#they can run a 'pharmaceutical' department together

[nerditudes]

THE KIDS ARE SQUABBLING. He's not sober enough for this.

THE REASON HE'S NOT SOBER

[nye-the-ravenclaw]

Hogwarts Legacy (Modern Medical AU)

(I’m currently watching medical dramas now and I just needed to get it out of my system - I’m sorry Medical Professionals and Nursing Dept if its inaccurate. It’s lengthy so more under the cut.)

MC / Protagonist : Emergency Medicine / Trauma Surgery - Caring for illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention (ER) as well as a history in conducting surgery for trauma wounds (stab, car crashes, crushes, falls, 3rd degree burns, gunshot wounds)

Definitely someone that jumps into action and the jackknife of medicine. Able to perform under high pressure and maintaining her cool. She works alongside Head Nurse (ER) Everett Clopton who is just as high-strung, reactive and able to keep up with her. Pages medical specialists for various patients, so she sees her colleagues periodically. Ominis Gaunt does come by to discuss certain patients’ care when required but the ER is frankly too noisy and fast-paced for him. In extreme situations where there is no medical posts or other specialists available, she is able to perform trauma surgery or provide assistance.

Sebastian Sallow also likes dropping by often to check in on her unannounced (though he also secretly enjoys the heated atmosphere of the ER).

Sebastian Sallow : Cardiothorasic Surgeon - Performing surgery on organs in the chest, such as heart, lungs and esophagus

Smart, fast, performs well with the adrenaline that comes with high pressure heart and lung surgery. Withstands long hours of precision surgery, able to perform bedside manner with respect and care. His need to jump with an action that is risky and yields the most results with success makes him prime for this department as nothing can be more dangerous than taking someone’s heart out and resetting it a hair away from death if done by the untrained and the weak-hearted. And Sebastian is none of those things.

Ominis Gaunt : Public Health / Health Policy - Researching evidence-based medicine and working with physicians to improve guidelines for treatment of conditions

The blind son of the Gaunt family, a renowned powerhouse and stronghold of medicine in the country. Ominis chooses to work at their least affiliated and poorest hospital (coincidentally also the furthest). His job is purely desk-bound, assisted by Anne Sallow as they work together to improve policies and garner funds for the hospital in the name of public health. Though nothing will stop them from heading out into the field to handle cases that they prefer to approach hands on.

Anne Sallow : Infectious Diseases Specialist - Diagnosing, treating and preventing infections in patients

An expert on Infectious Diseases and was a surgeon-in-training. After she had been diagnosed with cancer, she had to give up her studies to be a surgeon. She decided on helping others instead, affecting change at a higher level with Ominis. Shrewd, confident and charismatic, she and Ominis make sure the hospital is run to a t while dealing with insurance companies, philanthropists and the Gaunt family board members. She is in remission.

Natsai Onai : General Surgery - Performing surgery, treating diseases of abdomen, chest, head, neck, blood vessels, digestive tract, injured and deformed patients

The best surgeon this hospital has. She transferred over from Uagadou and with her experience, she is able to accomplish any surgery easily. With her strong need to help people, she has amassed extreme knowledge and drive to learn as many possible ways to carry out surgery on different ailments. She also allows the hospital direct affiliation with her mother hospital in Uagadou for resources and second opinions on abnormal cases.

Garreth Weasley : Pediatrics - Medical care of infants, children and adolescents

Family and children have always been a pillar of Garreth’s life. A cheerful and positive doctor, Garreth is a natural with children and has a hand in his family’s pharmaceutical company for manufacturing the branch of vitamin-based supplement chewables that are friendly for children. He is definitely an advocate of wearing a mask in his clinic as children really are the melting pot of diseases. He occasionally organises parties where he makes a lot of mind-numbing drinks for the other doctors, but those are rare as everyone never stops working and no one is willing to work hungover. He works alongside Poppy Sweeting often as their departments intersect. In a pinch, he is also able to deliver babies.

Poppy Sweeting : Obstetrician Gynaecologist - Treatment of pregnant woman, delivery of babies and the care of women’s reproductive organs and health

A firm but comforting presence in the OB/GYN unit, Poppy follows her patients from advisory stage and into the delivery room. When facing complications, she is able to keep her cool and remains a strong pillar of support for starting families. Poppy’s grandmother was an OB/GYN as well and Poppy decided to follow in her footsteps.

Leander Prewett : Oncology - Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer

With family and history in medicine, Leander follows after the footsteps of his parents who are prolific doctors, gleaning their expertise and knowledge as pioneers in Oncology. While it is a study that is rife with morbidity, Leander possesses the tenacity and drive to keep a cool head and determine the best treatment and clinical trials for his patients.

After Anne was diagnosed with cancer, Sebastian stopped by Oncology way more often than he should for Prewett’s liking as he is akin to a fireball. But after working with him, Leander finds himself open to accepting newer, and riskier forms of clinical trials with an improved set of guidelines he formulated with Sallow’s opinion. In the past, he had low confidence in himself and believed that Sebastian was better suited for Oncology than he was, but after taking on Anne as his patient and seeing Sebastian’s reactions - it cements Leander’s confidence that only those with his measured temperament can do his job.

Imelda Reyes : Neurosurgery - Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disorders that affect the nervous system, brain, spinal column, spinal cord and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system

Extremely intelligent, precise, determined and focused, Imelda possesses an eye and expertise for the human brain like no other. She does not tolerate nonsense in her office and in her operating room as one wrong move throws a patient into brain damage for life, a fate she decrees worse than death. She plays chess and sports in her spare time, her chess skills equal to being a grandmaster.

Amit Thakkar : Pharmacy - Dispensing and advising medical practitioners, patients, and nurses on safe, effective and efficient use

While it seems like a job with little excitement, it is the clear attention to detail and memory of every drug and pill in his storage that separates Amit from the rest. On top of dispensing medicine, he is also adept at chasing away unwanted abusers of his counter and is currently an advisory to procuring, discerning and looking for new drugs that could speed up patient recovery with lesser side effects.

Everett Clopton : Head Nurse with MC in Emergency Department - Directs nursing service activities in the emergency room

Everett is a trusted second-in-command to MC, and is able to handle, support her orders, and keep track of all patients and their welfare in the room. His main forte is dealing with all chains of command and patients in the chaos with a smile on his face and a sliver of veiled threats to keep them in line. He also takes time to make sure that MC is not overloading herself as she has a penchant for taking on more work than she should.

———————

(I know I’m missing some friends but they should be reserved for other areas such as anathesiologists, radiology, psychology, that sort. I might add on the Professors as well, but that is another post.)

Extra

Lucan Brattleby is definitely an intern with a flair for surgery but for which department? If anything I know he definitely idolises Sebastian and has a minor crush on MC.

[transmutationisms]

could you elaborate more on your analysis on class in academia? especially the thing about TAs being capable of being class traitors. found your post very intriguing and would like to engage more in this topic

most grad students are not independently wealthy, which is why we pay for school by taking positions as teaching assistants (TAs) or research assistants (RAs). these positions are in turn the actual reason why the school admits grad students in the first place: it's cheaper to pay our stipends, which are often below poverty-line wages, than it would be to hire more faculty. grad students are increasingly responsible for teaching, grading, lab work, and research. depending on how nice our advisors and professors are, we might get co-authorship for some of these efforts, or some lines on our CVs. what we often do not get is legal designation as employees: generally we are classified as students or as ambiguous in-between categories, which means we don't get standard labour protections like sick days, and we can be fired expelled at will. in the us, this also results in ambiguity over basic questions like whether the school is allowed to simply stop paying our stipends if we go on strike: if we're not employees, we're not protected by labour law even in jurisdictions that do protect a worker's right to strike. the grad school experience is largely defined by the labour laws in your jurisdiction, by the culture in your department, and by your relationship with your advisor, who is either tenured or tenure-track and thus has far more job security than you do. advisors have tremendous power over their grad advisees, a situation that makes us easy to abuse or simply to economically exploit (this latter is a particular issue in stem fields where your advisor is also your PI, and being a grad student also entails being a lab employee).

despite all this, grad students frequently have absolutely horrendous class solidarity: for example, our unionisation efforts (when we can even get our shit together enough to push for a union at all!) often ignore non-academic staff, who form a critical part of the academy and are just as exploited as we are, if not often more. grad students also have a deeply nasty habit of trying to emulate our professors in the way we interact with undergrads: condescending to them, trying to make their lives harder, refusing to make allowances for students struggling with deadlines or workload for any reason. often grad students see ourselves as 'temporarily embarrassed professors' rather than as what we are: a very low rung on the academic ladder, most of whom will never land a professorship because statistically, there simply aren't enough of those positions. again, remember that the university is incentivised to hire more grad students and grant more phds than 'the market' needs, because the institution is relying on us as a source of cheap labour. in some fields, a phd can lead to a lucrative industry job (pharmaceutical companies, military contractors, &c); in others, it can lead to several years of underpaid post-docs followed by unemployment or 'under-employment'.

whereas a tenured or TT professor often has a group of employees grad students working under them (typically this is grant-funded), contingent or adjunct faculty work on a semesterly or yearly basis and are paid much less, protected much less, and subject to being let go any time the university reviews their contract. adjuncts are another popular way to reduce labour costs, and, like grad students, are becoming increasingly used to replace tenured roles. some departments have been gutted to the point where they run almost entirely on adjunct and grad student labour at this point. you might think adjuncts and grad students would therefore make natural allies in struggles for better work conditions and compensation. however, adjuncts are still more than capable of being abusive or just assholeish to grad students, and both grad students and adjuncts are difficult to organise because of overwork, fear of losing what professional status they do have, and the fact that adjuncts are often forced to work at multiple institutions at the same time, or to hop between institutions frequently. in cases where serious labour coalitions do start to arise, a university will often offer superficial concessions to adjuncts and/or grad students, like a one-time pay increase (which is not something most grad students receive on a yearly basis, which means in real terms our stipends are usually actually decreasing over time).

anyway, to return to undergrads: in the academy's propaganda self-perception, it is a force for cultural enlightenment and individual self-betterment. undergrads are, then, paying for the privilege of receiving education, here configured as a gift bestowed upon the masses to create an uplifted citizenry and an enlightened society. this is, of course, horseshit. the university is conservative in both structure (resembling a medieval guild, eg the tenure system and the entire structure of grad school-as-apprenticeship) and mission (serving as a class barrier system that enforces and ideologically justifies social stratification through the granting of limited and expensive professional credentials). most undergrads are not wealthy, and many are going into debt for their degrees, which are presented as tickets to future jobs and economic security. it's a system that promises a select few the opportunity to become part of the ruling class rather than the exploited one, and that itself generates massive profits for its upper-level administrators (presidents, deans, and so forth). so yea when grad TAs try to act like tenured profs by treating undergrad students like shit i will call them class traitors lmao

[sunset-a-story]

What Is SolCorp?

