People asked to perform acts of kindness in remembrance of Becca Schofield
FREDERICTON – People are being asked to perform acts of kindness in remembrance of a young New Brunswick woman who inspired good deeds before dying of cancer.The provincial government has proclaimed Sept. 15 the second annual Becca Schofield Day.Schofield, who lived in Riverview, started a campaign to encourage kindness after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2016.People were asked to perform random acts of kindness and share them on social media using the hashtag #BeccaToldMeTo.It became a global movement, inspiring thousands of people around the world before Schofield died on Feb. 17, 2018, at age 18.In 2017, the legislative assembly unanimously passed a motion recognizing the third Saturday of September as Becca Schofield Day.
Dennis Ward APTN National NewsAll week, APTN National News has been bringing you stories from communities unable to drink the water coming from their taps.A company in Manitoba believes it may have found a solution to some of those water woes.See related stories: Waterdward@aptn.ca
Beijing: China will stay on the path of “peaceful development” and continue to be a “positive force” and contribute for regional and global peace, Premier Li Keqiang said here on Friday, amidst global concern over Beijing flexing its muscles in the region. Li, who addressed over two-and-a-half-hour press conference at the end of the Chinese legislature the National People’s Congress, mostly answered selected questions on China’s economy and internal social issues as well as ties with the US, Russia and the EU. Also Read – US blacklists 28 Chinese entities over abuses in Xinjiang However in his closing remarks, he said that China will continue to follow the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in developing relations with its neighbours. “China will stay on the path of peaceful development and continue to be a positive force and contributor for regional and global peace,” he said. China asserts nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea as its territory, while Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have counter claims over the area. Also Read – Want to bring back US forces engaged in endless wars: Trump The US has been conducting regular patrols in the South China Sea to assert the freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. When asked about China’s priority regarding the conclusion of the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Li said it will depend on the efforts made by parties concerned. “Whichever will be concluded first, China will take a welcome attitude to the development,” Li added. Though he did not comment on the current situation in South Asia, Foreign Minister Wang Yi in his annual press conference last week said that India and Pakistan should quickly turn the page after the Pulwama terror attack, meet each other halfway and transform the present crisis into an opportunity for a long term and fundamental improvement in their bilateral relations.
They were also advised to swap showers for baths, use sponges instead of hoses to clean cars and to plant plants such as geraniums, marigolds, alyssum and petunias, which resist droughts.Providers including Southern, Affinity and Thames Water said they were monitoring the situation.In Seathwaite, villagers have not been given any specific advice but say they are concerned about the unusual situation.Peter Edmondson, who runs Seathwaite Farm Camping, told The Telegraph the river had been “bone dry” for more than a month. “It is very unusual for this to happen in springtime,” he said. “Everything is usually under water. It has been wall-to-wall sunshine here. Over the years, I have seen times when it has rained for three weeks solid but in the last year or two it has just got drier.” He added that this was due to high pressure over Iceland and low pressure in the Atlantic. “This means that the air is moving from the north east towards the south west, which is an unusual way round. Normally, it is the other way round which brings a lot of rain and wind to the west coast,” he said.“In the west, it has been warmer than average, whereas London and Lincolnshire have had cool, cloudy and breezier weather.”An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Following a dry winter, some rivers, groundwaters and reservoirs are lower than normal for the time of year.“We always advise that everyone uses water wisely – especially during a period of dry weather – and to follow the advice of their water company should water saving measures be required.“The Environment Agency, water companies, businesses and farmers are working together to minimise any potential impacts to people and the environment should the dry weather continue.”Forecasters said it was expected to stay dry and bright until Thursday, when it will become more unsettled. It comes amid fears that the country may be subjected to a summer drought, with rivers and reservoirs experiencing dwindling water levels following one of the driest winter in more than 20 years.The Daily Telegraph reported last week that some homeowners had been told to cut down on water consumption by waiting until their washing machines and dishwashers are fully loaded before running them. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings. Duncan Ellwood, the owner of the Grange Bridge Cottage Tea Shop, described the situation as “worrying” as he said the water levels were stopping boats from dropping tourists around the area, with even the shallow vessels struggling to get to their landing stages.A Met Office spokesman said the area had seen 36 per cent rainfall in April, which is almost two-thirds less rainfall than average.Temperatures on the west coast of England and Scotland, meanwhile, have been up to 3C higher than normal. 
