Advocates hopeful bill will pass this month to open California to CBD in supplements and foods – FoodNavigator-USA.com

The bill (AB-228- which was introduced last year but has been on hold for several months) is supported by the US Hemp Roundtable, a group of hemp farmers, processors and manufacturers of finished goods.

Rand Martin, a lobbyist with the firm MVM Strategy that has been engaged by the group to help advance the statute, said that while some states have forged forward with their own plans on the marketing of hemp/CBD products, California has followed the federal lead in taking a dim view of the legality of this class of ingredients.

Martin said in California officials have generally taken the view that the US Food and Drug Administration should be the final arbiter of food safety law. At the moment FDAs position is that CBD is an unlawful dietary ingredient based on its prior investigation as a drug under the brand name Epidiolex, which has been approved to treat seizures in some forms of intractable childhood epilepsy.

An advisory put out by the California Department of Public Health follows that thinking, and has prohibited the use of CBD and/or hemp extracts in foods, beverages and dietary supplements in the state, restricting the market primarily to topical products.

We have been working since last year with Gov. Gavin Newsoms office to get that advisory overturned, Martin said. The bill had progressed rapidly through the State Assembly and then landed in the State Senate appropriations committee. Then events overtook the effort, Martin said.

The pandemic got in the way of everything and slowed things down. But we had no choice but to try to move forward. We are within 28 days of the end of the session and if we dont get a law passed by the end of August, it wont happen until next year, Martin said.

The bills language would allow the sale of foods, beverages and supplements containing hemp and/or CBD assuming that it is derived from crops that meet the federal definition of industrial hemp, which is less than 0.3% THC content by dry weight.

The bill also included language that would require firms that handle both cannabis (or Cannabis sativa raw material that has higher levels of THC) and industrial hemp to be able to demonstrate that no cross contamination of the raw material streams could occur. This would include submitting architectural drawings to demonstrate how the material flows would be segregated within a facility.

In addition, all hemp products sold in California would need to be verified by accredited third party testing laboratories.

Martin said the bills advocates are pushing hard on the economic benefits of the plan, which he believes could be a winning strategy during the sharp economic downturn that the pandemic has wrought.

California is facing its worst economy since the Great Depression, Martin said. The state just announced it is forecasting another $8.7 billion budget deficit. That is on top of the $54 billion deficit that was built into the budget they passed in June.

We remain guardedly optimistic that we can get this done, because I dont how the governor and the state legislature will be able to turn a blind eye to all of the potential new tax revenue. This is a brand new industry that will bring new jobs, Martin added.

Opening up the state to CBD products could be a huge boon to the industry. California, with its $3.2 trillion GDP in 2019, would rank as the worlds fifth largest economy if it were considered as a separate country.

Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the US Hemp Roundtable, said while the organization is intimately involved in the California bill, it is also keeping the pressure dialed up on seeking an eventual federal regulatory solution. The organization started out as a group of hemp farmers in Kentucky, and has since morphed into one that has national scope and a variety of member companies. Miller said the groups ultimate goal is to harmonize regulations nationwide.

Whats happening on the state levels has created a patchwork and has made it difficult for farmers and producers trying to sell across state lines, Miller said. Having a federal regulatory program would solve that.

Miller said there are some signs that FDA is moving forward on a CBD regulatory framework, but the organization is seeking some protection for producers in the meantime.

Wed like to see some formal enforcement discretion while they undertake the multiyear path to regulate CBD, he said.

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Advocates hopeful bill will pass this month to open California to CBD in supplements and foods - FoodNavigator-USA.com

7 Foods That Are High in Magnesium – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

From the first cereal commercial you see as a kid, you learn that you need vitamins and minerals in abundance. Like magnesium, for one. Your body needs it to function correctly, says registered dietitian Anna Taylor, RD.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Heres how to know if youre getting enough and what to eat to keep your levels up.

Magnesium is a real heavy hitter, Taylor says. Its necessary for more than 300 enzymatic processes in the body, including:

The problem is, many people dont get enough, forcing the body to compensate.

When your magnesium levels are down, your body filters out less magnesium than normal to keep adequate levels in your body, Taylor says. But thats not a great long-term strategy.

Its usually not a problem if you have days here and there where you dont get enough magnesium. But an ongoing lack of it in your diet can lead to magnesium deficiency.

Certain conditions (and some medications) can also make it harder for your body to have adequate magnesium levels. These conditions include:

Early signs of magnesium deficiency include:

As magnesium deficiency gets worse, other symptoms may occur, including:

To get enough magnesium in your diet, experts recommend:

But before you pull out the calculator, Taylor has some advice: I rarely recommend people tally up magnesium or other vital nutrients, she says. Its tedious, difficult and ungainly. Instead, make sure to include a variety of fiber-rich plant foods in your diet every day.

Here are Taylors top picks.

Tap, mineral and bottled waters can be magnesium sources but its difficult to know how much magnesium they contain because it depends on the water source, Taylor says. Its anywhere from 1 milligram per liter to 120 milligrams per liter.

So, if you drink the recommended two liters of water per day, that could be up to 240 milligrams of magnesium.

To reach the recommended amounts, Taylor recommends eating:

Magnesium supplements can be helpful if a doctor determines that you have a magnesium deficiency. But if you have no major health problems, Taylor says you should get magnesium from your diet.

Food first is my mantra, she says. If you take a dietary supplement for magnesium and take too much, youre going to get some uncomfortable side effects, such as cramping, diarrhea and nausea.

Eating magnesium-rich foods also gives you more nutritional bang for your buck. Youre not just getting magnesium from these foods youre also getting so many fantastic nutrients, such as vitamins, other minerals and phytonutrients, she says. Phytonutrients are plant compounds that are antioxidants, immunity boosters, anti-cancer agents and anti-inflammatories.

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7 Foods That Are High in Magnesium - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Omega-3 Market To Reach USD 4.50 Billion By 2027 | CAGR: 7.2% | Reports And Data – PRNewswire

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The GlobalOmega-3 Marketis projected to reach USD 4.50 billion by 2027. The Omega-3 market is fueled by the rising awareness for food nutrition and dietary improvements. Moreover, various factors such as developing economies and subsequently increasing incomes of consumers, adoption of e-commerce and m-commerce platforms, and demand for the overall organic supplements & functional foods are expected to create enforcements in the market.

Avocado benefits, avocado benefits for skin, avocado nutrition, avocado benefits for hair, avocado oil benefits, avocado recipes, omega-3 fatty acids for dogs, omega-3 fatty acids benefits, omega-3 fatty acids capsules, omega-3 foods, omega-3 capsules, omega-3 fish oil, fish oil supplements, fish oil pills, fish oil dosage, omega-3 supplements vegan, omega-3 weight loss, to name a few are some of the most crucial corresponding factors and topics that have been influencing the market growth in many ways, have been additionally discussed in the report in detail.

Request free sample of this research report at: https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/3393

While dietary improvement is a desirable goal for many common individuals ranging in various age bands, changing dietary patterns seems extremely hard for most of them also. Thus, it is becoming a common practice that many people are consuming additional dietary supplements to augment the daily intake of nutrients so that they may lead a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, rising numbers of patients with heart diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, and eyesight problems, among others, are the reasons the demands for the omega 3 are being raised.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis:

The COVID-19 pandemic has created endless disruptions to the manufacturing or production industries due to a shortage of resources in different parts of the world. The leading players in the industry are skeptical about the market's future and try to redesign their strategies to support the challenge. The pandemic had a serious impact on the distribution chains as a result of regular lockdowns. The manufacturing industries have been disrupted due to reduced available human resources. The companies are incorporating different techniques to increase the production volume and trying to develop innovative solutions at an affordable price, which can meet customer requirements at a much lower cost.

To identify the key trends in the industry, click on the link below:https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/omega-3-market

Further key findings from the report suggest

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global market on the basis of type, source, end-use verticals, and region:

Type Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Kilo Tons; 2017-2027)

Source Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Kilo Tons; 2017-2027)

End-Use Verticals Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Kilo Tons; 2017-2027)

Regional Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Kilo Tons; 2017-2027)

Browse more similar reports on Health Food and Sports Nutritioncategory by Reports And Data

About Reports and Data

Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries and help client's make a smarter business decision. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a multiple industries including Healthcare, Technology, Chemicals, Power and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware about the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise.

