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On the Brink of Demographic Crisis, Governments in East Asia Turn Slowly to Immigration

With many countries in East Asia facing unfavorable demographic shifts in the form of aging populations, low fertility, and shrinking workforces, governments in 2016 continued to explore immigration as a potential policy solution. However, a tradition of cultural homogeneity and wariness among publics about increased immigration is leading policymakers to test the waters with very small steps.




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It Takes a Village: Despite Challenges, Migrant Groups Lead Development in Senegal

For generations, migrants have emigrated from Senegal, particularly from in and around the Senegal River Valley. With France a key destination, French policy changes have had significant impact on Senegalese migrants and the hometown associations through which they support development in Senegal. This article explores how these policy shifts influence development and quality of life in the Senegal River Valley.




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Mexican Migration Flows: From Great Wave to Gentle Stream?

This event focuses on the changing face of Mexican migration to the United States, Mexican immigrants' contributions to U.S. society and political and economic power, as well as that of those who have returned to Mexico.




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An Overheated Narrative Unanswered: How the Global Compact for Migration Became Controversial

While the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration was formally adopted by 164 of the UN's 193 Member States, it's worth asking how it became a point of contention and ultimately was rejected by more than a dozen countries. The answer? A long lag time between negotiation and adoption, during which overheated claims against it went largely unanswered, as this commentary explores.




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Global Governance of International Migration 2.0: What Lies Ahead?

The vast majority of UN Member States in December 2018 adopted the first-ever international agreement to cooperate on migration. This policy brief traces the trajectory of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration's negotiation and endorsement. It also explores the factors that will determine whether the compact lives up to its aim of improving how states cooperate on international migration.   




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Chasing the Dubai Dream in Italy: Bangladeshi Migration to Europe

Bangladeshis in 2017 suddenly emerged as one of the top migrant groups entering Europe illegally. While Europe is a new destination, Bangladeshi labor migration has been an important part of the country's development since the 1970s, with growing numbers heading abroad, largely to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This article explores and contextualizes the new phenomenon of Bangladeshi migration to Europe.




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Increased Focus on Forced Return of Migrants and Asylum Seekers Puts Many in Peril

Governments on the receiving end of migrants and refugees reinforced their commitment to returns in 2017, sending or coercing migrants to move back to impoverished or violent homelands. The Dominican Republic pushed out some 70,000 Haitians and native born of Haitian descent, while more than 500,000 Afghans left Iran and Pakistan. Though many of these migrants chose to return, in practice the line between forced and voluntary returns is blurry.




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Making the Global Compact on Migration a Reality: Ideas for Enhancing Regular Migration Pathways at All Skill Levels

As the final phase of preparations for the historic adoption of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration approaches, this webinar explores two central objectives of the compact: enhancing the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration, and investing in skills development. 




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Making the Global Compact on Migration a Reality: Ideas for Enhancing Regular Migration Pathways at All Skill Levels

As the final phase of preparations for the historic adoption of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration approaches, this webinar explores two central objectives of the compact: enhancing the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration, and investing in skills development.




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The Road Ahead: Coordination Challenges of Implementing the GCM

The Member States of the United Nations convened in December to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM). Ahead of the adoption, this side event in Marrakech (open only to those with GFMD credentials) considered the coordination and mechanisms most needed to achieve the commitments laid out in the GCM.




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The New Reality: Germany Adapts to Its Role as a Major Migrant Magnet

Although long one of the world's top migrant destinations, only in the recent past has Germany come to acknowledge and adjust to its role as a country of immigration. Its welcoming approach—a relatively new development—has been put to the test amid massive humanitarian inflows beginning in 2015. This country profile examines Germany's history on immigration and highlights current and emerging debates.




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South Korea Carefully Tests the Waters on Immigration, With a Focus on Temporary Workers

Faced with labor shortages in key sectors of the economy, South Korea has moved carefully in recent decades toward accepting greater numbers of workers—albeit in temporary fashion. Its Employment Permit System, launched in 2003, earned international accolades for bringing order and legality to immigration in the country, although several challenges remain to be addressed as this Country Profile explores.