SolCorp Pharmaceuticals was originally founded in the years following WWI by a small collective of knacked people who came together with the goal to protect knacked people everywhere from the prejudice of normal humans. 

A brief history of knacked people as taught by SolCorp: 

Knacked people have existed in some capacity for as long as people have, in gradually growing numbers, but they were relegated to fables for a long time. Miracle workers. Shamans. Saints. Witches. The era of witch trials taught knacked people that those who were different would always be persecuted and never accepted into human society. To survive, knacked people would need to hide. They started referring to each other as simply having a knack for certain things. “Martha next door sure has a knack for knowing what people want,” was a lot safer than, “Martha can read your mind.”

They hid for a while, but when globalization accelerated, it became harder and harder for knacks to fly under the radar. After a series of violent incidents, a group came together and established an organization dedicated to keeping their secret from getting out. 

A goal that monumental was going to require a monumental network. They chose to establish a pharmaceuticals company that could both fund their pursuits and give an excuse for knacked people to gather together. And when SolCorp was unable to find and recruit enough knacked people to complete their goals, they began to grow their own in their labs.

SolCorp Pharmaceuticals has its headquarters in Los Angeles (referred to as LAHQ) as well as satellite offices across the United States and the world, including Chicago and Philadelphia, US; Manchester, UK; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Cairo, Egypt.

Sol is a working pharmaceuticals company and knacks have allowed for medical advancements that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. This pharma front is their public face and is run by knacked SolCorp agents. The larger portion of SolCorp’s population is engaged in administering the coverup and providing for the needs of knacked people. These include teams who erase any evidence of knacks, deal with threats, provide medical care or housing, and much more.

Where do Sol agents come from?

SolCorp finds natural-born knacked people and removes them from their lives, effectively saving them from outside threats, usually with the help of telepaths to remove the memory of their existence or establish some reason for them to be missing indefinitely or dead. When old enough, they are assigned a job that suits them. 

Once you work for SolCorp, you always work for SolCorp. In return, they will take care of your every need and protect you from humans.  

Then there are those people who were made by SolCorp. These generated knacked people (gens) were artificially created in their lab, modified to have knacks, and grown ex-vivo. They are then raised and trained by the Terre Department to be good, upstanding Sol agents.

Posts for each department can be found here: Mercury | Venus | Terre | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto |

Sunset, a serial fiction in three arcs (Sunrise, High Noon, Sunset), is posted weekly on our Patreon where you can support us while getting fun extras.

You can also find Sunset on: Wattpad & AO3

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Ruffaner

Published: May 21, 2024

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has taken America by storm. It’s in almost every public school, college, corporation, and organization you can imagine, including pharmaceutical companies, entertainment companies, and even the United States Department of Defense.

To its critics, DEI represents an insidious Neo-Marxist virus infecting the culture of the West, one that could spell the doom of democracy, critical thinking, and Enlightenment values, leading to the death of the West and America with it.

To its advocates, it is a clarion call to fight what they believe is the greatest struggle of our era—racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, along with all other forms of identity-based injustice. It is sword, shield, and holy book in the fight for so-called social justice.

Those less zealous yet still supportive of DEI believe that surface-level diversity, particularly of race, ethnicity, and gender, can lead to positive workplace outcomes, such as better leadership. For example, HR consulting company Zenefits recommends that companies “prioritize hiring executives, directors, managers, and other senior leaders from diverse backgrounds,” which includes factors like “gender, gender identities, ages, abilities and special needs, races, sexual orientations, religious backgrounds and beliefs, cultures, and nationalities.”

But even this more moderate brand of DEI falsely correlates leadership ability with diversity status and runs the risk violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Rather than treating each person as an individual with unique attributes, this brand of DEI relies on dubious claims that a person brings benefits to an organization merely by virtue of possessing certain identity-based characteristics. Supporters of diversity-based initiatives therefore often embrace the same kind of broad generalizations about race, sex, and other identity characteristics that civil rights laws were meant to counteract.   

Diversity researchers Alice H. Eagly and Jean Lau Chin are typical of scholars who attempt to justify DEI initiatives based on broad assumptions about identity. In arguing that surface-level diversity leads to better leadership, they say that “leaders and followers from diverse identity groups generally face some degree of pressure to behave like leaders from the majority group” while continuing to “express their own cultures to some extent” and this increases their multicultural competence while explaining some of the challenges that hold minorities back.

These claims rely on two fallacious assumptions that certain characteristics flow necessarily from a person’s identity. First, the authors assume that leaders and followers from “diverse identity groups” feel pressure to behave like the leaders from majority groups because these leaders are from a “majority” group, not because these leaders are in a position of authority that these “diverse” people may want to move into one day. It’s common for people to imitate the behaviors of those they want to be like or those whose benefits they wish to attain. This is why professional speakers study famous speakers and speeches, artists study great artists and art, writers study great writers and writing, and businesspeople study the entrepreneurial strategies of startup titans. We imitate that which we wish to become, and this isn’t necessarily predicated on race or gender.

The second assumption is one that we see far too often: that race and culture go together. Race can be correlated with culture in some cases, but it isn’t all the time. A black man born and raised in Houston, Texas is going to have a very different culture and “lived experience” than a black man born and raised in Ghana or London. A Hispanic woman born and raised in New York City is going to have a very different culture and “lived experience” than a Hispanic woman born and raised in Guatemala or Spain. And a white man born and raised in Nebraska or Oregon is going to have a very different cultural and “lived experience” than a white man born and raised in Sweden, South Africa, or Italy. Race doesn’t always correlate with culture.

Eagly and Chin continue with more broad and unsubstantiated assumptions about identity, saying non-white leaders “may be especially concerned about integrity and justice as they relate to the inclusion and fair treatment of individuals from diverse identity groups.” Although this may sound like a reasonable assumption on the surface, it assumes that these non-white leaders are concerned with inclusion and fairness rather than gaining competence, wealth, power, authority, prestige, or other benefits, let alone that they’ve personally experienced based exclusion and injustice that would make them uniquely sensitive to other minorities’ needs. This assumption also is blind to the fact that there are millions of non-minority people concerned with inclusion and justice for people of “diverse identity groups,” as evidenced by all the white people who fought to abolish slavery and secure civil rights for minorities and continue to fight for “racial justice” and “social justice” today. It is also blind to all the “diverse” people who have committed horrible crimes against other “diverse people,” such as Idi Amin (aka the Butcher of Uganda), Pol Pot, and Mao Zedong, as well as every Hutu who participated in the Tutsi genocide, every non-white person who owned a non-white slave, and every non-white soldier who has ever fought in a civil war against people of the same “diverse” group, to name a few.

Eagly and Chin’s claims include many other unsubstantiated generalizations about identity: that “executives from sexual minority groups might be especially adaptable and therefore embrace change;” that minority leaders may gain certain advantages from their “ability to modify and switch between minority and majority perspectives depending on their immediate cultural context”; that people from minority groups sometimes engage in a “strength-based rhetoric” which may involve “explicit claims that their group’s way of leading is better than those of the heterosexual White man who traditionally have exercised leadership;” and that “individuals belonging to diverse identity groups are often good leaders [because] the experiences that such individuals have had because of their differences from the majority group do confer special qualities.”

All of these claims rely on broad generalizations about beneficial leadership characteristics that supposedly flow from identity.  But we have evidence that the surface-level diversity that Eagly, Chin, and others like them are obsessed with does not necessarily contribute to good leadership on its own.

For example, in a rebuttal to Eagly and Chin, University of Maryland researchers Kristen M. Klein and Mo Wang provide four reasons why surface-level diversity does not equate to strong leadership.

First, we shouldn’t assume that just because someone belongs to a certain identity group they’ve automatically been a victim of discrimination. 

Second, the diversity leadership fallacy assumes that individuals who have experienced discrimination experience long-term consequences to their well-being, but this is not necessarily true either. 

Third, the diversity leadership fallacy assumes that those who have experienced discrimination have integrated these experiences into their life in positive, constructive ways—specifically in ways that improve their leadership abilities—rather than in negative, destructive ways, such as becoming bitter, resentful, or hopeless.  And finally, the diversity leadership fallacy assumes that a person’s surface-level characteristics expose them to more character-building adversity than non-surface-level characteristics, such as growing up in a low socioeconomic background or a single-parent household. But of course this mistakenly assumes that a white person from an impoverished single-parent household surrounded by drugs and crime would have faced less character-building adversity than a black woman who grew up in a safe, wealthy community with two loving, supportive parents. 

You cannot measure the adversity or discrimination a person has experienced purely by their surface-level characteristics. Further, there is no correlation between a person’s surface-level characteristics and the content of their character, or the competency of their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Those who suggest there is a connection are not destroying negative stereotypes, as they may claim. They are merely switching negative stereotypes to a different identity group and continuing the cycle of ignorance and resentment. 

As Klein and Wang point out, “a substantial body of research on deep- and surface-level diversity in the workplace has repeatedly shown that whereas the negative impacts of surface-level diversity decrease over time in workgroups, deep-level similarity (e.g., in values, goal orientations, and personality) consistently predicts positive workplace outcomes (e.g., turnover, job attitudes, team performance).”

While it’s true that some surface-level traits tend to vary with deeper-level qualities—women tend to rank higher on average in the personality trait of agreeableness than men—this doesn’t mean that these traits always vary together, that they have a strong relationship with one another, or that one causes the other. We cannot derive deep-level qualities, such as beliefs, attitudes, values, and skills, from surface-level traits and use these as proxies in employment decisions. Yet this is exactly what many DEI supporters propose.

Hiring and promoting employees, especially for leadership positions, based even in part on surface-level diversity causes enormous harm. Why should employees trust or accept the outcome of a hiring or promotion decision if they know that one of the qualities under scrutiny is an arbitrary characteristic unjustly treated as a competency? Why should people remain committed to an organization if they realize that the trajectory of their future is partially based on surface-level characteristics they can’t change?  Would you truly feel valued as a whole, multi-faceted human being if you knew or suspected that your organization assessed your qualifications based on the color of your skin or your sex? And how could you trust the people around you if you knew that they, too, may have been selected because of their surface-level qualities, not their competence?

However well-intentioned DEI initiatives may be, they rely on fundamentally flawed assumptions and broad, unfounded generalizations about identity, which reinforce old negative stereotypes and create new ones. Competence, not identity, should be the primary criteria for hiring, promotion, and leadership, not arbitrary surface-level qualities like race, ethnicity, or gender. 

Every time an organization encourages people to divide themselves by these surface-level characteristics, the organization entrenches stereotypical thinking and all but guarantees negative organizational outcomes. We shouldn’t encourage people to shackle themselves to stereotypes and call it liberation. Instead, we should hire and promote people based only on their job-relevant experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that have real value. 

