Author Archives: Danzig

Livestock manure properties and pollution prevention Ohio Ag Net – Ohio’s Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net

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By Harold Keener, Fuqing Xu, Mary Wicks

Land application of livestock manure provides nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) to field crops and is generally the most accepted and economical use for recycling these nutrients. However, land application of manure has been a contributor to severe outbreaks of harmful algal blooms in the Western Lake Erie Basin and Grand Lake St. Marys. The algal blooms have generated health concerns for those using these lakes as sources of drinking water or for recreation. Runoff of total and dissolved reactive P (DRP) is often the limiting nutrient for freshwater algal blooms. Previous studies have shown that the concentration of water-extractable P (WEP) in manure (expressed as lb WEP/lb dry matter) can help predict DRP in runoff.Thus, for a given level of P application per acre, reducing the WEP/P level in manure would reduce total WEP application, thereby reducing the potential for P runoff from land applied manure and associated algal blooms.

Previous studies at OSU and by others on WEP in manure indicate that WEP can be affected by manure storage conditions, such as temperature, storage time, and agitation frequency. During 2018-2019 OSU researchers conducted lab and on-farm studies to evaluate the effect of storage conditions and time on WEP/P ratios for liquid swine and dairy manure (moisture 85-98.5%). For solid poultry manure (moisture less than 70%) only on farm studies were done.These studies showed the following:

Earlier bench scale studies by other researchers have evaluated the effect of incorporating dairy, swine and poultry manure into the soil before rainfall. Those studies showed that the DRP (i.e., WEP) runoff potential for incorporation of surface applied manure was not significantly different compared to soil with no manure application.

Management implications

Results of the 2018-19 Ohio studies indicate that long term storage of liquid swine and dairy manures can reduce the WEP/P of manure, but it does not eliminate the potential for DRP in runoff from surface applied manures. Results also showed that liquid dairy manure would result in the highest levels of WEP/acre for a given application rate of P/acre for the livestock manures investigated.Previous research by others tells us to incorporate manure, especially liquid swine and dairy, to reduce the risk of nutrient runoff. Note that Ohio regulations provide guidelines for manure application during winter months as well as restrictions for impaired watersheds, such as Grand Lake St. Marys or the Western Lake Erie Basin, and for permitted livestock or poultry facilities. For more information, go toagri.ohio.govand click on Conserving Resources.Dr. Harold Keener is a Professor Emeritus, Fuqing Xu was a Research Scientist, and Mary H. Wicks is a Program Coordinator in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering of The Ohio State University.E-mail:keener.3@osu.edu;wicks.14@osu.edu. Phone: (330)202-3533.This column is provided by the OSU Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, OSU Extension, Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center, and the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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Livestock manure properties and pollution prevention Ohio Ag Net - Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net

3D Printing In Medical Application Market to Watch: Spotlight on Arcam, Materialise, Prodways The Bisouv Network – The Bisouv Network

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A latest survey on COVID-19 Outbreak-Global 3D Printing In Medical Application Market is conducted to provide hidden gems performance analysis. The study is a perfect mix of qualitative and quantitative information covering market size breakdown of revenue and volume (if applicable) by important segments. The report bridges the historical data from 2014 to 2019 and forecasted till 2025*. The outbreak of covid-19 in global market haves made companies uncertain about their future secario as the prolonged lock-down finds serious economic slump. Some are the key & emerging players that are part of coverage and have being profiled are EOS GmbH, Nanoscribe GmbH, 3T RPD, Materialise NV, Arcam AB, Materialise NV, Prodways, EnvisionTEC GmbH, Stratasys Ltd, Renishaw plc, 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC & Voxeljet Technology GmbH.

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If you are involved in the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global 3D Printing In Medical Application industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.

Competition Analysis:With the drastic change in consumers behavior, firms and brands are curious to understand the implications for their products and services. Some of key competitors or manufacturers included in the study are EOS GmbH, Nanoscribe GmbH, 3T RPD, Materialise NV, Arcam AB, Materialise NV, Prodways, EnvisionTEC GmbH, Stratasys Ltd, Renishaw plc, 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC & Voxeljet Technology GmbH

Market Analysis by Types:, Metals, Polymers, Ceramics & Biological Cells

Market Analysis by Applications:Medical Implants, Bioengineering, Surgical Guides & Surgical Instruments

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Market Data breakdown by key geographies, Type & Application/End-users COVID-19 Outbreak- 3D Printing In Medical Application Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Type [, Metals, Polymers, Ceramics & Biological Cells] (Historical & Forecast) COVID-19 Outbreak- 3D Printing In Medical Application Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Application [Medical Implants, Bioengineering, Surgical Guides & Surgical Instruments] (Historical & Forecast) COVID-19 Outbreak- 3D Printing In Medical Application Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Each Region Specified (Historical & Forecast) COVID-19 Outbreak- 3D Printing In Medical Application Market Volume & Growth Rate by Each Region Specified, Application & Type (Historical & Forecast) COVID-19 Outbreak- 3D Printing In Medical Application Market Revenue, Volume & Y-O-Y Growth Rate by Players (Base Year)

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3D Printing In Medical Application Market to Watch: Spotlight on Arcam, Materialise, Prodways The Bisouv Network - The Bisouv Network

UMD freshmen on campus for the first time balance safety and social life – The Diamondback

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Aboli Dahiwadkar knew living on the University of Marylands campus for the first time this semester would be challenging.

Classes were going to be online-only for at least the first two weeks, and the university has prohibited in-person eating at dining halls and guests in dorms for the start of the semester. On top of that, many freshmen already lived on the campus last semester, leaving students like Dahiwadkar in a difficult position.

Its frustrating knowing that Im never gonna be able to form the same connections as everyone else did when everyone was new, the computer science major said. Everybody was looking for friends at that time. Now, everyone has their set friend groups.

Last semester, the universitys dorms were at 41 percent occupancy, according to Andrea Crabb, residential facilities director. This semester, the occupancy is at 45 percent, Crabb wrote in an email, and those new students have had to adapt to an unprecedented environment at the university.

Ryan Flint, a freshman computer science major, said living on the campus was a little rough at first and that it hasnt been as cool as he thought it would be. But there are a few other people on his floor new to the campus.

Its a little difficult to balance meeting new people with staying COVID-safe, he said. But aside from that, it hasnt been too bad.

[Remote learning is making it harder for marginalized students at UMD to stay afloat]

Learning how to live on the campus during the pandemic has also brought new challenges.

Zeyu Zhong is living on the campus this semester because he has an in-person lab. If it hadnt been for the class, he said, his parents wouldnt have let him come to the campus because of the coronavirus. Zhong is being very careful, he said, taking spray bottles to clean surfaces whenever he goes outside.

Im definitely feeling a little more paranoid than everybody else whos been here, the freshman bioengineering major said.

Dahiwadkar, who is living in Prince Frederick Hall, was also concerned about contracting the virus, but her fears have since decreased. The dining halls have been safer than she expected, she said, but shared bathrooms have presented COVID-19 concerns.

When taking a shower or brushing your teeth, you cant wear a mask, which is the main way that weve been taking precautions, she said.

But now that the semester is almost two weeks complete, the freshmen said they are becoming more comfortable.

Though being around people who lived on the campus last semester can be difficult, Dahiwadkar said it has also been helpful.

When I dont know how something works, like if I dont know how the dining hall works or the bus system works, I know I can ask almost anyone and theyll be able to help me out, she said.

[UMD students profit off of GameStop gains during Wall Street frenzy]

And for Raj Ukondwa, coming to the campus hasnt been as much of an adjustment. Hes living off-campus at The Landmark and he has friends from high school in College Park.

Although living alone in an apartment filled predominantly with upperclassmen is relatively more isolating than a dorm where nobody knows each other, hes found a silver lining, he said. To him, when people are willing to make the trek to his apartment, its a sign of a good friendship.

Im able to be proactive and make plans, but obviously its about having good friends that are willing to come down to you, and being willing to go places, he said.

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UMD freshmen on campus for the first time balance safety and social life - The Diamondback

Genomics and genre – Science

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If the double helix is an icon of the modern age, then the genome is one of the last grand narratives of modernity, writes Lara Choksey in her new book, Narrative in the Age of the Genome. Hybridizing literary criticism with a genre-spanning consideration of a dozen distinct literary works, and imbued throughout with deep concern for the peripheral, the possible, and the political, the book seeks to challenge the whole imaginative apparatus for constructing the self into a coherent narrative, via the lexicon and syntax of the molecular.

To a reading of Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene (1976) as a repudiation of class struggle and E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology (1975) as a defense of warfare, Choksey juxtaposes another kind of ambiguous heterotopia in which genetic engineering is a tool of neoliberal self-fashioning. In Samuel R. Delany's Trouble on Triton (1976), Bron, a transgender ex-gigolo turned informatics expert, is caught between sociobiology and the selfish gene, between the liberal developmentalism of progressive evolution, and the neoliberal extraction and rearrangement of biological information. Even the undulating interruptions and parentheticals of Bron's thoughts [mimic] the description of the activation and silencing of genes, she suggests, tying together gene and genre in a way that encapsulates neoliberal alienation.

Choksey next explores the ways in which collectivist fantasies of biological reinvention under Soviet Lysenkoism fused code and cultivation through a close reading of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic (1972) in which cultivated utopian dreamworlds become contaminated by alien forces, resulting in fundamental ecological transformations beyond the promised reach of human control. The novel brings to light not forgotten Soviet utopias but literal zombies and mutations. In a world where planned cultivation fails entirely in the face of the unfamiliar, even as new biological weapons are being developed, Earth itself viscerally reflects a fractured reality of lost promisesa world in crisis with all meaning gone, and survival itself a chancy proposition.

Framed as a family history, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is actually a horror story, argues Choksey.

As the promise of precision medicine emerged, so too did new forms of memoir. In Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005) and the film Gattaca (1997), for example, the traditional aspirational narrative of a pilgrim's progress is subverted: As the unitary subject disappears into data, algorithms, and commodities, a new grammar of existence emerges, albeit one in which the inherited problems of the pastracism, ableism, and the fiction of heteronormativityremain ever-present.

In Saidiya Hartman's Lose Your Mother (2006) and Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing (2016), Choksey sees a reorientation of genomics away from the reduction of self to code and toward new forms of kinship and belonging that offer a reckoning with the histories of brutalization and displacement upon which liberal humanism is founded. Even as genomics seeks to locate the trauma of enslavement at the level of the molecular, communities seeking reunion and reparation know that technology alone cannot do the cultural work of caring for history that narrative can offer.