The wettest inhabited place in England is “bone dry” as the prospect of a summer drought loomed closer.Seathwaite, in Borrowdale, Cumbria, typically receives between two and three metres of rainfall per year. But the River Derwent has gone for so long without sufficient rain, its rocky bed is exposed.Meanwhile, gorse fires in Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, forced a beach to be evacuated over the weekend as temperatures soared to an unseasonal 18C. The River Derwent at its usual levels Credit:Paul Kingston / NNP 
A gorse fire at the popular seaside beach at Ganavan Sands, Oban forced the evacuation of the beachCredit:Stephen Lawson
Large mine sites generally utilise a number of service trucks to refill vehicles. A site with three service trucks may have as many as 14 different service operators running these vehicles, and each vehicle can cost up to A$3 million a year to operate. In one benchmarking study conducted by FluidIntel, the average productivity of a service truck varied from 15,000 litres of fuel dispensed per day to 22,500 litres. Given this variation, it can be very challenging for mines to determine exactly how many service trucks they require in order to be as productive as possible.FluidIntel states: “We reviewed data for each service truck transaction per shift across two large mining operations. For these mine sites, we had previously fitted their service trucks with AdaptMAC hardware, which transmitted data to AdaptIQ for storage and reporting. The data revealed that one mine that had not been using the data to improve performance showed a great variation in output per shift and indicated a major difference in the performance of operators. The second mine, which had been using the data to improve their productivity, had a significantly higher productivity and smaller variation between operators.”
THE US SPACE shuttle Endeavour has finally reached its California retirement home, after taking three days instead of two for its last-ever journey – 12 miles (19 kilometres) across Los Angeles.Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hailed the “mother of all parades” which saw more than a million Angelenos cheer the vast white spacecraft through LA’s streets, at the slower than jet-propelled speed of less than 1 mile per hour.DelayThe Endeavour had been due to arrive at the California Science Center early Saturday evening, but was repeatedly delayed as organisers had to squeeze it past buildings, power lines and trees, sometimes with only inches to spare.It eventually arrived lunchtime Sunday, to even bigger cheers from the crowds, and relief from officials who held a postponed ceremony to welcome it to its final home.“Is this amazing or what?” said LA Fire Department chief Brian Cummings, looking across the crowd at the vast winged vehicle. “I feel like a kid standing up here watching this come in here.”“Today everyone in the city of Los Angels is an astronaut .. and every young man and young woman out there is one step closer to the stars,” he added.The orbiter – which zoomed at 17,500 miles per hour when in Earth’s orbit – arrived in Los Angeles last month, piggybacking on top of a 747. It was stored in a hangar at LA international (LAX) airport until early Friday.Party atmosphereThe first 24 hours of its trip went off relatively smoothly, in a party-like atmosphere, and organisers at one point even forecast that it would reach its destination ahead of time.But things started going wrong Saturday afternoon as the enormous 78-ton vehicle, mounted on a huge, computerized, multi-part transporter, began negotiating some of the narrowest stretches of its route during the day.Some 400 trees had to be cut down – initially provoking protests from locals, placated by officials’ vows to plant several new saplings for every tree felled – and several more were trimmed at the last minute.On the final straight it was brought to a halt several times, as the spacecraft’s wing-tips brushed inches away from apartment buildings, electricity poles and other obstructions.A future generation of astronautsFormer shuttle commander Mark Kelly, who captained Endeavour’s final flight, said he hoped the craft – which flew more than 115 million miles in its two-decade career – would inspire future generations of astronauts.“Maybe someday one of these kids that see Endeavour, look up at it at the California Science Center, will be that person that walks on the planet Mars,” he told CNN, adding: “That would be a great thing to see.”After NASA brought an end to the 30-year shuttle program last year, major US cities battled for the right to house the four retired vehicles.Enterprise, which never flew into space, is now on permanent display on the runway of the Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York. The Kennedy Space Center will keep Atlantis, and Discovery is on display at a museum outside Washington.Two other shuttles were destroyed in flight. Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff in 1986, and Columbia broke apart upon re-entry to Earth in 2003. Both disasters killed everyone on board.On Sunday, there was palpable relief when the Endeavour finally arrived at its destination.“What a phenomenal three days,” said California Science Center chief Jeff Rudolf, adding: “I may get kicked for it, but it was the mother of all parades!” – a refrain taken up by Villaraigosa.“I may need some sleep, but what a great three days,” Rudolf added.- © AFP, 2012
