Entrepreneur Dave Aspreys end-of-life plans are quite simple, really, even if some of his ambitions sound laughably optimistic to most of us.I want to die at a time and by a method of my own choosing, and keep doing awesome things until that day, he tells me. I dont think its outrageous to believe Ill make it to 180 years old. And if I run out of energy, itll just be because I did too much cool shit for my own good.

Asprey is strolling across his lush property in British Columbia, holding up his phone and pointing out the specimens in this years garden as we chat over Zoom in the midst of the global pandemic. Hes protecting his skin from the sun with a goofy Outdoor Research hat and wearing a long string of beads that he says are each over a hundred years old, from cultures around the world.

Asprey, 48, is the founder of the Bulletproof wellness empire and a vocal champion of the movement to extend human life expectancy beyond 100 years. Hes made millions by experimenting on his own body and packaging his home-brewed discoveries into books, a podcast, consulting services and consumer products (you may have even tried his butter-laced coffee). Asprey, who was a web-security executive before he became the Bulletproof Executive, is just one of a cadre of tech elite who have begun directing their attentionand truckloads of moneytoward the problem of life extension. Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellisonname a Silicon Valley A-lister and he or she is likely funding longevity research, experimenting with anti-aging interventions or both. These are the masters of the universe who see no reason they cant take the tech industrys optimization obsession and apply it to the ultimate challenge: conquering death itself.

And their efforts appear to be paying off: Thanks to a recent explosion of advances in longevity medicine, Aspreys vision of living healthfully into his second century might not be so crazy. In fact, for people in middle age right now, a handful of therapies in clinical trials have the potential, for the first time in human history, to radically transform what old age looks like. If the life extensionists are right, a person whos 40 today might reasonably expect to still be downhill skiing, running a 10K or playing singles tennis at 100.

Dave AspreyDave Asprey

If you do anti-aging right, Asprey insists, youll have a level of resilience and energy to fight what comes your way. If you get Covid-19, youre less likely to become very sick. The idea is that at a cellular level, youre making yourself very hard to kill.

The most extreme of the controversial interventions Asprey has undergone involved having stem cells extracted from his own bone marrow and fat and then injected into hundreds of locations on his body. Into every joint, between every vertebra and into my cerebrospinal fluid, face and sex organs, he tells me cheerfully. For what I spent on that, I could have bought a really nicely appointed Tesla.

He trots up a flight of stairs to his home office, which sits above a million-dollar lab filled with health gadgets, such as a cryochamber, a hypoxic trainer and an AI-enabled stationary bike. For a wealthy person, investing in your body should be a major part of your Im rich strategy, he explains. Personally, I think you should be spending at least 2 to 3 percent of your net worth on health and longevity. Get a personal chef who can cook you the right food. Its not that hard.

It might be an exaggeration to say BioViva CEO Liz Parrish believes death is optional, but for her, Aspreys goal of living to 180 shows a distinct lack of ambition. If you can reach homeostasis in the body, Parrish says, where its regenerating itself just a little bit faster than its degrading, then what do you die of? An accident or natural disaster, probably. Theres no expiration date at 90 or 100 years old.

Tall, blond and fit, Parrish cuts a strikingly youthful figure at 49one that might convince you to order whatever shes having. But, like Asprey, she has received criticism from the longevity research community for becoming patient zero in her own experimental drug trial, aimed at halting aging at the cellular level. In 2015, Parrish underwent telomerase and follistatin gene therapies in Bogota, Colombia. The procedures involved receiving around a hundred injections of a cocktail of genes and a virus modified to deliver those new genes into her bodys cells. The objective was to prevent age-related muscle loss and lengthen her telomeres: the caps at the end of our chromosomes. Scientists have identified their unraveling as not only a marker of aging but also a potential cause of age-related decline.

Liz ParrishLiz Parrish

Parrish told the media about her clandestine experiment and has published periodic updates on her condition in the five years since, and she reports that she has indeed increased her muscle mass and lengthened her telomeres. Parrishs punk-rock approach stems from her conviction that the medical-research communityboth the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and researchers who arent business-mindedis moving too slowly, with too much red tape, when it comes to advancing aging therapeutics. But gene therapy is a relatively new area of medicine that brings with it a host of new risks, including cancer, severe immune reactions and infections caused by the viral vector used to deliver the drug.

Parrish downplays such worries. There may be risks, she tells Robb Report. But the known risk is that youre 100 percent likely to die. So you have to decide for yourself if the potential benefit outweighs that.

Humans have always aspired to find the fountain of youth, so people might be skeptical about the fact that anti-aging technologies are working now, says British investor and businessman Jim Mellon. But the fact is that this is finally happening, and we need to seize the moment. Mellon cofounded Juvenescence, a three-year-old pharmaceutical company thats investing in multiple technologies simultaneously to increase the odds of bringing winning products to market.

Mellon, 63, has made his fortune betting on well-timed investment opportunities, and he predicts that a new stock-market mania for life extension is just around the corner. This is like the internet dial-up phase of longevity biotech, he enthuses. If youd invested in the internet in the very early days, youd be one of the richest people on the planet. Were at that stage now, so the opportunity for investors is huge. According to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, hes not wrong: The market for technologies to increase human life span is projected to grow sixfold to $610 billion in just the next five years.

When I talk to Mellon in the late spring, hes sequestered on the rugged coast of the Isle of Man, a tiny spit of land in the Irish Sea. Despite being what he describes as imprisoned there for 15 weeksand countingduring the Covid-19 shutdown, hes jovial and chatty and wants to make it clear that his interest in life extension is much more than financial. Working to extend life is an ethical cause, he says. If we can help people to live healthfully until the end of life, well transform the world completely. Well reduce a huge amount of pressure on failing health-care systems, and well have to reimagine pension and life insurance. This should be the number-one tick in anyones investment portfolio.

If youd like to get on board with this social-impact view of longevity, it helps to understand the trajectory of aging today. In Americas most affluent neighborhoods, the average life span is about 88 years. (Meanwhile, in this countrys poorest, it hovers around a meager 66 because of a raft of inequalities, such as diet, stress, smoking, pollution and health care.) For most people, health starts gradually diminishing in the last 15 years of life with the onset of chronic conditions, including arthritis, neurodegeneration and diabetes. If we could eliminate such diseases of aging, experts say, the US could save an estimated $7.1 trillion in health-care costs over the next 50 years. (Quite where all these sprightly centenarians might live on this already densely populated planet remains to be seen.)

Jim MellonEric Verdin

One of Mellons bets is on a class of drugs called senolytics, which destroy senescent cells: the so-called zombie cells that, for complex reasons, stop dividing as we age. Senescent cells harm the body by secreting compounds that cause inflammation in surrounding tissues. Many age-related conditionsarthritis, diabetes, Alzheimers, cancerhave an inflammatory component, and studies suggest that a buildup of senescent cells is a large part of the problem.

A number of biotech start-ups are devel- oping drugs that target cell senescence, but the furthest along is Unity Biotechnology, a company in South San Francisco that has three drugs in clinical trials to address aging conditions, starting with osteoar- thritis of the knee. Unity raised more than $200 million from such big names as Thiel and Bezos, who chipped in through their investment firms, before going public in 2018. Since then, Mellon has also bought a small stake.

The holy grail of senolytics will be the development of a preventive therapy to wipe out senescent cells in the body before they cause conditions of aging, theoretically extending life span. In June, a team from Sloan Kettering published new breakthrough research showing that CAR T cellstypically used for precision cancer therapycan also be used to target and kill senescent cells. Prescription senolytics for anti-aging therapy are still years away, but unsurprisingly, theres an audience of longevity enthusiasts who want to access such anti-aging miracles yesterdayand no shortage of FDA-unapproved ways to chase after them. For instance, after a few studies examined the senolytic effects of a chemotherapy drug called dasatinib, the website FightAging.org published a step-by-step guide to senolytic self-experimentation using chemotherapeutics.

It doesnt take a Ph.D. in biochemistry to guess that taking off-label chemo drugs might come with harmful side effects, but that hasnt stopped a zealous group of body-hackers from trying it themselves and chronicling their efforts online. The internet is littered with novice longevity adviceand sketchy anti-aging companies eager to separate the hopeful and desperate from their money, like the company that charges $8,000 for transfusions of plasma from the blood of teenagers and early-twentysomethings (yes, just like Gavin Belson on HBOs Silicon Valley). Many of these are at best ineffective and at worst deadly, since the same cellular systems that fuel growth in young people might cause cancer when tipped into overdrive. Imagine the tragic irony of paying tens of thousands for a therapy that promises to help you live longer but actually causes the cancer that kills you.

Adobe

Beyond the obvious red flags of repurposed chemo drugs and the bloodletting of teens, it can be difficult for a layperson to separate the world-changing longevity breakthroughs from the terrible ideas. Enter one of the worlds leading experts on longevity to help make sense of things.

Eric Verdin, 63, is president and CEO of the Buck Institute, a globally renowned center for aging research just outside San Francisco in Marin County. Verdin is bullish on the promise of living healthfully to at least 100. Today. But 180? Dont count on it. My prediction, based on everything we know today, is that getting to 120 is about the best we can do for the foreseeable future. Ill bet my house were not going to see anyone live to 180 for another 200 years, if ever, he says. But making everyone a healthy centenarian, this is something we can do today. And thats something to be excited about.

Verdins own lab at the Buck Institute studies the aging immune system and how its affected by lifestyle factors, such as nutrition and exercise. Informed by this research, Verdin follows a time-restricted diet in which he eats all of his meals in an eight-to-nine-hour window (similar to the Buchinger Wilhelmi process) and gets plenty of exercise mountain biking in Marins steep hills. The good news is that over 90 percent of what causes diseases of aging is environmental, and that means its within your control, he says.

But he emphasizes that responsible management of your health comes with limits, like avoiding experimental therapies. A group of people have decided to try some expensive and dangerous interventions, but there is zero evidence that any of these are going to help them live longer, he says. The problem, according to Verdin, is that the results of aging interventions in mouse trials can look very promising but rarely translate to success in humans. Theres a huge delta between the health of a stressed lab mouse and an optimally healthy mouse, Verdin says. So when you treat lab mice with longevity therapeutics, you see an outsized result that doesnt at all guarantee the same result in humans.

On the other hand, Verdin tells Robb Report, there are definitely new protocols worth getting excited about. Take, for instance, rapalogs, a class of drugs that interact with a protein called mTOR, which serves as a linchpin for multiple critical biological processes, including cell growth and metabolism. Rapalog drugs tamp down mTOR, possibly preventing age-related diseases such as diabetes, stroke and some cancers. The drug rapamycin, the most heavily studied formula, was approved in the US in 1999 to help prevent organ-transplant rejection. Last year the medical journal Aging published a rapturous opinion piece by oncologist Mikhail Blagosklonny in which he made the case that rapamycinin small or intermittent dosesis effective as a preventive treatment to ward off diseases of aging, and that, in the elderly, not taking rapamycin may be even more dangerous than smoking.

Eric VerdinJim Hughes Photography

Later this year, a biotech firm called resTORbio, which was spun out of the Swiss-based Big Pharma company Novartis in 2017, is expected to seek FDA approval for its rapalog RTB101, which clinical trials have shown to slow age-related decline of the immune system and improve immune response in elderly people by more than 20 percent, a key factor in protecting vulnerable aging populations from disease. (It is currently in trials on elderly patients with Covid-19.) This is the furthest-along program of anything in the aging field, Joan Mannick, cofounder and chief medical officer of resTORbio, told MIT Technology Review last year. If health authorities approve this drug well have a product for people to prevent age-related diseases. Not just in our lifetime, but in, you know, a few years.

