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Report of the Group of the Friends of the Co-Chairs on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on the Work of its Third Meeting




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CBD News: On Monday, 1 December 2008, Robert Watson, Co-Chair of the first meeting of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Biodiversity and Climate Change convened under the Convention on Biological Diversity and former Chair of the Intergo




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CBD News: Syracuse Charter on Biodiversity and Chair's Summary - G8 Environment Ministerial Meeting, Castello Maniace, Siracusa, 22-24 April, 2009.




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CBD News: The Co-Chair Report of the Seventh Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, Trondheim, Norway, 27-31 May 2013




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CBD News: Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to address you at the 51st International Tropical Timber Council with good news late on a day you have spent in difficult negotiations.




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CBD News: Ambassador Mary Seet-Cheng, Chair of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council, Viet Nam Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Chu Pham Ngoc Hien, PEMSEA Executive Director, Stephen Adrian Ross, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, Chair Emeritus of




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CBD News: I am honoured to address the second committee of the UN General Assembly under your chairmanship.




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CBD News: Report of the co-chairs of the ninth Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, Trondheim, Norway, 2-5 July 2019




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/EM/DC/JMF/88496 (2019-104): Informal briefing by the Co-chairs of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, 24 November 2019 - Montreal, Canada




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On the lack of memory for distributions of overshoot functionals in the case of upper almost semicontinuous processes defined on a Markov chain

D. V. Gusak and E. V. Karnaukh
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 77-89.
Abstract, references and article information




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EdUHK council chair reappointed

The Chief Executive has reappointed Frederick Ma as Chairman of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) Council from April 25 to December 31, the Government announced today.

 

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung thanked Mr Ma for accepting the reappointment, saying that under his leadership, EdUHK continues to focus on educational research, development and innovation and promoting and supporting the development of teacher education in Hong Kong by nurturing outstanding and committed educators and professionals.

 

Mr Ma cannot accept a three-year term up until 2023 due to personal reasons. In the meantime, the Government will identify a suitable candidate for the chairmanship of the EdUHK Council.




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What is Hdac? Blockchain tech advert scores on World Cup TV

Here is some insight into the first ever blockchain advert




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Large Deviations for Additive Functionals of Markov Chains

Alejandro D. de Acosta and Peter Ney - AMS, 2014, 108 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-9089-9, List: US$76, All AMS Members: US$60.80, MEMO/228/1070

For a Markov chain ({X_j}) with general state space (S) and ({f:S ightarrowmathbf{R}^d}), the large deviation principle for...




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Inter-{alpha}-inhibitor heavy chain-1 has an integrin-like 3D structure mediating immune regulatory activities and matrix stabilization during ovulation [Glycobiology and Extracellular Matrices]

Inter-α-inhibitor is a proteoglycan essential for mammalian reproduction and also plays a less well-characterized role in inflammation. It comprises two homologous “heavy chains” (HC1 and HC2) covalently attached to chondroitin sulfate on the bikunin core protein. Before ovulation, HCs are transferred onto the polysaccharide hyaluronan (HA) to form covalent HC·HA complexes, thereby stabilizing an extracellular matrix around the oocyte required for fertilization. Additionally, such complexes form during inflammatory processes and mediate leukocyte adhesion in the synovial fluids of arthritis patients and protect against sepsis. Here using X-ray crystallography, we show that human HC1 has a structure similar to integrin β-chains, with a von Willebrand factor A domain containing a functional metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) and an associated hybrid domain. A comparison of the WT protein and a variant with an impaired MIDAS (but otherwise structurally identical) by small-angle X-ray scattering and analytical ultracentrifugation revealed that HC1 self-associates in a cation-dependent manner, providing a mechanism for HC·HA cross-linking and matrix stabilization. Surprisingly, unlike integrins, HC1 interacted with RGD-containing ligands, such as fibronectin, vitronectin, and the latency-associated peptides of transforming growth factor β, in a MIDAS/cation-independent manner. However, HC1 utilizes its MIDAS motif to bind to and inhibit the cleavage of complement C3, and small-angle X-ray scattering–based modeling indicates that this occurs through the inhibition of the alternative pathway C3 convertase. These findings provide detailed structural and functional insights into HC1 as a regulator of innate immunity and further elucidate the role of HC·HA complexes in inflammation and ovulation.