Dutch anti-Islam politician to snub his own hate speech trial Geert Wilders is facing charges over comments made in 2014 about Moroccan residents in the Netherlands. 9,931 Views Friday 28 Oct 2016, 3:26 PM Image: Jens Meyer DEFIANT DUTCH ANTI-Islam politician Geert Wilders said he will refuse to attend his hate speech trial next week, dubbing it a travesty aimed at silencing him.The trial opens on Monday before a three-judge bench with the far-right politician facing charges of insulting a racial group and inciting racial hatred for comments he made about Moroccans living in the Netherlands.“It is my right and my duty as a politician to speak about the problems in our country,” Wilders said in a statement , dubbing the case “a political trial, in which I refuse to cooperate”.It comes as opinion polls have shown his far-right Freedom Party (PVV) doing well ahead of March elections.After riding high amid the migrant crisis, the party is now polling neck-and-neck with Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals each predicted to win between 25 to 29 seats in the 150-seat parliament. Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party, speaks at a rally. Source: Jens Meyer/PASet to last until 25 November , the trial focuses on a comment made at a March 2014 rally when Wilders asked supporters if they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?”When the crowd shouted back “Fewer! Fewer!” Wilders answered: “We’re going to organise that.”It is the second such trial for the politician who was acquitted on similar charges in 2011.Wilders said this afternoon he would leave his defence in the hands of his lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops and instead “go to work” in the parliament in The Hague. http://jrnl.ie/3052139 Image: Jens Meyer 126 Comments 
Oct 28th 2016, 3:26 PM Geert holds a sign saying No Hate Imams in the Netherlands Source: AP/Press Association ImagesThe court confirmed in a statement that the trial would go ahead, adding like any defendant, Wilders had the right not to appear.While the court can force someone to turn up, “it is not known whether it will do so in this case,” it added.Judges earlier this month dismissed arguments by Wilders’ lawyers that the trial was “politically motivated” adding they did not believe it will impact the PVV’s election campaign.Politicians “are granted broad freedoms of expression because of their official position,” the judges ruled last month.“Precisely therefore politicians have an important role to avoid feeding intolerance by making these kind of public statements.”Wilders hit back saying “it is a travesty that I have to stand trial because I spoke about fewer Moroccans.”“Millions of Dutch citizens want fewer Moroccans,” he claimed.“Not because they despise all Moroccans or want all Moroccans out of the country, but because they are sick and tired of the nuisance and terror caused by so many Moroccans.” Geert Wilders handing out self-defense sprays to women fearful of being attacked by migrants. Source: Peter Dejong/PAWilders drew flak when he unveiled his party’s controversial election programme saying he would confiscate Korans and close mosques if he wins the elections.He is often described as “the most heavily guarded man” in The Netherlands and the trial is taking place in a high-security courthouse in Schiphol.His name has “appeared on hit-lists drawn up by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Islamic State group”, according to his lawyer.If found guilty, Wilders could face up to two years in jail or a fine of more than 20,000 euros ($22,000).Read: Woman who slipped on human faeces at hospital awarded €16,000 >Read: Philippine mayor and nine bodyguards killed in police shoot-out > Share9 Tweet Email By AFP Short URL Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article