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Omega-3 Market To Reach USD 4.50 Billion By 2027 | CAGR: 7.2% | Reports And Data - PRNewswire

The Laws And Regulations On Hemp CBD In All 50 States – The Fresh Toast

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act did not affect or modify the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) or the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) ability to promulgate regulations and guidelines that relate to hemp under. The FDA regulates a wide variety of medical and consumer products sold in the United States including food, drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices, cosmetics, and tobacco products.

The FDA has approved of the use of CBD in the prescription drugEpidiolex. As a result, the FDA has indicated in press releases, enforcement letters, and its website that Hemp CBD cannot be used in foods, beverages, or dietary supplements. This is because under the FDCA, any article that is investigated as a new drug cannot be used in food, beverages, or dietary supplements, unless the article was widely marketed in those products prior to the drug investigation.

In addition, the FDA has taken a hard line against Hemp CBD in unapproved drugs. The FDA determines whether something is a drug based on its intended use, and determines a products intended use, in turn, based on how it is marketed. If a manufacturer or distributor makes any type ofhealth claim(CBD cures cancer or CBD may treat inflammation) or human structure claim (CBD may increase levels of calcium in bones) about a product that the FDA has not investigated and approved as a drug, the FDA will consider it a drug. Foods, ingredients in foods, drugs, and dietary supplements are all subject to premarket FDA approval.

RELATED: Federal Policy On Hemp CBD Is Taking Shape: What Needs To Be Addressed?

The FDA also regulates tobacco and nicotine tightly but does not have clear regulatory authority ofsmokable hemp products, such as dried flower, e-liquid and vape pens. Thats because generally, these products dont contain any tobacco or nicotine. To clarify, the FDA likely could have regulatory authority over these products, but it hasnt established a clear jurisdictional hook.

Though the FDA is a federal agency, its policies have a significant impact on the states. Some states have aligned themselves with the FDAs position. Others have taken a more permissive approach. Many states have provided little to no guidance on the subject of Hemp CBD.

Almost 90 years ago, in 1932, Supreme Court JusticeLouis Brandeiswrote a dissenting opinion inNew State Ice Co. v Liebmann, which contained this timeless passage:

To stay experimentation in things social and economic is a grave responsibility. Denial of the right to experiment may be fraught with serious consequences to the nation. It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.

This concept of states as laboratories of democracy remains a happy incident of our federal system to this day. States can experiment with their own laws without subjecting the citizens of other states to the related risks (or, including them in the upside).

Photo by TinaKru via Pixabay

Experiments are complicated and require close observation. That can be tough when you have 50 laboratories of democracy all operating at once. Over the past few years, states have been experimenting with how to regulate products containing Hemp CBD. This has resulted in a complex system of inconsistent policies on Hemp CBD. For businesses that are distributing Hemp CBD products across the country, it seems that these laboratories of democracy have created a logistical monster.

RELATED: The Latest Report From The FDA Shows How Poorly It Has Handled CBD

Our attorneys have watched this play out in real-time and in doing so, developed a method to track how each of the fifty states treat Hemp CBD. Our approach is to answer the following questions for each state:

Guided by these seven questions, we developed a Hemp CBD risk matrix that covers all fifty states and is updated each month by a team of Harris Bricken attorneys. We look at each of the seven questions for every state and update the risk matrix accordingly.ClickHEREto download a sample of the risk matrix.

The matrix provides a snapshot of each states laws, regulations, and policies regarding Hemp CBD products. By simply updating a website or issuing a memorandum, a state regulator can totally change the legal landscape for Hemp CBD products overnight. In addition, both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are actively working on regulations and policies that could impact the states.

The risk matrix can help your business with the following:

If you are interested in purchasing the Hemp CBD Risk Matrix, you can do so entirely online through thispage. You can also email me directly at daniel@harrisbricken.com to learn more about the risk matrix.

In addition, below are links to each post from our Hemp CBD Across State Lines series which covered each of the 50 states, as well as certain U.S. territories and Tribes. Unlike the risk matrix, which is updated monthly, these posts may be out of date due to the fast-changing nature of this industry.

States, Territories and Tribes

Daniel Shortt is an attorney atHarris Bricken. This article was originally publishedon theCanna Law Blog and has been reposted with permission.

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The Laws And Regulations On Hemp CBD In All 50 States - The Fresh Toast

The role of functional food and beverage in the era of COVID-19 – SmartBrief

Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Americans were already feeling anxious and stressed. The Hartman Groups Health + Wellness 2019: From Mindfulness to Moderation report highlighted rising anxiety as a primary health issue facing consumers. Now, with more than half of 2020 behind us and with the ongoing pandemic fear of contagion adding fuel to the ever-increasing stress of daily life, it is not surprising that the issue of anxiety continues to be prominent. Routine activities such as work, shopping, dining out, and childcare have all been disrupted contributing to a national mood that feels generally fearful and uncertain.

Realizing that the resulting anxiety along with stay-at-home orders would have impacts on household routines and the pandemics role as a catalyst for engagement with health and wellness, The Hartman Group fielded a new study that coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Functional Food & Beverage and Supplements 2020 report finds that 89% of those aware of the pandemic cited disruption to their household. These disruptions and concerns are prompting reconfiguration and re-examination of daily routines.

Most households are seeing significant change to their shopping, cooking, and eating routines. To boost immunity and overall health and wellness within the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are increasingly seeking out functional food and beverage products that they believe might aid in the bodys defenses.

Engaging in comfort food consumption for emotional well-being, consumers are also proactively stocking pantries for physical health.

Our Functional Food & Beverage and Supplements 2020 report finds that almost a third of consumers say theyre consuming more supplements (31%), functional foods or functional beverages (29%). This can take the form of adopting entirely new solutions or rededicating oneself to regular use of familiar ones.

According to the report, at least half of adult consumers claim to use functional food (58%) or beverage (56%) solutions to treat or prevent a specific condition, including general prevention efforts. They tend to look to food for help with energy, weight management, digestion, and cardiovascular conditions. Beverages are used, not surprisingly, for hydrationbut also for energy, bone and joint health, and immunity.

It is estimated that almost 90% of adult consumers today look for functional benefits in their food, beverages, and, of course, supplements. Supplements are more traditionally and transparently functional, with claims around benefits and potency explicitly linking their ingredients to desired outcomes. The food and beverage space is a bit cloudier, as it encompasses both inherent and enhanced or fortified versions of products. But even the lines between supplements and functional foods/beverages are blurring, as some supplement formats (such as powders and syrups) are added to food and beverages.

These efforts to address mental and physical health reflect holistic notions of health and wellness, and consumer desire for empowerment and resilience. As one Millennial consumer told us:

This coronavirus has made me a lot more diligent about my health routinemaking sure I take my supplementson top of probiotics, getting those fermented foods in my diet, making sure I'm taking that multivitamin every day...

We have witnessed consumers during this era of coronavirus stocking up for health. A Boomer put it to us this way:

Due to COVID, I stock up on oatmeal, sardines, tuna, nuts, dried seaweed and Emergen-C drink.

The cultural spotlight has swung far away from a desire for products produced artificially and we find consumers increasingly embracing proactive wellness lifestyles, with health paradigms shifting toward "knowing thyself" through feeling well, resting, exercising, acting preventatively and above all, eating fresh, less processed, and what they view as, "good food." The consumption of "good foods" (and beverages) is an especially important part of understanding what's functional today, since consumers increasingly see foods and beverages as the foundation of wellness and consequently are seeking whole forms that are inherently nutritious.

In the days ahead, consumers will continue to expand their interest in positive nutrition with consequent focus on the inherent nutritional characteristics of unadulterated foods and beverages that cue fresh and less processed. At the same time, consumers are open to dietary and nutritional techniques to prevent or manage a wide range of health conditions but need help and expertise.

Consumers will be trying to understand more about how specific foods or beverages used to manage a health condition might be combined with pharmaceutical interventions (if needed). Successful products will call out functional, real, food ingredients that consumers associate with inherent health rather than scientific creation.

