Nick Wright unveils his Week 11 Tiers alongside Chris Broussard, Kevin Wildes and Coach Eric Mangini. Watch as Nick addresses "massively underestimating" the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles and why the Buffalo Bills climb higher up the tiers.

Concerned residents of Stilfontein rolled up their sleeves under police watch, and by 13:00 on Wednesday had pulled out three illegal miners among the estimated thousands who are stuck underground at the closed gold mine.

The post Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Advancing Health Equity through Interventions to Prevent and Address Housing Instability (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) [First Estimated Application Due Date: Dec 2024] was curated by information for practice.

The post Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Cannabis Policy Research for Health Equity (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) [First Estimated Application Due Date: Feb 5] was curated by information for practice.

The post Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Head Start Dissertation Grants (Estimated Post Date: Feb 28) was curated by information for practice.

India's smartphone market is estimated to grow 7-8 per cent this year, driven by strong demand for premium, 5G and AI smartphones, according to a new report.

TORONTO, ON – A new comprehensive modeling assessment of contamination in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region indicates that officially reported emissions of certain hazardous air pollutants have been greatly underestimated. The results of the assessment, which was carried out by University of Toronto Scarborough Environmental Chemistry professor Frank Wania and his PhD candidate Abha Parajulee, […]

Elon Musk’s super PAC spent around $200 million to help elect Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the group’s spending, funding an effort that set a new standard for how billionaires can influence elections.

Community pharmacies will receive an estimated 12 referrals from the Discharge Medicines Service per year.

The US Internal Revenue Service has issued a reminder to taxpayers who pay estimated taxes that they have until June 15 to pay their estimated tax payment for the second quarter of tax year 2021 without incurring a penalty.

First advance estimate pegs foodgrain output 6.12 mt lower; record maize, sugarcane crop likely

National Bureau of Economic Research

According to Siam data, Indian auto companies sold 982,456 units of utility vehicles in the first half of FY23, a 50.29 per cent growth over the corresponding period last year.

The first DNA barcoding survey of crustaceans living on samples of dead coral taken from the Indian, Pacific and Caribbean oceans suggests that the diversity of organisms living on the world’s coral reefs—one of the most endangered habitats on Earth—is seriously underestimated.

The post New DNA study suggests coral reef biodiversity is seriously underestimated appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time, researchers have applied a carbon footprint analysis to calculate carbon sequestration by an urban green space. Their results indicate that urban green space can act as a carbon sink, but its design and maintenance influence the amount stored.

Misreported fishing catches in the Baltic Sea have probably led to incorrect fishing quotas, new research suggests. The study found that total catches between 1996 and 2009 have been underestimated for a significant period, skewing quota calculations.

Vegetated coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, marshes and seagrasses, are an important carbon sink and their destruction increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A new study estimates that 0.15-1.02 Pg (petagrams) of CO2 are being released annually from degradation of these valuable ecosystems, resulting in economic losses of US$6-42 billion (€4.68 to 32.81 billion) per year.

A 2013 study has estimated the costs of upgrading existing ship recycling facilities to more environmentally friendly, and regulatory compliant, standards. The research focuses on alternatives to the ‘beaching’ method of shipbreaking, widely criticised for its environmental impact and safety record.

A rough total of 1455 tonnes of floating plastic is present across the Mediterranean, estimates a new study. Researchers gathered floating plastics using trawl nets and found that microplastics with a surface area of around 1 square milimetre (mm²) were the most abundant size of plastic particles found.

A new study has proposed a method to place monetary value on green infrastructure at both a project and regional scale, which illustrates the value of investing in green infrastructure to the public and other stakeholders.

Illegal timber imports into the EU were between 8 and 18 million m³ in 2009, representing 6-13% of total imports, new research suggests. Although figures for illegal logging are associated with high uncertainties, the authors claim that these figures provide the best available estimates for policy and decision makers.

Recent research has established how forest, wetland and agricultural ecosystems could affect economic growth in Sweden. The findings suggest that regions conventionally considered to be of low economic benefit, are in fact rich in valuable ecosystem resources.

Researchers have found that crops which rely heavily on pollinators have lower yields compared to less pollinator-dependent crops. They also have slower growth in yields and less stable yields from year to year. The results highlight the importance of managing biodiversity to support ecosystem services, such as pollination, on which much modern agriculture depends.

Monitoring biodiversity on farms is vital for conservation policies but how much does it cost? In a new pan-European study, researchers develop a standardised monitoring programme and estimate it will cost an average of €8 200 per farm to conduct. This cost could be dramatically cut if volunteer ‘citizen scientists’ or farmers help gather data for the programmes.

