Coast Guard, assisted by Navy, medevacs man 400 miles off Virginia coast Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version. PORTSMOUTH, Va. ⁠- The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a tanker ship approximately 400 miles off the coast of Virginia, Friday evening....

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is President of the Republic of Ghana and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs and Erna Solberg is Prime Minister of Norway and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs

The post Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, SDGs are Even More Relevant Today Than Ever Before appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has quietly published a further chapter of its internal Operational Handbook containing guidance on how its staff should assess and evaluate the compliance programmes that they investigate (the “Gui...

“Breasts and Eggs” emerges as a triumph of storytelling that champions the power of storge (Greek for familial love) — between sisters, between father and ...

The charges came after police were called December 3 and told that she was damaging a Jewish neighbors apartment and defacing it with antisemitic symbols and graffiti.

The headquarters are being moved from within the city to a new area in the city’s outskirts due to fears of being targeted by Israeli airstrikes.

Modern evangelistic strategies often stumble by emphasizing the method over the message. We hear a lot about contextualization, felt needs, and relevance. On the other hand, we steadily seem to hear less and less about the power of God’s Word to transform the sinner’s soul. As the church becomes increasingly enamored of such pragmatic strategies, it proves decreasingly convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture.

We recently asked Mike Riccardi—the local outreach pastor at Grace Community Church and one of the keynote speakers at Truth Matters—what impact, if any, the sufficiency of Scripture makes in evangelism. Here’s what he had to say:

Registration for Truth Matters is now closed. However, we will be streaming every session of the conference live on the Internet. Wherever you are, we hope you will join us for this special time of Bible teaching, worship, and fellowship.

Among evangelical Christians, the word syncretism usually conjures thoughts of third-world missionaries who blend their religion with the indigenous pagan practices they encounter. A visitor to my home church related a conversation he’d had with a Roman Catholic missionary while touring South America. The priest wore his syncretistic practices as a badge of honor, boasting of how he intentionally incorporated native religious observances into his worship services. He was critical of Protestant missionaries who refused to likewise accommodate the paganism of the people they ministered to.

Most of us are familiar with politicians who obfuscate simple questions with complex political answers. Who can forget Bill Clinton’s “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is”? Unfortunately, obfuscation exists in the realm of theology as well. God may not be “a God of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33), but there are scores of biblical scholars, theologians, and pastors who insert plenty of it into the first few chapters of Genesis.

It is no coincidence that the rise of feminism in the twentieth century paralleled an unprecedented push for female clergy in Western churches. With the shifting views and priorities of the culture, the timeless biblical truths of male headship and church leadership were suddenly under attack.

The language of therapy has a stranglehold on our culture. Children don’t lie anymore, they tell stories. Serial adulterers have been re-branded as sex addicts. Drunkenness is now an alcohol disorder—in fact, addiction itself is treated like a disease. Even the gross perversion of pedophilia is listed as a psychiatric disorder in the ever-expanding Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Ecumenism is nothing new. Satan always works to mingle the truth with error, and the evangelistic co-belligerence of evangelicals and Catholics is just one example. But for some reason, this unlikely doctrinal mashup has been growing in popularity for the past two decades.

Does an unregenerate man bear a spark of the divine that draws him to a relationship with God, or is he utterly lost in the total depravity of his sin nature? While that might seem like an obscure theological question, don’t dismiss it as merely fodder for academic debates. It’s an immensely practical question—with implications for the church and for your own life. And it’s at the heart of the consumer-driven movement in the church, commonly known as seeker sensitivity.

In October 1978, 334 evangelical leaders gathered in the city of Chicago to formulate what is now known as the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. One of the younger attendees at that gathering was John MacArthur, who was just shy of a decade into his pastorate at Grace Community Church.

The major theological conflicts of the past should never be dismissed just because they happened a long time ago. Many theological fissures were vitally necessary—and remain crucial into the present. And the Protestant Reformation is perhaps the greatest example of that—a clear and necessary line of doctrinal demarcation that has stood for more than five hundred years. And the lines of division couldn’t be more critical. They mark fierce disagreements over who is the head of the church, whom we should worship, whom we should pray to, what the cross represents, and how sinners can be saved. No amount of time can sweep those fundamental theological differences under the rug. Or so you would think.

The marketplace of evangelical ideas is now overrun with diverse and competing agendas. Even the most seasoned believers can struggle to navigate it. Making matters worse, there are now many evangelical voices spreading dangerous error mixed with a dose of biblical truth. Many believers have been lulled into a false sense of security under once-orthodox preachers and teachers who have veered away from true, biblical north.

Indian officials evacuated more people on Friday from the area around a chemical plant in the south of the country that leaked toxic gas, killing at least 12 people and left about 1,000 struggling to breathe.There was confusion about whether the wider evacuation orders were sparked by a renewed leak at the LG Chem factory in Andhra Pradesh, or by the fear that rising temperatures at the plant could lead to another leak.“No, there was not another leakage,’’ National Disaster Response Force…

Even today, you find some East Africans who do not know or believe that there are native Waswahili communities.