Related stories:

As CEO of The Hartman Group, Demeritt drives the vision, strategy, operations and results-oriented culture for the company's associates as The Hartman Group furthers its offerings of tactical thinking, consumer and market intelligence, cultural competency and innovative intellectual capital to a global marketplace.

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The role of functional food and beverage in the era of COVID-19 - SmartBrief

The Connection Between Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Inflammation – One Green Planet

While all of the omegas offer health benefits, as well as drawbacks, omega-3 fatty acids have received most of the attention lately.

Why are omega-3 fatty acids important?

Studies have illuminated an incredibly important connection between omega-3 fatty acids and overall health, specifically their effects on reducing chronic inflammation. A variety of clinical trials have also shown beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in patients taking omega-3 supplements.

With that said, there are a few different forms of omega-3 fatty acids and only one of them can be sourced fully from plant-based foods called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). The ALA form of omega-3 fatty acids doesnt have that same powerful inflammation-alleviating effect as the other two forms.

Of course, plant-based eaters are not at a loss!

Lets take a closer look at omega-3 fatty acids, their relationship to inflammation, and how to go about getting adequate amounts in a plant-based diet.

geralt/Pixabay

Omega-3 fatty acids are part of an entire family of essential fatty acids that play important roles in your body. They are labeledessentialdue to the fact that your body cant necessarily produce them, therefore you have to get Omega-3s from your diet.

I say necessarily because theres a bit of a caveat to that based on thetypeof omega-3 fatty acid youre talking about.

Yep, as I mention in most of my posts its never simple, theres another layer to the omega-3 puzzle!

If you break down omega-3 fatty acids further, youll discover three different types: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). While ALA is a straight forward essential fatty acid, meaning that your body cant make it, certain forms of this omega-3 fatty acid can actually be convertedby your bodyinto EPA and then to DHA, but only in very small amounts.

This is where a lot of misinformation gets thrown around.

Even though your body is able to convert ALA into the other two forms of omega-3 fatty acids, its not quite enough to get adequate levels. Therefore, in order to get EPA and DHA in appropriate amounts, its recommended to turn to either food sources of dietary supplement form depending on your diet.

When you hear about obtaining omega-3 fatty acids from food, theyre referring to alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). This is the most common omega-3 fatty acid in your diet and is used by your body for energy. As mentioned, ALA is also converted into the biologically active forms of EPA and DHA.

Alpha-linolenic acid is found in plant-based foods such as flax seeds, flaxseed oil, canola oil, chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, and soybeans.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may be the most difficult form of omega-3 fatty acid for plant-based eaters to find as its found in animal products, such as fatty fish and fish oil. With that said, there are vegan-based supplements that source EPA from microalgae, which is the only plant-based source of this form of omega-3 fatty acids.

While EPA has a variety of roles in the body, part of it is converted into Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), which happens to be the most important of the omega-3 fatty acids.

Why is docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) the most important of the omega-3 fatty acids? Turns out that this form is a key structural component of your brain, the retina of your eyes, and numerous other body parts. Similarly to EPA, DHA is found in animal products such as fatty fish and fish oil as well as meat, eggs, and dairy from grass-fed animals.

Yet, much like EPA, DHA can be sourced from microalgae supplements.

DamianNiolet/Pixabay

Lots of attention has been shown on omega-3 fatty acids lately due to the fact that recent research has illuminated a wide variety of impressive health benefits that come along with getting the appropriate amounts of this nutrient.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to reduced depression, anxiety, and childhood specific-ADHD symptoms, better eye health, increased brain health during pregnancy and better brain function in early life, improved risk factors for heart disease, reduced metabolic syndrome symptoms, aids with autoimmune diseases, fights cancer, reduces the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, improves bone and joint health, may improve sleep, and has been shown to help fight age-related mental decline and cognitive issues.

On top of that, omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to reduced chronic inflammation, which is a bodily state that has been linked to a slew of serious health conditions and diseases. Its this link to inflammation that has many researchers curious as to the lengths that omega-3 fatty acids can be used as an agent for better overall health!

VSRao/Pixabay

Fighting chronic bodily inflammation is becoming a trend in the health world.

And for good reason!

While inflammation is a natural process where your body fights against things that harm it, such as infections, injuries, and toxins, in an attempt to heal itself, chronic inflammation takes place when this response lingers, leaving your body in a constant state of alert. Recent research has found that chronic inflammation may have a negative impact on your tissues and organs and may even play a role in a range of conditions, from cancer to asthma.

While a plant-based diet, in general, helps to fight chronic inflammation via antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, and a variety of vitamins and minerals, studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids may be a key nutrient in the battle!

Omega-3 fatty acids may reducethe production of molecules and substances linked to inflammation, such as inflammatory eicosanoids and cytokines. Multiple studies have looked at the reaction between omega-3 fatty acid consumption and chronic inflammation, finding a consistent connection between higher omega-3 intake and reduced inflammation.

This has been found true in a variety of observational studies such as this Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseasesstudy performed at The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health in Washington, DC, this analysis Effect of Marine-Derived n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on C-reactive Protein, Interleukin 6 and Tumor Necrosis Factorco-performed at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and the APCNS Centre of Nutrition and Food Safety in Hangzhou, China, and this randomized controlled trial Omega-3 Supplementation Lowers Inflammation and Anxiety in Medical Students performed at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Ohio State University College of Medicine in Ohio.

Nested Naturals Vegan Omega-3/Amazon.com

One of the benefits of switching to a plant-based diet is that it naturally helps reduce inflammation. Plant-based foods are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and anti-inflammatory compounds, which are all key dietary ingredients that fight chronic inflammation. While other factors play a huge role such as consuming processed foods and alcohol, drug use, and your level of physical activity and exercise a simple switch to a primarily plant-based diet can do a world of good for reducing bodily inflammation.

Of course, there are always two sides to every coin.

For instance, when switching to a plant-based diet its important to make sure youre getting all the necessary nutrients from those lovely plants. There are a few nutrients that are a bit more difficult to source from plants, including theEPA and DHA forms of omega-3 fatty acids.

Heres where a supplement can help you out!

With that said, before you dive in and start taking a new supplement, make sure to talk it over with your doctor, nutritionist, or dietitian! Every human body is different, therefore take a personalized approach by investing in professionals to help you look at your current levels.

One of the most common reasons to take an omega-3 fatty acid supplement is to make sure youre getting the appropriate omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

Omega-6 includes polyunsaturated fatty acids, also called PUFAs. This form of omega-6 fatty acid has been linked to a wide variety of health issues including cardiovascular disease, inflammation-stimulated diseases (cancer, arthritis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, to mention a few), increase risk of strokes and obesity, and even some psychiatric disorders.While omega-6 is important for a healthy diet, too much omega-6 in conjunction with too little omega-3 is obviously very damaging.

Currently, its been estimated that the Westernised diet is said to be around a 15 to 1 or 16 to 1 ratio, which means you might be getting only 7 [percent] of the omega 3 you should be.

Implementing a low processed product, high plant-based food diet is one way of reducing omega-6, yet incorporating an omega-3 fatty acid supplement is yet another way to make sure youre getting more of that wonderful omega-3!

There is a slew of health benefits that have been linked to the specific DHA and EPA forms of omega-3 fatty acids including increased cognitive function, healthier eyes, and even better visual acuity!On top of that, EPA has been found to actually inhibit the enzyme delta-5-desaturase (D5D) which is responsible for the production of the omega 6 fatty acid known as arachidonic acid (AA).This means that the more EPA you consume, the less inflammation you may have from excess omega 6.

This also means you dont have to rely on the super complicated and slow process of the natural bodily conversation of ALA to DHA and EPA. While the body will do the work for you, it never hurts to give your body a helping hand every once in a while!

While there are a few studies that show consuming enough ALA from plant-based sources will do the trick of boosting DHA and EPA in the blood, the current government standards are actually hard to meet! Right now the US Department of Health and Human Services says we should be getting around 250 mg of EPA and DHA per day.

For those that are unable to meet that high quantity, having an omega-3 fatty acid supplement handy is a great way to easily make sure youre body is taken care of!

alexdante/Pixabay

Ive mentioned that getting adequate, balanced doses of all three omega-3 fatty acids ALA, EPA, and DHA is difficult on a plant-based diet, and therefore integrating a trustworthy supplement may be the best bet for strict plant-based eaters.With that said, there are a few plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids that also have a slew of other health benefits!

