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What Is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is an infectious, airborne disease that kills millions of people around the world every year.
Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
TB generally doesn't cause symptoms immediately. Instead, it goes through three stages:
- Primary TB infection
- Latent TB infection
- Active disease
In most people with TB, the condition is latent, meaning the bacteria are present in the body but are in a dormant state, neither making the person sick nor infecting others.
Tuberculosis is more likely to enter the active phase in people who have acquired the infection recently (in the past two years).
It's also more likely to be active among those whose immune systems are weakened as a result of malnutrition, old age, infection with HIV, immunosuppressant drugs, or among people who are on dialysis.
While there are effective treatments for tuberculosis, the disease can be fatal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tuberculosis kills more than a million people every year worldwide.
TB can also be caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which lives in animals and can be transmitted to children who drink unpasteurized milk from infected cows.
In developed countries, however, cattle are tested for tuberculosis, and most milk is pasteurized.
Who Is Affected by Tuberculosis?
As recently as the 1800s, TB (formerly known as "consumption" or "phthisis") caused more deaths in industrialized countries than any other disease.
The development in the 1940s of streptomycin, the first antibiotic to effectively cure TB, dramatically lowered the number of cases of tuberculosis seen in developed countries, including the United States.
Today, most cases of TB occur in Africa, Asia, and the Western Pacific region.
CDC statistics for TB show the following for 2013:
- A third of the world's population was infected with tuberculosis.
- 9 million people worldwide became sick with tuberculosis.
- 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis.
- In the United States, just over 9,500 cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed.
- Tuberculosis was the leading killer of people with HIV.
When active tuberculosis is diagnosed in the United States, it's often in a person who has emigrated from a country with a much higher rate of TB.
Tuberculosis Transmission
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is spread from person to person when someone with an active form of the disease emits tiny, bacteria-containing droplets into the air through coughing, sneezing, talking, singing, or laughing.
The bacteria can remain suspended in the air for hours, potentially infecting anyone who breathes them in.
Not everyone who inhales TB bacteria gets sick, however. Some people's immune systems immediately kill the bacteria.
In others, the bacteria remain in a latent, or dormant, state.
Risk Factors for Tuberculosis
Risk factors for tuberculosis include anything that weakens a person's immune system or puts someone in frequent, close contact with people who have active TB.
In the United States, some of the main risk factors for tuberculosis include:
- Poverty
- HIV infection
- Homelessness
- Being in jail or prison
- Substance abuse
- Having a weakened immune system for reasons other than HIV, such as chronic steroid use, patients on dialysis, and those who have had organ transplants and take drugs to prevent rejection
Tuberculosis Prevention
To prevent the transmission of tuberculosis in healthcare settings, the CDC has issued guidelines that require most employees to be screened for tuberculosis upon being hired and subsequently on a regular, often annual, basis.
Some residential institutions, such as nursing homes, also screen all new residents for tuberculosis.
Screening for active TB is best accomplished by a chest x-ray.
Some other steps toward preventing the spread of TB include:
- Improving the ventilation in indoor spaces so there are fewer bacteria in the air
- Using germicidal ultraviolet lamps to kill airborne bacteria in buildings where people at high risk of tuberculosis live or congregate
- Treating latent infection before it becomes active
- Using directly observed therapy (DOT) in people with diagnosed tuberculosis (latent or active) to raise the likelihood of the disease being cured
Tuberculosis Vaccine
A vaccine for tuberculosis called bacille Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, is used in parts of the world with high rates of the infection to prevent serious complications such as meningitis.
BCG is rarely used in the United States, however, because some studies have shown that BCG is not very effective in preventing TB cases, and because treatment of latent TB infection with isoniazid is a more effective strategy to prevent tuberculosis.
- Tuberculosis; CDC.
- Tuberculosis; Mayo Clinic.
- Tuberculosis: Basic TB Facts; CDC.
- Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: An Overview; American Family Physician.