Reading Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) as a biography of Black horror which tries, time and again, to resolve itself as family romance, Choksey identifies the perils of narratives unable to recognize their own genre. She argues that by blurring the lines not between fact and fiction but between horror and family history, the dehumanization of Black lives as experimental biomatter echoes inescapably with larger histories of the extraction of Black flesh for the expansion of colonial-capitalist production.

What emerges as most compelling out of this entire tapestry of readings is the author's interpretation of the limits and failures of the extraordinary cultural power of the genome. Concluding that genomics has privileged a particular conception of the human that is in the process of being reconfigured, Choksey ventures that the uncomplicated subject, the Vitruvian Man of the Human Genome Project, has reached its end. What is left is neither dust, stardust, nor a face erased in the sand (as Foucault would have it) but rather whatever might emerge next from the unwieldy kaleidoscope of possible meanings.

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Genomics and genre - Science

Genetic Analysis Reveals Evolution of the Enigmatic Y Chromosome in Great Apes – SciTechDaily

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Researchers have reconstructed the ancestral sequence of the great ape Y chromosome by comparing three existing (gorilla, human, and chimpanzee) and two newly generated (orangutan and bonobo) Y chromosome assemblies. The new research shows that many gene families and multi-copy sequences were already present in the great ape Y common ancestor and that the chimpanzee and bonobo lineages experienced accelerated gene death and nucleotide substitution rates after their divergence from the human lineage. Credit: Dani Zemba and Monika Cechova, Penn State

Researchers reconstruct the ancestral great ape Y and show its rapid evolution in bonobo and chimpanzee.

New analysis of the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosomes from all living species of the great ape family helps to clarify our understanding of how this enigmatic chromosome evolved. A clearer picture of the evolution of the Y chromosome is important for studying male fertility in humans as well as our understanding of reproduction patterns and the ability to track male lineages in the great apes, which can help with conservation efforts for these endangered species.

A team of biologists and computer scientists at Penn State sequenced and assembled the Y chromosome from orangutan and bonobo and compared those sequences to the existing human, chimpanzee, and gorilla Y sequences. From the comparison, the team was able to clarify patterns of evolution that seem to fit with behavioral differences between the species and reconstruct a model of what the Y chromosome might have looked like in the ancestor of all great apes.

A paper describing the research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Y chromosome is important for male fertility and contains the genes critical for sperm production, but it is often neglected in genomic studies because it is so difficult to sequence and assemble, said Monika Cechova, a graduate student at Penn State at the time of the research and co-first author of the paper. The Y chromosome contains a lot of repetitive sequences, which are challenging for DNA sequencing, assembling sequences, and aligning sequences for comparison. There arent out-of-the-box software packages to deal with the Y chromosome, so we had to overcome these hurdles and optimize our experimental and computational protocols, which allowed us to address interesting biological questions.

The Y chromosome is unusual. It contains relatively few genes, many of which are involved in male sex determination and sperm production; large sections of repetitive DNA, short sequences repeated over and over again; and large DNA palindromes, inverted repeats that can be many thousands of letters long and read the same forwards and backwards.

Previous work by the team comparing human, chimpanzee, and gorilla sequences had revealed some unexpected patterns. Humans are more closely related to chimpanzees, but for some characteristics, the human Y was more similar to the gorilla Y.

If you just compare the sequence identitycomparing the As, Ts, Cs, and Gs of the chromosomeshumans are more similar to chimpanzees, as you would expect, said Kateryna Makova, Pentz Professor of Biology at Penn State and one of the leaders of the research team. But if you look at which genes are present, the types of repetitive sequences, and the shared palindromes, humans look more similar to gorillas. We needed the Y chromosome of more great ape species to tease out the details of what was going on.

The team, therefore, sequenced the Y chromosome of a bonobo, a close relative of the chimpanzee, and an orangutan, a more distantly related great ape. With these new sequences, the researchers could see that the bonobo and chimpanzee shared the unusual pattern of accelerated rates of DNA sequence change and gene loss, suggesting that this pattern emerged prior to the evolutionary split between the two species. The orangutan Y chromosome, on the other hand, which serves as an outgroup to ground the comparisons, looked about like what you expect based on its known relationship to the other great apes.

Our hypothesis is that the accelerated change that we see in chimpanzees and bonobos could be related to their mating habits, said Rahulsimham Vegesna, a graduate student at Penn State and co-first author of the paper. In chimpanzees and bonobos, one female mates with multiple males during a single cycle. This leads to what we call sperm competition, the sperm from several males trying to fertilize a single egg. We think that this situation could provide the evolutionary pressure to accelerate change on the chimpanzee and bonobo Y chromosome, compared to other apes with different mating patterns, but this hypothesis, while consistent with our findings, needs to be evaluated in subsequent studies.

In addition to teasing out some of the details of how the Y chromosome evolved in individual species, the team used the set of great ape sequences to reconstruct what the Y chromosome might have looked like in the ancestor of modern great apes.

Having the ancestral great ape Y chromosome helps us to understand how the chromosome evolved, said Vegesna. For example, we can see that many of the repetitive regions and palindromes on the Y were already present on the ancestral chromosome. This, in turn, argues for the importance of these features for the Y chromosome in all great apes and allows us to explore how they evolved in each of the separate species.

The Y chromosome is also unusual because, unlike most chromosomes it doesnt have a matching partner. We each get two copies of chromosomes 1 through 22, and then some of us (females) get two X chromosomes and some of us (males) get one X and one Y. Partner chromosomes can exchange sections in a process called recombination, which is important to preserve the chromosomes evolutionarily. Because the Y doesnt have a partner, it had been hypothesized that the long palindromic sequences on the Y might be able to recombine with themselves and thus still be able to preserve their genes, but the mechanism was not known.

We used the data from a technique called Hi-C, which captures the three-dimensional organization of the chromosome, to try to see how this self-recombination is facilitated, said Cechova. What we found was that regions of the chromosome that recombine with each other are kept in close proximity to one another spatially by the structure of the chromosome.

Working on the Y chromosome presents a lot of challenges, said Paul Medvedev, associate professor of computer science and engineering and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and the other leader of the research team. We had to develop specialized methods and computational analyses to account for the highly repetitive nature of the sequence of the Y. This project is truly cross-disciplinary and could not have happened without the combination of computational and biological scientists that we have on our team.

Reference: Dynamic evolution of great ape Y chromosomes by Monika Cechova, Rahulsimham Vegesna, Marta Tomaszkiewicz, Robert S. Harris, Di Chen, Samarth Rangavittal, Paul Medvedev and Kateryna D. Makova, 5 October 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001749117

In addition to Cechova, Makova, Vegesna, and Medvedev, the research team at Penn State included Marta Tomaszkiewicz, Robert S. Harris, Di Chen, and Samarth Rangavittal. The research was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and the Eberly College of Science of the Pennsylvania State University, and by the CBIOS Predoctoral Training Program awarded to Penn State by the National Institutes of Health.

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Genetic Analysis Reveals Evolution of the Enigmatic Y Chromosome in Great Apes - SciTechDaily

Berkeley Lab Celebrates 90th Anniversary, Imagines the Next 90 Years | Berkeley Lab – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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Ninety years ago, in August of 1931, physics professor Ernest Lawrence created the Radiation Laboratory in a modest building on the UC Berkeley campus to house his cyclotron, a particle accelerator that ushered in a new era in the study of subatomic particles. The invention of the cyclotron would go on to win Lawrence the 1939 Nobel Prize in physics.

From this start, Lawrences unique approach of bringing together multidisciplinary teams, world-class research facilities, and bold discovery science has fueled nine decades of pioneering research at the Department of Energys Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). His team science approach also grew into todays national laboratory system.

Over the years, as Berkeley Labs mission expanded to cover a remarkable range of science, this approach has delivered countless solutions to challenges in energy, environment, materials, biology, computing, and physics.

And this same approach will continue to deliver breakthroughs for decades to come.

In 2021, Berkeley Labs 90th year, we invite you to join our anniversary celebration, Berkeley Lab: The Next 90, as we celebrate our past and imagine our future.

The pursuit of discovery science by multidisciplinary teams has brought, and will continue to bring, tremendous benefits to the nation and world, said Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell. Our celebration is a chance to honor everyone who has contributed to solving human problems through science, and to imagine what we can accomplish together in the next 90 years.

Berkeley Labs 90th anniversary celebration honors the diverse efforts of the Lab community: from scientists and engineers to administrative and operations staff.

It also celebrates our commitment to discovery science, which explores the fundamental underpinnings of the universe, materials, biology, and more. This research requires patience the dividends can be decades in the future but the results are often surprising and profound, from the cyclotron of yesteryear to todays CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering technology.

Its an incredible story were proud to share, and inspired to continue with your support. Over the next several months, well offer many ways to join our celebration. Visit Berkeley Lab: The Next 90 to learn more, and engage with us on Twitter at #BerkeleyLab90.

Here are several ways to join our celebration, all highlighted on the website:

Celebrate the past

90 Breakthroughs: To celebrate Berkeley Labs nine decades of transforming discovery science into solutions that benefit the world, well roll out 90 Berkeley Lab breakthroughs over the next several months.

Interactive Timeline: Explore the Labs many remarkable achievements and events through the decades.

History and photos: Check out our decade-by-decade photo album and historical material.

Imagine the Future

Charitable giving: In 2021, Berkeley Lab will support five non-profit organizations that help prepare young scholars to become leaders and problem solvers.

Basics 2 Breakthroughs: Research at Berkeley Lab often starts with basic science, which leads to breakthroughs that help the world. In this video series, early career scientists discuss their game-changing research and what inspires them.

A Day in the Half Life: This podcast series chronicles the incredible and often unexpected ways that science evolves over time, as told by scientists who helped shape a research field, and those who will bring it into the future.

Speaker series: These monthly lectures offer a look at game-changing scientific breakthroughs of the last 90 years, highlight current research aimed at tackling the nations most pressing challenges, and offer a glimpse into future research that will spur discoveries yet to be made.

Connect

Virtual tours: These live, interactive tours will enable you to learn more about Berkeley Labs research efforts, hear from the scientists who conduct this important work, and peek inside our amazing facilities.

Social media: Join us on social media for fun and engaging content that will help you discover the Labs incredible history, and learn what were imagining for the future. BerkeleyLab#90

# # #

Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoryand its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Labs facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science.