A new study suggests that Earth’s ongoing mass extinction episode is more severe than generally perceived. Rather than focusing on the complete extinction of entire species, researchers analysed the losses and declines of populations in a sample of 27 600 vertebrate species. Population declines and losses are often a prelude to species extinctions. Researchers also conducted a more in-depth analysis of population losses between 1900–2015 in 177 mammal species. The results reveal that rates of population loss and decline in vertebrates are extremely high, even in common “species of low concern”. The data indicates that, in addition to significant species extinction rates, the Earth is experiencing a huge episode of population decline and loss, which will have a significant effect on ecosystem functioning and services. The researchers warn that the window for effective action is closing rapidly and emphasise the need for an urgent response.

The Earth is now absorbing more energy from the Sun than it is radiating into space. A recent analysis indicates that most models of this energy imbalance underestimate the impacts of human-made aerosols and overestimate time lags in response to the climate. As such, the energy imbalance and future impacts on climate may be greater than predicted.

Hydrocarbons are precursors to hazardous air pollutants including ozone and particulate matter. Hydrocarbons from diesel make up over 50% of all hydrocarbons in the air in London, a new study has found. The authors also estimate that they contribute up to half of total ozone production potential in London, and say future air quality control strategies must focus more on these pollutants.

Impact Energies sells and leases solar panel systems to people making less than $6 a day in Ghana. It was acquired by Persistent Energy Partners.

The H5N1 influenza virus, also known as "bird flu," may well be more prevalent and less deadly than health officials had thought, according to a new study publi

Seth Flaxman et al. have an updated version of their model of coronavirus progression. Flaxman writes: Countries with successful control strategies (for example, Greece) never got above small numbers thanks to early, drastic action. Or put another way: if we did China and showed % of population infected (or death rate), we’d erroneously conclude that […]

Fire crews are actively working to suppress the lightning ignited Imperial Fire. Currently the fire is estimated to be three (3) acres in size and is located along the Cape Royal Road near Vista Encantada. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/imperial-fire-being-suppressed-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-20180718.htm

This publication provides estimates of total softwood and hardwood harvests by region and owner for the United States from 1950 to 2002. These data are generally not available in a consistent fashion and have to be estimated from state-level data, forest resource inventory statistics, and production of forest products. This publication describes the estimation process and documents the various assumptions. These estimates have been used for the past three decades in the periodic USDA Forest Service timber assessments.

Tel Aviv University Press Release Smoking parents misperceive where and when their kids are exposed to cigarette smoke, Tel Aviv University researchers say Four out of 10 children in the US are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the American … Continue reading →

In this podcast, Thomas Domville shows us how to find the estimated value of your device with Apple GiveBack.

Even as the scale of the coronavirus outbreak was becoming apparent, spring breakers flooded the beaches of Florida and New Yorkers continued to congregate in parks. Despite the warnings of politicians and health-care professionals, many people failed to treat the coronavirus pandemic as a serious threat. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning expert on human behavior, told Maria Konnikova that the problem isn’t just that the threat posed by COVID-19 is hard to grasp, it’s that public officials haven’t done enough to explain the threat. “There should be clear guidelines and clear instructions. We all ought to know whether we should open our Amazon packages outside the door or bring them in,” Kahneman said. “It’s not a decision individuals should consider making on the basis of what they know, because they don’t know enough to make it.”

African swine fever is believed to have first emerged early last century, but due to a lack of commercial interest no vaccine was developed. Now the world is racing to find a way to stop the spread of the disease.

Back when T-Mobile and Sprint were trying to gain regulatory approval for their $26 billion merger, executives repeatedly promised the deal would create jobs. Not just a few jobs, but oodles of jobs. Despite the fact that US telecom history indicates such deals almost always trigger mass layoffs, the media dutifully repeated T-Mobile and Sprint executive claims that the deal would create "more than 3,500 additional full-time U.S. employees in the first year and 11,000 more people by 2024."

About that.

Before the ink on the deal was even dry, T-Mobile began shutting down its Metro prepaid business and laying off impacted employees. When asked about the conflicting promises, T-Mobile refused to respond to press inquiries. Now that shutdown has accelerated, with estimates that roughly 6,000 employees at the T-Mobile subsidiary have been laid off as the freshly-merged company closes unwanted prepaid retailers. T-Mobile says the move, which has nothing to do with COVID-19, is just them "optimizing their retail footprint." Industry insiders aren't amused:

"Peter Adderton, the founder of Boost Mobile in Australia and in the U.S. who has been a vocal advocate for the Boost brand and for dealers since the merger was first proposed, figures the latest closures affect about 6,000 people. He cited one dealer who said he has to close 95 stores, some as early as May 1.

