COPD is a heterogeneous condition, with tobacco smoking being the main environmental risk factor. The presence of type 2 (T2) inflammation is a well-recognised feature of asthma; however, it is now apparent that a subset of COPD patients also displays evidence of T2 inflammation with respect to elevated eosinophil counts and altered gene and protein expression of several T2 inflammatory mediators. T2 inflammatory mediators represent an attractive therapeutic target in both COPD and asthma; however, the efficacy of pharmaceutical interventions varies between diseases. Furthermore, the nature of some shared clinical features also differs. We provide a narrative review of differences in the nature of T2 inflammation between COPD and asthma, which may partly explain phenotypic differences between diseases. We focus on evidence from studies of pulmonary histopathology, sputum and epithelial gene and protein expression, and response to pharmacological interventions targeted at T2 inflammation.

The respiratory literature, both written and in online formats, is growing exponentially. Capturing quality content, to meet the learning needs of those working in all fields of respiratory medicine and delivering it in a palatable, accessible format is challenging but paramount. In this article we discuss ways to determine the information content and review different methods of delivering this content to those who need it.

Robert Eggers' re-imagining of the legendary vampire has his fangs out for prey in a very unusual manner.

A new report by the global union Education International shows that AI can degrade the quality of education, worsen working conditions for teachers and provide inferior schooling for students.

The post Artificial Intelligence can cause fake education appeared first on rabble.ca.

With 420,000 Quebec public sector workers on strike on Monday, and with little progress in negotiations, the Front Commun promises further strike action.

The post Hundreds of thousands of Quebec public sector workers vow further strike action appeared first on rabble.ca.

Danielle Smith says she is “100 per cent committed” to a leaked plan to replace Alberta Health Services with new health boards, agencies, bureaucracy, all directed out of her office.

The post UCP set to announce plan to bust up AHS appeared first on rabble.ca.

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The United Nations says South Sudan’s four-year-old civil war has left half of the nation’s population — 6 million people — in need of humanitarian aid. The conflict began when South Sudan’s army split between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar. The two men mobilized their respective tribes, the Dinka and the Nuer. The war has caused what is now one of the world’s worst refugee crises.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Civil war is emptying huge swaths of South Sudan. The violence has uprooted four million people, including two million who’ve fled to neighboring countries. In the last year, more than a million South Sudanese have poured into northern Uganda alone, crossing makeshift bridges like this one to flee fighting, hunger, and brutal attacks on civilians.

SEME LUPAI, REFUGEE: They started fighting very, very severely. So that made us to escape with our properties to this side.

SIMONA FOLTYN: When Seme Lupai’s family went to one of the refugee camps, initially, he stayed behind to look after the family’s most precious commodity — their cattle. He hid for a year to escape the violence. The refugees carry whatever they can salvage — mattresses, pots, clothes, notebooks — remnants of once peaceful lives turned upside down. At checkpoints, Ugandan soldiers search their belongings for weapons, before the refugees proceed to reception centers. After entering Uganda, the refugees sign in at small waystations. For many, it’s the first night spent in safety after walking for days to escape fighting. Levi Arike fled with his wife and four children.

LEVI ARIKE, REFUGEE: When the gunshots started, we laid under a tree with the whole family, because there was nowhere else to hide. We waited for the fighting to stop, and then we got up and started walking to Uganda.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Uganda now shoulders most of the burden of Africa’s biggest refugee crisis, managing a constellation of camps which require food, water, healthcare, and policing. At Imvepi Camp, now home to more than 120,000 South Sudanese, new arrivals receive vaccinations, hot meals, and basic items such as soap and plastic tarps to build a house. The government also gives each refugee family a small plot of land, about a twentieth of an acre, where they can build a tent shelter and grow crops to eat or sell. But the land often proves too rocky for farming.

SIMONA FOLTYN, IMVEPI REFUGEE CAMP, NORTHERN UGANDA: After completing the registration process, the new arrivals will receive their plot, to start a new life as refugees in Uganda. While they are safe here, there are many challenges ahead, not least processing the trauma of what they experienced back home.

This woman, who we’ll call “Agnes,” agreed to tell us about her harrowing experience. She says four government soldiers from President Salva Kiir’s Dinka tribe stopped her as she was fleeing South Sudan and raped her right in front of her family.

AGNES (translated to English): When they started raping me, they told me not to raise alarm, otherwise they would shoot me. Still when I’m sleeping, I’m dreaming of the Dinka, that they are coming to rape me again.

SIMONA FOLTYN: How often do you have those dreams?

AGNES: Daily, every time I lie down, those dreams come.