One of the many effects of rapamycin is that it mimics the mechanisms of calorie restriction. As Verdins lab and others have shown, fasting provides a number of anti-aging benefits, including insulin regulation, reduced inflammation and, to put it colloquially, clearing out the gunky by-products of metabolismpart of the reason Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and other tech titans eat just a few meals per week. For lesser mortals, fasting is extremely hard to commit to and not much fun, hence the huge interest in calorie-restriction mimetics like rapamycin, which provide all the benefits without the downer not-eating part.

Of all the calorie-restriction mimetics, the one sparking the most excitement among longevity researchers is already on the market: metformin, a decades-old diabetes drug. Metformin became a part of the Silicon Valley health regimen several years ago after an epidemiological study showed that Type 2 diabetics who took the drug lived longer than non-diabetics who didnt. Just about everyone in the longevity industry takes metformin, Verdin tells me. He takes it himself, and nearly everybody I interviewed is taking or has taken it, too.

In April, Nir Barzilai, the renowned endocrinologist who spearheaded research on the anti-aging properties of metformin, announced in an opinion piece he co-authored in the journal Cell Metabolism that his lab is launching a large clinical trial to investigate the anti-aging effects of the drug on non-diabetic populations. Barzilais goal is to prove to the FDA that aging itselfrather than conditions associated with it, like Alzheimers and arthritiscan be targeted as a disease. If Barzilai is successful and the FDA approves aging as a treatment indication, the process of bringing longevity therapies to market would accelerate rapidly.

Just as the FDA was able to move faster to bring Covid-19 therapies to market this year, we will reach a tipping point when public opinion pushes the FDA to approve aging as an indication, and the longevity-research field will make leaps as a result, Mellon says. He has contributed funding to Barzilais metformin research, which he believes will be instrumental in proving that there are compounds that can extend human life across the board.

The fact of the matter is that the US has the best regulatory system for new drug development in the world, Mellon says. Were in the first era ever when humans can be bioengineered to live longer. And in 10 years, well have solutions that are even better than today. Just wait, its coming.

Liz Parrish

Jim Mellon

Diet:Vegetarian.Mindfulness practice:Nightly meditation.

Exercise regimen:30 minutes of cardio and 10 minutes of weights,five days a week.

Anti-aging Rx:Regenerative gene therapies. Im certain most peoplewill take them in the next couple decades.

180th-birthday wish:Solving another critical issue.

Sleep routine:7.5 hours plus a 30-minute nap; in bed by 9 p.m.

Vitamins/supplements/ prescription meds:Vitamins D and B12, metformin.

Exercise regimen:Walk or run minimum 10,000 steps a day;weights three times week.

Anti-aging Rx:Green tea.

100th-birthday wish:Another 25 years.

Dave Asprey

Jim Hughes Photography

180th-birthday wish:Either a cruise to Mars or a 1970 Mustang Fastback,which by then will be 210 years old!

Sleep Routine:Avoid: coffee after 2 p.m., heavy workouts after 6 p.m.,alcohol during the week and heavy eating in the evening.

Vitamins/supplements:Vitamin D, omega fatty acids, NMN, citrus bioflavonoidcomplex, fiber supplement, prebiotic supplement.

Diet:Fasting-mimicking diet once every four to six months;roughly 16:8 intermittent fasting at other times.

Mindfulness practice:Daily meditation.

Anti-aging Rx:I love cooking and eating, so I do not restrict foodon the weekend. Happiness with friends and family is thesurest path to longevity.

100th-birthday wish:A bike tour across the US, from coast to coast.

Originally posted here:

Why Silicon Valley Execs Are Investing Billions to Stay Young - Robb Report

By: Editorial | Updated: August 11, 2020 4:22:22 amIn the US postal system, there is no room for Putin or Guccifer 2.0, and no possibility of a man in the middle attack.

After having issued ordinances removing stockholding restrictions on major foodstuffs and dismantling the monopoly of regulated mandis in the trading of farm produce, the Narendra Modi government has launched a new Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. A financing facility for setting up warehousing, cold chain, processing and other post-harvest management infrastructure, it provides an interest subvention of 3 per cent on loans of up to Rs 2 crore for a maximum seven-year period. The borrowers are mainly to be farmer producer organisations and primary agricultural cooperative societies, with a targeted disbursement of Rs 1 lakh crore over the current and next three fiscals. In order to make it attractive for banks, the loans would also have government-backed credit coverage against defaults. All in all, a good scheme at least on paper. No one can doubt the need for investments in produce shelf life extension and value addition. Also, there can be nothing better than this infrastructure coming up closer to farms and established farmer-owned institutions, thereby complementing the recent reforms that essentially aim at improving producers realisations and their share in the consumers rupee.

But theres a need to temper expectations. To start with, organisations such as the National Horticultural Board are already providing credit-linked subsidy on capital investments in pre-cooling units, controlled/modified atmosphere cold stores, reefer vans, ripening/curing chambers and other such post-harvest infrastructure. There is no dearth today of cold stores in potatoes, just as a lot of storage capacity, including low-cost scientifically-built on-farm structures, has been created for onions under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. So why one more scheme, is a natural question to ask. If at all, it would make sense to merge all existing schemes with the new fund so as to better leverage government money.

Secondly, cold chains and agro-processing cannot be a panacea. More than three-fourths of Indias sugarcane crop is processed by mills. Organised dairies, likewise, handle nearly a quarter of the officially-estimated milk production. Many have even installed bulk coolers allowing milk to be chilled at source in the village collection centres itself. But all that hasnt solved the problem of cane payment arrears or stopped the current crash in milk procurement prices. The same goes for onions and potatoes. Being able to store certainly enables farmers to harvest their crop, say, in March and make staggered sales till November to take advantage of higher off-season rates. But again, it has not ended price volatility that ultimately benefits neither producers nor consumers. The focus of policymakers during the first 40 years after Independence was raising farm production. In the subsequent two decades, they started paying more attention to agro-processing. The next revolution, especially in todays age of surplus, should be in crop planning and information dissemination to help farmers better align their production decisions what to grow and how much to market demand.

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After the harvest - The Indian Express

Welcome. The At Home team got a lovely email recently from a woman in Brooklyn who lives near Prospect Park. One of her pandemic activities, she reported, is to go to the park to collect trash. She walks in one direction, gloved and masked, picking up detritus and filling a plastic bag. Then she walks back across the fields shes made pristine. It looks clean, she wrote, and Im filled with happiness I can share by protecting this recreational area as a sanctuary during a pandemic.

Its worth giving that activity a try yourself this weekend, treating our shared, outside world as an extension of our own homes, places to care for and clean. I did with my kids, taking a long walk along a shoreline where people come to escape their hot apartments, to catch a breeze, to shoot the breeze. We managed three full garbage bags walking in one direction. And we thrilled to the beauty of our return journey, just as the letter writer did.

Life during the pandemic can be lonely, even if youre lucky enough to have a pod. Picking up garbage in public, amazingly enough, can help alleviate it. People called out thanks and kudos as we walked. Conversations abounded, of just the sort we used to fall into with strangers before the virus came, albeit at a distance, albeit with masks.

More good ideas for living a good life at home and near it appears below. Please write and tell us what else youd like to know about: athome@nytimes.com. And well try to be helpful to you, as this week a nice reader from Brooklyn was to us.

Sign up to receive the At Home newsletter. You can always find much more to read, watch and do every day on At Home. And let us know what you think!

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Treating Our Shared World as an Extension of Our Homes - The New York Times

07 August 2020

The restarts of three advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) units at EDF's Dungeness B and Hunterston B nuclear power plants in the UK have been postponed.

Dungeness Reactor 22 and Reactor 21 were taken offline, respectively, on 27 August and 19 September, 2018 - for pre-planned outages. During that work, EDF uncovered issues to do with the main steam line and then corrosion. In recent months attention has been focused on issues to do with the site's boilers.

Restart dates were 11 Septemberfor Reactor 22 and 21 Septemberfor Reactor 21, but these were re-forecast yesterday as 10 December for Reactor 22 and 20 Decemberfor Reactor 21.

Located in Kent, England, Dungeness B's two 520 MWe AGR reactors started up in 1983 and 1985, respectively. In 2015, EDFannounced a ten-year life extension for Dungeness B to 2028 as part of the company'sstrategy to keep its UK nuclear fleet in operation until at least 2023 - the yearthat its Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant - under construction in Somerset, England - was due to be commissioned. That commissioning date has since been moved to 2025 for the first of the plants two UK European pressurised water reactors.

John Benn, station director at Dungeness, said: "The team at Dungeness continues to work tirelessly to prepare the site for a return to operations. The issues identified early in this outage have been addressed, as part of our significant investment programme over the last two years. As more work has been done, further issues have surfaced that require further detailed analysis and engineering work. To enable this work to be done, and to givethe Office for Nuclear Regulation [ONR] sufficient time to consider its response, the decision has been made to push back our restart dates until mid-December."

Hunterston Reactor 3 and Reactor 4 were taken offline on 9 March and 3 October, 2018 to work on issues related to their graphite cores. Following the approval of a safety case with the ONR, Reactor 4 was returned to service on 25 August, 2019 until 10 December, 2019.

Hunterston Reactor 3 had been due to restart on 20 August, but that has now changed to 30 August. The restart date for Reactor 4 remains 17 September.

An EDF spokesman said: "The ONR is continuing its assessment into the Hunterston B return to service case, using the information EDF has provided after extensive rounds of modelling and analysis. In the last few years, EDF has invested over GBP200 million in understanding the likely impacts on the graphite reactor under a range of worse case scenarios, including up to a 1 in 10,000 year seismic event, much larger than the UK has ever experienced. We remain confident that we would be able to shut down the reactor in all such scenarios."

Hunterston Reactor 3 (also known as B-7) and Hunterston Reactor 4 (B-8) were taken offline when cracks were found during routine inspections. EDF has said it still expects Hunterston, which is in North Ayrshire, Scotland, to close in 2023. The 475 MWe and 485 MWe reactors began operations in 1976 and 1977.

The reactor cores of all 14 AGRsin the UK are made up of graphite bricks. Channels run through these bricks for nuclear fuel, and also for control rods which can stop the nuclear reaction if needed. This graphite was always expected to change over time. How it ages is one factor which will determine how long Britain's AGRs will operate.

EDF Energy publishesupdates to its plant outage schedules here.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

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EDF Energy prolongs outages at Dungeness and Hunterston units : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News

In Minnesota, reducing the effects of oxidation is a continuous challenge.

In a new study, funded by the Local Road Research Board, researchers will compare the effectiveness of two different methods: applying a surface treatment (typically a fog or chip seal) and increasing the asphalt film thickness during original construction.

The purpose of this study is to provide recommendations for keeping the pavement structure as moisture resistant as possible for the least amount of cost.

Required minimum asphalt film thickness (AFT) is an important parameter when assessing the long-term durability of an asphalt mixture. Research shows higher film thicknesses create more durable mixtures. Minnesota specifications require a minimum AFT for mixture design acceptance. If the ATF is below acceptable limits during production, large payment reductions or orders to remove and replace may result.

Pavement preservation treatments are gaining momentum as cost-effective ways of enhancing pavement life. To prevent deterioration of pavements, chip seals are a proven preservation method and have been widely used in Minnesota.

A Minnesota study estimated that a chip seal placed at the time of construction will be cost-effective if pavement life is extended by approximately 0.45 years (Wilde et al. 2014). Typical life extension for chip sealed roads range 5-7 years. The value of AFT specifications has been debated within the paving community.

This project offers an opportunity to validate current specifications, investigate the role of chip seals in pavement durability, and use lab and field data to perform a cost-benefit analysis of increased AFT and chip seals placed at 1 year.

