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Daily Archives: August 3, 2017
Buy or Sell? Average Brokerage Ratings on Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) – StockNewsJournal
Posted: August 3, 2017 at 10:23 am
Buy or Sell? Average Brokerage Ratings on Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) StockNewsJournal CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF), maintained return on investment for the last twelve months at -1.91, higher than what Reuters data shows regarding industry's average. The average of this ratio is 5.77 for the industry and sector's best figure ... |
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Relizorb Improves Nutritional Status in Tube-Fed CF Patients, Study Finds – Cystic Fibrosis News Today
Posted: at 10:23 am
Treatment with Alcresta Therapeutics product Relizorb effectively increased fat absorption in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) receiving enteral tube feeding who have trouble breaking down and absorbing these molecules. This resulted in a reduction of the frequency and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms.
These findings were published recently in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, in a studytitled Increased Fat Absorption from Enteral Formula Through an In-line Digestive Cartridge in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.
CF patients who lack the ability to absorb fat molecules receive enteral feeding to improve their nutrition.
Relizorb was evaluated in a study (Study 497) that spanned 27 days and included 33 pediatric and adult patients (ages ranging from 5 to 45 years, with a mean age of 14.5 years) with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) associated with CF, and who had been receiving enteral feeding for approximately seven years.
Researchers analyzed fat absorption through the changes in plasma levels of relevant fatty acids, namely the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). DHA and EPA are energy sources and essential components of cell membranes, and are involved in several body functions necessary for the maintenance of normal development and overall health.
Contrary to placebo, treatment with Relizorb induced a significant improvement (2.8-fold) in the total levels of DHA and EPA absorption. Also, RELiZORB use during the administration of enteral nutrition among these patients was safe and well-tolerated. Patients reported a decrease in the frequency and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly stool-related symptoms, associated with deficient fat absorption.
The publication of Study 497 is an important milestone as we build evidence in support of RELiZORB in this patient population, Daniel Tass, Alcresta Therapeuticss CEO, said in a press release. Patients who receive enteral nutrition often struggle to maintain a healthy nutritional status, and often miss out on consumption of critical calories. The results of this study provide us with the first well-controlled, randomized, double-blind study that showed improvements of fat absorption in patients on enteral nutrition within just 24 hours of treatment with RELiZORB, he said.
The increase in DHA and EPA plasma levels in the 497 study demonstrates that this strategy can increase absorption of fats and in particular critical healthy omega-3 fatty acids said study researcher Steven Freedman, MD, PhD. These are potentially important clinical benefits for patients who are put on nighttime enteral feedings but are waking up full, not eating breakfast and not benefitting from the positive caloric value that having a meal offers. This study is evidence of an important option that is now available to help these patients and their physicians meet important nutritional goals, Freedman said.
The active ingredient in Relizorb is the digestive enzyme lipase, attached to polymeric carriers together called immobilized lipase (iLipase). As the enteral tube feeding formula passes through Relizorb, it makes contact with the iLipase components and the fat in the formula is broken down to its absorbable form (fatty acids and monoglycerides) prior to ingestion. This method allows the absorption of 90 percent of the fats present in most enteral feeding tube formulas, including DHA and EPA.
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Texas sheriff’s Facebook war on political correctness upsets residents – Salon
Posted: at 10:22 am
Denton County, a small area north of Dallas, is host to a diverse populationofold-timers and college students. Its also home tolocal sheriff Tracy Murphree, whos been makingheadlines thanks to a history of controversial Facebook posts. Following the May terrorist attack atan Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, for example, he called for an end to political correctness and warned against an enemy with an ideology hell bent on killing you.
The post, in which he declared, The left wants to cater to the very group that would kill every group they claim to support . . . What will it take? This happening at a concert in Dallas or a school in Denton County? If we dont do something quick this country will die of political correctness, soon wentviral. Murphree then went public to defend his remarks, which he stands by, though he refused a recent request for comment. During an interview with Fox Business, hesaid that his words were on target and claimed he was simply voicing the thoughts of many others over the last few years. He also stated he wrote the post with his own children and the citizens he is sworn to protect in mind.