We should train leaders to foster shared organizational values, goals, and attitudes among their subordinates which will contribute to deep-level similarities within their teams and the organization over time. We must look beyond the surface and stop pandering to those who would trap us in outdated thinking wrapped in a shiny new public relations pitch.

[wickednessorweakness]

The Wainhouse Throuple

The main trio of the story. Travis (28), Sabrina (28), and Kismut (38) have been together for about 5 years. The three of them coparent Kismut's two daughters Cleo (10) and Leah (8). Kismut and Sabrina live together, but due to lack of space, Travis lives in an apartment in the city.

Travis Wainhouse is technically a marquise, but, as his adoptive mother Mimi is still alive, tends to avoid using the title as much as possible. 5 foot even and born from a (sadly deceased) Haitian woman, Travis is the heart of the trio, providing the two other corners of the triangle with a solid emotional foundation. He has a penchant for wearing 70s apparel, and works from home in the infralogistics department of Moreau Pharmaceuticals.

Kismut Abimbola is the oldest of the triangle, and is pretty much the muscle due to standing at an impressive 6'4", head and shoulders about the 5 foot Travis and the 5'5 Sabrina. That said, she's far from being dumb. A proud mother of two girls, Kismut is slightly nocturnal due to owning and running a nightclub, which happens to be how she met Travis 10 years ago. She can sense spirits in her presence, an unhoned gift she inherited from her vodou practicing mother.

Sabrina Moreau-Wainhouse is often joked to be the brains of the trio, which tends to be less of a joke and more of a statement of how the other two act before thinking. Hailing from a French aristocratic family, Sabrina acts quite haughty and aloof but is a loyal sweetheart underneath it all. She and Travis were high school sweethearts before she was married to a British nobleman; the two found their way back into each others' arms though, and ended up eloping.

(As polygamy is a crime/severely frowned upon, Kismut considers herself/is considered by the other two to be Travis and Sabrina's wife in all-but-law. Just an aside.)

[acf-lab]

ACF Soft Valley Health Products Training Helps Baiyunshan Health Care Company to Serve the Great Health Industry Together

On November 29th, in order to strengthen the in-depth cooperation with Baiyunshan Health Care Company of Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals, ACF arranged a professional team to Baiyunshan Health Care Company for an in-depth product training. Baiyunshan Health Care Company is part of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group and is committed to the development and service of health protection products.

       The topic of the training was ACF's artificial cartilage insoles, covering various aspects such as technical principles, technical applications, the population of the health market and the functions of the insoles.

ACF Soft Valley team representative for Mr. Liang, Director of Brand Department

       During the training process, the ACF team representative introduced the technical principle of ACF Artificial Cartilage Insoles and the technical application field to the leaders of Baiyunshan Health Care Company and its team.

       The representative introduced that ACF Artificial Cartilage technology imitates human articular cartilage, and regulates and controls its micro and nano structure through physicochemical methods, so as to invent a kind of bionic energy-absorbent material, which absorbs up to 97.1% of the impact energy, transforms the kinetic energy into heat energy, and protects the human body and objects from the harm of the impact force.

Therefore, this technology has a huge application prospect, made of high-performance materials, protective gear, insoles, combat boots and other products are widely used in sports, industrial, automotive, military and police, medical, bridge construction and other fields, can play a key role.

ACF Soft Valley Technology Health Products: Artificial Cartilage Spacers, Membranes and Insoles

     In addition, ACF Soft Valley team representatives also conducted an in-depth analysis and discussion of the population of the health market, paying special attention to the needs of the elderly, obese people, pregnant women.

For the elderly, with age, the joints gradually deteriorate, the ability to support the foot is weakened, and some of the elderly suffer from knee osteoarthritis, walking pain is intolerable. For the obese and pregnant women, their knees are burdened by the weight load, and they get tired easily when walking and exercising, which in the long run causes knee pain and affects their normal life.

       Prof. Li Jianyi from the Guangdong Key Laboratory of Digital Medicine and Biomechanics, together with Jia Rui and Wang Fei from the Human Anatomy Department of the Southern Medical University, and Zhang Hongtao, Chief Physician of the People's Hospital of the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone, formed a research team to conduct a study on how to enhance the protection of the knee joints of overweight/obese people. The thesis found that theoretically reducing the vertical ground reaction force during exercise can reduce the impact force on the lower limbs, thus alleviating the pressure on the knee joints of overweight/obese people and achieving a protective effect.

Obese volunteers doing exercise test on ACF cushioning and energy absorption insoles

       The insoles made of ACF artificial cartilage material have four outstanding functions: shock absorption, support, comfort and breathability, which can provide higher cushioning and support for the three major groups of people, namely, the elderly, the obese and the pregnant women, when walking and exercising, reduce the pressure on the joints, alleviate and soothe the pain and discomforts from the root, and improve their quality of life.

Insoles with ACF material spacers have lower peak absorbency, indicating better energy absorption

      During the discussion session of the training, the expert team from Baiyunshan Health Care Company fully recognized the importance and value of ACF artificial cartilage insoles. They paid special attention to the obese and elderly groups in the field of great health and expressed their hope that ACF artificial cartilage insoles could bring substantial help to these groups.

Through this product training, the cooperation between ACF Soft Valley and Baiyunshan Health Care Company will be closer. ACF artificial cartilage technology not only has a wide range of applications in sports, industry, automotive, military and police, but also plays an important role in the field of great health, bringing the gospel to the elderly, pregnant women, and obese people who are in need of these people. In the future, the two sides will continue to deepen cooperation, develop offline marketing channels, and jointly promote the popularization and application of ACF artificial cartilage insoles, serve more people in need, and promote the development of the health industry.

400-6543-699

www.acf.com

[octalsoft]

Clinical Operations: What It is and Why It's Important - Octalsoft

The role of clinical operations in the drug development lifecycle, as well as the technologies that may be used to speed the process while preserving compliance.

Clinical operations, sometimes known as ClinOps, ensure that patients receive the best possible treatment. Apart from that, the clinical operation includes compliance with regulatory criteria and standards.

In the United States alone, there are about 23,000 clinical operations managers. While these experts and their teams are at the core of clinical trial success, understanding their position within a healthcare institution is not always straightforward.

This article aims to explain what clinical operations are and why they are important. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

Why are Clinical Operations Important?

Clinical operations are an essential component of the healthcare ecosystem since they ensure that the services provided by a healthcare organization are effective. The operations department strives to ensure that all clinical personnel and patients have everything they need to work effectively together and that the process runs smoothly.

These teams can be particularly useful during the drug development lifecycle. Following the completion of discovery and preclinical research, the clinical development phase begins. Clinical trials and volunteer studies are conducted during this stage to establish that the medicine is safe for human use. ClinOps plays a critical role in ensuring the success of such studies.

It is vital to distinguish between clinical operations and clinical development. Read a client case study on clinical trial design to learn more about clinical development versus clinical operations.

Common Activities and Responsibilities in Clin-Ops

Several operational functions in the healthcare business are handled by this team. These are some examples:

Patient Flow: Patient flow refers to how patients progress through a clinical experiment. To prevent damage, ensure that all healthcare personnel adhere to safety standards and rules.

Quality Assurance: clinical operations monitoring to verify that the trial satisfies the criteria of regulatory authorities. Chart audits, clinical peer review programs, and quality improvement teams are examples of QA tools.

Apart from those specific responsibilities, every clinical operations staff member must be aware of what is trending in healthcare and how those trends may affect procedures in the future.

3 Trends Impacting Clin-Ops

What trends should companies be aware of in order to better support the patient journey and conduct more effective trials? These are just a few examples:

1.Changes in Technology and Delivery of Care

Data growth and technological advancements are having an impact on healthcare. The digital health market is predicted to reach almost US$660 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 25%. 

Organizations must understand how this affects the clinical trial process. It's also an opportunity to find new methods to streamline clinical supply operations and harness all of the data that we now have access to through clinical monitoring and operations.

2.Increasing Decentralization

The advantages of decentralized clinical trials were clear during the epidemic, and they are likely to remain so. DCTs and their associated clinical operations software can help pharmaceutical firms receive the information they need better and quicker, and  ClinOps has mechanisms in place to keep up with the pace of change. 

3.Impact on the Patient Experience

People desire to be more involved in their healthcare and to have their concerns heard. This is great news for clinical studies, as now people are more interested in participating. Time and effort must be invested in enhancing the clinical trial experience from beginning to end to centralize clinical trial operations. Notwithstanding the difficulties associated with decentralized health care, individuals stand to profit from a health system that provides them with more options.

Tools that Ensure Success in Clinical Operations

Numerous different clinical operations tools assist in ensuring various areas of clinical operations success, including compliance, better patient retention, and investigator satisfaction. 

EDC and EHR systems can provide real-time clinical decision support, people management, and other tasks.

Role-based credentialing and access mechanisms guarantee that information is only seen (and understood) by those who should see it.

HIPAA compliance practices or software to maintain compliance during the trial process.

Insight management technologies, such as asynchronous engagement and artificial intelligence, assist teams in identifying patterns or areas of concern.

Several tools may be used depending on the activities of your individual healthcare or pharmaceutical firm. While identifying and mitigating compliance difficulties is the most important part, patient retention is also key to successful trials.

In Summation

ClinOps may lack the thrill of clinical science or the glitz of marketing. But, because of its breadth, it has a little bit of everything. ClinOps teams work in research, medical, project management, operations, marketing, legal, regulatory, and data management. 

At the end of the day, Clinical Operations is responsible for the actual (and crucial!) task of completing the last stage of drug development. A step that, if done correctly, can alleviate the agony of hundreds to millions of patients now and in the future. Octalsoft has already begun to step into the future with a full array of eClinical software solutions. Do you want to know how Octalsoft can help you overcome current clinical trial problems, speed the discovery of novel therapeutics, and usher in a new age of evidence-based medicine that helps patients worldwide?  Book a demo with us now!

[bfitgroupofinstitutions]

Best college for master in public in India | BFIT college

Hello Friends, Today I am going to talk about A Master in public health course and its benefits, jobs, career, and scope.

Master of Public health is a 2-year postgraduate course in healthcare. This application is divided into four semesters. This system is imparted through a variety of coaching/studying strategies, together with lectures, case discussions, realistic schooling, lab work, discipline visits, seminars, collaborative analyzing, institution discussions, assignments, internship, and dissertation. Master in Public health is multidisciplinary in nature, incorporating examinations from disciplines collectively with medication, Engineering, statistics generation, Social Sciences, control, and many others. This route for public health has been designed for fitness promotion, health economics and coverage, public health management, epidemiology and biostatistics, demography, social sciences, and others. There are various masters of public health colleges in India that offer courses relating to MPH and higher education courses such as Ph.D. in Public Health.