Flaxseeds are one of the most popular sources of both omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber for plant-based eaters! These teeny seeds pack a whopping punch of nutrition with one ounce (28 grams) offering 5 grams of protein, 7 grams of dietary fiber, and 6388 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. This is not to mention the levels of vitamins and minerals such as folate, choline, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.

Along with flaxseeds, flaxseed oil is another great source of omega-3 fatty acids!

In fact, flaxseed oil is a more potent and rich extraction which means there are even more omega-3 fatty acids per serving. For instance, in the same serving size, one ounce (28 grams), youll get a 14,925 mg dose of omega-3 fatty acids. With that said, due to the fact that the product has been processed, flaxseed oil offers less of the other nutrients.

Try a few of these flaxseed recipes: Summer Stone Fruit Waffles, Wholegrain Flaxseed and Sesame Crackers, Superfood Biscotti, or this Lentil Loaf with Tomato Glaze.

Chia seeds are not only a staple in a plant-based kitchen, but theyre also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids!

When introduced to a liquid, these minuscule seeds puff up with a gelatinous coating making them perfect for plant-based pudding or as an egg-binder-substitute in a variety of baking recipes. A one-ounce serving (28 grams) offers 4915 mg of omega-3 fatty acids along with a whopping 10 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of protein, and moderate doses of calcium, phosphorous, and potassium.

Try a few of these chia seed recipes: Mixed Berry and Tahini Chia Pudding, Peach Poppyseed Overnight Oatmeal, Blueberry Grape Chia Seed Refrigerator Jam, or these Glow Buns Energy Balls.

Nuts, in general, are one of the best sources of healthy fat, dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, yet when it comes to getting your daily dose of those omega-3 fatty acids, youll want to focus on walnuts. One cup of chopped walnuts offers 10,623mg of omega-3 fatty acids.

Of course, its not just about the omega 3s!

Alongside those fatty acids, youre also getting a hardy dose of protein (17.8 g), dietary fiber (7.8 g), monounsaturated fat (10.5g), polyunsaturated fat (55.2g), and saturated fat (7.2g), plus a slew of vitamins and minerals primarily vitamin A, choline, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.

Try a few of these walnut based recipes: Chinese Walnut Cookies (also has chia seeds!), Mushroom & Nut Burgers, Creamy Walnut White Sauce Pasta, Fudge Walnut Brownies, or this Potato Salad With Caramelized Onions and Walnuts.

Another great seed to include in your omega-3 fatty acid focused plant-based diet is hemp seed!These teeny seeds are rich in flavor and can be easily added to smoothies, salads, or sprinkled on top of a central dish for an extra oompf of nutrients!An ounce (28 grams) of hemp seeds offers a whopping 6,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. Yet, hemp seeds are also a great source of protein, healthy fat, vitamin E, and minerals, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, and iron.

Try a few of these hemp seed-based recipes: Crunchy Hemp Coconut Fruit Salad, Vegan Lemon Blueberry Superfood Granola, Kale Walnut Pesto Pasta (also has walnuts!), or this Cherry Hemp Oat Bars.

While soybeans are the most plentiful source of omega-3 fatty acids, they do contain a modest amount. For one cup of cooked soybeans, you get around 637 mg of omega-3 fatty acids.What soybeans may lack in omega-3 fatty acids they provide elsewhere. That same cup of cooked soybeans offers over 22 grams of protein, over 7 grams of dietary fiber, and vitamins, A, C, and folate and minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.

Try a few of these soybean-based recipes: Homemade Soy Milk, Spicy Coconut Plantain Soy Bean Curry, or this Soybean Noodles in Peanut Butter Spinach Sauce.

Knowing how important Omega-3 fatty acids are, its probably a good idea to learn a bit more about getting these nutrients in your diet! Plus, what about theotheromega fatty acids? Furthermore, what about healthy fat all-around in a well-balanced plant-based diet? Here are a few more resources to get you started!

Wholegrain Flaxseed and Sesame Crackers/One Green Planet

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help withchronic inflammation,heart health,mental wellbeing,fitness goals,nutritional needs,allergies,gut healthandmore!Dairy consumption also has been linked many health problems, includingacne,hormonal imbalance,cancer,prostate cancerand has manyside effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading theFood Monster App with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about theenvironmentalandhealth benefitsof aplant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter!Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high quality content. Please considersupporting usby donating!

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The Connection Between Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Inflammation - One Green Planet

How to boost your metabolism naturally: seven workout and diet tips from HIIT and better sleep to spicy food – T3 (US)

If youre aiming to boost your metabolism in order to lose weight and keep it off, exercise is definitely one of the best ways to do it, as well explain here. But there are other ways to speed up metabolism and lose weight in the process. Weve collected seven tips to help boost your metabolism and to kick-start your weightloss journey today. Although please note that while these ways to speed up your metabolism are easy to understand, they do require some effort to carry out.

ASICS Runners Face Cover review: an excellent running face mask that you can drink through

A slow metabolism can cause a lot of trouble over time but luckily, you don't have to put yourself through the horrors of intermittent fasting or the keto diet in order to boost metabolism although both those diets have been researched thoroughly and shown to aid weight loss, with the right application.

Under Armour SPORTSMASK review (first run): face mask for exercise and running outpaces normal coverings

An improved rate of metabolism can help you keep weight off, and generally turn you into a healthier and leaner individual. As usual, there's no instant fix to be had here, but being fit and having a faster metabolism quickly become a virtuous circle.

If you want to lose weight, you should consider applying some of the tips below to your daily routine. Who knows, they might help you lose belly fat sooner rather than later.

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Why should you try HIIT workouts? For one, it improves metabolism and burns calories long after you finished with your daily HIIT session, making you a fat-torching machine that's on 24/7. The best thing about HIIT workouts is that they can be done anywhere using any sort of equipment: you can do a full body HIIT workout in the park or even follow the ultimate HIIT workout that uses your bodyweight only (and a skipping rope).

You can also have a HIIT sessions on a treadmill, elliptical trainer or rowing machine but even if you haven't got the best home gym setup, you can do HIIT with cheap fitness equipment still available to buy online. Try to do HIIT workouts in the morning: research reveals what is the best time for exercising for weight loss.

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Eating moderately spicy food has lots of benefits and including spicier dishes in your diet can help boost metabolism too. Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chilli peppers their 'hot' taste, is said to help burn more calories and reduce the risk of obesity too. As a 2017 research cites, "epidemiological data revealed that the consumption of foods containing capsaicin was associated with a lower prevalence of obesity" and "dietary red pepper can suppress energy intake and modify macronutrient intake through appetite and satiety regulation".

In another study about capsaicinoids, "it was observed that consumption of capsaicinoids increases energy expenditure by approximately 50 kcal/day, and that this would produce clinically significant levels of weight loss in 1-2 years."

What does this all mean? Spicy food will help regulate your food intake by making you less hungry ("satiety regulation") and it will also help you burn more calories without any exercise. Granted, not many calories, but applying this small change alongside all the other lifestyle tweaks, you can effectively supercharge your metabolism in a sustainable way.

However, don't try to overdo the heat by eating spicy food all the time. As they say, "the dose makes the poison", and eating too much hot food can have an adverse effect on your digestive system.

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According to research cited by Healthline, "proteincauses the largest rise in TEF (thermic effect of food). It increases your metabolic rate by 1530%, compared to 510% for carbs and 03% for fats." As Healthline explains, the "thermic effect of food caused by the extra calories required to digest, absorb and process the nutrients in your meal."

Since digesting protein takes more effort from your body, by eating more of it you will basically work out using your metabolic system (we might be exaggerating here). Protein is also essential for muscle repair and recovery, so if you are actively working out, it is recommended to take between 1.6-2 grams of protein per body kilogram per day.

You should source protein from a variety of food stuff like lean meat, nuts, green veg and eggs. Supplementing protein is also popular among athletes: protein powder shakes are probably the most convenient way to get your protein fix on the go but you can also have protein bars or jerky as well as post workout snack.