DOEs Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visitenergy.gov/science.

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Berkeley Lab Celebrates 90th Anniversary, Imagines the Next 90 Years | Berkeley Lab - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Hutch Clinic welcomes new physicians in Neurology and OB/GYN – The Hutchinson News

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By The News staff| The Hutchinson News

Hutchinson Clinic announced the addition of two doctors to its roster of physicians Drs. Rizwan Hassan and Jessica Poteet.

Dr. Hassan comes to Hutchinson from Wichita, where he has more than 40 years of experience diagnosing and treating neurological conditions ranging from epilepsy, Parkinsons, dementia, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.

Most recently, he worked with the Neurology Associates of Kansas to conduct neurological testing and procedures.

In neurology, a specialty that affects all systems of the body, Dr. Hassan approaches patient care with a long-term relationship in mind, acting with compassion and collaborating with other specialists to determine his patients best care path forward.

Dr. Poteet, a graduate of Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, comes to Hutchinson from Utica Park Clinic of Owasso, Oklahoma. She also served as Chief of Surgery for Bailey Medical Center and previously as Chief Resident for St. Anthony Hospital.

Dr. Poteet aims to be a health partner to the women she serves.

She takes a creative and personalized approach to care, assessing the wants and needs of her patients to find solutions that they are comfortable with and to support them during big life moments.

Hutchinson Clinic is expanding access to high-quality care in 2021 with the addition of these two new physicians to our leading clinical team, said Mike Heck, CEO of Hutchinson Clinic.

Dr. Rizwan Hassan will offer new expertise to our patients and play a vital role in building our neurology services," he said. "Our OB/GYN team continues to grow, serving mothers, women, and families in our community, with the addition of Dr. Jessica Poteet. They are both excellent providers who share in our mission and passion for serving the community.

Both are accepting new patients. Call (620) 669-2500 or visit HutchClinic.com to schedule a visit.

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Hutch Clinic welcomes new physicians in Neurology and OB/GYN - The Hutchinson News

Study Examines Neurologic Emergencies at the Extremes of Age – Pharmacy Times

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Raquel S. Mateus, PharmD Candidate

PediatricsInvestigators highlighted 4 emergency conditions in the pediatric population: acute ischemic stroke (AIS), intracranial hemorrhage, fever and altered mental status (AMS), and seizures.1

Pediatric stroke is rare, and children younger than 5 years are the most likely to experience AIS. Children with AIS can also present with AMS, fever, or seizure. The management of pediatric stroke requires administering weight-based tPA.1

In intracranial hemorrhage, many principles of adult care are the same in pediatric patients. However, guidelines are less clear about target blood pressure in the pediatric population. In cases of cerebral edema or impending herniation, administration of either mannitol or hypertonic saline are equally acceptable.1

When a pediatric patient presents with AMS, pharmacists and other health care providers should consider acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and antiN-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDAR). Both ADEM and anti-NMDAR encephalitis require early initiation of steroids and empiric treatment for bacterial and viral meningitis.

In pediatric patients, seizures can take many forms, such as neonatal seizures and nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Neonatal seizures can present with mouthing (touching hands and objects to the lips or placing them in the mouth), horizontal eye deviation, blinking, or single limb extension. First-line treatment is phenobarbital 20 mg/kg.1,2

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus is associated with higher mortality, longer pediatric ICU stays, and increased long-term disability. Treatment includes a trial of a short-acting antiepileptic medications and close observation.1

ElderlyThe researchers also focused on 4 neurologic conditions in the elderly: AIS, AMS, Parkinson disease, and meningitis.1

Some atypical AIS presentations in the elderly include dizziness, falls, headache, nausea, vomiting, difficulty walking, seizure, and urinary incontinence. Advanced age alone is not a contraindication for IV tPA within 3 hours. Around 25% of older adults in the ED have some form of AMS. The Delirium Triage Screen is a valid tool to diagnose delirium, another form of cognitive impairment.1

Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting 1% of the population above the age of 60 years. Acute worsening in Parkinson disease is usually due to a medication change, infection, or missed subdural hemorrhage.1

In bacterial meningitis, the elderly present with atypical symptoms and are less likely to have a fever, neck stiffness, rash, or leukocytosis. Empiric antibiotics should include vancomycin and a third-generation cephalosporin.1

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Study Examines Neurologic Emergencies at the Extremes of Age - Pharmacy Times

Neurologist Says Severe Headaches Can Be Long-Lasting COVID-19 Symptom – News On 6

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A neurologist said theres another long-lasting symptom of COVID-19: severe headaches.

Dr. Jaclyn Duvall said post-viral headaches are nothing new, but whats different about COVID is how long the headaches last and how intense they can be. Dr. Duvall said without treatment, these headaches can be crippling.

"This can be completely life-changing," Duvall said.

Amber Ostasik is one of Dr. Duvall's patients at Hillcrest's Utica Park Clinic. She suffered severe headaches for months after her COVID-19 diagnosis.

"It was very debilitating," Ostasik said. "I was in and out of urgent care because the pain would get so bad that I didn't know what to do."

Ostasik said she was diagnosed with COVID-19 last June and after a few weeks of recovery thought she was in the clear, but the headaches came back.

"When they came back, they came back with a vengeance. Headaches, that doesnt sum up what I was having. I was having head pain. I mean I couldnt see straight the pain was so bad.By the time I saw Dr. Duvall I was in a desperate place," Ostasik said.

Dr. Duvall said the majority of people with the coronavirus won't experience such serious symptoms, but a growing number of people aren't so fortunate.

"I'd say a vast majority of individuals are actually improving within the first few weeks after recovery, but we are seeing a number of patients that are having these lingering effects, even in Amber's case up to 100 days after experiencing COVID," Dr. Duvall said.

Ostasik recovered after specialized treatment but said when she was first diagnosed with COVID-19, she never expected such severe symptoms to last so long.

"I'm in my mid-thirties, I run marathons, I'll be fine. If I get it, I'll get over it within two weeks," Ostasik thought. "I think it was really eye-opening not just for me, but for everyone around me. This could be potentially life-changing."

Dr. Duvall said if your symptoms also linger well after a COVID diagnosis, you should consider going to a specialist for treatment.

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Neurologist Says Severe Headaches Can Be Long-Lasting COVID-19 Symptom - News On 6

Detecting Alzheimer’s Gets Easier with a Simple Blood Test – Scientific American

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When a patient complains of forgetfulness, a neurologist might not know immediately whether it results from normal aging, reduced blood flow to the brainor, more ominously, Alzheimers disease. For much of the past century, a definitive Alzheimers diagnosis could only be made during an autopsy. Brain imaging and spinal fluid tests now make it possible to spot the disease in patients even before the initial symptoms appear. But these invasive tests are expensive and generally limited to research settings that are not part of routine care for the millions of people suffering from the most common neurodegenerative disorder.

An era in which an Alzheimers diagnosis can begin in a doctors office is now arriving. Advances in technologies to detect early signs of disease from a blood sample are helping doctors to identify the memory-robbing disorder more accurately and to screen participants more quickly for trials of potential treatments for the more than five million people in the U.S. afflicted with Alzheimers. (Estimates predict that, by 2030, there will be 76 million people worldwide who will receive a diagnosis of Alzheimers or other dementias.)

Last fall, a blood test developed by C2N Diagnostics in St. Louis, Mo., became available to most of the U.S. as a routine lab testregulated under the CMS Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. It has also received a CE mark as a diagnostic medical device in the European Unionindicating it has met safety, health and environmental protection standards for the region.

The development of a blood-based test for Alzheimers disease is just phenomenal, says Michelle Mielke, a neuroscientist and epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic. The field has been thinking about this for a very long time. Its really been in the last couple of years that the possibility has come to fruition.

The C2N test, called PrecivityAD, uses an analytic technique known as mass spectrometry to detect specific types of beta-amyloid, a protein fragment that is a pathological hallmark of disease. Beta-amyloid proteins accumulate and form plaques visible on brain scans two decades before a patient notices memory problems. As plaques build up in the brain, levels of beta-amyloid decline in the surrounding fluid. Such changes can be measured in spinal fluid samplesand now in blood, where beta-amyloid concentrations are significantly lower. PrecivityAD is the first blood test for Alzheimers to be cleared for widespread use and one of a new generation of such assays that could enable early detection of the leading neurodegenerative diseaseperhaps decades before the onset of the first symptoms.

PrecivityAD is meant for 60- to 91-year-olds with early signs of cognitive impairment. The prescribing physician ships patient blood samples for analysis at C2Ns lab and receives results within 10 business days. The resultsa probability score that reflects the likelihood of an amyloid-positive brain scanare calculated using a proprietary algorithm that incorporates the persons age with measurements of beta-amyloid and a protein called apolipoprotein E that is known to influence Alzheimers disease risk.

Rather than serving as a stand-alone tool, the results are meant to enhance the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis by distinguishing Alzheimers dementia from memory loss caused by other conditions. The test costs $1,250 and is not currently covered by insurance, though a financial assistance program can bring out-of-pocket costs down to between $25 and $400 for eligible patients, says C2Ns chief executive Joel Braunstein.

By comparison, beta-amyloid tests using positron-emission tomography (PET) brain imaging typically cost around $5,000 and are typically not covered by insurance, and those that sample cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) usually cost from $800 to $1,000. Compared with these more invasive and burdensome procedures, the ease and lower cost of blood tests open up many exciting possibilities for clinical use and therapeutic development, says Adam Boxer, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco. Blood tests can be collected from people repeatedly in remote locations or in their homes. No drugs have yet been approved that change the course of Alzheimers. But readily available early tests could improve treatment by letting patients take measures to stay healthy, affording them an opportunity to plan for an uncertain future and participate in clinical trials.

From a preventive standpoint, blood tests could help identify whos at risk, Mielke says. Testing could also be used to screen potential participants for experimental drugs. In some past trials of beta-amyloid-reducing treatments, 15 to 30 percent of patients who met clinical criteria for Alzheimers turned out not to have brain amyloid. Nowadays trials often require participants to show evidence of disease pathology through PET scans or CSF measures. Prescreening with a cheap blood test could halve the number of PET scans needed to enroll volunteers, according to a new study published on January 22 in the journal Brain.