SIMONA FOLTYN: A recent Human Rights Watch report on South Sudan found “…a clear pattern of government forces unlawfully targeting civilians for killings, rapes, torture…and destruction of property..” The victims are from ethnic groups suspected to support the rebels.

AGNES: They are doing it, because they know very well that those soldiers are our brothers. So they do it to punish them..

SIMONA FOLTYN: Although the rebels, known as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army In Opposition, purport to protect local communities, there are also reports of their fighters assaulting civilians near the Ugandan border. Josephine Yanya told us she didn’t feel safe in the presence of either side’s soldiers. Her family and neighbors fled their village after government soldiers killed her uncle.

They hid in the mountains only to find themselves under attack again, this time by opposition fighters from the Nuer tribe loyal to former vice president Riek Machar. Yanya says ethnic Nuer soldiers from the SPLA-IO rebel group raped a member of her group and stole her father’s’ cattle.

JOSEPHINE YANYA (translated to English): Before we were thinking that the rebels would protect us, but if they are lacking food, they just come and take things by force.

SIMONA FOLTYN: With nowhere left to hide, Yanya fled to Uganda with her son.
But instead of finding a place to rebuild their lives, they are in limbo. And aid groups don’t have enough food to distribute.

JOSEPHINE YANYA (translated to English):We are getting small food rations. I know it won’t be enough even for one month.

SIMONA FOLTYN: According to the United Nations, the international community has given less than a-third of the $1.4 billion dollars needed for the refugee response in South Sudan’s neighboring countries. These refugees foresee more hardship and have no idea when they might return home.

JOSEPHINE YANYA (translated to English): I’m always praying for peace in South Sudan, and until then, I’ll just stay here.

The post South Sudan civil war causes Africa’s worst refugee crisis appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

The Bank of Mum and Dad has been a major sponsor of Olympic athletes for more than a century, but may be about to be superseded.

Christian Lealiifano will draw inspiration from his newborn son in the second Test in Melbourne this Saturday.

RADIO shock jock fan Alan Jones unleashed on both sides of politics on Q&A last night — and came out in defence of Brexit.

The Scotch whisky distiller has announced a major change

Ministers must follow the UK Government and extend rates relief for businesses in Scotland, Anas Sarwar has said.

A rural housing project branded as ‘truly transformative’ has been completed

Emergency services were called to the Glebe Place area of the town

Up to 650 houses could be built on land at the golf club

Health Secretary Neil Gray will address concerns around his use of a ministerial car to attend football games at Hampden.

The concierge team at The Balmoral have helped raise awareness for a special event to raise money for charity in memory of Scotland legend Doddie Weir.

A baroque fiddle believed to have been played by Robert Burns will be performed live on stage in the United States for the first time.

The site, on the shores of a famous Scottish loch, has been acquired for a luxury lodge development

There's not a ton of news right now, which isn't a big surprise considering the current challenges of making games. Instead we deep dive into our current games, with Jonathan, Josh, Kelley and Peter leading the charge. Anna Marie and Chris share hosting duties to wrap up this week's panel.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 542: “Hell House? Hold My Beer” appeared first on RPGamer.

Anna Marie briefly stops by to tell us about what she's been playing while recovering. The Series X has a price now, will the PS5 get one this week? Also, PAX is happening!

The post RPG Cast – Episode 555: “Kelley Just Wants to Fight You” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley reviews a game in cats, Josh mourns the Moe, Chris gets to say Gugnir again, and Jonathan gets surpassed by his own progeny.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 576: “4K VRR LCD versus CRT” appeared first on RPGamer.

Alex looks so good he must be rendered. Robert rickrolls all the things. Kelley is our Neptunian Angel. Chris is getting ready to Rise, but first he must Ryza.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 578: “Sorry, I Just Don’t Care” appeared first on RPGamer.

Joshua asks “Am I fighting a house?!” (spoilers: he is). Chris is on the wrong side of 40, and somehow forgets JRPGJuly. Kelley espouses “Exposure: The Cryptocurrency of Artists.” Anna Marie is teaching the whole RPGamer staff how to speedrun FF4: Free Enterprise. Yes, things got a little…weird this week.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 590: “Get Back in the House, Yona!” appeared first on RPGamer.

The podcast trio is not at all ready for the flood of September releases. Anna Marie is kind of sick of the trigger, Chris insists Eclipse is owed an apology, and Kelley wants to know what is this garbage and how she can get more of it.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 599: “Serious Health Issues? No, Just a Cat” appeared first on RPGamer.

Josh demands justice for Jorts. Chris is deployed to the circus wars. And Kelley assures us that Fang sniper is real. We'll see you in 2022. Don't butter your cats!