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Migration in the Netherlands: Rhetoric and Perceived Reality Challenge Dutch Tolerance

The Netherlands has witnessed a rise in far-right populism, challenging its reputation as a humanitarian haven. Yet, public fears equating immigration with a rise in religious extremism do not necessarily reflect the facts. This profile explores historical and contemporary migration in a country where population growth relies largely on immigration, and analyzes to what extent policymaking has been shaped by rising populism.




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Using Fear of the “Other,” Orbán Reshapes Migration Policy in a Hungary Built on Cultural Diversity

The recent rise in xenophobia in Hungary stands in marked contrast with the country's rich migration history. After 390,000 migrants and asylum seekers arrived in 2015, the government of Viktor Orbán issued policies to significantly limit migration and enacted a law criminalizing humanitarian assistance to migrants. This country profile examines Hungary’s migration past and present, tracing the country’s multicultural heritage to the current wave of anti-immigrant sentiment.




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Years After Crimea’s Annexation, Integration of Ukraine’s Internally Displaced Population Remains Uneven

With nearly 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), Ukraine is home to one of the largest IDP populations in the world. Five years after Russia's annexation of Crimea, displaced Ukrainians continue to face challenges related to national identity, social cohesion, and political participation. While the Ukrainian government has had some success integrating IDPs, the conflict’s end remains uncertain, and many are unlikely to return to their communities of origin no matter the outcome.




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Migration and Environmental Change: Assessing the Developing European Approach

This policy brief explores the relationship between environmental change and migration to Europe in light of recent scholarship challenging the notion that environmental change triggers mass migration. It presents an overview of European policy response in this area and summarizes the spectrum of proposed solutions.




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With Millions Displaced by Climate Change or Extreme Weather, Is There a Role for Labor Migration Pathways?

Climate-related displacement is not hypothetical: An average of 21.5 million people per year have been displaced since 2008 by natural disasters, and thousands more have fled slow-onset environmental hazards. While migration can serve as a safety valve to adapt to changing conditions, few orderly, legal channels exist for climate migrants (also known as environmental migrants), as this article explores.




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No Retreat: Climate Change and Voluntary Immobility in the Pacific Islands

While media and academic discussions of "climate refugees" paint a picture of mass displacement of millions, in reality many communities vulnerable to climate change may choose to stay as a result of strong cultural, historical, and spiritual attachments to place. This article explores this "voluntary immobility" and its implications in the Pacific Islands.




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Often Overlooked Learning Disorder May Affect Millions of Kids

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New research suggests nonverbal learning disability, a poorly understood and often-overlooked disorder that causes problems with visual-spatial processing, may affect nearly 3 million children in the United States alone.






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Signs Your COVID-19 Anxiety Has Become Unhealthy, and What to Do

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As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, experts fear that some of us may begin to lose our ability to cope with the anxiety and stress. Here are five signs that coronavirus anxiety is becoming unhealthy, and tips on how to reduce it.






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Nearly 20,000 Teens in Georgia Receive Licenses Without a Road Test

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The sweaty palms on the steering wheel. The repeated exclamations of "Sorry!" The nervous glances from the examiner. They're all part of the dreaded road test, which, for decades, has been a rite of passage for every U.S. teenager to obtain a driver's license. Yet now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 20,000 teens in Georgia have received licenses without taking an official road test, and Wisconsin will soon follow suit.






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The Psychology Behind Why Some People Won't Wear Masks

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Most Americans have never had to wear a mask for their health before, let alone while they shop for groceries or go for a run. So, even as businesses or states increasingly require them, rebellion is natural, experts say. In response, they urge Americans to think of the mask guidance not as forced conformity, but as a necessary act of solidarity.