This would lower the cost of trials, which means more potential treatments can be tested, and that increases the chances of finding a cure, says Elisabeth Thijssen, a researcher studying blood biomarkers for Alzheimers at Amsterdam University Medical Centers in the Netherlands. Blood tests would be particularly helpful in identifying patients for trials of potential drugs that could be most effective long before the first symptom of cognitive decline.

Looking for beta-amyloid is not the only option. Some researchers believe other disease markersfor example, certain forms of the protein taucould prove more promising when incorporated in blood tests for Alzheimers. Beta-amyloid levels start to drop very early in the disease process and then reach a plateau, whereas tau markers go up later and continue to rise. That observation suggests amyloid tests could work better for early detection while tau levels are more meaningful at later stages of the disease, when someone is on the verge of decline or already symptomatic, says Oskar Hansson, a neurologist at Lund University in Sweden. Last year Thijssen and Hansson published separate studies showing that tau blood tests could distinguish Alzheimers from other neurodegenerative diseases nearly as well as CSF measurements and PET scans. Quanterix, a company in Billerica, Mass., has developed an immunoassay that detects amyloid and tau in conjunction with other neurological markers and inflammatory proteins. So far these tests are not available outside of research settings.

We researchers are super enthusiastic about these tests, Thijssen says. Most studies have been conducted in extensively studied groups of patients in neurology clinics, however. Now we have to make the step into the real world, she says. When a new patient comes in with memory complaints, is a blood test going to help physicians make a proper diagnosis?

Patients in other settings may have other ailments that could affect the accuracy of assays. Some medical conditions can influence the levels of blood proteins, possibly skewing test results. If somebody has chronic kidney disease, that can affect the clearance of proteins, Mielke says. Individuals with a high body mass index tend to have higher blood volume, so that could reduce protein levels.

UCSF neurologist Gil Rabinovici agrees that all these markers need to be validated in more diverse and generalizable cohorts. He is helping to lead a new study that will test blood assays against amyloid PET scans in 5,000 patients recruited at 350 clinical siteswith an emphasis on patients from Black and Latinx populations, which are historically underrepresented in dementia research.

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In-Home Telehealth Model for Epilepsy Is Highly Rated by NPs and MDs – Clinical Advisor

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An in-home telemedicine model implemented at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of Childrens Mercy Kansas City showed high rates of satisfaction among advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and other clinicians, according to preliminary data presented by Erin Fecske, DNP, APRN, CNRN, CPNP-PC, FAES, at AES2020.1

The telehealth model was initiated in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19) pandemic. At 3 months after implementation of the intervention, Dr Fecske and colleagues sent surveys to 36 clinicians at the epilepsy center to assess satisfaction with the model. A total of 24 providers responded, including 12 attending physicians, 11 advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), and 1 resident physician.

Nearly all respondents (96%) said that in-home telehealth provided them with an adequate evaluation of patients with epilepsy. Of the 2901 patients with epilepsy seen via in-home telehealth visits within the 3-month period, 66 patients (2%) required an in-person visit within 2 weeks of the virtual visit.

Clinicians at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center are using telehealth in various ways and settings for epilepsy visits. The first modality is in-home telehealth for new or follow-up visits, Dr Fecske said in an interview. These visits are unfacilitated, meaning that a clinician is not at the patient location to assist with the visit. Although in-home follow-up visits typically do not involve use of ancillary devices (eg, stethoscope, handheld camera), new patient visits conducted in-home are somewhat limited as they require camera use by families to allow for a visual examination.

The second modality is facilitated telehealth at an offsite location with telehealth-trained registered nurses and ancillary equipment assisting the patient, said Dr Fecske. These visits are utilized by new and follow-up patients as we would utilize a traditional clinic visit since the examination is not limited, she noted.

Alternatively, facilitated visits may occur at one of our regional primary care partners offices, Dr Fecske explained. The telemedicine visit [using Microsoft Teams] occurs in the patients primary care office. This facilitated visit includes a staff member from the primary care office, which we hope will improve engagement of the primary care provider in the care of patients with epilepsy.

In all of these modalities, we can engage with our consult services such as dietitians and social workers to provide the same support we would provide for a traditional in-person visit, Dr Fecske said. In situations where I would have a joint visit with an epileptologist [such as presurgical planning], the epileptologist can attend the telehealth appointment with the epilepsy APRN.

We have an APRN run a multidisciplinary ketogenic diet screening clinic that preCOVID required a 2+ hour in-person clinic visit from families, Dr Fecske said. With the use of telemedicine, we created videos for families to watch ahead of time and the actual time in clinic is reduced to about an hour during an in-home telemedicine visit. During that time we are able to have an occupational therapist, dietitian, social worker, chef educator, pharmacist, and epilepsy APRN meet with the family and complete appropriate assessments for ketogenic diet readiness.

Other members of the care team also can be added at the request of the patient, Dr Fecske said. Ive had children in group home settings, and we are able to include care team members as identified by the family, which has been very beneficial.

The decision to use telehealth over an in-person visit is at the discretion of the provider, who selects the modality when placing an order for follow-up. In-person visits may be preferred for infants or patients with epileptic spasms, Dr Fecske explained. Additionally, most new patients seen via in-home telehealth for their first visit will be seen in-person for their next visit to allow for a complete neurologic examination to be conducted, she said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth at the epilepsy center was limited to facilitated visits where patients presented to off-site locations and ancillary devices were required. At that time, only a small number of providers were credentialed for telemedicine, according to Dr Fecske.

With the original stay-at-home orders for our states we had to pivot to a more inclusive telemedicine model quickly, Dr Fecske explained. Now all of our neurology providers are credentialed to provide telemedicine. As we work to provide more in-person visits, we also are monitoring spacing in the clinic to ensure that we can follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Therefore, weve continued to utilize our telemedicine offerings to ensure that patients continue to be seen regularly and monitored appropriately.

Technology limitations were one of the most commonly cited issues by the survey respondents. Families may not have a camera with a high enough resolution, may have poor internet connectivity or no internet access, or may have difficulties using video applications, Dr. Fecske noted. Additionally, while some caregivers may be able to assist in obtaining portions of the examination, other components such as reflexes are difficult to obtain.

Thus, although we may consider telemedicine a great way to improve access, we also need to consider how it can be another barrier to access for our patients and families, Dr Fecske said.

One of the biggest benefits of shifting to this telemedicine model is that it allowed us to continue to provide care to patients in a safe manner during an unusual situation, Dr Fecske said. I have patients that continue to request in-home visits as they feel that is the safest option for them at this time. In addition, epilepsy involves so much history taking that much of our visits are spent talking to families and patients and getting accurate descriptions, all of which we can accomplish during an in-home telemedicine model.

Additionally, telehealth for epilepsy may reduce the number of missed work hours for adult patients and parents as well as missed school time for children with epilepsy, Dr Feckse noted. She advised clinicians who practice telehealth for epilepsy visits to recognize what aspects of care they are and are not comfortable using the technology for.

If you need an in-person visit to get a better assessment, advocate for what you feel is going to be safest for your patient, Dr Feckse said.

1. Fecske E, Le Pichon JB, Wellman C, Waller M, Abdelmoity A. Transition to telemedicine: being nimble during COVID-19. Poster presented at: AES2020; December 4-8, 2020.

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Valley neurologist will work at Super Bowl for the third time – 12news.com KPNX

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One of Arizonas premier brain injury doctors will travel to Tampa Bay to bring his expertise to the sports worlds biggest stage.

TAMPA, Fla. Dr. Javier Cardenas has worked on the sidelines for three Super Bowls. Hes the director of Concussion and Brain Injury at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

During Sundays game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs in Florida, Cardenas will serve as a backup concussion doctor.

Cardenas said players are generally cooperative when undergoing concussion protocols, even if it means being pulled from the game.

There is almost never push and pull, Cardenas said. Of course, they want to play, but this process is a collaboration between the NFL and players association.

Concussion protocols were established during negotiations between the players union and the NFL. Over the years, Cardenas says the culture has changed and players understand the dangers of concussions.

When Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes showed signs of concussion in a playoff game three weeks ago, he dutifully exited the field. Cardenas says thats a sign of where the NFL is at today.

Cardenas reminds young athletes that players have even been pulled from the Super Bowl if they show signs of brain injury.

Whether they (high school athletes) say we have a big rivalry game coming up or the state championships, what I remind them is that even in the biggest game of the world, we are removing athletes from play, Cardenas said.

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Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID, Say COVID Experts – Eat This, Not That

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Although many people get coronavirus and may not even know it, others can experience mild symptomsand then get worse. Potentially for life. They are called Long Haulers and they have Long COVID. "Three quarters of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had at least one ongoing symptom 6 months after their acute illness," say the authors of a new presentation on the CDC website, written by clinicians on the front lines. And furthermore, many who weren't hospitalized can remain ill too. Keep reading to discover the most common symptoms of what's being called Long COVIDand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.

"Persons with long COVID often present reporting persistent severe fatigue," says Alfonso C Hernandez-Romieu, MD, MPH, LCDR, U.S. Public Health Service, Late Sequelae Unit, Clinical Team, COVID-19 Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the presentation. "The most comprehensive longitudinal data is from a recently published Chinese cohort. Among 1,733 patients, 3/4 of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have at least one ongoing symptom six months after their acute illness, with 63% endorsing fatigue and muscle weakness."

Brain fog is "defined as mild subjective cognitive impairment," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has called this an "inability to concentrate." You might also feel memory loss, confusion and a "foggy" feeling.

These can feel like a jackhammer and not stop. And unfortunately: "There aren't any specific treatments we have for post-COVID neurologic symptoms," Dr. Felicia Chow, MD, associate professor of neurology and medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, tells Neurology Today. "It's symptomatic management of the issues they're having, whether that's headache or dizziness or cognitive complaints."

26% of those in the study had difficulty sleeping. Insomnia, vivid dreams (or nightmares) and nighttime hallucinations have all been reported by long haulers. "The virus is capable of altering the delicate processes within our nervous system, in many cases in unpredictable ways, sometimes creating long-term symptoms," says the Atlantic. "Better appreciating the ties between immunity and the nervous system could be central to understanding COVID-19and to preventing it."

26% of those in the study had dyspnea. "Few sensations are as frightening as not being able to get enough air," reports the Mayo Clinic. "Shortness of breath known medically as dyspnea is often described as an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger, difficulty breathing, breathlessness or a feeling of suffocation."