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As well as increasing your protein intake and reducing bad fats and carbs in your diet, you should also keep an eye out for a good balance of micronutrients, minerals and vitamins. as in the case protein, these micronutrients should be sourced from vegetables, fish, lean meat etc as the natural sources contain other beneficial substances as well, not just synthesised vitamins found in food supplements.

Probiotics can also help improve metabolism and maintain a healthy gut microbiome, essential for well-functioning digestion. In a research paper published in 2013, the researchers concluded that "Probiotics may restore the composition of the gut microbiome and introduce beneficial functions to gut microbial communities, resulting in amelioration or prevention of gut inflammation and other intestinal or systemic disease phenotypes."

B vitamins have also been said to improve metabolism as they play an essential role in metabolising macronutrients efficiently. Good sources of B vitamins include legumes, eggs, lean meat and bananas

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Everyone likes to sleep in every now and then and we are not suggesting you should wake up super early every day for no reason. Waking up and going to bed roughly at the same time can help your body build a routine which in turn will have a positive effect on your metabolism too. This is especially beneficial for people who otherwise like to hit the snooze button 20 times each morning until they can roll out of bed.

Instead on going cold turkey and wake up much earlier on day one, try moving the wake up time a little bit earlier each day/week until you reached the preferred wake up time. Once you used to the new wake up time, your body will wake up automatically, even without setting an alarm.

It's also beneficial to have food roughly at the same time throughout the day so your metabolic system is at the ready when the food is on its way. Food will be digested more efficiently and quicker too if you stick to an eating schedule. Again, no need to have breakfast 8AM on the dot every morning, but having it around that time will definitely improve metabolism.

Needless to say, eating healthier food stuff can also boost metabolism significantly: fibrous food and plenty of water is key to maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

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This technique may have a very complicated-sounding name Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis and a vaguely annoying acronym NEAT but it's actually very simple. NEAT means adjusting how you live your day-to-day life, in order to be more active. You know when exercise experts say, 'Take the stairs, not the lift' and you think, 'Oh yes, good idea,' but then you don't do it? Well NEAT is actually doing things like that.

Like a lot of great ways to get fit, NEAT is perfectly straightforward in principle, but it does require some effort on your part. However the great thing about NEAT for many people is that it specifically does not involve going to the gym or setting aside time for exercise. Although of course, it can also be used as one component of a healthy lifestyle, alongside gym, running, cycling, watching Joe Wicks, etc.

Learn about using NEAT to speed up your metabolism

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Caffeine found in coffee and teas can boost metabolism significantly. Not everyone reacts to caffeine the same way and it is also recommended not to drink too many cups of coffee/caffeinated beverages in a day. Green tea has a lower caffeine content so combining coffee and green tea consumption can have better results.

Drinking more water can also improve metabolism: combine increased water consumption with more fibrous food for the best results.

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How to boost your metabolism naturally: seven workout and diet tips from HIIT and better sleep to spicy food - T3 (US)

Giannis Koutivas on the future of iGaming and affiliates – AffiliateINSIDER

Following a sluggish 2020 so far, the world is slowly returning to normal. And as part of this, a handful of real-life conferences are coming back to the forefront.

This includes in the world of iGaming. Affiliate marketing expert Giannis Koutivas will be attending one of these in October with KingBet Media, which is titled GAME.

GAME stands for the Gaming & Affiliate Marketing Expo, with KingBet Media being an official media partner.

We spoke to Giannis about the upcoming event in Athens, as well as the upcoming Google Cookiepocalypse and more.

Giannis Koutivas: We are totally extroverted during this period! We want to give knowledge and value back to the community that has granted us with so many things in recent years.

One of the best ways to do this is to support conferences, big and small, and be there to help the industrygrow. We are proud to be media partners of the GAME Event, held by the guys on Eventus International. It is held on Athens, during the first two days of October. We will be there, waiting for you to talk about delivering value to the Greek market.

This one will be a real conference, not a digital one. But of course, it will be a corona-era conference! Organisers will do everything to keep it safe and I am sure there wont be any problems at all. Social distancing and old-school hygiene habits can make a huge impact asscientists claim andwe are ready to follow these guidelines!

GK: I think this is the elephant in the room. It all depends, whetherthe stakeholders (actually the browsers) are committed to reshaping the internet in a place where privacy is number one concern. If not, then this wont change anything at all.

New techniques will emerge and it will be business as usual. But if they are, then this could be the endof the web as we know it. Websites will need to rely on 1st party data, which means they need to produce their own ways of remarketing and not rely on other media networks.

Affiliate marketing wont be affected at all. On the contrary it will be king, because operators will see the affiliates traffic as the best-targeted traffic they can find. This will totally upgrade the affiliates role.

GK: We feel that online conferences are here to stay for some time, even though the feeling is nowhere near the same as the real-life ones.

In the absence of sports, esports and virtual games benefitted as many predicted they would. We think that these will continue to gain momentum going forward.

GK: Promoting online casino brands, of course. We even had to promote casino brands through our sports bettingchannels! The growth we all saw was monstrous, once there were no sports events to bet on.

Media production is also one of our concerns for the future. We wanna deliver the full value to operators. Both brand awareness and performance. We already host our own online slots Twitch show with kingbet.net and we plan to expand this tactic to both becasino.com and helpbet.com, our English websites.

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Giannis Koutivas on the future of iGaming and affiliates - AffiliateINSIDER

Defamation defense affirmed by Nev. SC in gambler’s case over blackjack footage – Legal Newsline

CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) A gamblers bet that he could take down Nevadas Anti-SLAPP law is a loser, as the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against him on July 30.

Dr. Nicholas Colons attorneys at Nersesian & Sankiewicz came up with the strategy in an attempt to pursue their clients defamation lawsuit against the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which is alleged to have shown Colon using a device at a blackjack table during a presentation.

Though Colon wasnt named and his face wasnt shown while using a tally counter device under the table he says it was obvious that he was the person in the clip. The NGCB and deputy chief James Taylor do not deny that the footage was of Colon.

Defendants routinely use Anti-SLAPP laws to head off defamation lawsuits. The laws entitle them to mount an early defense that their alleged actions are protected by free speech.

In Nevada, Colons case presented the Supreme Court with a chance to decide whether its Anti-SLAPP laws violate defamation plaintiffs right to a jury trial.

Rather, they function as a procedural mechanism, much like summary judgment, that allows the court to summarily dismiss claims with no reasonable possibility of success, Justice Lidia Stiglich wrote.

Upon making the requisite showing under prong two, a plaintiff can proceed to a jury trial on the underlying claim. A plaintiff who has failed to meet this burden would not have been entitled to a jury trial, even absent an Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss. The right to a jury trial is therefore still available.

Taylor gave a presentation in 2017 called Scams, Cheats, and Blacklists to about 300 attendees at the Global Gaming Expo, which is organized by co-defendant American Gaming Association.

A nine-second video showed someone, only visible from the neck down, using a counter device under a blackjack table. Colon, who was in attendance and is a well-known gambler, argued it was obvious the clip was of him. He charged the defendants with calling him a cheater.

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Colon admits to having the counter but says it cant be used to cheat at blackjack. Though the district court denied the Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss his case, the Supreme Court reversed.

Taylors presentation was made in good faith, Stiglich wrote. Taylors declaration states that he acquired all of the information, videos and photographs used in his presentation through GCB investigations, and that the information contained in his presentation was true and accurate.

This declaration shows that the gist of Taylors presentation was either truthful or made without knowledge of its falsehood.

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Defamation defense affirmed by Nev. SC in gambler's case over blackjack footage - Legal Newsline

COVID-19 Emergency Response Latin America and the Caribbean Report: Based on Internal Situation Report N 16 (August 5, 2020) – Bolivia (Plurinational…

SITUATION OVERVIEW

4.054.586 Confirmed cases

143.800 Confirmed deaths

At this moment, Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the most restrictive measures at the global level

COVID-19 has spread to all 54 counties and territories in the Americas Region

BENEFICIARIES REACHED SO FAR 7.343.016 PEOPLE

HOW IS COVID-19 IMPACTING GIRLS IN THE REGION?