Data for the analysis will be collected from both laboratory performance testing and field performance. Pavement projects especially of interest are projects that incurred pay deductions due to low AFT and if/when chip seals were placed to preserve those roadways.

Details of the research study work plan and timeline are subject to change.

To receive email updates about this project, visit MnDOTs Office of Research & Innovation to subscribe.

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New Project: Benefit/Cost of Applying a Higher Asphalt Film Thickness vs. Doing a Chip Seal at One Year - Crossroads - A Minnesota Transportation...

August 10, 2020

PEMBROKE Resiliency is the defining characteristic of The University of North Carolina at Pembrokes spring 2020 graduating class, according to ceremony speakers and well-wishers.

The class educational journey was marked by hurricanes and ended amid a global pandemic, forcing their final semester to be completed remotely and unable to celebrate with a traditional commencement ceremony in May. But people who wished the graduates well during Saturdays combined virtual and drive-through graduation ceremony remarked on how these experiences shaped who they are and will become.

Youve experienced, as a student, what few experience in a lifetime, Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings said in his virtual remarks. But you stuck with it, you stayed focused, you completed your degree and you accomplished what you came to UNCP to do. Through all this, youve become resilient.

On Saturday morning, many graduates returned to campus some for the first time since March and donned academic regalia and decorative black-and-gold face masks, to take part in the universitys first-ever drive-through graduation.

For hours, vehicles adorned with congratulatory and inspirational messages paraded down Prospect Road toward the main campus entrance. With safety measures in place, graduates exited their vehicles, walked across a stage at the roundabout and snapped photos, with the new gateway entrance serving as a backdrop.

These graduates have proven they can adapt to get through lifes experiences, Cummings said.

You accept and understand that life is full of challenges and change. You bend but you dont break, he said. As your chancellor, I could not be more proud of this class.

Lifes challenges made the moment more meaningful for Adrienne Chavis, a graduate of the RN-BSN program. While her success was evident on Saturday, she said it certainly wasnt easy getting to that point. But earning a four-year degree was worth the effort.

Balancing a full course load, she simultaneously put in 65 to 70 hours a week as a nurse on the graveyard shift at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

It was tough, she said. I would get off work, come home, and maybe sleep four hours. It was a struggle, but professor Kathy Locklear made it super easy to contact her whenever I needed her. She helped me through the whole experience.

Raised in the Prospect community, Chavis said she is especially proud of her Lumbee heritage since UNCP was founded to educate American Indians.

Obtaining my nursing degree will open more doors for me, she said. I would love to be a nurse practitioner, but my short-term goal is to become a nurse manager.

Jahvae Jay Giddens also balanced full-time responsibilities with his pursuit of a Master of Business Administration degree. Giddens previously received a bachelor of science in exercise and sports science in 2017 from UNCP.

His UNCP experience allowed him to grow both professionally and personally during his seven-year journey as an undergraduate, Braves Club coordinator and, most recently, MBA student, Giddens said.

UNCP challenged my thought process and my knowledge of the world, he said. The small classes allowed me to grow. The professors are amazing. They taught me how to persevere through anything. I couldnt imagine learning anywhere else.

Giddens came to UNCP from Raleigh to pursue his passion for athletics and business in the classroom and with hands-on work experience in UNCP Athletics and University Advancement.

While Giddens and Chavis always knew UNCP was their college home, Justin Jones was a little less certain at first, but has since come to understand the value of his UNCP experience.

Jones was among the graduates who took part in the historic drive-through ceremony. As a high school senior, he wasnt considering attending college at first. All that changed following a visit from an admissions recruiter.

Adam Hardin helped me get in, Jones said. I dont know where I would be if it wasnt for his help.

The Jacksonville native enrolled in the College Opportunity Program, or COP, which provides academic support to freshmen.

My freshman year was a little rough. I was an introvert and was thinking about leaving, but I stuck with it and my grades improved every year, he said.

He received an exercise and sports science degree this spring and secured a position with Carolina Orthopedics in New Bern.

I had a great experience at UNCP, Jones said. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great education. Its a great school where the professors know you by name. I cant say enough good things about UNCP. I dont think I wouldve been successful anywhere else.

Richard Varner II, a transfer student from Oklahoma, excelled academically, which he said is a testament to the overwhelming support he received from the faculty and staff. A member of the Maynor Honors College and recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award, Varner graduated with cum laude honors with a degree in history.

He is enrolled in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and plans to pursue a secondary education teaching career and work toward obtaining a doctoral degree in history.

In his virtual keynote, University of Houstons head mens basketball coach and 1978 UNCP graduate Kelvin Sampson referred to students success in spite of many obstacles while sharing some of his own journey.

When we think of adversity and resiliency, we will always think of the Class of 2020, Sampson. Think about what you have endured throughout your four years hurricanes, floods, tough economic times and a pandemic.

You guys are prepared for just about anything.

Sampson also recalled feeling a need to prove himself professionally early in his career, referring to it throughout his speech as a chip and encouraging students to carry their chip with them as motivation to succeed.

I always had a competitive edge and thats something every one of you graduating seniors will relate to, Sampson said. You have a chip.

Wherever you go, dont lose your chip. To the Class of 2020, the world is yours now. I cant wait to see what you guys do.

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Information regarding Food and Nutrition Services certification period extension and Automated Supplements released - The Robesonian

Gateway Regional girls soccer coach Steve Estelle has been named the sports coach of the year by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Estelle was the lone coach from Hampshire County among the 29 honorees, announced Monday by the MIAA. A subcommittee of the MIAAs Coaches Education Instructors made the selections.

Estelle coached the Gators to a 12-2-2 regular season and a trip to the Western Massachusetts Division 4 semifinals, where they lost 1-0 to eventually sectional champion Lenox. The 2019 season was Estelles 30th on the sideline in Huntington.

I believe that athletics are an integral part of the education experience, Estelle said about his coaching philosophy in a release by the MIAA. I feel that athletics help shape the lives of the participants. My coaches strive to be good role models to all of our student-athletes.

According to the MIAA, the award seeks to recognize and honor teacher coaches who have had an impact on the lives of student-athletes, by encouraging them to succeed and by helping them develop self-confidence, ambition, a sound work ethic, and other skills or values necessary or helpful for success in their later lives. Award candidates should have a record of encouraging student-athletes to be wellrounded (i.e. displaying excellence in areas of scholarship, citizenship, fine arts, etc.), as well as a reputation, among their peers and the athletic community, for fair play, good sportsmanship, and the development of these attributes in their student-athletes.

Three other coaches from western Massachusetts were honored.

Pope Francis coach John Goda earned the award in girls outdoor track and field.

One of the reasons I have always loved coaching track and cross country is that every athlete has the opportunity to grow and improve during the season regardless of how many meets are won or lost, Goda said. Success for us has always been about how much better we can get as a team and as individuals, and about making the most of our potential.

Agawams Kathy Georgina and Karen Gomez won the awards in softball and field hockey, respectively.

Georgina said, Athletics are an essential part of the students learning experience. Many of the lessons learned through participation in athletics are life lessons that can be carried over into all aspects of life such as developing a strong work ethic, teamwork skills, cooperation, determination and most importantly how to succeed and how to build the character to lose gracefully. Athletics are an integral part of building self-confidence and selflessness and build pride that teaches students to be part of something bigger than just themselves.

Added Gomez, Athletics is an extension of the classroom. Athletes are students first. I take a mastery approach to sport rather than a scoreboard approach. It is my goal to teach athletes to put forward hard work and maximum effort, continuously learn and improve, and not let themselves be stopped by mistakes or fear of mistakes. I encourage my student-athletes to love yourself, love the game, have fun, and give back to others.

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Gateway Regional's Steve Estelle named Girls Soccer Coach of the Year by the MIAA - GazetteNET

Bernd Leinauer, Southwest Yard and Garden Published 2:21 a.m. MT Aug. 9, 2020

Manifold made from a flexible 0.75-inch diameter pipe follows the contours of the turfgrass area. Drip lines are connected to header line using a PVC tee and an adapter.(Photo: New Mexico State University)

This week, the question comes from yours truly (i.e., Dr. Marisa Thompson, regular writer of this column). Ive heard about subsurface drip as an improved way to irrigate turfgrass, so I invited NMSU Extension Turfgrass Specialist Dr. Bernd Leinauer to bring us up to speed. See photos of subsurface irrigation athttps://nmsudesertblooms.blogspot.com/2020/08/subsurface-drip-irrigation-for-new.html

Despite their proven inefficiencies, pop-up sprinklers are still the most common systems for irrigating lawns or other turf areas. Sprinkler overspray, overlap, wind driftand evaporation losses all contribute to water losses that increase overall water consumption and/or decrease plant quality. An alternative to sprinklers is subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). Drip irrigation systems have been frequently used to irrigate trees, shrubs, flower bedsor vegetables, but theyve received little acceptance for turfgrass irrigation. They offer a solution for lawns that are difficult to irrigate, such as narrow strips, slopes, or unusual, irregular-shaped areas, which is the case for many residential lawns.

SDI systems irrigate either from a point (equally spaced emitters) or a line source (e.g., soaker hoses) using polyethylene pipes buried at shallow depths. SDIs benefits have been extensively studied in agriculture, but SDI has received very little acceptance or attention for turf irrigation, despite strong evidence of its water savings.

Advantages of SDI compared to sprinklers include energy savings due to a lower operating pressure, no human exposure to irrigation water, reduced plant disease pressure, and water savings. Water savings of 50% to 90% have been reported when turf was irrigated using SDI. With SDI, water is applied directly in the rootzone only to the area requiring water. Savings result from improved distribution uniformity (no sprinkler overlap), no water loss due to wind drift, and no evaporation losses during irrigation. Another advantage is that turf areas can be used during irrigation, which is important for golf courses or athletic fields.

Arguments against SDI include higher installation costs and difficulty in determining spacing and depth of pipes or emitters. Other arguments against SDI are based on inaccurate assumptions, including a perceived inability to establish SDI irrigated turf from seed or sod, a perceived interference with regular maintenance, and a perceived inability of SDI irrigated rootzones to leach salts.

Potential additional costs of SDI depend on a number of issues, and therefore will vary from substantially more to less than sprinkler systems. Costs for material and installation (labor) depend on the soil type, sizeand shape of the irrigated area. Areas that require many connections to the header lines can be significantly more expensive than a sprinkler system for the same area. However, SDI systems used on areas that require only a few connections to header lines (e.g., long and relatively narrow areas of turf) can be less expensive than sprinklers

Research has shown that SDI-irrigated turf can be fertilized with granular fertilizer without any loss in color or quality. If sufficient soil water is present, nutrients from the granule will become plant-available regardless of whether water is applied from the surface or subsurface. However, most large turf areas with an SDI system have an injection system and apply liquid fertilizer. Home lawns can also be fertilized with a hose-end sprayer (foliar/liquid fertilization tool). If granular pesticide applications require watering-in from the surface, either hand watering or a temporary surface irrigation system may have to be used. Core aeration can be applied if the drip lines are installed below the penetration depth of the core aerator. Deep tine aeration cannot be conducted on SDI-irrigated turf.

We have no published data available on the longevity of SDI systems. We recommend that all SDI systems be installed with filters (disk, screen, or sand) and flush valves to prevent clogging from sediments/particles. Potential root intrusion can be addressed by using products (e.g., Toro DL2000, Netafim TECHLINE HCVXR, or Rainbird XFS) that offer technology that protects the emitter from root intrusion. Our oldest SDI system was installed in 2003 and is still working fine.