Making the world a healthier place is a key cost that brings together all public health corporations and professionals. In case you’re someone dedicated to the concept of supporting individuals who want medical assistance, but you’re not a clinical practitioner yet, a profession in Public health can be your calling. So, you should consider a Bachelor’s or grasp’s degree in Public fitness. Public fitness has a long record of imposing regulations that improve the fitness of people globally. Vaccination programs, family-making plans, or preventive medicine are only some examples of how public health had a tremendous global effect. And you can be a part of this, too!

BFIT, Dehradun is among the best colleges for masters in public health in India providing quality education. Faculty members are well qualified, most of them Ph.D. holders who impart knowledge to the students. Educational visits are also conducted to facilitate students with the modern technologies in the profession of public health.

 MPH jobs in India

  Health Informatics specialist

Employers: food and drug administration clinics, clinical biostatistics organizations, local governments, and other public health enterprises.

As a health informatics specialist or biostatistician, you may analyze diverse varieties of healthcare statistics and observe statistical concepts to public fitness and medical studies. you may deal with medical trials, genome projects and identify populace health developments. The work of a biostatistician may consist of experimental treatments for diseases or finding connections between life and public health problems.

  Healthcare Administrator

Employers: hospitals, clinics, healthcare centers, wellbeing centers.

A healthcare administrator oversees all the sports required to run a healthcare group. Your attention will be to organize your personnel, delegate obligations, and make sure the institution has all of the essential assets and stock.

Epidemiologist

Employers: fitness institutes, local and national public fitness departments, non-public corporations (pharmaceutical groups).

Epidemiologists compare and display the spread of illnesses, work to understand their causes, and develop answers and feasible treatments. An epidemiologist’s work is similar to the only of a scientist and combines know-how from Biology, facts, and Math’s with the aid of also thinking of numerous socio-financial elements

Public health project manager

Employers: NGOs, social work institutions, government organizations, research establishments.

The main intention of public health managers is to develop and overseeing the implementation of public health projects that enhance the wellbeing of groups. A number of the primary challenges are coping with budgets, overcoming surprising difficulties, and achieving the preliminary goals of the assignment without fundamental delays.

Health and Safety Engineer

Employers: government, construction corporations, technology organizations.

Health and safety engineers’ layout machinery, systems, and numerous systems which enhance human health or prevent illnesses. The principal duties of a health engineer are to ensure numerous products (system and machines utilized in factories, homes, and so forth) are secure to use; they discoverability risks, compare fitness and safety guidelines and programs and also inspect injuries.

 The MPH course does not only pay well however you may also affect the lives of thousands of human beings through your work. So, do not waste your time and grab your seat in MPH.

[porcelaine-whispers]

RED RUBIES OF AFFLICTION | PW

“What a familiar sight of a successful figure, Atty. Fuentes.” A sudden greeting from a woman in a wine-red dress, with jewelry that reflects its stones of red rubies. Her eyes sparkled. She had the sweet smile of an angel. In events like these, meeting familiar faces were no surprise. Her presence was comforting as if her greetings were anticipated. It made me feel safe.

‘Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes; the only heir of Fuentes Pharmaceutical.’

Spoiled rich girl? Such a stereotype I refuse to be associated with. My mother is publicly recognized as Dra. Amelia Fuentes, the owner of Fuentes Pharmaceutical. As for my father, he is the company’s CLO, Atty. Christophe Fuentes. Our business is the fruit of my parents’ sacrifices. Having the title of being one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country, Fuentes Pharmaceutical continues to flourish. Knowing that our family business is a growing company still astounds me, but along with the wealth it brings is a deprivation that silently suffocates.

After passing the board exam five years ago, my father offered me a job to work under the company’s legal department. Years of working experience exposed me to the environment and exhaustion that comes with handling the company’s legal matters. There was no special treatment, for I am an employee of my parents and I wish to keep it professional in that manner. Having to work for my current title was an endless cycle of sleepless nights.

‘Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’

It is a title I have brought upon my name through perseverance. I have always wanted to be known for being Valentina Ally Fuentes and not only as of the daughter of my parents. With determination, I am with pride to say that I have successfully created a name for myself. I proved that I am more than just the heir of Fuentes Pharmaceuticals, that I deserve the company because of my hard work. I am to be remembered as Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes, a lawyer, successor of the leading pharmaceutical company in the Philippines, and most importantly, a woman of her person.

Being an only child, I grew up in an environment too mature for my age. My parents were often preoccupied with the stress of managing the company. Being in the industry made it hard for them to provide time for me. I have always had a close bond with my mother. Although she used to be the CEO of Fuentes Pharmaceutical, I know how she would consistently check up on me and my state of coping with school. My energy is at its fullest when I am with my mother. She became the source of my motivation if ever I disappointed myself. Her voice gave me the peace that made me realize how valuable her presence is in my life. She is the comfort I will continue to long for.

“I apologize for my mother’s absence. On behalf of Dra. Fuentes, it was a pleasure catching up with you, Dr. Cabrera.”

I flew to Manila to assess the Fuentes Pharmaceutical Laboratory in Makati. My mother usually does the inspections of the laboratories; unfortunately, she is currently unavailable because of her emergency conference at Torres Medical Hospital. Upon arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I placed my carry-on baggage in the trunk of the car and had Ashton drive me to the laboratory. Ashton is the son of our maid, Agatha, but he is now residing here in Manila after getting married. Even before my existence, Agatha has been working for our family. She worked as the caretaker of my grandmother, but because of my grandmother’s passing, she now works to take care of us.

Our laboratory in Makati is our second biggest after the main laboratory in Mandaue. I met up with Dr. Cabrera, a member of the board of directors and a trusted family friend. He toured me around the offices and introduced me to the staff. I never really introduced myself to staff due to some being intimidated by my presence.

So far, the laboratories are exquisitely designed. All were accessible and had a system that made it easier to inspect, and at the same time keep order and cleanliness. Of course, cleanliness is a sector that I meticulously assess. We are a pharmaceutical company after all, how could we risk the lives of our consumers as well as our staff?

After completing the inspections, I had to immediately catch my flight home to Cebu. It was around 5:35 in the afternoon when I called Ashton to pick me up and drive me to the airport. During the car ride, I felt this fear and uncertainty. I started sweating and trembling, not knowing the reason for my abrupt shivers. I calmly looked out my window, diverting my attention to the towering buildings in the area. City lights remind me of the times I used to come home late with my mother since I would always insist on coming home with her after my student council meetings. If only I could go back to the days where I am in the comfort of my mother’s warmth. I instantly avoided the sight, trying so hard to forget the distinct memories instilled in my mind.

“Oh my god! If I walked to the airport, I would have probably arrived there by now. Is this a sign to stay the night?” I said in annoyance.

The traffic in Manila is dreadful. Imagine sitting in a vehicle for almost an hour, what a hassle. If only I could just spend the night in my condo at Rockwell Makati, which is only a few minutes away from the laboratory. Unfortunately, I do not have all the time in the world especially now that I have duties to attend to back in Cebu. Good thing my secretary, Mrs. Aphelion, booked a flight at 9:25 PM so I do not have to worry about missing my plane. What would I do if I miss my flight due to traffic? At last, we arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport before the expected boarding time. Ashton assisted me with the door whilst saying his goodbyes. I boarded the plane, tired from all the wandering I did the entire day.

Upon my arrival at Mactan International Airport, I went to the parking lot and decided to drive myself home. I was on my way home when a sudden buzzing came from my phone. I ignored the call because I was driving, and I did not want to kill someone with my awful driving skills. Driving is not something I would do often. I barely passed my driver's license test. What choice do I have now that I am driving on the road together with reckless drivers?

“Urgh! Who again is calling?!…” I answered the phone when it rang again at the stoplight. It was Emsie, one of our maids. She rarely calls me, why would she call me multiple times now? I was about to speak when I heard her voice of fear.

“Ally, you need to come home right now! Please...” She sounds muffled. Her voice was breaking as if she was restricted from breathing. I felt needles puncture my skin, anxious about the reason for her flowing emotions.

“Madam is—”

“Ally, your mother is—” The call ended.

My mother? Did something happen at the conference? My thoughts were jumbled. I started imagining things I should not be imagining. My mind was too occupied with the thought of what had happened to my mother. From there, I knew it was something serious. I said how driving was never my expertise; but with shock, I drove fast and even forgot to breathe.

As I arrived home, the guards opened the gates with panic seen in their gestures. I ran inside as fast as I was capable of, not even caring about the glass sculpture I broke while rushing to find my father. The staff were in tears, I was confused. They pointed in the direction of the study. When I barged into the room, I saw a group of men talking to my father. They have dressed in navy blue uniforms with one holding a folder; they were policemen. My father’s eyes shifted and met with mine when he saw me, panting from all the running. I could not comprehend what was happening in front of me. I love my mother so much that I did not even bother to ask about what happened; instead, I screamed in pain asking where she is.

“Where is my mother?! Where is she?! I want to see her now...” My vision became blurry, tears filled my eyes. I was trembling, my body felt pain in the numbness; I was paralyzed. I could hardly stand properly when the policeman holding the folder turned to me. He looked disappointed.

“I am sorry for what happened, Attorney Fuentes. Three men have been suspected of the incident; it was an ambush. Dra. Fuentes was shot multiple times, hitting her neck and chest. I am sorry Atty., but Doctor Fuentes died at the scene due to excessive blood loss...”

They handed over a clear plastic bag. It was a set of jewelry with shining red rubies.

My mother’s signature set.

She believed that rubies are stones that can bring happiness and passion into the life of the wearer. Thus, her signature stone being ruby. I remember clearly how she would get ready in her vanity, with a smile on her face as she puts on her earring of shining red rubies. Ruby is a stone believed to protect the wearer from negative entities that leach positive energy, promoting spiritual vitality and wellness overall. My mother is an optimistic spirit. Her words are gentle and comforting; yet what am I now that those words of comfort could never be heard in the same voice ever again?

I collapsed, closing my eyes as a flood of tears gushed down my ashen cheeks.

My mother...is gone. I could never hear her voice, see her smile, and feel her warmth again. All was so sudden that I did not have the chance to say what I wanted to say to her. I felt a pang of guilt in me, it was like she died without knowing how much I loved her. Just like a nightmare, this is the horror that never wanted to happen in my life, yet it did. So many questions came to mind; my thoughts are distorted.

I felt a sharp sting in my chest, a puncture in my stomach, and a bullet through my head. I was in suffering.

“Ally be careful with your dosage! Are you even aware of the amount you intake?!” Hearing the voice of my father, I gradually opened my eyes. I look over to see my psychiatrist checking the bottle of pills. Was it all a vivid flashback?