The post RPG Cast – Episode 612: “He Must Have Put Skill Points Into Broom Handle” appeared first on RPGamer.

On this week's show, Chris gets run over by a wheat thresher, Robert throws his phone at a car, Kelley's cat gets offended at being a prop for gaming, and Josh goes kart racing in Horizon Forbidden West.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 620: “I Just Got Barbecued in a Grave Pit” appeared first on RPGamer.

Josh doesn't absolutely hate the font. Robert plays Burger Mecha Time. And Chris goes to date some double jointed dragon tanks.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 630: “Deus Gex” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley thinks like a cat. Chris experiments with broccoli. Josh sells weed with Snoop Dogg. Don't tempt the mouse.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 639: “Can We Just Kill This Guy and Get a New Hero” appeared first on RPGamer.

Josh is bringing Rabbids back. Also, RIP Kelley as her kitty goes on a rampage. Chris is a human in real life, but still has MMO sickness.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 652: “Because Dragons” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris has a picnic with Emet-Selch. Kelley gets kicked out of the guild by her husband. Vahn drowns in gacha games. And everyone is honking. What is going on?

The post RPG Cast – Episode 662: “That’s Just a Skill Issue” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris gives everyone horse poop. Jason extolls the virtues of Alien Ant Farm. And Alex keeps things concise, as instructed.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 665: “Chat GPT Refused to Write This Title” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley wants a Hello Kitty Skyrim mod. Chris visits Harrison Ford's favorite club on the citadel. Jason wants to fight along side the dude with a bucket on his head. RIP Palm OS.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 672: “Collecting Kids to Fill the Old Murder House” appeared first on RPGamer.

Phil wonders if you can pet the gator. Jason says that the wiener dog in a wheelchair is best companion. Kelley wishes there was CTRL+F in real life. Ryan wants a Trails of Cold Steel Wrestling Game.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 679: “Some People Call Me Toe Fungus” appeared first on RPGamer.

Phil laughs at stupid Diablo IV hardcore deaths. Kelley goes for the all cannon ending. Jason is depressed and wants to play Dirge of Cerberus. Ryan doesn't have enough turn based RPGs in his life. Also, happy 100th birthday to Paw's grandfather!

The post RPG Cast – Episode 680: “Warning: Spicy Sausage” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley plays Atelier Rhianna. Chris puts his DnD characters into wrestling matches. Phil practices creepy gnome-cromancy. Someone fetch my Diablo 4 procrastination bucket.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 688: “Baldur-Curious” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley needs a good toilet game. Chris wonders where to hold the sword-chucks. Josh discovers the Trails series gets more anime the further it goes. And Jason wonders if Dory has ADHD. What's his name again? Oh right, Wyl.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 689: “Enthusiasm Crushed” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley turns into a trashy paranormal romance novel. Chris opens up a Pokémon sweatshop. And Josh only interacts with League of Legends side content.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 708: “My Oculus Ow!” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley risks her life trimming her cat's nails. Chris optimizes Eiyuden Chronicle live on stream. Robert plays dental roulette.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 722: “They’re Just a Stack of Rocks” appeared first on RPGamer.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has swapped out its envoy on Virgin Australia’s board, putting in Warwick Negus.

More than a billion passengers flew with budget airlines last year, helping lift total passengers to 3.7 billion.

More than 170 Australian travellers remained stranded in Bali last night following the Indonesian ban on Tiger­air.

TWO banks have suspended London-based currency traders over the alleged manipulation of foreign exchange markets.

Publisher Xbox Game Studios and developer The Coalition have announced John DiMaggio, the voice actor for Marcus Fenix, and Carlos Ferro, the voice actor for Dom Santiago, will reprise their roles for the prequel Gears of War: E-Day.

"On today's 18th anniversary of Gears of War, we're proud to share that John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro are reprising their roles as the iconic voices of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in Gears of War: E-Day," announced the developer.

Gears of War: E-Day is in development for the Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463012/marcus-and-dom-voice-actors-to-return-for-gears-of-war-e-day/

Sony president Hiroki Totoki in a Q&A session with investors was asked about the failure of Concord, which was shut down less than two weeks after it released.

"Currently, we are still in the process of learning," said Totoki (via VideoGamesChronicle). "And basically, with regards to new IP, of course, you don’t know the result until you actually try it.

"So for us, for our reflection, we probably need to have a lot of gates, including user testing or internal evaluation, and the timing of such gates. And then we need to bring them forward, and we should have done those gates much earlier than we did.

"Also, we have a siloed organisation, so going beyond the boundaries of those organisations in terms of development, and also sales, I think that could have been much smoother.