SDI systems in lawns should be installed 3 to 6 inches below the surface. It is easiest to install if the pipe network can be placed directly on the ground and subsequently covered with soil up to the appropriate depth. However, an SDI system can also be trenched into soil that is already in placeor trenched into an existing lawn

The drip line depth and emitter spacing depend on the type of soil, type of grass, and whetherthere is a slope. Our general recommendation is to place emitters and drip lines 1 foot apart, particularly in sandy soils. However, for finer-textured soil, such as silt or clay, emitters can be spaced up to 18 inches apart. On slopes, lines should be placed closer together at the top but farther apart at the bottom to account for internal downhill water flow. If SDI is used close to driveways, walkways, or other hardscape, place emitters no more than 6 inches away from these surfaces to avoid dry soil along that border.

Drip lines are usually connected to header lines, also called manifolds. Commonly used SDI lines are 0.5 inches in diameter, but manifolds should be larger and can be anywhere from 0.75 to 2 inches, depending on the length of each drip line and the lawns size. Larger manifolds should be used on each end of the drip line and allow for sufficient water supply at the appropriate pressure to each drip emitter. If areas are small and drip lines are relatively short, manifolds can be made of drip line.

For more gardening information, including decades of archived Southwest Yard & Garden columns, visit the NMSU Extension Horticulture page (http://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/), follow us on social media (@NMDesertBlooms), or contact your County Extension office (https://aces.nmsu.edu/county).

Guest author Dr. Bernd Leinauer (NMSU Extension Turfgrass Specialist, @NuMex_Turf) is based in Las Cruces and performs research in turfgrass water conservation. Regular author Dr. Marisa Thompson (NMSU Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist) is based at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas.

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Considering subsurface drip irrigation? Here's what you need to know. - Las Cruces Sun-News

Sidewalks in downtown Lumberton are devoid of pedestrians Friday, two days after Gov. Roy Cooper announced he was extending Phase II restrictions on, among other things, businesses, gyms and mass gatherings.

Tomeka Sinclair | The Robesonian

LUMBERTON Residents and business owners here have mixed feelings about Gov. Roy Coopers Wednesday announcement to extend the states Phase II reopening plan for an additional five weeks.

The plan requires bars, gyms, movie theaters and amusement parks to remain closed and requires face coverings in public places. The plan first announced May 8 has been extended four times.

Phase II of Coopers reopening plan allows the opening of dine-in restaurants with limited seating, barber shops, salons, parks and public pools. The order was first extended May 22 after expiring, then extended again June 24 with the addition of mandatory wearing of masks when in public places that dont offer opportunities for social distancing.

The order was again to expire July 17, but Cooper announced yet another extension July 14.

While some residents stand by the Coopers decision, others feel the state is ready for some normalcy.

Daven McCall, part-owner of Ooh La La Boutique, closed for three weeks after the initial stay-at-home order was issued. He said the governor should have more trust in businesses to reopen.

I think everybody is ready to open, McCall said. I think people now understand the importance of social distancing. If Im in the elevator and I see other people, Ill get out of the elevator. Now its all about being safe.

McCalls exception is bars and clubs. Being in an environment with people being intoxicated, more germs in the air, and just a close environment, the risk is much higher for being infected with COVID-19, he said.

Gyms should be treated like restaurants and limit the amount of people entering, while also cleaning thoroughly, he said.

McCall believes keeping things closed will only make reopening that much harder.

Its probably going to be harder to keep social distancing if we stay closed, he said.

Tony Paylor, owner of Diamonds Cuts and Styles barbershop since 2016, was forced to close his shop because of Coopers initial shutdown order. His business, and barbershops across the state, wasnt allowed to reopen as part of Coopers Phase I plan.

Although Paylors business took a hit during the time, and he is still feeling the effects now, he stands by the extension of Phase II.

I think its the right thing to do for right now, Paylor said. The disease is still up. Its not getting much better.

A lot of people are still scared to come out.

Paylor said he tries to see hope, but doesnt feel confident about where the state is now.

I look forward to things getting back to normal, but its going to be a while, he said. Its going to get rough before it gets better but I hope things change.

Jordan McNeill and Kim Locklear, both cashiers at Sweet Candy Cafe in Lumberton, have mixed feelings about the reopening.

Locklear said she understand why bars and gyms still cant reopen.

Bars are not big open spaces, Locklear said.

Theres no way to social distance in those types of settings, McNeill agreed.

However, McNeill believes its not fair that other businesses can reopen.

I understand hes (Cooper) taking extra precautions, but we still got all this other stuff open, McNeill said.

Jack Taylor, owner of Jacks Electronics, for nine years, is completely against the governor shutting down the state to begin with.

I think its all just a bunch of bull, Taylor said. Im just ready for it all to be over with, really.

Taylor questions the legitimacy of COVID-19 being a major threat.

It was never a pandemic to start with, Taylor said. I think everything needs to get back to normal.

He agrees that more safety measures should be in effect for the elderly, but no more than what has been done for the flu, Taylor said.

I can see for older sick people, but 40 minus, no, Taylor said. Its no different than the flu is in the winter.

Susan J. McNeill, an employee at the Taylors business, said she has no opinion on the matter but she does have personal boundaries.

I dont have no opinion, but Im sick and I dont want you in there (Jacks Electronics) coughing on me, McNeill said.

Joyce Thompson, a traveling certified nursing assistant, is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Taylor.

You gotta think about your life, Thompson said. I think about me every day going back to work and having to worry about catching COVID-19 and bringing it back to my kids.

I dont disagree with that (extending Phase II), no I dont.

Thompson said keeping essential businesses, and barbershops and salons open is a necessity, but bars and gyms are not.

Thats different, something to enjoy life, she said. Thats not something thats got to be open. Thats fun.

Bars and gyms offer opportunities for too much clutter, she said.

Hospitals are cluttered, but we need that, Thompson said. Thats saving a life, not taking a life.

One of Thompsons clients, Ernest Page, disagreed and argued that keeping businesses closed leaves young people idle and increases crime and homelessness.

Theres a lot of them out of work and theyre killing each other, Page said. They should open back up to give young people the opportunity to work. Jobs, school, work, they need to open back up.

He sees the impact the order has caused on businesses.

Look how this foundation is going down, he said. Theres people out here homeless. They need to get this thing going.

The Phase II expansion is to expire Sept. 11.

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [emailprotected] or 910-416-5865.

Continued here:

Coopers extension of Phase II order stirs strong, mixed opinions in Lumberton - The Robesonian

WINCHESTER Just because something is pretty doesnt mean you want it around.

Such is the case with the spotted lanternfly. With its yellow and black body, and its red, white and black wings and dark spots, its eye-catching.

Unfortunately, these are beautiful insects, said Mark Sutphin, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources horticulture agent based in Frederick County.

But this invasive species is destructive to trees, crops and other plantings.

All of Winchester is considered infested, Sutphin said last week.

Spotted lanternflies also have been observed in northern parts of Frederick County between U.S. 11, Interstate 81 and the West Virginia line, as well as eastern parts of the county toward Opequon Creek.

A few were discovered in western Clarke County north of Harry Byrd Highway (Va.7) last year. Sutphin said he doesnt know of any found in Clarke so far this year.

Extension officials are monitoring the spread of spotted lanternflies in hopes of finding a way to get rid of them.

Spotted lanternflies often congregate on hardwood trees such as black walnuts and maples.

Theyre a piercing, sucking insect, drinking the sap of the tree in large volumes, said Sutphin.

Afterward, he said, they excrete a sticky waste substance called honeydew. As it builds up on a surface, the substance turns into sooty mold, a black fungal growth covering anything it comes into contact with, including vine leaves.

Spotted lanternflies can destroy or damage crops such as grapes, peaches, apples, cherries and hops.

Infestations in Pennsylvania have resulted in death and destruction among tree of heaven, an invasive tree species originally from Asia. Locally, declines in tree of heaven and black walnut trees have been attributed to the insect, Sutphin said.

Large numbers of spotted lanternflies also can be a nuisance to homeowners, with their honeydew covering ornamental plants and even patios and vehicles.

They impact numerous aspects of human life, Sutphin said.

Scientists believe the pest from Asia made its way to Pennsylvania in 2014 on a delivery of ornamental landscaping stone. Infestations spread in the United States as the stone was distributed elsewhere.

Spotted lanternflies (scientific name Lycorma delicatula) apparently found their way to Winchester in 2018. They have since spread within a 60-square-mile radius of the city.

Their eggs typically hatch in April or May, so they are becoming more noticeable as nymphs start growing into adults.

They can occur in aggregations in the thousands, Sutphin said. You can have several thousand in a single location.

Whats the best way to get ride of them?

Were still figuring that out, Sutphin said.

Its going to require multiple steps at all life stages to eradicate spotted lanternflies in large numbers, he said.

If you see them, kill them, if possible experts advise.

Small numbers of spotted lanternflies can be squished.

Sutphin also suggests removing trees of heaven from properties and treating hardwood trees with insecticides such as carbaryl, bifenthrin or pyrethrin. Or use a systemic insecticide such as imidacloprid, which can be injected into a tree or applied to the soil around it.

Egg masses within trees can be destroyed during the winter, and sticky paper can be wrapped around trees to trap young lanternflies. But sticky paper can catch harmless insects as well as birds and small animals, Sutphin cautioned.

Sutphin asks that anyone in Frederick County or nearby areas who finds spotted lanternflies to call the Cooperative Extension office at 540-665-5699.

Winchester residents need not call, though, because Extension officials have determined that lanternflies are pretty much everywhere in the city.

As for the long-term effects of spotted lanternflies, We honestly dont know, Sutphin said.

Read more from the original source:

Spotted lanternflies have infested Winchester - The Winchester Star

Aug. 10, 2020 05:00 UTC

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), today announced topline results from its Phase III study program evaluating the investigational medicine etrolizumab in people with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Mixed results were seen in studies evaluating etrolizumab as an induction therapy, and both studies evaluating etrolizumab as a maintenance therapy failed to meet their primary endpoints, showing no significant difference in the proportion of people achieving remission with subcutaneous etrolizumab versus placebo.

In the HIBISCUS I induction study, in people without prior anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treatment, etrolizumab met the primary endpoint. In contrast, the HIBISCUS II induction study, which also included people without prior anti-TNF treatment, did not meet its primary endpoint. In the HICKORY study, in people with prior anti-TNF treatment, etrolizumab met the primary endpoint at induction but not at maintenance. In the LAUREL maintenance study in people without prior anti-TNF treatment, etrolizumab failed to meet its primary endpoint. The safety profile of etrolizumab was consistent with previous studies and no major safety issues were identified in the four Phase III clinical trials reported to date.

We are disappointed with these results, because we know that people with ulcerative colitis need new treatment options, said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. We are fully analyzing these data to learn more about how we might address the needs of people with this devastating disease. These studies were part of the largest clinical trial program ever undertaken in inflammatory bowel diseases, and we thank all the patients, investigators and healthcare professionals for their participation.

Further analyses of the data, including secondary endpoints, are ongoing and will be submitted for presentation at upcoming medical meetings.

Etrolizumab continues to be studied as an investigational induction and maintenance treatment in people with moderately to severely active Crohns disease with and without prior anti-TNF treatment in a global Phase III study (BERGAMOT) and open-label extension and safety monitoring study (JUNIPER), involving more than 1,100 people with Crohns disease. In addition, Genentech is studying other investigational medicines in inflammatory bowel diseases and is committed to further understanding this disease.