23% in the study suffered anxiety or depression. "A lot of these patients have depression, anxiety or PTSD from their experience with COVID," said Dr. Allison P. Navis, MD, assistant professor in the division of neuro-infectious diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Neurology Today. "I try to address the mental health aspects, to let patients know it's okay if they're dealing with that." Dr. Ross Zafonte, DO, chair of the Harvard Medical School department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Spaulding, told the journal: "Some of these patients can have an affective issue that could be making things worse. Depression or PTSD can have a real impact on their other symptoms. What I've noticed is that these post-COVID symptoms are really, really multi-factorial."

Actress Alyssa Milano is perhaps the most notable long hauler who lost her hair after contracting COVID. "Thought I'd show you what #Covid19 does to your hair," Milano captioned a video, of her hair loss. "Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler."

As you likely know, COVID can cause one to lose their sense of taste or smell. For some patients, these senses never come back. According to Advisory Board: "Narly 25% of Covid-19 patients who reported losing their sense of smell said they did not regain their olfactory function even 60 days after they noticed it was gone, according to a large prospective study in the Journal of Internal Medicinea potentially pervasive loss that providers believe could affect patients' nutrition and mental health."

"As Chimre Smith clicked on the link to join the COVID-19 Slack support group, she could feel her body shaking. Not because of an internal buzzing sensation reported by some people struggling with the illness though she is certainly familiar with that," reported the Washington Post. "Smith, a 38-year-old Baltimore middle school teacher, fell ill in March with symptoms progressing rapidly from a sore throat to crushing fatigue to heart palpitations. Still dealing with symptoms several weeks in, she was confused and afraid but alive though that, it seemed, could change at any moment."

RELATED: Simple Ways to Avoid a Heart Attack, According to Doctors

"Many of the symptoms of the coronavirus mimic the typical symptoms of a viral infection or flu syndrome," says Dr. Stuart J. Fischer in OrthoInfo. "One of these symptoms may be muscle aches or myalgias. You may get pain in your arms, legs, or back that develops spontaneously with no injury. Typically, in a coronavirus infection, the pain is in muscles rather than in joints. But if you have an arthritic joint in your arm or leg, the virus may exaggerate the symptoms. The pain may be severe and limiting."

"Another important finding among patients attending the post-acute COVID clinic in France was that more than 1/4 developed new neurological signs and symptoms after their acute COVID-19 illness," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. "These included but were not limited to cognitive dysfunction, balanced disorders, paresthesia, and swallowing and speech disorders."

"SARS-CoV-2 infection can also lead to specific complications like stroke, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and multisystem Inflammatory disorder which can cause prolonged symptoms and disability," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu.

RELATED: 7 Tips You Must Follow to Avoid COVID, Say Doctors

"Prolonged symptoms are common in patients with mild COVID-19 disease not requiring hospitalization," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. "In three studies that focused on people who were not hospitalized for COVID-19 in a post-acute COVID clinic in France, and telephone surveys of patients in the Faroe Islands in Switzerland, anywhere from 35% to 54% of patients had persistent symptoms after two to four months. Half to 3/4 of patients attending the post-acute COVID clinic in France endorsed new symptoms not initially present or symptoms that reappeared after initial resolution."

If you experience these symptoms, contact a medical professional immediately. There is no cure for Long COVID but specialists can potentially alleviate your symptoms with existing medications until there is one. Long COVID support groups like Body Politic can also be extremely useful. And to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

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Kenneth Brent Olsen: Libertarianism and the vision of youth – Lompoc Record

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It is undeniable that libertarianism is a growing movement, especially amongst the younger generations in America. During his campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2008 and 2012, Congressman Ron Paul brought a great deal of attention to libertarianism, especially amongst the youth.

This inspired the formation of Young Americans for Liberty, a student activism organization which supports liberty candidates. Many of those youth who were inspired by Ron Paul became registered Libertarians.

In 2016, Gary Johnson once again inspired many Americans, especially amongst the youth, to become Libertarians during his presidential campaign. In 2020, Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen continued to draw younger Americans towards the movement and to the Libertarian Party.

Congressman Justin Amash, the first Libertarian United States congressman, also has inspired and continues to inspire many young adults towards the Libertarian Party. Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, likewise draws many of the youth on the left towards libertarianism and despite her having no association with the Libertarian Party, towards the party.

One of the efforts that some members of the Libertarian Party are working on is building a college club for young Libertarians on campuses nationwide. This effort is gaining momentum especially right now as Young Americans for Liberty have been going through some internal strife. Also, with many Republicans leaving the Republican Party and many of them joining the Libertarian Party, there is a lot of momentum building at all levels in the party right now.

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Discussing Income Inequality – The Post

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S ince March 2020, billionaires have gained over $1 trillion since the start of the pandemic. On the other hand, millions of Americans have been financially struggling this last year. The coronavirus pandemic didnt create income inequality but surely stretched it further.

As a result, many are advocating for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, which would create a $15 rate nationally. Richard Vedder, the author of Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America and an economics professor at Ohio University, explained the origin of the law.

At the time when the minimum wage went into effect, nationally, the unemployment rate was nearly 20% and had been very high for the last eight or nine years, Vedder said. So that was the impetus for the minimum wage.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 prohibited child labor and limited the work week to 44 hours. The first minimum wage law was set at 25 cents an hour and was passed as a part of Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal.

The laws were advocated on the basis that if we can raise the wages of workers from what they currently are to a higher wage, we will move some workers out of poverty or make them better off. Theyll ease the suffering, Vedder said.

States can set their own minimum wage laws to be higher, lower, equal to or nonexistent compared to the federal rate. So while the federal minimum wage hasn't increased since 2009, the Ohio minimum wage has increased five times in the last five years.

Vedder disagrees on the effectiveness of raising the minimum wage to curb income inequality.

You can argue its not a very good way to target the poor, Vedder said. Its a crude way and an inefficient way.

Other possible ways to reduce wealth inequality are programs like universal basic income, or UBI which was popularized by 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang or a negative income tax rate which was popularized by 20th century economist Milton Friedman.

For some, these programs are preferential because theres skepticism on how raising the minimum wage could impact unemployment. Bradley Kennedy, a junior studying political science who serves as the political director of OU College Republicans, expressed concerns that an increase would have on businesses.

I would say their hearts are in the right place, but raising the minimum wage to $15 isnt exactly the best way to do it, Kennedy said.

Mary Berger | Art Director

Kennedy, a self-described Ron Paul Republican, believes that an increase to $15 could cause an increase in unemployment, could raise the price of goods and eventually create a situation where the economics balance out so that the increase isnt felt. Instead, he prefers a different approach.

I would say the best way is to get rid of unnecessary government spending, Kennedy said. That way, taxes could be lower for everyone else around because theres a lot of things that you could argue the government spends millions on each year that they dont need to spend that much on.

Kennedy specified TSA as an example of a program that Americans spend too much on. Kennedy said independent studies have shown that people sneak contraband through the security system anyway, so its an expense that needs to be reconsidered.

Nationally, 57% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents oppose raising the minimum wage to $15.

Eli Kalil, the Democratic chair of Ashtabula, currently serves as the youngest Democratic chair in the state. He is a self-described conservative Democrat and supports a minimum wage increase.

I definitely support a minimum wage increase, Kalil said.I havent wrapped my head about what that number would look like, as far as, you know, is it $12 an hour? Is it $15 an hour like folks have kicked around?

Kalil has never worked a minimum wage job and has always lived in a higher income household in Ashtabula. Nonetheless, his reading on the minimum wage causes him to believe that pros outweigh the cons of an increase.

Even if Im paying 10 more cents for a hamburger at McDonalds, to see someone else have a three, four or five, maybe $6 increase in their minimum wage, Im OK with that, Kalil said.

Kalil expressed support for further policies like UBI and negative income tax credit. He believed UBI could be a success depending on its implementation and also believes that poorer individuals shouldnt be paying as much as wealthy individuals in taxes.

Nationally, 87% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor raising the minimum wage.

Some people who do not politically identify as a Democrat believe the minimum wage should be increased.

Betty Miller, a senior majoring in political science and minoring in Black studies, who also serves as the president of the Black Student Cultural Programming Board and co-founder of the Black Student Organization Coalition, doesnt fully embrace either party but supports raising the minimum wage.

The Democrats and the Republicans have shown that they do not really take the minorities or marginalized groups as a concern, Miller said. It's more so a political strategy on who they think they can get out. And that's really shown throughout history.

While she dreams of being a lawyer one day, a job that would pay far more than minimum wage, she has loads of experience with less glamorous jobs. Shes worked at Nelson Dining Court in Athens and at Steelcraft, at Amazon Fulfilment Center and Delivery, as a lifeguard and at Taco Bell in her hometown of Cincinnati.

I am (in favor of raising it to $15) and honestly, I think it should be raised more, Miller said.

Miller cited the racial wealth gap and the cost of living as reasons to increase the minimum wage above $15. She said a $15 minimum wage would be great for students and dependents but wouldnt be a living wage for individuals who have more things to worry about than books.

Lets say you have a car note; lets say you have your phone bill; lets say if your job doesnt cover your medical: youre not going to be left with a lot after that, Miller said.

George Ofori-Atta, a graduate student at OU who is majoring in African studies and is specifically researching the legacy of British imperialism in Ghana, is also in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $15.

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Ofori-Atta got his undergraduate degree in political studies from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

If there is an opportunity that we are going to increase this minimum wage to 15, I think it's a great idea, especially looking at how even the economy's run in a moment, where we are afraid that it might collapse, Ofori-Atta said.

Ofori-Atta believed that increasing the minimum wage would motivate people to work harder due to higher pay, stimulate consumer spending and also believed an increase could help International students on campus.

So I mean, it has had a huge impact on us. And I sometimes imagine how international students are able to support themselves in a foreign law school. You have been able to put together some programs that have been very supportive, Ofori-Atta said.

Ofori-Atta also believed that businesses may lay off people in the short term, but the long-term and racial impacts would outweigh possible problems.

There was much conversation around whether or not businesses would cut workers if there was a minimum wage increase, but Alicia Cordell, the human resources manager at Casa Nueva, believes that it shouldnt be a concern.

Businesses should take care of their workers and try to retain their workers anyway (regardless of a minimum wage increase), Cordell said.

Casa Nueva already pays its workers higher than minimum wage at $11 per hour. The company gives raises to employees after 1,000 hours and is a union-owned restaurant, meaning theres not one central manager.