Last Updated: 11/27/2014


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Collared - Baltimore Sun readers' pets
Read about local pets, or share your own story. We're interested in cats and dogs, but also hamsters, hedgehogs, turtles, horses, chickens -- the whole pet gamut. For more information, email firstname.lastname@example.com and be sure to put "Collared" in the subject line.
Copyright © 2018, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad

subset: commoncrawl


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TORONTO — Maybe Canada has something to teach the U.S. about housing finance.
One in 4 U.S. homes is thought to be worth less that the mortgage being paid on it. One in every 492 U.S. homes received a foreclosure notice in November. For the fourth year running, analysts are speculating on where the bottom is for U.S. real estate.
No such worries up here in Canada — yet its system of mortgage finance gets little attention in the U.S.
Not a single Canadian bank failed during the Great Depression, and not a single one failed during the recent U.S. crisis now dubbed the Great Recession. Fewer than 1 percent of all Canadian mortgages are in arrears.
That's notable given that the recent U.S. economic turmoil was triggered by a meltdown in mortgage finance, forcing an unprecedented government rescue of Wall Street investment banks and the collapse of more than 300 smaller banks as the housing sector went bust.
How'd Canada avoid all that?
"This sounds very simple, but one of our CEOs has said we are in the business of making loans to people who will pay them back," said Terry Campbell, vice president of policy for the Canadian Bankers Association in Ottawa.
There's a certain amount of apples to oranges when comparing the two systems of mortgage finance. Canada's population last year was estimated at 34.3 million, while the U.S. population now exceeds 307 million. The U.S. economy is the world's biggest; Canada ranks ninth.
Canadian banks were recently named the best in the world by the World Economic Forum, but they're a much smaller universe of lenders — 71 that are federally regulated, compared with more than 8,000-plus U.S. lenders insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Even so, there's plenty to learn from Canada's conservative — yes, conservative — regulatory regime. It requires more rigorous loan underwriting standards and much bigger set-asides by banks for potential losses during market downturns.
Canada also lacks a big tax write-off for the interest that borrowers pay on their mortgages. They get a capital gains tax exemption on any profits on the sale of their primary residence, and that's it. Yet the rate of home ownership in Canada is equal to, or greater than the U.S. rate, and the lack of mortgage-interest deductions leads Canadians to swiftly pay down their mortgage debt.
"I'm not aware of any disparagement of the Canadian model or dismissal of the Canadian model. There are some interesting features to it," said Stuart Gabriel, a finance professor in the Anderson School of Management at the University of California-Los Angeles. "They've insisted all along on the more rigorous mortgage underwriting, and because of that never found themselves originating subprime and no-doc mortgages . . . some very basic items such as stringency of underwriting seem to go a long way."
Canada doesn't have an equivalent to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which purchase mortgages from banks and pool them into bonds. The argument for Fannie and Freddie is that they take loans off of a bank's books, freeing them to lend more.
Canada has no such secondary market for mortgages, yet it hasn't hurt the ability of its banks to lend or significantly raised the cost for borrowers.
Canadian mortgages aren't non-recourse loans, meaning homeowners can't simply walk away from their mortgages. Even if they lose their home, they still owe their mortgage debt.
"You mail your keys into the bank here and guess what, you are not off the hook," said Gregory Klump, the chief economist in Ottawa for the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Lessons from Canada could prove useful. In the next few weeks, the Obama administration must, by law, outline its vision for what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They've been in government conservatorship since the summer of 2008. The administration must unveil its roadmap for how and when they're to be changed and moved out of government control.
By July, the administration must establish the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whose chief functions will include policing mortgage lending and defining suitable mortgages.
The issue of mortgage-interest deductions probably will come up this year when Congress debates deficit reduction. A blue-ribbon National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform late last year recommended a serious scaling back of the U.S. mortgage-interest deduction as a means of raising more revenue and lowering deficits and debt.
Defenders of the popular U.S. mortgage-interest deduction call it a big driver of U.S. home ownership, which peaked in 2005 at 69.1 percent. (It fell to 66.9 percent late last year.)