About inflammatory bowel diseases and ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders affecting almost 7 million people worldwide. The two main types of IBD are ulcerative colitis (mainly affecting the colon and rectum) and Crohns disease (affecting the entire gastrointestinal tract). Patients can experience unpredictable symptoms that include abdominal pain and cramping, frequent and urgent bowel movements, diarrhea, leakage, rectal bleeding, weight loss, energy loss and fatigue. About 80% of all individuals with IBD do not experience lasting remission, which can have a long-term impact on quality of life and leave many feeling like they have little control over their daily lives.

Ulcerative colitis is most commonly diagnosed in young people aged 15 to 30 years, affecting them over the course of their entire future lives. Up to a quarter of people with ulcerative colitis will require a colectomy within 10 years of diagnosis, in which all or part of the colon is removed.

About etrolizumab

Etrolizumab is the first investigational dual anti-integrin studied in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). It is designed to target IBD on two fronts by selectively inhibiting 47 and E7 to control both trafficking of immune cells into the gut and their inflammatory effects on the gut lining.

About the etrolizumab study program

Etrolizumab is being studied in the largest clinical trial program in inflammatory bowel diseases to date, comprised of eight randomized-controlled and open-label trials. The landmark study program includes more than 3,100 patients across six Phase III studies, plus two open-label extension (OLE) and safety monitoring studies for ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease, spanning more than 40 countries globally, including head-to-head trials against the most common current treatments.

The etrolizumab study program consists of:

About Genentech

Founded more than 40 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious and life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.gene.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200809005022/en/

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Genentech Provides Update on Phase III Studies of Etrolizumab in People With Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis - BioSpace

Federal Way resident barry johnson taught himself how to draw when he was a frequent commuter on public transit.

Now, his artwork will be soon displayed near the Sound Transit construction site in Federal Way to beautify the transformation process of the incoming Federal Way Link Extension.

As construction moves in, Sound Transit is showcasing artwork by local artists that reflects the beauty and diversity of Federal Way. Artwork from about a dozen local artists will be displayed along the 7.8-mile project corridor.

We really look to include art in these public spaces and work with local artists, said Scott Thompson, public information officer for Sound Transit. For us, having art involved with our spaces gives them a sense of community and being part of the public landscape.

One of the artists selected to create temporary art installations is 35-year-old johnson, a self-taught interdisciplinary artist,. His work is both a connection and a reflection of the community. (note: barry johnson does not capitalize his name)

His work has been showcased both locally, such as at the Museum of Flight, Pioneer Square, King Street Station and more, and he has also held residencies around the world in Mexico, Kauai and Argentina.

Recently, his talents graced the streets of Seattle as his artwork decorated the Black Lives Matter mural on the roadway of East Pine Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The E in Lives depicts a teal background with purple, blue, yellow and coral colored shapes, while contributing to the larger message of ending racism, strengthening equality and diminishing oppression, he said.

Its a life statement, johnson said of the mural. We were all trying to say the thing that needs to be said, as loud as possible.

Originally from Kansas, johnson moved to the area about nine years ago for a job with the American Red Cross in Tacoma. After about a year, he began working in a tech start-up as a data scientist. He took up mural making to keep my head in flow because I was doing so much math. Long bus commutes to Seattle for work helped his transition into art full-time.

One of the foundations for me learning how to draw was all the time I spent on the bus commuting back and forth, said johnson, who is currently in school for architecture. When I was presented with the opportunity to work with Sound Transit for the expansion, it was amazing and just being able to go put some art up in the city that I live in was an even bigger thing.

For the first local installation, johnson created a colorful, abstract 6-foot by 27-foot mural for the local community at large. The mural should be on display within the coming weeks.

Across it, it says our Federal Way, because we are starting to create a better sense of art coming out of Federal Way it also speaks to us having something big coming into our city, he said.

johnson is also planning to paint large portraits of Federal Way residents to be displayed along the outer fencing of the construction sites. His hope is to highlight diversity in ages, colors, sexual orientations and more to capture the multitude of people who call this city their home.

For the portraits, johnson is looking for 10 Federal Way community members who are willing to submit their photo for his portrait project in order to highlight the unique essence of those who call Federal Way home.

If interested, people are encouraged to send a picture of themselves from the shoulders up, not selfie style, with a candid, straightforward expression without smiling to info@barryjohnson.co (not .com).

[I am] really just excited to be able to capture a lot of the people that make up this city, he said. I love painting portraits and I would love to be able to highlight a lot of the voices that are coming out of Federal Way.

For more information or to view more of his artwork, visit barryjohnson.co.

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Local artists work beautifies transformation of Federal Ways... - Federal Way Mirror

When the nationwide stay-at-home orders began in mid-March, for some, it seemed to provide a little respite from life. As the coronavirus has rapidly spread, however, our vacation has turned into what seems like a never-ending sentence to life at home. Tiger King feels like years away, and one can only binge-watch so many shows before even Netflix grows boring. As time goes on, the present feels ever more confining and the future daunting. The pandemic, and more specifically quarantine, has had a unique impact on those who struggle with mental illness.

While quarantine has a lasting effect on people with diagnosed mental health conditions, it is also bringing about a new wave of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders for people who have no prior history of mental illness. A federal emergency hotline providing emergency counseling for people in emotional distress reported a 1,000 percent increase in calls from last April to this April. Feelings of isolation and loneliness from quarantine are having a serious effect on the general populations mental health. Moreover, mental illness among frontline healthcare workers, in particular, is rising, as they are constantly reminded of the pandemics intensity.

The pandemic has completely changed the landscape of mental health care, one of the key components to battling mental illness. Perhaps one of the hardest parts of quarantine has been losing in-person visits with my mental health professionals. In their stead, telehealth therapy appointments are one of the only ways I have made it through quarantine. Previously, telehealth mental health services faced issues with HIPAA, given concerns over privacy and security of services over the internet. During the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the Office of Civil Rights gave healthcare providers the OK to deliver telehealth practices over secure networks such as FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid also passed a waiver to include mental health in telehealth services covered by federal insurance. Many private companies have followed suit, extending reimbursement policies to include telehealth therapy services.

This has had tremendous effects on the reach of therapy across the United States. With telehealth, patients now have much greater access to the countrys network of therapists and psychiatrists. By allowing greater insurance coverage for telehealth services, the financial barrier to mental health services is lowered greatly. Telehealth services also allow people to participate in therapy from the comfort of their home. This makes appointment times more flexible and easier to attend by removing the commuting times to appointments. Additionally, telehealth removes some of the stigma of having to visit a therapist in person, where you may find yourself making shifting eye contact with someone in the waiting room. Online appointments provide comfort and privacy in ways unattainable in physical space.

Similar to telehealth appointments, the use of e-therapy apps and websites like Talkspace and Betterhelp are on the rise. E-therapy apps offer a cheaper alternative to face-to-face therapy and focus heavily on text therapy. Instead of meeting or videoconferencing with a therapist, users are connected to a therapist and form a relationship primarily over text. Like telehealth, these apps provide a range of benefits that one does not see in traditional therapyeasy, constant access and privacy. Texting a therapist can help remove the stigma of seeing a therapist at all. There are, however, many concerns regarding e-therapy. Despite using licensed therapists, very little research has been done regarding the effectiveness of text-therapy, which concerns some users. There are also questions regarding the privacy of conversations on the app. In terms of privacy and effectiveness, telehealth provides a more secure platform for online mental health treatment, as opposed to these new e-therapy apps. We must acknowledge, however, that there are also downsides to telehealth. States have different licenses, which can limit a providers ability to access patients across state lines. There are also concerns surrounding the appropriate platform to conduct telehealth appointments on, for fear of the patients privacy and data safety.

Despite the benefits and comforts of teletherapy, most of these waivers are temporary, having been put in place to fill a void during quarantine. As time rolls by, the periods for these waivers are expiring, and it is unclear if they will be extended, either throughout the continuing pandemic or permanently.

Telehealth is an overwhelming upgrade to the population who previously could not access these services. The extension of these health services now becomes even more important, as data proves that a spike in mental illness is already occurring, and an even larger one may follow the pandemic. Past pandemics and economic recessions demonstrate a pattern of precedence for a wake of mental illness following major crisis: following the 2007 recession, suicide rates increased by more than one percent for every one percent increase in unemployment. If the telehealth waivers are not extended, this new portion of the population that has been able to access mental health care will once again be left with very limited options.

This is especially true because therapy is not the end all-be all solution for mental health disorders. One of the pinnacle mechanisms for dealing with a mental illness is creating a daily routine, which quarantine has largely disrupted. Without structure during the day, it is easy to stay up all night, wake up late, and spend endless hours on your phone or computer mindlessly scrolling and watching, disrupting natural sleep cycles and serving as a buffer from engaging in enriching activities. When a daily routine is ripped out from under a person, it is very difficult to do anything else but think. Routines are so important for those dealing with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and substance abuse issuesthey help people structure their time in productive ways, allowing them to actively work to combat the anxious and depressed feelings that creep in during unstructured time.

As dire as this may seem, there are ways in which we can add a little routine in our lives during quarantine. Setting a regular sleep schedule ensures both a proper amount of sleep as well as a better time structure to the day. Carving out 30 minutes to read a book every day can engage the mind more actively than brainlessly watching TV. Dedicating evenings to learning a new craft is another constructive and fun activity that one must actively take part in. I, for example, have been teaching myself to sew.

The point is you have to start somewhere, and even the smallest additions of structure help. For me, this has taken the form of using exercise not only as a way to build my routine, but also as an outlet for the extra anxiety and stress that quarantine and the uncertainty of COVID-19 has caused me. In another article written for The Voice, Rose Dallimore talks about how her practice of mindfulness has helped her find a little peace during these scary times. In a New York Times article, two writers discuss how it can be as simple as changing your mindset from I am being forced to do this, to I am choosing to do this for the safety of my community.

Beyond a need for telehealth waiver extensions and routine creation, the mental health crisis that accompanies the COVID-19 pandemic is being greatly ignored. Only two percent of the $2 trillion relief package was dedicated to substance abuse and mental health services. In the 2021 city budget, the D.C. Council cut $4 million proposed to be spent on mental health services, which already face a dire shortage in funding. If we do not begin to address these problems in mental health, the fallout may ravage the country for years to come.

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Telehealth: The future of mental health care - The Georgetown Voice

LANCASTER, Calif., Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- R. Rex Parris, President and Chairman of the Board of biotech company CarthroniX, announced a donation of $50,000 to Denis Evseenko, MD, Ph.D. of the Keck School of Medicine of USC to support continued research in the field longevity.

Dr. Evseenko was recently awarded a $1.69 million research project grant from the National Institutes of Health to address how to slow arthritis in aging joints. He has helped develop breakthroughs in molecular studies that identified and characterized the unique cell populations that form the superficial human joint cartilage zone.

Dr. Evseenko is one of the world's leading medical researchers of arthritis and how gene activity drives cartilage development. "The CDC reports that 23% of all adults, or 54 million people, have some form of arthritis and are limited in their activities due to severe joint pain," said Mr. Parris. "Dr. Evseenko's work will help tens of millions of people in this country and many more worldwide, living with arthritis's daily struggle. Now there is evidence that it will also extend the quality of life and longevity."

CarthroniX is comprised of scientists and surgeons with expertise in regenerative medicine and stem cell research. Their research is focused on creating novel small molecules to stimulate the regrowth of healthy cartilage. Dr. Evseenko's work fits seamlessly with CarthroniX's goals of extending the quality of life for millions of people. Osteoarthritis is one component of the aging process as cartilage degenerates over time, especially after injury and wear and tear.