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Calls to European Domestic Violence Hotlines Soar Amid Lockdowns

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Calls to domestic violence hotlines in Europe are up by as much as three-fifths as alcohol and drug abuse combine with close confinement in coronavirus lockdowns to fuel abuse of the most vulnerable, the World Health Organization has said.






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"Loss of Pleasure" Found in Teen Sleep Study

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Sleep patterns around the world have been disrupted as screen time increases and sleep routines change with COVID-19 self-isolation requirements. Negative mood is not unusual in adolescence, but lack of sleep can affect mental health, causing anhedonia (or loss of pleasure), anxiety, anger and significantly increasing the risk of depression, a global study of more than 350,000 teens suggests.






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Research Uses Artificial Intelligence to Measure Human Emotions

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New research presented online at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society annual meeting shows how data-driven computational methods are being used to understand and detect emotions. Investigators believe their findings have the potential to overturn old ideas about the structure of emotions across humanity.






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Reaching a “Fair Deal” on Talent: Emigration, Circulation, and Human Capital in Countries of Origin

While skilled migration brings widely acknowledged economic benefits for destination countries and migrants, its impact on countries of origin has been the subject of more debate. Despite a growing consensus that origin countries can benefit from emigration and the circulation of skills, enabling this potential to be fully exploited remains a challenge. This report examines initiatives that develop skills and human capital.




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Emigration Trends and Policies in China: Movement of the Wealthy and Highly Skilled

This report analyzes the evolution of Chinese emigration from the 1970s, when market-oriented reforms began reducing barriers to movement beyond the country's borders, to the present day. High-skilled and high-value emigration is rising fast. Despite liberalized exit controls, low-skilled labor migration is stagnant as a result of complicated and expensive recruitment procedures.




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Achieving Skill Mobility in the ASEAN Economic Community: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications

This report by MPI and the Asian Development Bank lays out a realistic roadmap toward freer movement among skilled professionals within the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), encouraging cooperation among ASEAN Member States in recognizing foreign qualifications and making government investments in training and educations systems that prepare workers in accordance with common standards.




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Firing Up Regional Brain Networks: The Promise of Brain Circulation in the ASEAN Economic Community

Given diverging demographics, rising educational attainment and wide variation in economic opportunities, countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are poised to see an expansion of both the demand for and supply of skilled migrants willing and able to move. The convergence of these megatrends represents unique opportunities for human-capital development and brain circulation, as this report explores.




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The Long Road Ahead: Status Report on the Implementation of the ASEAN MRAs on Professional Services

While it has been years since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed accords to facilitate the movement of professionals in seven occupations, implementation of these Mutual Recognition Arrangements remains "painfully slow and uneven across countries." This final report in an MPI-Asian Development Bank series explores MRA implementation by sector, and offers recommendations to help achieve the goal of greater skill mobility in Southeast Asia.




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Exploring Innovative Ideas to Strengthen the Global Protection System

A discussion, including the former United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, examining the huge strains on the global protection system and how it can better respond to protracted refugee situations and other long-term displacement, focusing on the conclusions of the Transatlantic Council on Migration's recent meeting, Beyond Asylum: Rethinking Protection Policies to Meet Sharply Escalating Needs.




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Leadership Visions: A Discussion with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz-Massieu

An MPI Leadership Visions discussion with the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Claudia Ruiz-Massieu, for her first public appearance in Washington, DC. 




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Superior Long-term Survival for Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation as Renal Replacement Therapy: 30-Year Follow-up of a Nationwide Cohort

OBJECTIVE

In patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease, it is controversial whether a simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation improves survival compared with kidney transplantation alone. We compared long-term survival in SPK and living- or deceased-donor kidney transplant recipients.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We included all 2,796 patients with type 1 diabetes in the Netherlands who started renal replacement therapy between 1986 and 2016. We used multivariable Cox regression analyses adjusted for recipient age and sex, dialysis modality and vintage, transplantation era, and donor age to compare all-cause mortality between deceased- or living-donor kidney and SPK transplant recipients. Separately, we analyzed mortality between regions where SPK transplant was the preferred intervention (80% SPK) versus regions where a kidney transplant alone was favored (30% SPK).