The world’s poorer nations, reeling under an unrelenting attack on their fragile economies by the COVID-19 pandemic, have suffered an equally deadly body blow: being buried under heavy debt burdens. Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, said last week that in 2019, 64 countries, nearly half […]

The post World’s Poor Hit by Double Jeopardy: a Deadly Virus & a Devastating Debt Burden appeared first on Inter Press Service.

MALÉ, Maldives: India’s navy on Friday began evacuating from the Maldives around 750 of the hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals stranded worldwide because of coronavirus. The operation by two warships in Male forms part of an initial operation to repatriate almost 15,000 Indians...

MALE, Maldives: India’s navy on Friday began evacuating from the Maldives around 750 of the hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals stranded worldwide because of coronavirus.The operation by two warships in Male forms part of an initial operation to repatriate almost 15,000 Indians from 12...

For quality evaluations of international development projects and programs to lead to better results, they need to be influential.

EVB-USB7252 Evaluation Kit User's Guide

The 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), first reported from Wuhan, People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 31 December 2019, is the latest emerging infectious disease to be declared a public health emergency of international concern. The situation is rapidly evolving, with more than 43,000 confirmed cases reported from at least 25 countries, and more than 1,000 deaths as of 11 February 2020, with PRC accounting for nearly all (99%) cases and deaths.

Transport systems provide arteries for efficient movement of people and goods in a well-functioning economy. The Asia and Pacific region has witnessed brisk economic growth and social development leading to increased mobility and urbanization. Rapid growth and urbanization creates pressure on transport system and services, which need to keep up not only to sustain the economic growth, but also to ensure much needed equitable access and quality services for all sections of the society.

The Annual Evaluation Review (AER) is the flagship report of the Independent Evaluation Department (IED) on the operational performance and results of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This is an important year for the AER as it marks the first full year of Strategy 2030’s implementation. The AER provides a synthesis of the evaluations prepared by IED in the preceding year, updates performance trends, and draws lessons and offers recommendations to guide ongoing and future operations.

DM160232 SWI Evaluation Kit GUI

CES 2020 – LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 6, 2020 – When it comes to competitive gaming, sound is survival – and JBL knows great sound. Today at CES, the company unveiled the first-ever JBL headset range and PC speaker designed exclusively for gamers, featuring...

CES 2020 - LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 6, 2020 – HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today launched the HARMAN ExP Integrated Solution Suite,...

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said it appears that the FBI 'manufactured' a crime in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case on Thursday.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said it appears that the FBI 'manufactured' a crime in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case on Thursday.

As many parts of the world's biggest economy begin to reopen after weeks of stay-at-home orders that slowed the spread of the coronavirus but gutted jobs, Americans should not expect a quick return to growth, U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Friday.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday signaled a possible downward revision of global economic forecasts, and warned the United States and China against rekindling a trade war that could weaken a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said it appears that the FBI 'manufactured' a crime in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case on Thursday.

An inflatable luminous maze called the 'Luminarium Arboria' proves to be a relaxing summer activity in Geneva. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Climate models show that as the world warms, tropical cyclones will travel more slowly, dumping more rain in one place and making high-speed winds batter buildings for longer

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday said it appears that the FBI 'manufactured' a crime in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Department of Justice moved to drop the case on Thursday.

Title: Amoxicillin vs. Levaquin
Category: Medications
Created: 10/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
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Category: Health News
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Category: Health News
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Title: Nevada Bill Aims to Limit Insulin Costs
Category: Health News
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Just as an imperfect ruler can measure accurately if its error is constant and known, serology need not have perfect sensitivity and specificity to estimate COVID's prevalence, write Drs Jha and Murthy.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the faculty mentoring practices in seven dental schools in the U.S. A 34-item survey was administered electronically to dental faculty members of all ranks, tracks, and job categories in seven dental schools using faculty listservs. Survey questions addressed current mentoring practices in which the faculty members were involved; their perceptions of those mentoring practices; their perceived characteristics of an ideal mentoring program, mentor, and mentee; perceived best practices; and respondents’ demographics. The survey was conducted from October 2017 to February 2018. A total of 154 surveys were completed (response rate 22%). Over 58% (90/154) of the respondents reported receiving no mentoring; 31.9% (49/154) said they received informal mentoring; and 9.7% (15/154) received formal mentoring. Of the 64 respondents who received mentoring, both formal and informal, 92.2% (59/64) were full-time faculty, and 7.8% (5/64) were part-time faculty (p=0.001). Approximately 39% of the respondents indicated that their mentoring program was not overseen by anyone and that participation was voluntary. The top three perceived benefits of mentoring were increased overall professional development, development of a career plan, and increased professional networks. The three most important characteristics of an ideal mentoring program for the respondents were a program based on the needs of the mentee, a mentor who has the desire to help the mentee, and a mentee who is eager to learn. The results of this study showed a very low level of formal or informal faculty mentoring programs in the dental schools surveyed. Future studies are needed to determine best practices and strategies to expand and enhance mentoring of faculty members.