Here’s What Happened Today: Wednesday Here’s what made the headlines today. (Click here if you can’t see the tweet) Wednesday 10 Apr 2019, 8:50 PM https://jrnl.ie/4586386 Share1 Tweet Email Apr 10th 2019, 8:50 PM No Comments lol pic.twitter.com/QVKsUBCkoB— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) April 10, 2019 By Hayley Halpin Source: Daniel Sandford/Twitter Short URL NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.IRELAND Former FAI chief executive John Delaney on his way into a Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport today. Source: Leah Farrell via RollingNews.ieFormer FAI CEO John Delaney refused to answer questions from the Oireachtas Sports Committee on the issue of his €100,000 loan to the Association.Health Minister Simon Harris has told the Oireachtas Health Committee that he stands over his decision to offer repeat smear tests.A Dublin mother, who was given a three-week jail sentence after her son missed more than 240 school days over two years, has been released to appeal her case.The Attorney General of Ireland has postponed his trip to an event due to be held in the Sultan of Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel in London. A person has been taken to hospital after presenting to a Dublin garda station with injuries following a stabbing incident. Ryanair has apologised after it refused a prominent Arab Spring activist permission to board a flight in Berlin this morning. An owl which went missing from its home in Co Kildare on Friday evening has been found and returned home. Criminals behind a suspected arson attack on cars believed to belong to off-duty gardaí in county Louth have been condemned.A taxi driver who sexually assaulted three young women within two weeks has had his case adjourned to allow for the preparation of a psychological report.INTERNATIONAL British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sharing some LOLs ahead of today’s summit in Brussels Source: Leon Neal via PA Images#BREXIT: British Prime Minister Theresa May and the leaders of other EU states are in Brussels this afternoon for an emergency Brexit summit. You can catch live updates here.#ISRAEL: Benny Gantz, the main challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conceded defeat today in the country’s election.#BLACKHOLE: The first ever image of a black hole, showing the event horizon, has been released. PARTING SHOTAs mentioned above, British Prime Minister Theresa May and the leaders of other EU states leaders are at an emergency Brexit summit today. Merkel, May and Tusk shared some actual LOLs ahead of the summit meeting. The German Chancellor showed the other leaders something on her iPad as they gathered, with apparent hilarity ensuing. Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article Get our daily news round up: 6,729 Views 
Twitter is limiting the number of accounts users can follow each day.In an attempt to curb spam and combat bots, the social media giant on Monday announced a hefty reduction of its daily follow rate limit: from 1,000 to just 400.“Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine,” Twitter Safety promised. Follow, unfollow, follow, unfollow. Who does that? Spammers. So we’re changing the number of accounts you can follow each day from 1,000 to 400. Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine.— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) April 8, 2019“As part of our commitment to building a healthy service, we remain focused on stopping spam and abuse on Twitter,” a company spokesman said in a statement emailed to Geek. “We found that having a high daily follow rate contributed to follower churn.”That is, the mass following and subsequent unfollowing of accounts, in an effort to inflate one’s own list of patrons.Twitter rules also prohibit indiscriminate following (particularly by automated means), duplicating another account’s followers (particularly using automation), and using or promoting third-party services that claim to add followers.While it’s doubtful that a real, live human being—with completely altruistic intentions—could even find 400 new accounts within 24 hours, it’s not impossible.More likely, though, bots and spammers will just have to manage with fewer numbers. Elon Musk’s Cheeky ‘Nuke Mars!’ Post Is Taking Over TwitterTwitter Tests Subscribe-to-Replies Feature Stay on target It took me ~7 years to follow 400 people lmao— Steven | ZeRoyalViking (@ZeRoyalViking) April 8, 2019This isn’t Twitter’s first attempt at cracking down on hateful conduct and abusive behavior. In 2017, the firm announced new policies aimed at reducing violence and physical harm by social media users.Specific threats toward (and wishing for serious injury, disease, or death of) individuals or groups already violated the company code. But additional changes helped broaden the scope.The firm also revealed plans to supplement user reports with internal tools that can help identify violating accounts.Unfortunately for many users, that’s not enough.A late-2018 Amnesty International study suggests female journalists and politicians are verbally abused on Twitter every 30 seconds.More on Geek.com:New Twitter Camera Makes Capturing Breaking News EasierChrome Extension Turns Political Tweets Into Official Messages to CongressThis KonMari-Inspired Twitter Unfollow Tool Sparks Joy in Me