But even without a mortgage-interest deduction, Canada's percentage of home ownership_ at 68.4 percent, according to the most recent Canadian census in 2006 and now thought to be higher — is comparable to U.S. home ownership rates.
"There's an incentive for them to pay off their houses relatively quickly, but the home ownership rates in Canada and the U.S. are comparable. The fraction of people who own their houses free and clear in Canada is much bigger," said William Strange, a professor of real estate at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
Added Klump: "The sooner you can get out of debt, the faster you can amass retirement savings."
Canadian banks generally provide 25-year mortgages, with 20 percent down payment. The first five years of the loan is a fixed rate, after which it adjusts to current market rates in five-year increments until the loan is paid off.
Should a borrower opt not to put down 20 percent on a home purchase, they must purchase mortgage insurance to cover the debt in the case of default.
U.S. borrowers are accustomed to fixed-rate loans of 15 years or 30 years, and U.S. mortgage bankers warn that the Canadian model of adjusting interest rates every five years may soon be less attractive.
"There is a lot of interest-rate risk that is being put on Canadian buyers. That has worked over the past couple of decades. Now that we're looking at increased borrowing demands by national governments, everyone is projecting interest rates going back up," said Jay Brinkmann, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "As these Canadian mortgages reset, (borrowers) might start looking longingly at a U.S. system" that provides longer fixed interest rates on mortgages.
In some ways, the U.S. is already adopting big parts of the Canadian model.
"I think the U.S. system may be eliminating certain types of loans . . . I think we're seeing greater emphasis on down payments," said Brinkmann, who's careful to call it a return to past practices and not the Canadian model.
Lenders, he said, are shying away from second mortgages. And there are greater demands for private mortgage insurance, even on refinanced mortgages.
McClatchy's probe into roots of financial crisis, a Pulitzer finalist
Feds to decide what benefits health insurers must cover
Florida's housing crash has debilitating ripple effect
Duke Energy, Progress to merge into nation's largest electric utility
To ask a question about this story or any economic question, go to McClatchy's economy Q&A
For more McClatchy politics coverage visit Planet Washington


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Love the Look: French Rattan Bistro Chairs
The editors and writers of The Kitchn has been feeling very French lately — from Faith's recent trip to Paris to Dana's French cafe au lait bowls and Anne's kitchen souvenirs from Paris. Well, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and admit that recently I've become mildly obsessed with the look of French rattan bistro chairs.
Much like how I imagine French women to be, these chairs feel so effortlessly chic. They're a design classic, from the striped designs to the sturdy rattan frames. I'm partial (no surprise) to the black and white designs, but really you can't miss with any color. Whether in your kitchen or dining room, they're always stylish and endlessly versatile.
What do you think of the look? Do you have these in your home?
(Images: 1. June 2011 Traditional Home via High Street Market; 2. Ashley Whittaker Design via CocoCozy; 3. Houzz via Sadie and Stella; 4. Eric Piasecki for House Beautiful; 5. Estee Stanley via Elements of Style; 6. September 2011 Better Homes and Gardens via The Roof Over My Head; 7. House Beautiful; 8. Heather Bullard via Remodelista; 9. Domino; 10. Elle Decor)


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Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
Seriously! A good teacher, gives you the tools to use to make up your own mind. A good teacher does not indoctrinate or inculcate it's pupils, that is the way of the religious.
However is it also the way it is done in America. If you want sheep you enforce your opinion. If you want people you teach.
You do understand what the word teach means don't you, it doesn't mean persuade, indoctrinate, inculcate, it means to impart knowledge to or instruct a person as to how to do something, and it's up to them to decide whether to use that information. There is no hint of persuasion in meaning of the word.


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By nearly all accounts, Cpl. Richard Necessary — yeah, that's really his name — is among the most courteous and professional of Winston-Salem Police Department's 500-plus officers.