I then realized how my thoughts took over my body. Driving home and seeing flashing city lights triggered the memories of my mother to flood my mind with thoughts of her tragic death. I felt tightness in my throat, rapid palpitations in my chest. I reached for my medication, unaware of the amount I am taking, hoping that it could relieve the choking sensation that silently suffocated me. With the sound of aggressive honking, I drove drained of strength and energy. Arriving home, my body began to respond to the side effects that came with my medication; It led to my slumber.

After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Dr. Torres prescribed me pills to cope with my sudden anxiety attacks. The death of my mother scarred me. My mother died in an ambush when I was 15 years old, almost 20 years ago. I am now 35 years old, a lawyer, a CEO, and a woman determined to grow my mother’s legacy. I know how sentimental the company is to my mother, so I continue to work hard to make what she started to flourish into a company she sacrificed for.

‘A goal without a plan is not a goal, it is only a dream.

- Dra. Amelia Fuentes.’

When she died, I saw how she still looked glowing. Although she died blood-soaked in a silk dress, her beauty was radiant. My mother is the woman that ensured to raise me with passion in all my works. She has left me with the knowledge that made me grow into the woman I am today. Her wisdom will forever remain with me; the most valuable gift she has ever given.

Even after 20 years, it still haunts me, yet I decide to focus on the path ahead of me, instead of longing for the past that I could never bring back. I may not be able to go back to the days we spent as a complete family, but I gradually accepted that my mother is now home in the heavens. Her presence is something I have been longing for ever since she left. I would even hallucinate seeing her in events, imagining her voice of greetings, her smile of an angel, and her gentle touch.

She is now an angel that continues to protect my father and me from this selfish world. I may not feel her warmth anymore, but I feel her presence.

"My mother will forever be the source of my tranquility.

She will forever be my angel."

-----

[Porcelaine Whispers]

[masalvas-girl]

Ｔｈｅ Ｂｌａｃｋｅｓｔ Ｄａｙ(II)

Enjoy! 10 likes and I will make the third part. ❤️

Devastation had began for Juliet Guerra long before the T-virus was leaked in Raccoon City. After reading the reports she had found in Barry Burton's office, she knew something was very wrong in the Arklay Mountains, and most of all, she knew for a fact that the terrors they had found in those mountains couldn't be possibly contained for much longer. The beginning of her own ruin had started innocently and slowly. She had been flirting with the idea of making her thesis based on the incidents that took place that distant July night and how information can be so easily corrupted. Very little info had been released to the media and, apparently, everyone planned it to stay that way. But Juliet, being a young journalism student, had a tremendous desire to eat the whole word and incidentally remove the blindfold that covered the eyes of the citizens of Raccoon City in the process.

After spending whole days and nights doing her due diligences mostly from scratch, the blame pointed directly at only one suspect... The Umbrella Corporation. The world's pharmaceutical giant, whom in reality was dedicated to use its medical and biotechnological research as a cover to create biological weapons that were later sold to the governments of the world's major powers. Actually, they dedicated almost religiously to experimenting with genetics and military technology. Juliet, at one point in her research, was not surprised that these experiments finally got out of control in the Arklay Mountains.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 It was a warm night of September of 1997 when she met Carlos Oliveira for the first time. It was one of those rare nights when she allowed herself to find a distraction from school and go out to have a drink with her girlfriends. His smile was almost as warm as the weather, and she fell completely for him when he asked her for a cigarette with his husky voice outside of the club when she went out to grab fresh air. He was a total flirt, the way his black curls and beard framed his face, and the sensual roughness his body possessed made him seem like a real man even though he was barely twenty-one years old. That night, while they were dancing together to a popular song in Spanish, she knew she wanted to see him again the next day, and the following too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Carlos had been her real support when things took a change for the worst for Juliet. She knew whom he worked for, and still, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Not yet. She first had to gather enough proof (without getting eliminated in first place) to tell him with all of the confidence of the world that he was working for the devil on earth. Until then, her work had to be a secret for the well-being of everyone she loved.

Of course he could notice something was wrong when she would wake up all agitated and covered in sweat, caused by her nightmares which were about the things that were to come. But instead of asking, he very much preferred to just hold her tight with his toned arms and tell her everything was fine. And Juliet would eventually calm down, even though she was conscious that the things Carlos said to calm her down couldn't be more wrong.

 Everything ended the day Carlos found out classified documents from the R.P.D. Documents that had been discarded as total slander in Juliet´s desk. They didn´t live together, but Carlos had his own key to her department door, so he could let himself in whenever he wanted to. And that afternoon, he decided he would surprise her with a cute dinner and the news that they would be traveling together to Italy in early October. Carlos just wanted to get her away from everything, you know, give her some peace of mind and nothing better than a short vacation to lift up her spirits. He really thought all the anxiousness, the sleepless nights, the lack of appetite, those heavy dark circles under her eyes, and the cigarette and sleep medication addiction were caused just from school's stress.

 Juliet got home early from work that late August afternoon, went into her bedroom to change her clothes and give Carlos a quick phone call, but that wasn't necessary at all, because he was already there. She should have guessed, from the way her bedroom door was half-closed when she always left it all the way shut.

 –Mi amor, what are you doing here? –his back was facing her, and he was leaning with both his arms on the desk, running his right hand through the tons of paper sheets that were scattered all over the place. His silence only drove her crazy with every second that passed.

 –Juliet, darlin', why have you been researchin' on my work's company? –he said with a serious tone. The one that she would only hear him use in important work phone calls. She took a couple of steps back, and rested her back against the door.      

 –That's my thesis work –she answered vaguely. Almost as if she was absent. Her cheeks were red, and her hands were already trembling behind her back.

 –You know this is only bullshit, right? Things the looneys say in midnight television programs.

 –Carlos, if you only let me explain it to you –he grabbed a handful of sheets and wrinkled them with his strong fist, then threw them to the trash can that was in the corner of the room. That was the reaction she most feared. Anger–… Baby, calm down…

 This Carlos seemed like a complete stranger to Juliet. She had never seen him like this. He clenched his jaw; his eyes looked filled with confusion mixed with fear (That’s why she´s been having such trouble sleeping! She's been reading way too many terror books, and oh boy, what it says in these sheets is indeed frightening). And it seemed almost natural; this was the company that gave him medical insurance, a really generous income, and most of all, the privilege of working with one of the most important enterprises of the world. How could they be filled with crazy scientists that dedicate exclusively to test how much they can stretch the limits of reality? To Carlos, this was far from a serious subject. She had to be kidding.  

 –Stop it, Inspector Gadget. It has been enough with the little that I read. You cannot be serious.

 –Carlos, I am even considering leaving this town. Chaos is just around the corner –her eyes started threatening with shedding some tears. She walked towards him, now that he had relaxed a little bit. She put her hands on his broad chest, and looked up directly at him with watery eyes–. I need to leave, Carlos, and I want you to come with me. Leave Umbrella –he left out a big laugh and narrowed his eyes into hers.

 –The lack of sleep is really affecting you, babe. Let's go to the kitchen, I made us dinner –he grabbed her by the hand, but she let go quickly of his delicate grip.

 –I'm being really serious, and if you don’t even wanna hear what I have to say then please don't interfere with my work –he turned immediately at her direction, with a gesture of distaste on his face. Surely, there had been some friction before as it is a normal thing to happen sometimes between couples, but this felt different. Just like a fight of egos.  

 –Juliet. Understand it. If Umbrella finds out that you have being going through their shit... I don't know what could happen to you. They do have a lot of power...

–So you accept that they are dangerous...

–Nena, really, stop it. I'm getting tired of this.

–Then honestly I don’t know what you are doing here.

–What? Now you want me to leave?

 –Do you want to talk about it and actually listen to me instead of just assuming things? –she cleaned a fast tear that crossed her cheek. They had been almost screaming at eachother.

 –This is nonsense. Umbrella would never do all of those things!

 –Then, if you choose to leave, please never come back again.

 Juliet took a seat in her bed, expecting him to seat beside her. But he didn't. Carlos analized her for a couple of seconds and then left the bedroom. He grabbed the things he left in the living room, including the plane tickets, and then, all Juliet heard was the door being slammed and a cold, dead silence.

[nikhilshahapurkar]

Business Ethics and its types

The study of right and wrong in behavior is termed as ethics. Similarity right and wrong or black and white in business terms will be termed as business ethics. The term business ethics is used widely by many people. Some people know about it and some have only heard about it. But what exactly are termed as Business Ethics? Let us find out.

Business ethics are sometimes termed as business moralities corporate ethics and professional ethics. They apply to all processes of the business and at relevant to the entire organization as with us the individual entities of the organization. The ethics are formulated in such a way that they help the business maintain a better connection with the stakeholders might be internal or external. 

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

- Warren Buffet

These ethics refer to the contemporary standards of the organization and the set of values and norms which govern the behavior and the actions of an individual who is associated with the business. Business Ethics usually have two dimensions which are normative or descriptive Business ethics. The field is considered to be normative as corporate practice and a career specialization. Descriptive methods are employed by academics who attempt to understand the behavior of the business.

They are classified into different types of Business Ethics based on the categories. They are as follows:

Types of Business Ethics

1. Official responsibilities: These are the responsibilities that the person should follow when occupying a certain position in the organization. It is expected of the person to follow the standards which is why they are known as official responsibility. For example, a manager who has reporting members under him is not expected to do anything unethical which may result to set a similar example for his subordinates. Official responsibilities usually come with ethical boundaries. Being impartial to juniors, motivating them at times, giving honest and undiluted feedback about the juniors to the higher management are some of the functions which, one is expected to follow as a part of ethical guidelines under official responsibilities.

2. Personal responsibility: A person is the ultimate entity of the organization. Many individual people come together to make an entire organization. If one person fails to fulfill his moral responsibilities, then there is a very high probability that the entire organization will crumble. Thus ethical responsibility starts at a personal level which is also known as personal responsibility. The person is expected to remain morally responsible even if no one is watching. Being true to work ethics has long-term effects and not short-term effects. It is necessary to have a proper definition of ethics so that the clash of interest does not occur. It so happens that a person thinks that he is being socially and morally responsible but in reality is breaking the law by being immoral. Right from drinking and driving to bribery and bureaucracy, the person should be self-aware about the moral ethics.

3. Personal Loyalties:  Personal loyalties are considered to be very strong standards of ethics which may not be applied when action is being taken towards an individual. The loyalties of a subordinate towards his superior and superiors’ loyalty towards his subordinate are included in personal Loyalties. They are further classified as:

A. Loyalties of subordinate towards his superior: If the subordinates have strong loyalty towards their seniors then they may turn a blind eye towards the errors and misdoings committed by the seniors and in fact attempt to defend them. For example, if a fellow HR of an organization is promoting employees on personal choices it creates a bad impression for the organization since wrong people are being promoted. This will hamper the growth of the organization in the future and increase the turnover of the employees.  