As previous reports, all CO report 3 mayor issues in the lives of girls: 1. Increase in gender-based violence both in virtual spaces and in everyday life. 2 Anxiety and uncertainty generated by the decline in livelihoods and economic means 3. And increase in domestic and care work.

Detrimental to the quality of education, lack of social contact and emotional containment. The issue of mental health is also been reported in several countries. The confinement measures are weakening girls social and collective actions, even if there are virtual means this is something not all girls have access to. This impacts directly to their access to education and self-organization in their communities.

As previously reported, the effects of COVID 19 have led to the collapse of local health systems, preventing women, adolescents and youth from accessing sexual and reproductive health services.

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COVID-19 Emergency Response Latin America and the Caribbean Report: Based on Internal Situation Report N 16 (August 5, 2020) - Bolivia (Plurinational...

Balancing Employee Health and Safety With Business Continuity During COVID-19 – Automation World

Daniel C. Malyszko is director of operations and IIoT consultant

Employee health and safety is the most critical requirement for maintaining operational and business continuity in the COVID-19 communal work environment. When a positive test occurs in the workplace, the typical reaction is to enforce a campus-wide or zoned shutdown in the manufacturing facility, causing a disruption to production. Future management to prevent spreading should include pro-active measures, so that no production shutdowns need to occur while keeping employees safe and healthy. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is releasing guidance and regulations on the steps employers should take in preparing workplaces for COVID-19. Key to implementing OSHA guidelines could lie in data-driven approaches to business continuity. With that in mind, lets examine some possibilities.

A good first approach is to leverage existing systems, such as door access badge scanning, to understand who was in a given area during a specific time range. This data can provide coarse contact tracing resulting in more informed quarantining. However, the effectiveness of the data set relies on having numerous badge readers throughout the facility to understand where and when potential contact was made. Most plants have some level of access control, so this is a good place to begin building a digital index of data to aid in understanding the full scope of a positive test result.

Door access alone doesnt provide enough data to accurately measure contact tracing, so we must increase granularity by utilizing more advanced data sources to understand where and for how long people are interacting in a given work environment. Examples are work order systems, workstation logins, room scheduling systems, and location services provided by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth beacons.

One technology that has created buzz is a lanyard/phone Bluetooth node-to-node that provides not safe distance alerting, but this approach can only provide coarse contact tracing without context on where interaction has occurred. This sort of safety by proximity alerting approach is a stopgap measure to aid in behavior modification regarding social distancing, but it doesnt give the deep analytics regarding how people move and interact within a manufacturing environment.

Accurate location data is what most COVID-19 task forces are seeking to aid in contact tracing, and Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) is a technology many are looking at investing in. An RTLS equips personnel with a lanyard/badge/wearable tag and can provide precise location data with the addition of some infrastructure that complements typical plant floor wireless technologies. Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is one such technology that can provide 1ft resolution positioning with high signal stability. UWB uses tags (transmitters) on the person or asset and anchors (receivers) mounted on the ceiling or walls. UWB is also becoming more prevalent in the consumer market with companieslike Apple embedding this technology in their devices for precise proximity awareness to other devices or enabling tracking of tagged personal effects such as wallets and keys. While UWB is the superior RTLS, most manufacturing facilities do not currently have the infrastructure in place to support this robust approach. Capital investment would, most likely, be required.

So why is an UWB RTLS the best solution for contact tracing within a manufacturing facility? UWB RTLS can be a versatile investment with expanded use cases beyond tracking and tracing infected employees. Other applications include quick mustering in the event of an unsafe condition in a segment of the plant, panic button in the case of an accident or need for immediate medical attention, geofencing and restricted area alerting, people-awareness environment in an operating zone, health/safety awareness, people navigation and people flow analytics including heatmapping and spaghetti diagrams.

Additional opportunities for manufacturers to improve and enhance their operation are possible when they make the investment to deploy UWB RTLS in their facility. Examples include asset inventory and location, digital work order asset search, material flow and production planning, forklift tracking, guided picking process, and location-based automation triggers.

It is clear that manufacturers will need to establish a hazard analysis framework and roadmap by further increasing the accuracy and scope of visibility around potentially infected employees through ingestion of new technologies and data sets. There is also a need to assess potential infrastructure investments to provide a safe and healthy work environment conducive to meeting production demands that also meet the COVID-19 OSHA requirements. Currently, there is no one size fits all solution. Every manufacturer has different enterprise systems, custom data integration and specific application functionality requirements. But it is certain that a truly effective solution will rely on an index of digital data from many disparate sources. Addressing employee health and safety in the post-COVID communal work environment can and should be considered a digital transformation initiative.

System Integrators (SI) knowledgeable in manufacturing and advanced technologies can be an asset to manufacturers navigating the many options to dealing with contact tracing. The role of the SI is to understand the clients business objectives so the SI can provide relevant guidance to the client on the art of the possible through the deployment of advanced tracking and tracing technologies and analytics.

Daniel C. Malyszko is director of operations and IIoT consultant atMalisko Engineering, a certified member of theControl System Integrators Association(CSIA). See Malisko Engineerings profile on theCSIA Industrial Automation Exchange.

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Balancing Employee Health and Safety With Business Continuity During COVID-19 - Automation World

The 3 Telltale Signs That It’s Time for You to Automate – mySanAntonio.com

Photo: Rowan Jordan | Getty Images

The 3 Telltale Signs That It's Time for You to Automate

Have you ever seen other entrepreneurs and their agencies scale with ease, and you wonder how theyre doing it? They seem to have the same size team that you do and dont seem to have a secret sauce to their techniques or what theyre offering to their clients. And yet, theyre bringing on more and more clients and reaching higher monthly revenue goals seemingly every week. Heres a secret: theyre automating. And as much as automation is a secret weapon, its something any entrepreneur or agency can adopt in as little as an afternoon.

Automation refers to the outsourcing of tasks to new team members or technological resources. Since its a brand new frontier, many entrepreneurs wonder if theyre ready for that next step, especially with the desire for control and keeping everything in the business in house. But the truth is, its likely that youve been due for some automation for a long time, but havent known that its time to get started. Here are four telltale signs that you could benefit from bringing automation into your business.

Related: How Automation Intelligence Can Improve Your Business in Good and Bad Times

How overwhelmed are you currently feeling? Do you feel like your to-do list is always 50 items long and counting? Many entrepreneurs falsely equate being busy with being successful. Heres a question for you. Is the work youre doing actually pushing the needle forward with your business goals? Or do you feel like a hamster on a treadmill, constantly on calls and emails with little payoff?

Heres a secret. You dont actually need to be doing all the busy work youre doing. And, you dont have to hire a full-time assistant to take the load off your plate, either. This is where automation comes in. It can come in the form of a project management tool, an AI assistant to handle your emails and scheduling calls, or automated email follow-ups. Imagine how much time youll save.

Startdetermininghow many of your tasks can be automated by conducting a time audit. Using an app like Toggle, determine how much of your day is eaten up by doing tasks that others can do,especially if these are little tasks that keep you flitting across the surface of your work instead of going deep.

Remember the days before your business got going when youd always be in the creative flow? Whether you were building client packages, a landing page, or a social media design, you felt like you had plenty of mental space to brainstorm new ideas and build. When were constantly inundated with smaller to-do list items, it becomes challenging to unlock that same creativity, which can negatively impact your business. Business owners that automate know that what makes them successful is the vision and creativity of the founders, so they automate or outsource whatever they can to free up their mental space for the big, directional, and vision-based projects. Thats why recruiting a motivated team is so important. Team collaboration is key to performance, and effective communication helps to empower the team to do more faster, together. Ineffective collaboration can have the opposite effect. In this case study, released by ClickMeeting, they explored the impact of introducing better tools for interactive group learning sessions, aligning the culture, and helping teams collaborate better, which has become vital in todays #WFH environment.

In the case study, ClickMeeting provides insight into how international gaming company G2A used their product for managing online meetings that encouraged idea-sharing, effective collaboration, and strategy discussions amongst the team. The G2A team witnessed a big jump in productivity.

The interactive group learning sessions enabled G2A to connect their teams so that they were able to collaborate better including sharing projects, documents, and content, and askingfor real-time advice or input from their teammates. As a result, the companys leadership team was able to automate their tasks and align corporate culture, ensuring everyone is on the same page helping them accomplish more.

