes to immigration and refugee policy, like other institutional norms, would be slow to take effect. The consequences of those changes, however, would have lasting damages on German democracy, showing that even a nation as careful as Germany can be swept in the tide of authoritarianism: the question remains whether it is still possible to reverse course.

This image featured in this article is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License. No changes were made to the original image, which was taken by Montecruz Foto and can be found here.

Donna Son


City Lights

City Lights (1931)
Image Entertainment
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Extras: Interview with musical director, Story Notes, Publicity items, Production Data

No matter how much time will pass, Charlie Chaplin will forever stand out in movie history as one of the most proficient comedians of all times. A multi-talent who was able to cover all aspects of filmmaking, Chaplin had managed to capture audiences’ hearts and imaginations, and the fascination his work emanates is unbroken, even after almost 100 years since his work in the film industry started. "City Lights" was a very challenging movie for Chaplin, as it posed a few problems he had to overcome somehow. The most important question was how to tackle the fact that "talkies" were the latest trend. No other film before or after caused Chaplin so much headache to decide whether the lovable Tramp should talk or not. After mulling the idea over for some time, he decided to create a movie that uses limited sound effects but no dialogues, as such creating an amalgam of both worlds. The aesthetics and highly music driven dramatic elements of the silent film era and the added emphasis the then-limited technology of sound offered, without breaking the capricious magic of his most famous character.

Charlie Chaplin had an uncanny eye for the funny but one of his most important traits were his skills of observation and social commentary. As the world around him changed and new problems arose with the heavy industrialization of the post-World-War-I world, Chaplin was a keen witness to this ongoing change and worked the discord into his many films. "City Lights" is filled with such social studies of the then-modern society and the impact it had on American citizens, and Chaplin was always trying to find a way to comment on the situation with a very humanitarian note, as well as a good wink at times. Routinely he mocked the bourgeoisie with slapstick comedy and made the lower class people the real stars of his films, thus closing the broadening gap between the rich and the impoverished.

In "City Lights" Charlie Chaplin once again plays the Tramp, the part that made him immortal. Without means he lives a simple life when one day he meets a blind flower girl and falls in love with her when he buys one of her flowers. The girl mistakes him for a rich man when she hears the door of an expensive car slam just as he approaches and is impressed with the rich man’s friendliness towards her. In thoughts of the beautiful girl, the Tramp moves on and sits down by the river, when he witnesses a man trying to drown himself. He rescues the drunkard and talks to him, eventually convincing him that life is worth living, ultimately changing his mind. Out of gratitude for his newfound friend, the man takes the Tramp home. There he wines his guest and the Tramp finds out that his friend is a very rich man, who even gives him his car for a present. The party all night and the next morning the Tramp takes the car to take his new ’girlfriend’ home. When he returns to the rich man’s estate however, the man has sobered up and forgot everything about the previous night, including his new best friend. But hours – and a number of Brandies – later, the rich man remembers the Tramp and once again, the two party all night.
In the meanwhile the blind girl falls sick and unable to pay her rent, she is about to be evicted form her small apartment. Of course, the Tramp tries to help and takes on a job to get the necessary money, but things go terribly wrong from there.

The concept of the rich man (ab)using the poor man as he pleases, the whole parable of the poor man being mistaken as a rich man, and the heartfelt human aspects of the Tramp helping the girl to get her eyesight back, are only few of the elements that make "City Lights" an incredible and timeless experience. Even in a time where silent movies are a bit of an oddity, "City Lights" tells more without words than most of today’s films do with.

Image Entertainment has prepared "City Lights" for release on this DVD and within seconds it becomes evident that this is the best the movie has ever looked. Although there are some reels in the film that exhibit signs of age and wear, for the most part, the picture is remarkably stable and without major defects. Especially the opening 10 minutes of the movie are simply staggering in their clarity.

The presentation on this DVD has great contrast that restores the movie’s images meticulously. Given the movie’s considerable age, there are some slight inconsistencies but for the most part, the film has deep solid blacks and well-balanced highlights. It never has the overexposed and harsh look of aged and faded prints, and always maintains a great balance. The grayscale is perfectly maintained, reproducing even the slightest gradients in the picture. The picture is correctly framed at an aspect ratio that is approximately 1.28:1 without any visible distortion. The compression on the disc is absolutely flawless and not a hint of artifacting is evident in the presentation. Image’s decision to release "City Lights" on a <$RSDL,dual-layer> disc has certainly helped to allow for the highest possible bitrate, which clearly pays off in this beautiful presentation.