[The response] shocked me, said Murphree. I expected a lot of criticism from the left, from liberals, but I expected that more locally than worldwide. I dont understand why a Texas sheriffs Facebook post has gone worldwide.
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, issued a statement following the post calling for Murphreeto reaffirm his commitment to equal justice for all county residentsregardless of faith, ethnicity or national origin.
The guy has a serious anger management problem, and sometimes in certain combat situations thats good, but this guys walking the streets as a public safety officer and its just not good to know that something could set him off that shouldnt, said Larry Beck, an active Denton citizen who started Denton Doings, a blog that covers local events. It sets a poor example for his men, too.
Because Murphree is an elected official with a good reputation in law enforcement, there is not much to be done in the way of disciplinary action other than monitoring the behavior and hoping he does not act on his beliefs, according to Beck. However, this is not the first time Murphree has made controversialcommentstargeting minority groups. And some feel that the possibility of violenceis real, either fromMurphree himself or someone inspired by him.
The fact that hes in a reputable position, county sheriff, saying things like thatit doesnt bode well for the city and it can affect others who have the tendency to actually carry out the actions of what some people say, said Beck. That would bother me;that should bother any citizen.
Beck continued, As long as we keep a level head and keep an eye on him, I think hopefully hell either straighten his act out or hell step over that line thatll probably allow us to take legal action against him. I just hope nobody gets seriously hurt or killed in the process before it happens.
Shortly before his 2016 election, Murphree made a different Facebook post, in which he threatened to beat any transgender women unconscious whotried to use the restroom with his daughter.
This whole bathroom thing is craziness I have never seen, Murphree wrote in a post that has since been deleted. All I can say is this: If my little girl is in a public womens restroom and a man, regardless of how he may identify, goes into the bathroom, he will then identify as a John Doe until he wakes up in whatever hospital he may be taken to. Your identity does not trump my little girls safety. I identify as an overprotective father that loves his kids and would do anything to protect them.
Sharon Kremer, who has lived in Denton County her whole life and relies on Murphree as her first responder, also has concerns about the sheriffs behavior, stressing the importance of having a leader with a steady hand, and a cool head.
As an early senior aged, single female, living on a couple of acres by herself, it doesnt make us feel secure, said Kremer, who feels that Murphree could benefit greatly from counseling. Just because we have a Twitter-happy president doesnt mean that thats a model. . . . Its a piece of erratic behavior, and I think all of us would agree that nobody needs to handle firearms and be erratic in behavior, and unsound in judgment, and reactionary. The third strike must come with some kind of consequences.
Citing his right as an American citizen to weigh in on national issues, Murphree continues to speak his mind.
I think political correctness is one of the reasons that these things happen. People are afraid theyre going to be called what Ive been called: a racist, or islamophobe, or a hate mongerer, he said earlier this year. People dont speak out because they dont want to be called those things, and Im not afraid to be called those things. Im not that, I just speak the truth.
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Texas sheriff's Facebook war on political correctness upsets residents - Salon
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Political correctness: The great disease in this century – Mexia Daily News
Posted: at 10:22 am
Submitted by mexia2010 on Wed, 08/02/2017 - 4:27pm
By Roxanne Thompson Staff Writer Some doctoral theses elicit a yawn and collect dust, but the thesis Andy Hopkins is working on may elicit sparks among those who value politically correctness. Hopkins is the son of Gwen Bartsch, who has a home at Lake Mexia and is an active member of the Mexia Lions Club. He spent 21 years in the Army, specializing as a Korean linguist, cryptographer and military intelligence officer. Now retired from the Army, Hopkins works at Wacos L3 Technologies, which provides security for military and commercial customers around the world. Hopkins already had an MBA and decided to pursue a doctorate. His thesis is on political correctness and its corrosive effects on peoples lives, freedom and national security. The United States has a history of embracing free speech, he noted, but as political correctness has grown in strength, free speech has suffered, and Americans now have to be fearful of what they say, write and think. We have to be afraid of using the wrong word; a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, racist, sexist or homophobic, he said. Weve seen other countries, particularly in this century, where this has been the case but we now have this situation in our country; and if you do any research in political correctness and where it comes from, your eyes will be opened.