Spinning black holes are very similar to ocean whirlpools, except, they generate disks of heated dust and gas that illuminate in X-ray light instead of eddies of wind and water. Now, astronomers are trying to determine what drives these bizarre spinning black holes and what they are made of.Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and chance alignments that span billions of light-years, astronomers have used a new technique to measure the spin of five supermassive black holes, according to a NASA press release. Oddly enough, the matter in one of the cosmic vortexes is circling around its black hole at greater than roughly 70 percent of the speed of light.The astronomers, which published a study on these spinning black holes in The Astrophysical Journal, used a natural phenomenon called gravitational lens, and with the right alignment, the bending of space-time by a large object, like a galaxy, can magnify and develop many images of a distant object.For their research, the astronomers leveraged the Chandra X-ray Observatory and gravitational lensing to analyze six quasars, which each consist of a supermassive black hole quickly consuming matter from a surrounding accretion disk. Gravitational lensing of the light from each quasar by an intervening galaxy has generated multiple images of each quasar (see the Chandra X-ray Observatory images above of four of the targets). In order to separate the lensed images of each quasar, the team applied the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s sharp imaging ability.The astronomers also took advantage of “microlensing,” which involves individual stars in the intervening, lensing galaxy providing more magnification of the light from the quasar. With higher magnification, a tinier region is generating the X-ray emission.Like whirlpools in the ocean, spinning black holes in space create swirling torrents around them, generating disks of gas & dust. Using @chandraxray data, astronomers are using a new technique to measure the spin of supermassive black holes. Get sucked in: https://t.co/XYW25OWtov pic.twitter.com/7STcQdZEoJ— NASA (@NASA) July 10, 2019Following this step, the astronomers applied the property that a spinning black hole is dragging space around with it and allows matter to swirl closer to the black hole than is possible for a non-spinning black hole. According to this property, a smaller emitting region corresponding to a compressed orbit means there will most likely be a rapidly spinning black hole.The study’s results demonstrated that one of the black holes, which was located in the lensed quasar dubbed the “Einstein Cross,” is almost spinning at the maximum rate possible. This matches up with the black hole’s event horizon, which is its point of no return, spinning at the speed of light, which is approximately 670 million miles per hour. Four other black holes in the sample are rapidly spinning, on average, at roughly half this maximum rate. Furthermore, the large distortions observed in the X-ray spectra of the quasars analyzed above suggest that the inner edge of the disk has to be close to the black holes, providing additional evidence that they’re spinning rapidly.More on Geek.com:Astronomers Discover 83 Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe Astronomers Propose New Method for Detecting Massive Black Holes Scientists Uncover New Hangout for Black Holes New Universe Map Reveals 300,000 Unknown GalaxiesOur Galactic Core Has Thousands of Black Holes Stay on target
Adam Martin RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus confirmed for WWE Smackdown premiere on FOX April 27, 2016 at 2:07 am Now Playing Up Next Videos Articles Now Playing Up Next Wrestleview Weekly: Predictions for tonight’s Clash of Champions event in Charlotte Seth Rollins Videos Articles No mention of Ric telling Nattie to kill herself? WWE Lists The Shields Top 10 Wins Paul Meade Ronda Rousey 2 COMMENTS April 27, 2016 at 2:29 am The following was taped on Tuesday night in Manchester, New Hampshire.WWE Smackdown taping results for April 28, 2016:* The taping opened with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns cutting a promo about AJ Styles and Payback. Reigns talked about punching Styles on Monday and how he plans to do it again on Sunday night. He calls out Styles and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz comes out next with Maryse. Miz runs down Styles and attempts to shake Reigns’ hand. Reigns gives him a Superman Punch instead to close the segment.* Sami Zayn, Cesaro and WWE United States Champion Kalisto def. Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. During the match, both Del Rio and Rusev bailed leaving Sheamus alone. Backstage, the League of Nations brawled with each other.* Baron Corbin def. Damien Sandow.* Backstage, AJ Styles reveals he will be at ringside for Reigns vs. The Miz later tonight.* Ambrose Asylum segment. Natalya is out first talking about Bret Hart being in her corner this Sunday at Payback. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Ric Flair interrupt. Flair talks about beating Bret in WWE and WCW and that if Vince sent them to the moon, he would have beat Bret there too. Natalya corrects Flair saying Bret beat him for the title just like how she will beat Charlotte for the title at Payback.* Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady def. Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day were on commentary during the match. The Vaudevillains watched the match from the ramp.* Apollo Crews def. Stardust.* WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns def. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz. AJ Styles was on commentary during the match. Reigns won with a spear. After the match, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson hit the ring and attack Reigns. This time AJ doesn’t stop them. The Usos hit the ring to make the save. Reigns clotheslines AJ over the top rope.* Post-taping bonus match: Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens.Source: The Wrestling Observer/Figure Four OnlineRecommended videosPowered by AnyClipWWE Lists The Shields Top 10 WinsVideo Player is loading.Play VideoPauseUnmuteDuration 0:30/Current Time 0:04Loaded: 100.00%0:04Remaining Time -0:26 FullscreenUp NextThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Replay the list Now Playing Up Next Now Playing Up Next
Now Playing Up Next Comments are closed. WhatsApp Facebook Madison Square Garden Pays Tribute to Roman Reigns Vince McMahon Sends Supportive Message To Roman Reigns WWE Draft confirmed to be taking place as a two-night event starting on October 11 Videos Articles Twitter Roman Reigns Is Back, But Not Fighting For Belts Google+ Pinterest Armadillo_KSA Shawn Michaels If WWE even tries to make AJ look like the heel in his match with Reigns and have Anderson and Gallows interfere to help AJ then it will backfire even more on them. I just don’t understand why they are so stubborn in forcing Reigns to be a face when all the fans boo him non stop.If you would do that then at least have Reigns go against a full fledged heel like Jericho, Rusev or Sheamus and that still might not be enough because he will still be booed. WWE Still Moving Forward With Crown Jewel Event In Saudi Arabia
YAKIMA — For two days, 6-year-old Justice Wadsworth thought “Daddy Bear” was gone for good.The white teddy bear was a gift from her father, Army Sgt. Claudio Wadsworth, who sent it to her just before he was deployed to Iraq when she was 2.But on Tuesday, the bear was lost on Interstate 90 when her grandmother pulled over after Justice became car sick returning from Idaho. While the girl’s father is now stationed in South Korea, the bear remains hugely important to her.When they returned home, Justice’s grandmother posted a cry for help on the state Department of Transportation’s Facebook page.Worried that people would begin searching the busy freeway, two DOT workers Terry Kukes and Harry Nelson, both of Cle Elum, looked themselves and found it in about an hour Wednesday.“The bear must’ve fallen out right when they pulled over,” Kukes said.On their own time, both men made the roughly three-hour drive to the girl’s Sedro-Woolley home.“When we offered the bear to her, she took it and held it really tight and hugged it,” said Kukes, a DOT maintenance superintendent. “She missed that little bear.”“It kind of tugs on your heart a little bit when you find out the significance of this bear to this little girl,” he said.
Less than half (43%) of respondents plan to offer a drawdown option as part of their pension plan, according to research by Towers Watson’s UK DC master trust, LifeSight.Its survey of 100 employers also found that 87% of respondents believe that their employees will want to access some or all of their pension using the new drawdown flexibilities after the age of 55.The research also found:44% of members that will reach age 55 in the next decade are likely to want to use the drawdown flexibilities.Around half (51%) of trust-based schemes have not utilised any targeted communications to members aged 55 and over since the reforms were introduced.When asked why pension plans have been reluctant to offer drawdown thus far, 69% said it is because they believe the management and implementation of drawdown is too difficult. More than half (59%) cited governance issues, 53% named a lack of desire from the employer and 45% believed cost is a barrier.Fiona Matthews, managing director of LifeSight, said: “The issue of people wishing to access their pension pots flexibly and understanding what drawdown options are actually being offered is a major challenge for pension providers and employers.“Our survey shows a significant demand from employees to use drawdown for some or all of their pension benefits. However, many employers and trustees have been slow to respond because they have been careful to balance giving people what they want with mitigating risk.“Regular, consistent communication is crucial. Trustees must ideally engage with members many years before retirement and, most crucially, with those now aged over 55 to ensure that they are fully informed and empowered.”