By nearly all accounts, Cpl. Richard Necessary — yeah, that's really his name — is among the most courteous and professional of Winston-Salem Police Department's 500-plus officers.
He's respectful, polite and honest. Even the most skeptical of defense lawyers say that if Necessary says something happened, it happened.
Necessary works for the countywide DWI task force, is nearing retirement and has made thousands of arrests in his 20-plus years on the job. From the bumbling to the belligerent, he has seen and heard pretty much everything.
So he couldn't have been all that surprised by the reception he received earlier this month when he pulled a 2006 Mercedes Benz being driven by state Rep. Jerry Dockham, a veteran legislator from Davidson County who copped an attitude during the stop.
Do you know who I am?
Which path to choose?
As these things go, Dockham wasn't doing anything heinous. He wasn't drinking, smoking dope or hauling around a carload of strippers.
He was speeding.
Dockham was clocked at 52 in a 35-mph zone about 11:30 p.m. April 6 on Peters Creek Parkway. He wound up getting a ticket for driving 44 mph, 9 miles over — a standard on-the-spot reduction.
Generally speaking, when the blue lights swirl, there are but two ways to go: full-on Reese Witherspoon (she later apologized for blowing up at the Georgia state trooper who arrested her husband) or the "Yes-sir, no-sir, thank you officer."
The choice is even more stark — and likely to wind up in the news — when the offender is a public figure or has even the whiff of influence.
A few examples:
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines was involved in a fender bender on March 20. He was ticketed for unsafe movement and immediately accepted responsibility. "I insisted they give me a ticket," Joines said.
Forsyth County Sheriff Bill Schatzman ran a red light Nov. 9, 2010, and hit a pickup truck. He wasn't ticketed at the scene but requested one two days later after the predictable public uproar.
State Rep. Walter Church, D-Burke, was nabbed in April 2008 going 92 in a 65-mph zone on Interstate 40. Church first tried to intimidate the trooper who stopped him, then lied to then-District Attorney Tom Keith to get the ticket waived. Keith later admitted getting "hoo-dooed" and reinstated the citation.
Oona O'Neill, the wife of Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill, was stopped for speeding not long after O'Neill was appointed to office in November 2009, and the trooper who pulled her called O'Neill.
"Give her the ticket," O'Neill said. He told her later that day that he was really sorry, but he couldn't intervene or grant special favors. Oona O'Neill, a physician with privileges at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, got the last laugh a few weeks later when Jim O'Neill went to the emergency room with back pain. "Please, honey, can you get me back there any faster?" he asked her.
"I'm sorry, dear, I can't intervene or do any special favors," she replied.
Smile, you're on helmet camera
How Dockham reacted to Necessary could wind up being a point of contention when and if the case makes it to a courtroom.
Neither police nor prosecutors would provide a comment for the story because the case is technically still open and under investigation. But according to four sources familiar with the situation, including three who have seen the videotape, Dockham, 63, got huffy with Necessary by adopting a posture that, while not abusive, could be described as pompous and self-important.
Dockham didn't return any of five messages left over two days at his office and home.
After being stopped, Dockham got out of his car, the sources said — a definite no-no that has resulted in people being wrestled to the ground (or worse) and additional charges being filed.
When Necessary asked about possible court dates, the first option wouldn't do. Nor would a second. Dockham replied more than once that he would be busy. In Raleigh.
Doing the state's business can be taxing.
The veteran legislator then pulled the old "Give me your name and badge number, officer." Which Necessary politely provided, the sources said.
The moral of the story is this: If presented a choice between being pompous and polite, choose polite. Especially if the officer has a video camera rolling.


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Votto supplies game-winning hit to lift Reds over Angels
Cincinnati, OH – Joey Votto singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Cincinnati Reds topped the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 5-4, at Great American Ball Park.
Angels reliever Scott Downs (0-1) hit Shin-Soo Choo to begin the ninth and Chris Heisey advanced the Cincinnati newcomer to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Choo then raced home when Votto stroked a grounder that deflected off first baseman Albert Pujols' glove and rolled into right field.