"And then going forward, in our own titles and in third-party titles, we do have many different windows. And we want to be able to select the right and optimal window so that we can deploy them on our own platform without cannibalization, so that we can maximize our performance in terms of title launches. That’s all I have."

Sony senior vice president for finance and IR Sadahiko Hayakawa discussed the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord.

"We launched two live-service games this year," he said. "Helldivers 2 was a huge hit, while Concord ended up being shut down. We gained a lot of experience and learned a lot from both.

"We intend to share the lessons learned from our successes and failures across our studios, including in the areas of title development management as well as the process of continually adding expanded content and scaling the service after its release so as to strengthen our development management system.

"We intend to build on an optimum title portfolio during the current mid-range plan period that combines single-player games – which are our strengths and which have a higher predictability of becoming hits due to our proven IP – with live-service games that pursue upside while taking on a certain amount of risk upon release."

Concord released for the PlayStation 5 and PC on August 23, and it was shut down on September 6.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463026/sony-discusses-what-lessons-can-be-learned-from-the-failure-of-concord/

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has remained in first place on the Australian charts, according to IGEA for the week ending November 3, 2024.

There were three new releases in the top 10 this week with Dragon Age: The Veilguard debuting in second place, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered in fourth place, and Life Is Strange: Double Exposure in ninth place.

Hogwarts Legacy is up one spot to third place, EA Sports FC 25 remained in fifth place, and Super Mario Party Jamboree dropped from second to sixth place.

Red Dead Redemption is in seventh place, NBA 2K25 is in eight place, and Battlefield 2042 rounds out the top 10.

Here are the top 10 best-selling titles in Australia for the week:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard - NEW
3. Hogwarts Legacy
4. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered - NEW
5. EA Sports FC 25 
6. Super Mario Party Jamboree
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. NBA 2K25
9. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure - NEW
10. Battlefield 2042

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463028/dragon-age-the-veilguard-debuts-in-2nd-on-the-australian-charts/

Sony Interactive Entertainment in a new video posted to YouTube revealed the PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition has been discounted by $70 and will be available for $379.99. The deal runs until December 24 "while supplies last."

No word yet if the standard PlayStation 5 or the recently released PlayStation 5 Pro will be discounted. The standard PS5 is priced at $499.99 and the PS5 Pro is priced at $699.99.

As of the time of writing, the discount isn't available yet at retailers or through PlayStation Direct.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463046/ps5-slim-digital-edition-discounted-to-379-in-the-us-until-december-24/

Billionaire Bill Ackman spent days after the ABC presidential debate promoting false claims that a network “whistleblower” had allegedly uncovered collusion between ABC and Kamala Harris’ campaign. Now, a month and multiple denials later, he sees the claims differently.

“It seems pretty clear that the alleged @abc whistleblower debate story claiming that @KamalaHarris was given questions in advance and other advantages was a fake,” Ackman posted on X alongside a blog post by Megyn Kelly discussing the dubious claims.

What Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, did not acknowledge, however, is that he was one of falsehood’s early boosters. After an X account named “Black Insurrectionist” claimed it had been in touch with a whistleblower who alleged the Harris campaign had been given debate topics ahead of the showdown with Donald Trump and had demanded Trump—and Trump alone—be fact-checked.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is TV’s best soap opera, week after week offering twists more shocking than secret twins and characters returning from the dead. That’s because it’s all real, happening in the most haunted suburb in the continental United States.

Where else do two women connect over knowing the long-lost birth father of one’s child? Is there another city where women squabble over body positivity in a parking lot off the side of a snowy mountain? Surely, there’s no other place on Earth where Lisa Barlow could come across anywhere near a voice of reason.

But that all happens here in Salt Lake City. Five episodes in, Season 5 has continued to evolve into the most captivating season in modern Real Housewives history, carried by the ever-changing bonds between our OGs and a team of wonderfully bizarre newbies.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes called out Fox News for not showing the full context of Donald Trump’s “enemy within” comments during Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview on the network earlier Wednesday.

The anchor of All In opened his broadcast by calling attention to something that Harris herself did in the sit-down with Fox’s Bret Baier. The clip that the right-wing network showed to Harris as part of Baier’s question was of Trump during his all-female town hall event in Georgia—the one where Trump bizarrely argued he was the “father of IVF.”

In the clip that Fox aired directly to Harris during her interview, Trump wasn’t heard talking about how former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Rep. Adam Schiff are the “enemy within.” Instead, Fox made it so Harris had to react to him talking more mildly about “phony investigations.” The network omitted Trump’s line about “the enemy within.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.