To read more of this story, pick up a copy of Thursday's edition of The Mexia News. Subscribe online or call 254-562-2868.
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Where will all this political correctness end? – Northside Sun
Posted: at 10:22 am
Maybe I'm getting a better perspective, or perhaps getting worn down. I don't know. But I'm pretty neutral when it comes to the state flag. If I had an ancestor who had died in the Confederate army, or one who was a slave perhaps I would feel differently. Let's review. The flag was officially adopted after the Civil War in April 1894. The referendum for a new design was soundly defeated by 64 percent of voters in 2012. There has been insufficient support to put it back on the ballot in the 2018 election, although, I understand, it could be removed by the Mississippi Legislature should they risk doing so.
Since the shooting of nine black worshipers in a South Carolina church on June 17, 2015 by a white supremacist, there has been a renewed effort to not only change the flag, but also remove other symbols of Confederate history. First the flag: Mississippi is the only state that displays such a flag. After the 2015 shooting, South Carolina removed a separate Confederate flag that they flew alongside their own state flag. Most of our state's universities have removed the state flag. A court in Clarksdale has removed the flag, as has the state Capitol in Jackson.
Next - other symbols of the Confederacy: In 2010 Colonel Reb was replaced by the Black Bear as the official symbol of Ole Miss. Ironically many believe a black man was the inspiration for the Colonel. From 1896 till his death in 1955 blind Jim Ivy attended and supported many Ole Miss athletic events. He famously said: "I have never seen Ole Miss lose!" The politically correct administration at the university has also discontinued the singing of "Dixie" at games. In New Orleans four monuments of Confederate heroes have been removed from public grounds.
Where will this end? 'Ole Miss' is the nickname for a slave owner's wife. Should that go? A building on the campus was built by slaves. Should that be destroyed? But our first President, George Washington, was a slave owner. Should the Washington Monument go? The architect of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was a slave owner. Should it be ripped up? What about our history books - surely the Civil War needs to be edited severely we'll soon say. Let's not include Sherman's raids (he was a Yankee) when he devastated such towns as Meridian, burning most houses and stealing food (destroying what he didn't need) in the middle of winter in February 1864.
I was not born in the South. In 1957 I immigrated from England. That country too has lost a few battles. On the bank of the River Thames in London there is a statue of Queen Boadicea who ruled ancient Brits immediately before Roman times. Although flogged and her daughters raped, she led her army against the Roman invaders. Eventually she lost, but her statue remains as a reminder of past bravery and history. Shouldn't Mississippi do the same?
Peter Gilderson is a Northsider.
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Renaming Hollywood streets takes political correctness too far | Letters – Sun Sentinel
Posted: at 10:22 am
In response to the July 30 letter to the editor "Part of history lost," I agree that replacing the names of Confederate generals Robert. E. Lee, John Hood, and Nathan Bedford Forrest on local streets in Broward is carrying political coreectness way too far.
Like it or not, this country fought the Civil War, and those generals are part of our national history. George Washington had slaves, and so did seven other sitting presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, who wrote much of our historic laws and documents. Of course slavery was wrong no one disputes that. But would those local idiots wanting to replace the street names advocate removing these historic names from public places as well?
My forebearers fought in the American Revolution, and my ancestors from Pennsylvania fought with the Union in the Civil War. Many in our family are married to descendents of those who served on the Confederate side. We all love each other and respect our forebearers, who did what they believed in during that time period.
From what I have been told, these days very little American history is taught in schools, so it is doubtful that younger people even know who these generals were with the possible exception of Lee. Lincoln stressed "with malice toward none..." and respect for all. That should apply to our nation's history all of it.