Baseball's first season-opening Interleague series is now even at one game apiece. The Angels prevailed 3-1 in 13 innings Monday.
The Reds won Wednesday despite blowing a four-run lead.
"We knew we had to get that "W" and I'm glad that we came through," Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said. "We stayed in the game and got it done."
Angels starter C.J. Wilson retired the first 10 batters he faced before the Reds tagged him for four runs in the fourth. After the southpaw issued back- to-back walks, Phillips launched a three-run homer to left-center field.
Jay Bruce followed with a double and scored on a single by Todd Frazier.
"They bunched together offense," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Outside that, C.J. settled down and pitched a couple of strong innings."
Howie Kendrick homered off Cincinnati starter Mat Latos to begin the fifth, and the right-hander was removed in the seventh after giving up a two-out, two-run homer to Alberto Callaspo.
The next two batters reached against J.J. Hoover, but the Reds reliever struck out reigning AL rookie of the year Mike Trout looking to end the inning.
Los Angeles tied things up in the eighth against Jonathan Broxton. Erick Aybar led off with a single and Pujols reached on Frazier's fielding error at third base. Consecutive groundouts by Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo produced the tying run.
Aroldis Chapman (1-0) earned the win after working around a two-out walk in the top of the ninth.
Game Notes
The Reds placed outfielder Ryan Ludwick on the 15-day disabled list and selected the contract of outfielder Derrick Robinson from Triple-A Louisville. Ludwick is expected to miss at least three months following surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He suffered the injury in Monday's season opener.


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Thanks Sidestepper(and other people doing this) for your playthroughs.
I finished the Alpha without too much trouble and I can easily beat any normal dungeon but I couldn't finish a hard one.
I realized that I played this game the "wrong way" until now, always killing "popcorn" monster I see.
I'll try to learn and play more and more like you do because my old way of playing wasted so much resources.
I didn't read all your playthroughs at the time I write this but I definitely will


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What is heart failure?
Despite the way it sounds, the term "heart failure" simply means that your heart isn\'t pumping blood as well as it should. Heart failure does not mean your heart has stopped working or that you are having a heart attack (though people who have heart failure often have had a heart attack in the past). Heart failure is also called congestive heart failure (CHF). "Congestive" means fluid is building up in the body because the heart isn\'t pumping properly.
What are the symptoms of heart failure?
Some people who have heart failure have few problems or symptoms, while others have many symptoms. The following is a list of symptoms people who have heart failure might experience:
Call your doctor if you have any of these symptoms, especially if you\'ve had heart problems before.
Causes & Risk Factors
What causes heart failure?
Heart failure has many different causes. Sometimes the exact cause cannot be found. The most common causes of heart failure are listed below:
Diagnosis & Tests
How will my doctor know if I have heart failure?
Your doctor will ask you about your medical history and symptoms. He or she will give you a physical exam and may order some the following tests:
An electrocardiogram records the electrical activity of your heart. It can help diagnose heart rhythm problems or damage to the heart. An echocardiogram is a test that sends out sound waves that allow your doctor to see pictures of your heart. The pictures show your doctor how well your heart is pumping.
Radionuclide ventriculography involves injecting a very small amount of a radioactive substance into your blood. This substance travels to your heart. A special camera or scanner uses the radioactive substance to produce pictures that show your doctor how well your heart is pumping. The radioactive substance is safe and leaves your body completely after the test is finished.
What treatment will I need?
Treatment can improve how well the heart pumps and can help relieve your symptoms, but heart failure cannot be completely cured. An important part of treatment is taking care of any underlying problems, such as lowering high blood pressure or fixing a heart valve. Treatment also includes lifestyle changes and medicine.
What medicines will I need to take?
Many different medicines are used to treat heart failure. You may need one or more medicines, depending on your symptoms. Your doctor will talk about these medicines with you. It may take some time to find the best type of medicine and the best dosage (amount) of medicine for you.