Purpose: Measurement of dental plaque is frequently used as an indicator of overall oral health. The purpose of this study was to compare a manual (visual) plaque scoring system (University of Mississippi Oral Hygiene Index, UM-OHI) with an innovative automated digital scoring system.Methods: Mechanically ventilated, intensive care unit (ICU) patients (n=79) were the study population. Informed consent was given by the subject's legally authorized representative. Digital images of dental plaque were taken using an intraoral camera; and the quantity of dental plaque was scored using the UM-OHI and with a digitized automated scoring system. Distributions of dental plaque scores from both methods were plotted. Pearson correlation coefficients and intra-class coefficients were calculated between the two methods.Results: Participant mean age was 57.3 years; respiratory failure was the most prevalent admission diagnosis (55.7%). The mean percentage of dental plaque calculated by the manual method was found to be remarkably higher (67.3% ± 18.7%) than the percentage of dental plaque calculated by the automated scoring method (23.7% ± 15.2%) (p<0.0001). Despite remarkably different distributions of plaque scores, both the automated and manual scoring systems demostrated relatively high correlation (r=0.62) and good reliability (ICC=0.63).Conclusion: The automated digital scoring system resulted in a significantly lower overall percentage of total dental plaque as compared to the UM-OHI manual scoring system. While the automated digital scoring system may be more precise than a manual (visual) scoring system, its use should be weighed against the added effort, cost, and expertise required for the method. Further study is needed to determine whether an automated digital scoring system can be commercialized and is warranted for use outside of research settings.

Electronic cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury (EVALI) is a newly emerging diagnosis in the United States, yet the incidence has surged greatly in the past year. With the trend of using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vaping rising at an alarming rate among teenagers, many are resorting to friends, illicit drug dealers, and other informal sources to obtain their e-cigarettes, which is greatly contributing to the national outbreak of EVALI. The incidence of adolescents presenting with the constellation of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and constitutional symptoms characteristic of EVALI has been widely reported within the nation. We present one such case of an adolescent boy with a 2-year history of daily vaping who presented with nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and fever but lacked the respiratory symptoms that have been reported in the majority of EVALI cases reported thus far. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed an incidental finding of lung pathology characteristic of EVALI, prompting further workup and diagnosis of EVALI. In this case, it is demonstrated that the presentation of EVALI can be variable and is still poorly defined. The rising morbidity and mortality from EVALI reveal the importance of considering EVALI in all patients with a history of vaping or e-cigarette use, regardless of the presence or absence of respiratory symptoms.

Glaesserella (Haemophilus) parasuis is a commensal bacterium of the upper respiratory tract in pigs and also the causative agent of Glässer’s disease, which causes significant morbidity and mortality in pigs worldwide. Isolates are characterized into 15 serovars by their capsular polysaccharide, which has shown a correlation with isolate pathogenicity. To investigate the role the capsule plays in G. parasuis virulence and host interaction, a capsule mutant of the serovar 5 strain HS069 was generated (HS069cap) through allelic exchange following natural transformation. HS069cap was unable to cause signs of systemic disease during a pig challenge study and had increased sensitivity to complement killing and phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages. Compared with the parent strain, HS069cap produced more robust biofilm and adhered equivalently to 3D4/31 cells; however, it was unable to persistently colonize the nasal cavity of inoculated pigs, with all pigs clearing HS069cap by 5 days postchallenge. Our results indicate the importance of the capsular polysaccharide to G. parasuis virulence as well as nasal colonization in pigs.

Background:

Prediabetes is increasing in prevalence and is associated with risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and retinopathy. Clinicians have limited tools to facilitate prediabetes discussions within primary care visits.

Gabriela Montejo-Kovacevich, Simon H. Martin, Joana I. Meier, Caroline N. Bacquet, Monica Monllor, Chris D. Jiggins, and Nicola J. Nadeau

Microclimatic variability in tropical forests plays a key role in shaping species distributions and their ability to cope with environmental change, especially for ectotherms. Nonetheless, currently available climatic datasets lack data from the forest interior and, furthermore, our knowledge of thermal tolerance among tropical ectotherms is limited. We therefore studied natural variation in the microclimate experienced by tropical butterflies in the genus Heliconius across their Andean range in a single year. We found that the forest strongly buffers temperature and humidity in the understorey, especially in the lowlands, where temperatures are more extreme. There were systematic differences between our yearly records and macroclimate databases (WorldClim2), with lower interpolated minimum temperatures and maximum temperatures higher than expected. We then assessed thermal tolerance of 10 Heliconius butterfly species in the wild and found that populations at high elevations had significantly lower heat tolerance than those at lower elevations. However, when we reared populations of the widespread H. erato from high and low elevations in a common-garden environment, the difference in heat tolerance across elevations was reduced, indicating plasticity in this trait. Microclimate buffering is not currently captured in publicly available datasets, but could be crucial for enabling upland shifting of species sensitive to heat such as highland Heliconius. Plasticity in thermal tolerance may alleviate the effects of global warming on some widespread ectotherm species, but more research is needed to understand the long-term consequences of plasticity on populations and species.