"City Lights" contains two audio tracks. First there is the original monaural audio track from 1931. It is a score that Chaplin wrote and recorded himself and one that is very elaborately matched with the pictures we see on the screen. Due to the age of the track, noise, pops and other deficiencies are noticeable in the track. The other track contains a completely re-recorded version of the same track and it will give you the chance to re-experience "City Lights" like you have never seen it before. Composer Carl Davis created an almost identical re-recording of the original score in 1989 as part of Chaplin’s 100th birthday celebration. Leaving practically all nuances and subtleties intact, the score is nicely performed and recorded and adds a new, and exciting dimension to the entire movie.
Presented as a stereo <$PCM,PCM> audio track, the score has a very natural frequency response and creates a sonic space that shows what Chaplin had in mind when he first created the movie. Due to the technical limitations of audio recording and presentation at the time, the original sound always had a scratchy and thin quality of course. With the newly recorded score it suddenly becomes obvious how well Chaplin married the images on the screen with the most subtle nuances in the music.

The disc also contains an interview with Carl Davis where he elaborates on the work that went into re-recording the original score. For scholars of film composing it is a highly informative and entertaining piece that once again underscores what a perfectionist Chaplin’s really was. Original story notes, a gallery of publicity materials and insight into the budget data of "City Lights" can also be found on this disc.

Image Entertainment has long been carrying the torch for silent films and classic movies but with "City Lights" they have outdone themselves. As an admirer of Chaplin’s work, I am speechless about his presentation, as I would have never imagined that I would see "City Lights" with such clarity, definition and dimension. The rejuvenated score and the restored film material make "City Lights" an unforgettable movie experience. I can’t recommend this release enough!


Data Availability StatementAll included recommendations in the present review article are available on the Internet

Data Availability StatementAll included recommendations in the present review article are available on the Internet. Migraineurs with long headache history and high headache frequency have a higher chance of being diagnosed with IBS. IBS and migraine share some similarities and can alter gut microflora composition and thereby may impact the gut-brain axis and inflammatory status. Migraine has been also associated with CD and the condition should be researched particularly in sufferers with migraine with occipital and Zanosar inhibitor parieto-occipital calcification at human brain neuroimaging. In those sufferers, gluten-free diet could be effective in reducing migraine frequency also. It has additionally been suggested that migraine could be improved by eating approaches with helpful results on gut microbiota and gut-brain axis including suitable consumption of Cd36 fibers per day, following a low glycemic index diet plan, supplementation with supplement D, probiotics and omega-3 aswell seeing that fat reduction eating programs for over weight and obese sufferers. Introduction Predicated on global burden of headaches reviews in 2016, it had been estimated that around 14% from the adult people worldwide have problems with migraine [1]. The condition is 3 x more prevalent amongst females and imposes high burden at the average person and culture level. Regarding to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) research 2018, migraine continues to be named the initial leading reason behind impairment in those aged less than 50?years [2, 3]. The exact pathogenesis of migraine is still undefined but indicates several factors, including the gut-brain axis [4]. The terminology gut-brain axis points out a bidirectional relationship between the GI system and the central nervous system (CNS). Mind normally regulates motions and functions of the GI tract (sensory and secretion). Hormonal factors through the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis by mediating stress responses impact on the gut functions. On the other hand, GI system is definitely believed to be able to impact the CNS. A number Zanosar inhibitor of the mind functions such as cognition, behavior and even nociception are under the influence of the gut system [5, 6]. The Zanosar inhibitor dysfunction of the gut-brain axis has been implicated in a number of neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, mood and anxiety disorders, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and migraine [5, 6]. Number?1 depicts the mechanisms of the bidirectional relationship between the gut and the brain in migraine (Fig.?1). Several neurotransmitters have been designed to play a role in this process including serotonin, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) [6C8]. Open in a separate windows Fig. 1 Gut -Mind Axis. CNS, Central nervous system; ENS, Enteric nervous system; GI, Gastrointestinal The present review article seeks to discuss the direct and indirect evidence suggesting associations between migraine and the gut-brain axis. As it will become clarified later on, this interrelationship seems to be affected by multiple factors such as inflammatory mediators, gut Zanosar inhibitor microbiota profile, neuropeptides, stress hormones and nutritional substances. In this regard, at first we will take a look at the involvement of swelling in migraine headache and part of gut microbiome. Later on, the part of the neuropeptides specifically serotonin pathway in relation to migraine and gut-brain axis will become explored. Later, the current evidence within the association between migraine and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders including Helicobacter pylori (HP) illness, irritable bowel syndrome.