In my humble opinion, the current craze of "political correctness" that is sweeping this country has gone far beyond the point of common sense. Let's honor and respect all Americans and try to focus on working together for the common good.
Kathleen Dempsey, Pompano Beach
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Renaming Hollywood streets takes political correctness too far | Letters - Sun Sentinel
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Cloning, Counterfeiting and Fraud in digital payments what to know to stay safe – Technology Zimbabwe
Posted: at 10:21 am
The second topic being discussed at the Mobile money and Digital payments conference at Meikles hotel is discussing Cloning, Counterfeiting and Fraud in mobile money and digital payments. The discussion was kick started by a presentation from Jaqueline Malaba, the business development manager at Visa Card.
Her discussion touched on how digital payments are more accessible now since 4.9 Billion devices were reported to be connected in 2015. She also shared how its estimated that around 25 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2020. The talk then progressed to show how security and innovation produce a complicated situation.
With the rise in the number of different payment methods people can use, how can people stay secure while transacting online? She shared some of the techniques that could be used, for example, not giving out too much personal information on social media and also not directly entering your card details online for transactions. A safer method according to her would be to use a different platform like PayPal and then link your card to that platform.
In this case, youd then use your PayPal details to make an online payment and protect your card details. After her presentation, the panelists then started to discuss more on this topic and what things are happening within the digital payments ecosystem. Something that came out was the fact that very few people are aware of how things are happening when they transact using plastic or mobile money. Due to not having enough information, people can be hacked easily as they dont know how to protect themselves.
The discussion then pointed out how our cards work, which methods are safer and how to increase safety. There are currently 2 types of cards that we are familiar with locally. The first one is the good old card with a black strip at the back which uses a magnetic strip for transactions. This type of debit card is not that safe as most of your information is stored on that strip and hackers can use devices called skimmers to obtain that information. After obtaining that information they can then sell it or use it to make fraud payments.
This vulnerability has been known worldwide for sometime and recently, weve started to see some local banks stopping to use such type of cards. The other type of card which is safer than the previous one is called an EMV card. It is the one that some local banks are migrating to as it uses a chip card technology to process payments. The chip is encrypted and thus hackers cant easily steal your information or clone your card.
As the discussion went on, someone in the audience outlined that they once processed a payment using that card without actually having to enter their pin number. Just like what Jacqueline outlined earlier, innovation + security = complicated. Authur Matsaudza from Steward Bank, then explained how this was possible. In a nutshell, there are two types of transactions: card present transaction and card not present transaction.
The first one requires you to enter your pin while the other one can work without your pin. The second one can work without a pin because the card has a card number at the front and a second card verification value at the back. Using these two pieces of information, a transaction can be processed if theyre entered into a point of sale machine or online.
Upon these revelations, a suggestion given to stay safe when transacting was to use what the finance sector calls3D authentication. This is when your bank, your card and the receivers bank work together to make sure that the transaction was authorized by you. So each time a transaction has to be processed, a one time pin has to be sent to you.
Other measures offered where to never give a waiter at a restaurant or anyone else your card for them to process the payment especially if you have the EMV card due to the reason outlined above. Banks still have to improve the safety of transacting online or even physically using their cards. More importantly, they should educate their customers on what can actually happen to make them vulnerable and how they can secure themselves.
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Hyper Evolution: Rise of the Robots is a timely look at robots that Kubrick could only dream of – review – Telegraph.co.uk
Posted: at 10:20 am
Those pesky robots, eh? This week, Facebook shut down a pair of its artificial intelligence chatbots after they invented their own language and started talking to each other in a way only they understood. Eat your heart out, Stanley Kubrick. This was like a sinister plot twist in a dystopian vision of the future.
If the tinny tykes arent hell-bent on universal domination (see Doctor Whos Cybermen), theyre becoming scarily sentient (witness Humans or Westworld).
Hyper Evolution: Rise of the Robots (BBC Four) was a timely two-part documentary investigating how far robots have come and what it could mean if, like in those sci-fi series, machines developed true consciousness and emotional intelligence.