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Chairman of Council of Lingnan University departs early




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Appointment of Chairman of Council of Lingnan University




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Re-appointment of Chairman of Council of Education University of Hong Kong




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Hexacosenoyl-CoA is the most abundant very long-chain acyl-CoA in ATP binding cassette transporter D1-deficient cells

Kotaro Hama
Apr 1, 2020; 61:523-536
Patient-Oriented and Epidemiological Research




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Hexacosenoyl-CoA is the most abundant very long-chain acyl-CoA in ATP binding cassette transporter D1-deficient cells [Patient-Oriented and Epidemiological Research]

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is an inherited disorder caused by deleterious mutations in the ABCD1 gene. The ABCD1 protein transports very long-chain FAs (VLCFAs) from the cytosol into the peroxisome where the VLCFAs are degraded through β-oxidation. ABCD1 dysfunction leads to VLCFA accumulation in individuals with X-ALD. FAs are activated by esterification to CoA before metabolic utilization. However, the intracellular pools and metabolic profiles of individual acyl-CoA esters have not been fully analyzed. In this study, we profiled the acyl-CoA species in fibroblasts from X-ALD patients and in ABCD1-deficient HeLa cells. We found that hexacosenoyl (26:1)-CoA, but not hexacosanoyl (26:0)-CoA, was the most abundantly concentrated among the VLCFA-CoA species in these cells. We also show that 26:1-CoA is mainly synthesized from oleoyl-CoA, and the metabolic turnover rate of 26:1-CoA was almost identical to that of oleoyl-CoA in both WT and ABCD1-deficient HeLa cells. The findings of our study provide precise quantitative and metabolic information of each acyl-CoA species in living cells. Our results suggest that VLCFA is endogenously synthesized as VLCFA-CoA through a FA elongation pathway and is then efficiently converted to other metabolites, such as phospholipids, in the absence of ABCD1.




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Problem Notes for SAS®9 - 65031: Grid options set mappings are returned based on which option set is the first in the metadata search chain

When users are defined in multiple groups associated with grid options set mappings, the first grid option set that is returned by the metadata search chain takes precedence. Only one grid options set mapping is used




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Branched-Chain Amino Acids Exacerbate Obesity-Related Hepatic Glucose and Lipid Metabolic Disorders via Attenuating Akt2 Signaling

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are associated with the progression of obesity-related metabolic disorders, including T2DM and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, whether BCAAs disrupt the homeostasis of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism remains unknown. In this study, we observed that BCAAs supplementation significantly reduced high-fat (HF) diet-induced hepatic lipid accumulation while increasing the plasma lipid levels and promoting muscular and renal lipid accumulation. Further studies demonstrated that BCAAs supplementation significantly increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and suppressed hepatic lipogenesis in HF diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. These phenotypes resulted from severe attenuation of Akt2 signaling via mTORC1- and mTORC2-dependent pathways. BCAAs/branched-chain α-keto acids (BCKAs) chronically suppressed Akt2 activation through mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling and promoted Akt2 ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation through the mTORC2 pathway. Moreover, the E3 ligase Mul1 played an essential role in BCAAs/BCKAs-mTORC2-induced Akt2 ubiquitin-dependent degradation. We also demonstrated that BCAAs inhibited hepatic lipogenesis by blocking Akt2/SREBP1/INSIG2a signaling and increased hepatic glycogenesis by regulating Akt2/Foxo1 signaling. Collectively, these data demonstrate that in DIO mice, BCAAs supplementation resulted in serious hepatic metabolic disorder and severe liver insulin resistance: insulin failed to not only suppress gluconeogenesis but also activate lipogenesis. Intervening BCAA metabolism is a potential therapeutic target for severe insulin-resistant disease.




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Effect of a Sustained Reduction in Plasma Free Fatty Acid Concentration on Intramuscular Long-Chain Fatty Acyl-CoAs and Insulin Action in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Mandeep Bajaj
Nov 1, 2005; 54:3148-3153
Metabolism




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Terence Stephenson - looking back at chairing the GMC

Terence Stephenson is a consultant paediatrician who became been chair of the General Medical Council in 2015. His 4 year tenure has now come to an end, but during his time with the regulator the medical profession faced a number of challenges - the case of Hadiza Bawa Garba and a growing recruitment crisis in the NHS - the GMC is the...