Related:Automation Is Becoming a Business Imperative: Don't Wait Until It's Too Late

More time in the flow state contributes to scaling, too especially if youve been wanting to dream up ways to do it right! If you have big visions and goals for these next few years for your business or agency and its ability to scale (with both revenue and clients), thats a surefire sign that you should use automation.

James Dhillon, the CEO of Automaters, shared with Yahoo Finance that If youre still using human capital for the tasks that can be automated, youre eventually going to get phased out by the next generation of smart agency owners. He firmly believes that one of the biggest mistakes founders can make is trying to be a jack of all trades. Were spread too thin when we try to do it all. And, a new wave of agency owners who are using automation is scaling and sweeping up clients and testimonials in the process. To ensure youre on their playing field, consider beginning to automate today.

Related:Trader Joe's is Renaming International Products After Petition Calls Out Racist BrandingWhy Hiring an Expert Is Smart When Undertaking a RebrandFree Webinar | July 30: Is It Time To Rebrand Your Company?

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The 3 Telltale Signs That It's Time for You to Automate - mySanAntonio.com

Study: Dwarf Planet Ceres is an Ocean World

According to several new studies published today in the journal Nature, space rock Ceres holds massive reservoirs of sea water underneath its surface.

According to several new studies published today in the journal Nature, Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, likely holds massive reservoirs of sea water underneath its surface. Yes: An ocean planet. 

A team of researchers found evidence of an “extensive reservoir” of brine beneath the surface of the 20-million-year-old Occator crater on Ceres using high definition images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft.

Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system. It’s only 590 miles across and takes 1,682 Earth days (4.6 years) to orbit the Sun. It has a very thin atmosphere of water vapor from ice volcanoes.

The recently discovered reservoir is roughly the size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake and is thought to be filled with extremely salty water — which is what stopped it from freezing.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, a now-retired space probe that launched in 2007, took the images from just 22 miles from the surface during a second run in 2018.

The team analyzed infrared images and found evidence of hydrohalite, a material commonly found in sea ice on Earth, which has never been observed on another planet.

Scientists suspect this reservoir was formed in the Occator crater after another space rock impacted with the location some 20 million years ago. The scientists believe that after this impact, the surface of the crater froze over, forming a large reservoir of melt water beneath.

“The material found on Ceres is extremely important in terms of astrobiology,” Maria Cristina De Sanctis, a researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Rome, Italy, co-author of one of the new papers and Dawn team member, told AFP.

“We know that these minerals are all essential for the emergence of life,” she added.

“It’s really kind of a smoking gun, because you would have expected it had gone away if it had been sitting there even close to the surface for millions of years,” Dawn Principal Investigator Carol Raymond of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab told Astronomy.

“Past research revealed that Ceres had a global ocean, an ocean that would have no reason to exist [still] and should have been frozen by now,” De Sanctis told Astrology. ”These latest discoveries have shown that part of this ocean could have survived and be present below the surface.”

READ MORE: Ceres: An ocean world in the asteroid belt [Astronomy]

More on Ceres: Traces of Organic Molecules Have Been Located on Ceres

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Study: Dwarf Planet Ceres is an Ocean World

New York City Subway System Asks Apple to Improve Masked Face ID

New York's mass transportation agency, fed up with folks taking off their masks to unlock their iPhones, wants Apple to improve facial recognition features.

Mask On

New York City’s subway-running Metropolitan Transit Agency, fed up with folks taking off their masks to unlock their iPhones, wants Apple to improve their iPhones’ facial recognition features. In a letter to CEO Tim Cook obtained by The Associated Press, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Patrick Foye complained that too many riders were seen removing their masks to unlock phones even though Apple recently simplified the unlock process for people wearing masks.

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Some masks have been shown to thwart facial recognition programs, to the point of being a government concern last month. Before Apple’s software update in May, users wearing masks would have to wait a few seconds while face-recognition features tried and failed to authorize them before asking for a passcode. Now masked iPhone users are able to swipe up and enter a passcode immediately, so in theory, there shouldn’t be any need to remove a face covering while riding an MTA bus or train.

Now Delayed

The MTA Chairman’s letter comes at a unique time. MTA ridership, the fares from which the MTA depends on, plummeted almost 90% during the height of the coronavirus epidemic in New York City. The request to improve facial recognition comes just two months after two US Senators proposed banning police use of the technology and after previous arguments from experts that such technology should be banned from everyday life.

READ MORE: MTA asks Apple’s help to solve iPhone mask issues [AP]

More on Facial Recognition: Government leak: Cops terrified masks will block facial recognition

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New York City Subway System Asks Apple to Improve Masked Face ID

New Climate Paper: Maybe Let’s Let Venice Sink?

How much effort should we place on preserving World Heritage Sites threatened by climate changes brought on by human activity?

Absolutely Atlantian

How much effort should we place on preserving heritage as the world around us changes? “How much effort,” asks a press release from North Carolina State University, “should be spent trying to keep Venice looking like Venice?”

Rather than spending increasing resources to keep Venice looking like Venice, a new proposal published in the journal Climate Change suggests World Heritage Sites, like Venice, should be allowed to “transform” as our world changes.

Timeless

Historically, preservation efforts have focused on keeping heritage sites exactly as they were. But, as the world around us continues to change, preservationists and researchers are suggesting there may be a better model than to keep up with the pace of change.

In a paper co-authored by Eugene Jo, World Heritage Leadership Programme Coordinator at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, and Erin Seekamp, a professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at North Carolina State University, Seekamp and Jo argue that heritage sites “severely impacted” by climate change could remain damaged to serve as a “memory” of that event and to encourage conversation about the loss.

Keep it Cool

Ultimately, Seekamp and Jo call for a new categorization of heritage sites they call “World Heritage Sites in Climatic Transformation.” The designation would better help identify sites at risk and funnel resources towards them; almost like an endangered species list for parts of the world. Rather than be forced to continue preventing change, the designation would allow heritage sites to progress in a way that benefits them as well as the environment.

“We’re not saying that this should open the door for development or tourism,” Seekamp adds. “We’re saying, ‘Let’s create a new categorization, and enable those places to not just think about persistent adaptation, but about transformative adaptation.’ It allows us to think about alternatives.”

READ MORE: Landmarks Facing Climate Threats Could ‘Transform,’ Expert Says [NCSU]

More on Climate Change: Scientists: Climate Change Is Going to Suck, but It Won’t Be Armageddon

 

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New Climate Paper: Maybe Let’s Let Venice Sink?

Minority Report-Style Crime-Predicting AI Predictably Sucks At Its Job

The UK government has been funneling millions of dollars into a gun and knife crime prediction tool that uses artificial intelligence. Turns out it sucks.

Saw It Coming

The UK government has been funneling millions of dollars into a prediction tool for violent crime that uses artificial intelligence. Now, officials are finally ready to admit that it has one big flaw: It’s completely unusable. Also: Predictably (ironically), riddled with ethical problems, as Wired reports.

Police have already stopped developing the system called “Most Serious Violence” (MSV), part of the UK’s National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS) project, and luckily was never actually put to use — yet plenty of questions about the system remain.

The tool worked by assigning people scores based on how likely they were to commit a gun or knife crime within the next two years.

Two databases from two different UK police departments were used to train the system, including crime and custody records.

Fatal Flaws

Fortunately, the system never got off the ground. The system was full of flaws according to official documents obtained by Wired. “A coding error was found in the definition of the training data set which has rendered the current problem statement of MSV unviable,” a March briefing read.

“It has proven unfeasible with data currently available to identify a point of intervention before a person commits their first MSV offense with a gun or knife with any degree of precision.”

Instead of predictability scores in the high 70s, as was found in early tests, the system was only able to predict gun or knife violence less than 20 percent of the time.

Biases

Luckily, police forces have decided to discontinue the development of the system. Yet, as experts tell Wired, even with a 100 percent accuracy, plenty of biases would remain in similar systems in the future, especially with regards to age and ethnicity.