This concluding episode saw evolutionary biologist Dr Ben Garrod and electronics engineer Professor Danielle George criss-crossing the globe to come face to metal face with a range of futuristic creations.
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How to slam dunk creationists when it comes to the theory of evolution – The Conversation UK
Posted: at 10:20 am
The 2001 discovery of the seven million-year-old Sahelanthropus, the first known upright ape-like creatures, was yet more proof of humanitys place among the great apes. And yet Mike Pence, then a representative and now US vice president, argues for the opposite conclusion.
For him, our ideas about our ancestors have changed, proving once more that evolution was a theory, and therefore we should be free to teach other theories alongside evolution in our classrooms.
How to respond? The usual answer is that we should teach students the meaning of the word theory as used in science that is, a hypothesis (or idea) that has stood up to repeated testing. Pences argument will then be exposed to be what philosophers call an equivocation an argument that only seems to make sense because the same word is being used in two different senses.
Evolution, Pence argues, is a theory, theories are uncertain, therefore evolution is uncertain. But evolution is a theory only in the scientific sense of the word. And in the words of the National Academy of Sciences, The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Attaching this label to evolution is an indicator of strength, not weakness.
If you take this approach, you have failed to understand the purpose of Pences rhetoric, or why it is so appealing to creationists. Pence is an accomplished politician, and knows exactly how to appeal to his intended audience. He is also an accomplished trial lawyer, which makes him a conjuror with words, and like any skilful conjuror he has pulled off his trick by distraction. Pence has drawn us into a discussion about words, when our focus should be on the evidence.
I would suggest the opposite approach. The problem is not really with the word theory at all. Students will have learned its meaning in the same way they learn meanings in general: by seeing how the word is used.
They will have heard of atomic theory, which no one has seriously doubted for over a century. And what about the theory of gravity? Finally, they may have seen how Darwin himself uses the expression my theory, although at the time it was neither comprehensive nor well supported (there were huge gaps in the fossil record), to refer in a very general way to his linked ideas about mutability of species, common descent, and the power of natural selection.
So if anyone says, Evolution is a theory, dont give them a lecture on the meaning of the word theory. If you do, youve fallen into the trap of making it seem that how we define words should affect how we see reality. You will be fighting on ground of your opponents choosing, since arguing about how to apply words is the stock in trade of theologians, preachers and lawyers like Mike Pence.
The correct response is to say that evolution is a theory like gravity is a theory and then redirect attention to the evidence. And that evidence is overwhelming.
Start with family relationships. Carl Linnaeus showed how living things can be classified into species, genera, families and so on, and Darwin pointed out that this is exactly the structure we would expect from a family tree. All dogs are canines, so dogs share an ancestor with foxes; all canines are carnivora, so dogs share a more remote ancestor with bears; all carnivora are mammals, so dogs and sheep are, albeit more remotely, related, and so on.
Then look at the discovery over the past few decades of family relationships at the molecular level, and the fact that the molecular family tree matches that based on anatomical resemblances.
Observe the fossil record. Once lamentably full of gaps (Darwin was among the lamenters), it is now densely populated. A century ago, it still made sense to point to the missing link between humans and pre-human apes. Now we know of several different hominin species living alongside each other, and the problem becomes one of distinguishing our grandparents from our great uncles. And yes, there are missing links in the chain, but without evolution we would not have a chain at all.
And then theres biogeography: for example, why marsupials are only found in South America and Australasia, and except for a few species that made their way across the Isthmus of Panama, are never found elsewhere.
Plus we can actually observe evolution, and study it in the field or in the lab. The emergence of pesticide resistance is evolution in action, as shown in the justly famous Harvard/Technion demonstration evolution on a plate. So is the delightful Russian experiment of breeding tame foxes. Artificial selection, just as much as natural selection, is evolution in action.
And finally, and most convincingly, we must look at the way that these different lines of evidence mesh together. We can apply biogeography to the fossil record, and link it to what we know about the movements of the continents. Using the methods of molecular biology, we can identify and time the mutations that led different species to diverge from their common ancestor, and match the timing against the fossil record.