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How Blockchain could improve clinical trial transparency

Blockchain is the digital technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, and has been proposed as the digital panacea of our times. But Leeza Osipenko, from the London School of Economics, has thought about how it could actually be used in clinical trials, and what else would need to change in our regulatory environment to make that...




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Are the {beta}-Cell Signaling Molecules Malonyl-CoA and Cystolic Long-Chain Acyl-CoA Implicated in Multiple Tissue Defects of Obesity and NIDDM?

Marc Prentki
Mar 1, 1996; 45:273-283
Original Article




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Transatlantic Dialogue on Reducing Deforestation in Supply Chains of Agricultural Commodities

Invitation Only Research Event

23 October 2014 - 9:00am to 24 October 2014 - 5:00pm

Pew Charitable Trust Center, Washington DC

This transatlantic dialogue will bring together a number of stakeholders, focused on options for reducing deforestation in agricultural supply chains. Key questions will be asked such as: What are the current and projected patterns of supply and demand for key commodities, and their impacts on forests? Who are the key producers and what is their relative impact on forests? How are these patterns likely to change in the future? What are the key points of leverage in these supply chains? What is the scope of potential action by the US, the EU, and its member states?

The current status and future trends in the global production and trade in major agricultural commodities will also be examined, along with the key leverage points for influence. Global forest footprint of major agricultural commodities and deforestation hotspots will be discussed and key drivers of deforestation will be examined. Finally, the potential roles of government in reducing commodity-driven deforestation will be analysed to gain a better understanding of the potential for state action in the EU and the US contexts.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only.

Event attributes

External event




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Reducing Deforestation in Agricultural Commodity Supply Chains: Using Public Procurement Policy

2 September 2015

This paper explores the potential of using public procurement policy to promote the uptake of sustainable food products in order to reduce imports of agricultural products associated with deforestation.

 

Duncan Brack

Associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme

20150827AgricultureDeforestationBrack.jpg

Workers sort cocoa fruits near the Mendoa Chocolates plant in the state of Bahia near Ilheus, Brazil. Photo: Getty Images.

Summary

  • Procurement policy has been used effectively to exclude illegal and unsustainable timber from consumer-country markets.
  • As the public sector is a major purchaser of food and catering services for schools, nurseries, hospitals, care homes, canteens, prisons and the military, public procurement policies in this area clearly have the potential to promote the uptake of sustainable products not associated with deforestation.
  • Many public authorities, particularly at local and regional level, already have a procurement policy for food; in principle, criteria for sustainable production could be incorporated relatively easily.
  • Some products – particularly palm oil, cocoa, coffee and tea – are better suited than others to this approach; for all these products, voluntary certification initiatives currently under way could provide identification mechanisms on which procurement policies could rest.
  • Other commodities may not be as suited to procurement policy, and it may be more effective to use other regulations; this applies particularly to soy, for which biofuel regulations are likely to have a bigger impact.
  • In cases in which private-sector initiatives are under way to achieve 100 per cent sustainable imports (such a target has been set for palm oil in several countries), procurement policy may be unnecessary. In other cases, the adoption of a new procurement policy could serve as the spur to a private-sector initiative. 




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Agricultural Commodity Supply Chains: Trade, Consumption and Deforestation

28 January 2016

Private-sector commitments and government policies, a loss of support for biofuels, and health concerns over the consumption of palm oil and beef, are factors that may help to restrict the further expansion of agricultural land into forest areas.