RESULTS

Of 996 transplanted patients, 42%, 16%, and 42% received a deceased- or living-donor kidney or SPK transplant, respectively. Mean (SD) age at transplantation was 50 (11), 48 (11), and 42 (8) years, respectively. Median (95% CI) survival time was 7.3 (6.2; 8.3), 10.5 (7.2; 13.7), and 16.5 (15.1; 17.9) years, respectively. SPK recipients with a functioning pancreas graft at 1 year (91%) had the highest survival (median 17.4 years). Compared with deceased-donor kidney transplant recipients, adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) for 10- and 20-year all-cause mortality were 0.79 (0.49; 1.29) and 0.98 (0.69; 1.39) for living-donor kidney and 0.67 (0.46; 0.98) and 0.79 (0.60; 1.05) for SPK recipients, respectively. A treatment strategy favoring SPK over kidney transplantation alone showed 10- and 20-year mortality hazard ratios of 0.56 (0.40; 0.78) and 0.69 (0.52; 0.90), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with living- or deceased-donor kidney transplantation, SPK transplant was associated with improved patient survival, especially in recipients with a long-term functioning pancreatic graft, and resulted in an almost twofold lower 10-year mortality rate.




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Screening for Glucose Perturbations and Risk Factor Management in Dysglycemic Patients With Coronary Artery Disease--A Persistent Challenge in Need of Substantial Improvement: A Report From ESC EORP EUROASPIRE V

OBJECTIVE

Dysglycemia, in this survey defined as impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes, is common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and associated with an unfavorable prognosis. This European survey investigated dysglycemia screening and risk factor management of patients with CAD in relation to standards of European guidelines for cardiovascular subjects.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The European Society of Cardiology’s European Observational Research Programme (ESC EORP) European Action on Secondary and Primary Prevention by Intervention to Reduce Events (EUROASPIRE) V (2016–2017) included 8,261 CAD patients, aged 18–80 years, from 27 countries. If the glycemic state was unknown, patients underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and measurement of glycated hemoglobin A1c. Lifestyle, risk factors, and pharmacological management were investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 2,452 patients (29.7%) had known diabetes. OGTT was performed in 4,440 patients with unknown glycemic state, of whom 41.1% were dysglycemic. Without the OGTT, 30% of patients with type 2 diabetes and 70% of those with IGT would not have been detected. The presence of dysglycemia almost doubled from that self-reported to the true proportion after screening. Only approximately one-third of all coronary patients had completely normal glucose metabolism. Of patients with known diabetes, 31% had been advised to attend a diabetes clinic, and only 24% attended. Only 58% of dysglycemic patients were prescribed all cardioprotective drugs, and use of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (3%) or glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (1%) was small.

CONCLUSIONS

Urgent action is required for both screening and management of patients with CAD and dysglycemia, in the expectation of a substantial reduction in risk of further cardiovascular events and in complications of diabetes, as well as longer life expectancy.




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Targeting CXCR1/2 Does Not Improve Insulin Secretion After Pancreatic Islet Transplantation: A Phase 3, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

Reparixin is an inhibitor of CXCR1/2 chemokine receptor shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory adjuvant in a pilot clinical trial in allotransplant recipients.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-assignment study (NCT01817959) was conducted in recipients of islet allotransplants randomized (2:1) to reparixin or placebo in addition to immunosuppression. Primary outcome was the area under the curve (AUC) for C-peptide during the mixed-meal tolerance test at day 75 ± 5 after the first and day 365 ± 14 after the last transplant. Secondary end points included insulin independence and standard measures of glycemic control.