B. Loyalties of senior towards his junior: A strong personality of a senior towards his subordinates will cause a problem to the organization in the long run. The senior will always turn a blind eye towards the errors committed by his subordinates. This may be done because the senior wants to avoid hurting the junior employees or out of favoritism but in the long run, this backfires and the team collapses since the team members are not good. The employees should be judged on their performances and not on their favoritism towards seniors. This may not make good friends out of the employee but it sure does create a good employee out of it. A balance is required while having a relation or loyalty towards the juniors. 

C. Corporate responsibilities: Corporate have a responsibility towards the society. Each individual has a moral obligation towards society and organization without any exception. It will not be necessary that the moral code of the organization is exactly similar to the moral codes of the employee's but it should be in line with the same. Alignment of the vision and mission should be calibrated from time to time.

D. Organizational Loyalties: When employees have a deep sense of loyalty and commitment to the organization, then, it is termed as organizational loyalty. The commitment towards your organization is so intense that at times the employees will neglect their own self-interest for the organization's sake. When an organization is good in having an ethical and excellent work culture, organizational loyalties are seen in employees. 

E. Economic responsibility: Using the resources in an efficient way and engaging in activities which increase profit without fraud is the social responsibility of any business. That is why each and every business should contribute to the general welfare of society by making economical use of resources. Sharing the economic resources with the society and its individual should be the aim of every organization. 

F. Technical morality: Technical morality are the types of Business ethics which play a crucial role in deciding which services and products are to be produced. The technological environment influences in terms of investment. It is expected of a manager to refuse to compromise on quality if he has decent technical morality. Technological advancement is the aim of almost every organization but it comes with a price that is increased price of the product which the organization should be able to afford and not lower the standards. It is expected of the organization to not to accept lower standards once there is a technological upgrade.

G. Legal responsibility: The framework for the working of every organization is provided by the legal environment and it is expected of the business to stay within the framework provided by the Legal environment. The ability of the business to do that is entirely dependent upon our business can meet the challenges which arise out of the legal framework. 

4. Departmental responsibilities: Each and every department in the organization has a responsibility towards the stakeholders and that is why it is important to maintain the ethical obligations by every department because even if one of the departmental responsibilities is not executed properly, then the entire organization may have to pay its price. Following are a few types of business responsibilities of each department:

a. Finance Department: Finance department is associated with financials of the company. The cash flow, financial outgoings, salaries, expenses, all fall under finance departments. It is very important that the finance department maintain moral obligation so that the stakeholders of the organization – both internal and external, enjoy the profits. An organization which is not transparent will have financial instabilities and in turn, the entire organization will suffer. 

b. Marketing Department: The marketing of the product is to be done under ethical guidelines. False claims, misrepresentations of the product, false claims, hazy and unclear advertisements are not encouraged in the marketing industry. Customers should be given a clear picture of the product, its features, and benefits along with its shortcomings if any. These rules are stricter in pharmaceutical industries where marketing of medicines and drugs is not allowed to the public in most of the countries. The marketing of the medicines and drugs is allowed only to the healthcare practitioners with all the benefits and side effects of the drugs. A sale is also considered as part of marketing whereby baseless claims and promises during the promotion of the products are discouraged. As much as possible, the sales claims are kept black and white on paper so as to avoid any misinterpretation.

c. Administrative Ethics: It is often seen that bureaucracy is perpetuated in the organizations at individual levels. Employee favoritism, bias towards a particular employee owing to gender, minority or religious or racial difference should be discouraged by the official standards as well as by the other employees.

Business ethics are an integral part of success of any and every organization and if not followed, the company may have to pay a heavy price for it.

[oncalltreatment01-blog]

Intercourse and Medicine: Success of Dependancy on Sexuality

   Sexual intercourse and medicines generally would seem like a sizzling subject in the media and in just about all social circles, but the actuality of the issue is that sexual intercourse and medicines can pose big, lifelong implications to people who have interaction in these types of behaviors concurrently. There are always inherent threats linked with drug abuse, and regretably there are also severe challenges affiliated with sexual intercourse. This is correct of each habits independently, and it is a considerably exacerbated fact when the two are put with each other. Some folks could possibly declare that intercourse and medication "feeling excellent" collectively, and for some this may perhaps potentially be briefly legitimate. On the other hand, the actuality of the make a variation is that this suggestion will require utilizing treatment - a considerable ethical, effectively remaining and authorized dilemma in the United States. Furthermore, most medicines of abuse are extremely addictive, posing a really severe challenge for the shorter term and prolonged time interval sexual health and health of the addict. In the very long run, when drug abuse prospective customers to dependancy and sexual intercourse is worried, the now inherent worries of equally actions are substantially amplified, and could have lifelong results for folks who have interaction in these behaviors. This can include points like unwelcome pregnancies, sexually transmitted illnesses, rape and sexual assault, prostitution and other violent crimes. If you may be possessing sexual intercourse and you have a drug concern, then you transpire to be at seriously really serious likelihood and seriously ought to choose swift motion to get support now. Sexuality is substantially much as well important of a human conduct to threat harmful forever. Libido - the Most important Impact of Intercourse and Remedies Take into consideration utilizing drugs will elevate your libido? Believe after extra. A particular person of the most preferred misconceptions about intercourse and treatment is that a person's libido can be enhanced by abusing numerous substances. When this could properly be genuine of unique supplements and pharmaceutical medicines, it is not at all legit of road medication - together with ecstasy. (Ecstasy justifies distinctive point out mainly because various persons nowadays see it as a sex-bettering drug, but these outcomes typically have on off pretty speedily and depart the consumer uninterested in intercourse or incapable of executing or attaining orgasm.) There are three principal good reasons that remedies negatively affect a person's libido: 1.) Emotional Distress and other Substance Abuse Pertinent Strain When occasional drug use or consuming likely prospects to dependancy, intercourse is practically usually afflicted. Persons with drug or consuming complications usually wrestle with psychological health conditions these as melancholy or bipolar. Even though drug use appears to permit a way to self-medicate, it basically only worsens pre-existing problems. On top of that, merely since drug abuse has moral, certified and authorized taboos connected with it, there is a good offer of panic related with utilizing prescription prescription drugs. In the event you adored this informative article and you would like to obtain guidance relating to https://oncalltreatment.com/programs/intensive-outpatient/ kindly go to our page. For the reason that strain decreases the typical person's libido, it's superbly reasonable to argue that drug and alcohol abuse will sooner or later have a damaging impact on human sexuality. two.) Drug In research of and Implementing is Exhausting, Time Consuming Perform Most people today who are addicted to medications or alcoholic drinks invest a significant aspect of their time - perhaps all their time - receiving medicine, actively using, hiding their drug use, and generating earnings (often illegally) in purchase to assist their habits. All of this is particularly time consuming, and besides the drug user's husband or wife is also making use of medicines, most of these behaviors will primarily want to arise absent from any non-building use of spouse. And considering that drug use itself is so exhausting and frequently product sales opportunities to "passing out," the opportunity and desire for intercourse may well be appreciably lowered. 3.) Actual actual physical Outcomes of Drugs can Bring about Sexual Issues Some medicines induce bodily difficulties that may well make it tough or unachievable to have sexual intercourse. This can be a issue as benign as being unable to know erection as a ultimate outcome of liquor ingestion, to a total deficiency of bodily sensation, to other considerable complications like pulmonary distress affiliated with use of opiates, or paranoia/problem connected with cannabis use. Extreme problems like these can make it not attainable to functionality ordinarily from a sexual standpoint. Sexual intercourse and Medicines Guide to Higher Prospect Sexual Perform Dependancy and alcoholism are usually breeding grounds for perilous sexual behaviors Just demonstrate up at any AA or NA assembly, and you could listen to countless horror stories joined to sexual intercourse and drugs. Owing to the actuality the vacation for sexual intercourse is close to as potent in a non-addicted human being as the produce for medications in some drug abusers, the two behaviors can usually blend with damaging implications which include: *Undesired Pregnancies Reduced inhibitions as a consequence of drug or alcohol abuse normally coincide with reckless sexual determination generating, these types of as the solution to not use a condom or other contraceptive. And when girls who are addicted to medicines get expecting, the particular person who suffers the most is commonly the unborn child. This is evidenced by new experiences that toddlers born addicted to medicine have skyrocketed in the United States in the last many a number of yrs. This is merely due to the fact a ton of girls who are addicts do not find out prenatal remedy and as a substitute carry on making use of remedies all by their medically-unassisted being pregnant. In the extensive operate, females in this trouble who proficiently have their infants to phrase (they ordinarily do not) set their child at possibility of currently being born addicted.  

[newstfionline]

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Most expensive cities (CNBC) Zurich and Paris have displaced Singapore and Osaka in a recent report on the world’s most expensive cities. The two Asian cities previously joined Hong Kong at the top of the rankings. That’s based on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Worldwide Cost of Living index which shows how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the prices of goods and services in more than 130 cities as of September 2020. According to the report, Zurich and Paris’ jump to first place was due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc and the euro. “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the weakening of the U.S. dollar while western European and north Asian currencies have strengthened against it, which in turn has shifted prices for goods and services,” said Upasana Dutt, head of Worldwide Cost of Living at The EIU. New York City is used as the base city in the index. The top ten: Zurich, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Osaka, Geneva, New York, Copenhagen, Los Angeles.

U.S., Canada, Mexico to extend border restrictions until late December (AP) U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico are expected to remain closed to non-essential travel until Dec. 21 at the earliest amid a rising number of U.S. coronavirus cases, officials in Washington and Ottawa told Reuters on Wednesday. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the decision later on Wednesday in a post on Twitter. The restrictions were first put in place in March to control the spread of the virus and have been extended on a monthly basis ever since. In Ottawa, a Canadian government source said the travel restrictions in place at the Canada-U.S. land border would remain in effect for at least another month.

Recession With a Difference: Women Face Special Burden (NYT) For millions of working women, the coronavirus pandemic has delivered a rare and ruinous one-two-three punch. First, the parts of the economy that were smacked hardest and earliest by job losses were ones where women dominate—restaurants, retail businesses and health care. Then a second wave began taking out local and state government jobs, another area where women outnumber men. The third blow has, for many, been the knockout: the closing of child care centers and the shift to remote schooling. That has saddled working mothers, much more than fathers, with overwhelming household responsibilities. “We’ve never seen this before,” said Betsey Stevenson, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan and the mother of a second grader and a sixth grader. Recessions usually start by gutting the manufacturing and construction industries, where men hold most of the jobs, she said. The triple punch is not just pushing women out of jobs they held, but also preventing many from seeking new ones.