Maybe there will be a short-term impact, but the ripple effects would be positive, Cordell said. It would be a net gain if workers could afford where theyre living.

Cordell believes businesses would be impacted differently depending on the region. For example, it would affect Athens and Columbus differently.

Los Angeles County is one place in America that already has a $15 minimum wage. Athens County and Los Angeles County are in two different states, have different climates and are known for radically different things, but one thing they have in common is a resident named Nathan Bouie, a 2019 graduate of Ohio University and Ohio-in-LA alumni.

Bouie used Ohio-in-LA to get out west and believes that his job at Nelson, which paid $9.55 an hour, is actually harder than his current gig at HBO. Bouie believes that a minimum wage increase would be useful, despite detractors.

I feel its like when people always mentioned raising the minimum wage, I always say like, well, like what if you raise the minimum wage, but then theyll be like but wont companies raise the prices of things? but thats not how it works, Bouie said.

Bouie believes that a UBI or negative income tax rate could also be helpful. Bouie ultimately pointed to the cost of living being too high around the country and believes the income tax rate has failed to keep up with the cost of living.

Putting more money in people's pockets can't get hurt, unless theyre doing illegal things, Bouie said. Obviously not but as far as people struggling, check the check. I personally see no issue associated with more money in their pockets.

Bouie said that a UBI could possibly pay his rent and would help people in Appalachia support their families better. Ultimately, he believes Americans need to do a better job of supporting policies that will help one another.

I think as a country, we kind of need to look more toward each other and care more about how we all live, Bouie said. I think once you can kind of get together and be more unified and focus on things, that (will) kind of help us all grow together.

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Ronald Henry Hoevener – The Republic

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Ronald Henry Hoevener

ELIZABETHTOWN

Ronald H. Hoevener, 82, of Elizabethtown, IN died at 5:20 p.m. Monday, February 1, 2021 at Columbus Regional Hospital. Ron was born in Seymour on September 10, 1938 to Henry F. Hoevener and Doris Otting Hoevener. He married Linda Lee Scheidt on August 3, 1958.

Ron graduated from Columbus High School. He was a farmer and retired from Cummins Engine Company after 33 years of service. He served in the Indiana National Guard and was a member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Township Advisory Board, Soil and Water Board, NRA and ATA. Ron enjoyed trapshooting, volunteering his time at Orphan Grain Train and spending time with his grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, February 6, 2021 at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, 6045 East State Street, Columbus, IN with Pastor Doug Bauman officiating. Calling hours will be from 1 p.m. Saturday at the church until service time. Burial will be at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church or Orphan Grain Train, 209 Jackson St. Jonesville, IN 47247.

Survivors include sons; David Hoevener of Goshen, IN, Andrew (Regan) Hoevener of Edinburgh, IN and Todd (Sonya) Hoevener of Novi, MI, daughters; Rhonda (Don) Klein of Hamilton, MI, Sarah (Steve) Watkins of Scipio, IN and Kristy (Adam) Hall of Columbus, IN , a brother, Stephen (Janice) Hoevener; sisters, Ruth (Paul) Newkirk and Dena (Bob) Schafstall; 14 grandchildren; Nicholas Hoevener, Jackson Hoevener, Katelin Hoevener, Kelcey Hoevener, Kristin Hoevener, Nichole Klein, Devin Klein, Courtney Watkins, Leslie Watkins, Joseph Hoevener, Thomas Hoevener, Henry Hall, Grant Hall and Tabitha Hall and 3 great grandchildren, Amelia Hoevener, Rosalie Hoevener and Remington Hoevener.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Doris; his wife, Linda Lee Hoevener on November 13, 2020; a grandchild, Ashley Watkins.

Due to the new mandate limiting gatherings to 50 people, visitors are required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing. We encourage you to share your support with the family, being cognizant that others wish to do the same. You may be asked to wait outside the building as we comply with this mandate. Friends and family are encouraged to visit the church website: stpaulcolumbus.org at 3 p.m. Saturday, February 6, 2021 to view a live stream of Rons funeral service.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home.

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Ronald Henry Hoevener - The Republic

Public invited to discuss watershed action plan for the Upper Connecticut River – Vermont Biz

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Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) invites Vermonters to attend an online presentation on February 11, 2021 to review a collaborative watershed action plan for the Upper Connecticut River Basin. The plan encompasses Upper Connecticut River and streams that flow to it from the Canadian border down to the Passumpsic River. It includes the Nulhegan River, Willard Stream, and Paul Stream along with several smaller streams that flow directly into the Connecticut River.

Developed in partnership with members of local communities, state and federal agencies, watershed groups, regional planners, and agricultural partners, the basin plan covers four key areas:

The Upper Connecticut Tactical Basin Plan is crucial to meeting landowners needs for water quality improvements, said Heather Johnson with the Essex County Natural Resources Conservation District. Recently, the Conservation District worked with the Northwoods Stewardship Center, Nectar Landscape Design Studio, Landowners Ron and Kathy Reed and DEC to install a shoreline stabilization project at Maidstone Lake. This project was identified in the previous Upper Connecticut Tactical Basin Plan to minimize erosive conditions that lead to polluted stormwater entering the lake. This updated plan targets necessary funding to expand efforts to implement priority water quality projects to protect and restore our natural resources that are so important in Essex County."

DEC will host a virtual public forum to gather feedback on the plan in partnership with the Northeastern Vermont Development Association and the Essex County Natural Resources Conservation District. The event is scheduled for February 11, 2021 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A link to the online public meeting, the Draft 2021 Upper Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan, and an interactive Story Map providing a summary of the plan is available on the Upper Connecticut River Tactical Planning websitehttps://dec.vermont.gov/water-investment/watershed-planning/tactical-basin-planning/basin16. A recording will be available on the website the following day.

The public can also provide comments on the plan. Public comments can be submitted by email:Ben.Copans@vermont.govor by mail to Ben Copans, Basin 16 Comments, 374 Emerson Falls Road, Suite 4, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819. DEC will respond to comments postmarked or submitted via email by March 5, 2021. Requests for a hard copy of the plan should be directed to Ben Copans at the above email or mailing address.

Source:February 3, 2021Department of Environmental Conservation

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Public invited to discuss watershed action plan for the Upper Connecticut River - Vermont Biz

Navigating the Maze of Paying for College – The New York Times

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Ron Liebers new book, The Price You Pay for College, aims at helping families with, as the books subtitle puts it, the biggest financial decision they will ever make. Lieber, a personal finance columnist for The Times, visits the podcast this week to discuss it. Among other subjects, he addresses all the ways in which the price to attend a particular college can vary from student to student, similar to how the cost of seats on one airplane flight can vary.

It can be different for everyone, Lieber says. If you ask a bunch of students in Bio 101 what they paid, theres a pretty good chance that youll find in a class of 100 50, 60, 70 different answers; and then a whole bunch of people who just paid the full price. On the airline, theres probably slightly fewer prices in the airplane cabin, but its not that far apart. The difference here the problem, the challenge, the extremely frustrating thing about college is that you do not know what the price will be until after you run the gantlet and get your offer of admission.

Michael J. Stephen visits the podcast to discuss his new book, Breath Taking: The Power, Fragility, and Future of Our Extraordinary Lungs. Stephen, a pulmonary expert at Thomas Jefferson University, talks about what weve learned about the lungs during the coronavirus crisis, and more generally about the wonders and perplexities of this organ.

Our lungs are the last organ to kick in as babies, Stephen says. When were in utero, the lungs are completely not functioning; Mom is giving us all of our oxygen needs. And at birth, they spring open and spring to life.

Also on this weeks episode, Alexandra Alter has news from the publishing world; and The Timess critics talk about books theyve recently reviewed. Pamela Paul is the host.

Here are the books discussed by the critics this week:

We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Reviews podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.

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Navigating the Maze of Paying for College - The New York Times

Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Men’s Basketball, from Executive Producers Chris Paul & Stephen A. Smith, to Debut as Part of New…

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The Undefeated and ESPN+ are partnering to deliver a year-round home on the industry-leading sports streaming service for stories at the intersection of sports, race and culture. Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Mens Basketball, a new all-access docuseries executive produced by NBA All-StarChris Pauland ESPNs Stephen A. Smith is the first project to debut under The Undefeated on ESPN+.

Premiering February 12 exclusively on ESPN+, Why Not Us takes viewers behind the scenes of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) mens basketball team. The eight-episode documentary series will examine the distinct culture, experiences and challenges of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) athletic program, its coaches, staff and student-athletes. Presented by The Undefeated, Why Not Us is produced by Roadside Entertainment,Pauls Ohh Dip!!! Productions, Smiths Mr. SAS Inc., and ESPN+.

Why Not Us will spotlight the importance and uniqueness of HBCUs by chronicling the NCCU mens basketball team and the challenges they encounter throughout a season in my home state of North Carolina, said Paul. HBCUs face challenges to compete at the same level as PWIs due to lack of funding, resources and awareness. Despite the obstacles they face, Why Not Us shines a light on these amazing Black student athletes who attend HBCUs, and how these historically significant schools continue to enrich not only the Black community but our nation as a whole. It was important to tell this story with Roadside Entertainment as we have successfully partnered with them to tell a great story through Crossroads, another important documentary about inspirational Black athletes in North Carolina.

As a graduate of an HBCU Winston-Salem State University any issue that allows us to illuminate the great challenges that HBCUs perpetually face, yet overcome day-after-day, is something that is going to garner my interest, said Smith. After asking my coach, the late, great Clarence Big House Gaines, what I could do for him in return for all hes done for me, his answer was very simple: Do all you can for this university, for any HBCU. Dont let the world try and forget about it. This project is a step in that direction. Its not just a project or a piece of work. Its a mission. And Im incredibly delighted and grateful that Chris Paul and ESPN asked me to come on board to make this happen.

Why Not Us is exactly the right show for our audience and this cultural moment, and Chris and Stephen A. are the ideal duo to deliver it, said Brian Lockhart, vice president, ESPN Original Content and ESPN Films. It combines their sports passion with the incredible impact of HBCUs on Black life in America. Its authenticity is the new benchmark for the type of content were creating for ESPN+.

We are proud to bring our distinct brand of storytelling to ESPN+, and will continue to experiment and challenge convention, said Kevin Merida, Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, The Undefeated. We are excited about the premiere of Why Not Us, and the attention this series gives to the vibrancy of HBCUs and the promise of their future.