Recently it was discovered that some of the small molecules studied to treat arthritis also reverse the aging of human cells in vitro. This gift will enable Dr. Evseenko's lab to advance to the next stage of research. The CX-1 small molecule will hopefully slow the aging of mice. If this is confirmed, CarthroniX will seek FDA approval of human trials to investigate CX-1's effect on human longevity and regeneration of vital organs. "This gift will help us explore some fundamental and transformative questions related to life span extension," said Dr. Evseenko.

CarthroniX novel technologies are proven to preserve, repair, and regenerate cartilage in joints and suppress inflammation in large animals. CarthroniX is developing two types of drugs: one that is both regenerative and anti-inflammatory, and a second that is solely anti-inflammatory.

ABOUT CarthroniX

CarthroniX is developing novel small molecules to stimulate the growth and regeneration of articular cartilage in joints. CarthroniX patented, first-in-class small molecule CX-1 activates an established regenerative pathway; they demonstrated this results in cartilage proliferation, cellular migration, and deposition of cartilaginous matrix.

Media Contact: Joe Marchelewski, [emailprotected]

SOURCE PARRIS Law Firm

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CarthroniX President/Chairman of the Board R. Rex Parris and Carrol Parris Donate $50,000 in Support of Life Extension Research - PRNewswire

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Global and Asia Pacific S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2020 Top Players included in report Doctors Best, NutraLife,...

The U.S. Air Force could expand its current F-15EX procurement plans in order to replace its F-15E Strike Eagles, according to official documentation. The service currently aims to recapitalize its aging F-15C/D air superiority fighters with the new F-15EX as a priority, but it has also left the door open to replacing its Strike Eagles with the type. Such an initiative wouldn't come without controversy though, especially in terms of threatening the Air Force's long-held, but often questioned F-35A procurement number goal of 1,763 airframes.

The Justification and Approval (J&A) document lays out the USAFs case for buying the F-15EX. It says: The objective of this program is to rapidly develop, integrate, and field the F-15EX weapon system to refresh/replace aging F-15C/D aircraft. A decision to also refresh F-15E aircraft has not yet been made, but remains an option.

The report sets out the Air Force's reasoning for the sole-source contract being awarded to Boeing for F-15EX, and it was signed off by USAF acquisition chief Dr. William Roper in August 2019. It carefully lays out the urgent plans to replace an F-15C fleet that it is running out of airframe hours. It adds: The F-15 fleet is in dire need of a refresh, in particular the F-15C/D fleet, which without an expensive service life extension, will run out of airframe flying hours in [redacted}. In keeping with major recapitalization projects, the timing would suggest that, when it comes, the need to replace the Strike Eagle will be just as urgent as it is currently for the F-15C/D.

You can check out the document for yourself here:

The first production-standard F-15E Strike Eagle made its maiden flight on December 11, 1986, from McDonnell Douglas St Louis, Missouri, plant. The first of 236 production Strike Eagles was handed over to the 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron Deadly Jesters on April 12, 1988. The first operational unit the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) Rocketeers started to receive Strike Eagles at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, in December 1988. The type was famously thrust into combat for Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

National Museum of the United States Air Force

Prior to the first true F-15E's first flight, a TF-15A (F-15B) was used to prove the Strike Eagle concept, acting as a prototype and capabilities demonstrator.

Strike Eagle serial 89-0487 from Seymour Johnson became the first example to reach 12,000 flight hours on August 16, 2016. The F-15E was beefed-up in comparison to the F-15C in order to carry a heavy weapons loads, however, like the Eagle, the youngest of which is 35 years old, the Strike Eagles are aging airframes.

The small 219-strong Strike Eagle fleet remains in high demand with an enduring commitment in the U.S. Central Command region that leverages many impressive niche capabilities. With just six front line Strike Eagle squadrons, at least one is always deployed. The F-15E is also capable of delivering nuclear weapons and is the first jet certified to employ the newest variant of the B61 tactical nuclear bomb.

The current F-15E fleet features two different engine classes. The oldest jets feature the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E with roughly 23,500lbs of thrust. The younger models feature the P100-PW-229 engines with around 29,000lbs of thrust, making them the most capable of the lot by a serious margin. They are also the most numerous. The F-15EX is set to receive the F110-GE-129 engine that also has 29,000lbs of thrust.

USAF

Buying more F-15EXs to replace the current F-15E would be hugely significant. USAF Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein has made regular assertions that the F-15EX will not impact the F-35 Lightning II program, but switching later F-35 procurement targeted at replacing the F-15E to the F-15EX could impact the overall F-35A projected inventory requirement. Moreover, the Boeing fighter has been used as a means to pile competitive pressure on Lockheed Martin to reduce F-35 procurement and through-life costs.

The J&A report underscores the reasoning behind purchasing the F-15EX in terms of ease of transition: Refreshing the existing F-15 fleet (versus transitioning to a new advanced fighter aircraft) with F-15EX will dramatically reduce disruption to the logistics and sustainment infrastructure, as well as operational training and Mission Ready status of current F-15 units, by taking advantage of inherent familiarity with the existing aircraft, which will allow focus on the new and improved systems.

Boeing

The case for the urgent replacement of the F-15C/D includes reasons regarding safety. The schedule impact if there is no refresh is exacerbated by the fact that the average age of the F-15C/D fleet is 35 years. The fleets structural integrity is rapidly degrading due to the high-g flight profile used during training and operations. One wing commander imposed a G restriction due to a loss of confidence in the safety of the fleet.

The USAF examined a service life extension for the F-15C but this was ruled out as not being cost-effective. The speed with which Boeing can build the F-15EX is cited as another key differentiator. Based on the foreign investment in the Saudi Arabian F-15SA and Qatari F-15QA projects, the USAFs F-15EX will share 90-95 percent commonality with the Qatari jets, but it will receive some USAF-specific additions such as Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS).

USAF

The report adds that buying the F-15EX will save the USAF $3 billion over the Future Years Defense Program compared to replacing that fleet with F-35s by avoiding significant transition costs required for a new aircraft. It adds: The USAF estimates that it will take six months or less to transition from the F-15C/D to the F-15EX given the significant commonality between the F-15C/D and F-15EX aircraft components and ground support equipment, while the transition time from F-15s to the F-35 (or any other airframe) will take approximately 18 months for an Active Duty squadron and 36 months for an Air National Guard squadron. Accordingly, from both an economic and readiness perspective, no other aircraft will satisfy the USAF requirement to refresh the F-15C/D fleet.

In addition, the document makes it clear that the premium once placed on an all stealth tactical fighter fleet has eroded: The USAF has determined that a mix of 4th generation capacity and 5th generation capability is necessary in balancing near and mid-term readiness with future needs.

These were all reasons we discussed as per the justification for the 'F-15X' when The War Zone broke the story of its existence two years ago.

USAF

There are no official plans to replace the F-15E when it is retired from service, and officially it could remain in service through life-extension programs. Yet, based on the situation facing the F-15C/D, it could be up for replacement as early as the end of the decade. Previously, the War Zone was told that the F-15EX is intended to directly replace the USAF's entire F-15C/D fleet. It would have no impact on the existing F-15E Strike Eagle fleet or its planned upgrade pathway that is underway now.

The F-15E shares similar cutting-edge technology as is being fielded in the F-15EX. It has been upgraded with the Raytheon AN/APG-82(v)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the new Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) II, and it too is receiving the new EPAWSS self-protection system.

The current F-15EX procurement plan as set out earlier this month could be worth up to $22.9 billion over 10 years. This cost ceiling is based on a March 2019 F-15 SPO Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate for the maximum quantity of 200 aircraft. However, the report says procurement quantities will be established at a Most Probably Quantity (MPQ) of 144 aircraft. Still, this is seen as minimum fleet size, and it is likely to reach near or at the 200 level just in regards to replacing the F-15C/D fully.

USAF

The youngest F-15C/D in the USAF's fleet is 35 years old.

The current F-15C/D fleet of approximately 245 aircraft would be replaced on what would be close to a one-for-one basis if all options are exercised. While the report doesn't discuss actual numbers, it would suggest the similarly sized F-15E fleet could be recapitalized under a very similar model, which would take F-15EX procurement out to roughly 400 aircraft.

A USAF spokesman toldAir Force Magazine That decision has not been made, regarding the F-15E. A common F-15EX fleet in a merged Eagle community would have its benefits both logistically and operationally. There is also bound to be some tension between the F-15C/D units, the vast majority of which are Air National Guard, and the active-duty F-15E community under the current procurement plan for the F-15EX.

As the plan sits, the F-15EX would equip squadrons whose only missions have been air-to-air combat and air sovereignty with the most advanced and reliable multi-role F-15s in the entire force. In other words, the F-15E community, which is tasked with some of the most complex combat operations abroad, would be flying aging, partially upgraded jets while the Guard has brand new F-15EX with excess capabilities. This has raised the question of why doesn't the F-15E get replaced with the F-15EX and the current F-15C/D community receive surplus F-15Es?

USAF

F-35As and F-15Es in formation.

With over 50 years of production, the F-15 is entering into uncharted territory for fighter aircraft manufacturing. Boeing has cleverly retained credibility through reinventing the F-15 via foreign investment. With at least 144 new F-15s entering the Air Force's fleet in the near term, some 16 years after its last new Eagle was delivered, the prospects for follow-on orders are certainly there. This doesn't mean that recapitalizing the Strike Eagle fleet with F-15EX is anywhere near a done deal, but the door is open and it might just prove to be another case of the swiftest, cheapest, and most sensible way to keep some of the Air Force's most important fighter squadrons in business.

Regardless, with the F-15EX's stated service life of a whopping 20,000 hours, the Eagle will be gracing American fighter wing ramps well into the second half the century.

Contact the editor: Tyler@thedrive.com

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Let's Talk About The Air Force Potentially Replacing The F-15E With The F-15EX - The Drive

On one hand working from home is truly awesome. Your commute is however far it is from your bed to your laptop, you don't have to deal face-to-face with annoying colleagues, you can make your own homemade, healthy snacks, and yes, you can work in your pajamas.

On the other hand, working from home turns your cozy sanctuary into an extension of your workplace, and it can be hard to switch off the way you normally would when you leave a physical place.

While there are some things you can do to mitigate this, like finding a place to work that's not where you play, being strict with cut off times to stop working, and making sure you take regular breaks, there are also some other hacks that we think can help your work-from-home process. These come in the form of Google Chrome extensions.

These free add-ons to your browser are tiny tools that can make a difference to your working day by improving your productivity and wellbeing. While not all of these will be useful to everyone, we're sure there will be at least a few of these Chrome extensions that will improve your work-from-home experience.

Momentum is a very popular Chrome extension boasting over three million users. It replaces your normal new tab page with a"personal dashboard," featuring a beautiful landscape photograph, a to-do list, your personalized weather, and inspirational quotes.

If you're the type of person that likes to center yourself and take a calming deep breath before you hit the power button on your laptop, Momentum is for you. The team behind the tool states the aim of the extension is creating a new tab page that gives you a moment of calm and inspires you to be more productive. It achieves this last part by asking you what's your "main focus" each day, a handy reminder to keep yourself on track.

We've all marveled at the meteoric rise of Zoom during 2020. For obvious reasons, the service has seen a huge increase in users. If this is the platform that your company uses for "cloud meetings" then you need this extension in your life.

The Zoom Chrome Extension allows any user to schedule Zoom meetings directly from Google Calendar. With the click of your mouse, you can start an instant meeting right there and then, or schedule for a future meeting to take place at a time that suits you.

Once you've set up a Zoom meeting, the meeting URL and any other information you've added is sent via a Google Calendar invitation so the person, or people, you've invited can join with a single click.

Make your to-do lists digital.

Image: Minimalist Notepad

If you're used to spreading yourself around a lovely, sizable desk with notepads, post-it notes, and memos dotted all over the place, working from your couch can be a struggle.