U.S. to Drop Case Against Mexican Ex-Official to Allow Inquiry in Mexico (NYT) The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to drop drug trafficking and corruption charges against a former Mexican defense minister to allow Mexican officials to investigate him, Attorney General William P. Barr announced Tuesday in an abrupt reversal a month after the official was arrested in Los Angeles. The official, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, had been Mexico’s defense minister from 2012 to 2018 and was accused of taking bribes in exchange for protecting cartel leaders. But Mr. Barr and Mexico’s attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero, stopped short in a statement of promising any charges in Mexico. In a court filing, prosecutors acknowledged that the Trump administration had determined that preserving its relationship with Mexico prevailed over pursuing the case. “The United States has determined that sensitive and important foreign policy considerations outweigh the government’s interest in pursuing the prosecution of the defendant, under the totality of the circumstances, and therefore require dismissal of the case,” they wrote in asking a judge to dismiss the charges.

Biden’s DIY transition proceeds without Trump assistance (AP) President Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with his successor is forcing President-elect Joe Biden to seek unusual workarounds to prepare for the exploding public health threat and evolving national security challenges he will inherit in just nine weeks. Blocked from the official intelligence briefing traditionally afforded to incoming presidents, Biden gathered virtually on Tuesday with a collection of intelligence, defense and diplomatic experts. And as the worst pandemic in a century bears down on the U.S. with renewed ferocity, the current administration is blocking Biden from collaborating with its response team. Biden’s representatives instead plan to meet directly with pharmaceutical companies this week to determine how best to distribute at least two promising vaccines to hundreds of millions of Americans, the biggest logistical challenge to face a new president in generations. The moves reflect how Biden is adjusting to a historically tense transition. With no sign that Trump is prepared to facilitate soon a peaceful transfer of power, Biden and his team are instead working through a series of backup options to do the best they can to prepare for the challenges he will face as soon as he takes office in January.

When Trump Goes, Can the Democrats Hold It Together? (NYT) The Democratic Party is struggling with internal contradictions, as its mixed performance on Election Day makes clear. Analysts and insiders are already talking—sometimes in apocalyptic terms—about how hard it will be for Joe Biden to hold together the coalition that elected him as the 46th president. The intraparty dispute burst out full force on Nov. 5 during a three-hour House Democratic Caucus telephone meeting. Moderates angrily lashed out at liberals, accusing them of allowing divisive rhetoric such as “defund the police” and calls for socialism to go largely unchallenged. Those on the left pushed right back, accusing centrists of seeking to downgrade the demands of minorities, including those voiced at Black Lives Matter protests. Abigail Spanberger, who represents the 7th Congressional District in Virginia—which runs from the suburbs of Richmond through the exurban and rural counties in the center of the state—voiced her instantly famous critique of the liberal wing of her party during the phone call: “We have to be pretty clear about the fact that Tuesday—Nov. 3—from a congressional standpoint, was a failure,” she told her Democratic colleagues. “The number one concern that people brought to me” during the campaign “was defunding the police.” And “We need to not ever use the words ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again because while people think it doesn’t matter, it does matter. And we lost good members because of that.” Representative Rashida Tlaib, whose Michigan district is among the poorest in the country, and who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America—directly countered Spanberger and other moderates: “To be real, it sounds like you are saying stop pushing for what Black folks want.” Other Democrats who describe themselves as democratic socialists, including the former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, have become a substantial Democratic constituency.

Pandemic media syndrome? (Scientific American) According to Claudia Wallis, of Scientific American, recent studies have shown that the pandemic’s toll on mental health has been even worse than experts expected, especially among young adults. Roxane Cohen Silver, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, found that “increased engagement with media coverage of the outbreak” is a major driver of anxiety among people of all ages. “If people are engaged with a great deal of media, they are more likely to exhibit and report distress, but that distress seems to draw them further into the media,” Silver says. “It’s a cyclical pattern from which it is difficult to extricate oneself.”

Sweden’s coronavirus strategy (Washington Post) Even Sweden appears to be abandoning the Swedish model. On Monday, the country’s authorities banned gatherings of more than eight people as they grappled with the second coronavirus wave surging through much of Europe. The new restrictions followed other protocols coming into effect this week, including protective measures around nursing homes and bans on alcohol sales at restaurants and bars after 10 p.m. The shift in tone is noteworthy given Sweden’s notorious light-touch approach to the pandemic. “It is a clear and sharp signal to every person in our country as to what applies in the future,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said during a news conference Monday. “Don’t go to the gym, don’t go the library, don’t have dinner out, don’t have parties—cancel!” Hospitalizations are rising faster in Sweden than any other European country, and Sweden’s per capita death rate is several times higher than those of its Nordic neighbors Finland, Denmark and Norway.

Amid pandemic, Belgrade street kids find comfort at refuge (AP) In a small, brightly-colored backstreet house in Belgrade a teenage girl is drying her hair, while two others eat lunch in the kitchen. A group of boys are having their temperatures checked at the entrance as a precaution against coronavirus. It’s another busy day for Svratiste, or Roadhouse, Belgrade’s first daily drop-in center for street kids that for years has been a rare oasis of warmth and comfort for the Serbian capital’s most vulnerable inhabitants. Since opening in 2007, Svratiste has welcomed hundreds of children—some as young as five—who have come here to warm up, wash or eat. With social isolation growing and the economic situation worsening in the pandemic, the center’s role has become even more significant. Apart from providing food and clothes, the Svratiste team has also sought to help the children socialize and get to know their town by visiting playgrounds, cinemas and theaters. A key effort has been to include them in the education system and make sure they stay. During the pandemic, the center helped with online classes that most children have no means of following. One of their success stories has been Bosko Markovic, now 18, who first came to Svratiste five years ago. With the center’s help, Markovic has finished high school and now has his eyes set on becoming a policeman, he told the Associated Press. “They (Svratiste) have made me a better person,” he said proudly.

Pompeo To Visit Israeli West Bank Settlements During Farewell Tour (Foreign Policy) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel today as he continues his whistle-stop tour of U.S. allies. Before he heads to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, he is planning on making history. Pompeo will visit two Israeli settlements both considered in violation of international law, one in the Golan Heights and one in the West Bank. By doing so, he becomes the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit either site. His de facto endorsement of the Israeli occupation stands in contrast to the outgoing Obama administration’s moves in 2016, allowing passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution declaring Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory illegal by abstaining from (rather than vetoing) the vote. His visit also comes as Israel plans to expand a settlement in East Jerusalem, despite outcry from the United Nations and European Union.

Reassured by Biden Win, Palestinians Will Resume Cooperation With Israel (NYT) The Palestinian Authority said Tuesday that it was resuming its cooperation with Israel, ending six months of financial hardship for tens of thousands of West Bank residents and signaling relief over the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. It was one of the first clear signs that anticipation of a new administration in Washington is having an effect on international relations. The Palestinian announcement undid a set of stringent measures imposed by Mahmoud Abbas, the authority’s president, in May in a desperate protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to unilaterally annex large portions of the occupied West Bank. The Trump administration had indicated it would support some form of annexation, which would have imposed Israeli sovereignty over land that the Palestinians have counted on for a future state. Mr. Abbas cut off security coordination with Israel, raising fears that attacks might go unprevented. He also severed civilian ties, including those that help Palestinians travel into Israel for work or medical treatment. Most painful of all to his own people, Mr. Abbas stopped accepting routine transfers of more than $100 million a month in taxes that Israel collects on the Palestinians’ behalf, funds that account for more than 60 percent of the authority’s budget. The lack of funds forced salary cuts for tens of thousands of public-sector employees, compounding what was already a devastating economic crisis because of the pandemic. “Praise God, I feel so relieved,” Rami Kitaneh, 35, a nurse at the Hugo Chavez Ophthalmic Hospital in the central West Bank, said Tuesday night. “I gave up so much since the start of the crisis, but now I can breathe.”

Security officials worry Israel and Saudi Arabia may see the end of Trump as their last chance to go to war with Iran (Business Insider) European intelligence officials are alarmed about the possibility of military action towards Iran in the waning days of the Trump administration. Concern that Trump—who has pushed for maximum pressure on Iran—or a combination of Israel or Saudi Arabia creating a military confrontation in the waning days of the administration has been a concern for over a week, according to three European intelligence officials who spoke with Insider. The news that last week the president requested a list of military options from his military and diplomatic advisors has sent these concerns into overdrive. One fear is of unilateral action by the US to force a military clash that might make it impossible for the incoming Biden administration to return to the 2015 joint nuclear agreement that traded sanctions relief on Iran for an end to its nuclear weapon programs, all three officials said. They declined to speak on the record in exchange for their candid views on the situation.

People go hungry in Ethiopia’s Tigray as conflict marches on (AP) People are going hungry in Ethiopia’s rebellious northern Tigray region as roads are blocked, airports are closed and the federal government marches on its capital in a final push to win a two-week war. “At this stage there is simply very little left, even if you have money,” according to an internal assessment by one humanitarian group, seen by The Associated Press. The assessment, based on a colleague who managed to get out, said people “will stay where they are, there is no place in Tigray where the situation is any different and they cannot cross over into the other regions of Ethiopia because of fear of what would be done to them.” For more than a week, the United Nations and other aid organizations have been warning of disaster. Long lines formed outside shops within days of the Nov. 4 announcement by Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that a military offensive had begun in response to an attack by Tigray regional forces on a military base. Trucks laden with food, fuel and medical supplies have been stuck outside the region’s borders. Banks in Tigray were closed for days, cutting off humanitarian cash transfers to some 1 million people. And even before the fighting, a locust outbreak had been destroying crops. Over 27,000 Ethiopians have fled into neighboring Sudan, burdening villages that have been praised for their generosity, though they have little to give.

[bopinion]

2020 / 47

Aperçu of the week:

I dissent! (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

Bad news of the week:

Why am I actually surprised? It was clear that Donald Trump would fight against an unfavorable election outcome for him. It is well known that the Republicans are bad losers, since they know that they are simply entitled to the political leadership of the USA. It was foreseeable that loudspeakers like Rudolph Giuliani or Tucker Carlson would now finally, albeit invisibly, think they had evidence of an anti-American conspiracy in their hands. It was to be expected that disappointed voters of a defeated demagogue would take to the streets to demand their own version of the truth as reality.

None of this comes as a surprise. But the Republican establishment's stupid adherence to Trumpism does. It was clear that the two "sons by profession" Donald Junior and Eric, or various Fox News presenters, lacked insight in their public statements. But Mike Pompeo, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, etc. are coldly calculating, lying opportunists - but they are certainly not stupid. Why do they hold on to something that should go down in the history books of American politics as an absurd episode, but not as the beginning of a new era? Are they really looking for the perspective salvation of their "Grand Old Party" on the horrifying aberrations of the last four years?