RESULTS

The intention-to-treat analysis did not show a significant difference in C-peptide AUC at both day 75 (27 on reparixin vs. 18 on placebo, P = 0.99) and day 365 (24 on reparixin vs. 15 on placebo, P = 0.71). There was no statistically significant difference between treatment groups at any time point for any secondary variable. Analysis of patient subsets showed a trend for a higher percentage of subjects retaining insulin independence for 1 year after a single islet infusion in patients receiving reparixin as compared with patients receiving placebo (26.7% vs. 0%, P = 0.09) when antithymocyte globulin was used as induction immunosuppression.

CONCLUSIONS

In this first double-blind randomized trial, islet transplantation data obtained with reparixin do not support a role of CXCR1/2 inhibition in preventing islet inflammation-mediated damage.




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What math professors and k-12 teachers think of each other

By Michael Pershan, St. Ann’s School I. What do primary/secondary math educators think of the teaching that happens in colleges? And — the other way around — what do mathematics professors think of primary and secondary math teaching? I’m nearing … Continue reading




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Teaching math in prison

By: Kristin Pfabe, Nebraska Wesleyan University “I am sad this class is going to be over,” said one student. “What am I going to do with myself?” asked another during the last week of an Intermediate Algebra class that I … Continue reading




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Help! I need to teach my course online and I’ve never done this before

By: Yvonne Lai, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Ray Levy, Mathematical Association of America This is cross-posted in MathValues and Abbe Herzig has written a companion post. Additional resources and future meetings are also available here: https://tinyurl.com/OnlineTalkshop. In times of crisis we … Continue reading




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Surprise! Transitioning to online teaching

 By Abbe Herzig, AMS Director of Education Many of us are experiencing stress as schools, colleges and universities move instruction out of the classroom. Fortunately, even if distance learning is new to you, it isn’t new, and there is a … Continue reading




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Online learning in the time of Coronavirus: Tips for students and the instructors who support them

Abbe Herzig, AMS Director of Education In the midst of the upheaval due to the Coronavirus, students and faculty are transitioning to new virtual classrooms. Many of us haven’t chosen to learn or teach, but here we are, making the … Continue reading




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Starting Earlier on Lifelong Learning

By: Matt Stamps, Yale-NUS College When Yale-NUS College reviewed the curriculum for its Mathematical, Computational, and Statistical (MCS) Sciences major in the autumn of 2018, I spent several weeks reading about mathematics programs at similar institutions.  A common learning objective … Continue reading




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Taiwan baseball league to allow fans back in ballparks amid pandemic

A limited number of fans will be allowed to enter ballparks for games in Taiwan for the first time this season as stay-at-home orders continue to loosen amid the coronavirus pandemic.




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NFL lays out protocols for reopening of team facilities

The NFL outlined protocols Wednesday for the gradual reopening of team facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.




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Brooks Koepka learned not to smack talk Michael Jordan on golf course

PGA Tour star Brooks Koepka said he'll no longer smack talk Michael Jordan on the golf course after he lost a round to the basketball legend.




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Raiders agree to deal with free agent RB Devontae Booker

The Las Vegas Raiders have agreed to a deal with free agent running back Devontae Booker.




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NFL releases dates, times for 2020 regular-season schedule

The NFL revealed its 2020 regular-season schedule Thursday, with the Kansas City Chiefs kicking off their Super Bowl title defense against the Houston Texans in Week 1.




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Korea's K-League soccer returns with rules against spitting, talking

K-League soccer resumed with a game behind closed doors Friday in South Korea, with players prohibited from spitting and talking.




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New Orleans Saints release Pro Bowl OL Larry Warford

The New Orleans Saints released Pro Bowl offensive lineman Larry Warford after three seasons, the team announced Friday.




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Case Study: A 43-Year-Old Man With Perineal Pain and Swelling

David J. Meier
Oct 1, 2001; 19:
Case Studies




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Case Study: Renal Disease in Type 1 Diabetes

William H. Herman
Apr 1, 2001; 19:
Case Studies