Several kinds of medicines are commonly used to treat heart failure:
You might need to take other medicines if you have other problems or if you experience side effects with any of these medicines.
When you\'re taking medicine for heart failure, you\'ll also need to have blood tests to check your potassium level and kidney function. How often you need blood tests depends on the type and strength of medicine you are taking. Many patients take heart failure medicines without any problems. However, if you have concerns about the medicine or think you may be having side effects, you should talk to your doctor. It\'s very important that you take your medicine exactly as your doctor tells you.
How often will I need to see my doctor?
If you\'ve just been in hospital for heart failure, be sure to follow up with your doctor within the first week of being home. At first, you may need to be checked as often as every week to see how you\'re responding to the medicine. Once your doctor has adjusted your medicine and you\'re feeling better, you may need to be seen less often.
When should I call my doctor?
Talk to your doctor if you have any of the following:
You should also call your doctor if you have any questions about your condition or medicine.
What can I do to help treat my CHF?
Avoid eating too much salt or too many salty foods (such as canned vegetables or soups, chips and pizza). Salty and high-sodium foods can cause your body to retain water. Talk to your doctor before using salt substitutes because they often contain potassium and may not be good for your health either. This will depend on your kidney function and what medicines you are taking. Some people need extra potassium but other people don\'t.
Although drinking a small amount of alcohol (one drink a day) seems to be helpful for some people who have heart disease, drinking too much may cause heart failure and interfere with medicines. Ask your doctor if any amount of alcohol is safe for you.
Keep your blood pressure under control. High blood pressure strains your heart and further weakens it.
You\'ll be healthier if you exercise. Ask your doctor to recommend an exercise program for you. Try to reduce the stress in your life and get plenty of sleep. If you smoke, quit! If you are overweight, talk to your doctor about how to lose weight safely.
Also talk to your doctor before you take any medicine. Common arthritis medicines such as naproxen (one brand name: Aleve) and ibuprofen (one brand name: Advil) can cause fluid retention.
Fluid retention and weight gain are one signal that your CHF may not be in good control. Weigh yourself daily at the same time of day and report any unexplained changes to your doctor.
Other Organizations
Questions to Ask Your Doctor


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WORCESTER — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told an audience at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts last night about the importance of having a plan.
WORCESTER — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told an audience at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts Wednesday about the importance of having a plan.
Mr. Giuliani said that whether it was tackling welfare reform, homelessness, or crime, it was always important to show people that he knew what he wanted to do.
Mr. Giuliani, who served as mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, was at the Hanover as part of the Worcester Connects distinguished speaker series. He said relentless preparation, teamwork, courage, and risk-taking was what helped him succeed as a mayor in a city that had been experiencing decades of decline.
It also helped to borrow ideas that worked elsewhere, he said. One of those ideas, the "broken windows" theory, dictated that paying attention to smaller crimes as well as bigger ones would have an overall effect on the quality of life in the city. Working with then-Police Commissioner William Bratton, Mr. Giuliani instituted a more analytical, statistics-based approach to crime.
For example, he said, for years politicians would pledge to put more police officers on subway cars, but it never seemed to have an effect on crime rates. When police actually looked at the nature of subway crimes, they found that 75 percent of the crimes were committed on the subway platforms, not in the cars.
"So for 30 years the criminals were beating the heck out of people, stealing their pocketbooks, stealing their wallets, waving to the police going by in the subway cars," Mr. Giuliani said.
He said the year before he took office there were about 2,000 murders in New York; this year, the city is on pace for around 400, Mr. Giuliani said.
The transformation of Times Square represented another change in strategy, he said. Part of that was changing the way police officers thought about what the job actually was.
He really didn't want police arresting people; it was more important to focus on preventing crime. He talked about Times Square's old reputation as something right out of the movie "Taxi Driver." It was full of drug dealers and criminals, he said.
He said one approach that was effective was to beef up the number of horse-mounted police officers, and to combine that with plainclothes officers who would roam crowds when thousands of people went to and from theaters.