The first week after election day I was shocked that (almost) half a democratic nation voted for an autocrat - this time with a sighted eye. The second current week I am shocked at how the Republican establishment is lacking in identity and standing. I remember how, at the beginning of the pre-election campaign, practically all the party's officials made disparaging remarks about this self-centered, ignorant newcomer to politics, who seriously thought he could lead this proud party. Level of mental disorientation: about 10%. Then he actually won the ticket and one had to stand behind him in the name of the greater good, he would lose and one could soon forget this abnormality. Level of mental disorientation: above 25%. Then he triumphed over Hillary Clinton and you rubbed your eyes in amazement, would contain him confidently ("The office is stronger than the person") and make the best of it, the main thing was that you were back in power. Level of mental disorientation: well over 50%. Then this guy turned out to be a lazy and unteachable tyrant, raging in the staff tableau and on Twitter, not giving a damn about responsibilities and "checks and balances," confusing official authority with personal loyalty, pushing allies and partners to the side in favor of dictators, and isolating himself and his country in international politics, lost the midterm elections and his approval ratings dropped, proved incapable and unwilling to face any social challenge - and he was allowed to continue and simply waved him through as a presidential candidate. Level of mental disorientation: a good 90 %. Then he polarized worse than ever, dismantled state institutions, slandered political competitors, lost the Popular vote and the Electoral College, refused to recognize them, and there is talk of electoral fraud, dreams of a second term in office, and at least expects to run with him again in 2024. Excuse me? Where do we stand now? At over 100%?

Of course, you can change your political positions over many years, even revise them. One makes compromises and forges appropriate and timely coalitions of convenience. In a classic party career, you not only gain political experience, but also companions - in negative terms, dependencies. Nothing welds people together like a common corpse in the cellar. But you never lose your ideals, you have to stand for something. Actually, there are only two possible interpretations of this distortion of reality, which is in principle incomprehensible. Either there is a secret master plan, which I simply haven't understood yet. Or the Republicans are now showing their true face. And that would be a pretty ugly one.

Good news of the week:

It used to be called hocus-pocus or abracadabra before the rabbit was pulled out of the cylinder. The current magic word is BNT162b2. The biotechnology start-up BioNTech from Mainz, Germany, seems to have succeeded, coupled with the resources and market power of Pfizer, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world, in developing a truly highly effective vaccine against the coronavirus with hardly any side effects. What is fascinating for the amateur is that the vaccine is not, as it is usually the case, a miniature version of a pathogen that tricks the body into believing that it is diseased so that it can produce antibodies against it. Rather, a messenger substance consisting of ribonucleic acid building blocks simply tells the corresponding cells what to do without any detours. Sounds so simple that one almost has to ask oneself why nobody has thought of it so far.

Now follows the fireworks of stock market explosions, interpretative sovereignty and false laurels that are common in breakthroughs. Donald Trump, for example, claims that the new vaccine is due exclusively to his "Operation Warp Speed", although the decisive interim financing came from the German government. And Pfizer too has somehow forgotten that they just jumped on a moving train, but maybe the PR department just doesn't know that. Anyway, it's the result that counts.

Really? Of course it is to be welcomed that there seems to be an effective remedy against the current scourge of mankind soon. At least if the final test series are positive and the relevant authorities carry out their market approval procedures meticulously but please quickly. But the really good news of the week for me is a different one, namely the development of BioNTech itself.

The two founders and masterminds of the company are not only a married couple, but also the children of Turkish migrants. That has rolemodel character in society. And with private venture capital (which, by the way, came mainly from two entrepreneurs in our district) and public funding, they succeeded in bringing an innovative flash of inspiration to market maturity. And not in Silicon Valley, but in the German province, where - typically German - you actually only get a loan when you can prove that you don't need it. In this country, "venture" is associated more with recklessness and risk than with the spirit of research and opportunities. This has rolemodel character in economis. If neither of these things turns out to be the exception, but rather a paradigm shift, I look forward to the future of the "old continent" with much more basic confidence. Yes, we can (also).

Sense of achievement of the week:

Ten weeks ago (2020/37) I wrote about the problem of nuclear waste. For which there is simply no solution. And now I get three answers yesterday. All three from the same sender: "Nuclear for Future". The name is program, of course. With a few empty Phrasen, it is explained that renewable energy is not yet sufficiently available and that nuclear energy is better than fossil fuels. Well, then I know now... ;-)

The great thing about it is that I seem to have been targeted by lobbyists. Some PR professional gives me the relevance to invest work in me. Even though it's only a few clicks for copy and paste, it makes me a little proud. And is my sense of achievement of the week.

By the way: yesterday was Friday the 13th - what a timing!

[cocaineburritoo]

Might Itchy Digestive Tract Nerves Be In Charge Of Cranky Digestive Tract Syndrome

Researchers are still having a hard time to establish the specific root cause of irritable bowel syndrome. Getty Images Researchers say a receptor that can cause scratchy skin might be a consider causing short-tempered digestive tract syndrome (IBS). They say the receptor is extra typical in individuals with IBS, as well as it might activate nerve cells in the digestive tract, triggering discomfort. Experts vary on whether this brand-new study will produce brand-new therapies for the uncomfortable condition. Australian researchers state they have actually uncovered that the device that causes scratchy skin might also be accountable for the discomfort experienced in people with cranky digestive tract syndrome (IBS). Researchers from Flinders University in Australia have determined receptors that can trigger scratchy skin are also located in the digestive tract. In their recent research study, the scientists suppose that these receptors are extra existing in people with IBS, leading to even more nerve cells being triggered that lead to pain in the digestive tract. " We know that the nerves in the gut ended up being hyper to stimuli in IBS, as well as this contributes to chronic discomfort," Stuart Brierley, PhD, a writer of the study and a teacher in intestinal neuroscience at Flinders College, told Healthline. " What isn't clear is exactly how these nerves obtain triggered to begin with. Here we show that the very same receptors that create itch from the skin (by irritants acting on receptors on nerves in the skin) also trigger activation of nerves in the intestine. This leads them to signify pain when they shouldn't, or send out enhanced discomfort signals," he claimed. Brierley includes that IBS designs show these receptors, and also this gut-itch system are a lot more usual in people with IBS. " This can be the underlying reason for stomach pain and also discomfort in IBS people," he stated. What is IBS? About 11 percent of the worldwide population have IBS. Study approximates between 25 million and also 45 million people in the USA deal with the problem, as well as 2 out of 3 people living with IBS are women. IBS is identified by a team of symptoms that can occur with each other, such as tummy pain as well as irregular digestive tract habits. " There appear to be 2 troubles in individuals with IBS. Initially, the digestive tract can come to be overly conscious normal feeling. Second, the motility, or movement of the digestive tract, can come to be irregular," Jesse Stondell, MD, an assistant teacher in the department of gastroenterology at the College of California, Davis, informed Healthline. " This can result in boosted motion triggering looseness of the bowels, decreased activity triggering irregular bowel movements, and even both at the exact same time in various locations, leading to pressurization of the digestive tract which causes pain," he said. Stondell states the precise root cause of IBS is unidentified, however scientists have a few concepts. " It's likely that there are several various reasons, but there is a lot of passion now in the principle of dysbiosis, or discrepancy in the microorganisms that reside in the colon," Stondell said. " It may be that fixing this discrepancy can enhance digestive tract feature considerably. There's likewise clearly a part of hypersensitivity, which means that for some people, their bowel is a lot more sensitive to normal stimuli, as well as the body misinterprets this as pain. Lastly, stress and anxiety as well as depression can dramatically aggravate IBS however might or may not be a true reason," he included. Brierley, who's also the supervisor of the Visceral Pain Research Team at the South Australian Health And Wellness and also Medical Study Institute, suggests that discomfort experienced by those with IBS occurs when impulse receptors take place together with the "wasabi receptor." The wasabi receptor, formally called TRPA1, is a healthy protein that exists in sensory afferent neuron. When it runs into certain chemicals it triggers to shield the body. Wasabi, mustard, as well as tear gas are instances of points that can activate a reaction from this receptor. A 'false alarm' in the gut Brierley states the same point is occurring in the intestine of somebody with IBS. "The nerves which attach the digestive tract to the mind become turned on as well as stay in an alarmed state, as a result indicating discomfort when they may not require to. This can also lead to the rewiring of pain pathways in the spine as well as brain," he stated. Brierley is hopeful this current research study will certainly lead the way for new therapy options for those with IBS. "Essentially, IBS intestine nerves are much more sensitive than other people's, as well as this is informing your body that you're in discomfort. It's essentially a continuous false alarm," Brierley said. "By comprehending these devices, we can target the certain systems which are changed in IBS. We can deal with persistent stomach discomfort by establishing a medication that a client can take once a day to obstruct those receptors as well as quit the discomfort signal from the digestive tract to the mind," he stated. Are brand-new treatments imminent? But Emeran Mayer, PhD, co-director of the TREATMENT: Gastrointestinal Diseases Proving Ground at the College of California, Los Angeles, says the discovery of such impulse receptors is unlikely to influence therapy options for IBS. "Many different receptors have actually been recognized in computer mouse versions of IBS, but findings have never ever been translatable into human patients," Mayer informed Healthline. "IBS isn't triggered by the irregularity of a solitary receptor in the gut yet is a complicated brain-gut condition with both central and also peripheral irregularities. So, I do not think the recognition of the itch receptor will have any kind of considerable influence on IBS symptoms," he said. Mayer adds he's been involved in lots of medication advancement initiatives with significant pharmaceutical companies throughout his three decades in the area, as well as all of them have actually been unsuccessful. Presently there's no cure for IBS. Instead, therapy choices are focused on managing signs, such as diarrhea as well as bowel irregularity. A current study in Norway of fecal microbiota hair transplant (FMT) making use of a "incredibly donor" ended that FMT was effective for IBS. The research study was revealed this weekend at the 2019 United European Gastroenterology Week in Barcelona. The outcomes have not been released yet in a peer-reviewed journal. Specialists that talked with Healthline state FMT isn't yet suitable for those with IBS, as well as additional research in bigger groups is needed. "It is very important to keep in mind that presently the FDA thinks about a fecal transplant an 'investigational new drug,' as well as it is unlawful for any type of physician to do a fecal transplant beyond 2 circumstances: one, treatment of a particular infection called C. diff, as well as 2, a research study," Stondell stated. Stondell claims among the most crucial action in improving IBS is nutritional adjustment. "I find the FODMAP diet plan to be particularly reliable in dealing with bloating, abdominal pain, and also diarrhea. It can often be really difficult to convince people that a nutritional adjustment can dramatically enhance their signs and symptoms, particularly discomfort. "I also discover that some individuals feel there's nothing to be done and also don't look for treatment. It's true that IBS does have a tendency to be a long-term trouble, yet it's likewise true that signs and symptoms can really typically be decreased with proper care," Stondell said.