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National Measures 1. Foreign travel restrictions All foreign travel through the port and the airport of Mauritius have been banned from 19 March to 02 April 2020. 2. National curfew The Curfew  Order: In connection with the unfavourable develop...

Adebayo Obajemu As part of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc’s continued efforts to support Federal, State and the Federal Capital Territory Governments in the fight to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has expanded its food donation initiative to assist the vulnerable among the indigenes and residents of Abuja. The project which is themed “Food for our Communities […]

The post Julius Berger shares palliatives to Abuja Communities appeared first on Hallmarknews.

Employment law considerations Whilst considering the health and safety recommendations implemented by the Government, the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 (OSHA), also establishes legal principles guiding employers and employees in dealing wi...

Kathryn Knight

C. M. Lind, J. Agugliaro, and T. M. Farrell

Mounting an immune response may be energetically costly and require the diversion of resources away from other physiological processes. Yet, both the metabolic cost of immune responses and the factors that impact investment priorities remain poorly described in many vertebrate groups. For example, although viviparity has evolved many times in vertebrates, the relationship between immune function and pregnancy has been disproportionately studied in placental mammals. To examine the energetic costs of immune activation and the modulation of immune function during pregnancy in a non-mammalian vertebrate, we elicited an immune response in pregnant and non-pregnant pygmy rattlesnakes, Sistrurus miliarius, using lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured using flow-through respirometry. Immune function was examined using bactericidal assays and leukocyte counts. The RMR of pygmy rattlesnakes increased significantly in response to LPS injection. There was no statistically significant difference in the metabolic response of non-reproductive and pregnant snakes to LPS. Mean metabolic increments for pregnant females, non-reproductive females, and males were 13%, 18%, and 26%, respectively. The ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes was elevated in response to LPS across reproductive categories; however, LPS did not impact plasma bactericidal ability in non-reproductive snakes. Although pregnant females had significantly higher plasma bactericidal ability compared to non-reproductive snakes prior to manipulation, their bactericidal ability declined in response to LPS. LPS administration also significantly reduced several litter characteristics, particularly when administrated relatively early in pregnancy. Our results indicate that immune performance is energetically costly, altered during pregnancy, and that immune activation during pregnancy may result in tradeoffs that affect offspring in a viviparous reptile.

Jorge de Costa, Gustavo Barja, and Pedro F. Almaida-Pagan

Lipid composition of cell membranes is linked to metabolic rate and lifespan in mammals and birds but very little information is available for fishes. In this study, three fish species of the short-lived annual genus Nothobranchius with different maximum lifespan potentials (MLSP) and the longer-lived outgroup species Aphyosemion australe were studied to test whether they conform to the predictions of the longevity-homeoviscous adaptation (LHA) theory of aging. Lipid analyses were performed in whole fish samples and peroxidation indexes (PIn) for every PL class and for the whole membrane, were calculated. Total PL content was significantly lower in A. australe and N. korthausae, the two species with the highest MLSP, and a negative correlation between membrane total PIn and fish MLSP was found, this meaning that the longer-lived fish species have more saturated membranes and therefore, a lower susceptibility to oxidative damage, as the LHA theory posits.

The hacker in question hasn't even graduated high school yet.

We’re jumping onto the bandwagon of folks looking for a Vita version of that new Digimon game. We’re also checking our TGS info cards to...

Follow our live coronavirus updates here Coronavirus: the symptoms

Two gems from the wizard of recreational maths

UPDATE: Puzzle solutions can be read here.

Today’s column is a celebration of John Horton Conway, the legendary British mathematician, who died of coronavirus earlier this month, aged 82.

Conway was an inspirational, iconoclastic genius who invented and studied countless puzzles and games, in addition to his more highbrow work in group theory, number theory, geometry, topology and many other fields.

The answers to today’s puzzles

Earlier today I set you two puzzles that the late John Horton Conway suggested for this column:

1) The Miracle Builders

He lifted one kilogram more than previous record holder to earn the feat

He lifted two pounds more than previous world record holder to earn the feat

It's the most accurate one yet

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has urged Jurgen Klopp to bring Philippe Coutinho back to Anfield, saying he would re-sign the Brazilian "in a heartbeat".

Besiktas board member Erdal Torunogullari has confirmed that on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has made a complaint to Fifa over unpaid wages.

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has confirmed that his loan stay with Besiktas has been terminated early.

Louis van Gaal has described Ed Woodward as an "evil genius" – and insists he holds the Manchester United executive vice chairman responsible for his brutal sacking.

Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse and her husband Marius Iepure have been happily...

German drugmaker Fresenius Kabi has made major investments in its U.S. manufacturing operations in recent years with some mixed quality results along the way. Now, one of the drugmaker's products faces a recall for more manufacturing woes.

“Health care fraud affects all Americans and demands a coordinated, national response,” said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today sent a letter to state attorneys general urging them to work with HHS and federal, state and local law enforcement officials to mount a substantial outreach campaign, beginning this summer, to educate seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent scams and fraud.

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today kicked-off the first in a series of regional health care fraud prevention summits in Miami.

Today Attorney General Eric Holder and U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius kicked off the second in a series of daylong summits bringing together a wide array of federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. health care system.

"Tonight, it is clear that the spirit of justice that motivated Justice Ortique still burns brightly," said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Boston today, where they participated in the fourth Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Axius Inc., a Nevada corporation, and a finance professional were indicted today on multiple charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to bribe stock brokers and manipulate the share price of Axius stock.

Roland Kaufmann, CEO of Axius Inc., pleaded guilty today in Brooklyn for conspiring to bribe stock brokers.

Roland Kaufmann, CEO of Axius, Inc., was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to bribe purported stock brokers and manipulate the stock of a company he controlled.

Dec 17, 2019

Julius Weitzdörfer’s earliest childhood memories are the major global events of 1986—the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion and the Chernobyl disaster. Looking back, he realizes that these events must have contributed to shaping his later research interests in managing technological risks. 

This is one area of measurement where perhaps the Americans, Liberians and Burmese get it right.

Bananas are already in a perfect package. But is this even better?

The Best-Selling Hybrid Car Gets a MakeoverIt might not be very suspenseful because we've all already seen leaked shots of the 3rd generation Toyota Prius hybrid (see below -

Photo: Michael Graham Richard. Click to see 2010 Toyota Prius Slideshow.2010 Toyota^ Prius Hybrid: Hello WorldAfter some not too suspenseful waiting, here it is. The official debut of the 3rd generation Toyota Prius hybrid! You can see tons of

This is one of those comparison posts that that could draw many angry comments: like Could Hype Sell An Inferior Hybrid? - Ford Fusion versus Toyota Camry did. Please carefully read the caveats.

On This Week with George Stephanopoulos yesterday, conservative columnist George Will commented on President Obama's emphasis on green cars, now that the White House is arguably a co-owner of Chrysler and

Image: Toyota Supply & Demand A few months ago, Toyota was quite afraid of the new low-cost Honda Insight hybrid. It even went as far as to make a $21,000 version of the 2010 Prius (aka Prius I) to try to compete with Honda on price. Well, seems like

Photo: Wikipedia, Public domain 2004 to 2009 Prius Included in Toyota's September 2009 Recall Toyota has just announced a huge recall. About 3.8 million vehicles are included, and that includes the 2004 to 2009 Prius hybrid. Since that's probably a

Photo: Michael Graham RichardPrius Might Become a Family, 8 New Hybrid Models ComingMaybe the rumors that have been floating around for a long time were true... Toyota said during its press event at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show that they are considering

Photo: Toyota The Japanese Government Told Toyota to do the Same Now's not a good time for Toyota, and it's not a good time for the 2010 Prius hybrid, a kind of "halo" car for the company. Yesterday, I wrote about an acceleration problem that Apple

Photo: Toyota Update: Kaizen Fail: Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Worldwide, Mostly 2010 Prius Models 311,000 Third Generation Prius Hybrids to be Recalled by Toyota It seems like Toyota has yet to hit rock bottom. Last week the NHTSA announced that it

Photo: Toyota Ouch We all knew it was coming, but now it's official. Toyota has formally filed a voluntary recall for 437,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide. Most of those are third generation Prius hybrids, but they're also recalling the few Prius PHEV out

Apologies for the bad Photoshop job... Photo: Zipcar Logo, Toyota Less Than 1% of Zipcar Fleet, But... I'm pretty sure that many TreeHugger readers are also Zipcar customers (car-sharing in general is booming), and chances are that with that crowd, the

It's been a rough year for Toyota, which has been plagued by recalls, but the Japanese car maker's top selling Prius is still scoring points for the embattled company. Kelley Blue

"Brains: The Mind as Matter" at the Wellcome Collection features 150 objects including real brains, anatomical models and artworks, and more.

Phonebloks was a great idea - mix-and-match pieces means upgrading from a basic platform is forever. Now it has a first competitor - the Eco-Mobius.