Use your work-from-home experience as an opportunity to improve your working habits by making your notes digital. Minimalist Notepad offers a "simple, elegant way" to quickly write down your notes, to-do lists, shopping lists, links you want to visit or bookmark, images you need to reference, videos you want to watch, and more. You can launch it directly from your browser bar in a matter of seconds. It may be simple, but it is also fully-featured.

While you can use it as a simple text tool, it supports all kinds of formatting options, including font size/type/style/color/background color, block-quotes, bulleted lists, image and video insertions, and URL links, among other useful tools. Ditch the planet-harming post-its and go digital!

You need a break from your desk. Let this Chrome extension help.

We're all about wellbeing with this next suggestion. While you may not be cooped up in a cubicle, it's all too easy to stay stationary for longer than is good for you when working on a laptop. This extension aims to change that.

Stretchclock is a "professional break reminder for desk warriors." The configurable timer runs in one of your browser tabs and reminds you to stretch at set times that suit you. When the StrechClock countdown timer reaches zero, it shows you easy "no-sweat" exercises that you can do at your desk, even if you're wearing business attire. You can choose how many exercises you want to do each time from just a few simple stretches to half an hour yoga-style work-friendly workouts.

It's a fab way to remind yourself to stay active and help prevent back issues and repetitive stress injuries while working from home.

Screenshots are a must when you're on Zoom call number 46 of the day.

For a free tool, Nimbus does A LOT of really useful things that over a million people are very grateful for on a daily basis. We recommend checking the extension out in detail, but for the sake of this article, we're focussing on the extension's ability to help you quickly and easily capture images and videos of your computer screen.

If you're trying to collaborate remotely with colleagues while working from home it can be difficult to get people to understand instructions over the phone alone. Visuals are an essential part of explaining processes or instructions. Nimbus lets you capture whole or partial screenshots. You can then use the tool to add graphics, such as arrows and stickers, text boxes, highlight text, and blur out areas you don't want to be seen before you send it to a workmate.

Similarly, Nimbus allows you to record video from your screen to make a screencast, so you could easily "show" someone how to do something without having to fuss with remote access set-ups. This is particularly useful if you work with people in different timezones to you.

A must-have extension for all Office users.

If you're Team Microsoft, as most workplaces are, this handy extension offers you quick and convenient access to Office content and services from your browser bar.

The Office browser extension is a free extension made especially for Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. Simply click on the Office icon and you'll instantly see one-click access to your favorite online apps, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook, as well as the documents you've most recently had open. This means you can quickly jump back into documents to continue working on them, a useful productivity hack for all Office users.

Whether you're working from home or not, Grammarly is a must-have.

We'd recommend anyone and everyone installs Grammarly to their Chrome browser, regardless of where they're working. It's such a marvelous free tool that can make a huge difference to the quality of the written content you produce.

As Grammarly states, misspellings and grammatical errors can affect your credibility. Reduce that risk with this extension that will automatically correct your text in Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, and across millions of other sites. It will underline words that are spelled incorrectly in red, and also flags grammatical errors, misuse of punctuation, and even analyze how concise your writing is.

If you set up a Grammarly account, you can get a personalized writing report each week to help you track your progress and identify improvement areas.

Banish repetitive typing tasks.

Image: auto text expander 2

If part of what bugs you about your job is the repetitive nature of some of the things you have to type often, we can help.

Auto Text Expander 2 is a nifty tool that helps you easily create custom keyboard shortcuts to expand and replace text as you type. While online services like Gmail let you create email templates and can analyze what you're typing and automatically suggest additional text, this tool takes things a step further in that you can program it to add email addresses, company names, even complete sentences to be automatically added to your online content all over the Internet.

For example, you could create a shortcut that would mean typing "[emailprotected]" appearing in your document as "[emailprotected]" You can use Auto Text Expander 2 to create up to 510 such keyboard shortcuts to suit your needs and save your time and sanity.

Not everyone will benefit from all of these Chrome extensions, but if some tools help some work-from-home warriors, we're happy to have helped.

Obviously the Office- and Zoom-themed extensions are only going to be of use to those that use those services, but others, like Grammarly, Momentum, and Minimalist Notepad will help anyone who works from home on a personal computer. Wellbeing is just as important as productivity, if not more so, so do also consider the installing the StretchClock - Break Reminder and Office Yoga extension. Having a physical and mental break from your laptop screen is essential to staying well while you're staying home.

Read more from the original source:

8 helpful Chrome extensions to improve working from home - Mashable

There we go, Erika Peckham said Thursday evening pulling the big green pickup to the side of a Campbell County gravel road northeast of Gillette.

She grabbed a pair of binoculars from the center console and stepped out of the vehicle glassing a hillside some 200 yards distant.

Two does and two fawns, she said. This time of year, the does and fawns are found together, and the bucks usually roam around in bachelor groups.

Peckham is a wildlife biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). In 2019, she was selected as Wildlife Manager of the Year by the Wyoming Game Wardens Association.

Whats a day in the life of a wildlife biologist like? According to Peckham, thats an impossible question to answer.

No two days are the same, she said. Its definitely not a nine-to-five job.

Its August, and every August, in addition to her other duties, Peckham takes part in a statewide pronghorn count. Shes up before daylight every day, and out until after dark, riding roads and walking trails, counting the animals. The information she gathers will be combined with information from other biologists and game wardens to get a close estimate of how many antelope Wyoming has. The information is used to plan hunting seasons and set limits to ensure the health of the herd.

Peckham is a Michigan native, who grew up southeast of Detroit. A life-long animal lover, as a child she had dreams of being a veterinarian. That changed in college though, when she found the wildlife and fisheries management program at Montana State University. It was a perfect fit.

She worked several seasonal jobs both with the federal government and private corporations, doing consulting work. One of those jobs brought her to Gillette. She liked the area, and when a position opened up with WGFD she jumped at it. She hired on as habitat extension biologist in 2008, then moved into her current role in early 2012. Shes also a private pilot who, when shes not working for WGFD, sometimes contracts for local companies to do aerial surveys. The hours she puts in with both endeavors dont leave much time for outside interests.

I do like to take care of myself, so I make time for the gym, Peckham said. But the way I work doesnt leave a lot of time for hobbies.

From September through December, her duties revolve around hunting season. The days are even longer then, she said. She mans check stations and often finds herself educating hunters, particularly those from out of state, on Wyomings regulations.

Mile after mile Peckham drives the gravel backroads of rural Campbell County, stopping at every antelope sighting, glassing fields and making notations. While she works she talks.

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Theyre not really antelope, although we call them that, she explained. In fact, their closest relative is the giraffe, if you can believe that.

Peckham knows her job, and she knows the animals she studies. She stopped on a straight stretch of isolated road and pointed ahead. On a fence post 50 feet away sat a large hawk.

Thats a Ferruginous Hawk, she said. This is neat, because there arent that many of them. Theyre my favorite.

As the hawk took flight Peckhams cell phone rang.

Thats the dying animal number, she said somberly.

As much as she loves her job, theres one duty she dislikes immensely, and shes called to perform it far too often. When a wild animal is injured and a citizen calls for help the call gets routed either to Peckham or to one of the local game wardens she works closely with. Whether its a deer or antelope struck by a car, or a sick animal someone spotted on their property, shes frequently tasked with dealing with the situation.

Its definitely the hard part of my job because most of the time theres not much we can do, she said. Ive been asked before why I cant just take a deer or antelope to an animal hospital, and I have to explain that we dont really have one of those. Often were so far out that theres not a good option.

Sometimes the most merciful thing she can do is end the animals suffering. But its not something she enjoys.

As the sun sets Peckham makes her way back toward town. She will spend the rest of the evening compiling data and entering it into the WGFDs system.

Tomorrow morning before the sun is up she will load up and head out again.

For Erika Peckham, its just another day at the office.

More:

WGFD: A Day In The Life Of Gillette's Wildlife Biologist - County 17

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While Democrats and Republicans have taken the past several weeks to posture, negotiate, and dig their heels in on a variety of issues related to arevised stimulus package, the livelihood of many Americans and their families have been left to hang in the balance. This is especially true for many people of color and those who have been tasked with the arduous duty of navigatinglow wage jobs, discrimination in the workforce, and a host of other socioeconomic disparities that are rooted in systemic racism and classism. Although the White House, Senate Republicans, and House Democrats haveagreedto another round of $1,200 stimulus checks for qualifying Americans, they have not been able to reach a meeting of the minds about unemployment benefits, among other things. Some are now concerned that this may result in a failed negotiation, as congress is scheduled to begin their vacation today through September 8.

Earlier this week Republican White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows said, Ive become extremely doubtful that well be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday." As of today, an executive order has been signed by the White House to temporarily extend unemployment emergency aid by reducing the benefit amount to $400 per week 25% of which states are being asked to pay as well as adding a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, and extending student loan relief and thelapsed eviction ban, so that congress can peacefully go into their recess. Some argue that this approach simply kicks the can down the road and adds further fuel to the fire of devastation that many Americans have experienced over the past five months due to the pandemic. The White Houseexecutive orderleaves several key areas lingering such as stimulus checks and funding for the CDC, schools, essential workers, the paycheck protection program, and treatment, testing and tracing until next month when congress reconvenes.

The Labor Department reports that over 31 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits as of mid-July, which accounts for 1 in 5 workers being out of work since the start of the pandemic. As of late March, the average individual receivingunemploymentreceived around $930 a week due the extra $600 per week in emergency aid, whichexpiredlast week. Now, those funds have been cut by more than half to a meager $330 to $450 a week, which adds up to $1,320 to $1,800 monthly in cities where the average one-bedroom apartment cost a minimum of$1,300a month. Democrats have pushed to extend the extra $600 weekly aid through the end of the year and Republicans have proposed that aid be reduced to $200 per week. During talks, Republicans argued that the extra $600 aid incentivizes Americans to not look for employment while Democrats argued that there are not enough jobs available for everyone who is unemployed and that by providing sufficient financial support to unemployed individuals not only will families be kept out of poverty, but the country would also benefit in the long run by boosting the economy.

Last week, The Washington Post surveyed economists to get their thoughts and predictions about the countrys financial future. The findings overwhelmingly supported the extension of additional aid with some supporting $600 per week in emergency aid and others suggesting a slightly smaller amount such as The White Houses proposed $400. But what do the millions of unemployed Americans have to say about what appears to be a non-relenting partisan tug-of-war? They are begging for relief and rescue. This is a daunting reality for many who have not only found themselves unemployed, but also uninsured, and nearly homeless during apandemic issues of which people of color already disproportionately experience at higher rates compared to whites.

Although most Americans with low incomes are white, Blacks historically experience both lower incomes andshorter life expectancies. Although there are a multitude of factors that contribute to racial health disparities, research suggests that a central role is played by chronic financial hardship caused by a legacy of exploitation and segregation, as well as the direct toxic effects of discrimination on mental and physical health. These are issues that persist today and are enacted through a lack of access to education, credit, economic opportunity, and healthy environments. Consequently, its the intersection of both poverty and the effects of structural racism that create a perfect storm for the presence of significant and disproportionate mental and physical health disparities among Blacks and people of color overall.

Members of the Black and Latinx communities have historically experienced higher rates of unemployment.Last year, 6% of Blacks and 4% of Latinos were unemployed compared to 3% of whites. In less than 12 months, those numbers have exploded. As of early July, 16% of Blacks and 17% of Latinos were unemployed compared to 12% of whites. Blacks and Latinos combined also makeup almost50%of those living at or below poverty in the U.S. compared to 9% of whites. The net worth of white Americans is more than 15 times that of Blacks and 13 times that of Latinos. Most minority groups also experience higher rates of homelessness in the U.S., with Blacks making upmore than half of the homeless populationwhile only representing 13% of the general U.S. population.