Thus the fossil record, deep anatomical resemblances, and DNA evidence agree in showing that whales, for instance, are closely related to hoofed mammals, diverging from them in the Eocene period. There are many other examples of such consistency.
Then, and only then, pause to explain how a scientific theory is an interlocking connection of ideas that explain things about the world, and that evolution is one of the most successful examples. And challenge the Mike Pences of this world to spell out exactly what they would like to see taught alongside the Theory of Evolution and why.
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MSU genetics and evolution study receives $1.2 million NSF grant – Mississippi State Newsroom
Posted: at 10:20 am
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.Mississippi State is part of a new research collaboration sponsored by the National Science Foundation in which a colorful tropical butterfly is helping researchers investigate genetics and evolution.
Scientists at the Starkville land-grant university and the University of Puerto RicoRio Piedras will be studying the relationship in organisms between genetic material, or genotype, and physical characteristics due to gene expression and environmental influences, or phenotype.
Brian Counterman, an associate professor of biological sciences, leads the MSU research team. Ryan Range, assistant professor of biological sciences, as well as Jovonn Hill and Federico Hoffman, both assistant professors in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, also are part of the study that will examine genotype-phenotype relationships using color patterns of the Heliconius butterfly.
More than $1.2 million is being provided through the NSFs Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR, for the MSU collaboration over four years.
National Science Foundation leaders have noted how the genotype-to-phenotype relationship has significant societal and economic implications across scientific fields and areas of industry such as medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.
According to EPSCoR Head Denise Barnes, Over the past several decades, scientists and engineers have made massive strides in decoding, amassing and storing genomic data. For that reason, the federal agency is committed to providing the U.S. scientific community, including MSU, with resources for future discoveries that may help improve food-crop yields, better predictions for human disease risk and new drug therapies.
Angus Dawe, head of MSUs Department of Biological Sciences, said that in addition to helping raise our profile nationally, the project will make possible extensive support for training students and extend the impact of work at MSU to other regions.
This award will support foundational work at the cutting edge of genetics and evolution, Dawe said.
As Counterman recounted, groundbreaking 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-82) considered Heliconius to be the most striking example of natural selection in the wild because it has the ability to work with other butterflies to train predators that they are toxic.
When species work together, more individual butterflies survive and produce offspring, which is the process of natural selection at its best, Counterman observed.
Counterman said the new inquiry actually is an extension of a project we were already working on with Puerto RicoRio Piedras. When we finished in February, we decided to take it a step further and write a proposal for this grant.
Dawe said the MSU department is proud of its facultys continued success in obtaining research support from a variety of agencies, even as federal funding rates have been cut dramatically. To be able to receive awards in this climate is further evidence that biological sciences at Mississippi State competes with the very best programs anywhere, he emphasized.
Counterman said he and fellow team members are excited about opportunities to provide highly specialized genomic training in both Mississippi and Puerto Rico.
An MSU faculty member since 2010, Counterman is a biology doctoral graduate of Duke University who earlier earned a bachelors degree in ecology and evolution at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dawe said that research proposals for national grants typically involve a tremendous amount of work. He expressed his departments deep appreciation for administrative support and scientific collaborations with campus colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as the offices of Sponsored Projects and Research and Economic Development.
We are extremely grateful for their support, without which the submission of grant proposals could not happen, he said.
For details about EPSCoRs ongoing mission, visit http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/programs/epscor.
MSUs College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,000 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including the Department of Biological Sciences.
Research expenditures in the humanities are also an important part of Mississippi States overall research portfolio. Additionally, the NSF has ranked MSU among the top 25 for research expenditures in the social sciences. For more information on MSUs College of Arts and Sciences, visit http://www.cas.msstate.edu. The Department of Biological Sciences is online at http://www.biology.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippis leading university, also available online at http://www.msstate.edu.
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MSU genetics and evolution study receives $1.2 million NSF grant - Mississippi State Newsroom
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