The Undefeated on ESPN+, available now on the streaming platform,offers fans a dynamic platform for year-round premium Black storytelling with The Undefeated sensibilities. A dedicated new section for the collaboration launches today as home to new original content, curated collections and more, throughout the year on the sports streaming service. This represents The Undefeateds latest expansion across the Walt Disney Company.

Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Mens Basketball

Why Not Us follows the NCCU mens basketball team during the 2020-21 season, exploring the stories of pioneering head coachLeVelle Moton (himself an HBCU graduate and former star basketball player at NCCU) and his staff, as they navigate a season unlike any other and help their players achieve greatness on and off the court. Moton overcame challenges along the way to becoming one of the most accomplished, though not widely-known, coaches in college basketball. He has raised the profile of NCCU since he took over in 2009, helping it transition from Division II to Division I, and along the way become a benchmark for success in basketball at HBCUs.

Video Trailer: Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Mens Basketball

The series also highlights the ethos of being a student and student-athlete at an HBCU. Over the course of eight episodes, the viewer learns why HBCUs are much more than just repositories for colorful homecomings and the best marching bands in the world.Why Not Usspotlights the importance of these remarkable institutions, who have done more with less. HBCUs are a place that produces many of the very best and brightest among us, such asSpike Lee(Morehouse College),Oprah Winfrey(Tennessee State University),Thurgood Marshall(Lincoln University/Howard University Law School),Stacey Abrams(Spelman College), and the first African-American, Asian-American and female Vice-President,Kamala Harris(Howard University), to name a few.

Augmenting the eight-episode series, Paul will host intimate conversations with notable HBCU graduates, such as Academy Award-winning filmmakerSpike Lee(Morehouse, 79), actressTaraji P. Henson(Howard, 95), fashion designer and Fear of God founderJerry Lorenzo(Florida A&M, 00), Moton (NC Central, 96), and more. Rolling out over the course of the series, the conversations will also be available as part of The Undefeated on ESPN+.

Why Not Us co-executive producers Paul and Smith are both strong advocates for HBCUs across America.

Paul, who left Wake Forest University early before being selected No. 4 overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, is working toward a degree at Winston-Salem State University. He has actively supported HBCUs for years, most recently assisting HBCU voting initiatives and raising awareness through his HBCU Sneaker Tour when he wore shoes representing different HBCUs at each of his games in the NBA Bubble last summer. The HBCU sneakers were auctioned off with all of the proceeds donated to the mens and womens basketball programs of each school represented.

Paul partnered with Harvard Business School last year to bring its Entertainment, Media and Sports program to North Carolina A&T, creating the Special Topics in Management course to develop a pipeline for students pursuing careers in those industries. The course will expand to more HBCUs this year, helping to address emerging issues in business management related to sports, media and entertainment.

Smith played basketball on scholarship at Winston-Salem State University (under Hall of Fame coach Clarence Gaines) before embarking on a career that has made him one of the most recognized and hard-working commentators in sports. He is the co-host of ESPNs First Take, hosts weekly NBA pre-game editions of SportsCenter with Stephen A. Smith, and is the host and executive producer of the daily original program Stephen As World on ESPN+.

In 2019, Smith was named the ambassador of HBCU Week by the City of Wilmington, Del., and was instrumental in bringing First Take to the 76ers Fieldhouse as part of the week-long celebration of HBCUs. First Take recorded its largest in-person audience ever, which led to a college fair that offered on-the-spot acceptance and more for prospective students.In 2019 and 2020, Stephen A. Smiths participation has enabled the HBCU Week foundation to generate 2,003 on-the-spot acceptances to attend HBCUs, and 11.2 million dollars in awarded scholarships.

The Undefeated on ESPN+

The launch of The Undefeated on ESPN+ enhances ESPN and Disneys ongoing commitment to telling Black Stories and establishes a year-round collaboration between the two brands that creates and curates content that is Powered by The Undefeated including a mixture of premium storytelling, relevant collections from The Undefeated and ESPN+ libraries and additional special projects. It will serve as a home throughout the year that tells Black stories, elevates Black voices in sports, highlights specific communities within sports (e.g. less-known Black sports trailblazers, Black female athletes, etc.), and explores the off-field/off-court work of athletes within their communities.

The Undefeated has a long-established commitment to telling the stories of HBCUs, as one of the core content verticals onwww.TheUndefeated.com. Since its launch in May 2016, The Undefeated has been a leading platform for the comprehensive coverage of HBCU sports, campus life and culture, general news, personality profiles and conversations with newsmakers. Highlights include: convening the first forum at an HBCU with a U.S. President in October 2016 aconversationwith President Barack Obama at North Carolina A&T State University; launching the annual ESPN/The Undefeated HBCUBand Rankingsin 2018; Makur Makers first-person account in July 2020 about becoming the first blue-chip basketball recruit to play at an HBCU (Howard University) since 1980; the all-day celebration of the HBCU class of 2020 during #UndefeatedHBCUDay on May 23; and more.

Beyond storytelling, The Undefeated annually recruits and trains six emerging journalists from HBCUs for the Rhoden Fellowship, a one-year, fully paid sports journalism internship program where the fellows serve as correspondents covering their respective schools and surrounding communities for the platform.

Other critically-acclaimed content in The Undefeated on ESPN+ includes a collection of nearly 70 hours of stories including the recently-released Tiger Woods: Americas Son, and thematic collections focused on Black excellence, courage, community, passion, perseverance, reexamination, unity, classic events and more. Curated content comes from the unmatched ESPN library of storytelling, including The Undefeated Presents, ESPN Films and 30 For 30, E:60, SportsCenter and SC Featured, Nine for IX, College Football 150 and classic performances from Wimbledon, The Masters, US Open, the Top Rank and ESPN Big Fights library.

The Undefeated is the premier platform for exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture. It enlightens and entertains with innovative storytelling, original reporting and provocative commentary. The digital hub, TheUndefeated.com, which launched in May 2016, combines innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, investigation, original reporting, and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain African Americans, as well as sports fans seeking a deeper understanding of black athletes, culture and related issues.

In addition to its cutting-edge content, The Undefeated seeks to be a thought-leader on race, sports and culture in the country convening insightful forums to discuss and debate topical issues affecting sports and race in America.

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Media Contacts

ESPN / ESPN+:Kevin Ota [emailprotected]Jay Jay Nesheim [emailprotected]Isabelle Lopez [emailprotected]

The Undefeated:Mac Nwulu [emailprotected]Kimberly Jarvis [emailprotected]

Chris Paul:Amy Jacobs [emailprotected]Alexis Reynolds [emailprotected]

About Ohh Dip!!! ProductionsFounded by NBA All-Star Chris Paul, Ohh Dip!!! is focused on developing a wide range of projects across the spectrum of sports and entertainment for all platforms, including unscripted, scripted, digital, premium, documentaries, short-form content and more. Ohh Dip!!! is passionate about storytelling and bringing audiences together through entertaining, inspiring and unique programming.

Ohh Dip!!! Productions previously collaborated with ESPN Films on Pauls three-part docuseriesChris Pauls Chapter 3, which chronicles his offseason move to the Houston Rockets in 2017, and the 2018 filmCrossroads, which was produced by Roadside Entertainment and follows a group of Black American boys in North Carolina who discover a love for lacrosse and their teams journey in overcoming adversity.

Additional projects include The Game Changers, an award-winning 2018 documentary about plant-based eating, and Quibis 2020 Blackballed, the inside story of Donald Sterling and the L.A. Clippers. Upcoming projects include The Day Sports Stood Still, a documentary from director Antoine Fuqua and Imagine Documentaries about sports shutting down due to Covid-19 for HBO and to stream on HBO Max, and American Sole, executive produced alongside Kevin Hart, which follows two characters played by Pete Davidson and OShea Jackson Jr. in the sneaker reselling industry.

About Roadside EntertainmentFounded in 2004 by Emmy Award-winning producer/directors John Hirsch and Ron Yassen, Roadside Entertainment has a simple goal: Find great stories and bring them to life, seeking out characters who through force of will or the dynamics of circumstance rise up and inspire us in extraordinary ways. As filmmakers, Hirsch and Yassen take nothing for granted and strive to bring creative storytelling, honesty and integrity to everything they do. Hirsch co-produces the ESPY Awards on ABC and is an Executive Producer and Showrunner on Marvels Hero Project, on Disney+. Yassens credits include more than 30 documentary films, including Roger Maris: Reluctant Hero, Glory in Black and White, Kareem: Minority of One, and 50 Cent: Origin of Me. In addition to the ESPYs, Roadside previously collaborated with ESPN on the Emmy-nominated documentaryCrossroads, which premiered at the Tribeca film festival in 2018

Chris Paul, Ohh Dip!!! Productions and Roadside Entertainment are represented by CAA.

About Mr. SAS Inc.Mr. SAS Inc. was founded by Stephen A. Smith. Mr. SAS Inc is focused on developing game shows, talk shows, sitcoms, unscripted, scripted movies, and documentaries. Mr. SAS Inc. produces shows like ESPN+s Stephen As World. A show that resonates with strong storytelling, celebrity guests, and original content to bring audiences entertaining, inspiring, and unique programming. Mr. SAS Inc. is co-producing HBCU=Black Excellence, a multi-part series using archival footage, photographs, news clips, and interviews about the most significant figures in the history of HBCUs. From Athletes to Historians, Celebrities to Politicians, Entertainers, and other prominent influencers, theyll all come together to tell the true HBCU story. HBCUs significant impact on American Society and Culture, and how its relevance continues to grow today.

About North Carolina Central UniversityNorth Carolina Central University (NCCU) prepares students to succeed in the global marketplace. Consistently ranked as a top Historically Black College or University, NCCU offers flagship programs in the sciences, education, law,business, nursing and the arts. Founded in 1910 and located in the Research Triangle Region,NCCU remains committed to diversityin and accesstohigher education. The university, which offers bachelors degrees in more than 100 disciplines, masters degrees in more than 40 areas, and a Ph.D. in Integrated Biosciences, has an expanding academic portfolio that meets current and future workforce demands in industries from clinical research to information technology. NCCUs signature graduate and undergraduate degrees are housed in seven colleges and schools. NCCU is a leader in the scientific study of health disparities and provides students with the opportunity to gain laboratory skills and experience working with faculty researchers and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry professionals in two, state-of-the-art research institutes that are housed on campus.

About ESPN+ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPNs linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 11.5 million subscribers.

Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) all for just $12.99/month.