Stay on target Truck drivers, doctors, accountants, and salespeople aren’t the only jobs intelligent robots may one day co-opt.Nigel Stanford last week debuted “Automatica,” the title track from his upcoming “Robots vs. Music” album.Don’t let your ears deceive you, though: The first song on the futuristic record was recorded not by humans, but robots.AdChoices广告Fresh off the success of “Cymatics”—a project exploring “the science of visualizing audio frequencies”—Stanford has been working since 2015 on “Automatica.”With a little help from his friends at bot maker KUKA Systems and audio firm Sennheiser, Stanford holed up in his garage for a month, programming and positioning mechanical arms to play instruments with accuracy down to 0.03mm, according to TechCrunch.“I’m trying to create an online version of Synesthesia—the brain disorder where people can see audio and hear light,” he told the tech blog.The musician and visual artist used Robot Animator software to teach the bionic limbs the intricacies of strumming a bass, tickling the piano, thumping the drums, and scratching a turntable.Watch the full “Automatica” video below to see Stanford’s work (and Stanford himself) in action:Like any rock band worth its salt, the machines end their set by smashing their gear and tearing down the venue.“I wanted to explore the concepts of robotics, the singularity, artificial intelligence, etc.,” Stanford said, as reported by TechCrunch. “I also just thought it would be cool to see a robot explode a piano.”The full “Automatica” record is available now to download for $9.95 via iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, or Stanford’s website; Spotify subscribers can also access the 2017 album online.“I’m sure that in the future it will be possible for AI to write great music but it shouldn’t concern musicians or anyone else for that matter,” Stanford predicted. “There’s already a huge sea of great music, I don’t think that the AI-composed music will find it any easier to get an audience than anyone else does.”Music from Stanford’s first album, 1999’s “Deep Space,” has been repurposed by NASA and the European Space Agency; his work has been heard in popular New Zealand film Second Hand Wedding and documentary TimeScapes.It was the 2014 album “Solar Echoes,” though, that catapulted Stanford to stardom: The viral video hit “Cymatics” boasts more than 13 million YouTube views, and counting.Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey. Get Used to ‘Fortnite’s’ Powerful Mech SuitsRobots to Compete in Underground Challenge in Mining Tunnels 
More information: Robert J. Lee et al. Bacterial d-amino acids suppress sinonasal innate immunity through sweet taste receptors in solitary chemosensory cells, Science Signaling (2017). DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aam7703AbstractIn the upper respiratory epithelium, bitter and sweet taste receptors present in solitary chemosensory cells influence antimicrobial innate immune defense responses. Whereas activation of bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) stimulates surrounding epithelial cells to release antimicrobial peptides, activation of the sweet taste receptor (T1R) in the same cells inhibits this response. This mechanism is thought to control the magnitude of antimicrobial peptide release based on the sugar content of airway surface liquid. We hypothesized that D-amino acids, which are produced by various bacteria and activate T1R in taste receptor cells in the mouth, may also activate T1R in the airway. We showed that both the T1R2 and T1R3 subunits of the sweet taste receptor (T1R2/3) were present in the same chemosensory cells of primary human sinonasal epithelial cultures. Respiratory isolates of Staphylococcus species, but not Pseudomonas aeruginosa, produced at least two D-amino acids that activate the sweet taste receptor. In addition to inhibiting P. aeruginosa biofilm formation, D-amino acids derived from Staphylococcus inhibited T2R-mediated signaling and defensin secretion in sinonasal cells by activating T1R2/3. D-Amino acid–mediated activation of T1R2/3 also enhanced epithelial cell death during challenge with Staphylococcus aureus in the presence of the bitter receptor–activating compound denatonium benzoate. These data establish a potential mechanism for interkingdom signaling in the airway mediated by bacterial D-amino acids and the mammalian sweet taste receptor in airway chemosensory cells.Press release Bitter taste receptors regulate the upper respiratory defense system, research shows Explore further Citation: Bacteria found to produce compounds that activate sweet taste receptors in the sinuses allowing infections (2017, September 7) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2017-09-bacteria-compounds-sweet-receptors-sinuses.html © 2017 Phys.org Researchers have found that as many as 10 percent of the people living in America suffer from chronic sinus infections, leading to suffering due to the pain they cause and burdensome health care costs. Current treatments generally involve using antibacterial agents and/or drugs that reduce inflammation. But as the researchers note, such remedies are not always effective, and they do not prevent reoccurrence. Health scientists would prefer to find a way to prevent such infections rather than fighting them once established. To that end, research is ongoing regarding the nature of such infections and why some people are more susceptible to them than others. In this new effort, the researchers focused on interactions between bacteria and taste receptors, which are similar to those on the tongue, but which also exist on the surfaces of sinuses.Prior research has shown that when bitter taste receptors in the sinus are activated (when sensing the presence of bacteria), the immune system kicks in and starts fighting the bacteria. In contrast, when sweet taste receptors are activated, the opposite occurs.To learn more about what happens when Staphylococcus bacteria, frequently responsible for sinus infections, make their way into the sinuses, the group enlisted the assistance of patients with chronic infections, taking nasal swabs from each. The mucus from the swabs was then cultured in a lab where the bacteria was tested to see which types of amino acids it produced. The team found two sweet amino acids—D-Leu and D-Phe. The team did the same with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and found that neither of the two acids were produced. This suggested the two acids were used by the Staphylococcus bacteria to dampen an immune response. The team next grew human sinus cells in a petri dish and treated them with a chemical that stimulated the bitter taste receptors—they then added D-Leu and D-Phe. The team found that the acids prevented the receptors from sending out an alarm to instigate an immune response. They conclude by suggesting that Staphylococcus bacteria use the two sweet amino acids to dampen an immune response, allowing them to thrive in the sinuses.