Aaron Judge Arbitration: 10 Things You Should Know If The Yankees, Star Player, Are On The Right Way For Friday’s Trial

The New York Yankees and Aaron Judge will continue with a payroll arbitration hearing on Friday, According to Ken Rosenthal. Should the interrogation take place, it will determine how much compensation will be paid to the judge for the 2022 season. Theoretically, the parties could reach an agreement before going to arbitration, but there seems to be little sign of progress in these talks.

You may ask what the arbitration process is or what gives the player the qualification. Alternatively, you might want to know how this could affect Yankee attempts to keep a judge in office for a long time. So let’s look at 10 common questions about Judge, the Yankees and the whole arbitration process.

1. What is arbitration?

Teams are allowed to dictate player compensation during the first few seasons of a player’s major league career. Once a player has completed a certain period of military service, he is allowed to hold an arbitration hearing, which in turn allows them to earn a salary that is more in line with their actual market value. Both the team and the player submit a number that they think represents fair compensation for the coming year, and then submit their case to the arbitration panel. These arbitrators will later dictate which party’s number is fairer.

2. Who has the right to go to arbitration?

As a general rule, most players in arbitration have more than three years and less than six years in the Grand League. There are some notable exceptions, as 22 percent of players with more than two years of service are also eligible for arbitration under the name “Super Two.” The judge, for his part, entered the year with more than five years’ service, which put him on the shore of a free mandate.

3. What is the service time?

This is a measure that determines when players will receive arbitration and / or free agency rights. In principle, players are credited with a day of service for each day they are on the Grand League list or the Grand League injured list. A player needs 172 days of service to earn a full year’s credit and six full years to receive free agency.

4. What happens at the arbitration hearing?

Does the team give their player to the referees to save a few dollars? Well, it may be an exaggeration, but both the team and the player’s side are given time to make presentations as to why their registration number represents fair value. These arguments are generally based on historical precedent and tend to be adapted to surface-level analysis – things that non-experts understand. As mentioned above, the panel will determine which party’s registration number best represents fair compensation.

5. Why do hearings take place during the season?

The arbitration hearings will normally take place in early February, before the official start of the spring training. The lockout imposed by Major League Baseball owners forced this year’s sessions to take place throughout the season.

6. How are players compensated before they are heard?

The precedent from the 90’s is that players are paid a team registration number before listening. Should a player win the case, the team must deal with the player for the remainder of the season.

7. How far are Judge and Yankees from each other?

The difference between the two sides is $ 4 million. The judge filed a $ 21 million application; the Yankees made $ 17 million. It is worth noting that MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration model estimated Judge at $ 17.1 million. This suggests, at the very least, that Yankees uses an internal assessment methodology similar to that used in MLBTR.

8. Does prolonging the hearing effect speak?

Probably not. Yankees CEO Brian Cashman told reporters in April that he offered Judge a $ 30.5 million seven-year contract each year. The judge’s price has seemingly risen since then. Judge may not be kind to the Yankees refusing to comply with his 2022 season request, but he is likely to sign the most lucrative deal he has been offered this winter. If the Yankees are the ones making this offer, it’s hard to see the judge resisting them.

9. Are the judge’s statistics for 2022 acceptable?

No. Judge kicks off the season with a first 65 games .301 / .380 / .647 (192 OPS +) in 25 home runs. Unfortunately, this hearing is irrelevant; The 2022 season may not exist as well with all intentions and goals. Judge’s production should help improve his future compensation, so it’s not all in vain.

10. How many more arbitration hearings are there?

According to Joel Sherman, Judge is the last hearing in the case. Those who don’t get enough of this part of the game can be sure that you won’t have to wait long for the next round of listening. There are only about eight months left.

#Aaron #Judge #Arbitration #Yankees #Star #Player #Fridays #Trial


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Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-9, 20:30-31, 20:41-42 | Series:

Last week Sharad talked about how, contrary to the wisdom of the world (since basically forever), opposite gender friendships are not only healthy and beautiful expressions of the Kingdom, but necessary for our discipleship and for the creational impulses God built into the world in how we image him in both our particular male and female ways. Today we are going to be exploring the opposite side of that coin, namely: How do same-gender friendships help us live lives of love, faithfulness, and justice, and what does the particular friendship of David and Jonathan (Which our passage describes as a covenant) say about God.