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Why Not Us: North Carolina Central University Men's Basketball, from Executive Producers Chris Paul & Stephen A. Smith, to Debut as Part of New...

Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins on messaging Alexei Navalny to say ‘we know who tried to kill you’ – iNews

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If you found yourself chatting with Eliot Higgins at the bar in a pub (remember those?) and asked what he did for a living, theres a good chance hed smile shyly for a moment behind his thick beard and glasses, wondering what to say. Hed probably settle for investigator. And if, curiosity piqued, you questioned what his most recent case was, how would he answer?

Theres a secret Russian nerve-agent programme that has been used for assassinations, both at home and abroad, by both the domestic intelligence services and the foreign services this is where people start looking at me as if Im mad, he tells i.

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Leaning back in his chair in his small office at home in Leicester, wearing an Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia hoodie and drinking the green smoothie his wife has dropped in for him, its fair to say from our video call at least that Higgins looks an unlikely opponent to Vladimir Putin. But as the founder of Bellingcat defined as an intelligence agency for the people in the slogan for his new book his groups achievements are startling.

We proved that the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fired chemical weapons at his own people, he writes in We are Bellingcat. We showed who was behind the downing of Flight MH17. We located Isis supporters in Europe. We identified neo-Nazis rampaging through Charlottesville. We helped quash the floods of disinformation spreading alongside Covid-19. And we exposed a Kremlin kill team.

Bellingcats list of scoops is even more startling for an organisation launched through a Kickstarter campaign in 2014, growing out of a blog about the Arab Spring that Higgins wrote while working part-time in admin for a lingerie company, and which still employs just 18 full-time staff. (Oh, and with an unlikely name taken from the fable Belling the Cat, about mice deciding to fit a bell on a cat to know when their enemy is coming, only to wonder who among them is brave enough to do it.)

Many journalists start out by blogging and have stories of being rejected for training schemes as Higgins was by the BBC and ITN early in their careers. Plenty are also self-trained in their specialisms, just as Higgins became an expert in weapons being used in the Syrian civil war by researching online every day.

What makes his work more extraordinary is that Higgins, 42, helped to invent a new kind of reporting. Working with fellow obsessives that he met through website message boards, they would meticulously scour social media to find and study photos and videos taken in conflict zones. They would identify times and places through geolocation, matching minor details with satellite images on Google Maps and other data sourced online. This would piece together what really happened in atrocities such as the Isis execution of US journalist James Foley, or Assads Sarin attack in Ghouta. Everything would be shared independently and for free, with explanations, plus tips and invitations for others to join in.

Open-source intelligence, or Osint, has existed for centuries. Higgins now an adviser to the International Criminal Court and his allies have revolutionised it. But taking on the worlds autocrats has led to hacking and phishing attacks, disinformation spread online, and great personal risk of becoming the next person on Russias hitlist.

The latest case for Bellingcat centres around Alexei Navalny, the Russian anti-corruption activist who has become Putins biggest opponent and was barred from running against him in the 2018 presidential election. Navalny fell violently ill during a flight in August and was taken to Germany, where doctors found that he had been poisoned by Novichok, the same chemical weapon that was used in the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. (It was Bellingcat that revealed the true identities of the two Russian GRU agents alleged to have poisoned the Skripals.)

Bellingcats team, headquartered in the Netherlands but with most working remotely, began investigating. Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian researcher, examined flight records and phone data and discovered that from 2017 Navalny was followed on around 40 trips by officers from Moscows FSB security service, who may have tried to murder Navalny on other occasions.

There seems to have been at least one previous case in July, where his wife was affected by a toxin, says Higgins. They also found FSB flights that overlap with the movements of other people who either died or were taken seriously ill. It appears there are multiple other cases where theyve been targeting people forassassinations.

As for how Bellingcat alerted Navalny, it sounds disarmingly simple. Christo basically just messaged him and said Hey, we know who tried to kill you, says Higgins. They met up in person and Christo took them through all the evidence, loads of spreadsheets and databases. Putin called Bellingcats investigation a falsification, but admitted Navalny was being followed, it was the FSB.

We thought: This is fantastic, hes just confirmed half our story, says Higgins. What about the other half? Putin denied the agents tried to poison his rival, but Bellingcat had already obtained proof by Navalny posing as an FSB generals aide, calling an agent, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, and tricking him into confessing they had placed the nerve agent in his underpants.

Higgins says that until a recording of the 47-minute conversation was released by his team, even he hadnt realised who made the call. I just didnt think the FSB officers would be dumb enough to talk to Navalnydirectly.

Navalny returned to Russia last month and was arrested immediately. That didnt stop his team releasing a near-two-hour video, viewed more than 100 million times, alleging that Putin owns a palace with a casino, ice rink and vineyard spread over land that is 39 times the size of Monaco, saying its 1bn cost was paid for with the largest bribe in history. The president has denied this but protests have been held across Russia with chants of Putin is a thief, resulting in thousands of arrests.

What will happen next to Navalny and his movement? Hes been poisoned to prison before, says Higgins. If any harm comes to him whatsoever, I think thats key.

Is Higgins, a married father of two children aged six and nine, worried about risks to his family? At one point in our conversation, the phone on his desk unexpectedly comes to life with the sound of a voice, and he deadpans: Its the Russians. Nevertheless, he and Grozev do have serious concerns.

I have the police coming over, checking on me every month, advising me that I should have cameras all over my property, he says, well aware the Skripals were probably poisoned by Novichok placed on their front door. If I touched my door handle and it had anything on it, I would very quickly wash my hands.

At a hotel where hes a regular guest, he has thrown away complimentary cookies delivered to his room in case theyre poisoned. Anyone could get a name badge and say theyre the duty manager, he says. You have to have that level ofparanoia.

Danger could also come from extremists picketing Bellingcat events. You dont know which one of the conspiracy theorists thinks youre a satanic paedophile and decides that you need a good stabbing. He adds: Im quite introverted, so I dont mind being in the house all the time. But it still sucks.

Bellingcat partnered with CNN, Der Spiegel and The Insider for their Navalny investigation, but those outlets made it clear who obtained the data. As the Washington Post puts it: Bellingcat breaks stories that newsrooms envy using methods newsrooms avoid. On this occasion, Grozev paid a reported 22,000 to obtain the phone and flight details via Russias black market for data, where information often leaks easily for a price.

Higgins knew this could be controversial. We had a lot of discussions about whether or not we should do this, he says. When I first started blogging, it was about the phone-hacking scandal, so Im very aware of using information obtained by non-traditional means. But we arent looking into celebrities, were looking into international assassination programmes It would possibly stop more people being poisoned, and reveal more assassinations.

Russia was not going to investigate and no other states, including Germany, had any jurisdiction to do so. Bellingcat felt they were the only people able to find out what hadhappened.

RT, the Russian news organisation, which the UK Foreign Office says plays an active role in spreading disinformation and has been fined by Ofcom for impartiality breaches, dismisses Higgins as a professional web-surfer. Among its recent headlines about him and his team are Bellingcat reacts badly to scrutiny, What have they got to hide? and Bellingcats (race) war against RT.

They doorstepped my mother, says Higgins. He claims that RT sent a crappy comedian to visit him in Leicester for an interview, who began visiting addresses linked to him, including his brothers house where his mum opened the door. She was really upset about that. (RT did not reply to is invitation to respond about this.)

Bellingcat has no advertising on its site but allows people to donate. It raises a third of its income from reporting workshops. Among six grants it receives is one to train journalists abroad from the National Endowment for Democracy, which takes funding from the US State Department, and Eliot Higgins says the Foreign Office once paid for a Slovakian journalist to attend a workshop. These links, he says, are twisted by opponents to discredit their work and independence.

Vladimir Putin claims that Bellingcat uses materials of American intelligence agencies, but Higgins says they have never been handed information by spies, adding claims they are funded by the CIA are nonsense.

Talking about the reporting workshops in a 2018 New Yorker article, Higgins said: Were going to start explicitly saying that people from intelligence agencies arent allowed to apply Its awkward for everybody in the room if theres an MI5 person there. However, he says in reality he has never been approached by a British or US spy, and its defence officials from smaller countries being turned away.

Bellingcat has been contacted by the FBI over specific kidnapping cases that weve been working on some people who went missing in Syria just so they could pick our brains, says Higgins but Bellingcat does not routinely provide services for the FBI as they have enough resources to bloody do it themselves.

Having spent his teenage years reading Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein and watching Michael Moore, Higgins identifies with the leftist politics but not the alt-left media which sees everything through the lens of the 2003 Iraq War, and hes happy to work with politicians from the centre right.

He finds it frustrating to hear arguments that Bellingcat focuses purely on Russia, even though were challenging the UKs arms exports to Yemen in court and covering many other stories worldwide, including the baseless QAnon conspiracy that Donald Trump has been fighting a cabal of sex-trafficking cannibals. Hed like to work on China but says a new network of Mandarin-speaking investigators would be needed.

More disheartening for Higgins is uncovering troubling facts about Russia, only to see the UK and its allies fail to take significant action. We have politicians going: Lets do some more sanctions, thatll work. Its honestly pathetic. He rails against leaders who are all just spineless middle managers who dont stand up for anything. They dont really believe in anything apart from them having the job.

Regretting that it has become uncool to speak about Western values, Higgins also points to the Trump fanatics who attacked the US Capitol and two QAnon believers who were elected to Congress.

It is about standing up to stuff, not just laying back and thinking things are going to be OK. Because you look over to the US and see what happens when you do that: extremists become radicalised and start taking over and becoming part of the government. If we dont really stand up for what we believe in, and what our democracies are based on, then we cant expect them to besustainable.

The internets greatest strength bringing like-minded people together is the root problem, he argues, as it also encourages conspiracies to radicalise people and cut them off from reality. Its basically about the integral structure of the internet The way the social media companies work, the way you get recommended stuff from Facebook or Google, is part ofthat.

Its all very well banning thousands of Twitter accounts that propagate QAnon lies, he says, but if the big tech firms arent forced to take more fundamental action, then its just going to happen again and again: well have these communities build up and then theyll burn down a building or kill someone, and then theyll be shut down, and then itll happen again. Until thats addressed, its going to be very difficult.

The problem is that social media companies and Google base their income on this model, and youre basically asking those companies to give up vast amounts of income. Are they really going to do that without a very big stick? I cant imagine what the carrot would be.

We are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins is released on Thursday (Bloomsbury, 20)

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