Journal information: Science Signaling Credit: CC0 Public Domain (Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. has found that a certain type of bacteria produces compounds that cause sweet taste receptors in the sinuses to activate—this in turn shuts off an immune response allowing the bacteria to thrive. In their paper published in the journal Science Signaling, the group describes their study of bacteria that cause chronic sinus infections and what they learned about them. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
No related posts. For a long time, Spanish-speakers struggled to describe “bagels” or “pretzels” to those who didn’t know the English word. Now, the task of describing the bread-based snacks just got easier.The official Royal Spanish Academy dictionary will include several new “estadounidismos,” or words commonly spoken by Spanish speakers in the United States, according to El País.The next edition of the dictionary will have the English terms bagel, pretzel, van, Latino, paralegal, email and phishing. (Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “phishing” as a scam by which an email user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information.)Also, several Spanish cognates of English words will be added to the dictionary, including: billón (billion), trillón (trillion), rentar (rent), agencia (agency), podiatría (podiatry), departmento (department, as in State Department) and parada (parade).With more than 55 million Hispanics living in the U.S., the academy thought it was important to recognize these words in the dictionry, Gerardo Piña-Rosales, president of the North American Academy of Spanish Language, told El País.“They are Spanish terms that reflect the national character [in reference to the U.S.],” Piña-Rosales said. “These are forms of the language that Spanish speakers in the U.S. have become accustomed to.”Piña-Rosales said it’s important to remember there exists a separate Spanish subculture in the U.S., just as there is in Mexico or Argentina. In Spain, if you say the word departamento instead of ministerio (ministry), nobody will know what that means. But in the U.S., departamento is a commonplace Spanish word, he said.The Royal Spanish Academy tries to keep its finger on the pulse of contemporary language. In August, the academy decided to add the words tuitear (Twitter), tuit (tweet) and tuitero (Twitter user) to the dictionary – referencing the ubiquitous social media site, Twitter. Words like blog, libro electrónico (e-book) and tableta (tablet, as in electronic devices like the iPad) already are in the dictionary.As El País stated in its article, soon phrases that seem like a bad translation of English will be accurate Spanish, such as: “He enviado un ‘email’ con una ‘aplicación’ para ‘rentar’ un piso frente a la tienda de ‘bagels’”.Translation: “I sent an email with an application to rent a floor in front of the bagel shop.” Facebook Comments
Give a gift that gives back this holiday season with Marni’s new line of special-edition t-shirts, parkas, hats and shopping bags for both women and men. Adorned with artwork from children all around the globe, these whimsical pieces will make any recipient feel like a kid again.The team at Marni was inspired by the beauty, simplicity and wide diversity of style in the children’s paintings—which were created as class projects—and wanted to do something to nurture that creativity.Proceeds from the line will be distributed to educational and development projects, including schools and hospitals, to benefit children in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Tibet, India and Sierra Leone.Paintings were printed directly onto cotton t-shirts and shopping bags, while a technical fabric was used for the line’s capes, parkas and hats. These wearable works of art will be available exclusively through Marni boutiques and the online store until sold out.Visit www.marni.com to get yours.