Adding insult to injury, research has shown increased rates of behavioral risk such as smoking, obesity, substance abuse, and low levels of physical activity among individuals living at or below poverty. These are factors that are argued to be powerfully influenced by challenging home and community environments that many lower-income individuals live in. This is also in addition to certain businesses targeting financially vulnerable populations, which is evidenced by lower-income neighborhoods having ahigher densityof tobacco retailers andliquor stores, and the tobacco industryhistoricallytargetinglow-income people through various marketing and advertising strategies.

Many Blacks and Latinos also endure other structural barriers that are caused by poverty and living on a low income including limited access to fresh foods, living in communities that are not conducive to physical activity, and living in areas with a high presence of fast-food restaurants. More broadly, Blacks and Latinos living in impoverished communities often experience under-resourced school districts, environmental pollutants, and greater exposure to violence, trauma, and stress associated with lack of housing, heat, water, and electricity. For those living paycheck to paycheck, they might also feel the frequent threat of eviction and the current pandemic has only exacerbated these issues.

It has been well documented that exposure to racism, educational attainment, and employment can have severe physical and mental health implications on people of color. Similarly, its also no secret that poverty by itself can be a contributing factor to chronic stress, disease, and loweredlife expectancy. Both of these have led to an increased need to better understand the links between income, health, and race. The relationship between race, income, and health persists both within and across races. Experts argue that lower-income Blacks tend to live shorter lives than high-income Blacks, and affluent Blacks die earlier than affluent whites. Arecent studysuggests that race might be more important than family income particularly for men. Black young boys in wealthy households are more likely to become poor adults than affluent ones, while the opposite is true for white young boys.

That said, the impact of poverty across race is pervasive and can be thought of as both a cause and a consequence of poor health. Poverty increases the likelihood of experiencing poor health and, in turn, traps communities in poverty. Poor health can also impact an individuals ability to work, reduce economic opportunities, inhibit educational attainment, and force those who work in riskier professions` to work at any cost. This is especially true during the current pandemic. Blacks and Latinos make up a large number ofessential workerswho have been forced to work in positions that place them at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus to pay their bills, but have limited access to quality medical care if they become ill. This creates what has been referred to as a negative feedback loop or what epidemiologist Jacob Bor and Sandro Galea call thetwenty-first-century health-poverty trap.

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was successful in insuring millions of uninsured Americans, more thantwenty-seven millionAmericans remain uninsuredthe majority of whom are low-income individuals. Those without health insurance areless likelyto have a regular source of medical care and more likely to forgo care because of cost concerns; and consequently, experience higher rates of health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, and maternal death. As the rate of infectious disease increases so does income inequality.

In 1978, 33% of the total income in the U.S. went to the top 10% of earners, but in 2014 that percentage grew to 50%. Over the past 30 years, the share of income earned by the 1% of earners doubled growing from 8% to 19% and the top 0.1% now earns 10% of all income. While some are basking in their financial spoils, the income of most Americans has declined or remained somewhat stagnant. Life expectancy differences by income have also grown. A recentstudyfound that since 2011, life expectancy has increased by almost 3% years for the top 5% of top income earners in America, but there have been no increases in the bottom 5% and men in the top 1% of income distribution can now expect to live 15 years longer than those in the bottom 1%. Among women, the difference is about ten years, which is equivalent to the life expectancy difference between a lifetime smoker and a person who has never smoked a day in their life.

There are also significant negative mental health effects associated with poverty. Although whites tend to experience greater mental health disorders, people of color tend to experience more severe and longer-lasting symptoms associated with mental health challenges. Overall, poverty in adulthood has been linked to depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, psychological distress, and suicide. Individuals in families that earn less than $35,000 a year are four times more likely to report being nervous or feeling sad most of the time compared to individuals in families earning more than $100,000 a year. These disparitiesemerge early in lifeand can bepassedintergenerationally.

Extending unemployment benefits will not solve the extreme poverty that exists in the U.S. nor will a second round of stimulus checks. Poverty, racism, and the structures that exist which maintain and perpetuate both require a complete ideological transformation, that arguably, might not happen in our lifetime. However, decisions can be made now to begin to pave the way to such transformation for future generations to come. The pandemic has presented the country with a fork in the road moment that could either mark the start of a restructure of financial stability for underrepresented groups or reinforce measures that further maintain the profound income and health inequalities and disparities that exist in America.Although to some this might be a matter of politics and partisanship, to millions of Americans this a matter of their survival and life and death.

Originally posted here:

As Congress Prepares To Recess, Millions Of Americans Fear Homelessness, Poverty, And Further Health Disparities - Forbes

The MIAA has recognized officials in a variety of sports for their outstanding service to all MIAA student-athletes and for their commitment to the promotion of Educational Athletics. This award has been established to recognize and acknowledge their individual achievement but also to validate the vital work our 6,000-plus officials do each and every season.

Listed below are the recognized officials, their region where they officiate and their personal philosophy.

BASEBALL

MIKE SULLIVAN: For every student that participates, high school athletics are an integral part of their maturation process. The lessons learned from a coach in practices and games, the interactions with teammates, and the ability to understand and respect the officials in a contest are going to be instances that one can draw from for the rest of their life. My goal is to ensure a fair contest where all participants are respected, while players learn from and enjoy the experience of participating in a competition.

BOYS BASKETBALL

BRUCE ANDERSON: The life lessons taught at every level are building blocks which teach social skills, teamwork, confidence, and sportsmanship. Athletics give us so much more than we could ever give the sport, providing invaluable life lessons that stay with us throughout our life.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

JULIE RUANE: Making commitments to ourselves, our teammates, coaches and parents requires many qualities, in particular, accountability. Developing those qualities at an early age is a solid start on the path to success. Building friendships and maintaining relationships is essential when part of a team.

CROSS COUNTRY

STANLEY LEY RICKER: Athletics offers the benefit of participation where students gain self-confidence, learn teamwork, sportsmanship and responsibility which are all life skills. Developing a strong work ethic and leadership skills are lifelong benefits on the road to succeed.

FIELD HOCKEY

JULIE HALLORAN: My philosophy on interscholastic sports has evolved throughout my years of playing, coaching and officiating. Interscholastic sports contribute in a major way to the physical, mental and social development of students. Everyone involved in interscholastic sports has a responsibility to instill and promote good sportsmanship and character by exhibiting behaviors of a positive role model. It is important that everyone embrace that role.

FOOTBALL

PETER OCHS: Interscholastic sport programs provide lifelong lessons that teach respect for self, teammates, and authority. To set life goals and achieve those goals; establish work ethic and the ability to work toward a common goal; and, lastly, the ability to deal with set-backs and overcome adversity in life.

GIRLS GYMNASTICS

JEANNE PECKHAM: Ive been committed to gymnastics since my young daughters began classes and when I received a judging rating to understand the scoring. As a director for a gym and dance program, I understand the work that went into this sport on the part of the girls and their coaches. Ive loved judging gymnastics and being a mother and coach has given me an understanding of the agony and ecstasy that is involved in this sport.

BOYS ICE HOCKEY

THOMAS FYRER: Watching young adults grow, compete and learn to work as part of a team, while both winning and losing, provides a solid foundation as any individual prepares for what is next in life. The challenge of being a role model for players, coaches and spectators on how to deal with difficult situations as they arise motivates me as I step on the ice for any contest.

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY

THOMAS MURRAY: My philosophy when I officiate an MIAA contest is to be fair to both teams, to be knowledgeable of the rules, and to hustle the entire game. I strive to create an atmosphere where the student-athlete can showcase their talents. I believe that playing sports allows the student-athlete to develop life-long learning skills such as teamwork, leadership, and communication that will guide them as they continue on their personal road to adulthood.

BOYS LACROSSE

TONI CARDANI: I believe athletics is the extension of the students education. The life lessons that sports teach will benefit the student-athletes for the rest of their lives. Learning to compete to the best of their abilities and work within a team, and facing adversity are all life-long skills.

GIRLS LACROSSE

TERI RIGGS: Athletics are an integral educational partner that enhances the lives of those involved, and greatly contributes to the overall physical, emotional and academic development of our youth. Athletics offer the opportunity to understand teamwork and commitment towards a common goal, these are learned skills that can be carried through an individuals lifetime.

BOYS SOCCER

RIC BEAUDOIN: I am a firm believer that all state high school athletics are an extension of physical education programs. This approach translates directly to the model that all athletic fields of competition mirror the classroom environment. Hence, as officials, we should all be guardians of fair play, good sportsmanship, and accountability for our behavior.

GIRLS SOCCER

LEAH MURPHY: I have thoroughly enjoyed the ongoing interaction with the youth and other referees. I have learned so much and taken advantage of the mentorship gained from all the veteran officials. To do your best in every aspect of life, including your representation on and off the court, is the most important thing to me.

SOFTBALL

LOUIS PEARLSTEIN: My philosophy of officiating sports has been to apply a pattern of behavior which supports the positive learning experiences in sports as an extension of our academic activities. I must create and maintain an environment which supports professionalism, hustle, sportsmanship and ethics in all my activities in my officiating or in my role as an official demonstrating my love of the game and respecting all the people who are necessary to create this learning activity.

FALL SWIMMING & DIVING

BARBARA CAM TOWNSEND: Athletics are a perfect complement to academics. They promote an active lifestyle which improves fitness, mental health, and reduces stress. Participants learn about teamwork and commitment, develop a sense of belonging, and develop lifelong friendships and skills.

WINTER SWIMMING & DIVING

WILLIAM BILL WHIGHAM: I believe that every athletic event is a macrocosm of life itself. Athletics is the place where kids learn how to love life. Athletics is the discipline where children learn the values of commitment, responsibility and cooperation. Athletics is where athletes learn how to respect each other in competition; that it is okay to fail and to win with humility and lose with dignity. Athletics is the place where children learn to manage their time and work with others as a team. I believe that all athletes, regardless of their level of ability and performance should have officials of the highest quality that model the values we strive to bring about in our students.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

MICHELLE COTE: Athletics brings a sense of pride to those who participate. Life lessons that you see the students learning during practice and competition such as empathy, perseverance and determination are miraculous to be part of and witness. I get no greater joy than to see the winner of a race remain at the finish line to congratulate fellow competitors. To watch a student with disabilities exude a sense of pride at the competition of a race cant be matched.

OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

LINDA GEORGE: My philosophy is making track a positive experience so the student-athletes will continue with the sport. An athletes only competition is themselves and accomplishing their personal best.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

KEVIN McDERMOTT: It is quite simple: do what you love, play/ref by the rules and with integrity and give back to your sport. I take the most satisfaction and pride in the training clinics for new officials which I and the other members of my board run. Volleyball officiating must keep pace with the rapidly improving skill level of todays players. While at the same time maintaining the integrity of how volleyball should be played.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

MICHAEL SIMMARANO: With the wide variety of sports being offered, we need to provide all student-athletes with a healthy, safe and competitive environment. Emphasis needs to be placed on good sportsmanship and leadership. Respect for teammates, opposing players, rules and officials, regardless of the level of competition, should be exhibited to provide a positive educational experience.

WRESTLING

DANIEL J. BUCKLEY, SR.: Athletics taught me self-discipline, hard work, the value of teamwork and mental toughness. Most importantly it taught me that you control your own destiny in life and that you always have control over what you do tomorrow. When officiating Im also cognizant of being fair, impartial and competent so that todays student-athletes learn the same life lessons that I did while participating in Athletics.

Originally posted here:

MIAA honors officials for their work - Boston Herald