READ MORE: A British AI Tool to Predict Violent Crime Is Too Flawed to Use [Wired]

More on AI: Scientists Are Using an “AI Bird Watcher” to Solve a Solar Farm Bird Massacre Mystery

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Minority Report-Style Crime-Predicting AI Predictably Sucks At Its Job

Scientists Are Using an “AI Bird Watcher” to Solve a Solar Farm Bird Massacre Mystery

The Department of Energy recently signed a contract with an AI lab to come up with a machine learning bird watcher to study bird around solar farms.

AI Bird Watcher

Solar energy! ‘Might be completely renewable and green and great for the planet, sure. It could also, however, be deadly — if you’re a bird.

But really: A 2016 study found that large solar farms in the US accounted for the death of almost 140,000 birds every year. For a while, we only had our best guess as to why solar farms were killing birds at such a scale — for instance, they may have mistaken the reflective panels as the surface of water.

These theories are far from confirmed. But we may soon know a lot more, courtesy of an artificial intelligence-powered birdwatcher, as Wired reports.

Bird Algorithms

The thinking is that an algorithm can pick out avian behavior and analyze their flying patterns near solar panels. The Department of Energy recently signed a contract with Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to develop a tailor-made AI solution.

“The machine-learning research we’re doing is a little unique, because we don’t just want to classify an object in a single image,” Adam Szymanski is a software engineer at Argonne, who’s working on the system, told Wired.

“It has to classify a small, fast-moving object over time,” he added. “So if the bird is flying, in some frames you’ll see a dot and in others you’ll see its wings out, and we need to track that object as it moves across the camera.”

Perched on a Solar Panel

Ironically, the bird watcher will likely rely on solar panels on its own. Using and adapting a camera system designed to monitor pedestrians and cars, the team is planning to mount the bird watcher on top of a solar panel.

The goal? To eventually figure out how bird behavior changes around solar panels and ensure that birds are protected in the future.

READ MORE: Why Do Solar Farms Kill Birds? Call in the AI Bird Watcher [Wired]

More on AI: Elon Musk: If You Don’t Think AI Could Outsmart You, You’re an Idiot

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Scientists Are Using an “AI Bird Watcher” to Solve a Solar Farm Bird Massacre Mystery

Scientists Made Mice Glow in the Dark to Study Mitochondria

Mitochondria, as we all know, are the powerhouse of the cell, but if something dampers the mighty mitochondria it can be difficult to determine why.

Powerhouse

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell — but if something dampers their output, it can be difficult to determine why. To better investigate mitochondrial function, a team of researchers from Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne developed a method to make mice glow in the dark, like fireflies. Their work was published today in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

Cell Walls

Like cells themselves, mitochondria have a membrane that filters materials entering and exiting their structure. That membrane relies on a difference in polarity known as “membrane potential” and when membrane potential drops, it can be indicative of a problem. Testing that membrane is why scientists had a need to make mice glow.

So! To do that, (EPFL professor and the paper’s lead author) Elena Goun and team used mice genetically modified to express luciferase, the enzyme that produces light when combined with another compound called luciferin — which is exactly how fireflies glow. The team developed two molecules that, when injected into mice, pass into the mitochondria and cause them to produce luciferin, making the mice glow. “In a completely darkened room, you can see the mice glowing, just like fireflies,” says Elena Goun.

Actual Glow Up

Studying mitochondrial function is then as simple as measuring how bright the mice glow. The brighter they are, the more luciferin in the mitochondria, the better the mitochondria are functioning. This animal model method of testing mitochondrial function could be extremely useful in things like cancer drug research, as well as things like diabetes, oncology, aging, nutrition, and neurogenerative diseases.

READ MORE: Fireflies shed light on the function of mitochondria [EPFL]

More on Mouse Studies: Lab Puts Mice in Suspended Animation. Will It Work on Humans?

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Scientists Made Mice Glow in the Dark to Study Mitochondria

White Nationalist Group Permanently Banned From YouTube Over Hate Speech – HillReporter.com

A white nationalist group has been permanently banned from YouTube after violating policies on hate speech. VDARE, which has called declining immigrant employment a Trump win, and expressed worry that America will be changed as it shifts away from being a white nation, for white people, is no longer welcome on the video platform.

The Southern Poverty Law Center captures a few quotes from VDARe, including a lament that America, defined almost explicitly, sometimes very explicitly as a white nation, for white people, is shifting to a new and non-white version, and questioning whether we will want to call the new updated version America at all. A tweet from the organization on Monday calls it a Trump triumph that immigrant workforce falls for 11th straight month. On their site, they have actually separated out a series of stories tagged as minorities not social distancing.

According to Right-Wing Watch, the organizations YouTube channels have been permanently suspended, for violating site rules by alleging that members of groups protected by the sites policies were innately inferior to others and by linking to hateful content off-platform along with other rule violations. Last month, when another white nationalist group, American Renaissance, was banned for similar reasons, VDARE tweeted to describe this as the video platform gag[ging] [an] opponent because you have lost the argument.

The founder of VDARE, Peter Brimelow, has been described as one of the alt-rights founding fathers, and after the murder of Heather Heyer at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville Virginia, the site published a piece defending the violent behavior of neo-Nazis and alt-right hate groups at that event.

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White Nationalist Group Permanently Banned From YouTube Over Hate Speech - HillReporter.com

Japan’s Bishops promote peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons – Vatican News

As Catholics in Japan commemorate the 75th anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by an atomic bomb, their Bishops take steps to promote peace and abolish nuclear weapons.

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

The Apostolic Visits of Pope John Paul II in 1981 and Pope Francis in 2019 to Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been decisive in promoting peace and nuclear disarmament.

The current Bishop of Nagasaki and President of the Japanese Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Mitsuaki Takami, explained how in a pre-recordedwebcastentitled Catholics Commemorate 75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki posted on 3 August by Georgetown Universitys Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

Bishop Takami said the words Pope John Paul spoke in Japanese on 25 February 1981 in Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial are memorialized in Japanese and English on a monument at the Memorials entrance.

War is the work of man. War is destruction of human life. War is death. To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace Let us promise our fellow human beings that we will work untiringly for disarmament and the banishing of all nuclear weapons (Pope John Paul II).

In response to Pope John Paul IIs words, Bishop Takami said that the Bishops Conference decided to designate the period from 6 August, the day Hiroshima was bombed, until 15 August, the day the war ended, as Ten Days of Prayer for Peace . This practice began in 1982 and continues to this day, the Bishop said.

Last year in November, Pope Francis visited both cities on his Apostolic Journey to Japan in November 2019.

He went one step further than his predecessor, Bishop Takami explains. He declared that the possession and use of nuclear weapons are immoral. He stressed the need for unity and working together toward a world free of nuclear weapons and committed the Church to the goal.

The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral (Pope Francis, Hiroshima, 24 November 2019).

A world of peace, free from nuclear weapons, is the aspiration of millions of men and women everywhere. To make this ideal a reality calls for involvement on the part of all: individuals, religious communities and civil society, countries that possess nuclear weapons and those that do not, the military and private sectors, and international organizations. Our response to the threat of nuclear weapons must be joint and concerted.

We must never grow weary of working to support the principal international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons (Pope Francis, Hypocenter Park, Nagasaki, 24 November 2019).

As long as the idea that weapons are necessary to promote peace, Bishop Takami said, abolishing nuclear weapons will remain difficult. He nourishes the hope that the U.S. and Japan will one day not only reconcile with each other, but work together for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

To that end, and in response to Pope Franciss appeal in Hiroshima, a Nuclear-Free World Foundation was formally launched on July 7th, at the initiative of Archbishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima. This Foundation will fund people working for the ratification of the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Bishop Takami says. Their goal is that fifty countries sign and ratify the treaty. The dioceses of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will direct fundraising activities, and three existing civic peace organizations will manage the Foundation, the Bishop says.

In conclusion, Bishop Takami says that the Japanese Bishops have also designated the period from 1 September to 4 October as a Month for Protecting All Lives.

This period corresponds to the Season of Creation, and the words are reminiscent of the motto of Pope Franciss Apostolic Journey: Protect All Life.

This month is meant to encourage Japanese Catholics to undertake concrete actions to improve the environment and protect the earth.

I firmly believe that protecting the environment and promoting wholistic human development will lead to peace (Bishop Mitsuaki Takami).

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Japan's Bishops promote peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons - Vatican News