Duncan Brack

Associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme

Laura Wellesley

Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme

Adelaide Glover, Project Coordinator, Forest Governance and Natural Resources

2016-01-28-agricultural-commodity-supply-chain.jpg

An employee arranges packages of instant ramen noodles a store in Seoul, South Korea. Photo via Getty Images.
  • Clearance of forests for agriculture is a major cause of deforestation worldwide; the three most significant commodities in this regard are palm oil, soy and beef, which between them accounted for an estimated 76 per cent of the deforestation associated with agriculture in 1990–2008. International markets are an important driver of demand, particularly for palm oil and soy.
  • Global production of palm oil has grown strongly for several decades, more than doubling over the period 2000–13. Indonesia and Malaysia between them account for more than 80 per cent of palm oil production, and are likely to continue to dominate world exports. The European Union (EU), India and China are the main consumers, importing almost 60 per cent of the market; EU demand is driven significantly by biofuel policy, while India and China use palm oil mainly as a cooking oil and in processed foods.
  • Global production of soybeans has roughly doubled since 2000, and the expansion of output has been particularly rapid in South America; Brazil and Argentina accounted for almost 50 per cent of global production in 2013. Overwhelmingly the main importer is China (which took 43 per cent of all soy imports in 2014), mainly for animal feed for its growing meat industry. The EU is the second largest importer, using soy for animal feed and biofuel.
  • In contrast, consumption and production of beef has grown only slowly. Major producers are the US, Brazil, the EU and China; principal exporters are Brazil, India, Australia and the US. The US and the EU are still major consumers, although – as in most developed countries – consumption is falling slightly; other significant consumers include Brazil, India, Pakistan and China. Russia and Japan are also significant importers.
  • Three main factors underlie the growth in both consumption and production of palm oil and soy: population growth; changing dietary preferences; and policy support for biofuels. The first two are just as relevant to beef. Continued growth in world population and the expansion of the global middle class, with accompanying higher consumption levels of processed food and meat, will continue to drive demand upwards – strongly for palm oil and soy, more weakly for beef. Given the difficulty of increasing yields, particularly in developing countries, the further expansion of agricultural land into forest areas is inevitable. None the less, three other factors may restrict this growth: the private-sector commitments and government policies that are being developed with the aim of decoupling agricultural production from deforestation; a loss of support for biofuels, most notably in the EU; and health concerns, particularly over the consumption of palm oil and beef.

 




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The Essential Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Food Supply Chain

About 2.1 million immigrants work in jobs growing, harvesting, processing, and selling food in the United States, serving an essential role in feeding America. While immigrants accounted for 17 percent of all civilian employed workers in the United States between 2014-18, they played an outsized role in food production, making up 22 percent of workers in the U.S. food supply chain. They represent far larger shares in certain food-related occupations, and in particular states, as this infographic shows.




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PBHS adds mobile chairside patient education system to ADA TV

PBHS, Inc. announced in January the launch of Consult Mode, an addition to ADA TV that enables dental providers to demonstrate 3D procedural animations, videos and tutorials chairside via tablets, iPads and other hand-held devices.




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Commercially Available Insulin Products Demonstrate Stability Throughout the Cold Supply Chain Across the U.S.

OBJECTIVE

A recent publication questioned the integrity of insulin purchased from U.S. retail pharmacies. We sought to independently validate the method used, isotope dilution solid-phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and expand analysis to two U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) methods (high-performance LC with ultraviolet detection and LC-MS).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Each method was used to evaluate nine insulin formulations, purchased at four pharmacies, within five geographic locations in the U.S.

RESULTS

All human and analog insulins measured by the USP methods (n = 174) contained the expected quantity of active insulin (100 ± 5 units/mL). When using isotope dilution SPE-LC-MS, units-per-milliliter values were well below product labeling due to unequal recovery of the internal standard compared with target insulin.

CONCLUSIONS

Insulin purchased from U.S. pharmacies is consistent with product labeling.




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Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Pennsylvania State Board Chair Resigns

Several women told local newspapers that Pennsylvania state board chair Larry Wittig pursued sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers.




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Remunerating legal practitioners : contracts that giveth and taketh, Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) / presented by Elbert Brooks, Buxton Chambers ; Chair, Joseph Wearing.




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Meet the Indiana Teacher Running to Unseat the State's House Education Chair

"I'm running because I'm not happy with the state of education," said veteran educator Kevin Leineweber, who is one of several teachers running for the state's legislature this year.




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Des ruptures de l'artere meningee moyenne / par F. Duchaine.

Paris : G. Steinheil, 1890.




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Dissertation sur les généralités de la médecine clinique, présentée au concours pour une chaire de médecine clinique à la Faculté de médecine, le 11 juillet 1831 / par P.A. Piorry.

Paris : Pihan Delaforest (Morinval), 1831.




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Dissertation sur les généralités de la physiologie, et sur le plan à suivre dans l'enseignement de cette science. Présentée au concours pour une chaire de physiologie ... le 23 mai 1831 / par P.A. Piorry.

Paris : Pihan Delaforest (Morinval), 1831.




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Sequential Monte Carlo Samplers with Independent Markov Chain Monte Carlo Proposals

L. F. South, A. N. Pettitt, C. C. Drovandi.

Source: Bayesian Analysis, Volume 14, Number 3, 773--796.