In their arguments leading up to the merger finally getting approved, executives at both T-Mobile and Sprint argued that it would not lead to the kind of job losses that many opponents were predicting. They pledged to create jobs, not cut them.

“The whole thing is exactly how we called it, and no one is calling them out. It’s so disingenuous,” Adderton told Fierce, adding that it’s not because of COVID-19. Many retailers in other industries are closing stores during the crisis but plan to reopen once it’s safe to do so."

None of this should be a surprise to anybody. Everybody from unions to Wall Street stock jocks had predicted the deal would trigger anywhere between 15,000 and 30,000 layoffs over time as redundant support, retail, and middle management positions were eliminated. It's what always happens in major US telecom mergers. There is 40 years of very clear, hard data speaking to this point. Yet in a blog post last year (likely to be deleted by this time next year), T-Mobile CEO John Legere not only insisted layoffs would never happen, he effectively accused unions, experts, consumer groups, and a long line of economists of lying:

"This merger is all about creating new, high-quality, high-paying jobs, and the New T-Mobile will be jobs-positive from Day One and every day thereafter. That’s not just a promise. That’s not just a commitment. It’s a fact....These combined efforts will create nearly 5,600 new American customer care jobs by 2021. And New T-Mobile will employ 7,500+ more care professionals by 2024 than the standalone companies would have."

That was never going to happen. Less competition and revolving door, captured regulators and a broken court system means there's less than zero incentive for T-Mobile to do much of anything the company promised while it was wooing regulators. And of course such employment growth is even less likely to happen under a pandemic, which will provide "wonderful" cover for cuts that were going to happen anyway.

Having watched more telecom megadeals like this than I can count, what usually happens is the companies leave things generally alone for about a year to keep employees calm and make it seem like deal critics were being hyperbolic. Then, once the press and public is no longer paying attention (which never takes long), the hatchets come out and the downsizing begins. When the layoffs and reduced competition inevitably arrives, they're either ignored or blamed on something else. In this case, inevitably, COVID-19.

In a few years, the regulators who approved the deal will have moved on to think tank, legal or lobbying positions at the same companies they "regulated." The same press that over-hyped pre-merger promises won't follow back up, because there's no money in that kind of hindsight policy reporting or consumer advocacy. And executives like John Legere (who just quit T-Mobile after selling his $17.5 million NYC penthouse to Giorgio Armani) are dutifully rewarded, with the real world market and human cost of mindless merger mania quickly and intentionally forgotten.

The amount of farmland around the world that will need to be irrigated in order to feed an estimated global population of 9 billion people by 2050 could be up to several billion acres, far higher than scientists currently project, according to new research. The result would be a far greater strain on aquifers, as well as the likely expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems as farmers search for water.

Newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) has been implemented in many hospitals, yet there is uncertainty about the number of infants with CCHDs that might be detected through universal implementation of newborn CCHD screening in the United States.

We estimated that ~875 infants with CCHDs might be detected, and ~880 missed, annually through universal CCHD screening in the United States. Increases in prenatal diagnosis are unlikely to substantially impact the number of infants detected through CCHD screening. (Read the full article)

Prasa estimates revenue losses for the year of R757 million, due to the impact of the lockdown.

Samsung Electronics surprised the market on Tuesday with an estimated 29% drop in quarterly profit, blaming weak chip demand in a rare commentary issued to ‘ease confusion’ among investors already fretting about a global tech slowdown.

Managed DSLS Service will be upgraded on Feb, 29th (starting Saturday Feb, 29th 2020 - 3AM - UTC+1)

Duke Energy Corp. will develop six utility-scale solar power projects in North Carolina that may cost up to $404 million as part of the state’s bid to boost renewable energy.

Cyber risk is the risk of financial loss, disruption, or damage to reputation as a result of  breaches of data security, including unauthorised disclosure of data, and compromise or failures of IT systems.  Specific examples include: ...

Prague Daily Monitor

The high winds from the "orkan" of the past few days have caused an estimated 50,000 trees to fall in the Šumava National Park. The exact count of the damage to the park is still being calculated by park rangers.

read more

The impact on human health of an invasive ragweed plant may be "seriously underestimated".

A new study has found the oil and gas industry has had a far worse impact on the climate than previously believed.