Abstract:
Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods for sampling from the posterior of static Bayesian models are flexible, parallelisable and capable of handling complex targets. However, it is common practice to adopt a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) kernel with a multivariate normal random walk (RW) proposal in the move step, which can be both inefficient and detrimental for exploring challenging posterior distributions. We develop new SMC methods with independent proposals which allow recycling of all candidates generated in the SMC process and are embarrassingly parallelisable. A novel evidence estimator that is easily computed from the output of our independent SMC is proposed. Our independent proposals are constructed via flexible copula-type models calibrated with the population of SMC particles. We demonstrate through several examples that more precise estimates of posterior expectations and the marginal likelihood can be obtained using fewer likelihood evaluations than the more standard RW approach.




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Dollar invoicing, global value chains, and the business cycle dynamics of international trade

Recent literature has highlighted that international trade is mostly priced in a few key vehicle currencies, and is increasingly dominated by intermediate goods and global value chains (GVCs). Taking these features into account, this paper reexamines the business cycle dynamics of international trade and its relationship with monetary policy and exchange rates.




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Steampunk 1577 Changes Lives with Electric Wheelchair Kit Designed in SOLIDWORKS

FIRST Robotics Competition Team Steampunk 1577 started the FRC revolution in Israel and their mission is to impact people who were not previously interested in STEM, and help them grow. They are one of the most influential FIRST teams in Israel, both with their robots and their community outreach projects. One of those projects, of which the team is incredibly proud, is their creation of a low-cost electric wheelchair kit, designed in SOLIDWORKS.

Author information

Sara Zuckerman

Sara Zuckerman is a Content Marketing Specialist in Brand Offer Marketing for SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works.

The post Steampunk 1577 Changes Lives with Electric Wheelchair Kit Designed in SOLIDWORKS appeared first on SOLIDWORKS Education Blog.




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Dollar invoicing, global value chains, and the business cycle dynamics of international trade

Bank for International Settlements BIS Working Papers by David Cook and Nikhil Patel




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Penn State Mont Alto adds project and supply chain management degree

Penn State Mont Alto unveiled its new project and supply chain management degree in response to a local and global need.




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Apple diversifying AirPods supply chain, potentially pushing refresh back



Apple is shifting a substantial portion of its current AirPods production from China to Vietnam, and appears to be considering a release schedule later than previously predicted for an AirPods refresh.




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Grassie to step down as SRU chairman

Colin Grassie is to stand down as chairman of the board of Scottish Rugby at August’s AGM.




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Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Cognition in VLBW Infants at 8 years: an RCT

Suboptimal brain development and increased risk of cognitive deficits are well documented in very low birth weight children. Supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid has been associated with positive cognitive effects.

This follow-up study of a randomized controlled trial of supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid to very low birth weight infants is the first report on both cognition and brain macrostructure measured with MRI. No cognitive or neuroanatomical effects were detected at 8 years. (Read the full article)




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Smeal supply chain student marshal points to professor as guiding force

Rachel Hooker, who will graduate May 9 with a 3.99 GPA in supply chain and information systems, has been selected as the Smeal College of Business’ spring 2020 supply chain and information systems student marshal.




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Rangers "incredulous" over "unfounded" SPFL claim that chairman Douglas Park threatened Neil Doncaster

RANGERS vice-chairman John Bennett last night dismissed a claim that Ibrox chairman Douglas Park had threatened SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster as “unfounded”.




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Falkirk chairman slams Premiership "cabal" and claims they were "deceived" over reconstruction

Falkirk chairman Gary Deans tonight slammed Ladbrokes Premiership clubs for scuppering league reconstruction hopes - and called for change at the top of Scottish football.




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Rangers vice-chairman John Bennett criticises 'cynical tactics' of SPFL and insists issue not just Gers vs governing body

Rangers vice-chairman John Bennett has criticised the SPFL for their 'cynical tactics' over their labelling of the club's dossier as a "smoking gun" - and insists the issue is not merely Gers vs the governing body.




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Former Hearts chairman Leslie Deans urges club to take legal action against SPFL and clubs who 'voted for Hearts ejection from league'

Former Hearts chairman Leslie Deans has urged the club to take legal action against the SPFL as well as those who voted to end the season early, effectively relegating the Jambos.