The officers on horses would spot the crimes, or even suspicious people, and would communicate to the plainclothes officers, who would stop the crimes.
Combined with zoning changes that pushed pornographic theaters from Times Square, the overall strategy worked, Mr. Giuliani said. The area was redeveloped, and remains a major draw that is now family-friendly, he said.
He said he implemented a plan to reduce the number of people on welfare in New York by creating incentives for welfare workers to help people find jobs and by requiring people applying for welfare benefits to work 20 hours per week part time. He said welfare simply made people dependent on it — it didn't really help them.
"I think I love poor people more than the people who make them dependent," he said.
During a question-and-answer session a young woman thanked Mr. Giuliani for interrupting Ron Paul during a 2007 debate because it cemented her support for Mr. Paul. She called Mr. Giuliani jingoistic.
Mr. Giuliani said he interrupted Mr. Paul because he blamed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on American foreign policy. He said Islamic extremism and a hatred of America for its political, religious, and cultural ideals was what inspired the attacks, not American foreign policy.
A young boy asked Mr. Giuliani what his best and worst memories of Sept. 11 were. Mr. Giuliani talked about losing a priest he confided to in the attacks, and talked about arriving near the World Trade Center to see a man jumping to his death.
He said he felt like he needed the priest with him to help him tell families that their loved ones had been killed in the attacks.
"I had this feeling like I was all alone," Mr. Giuliani said. "That I was all by myself."
But he also talked about more optimistic moments, like when he brought police officers and firefighters with him to appear on "Saturday Night Live" shortly after the attacks, and talked about feeling like the cavalry had arrived when a group of construction workers volunteered at ground zero.
Mr. Giuliani's talk was followed by a panel discussion that included Susan Mailman of Coghlin Electric, who also serves on the board of directors at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Chris Sinacola, editorial page editor at the Telegram & Gazette, and the city's chief development officer, Timothy McGourthy.
Mr. Sinacola said what leapt out to him about Mr. Giuliani's remarks was his willingness to borrow good ideas.
Launched last month by the Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Connects — The Center for Community Engagement consists of a website, speaker series and other programs aimed at bringing together people to identify important issues, engage in thoughtful dialogue and promote local events, with a focus on creating solutions and fostering innovation in Worcester County.
Contact Steven H. Foskett Jr. at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveFoskettTG.?


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By Takahiro "Horitaka" Kitamura
I recently had my friend Ben Grillo come visit to hang out and make some tattoos. Most of you may know Ben for his incredibly detailed single-needle masterpieces, and I thought it would be fun to do a little TAM Blog interview with Ben…
HT: How long have you been tattooing?
Ben Grillo: I've been tattooing seven-and-a-half years now. I got a late start, I didn't start tattooing until I was 29. I had my share of crappy jobs before I got to do the best "job" in the world. Maybe it makes me appreciate it better.
HT: When did you start doing the micro-tats?
BG: Those? Probably about five years ago, something like that.
HT: You don't seem afraid at all… Do you worry about how they will age or heal?
BG: Well, I pretty much warn everybody, the smaller it is, the harder its gonna read, especially the older it gets. That's just like any tattoo but more-so the smaller it gets. I try to tattoo it in such a way that it will stay sharp and looking good for as long as possible. But no matter what, they're gonna eventually turn to shit.
HT: Do you think you would not be able to do these if you weren't also good at portraits?
BG: I actually did these before I started doing portraits.
HT: Do you apply any of the same principles?
BG: Of course, sometimes I do the miniature tattoos like a portrait. It's just smaller, that's why they take so long.
<< Click below to continue >>


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Report from Nov. 20, 2012 regular meeting
The Mexico Board of Education was presented with a draft of the 2013-2014 school calendar that adds six minutes to the school day, offers a long Christmas break, shortens spring break, meets DESE requirements and won unanimous approval, with few concerns.
Board President Dr. Peter Perll opened the meeting with six board members present. Robby Miller was absent.
"We like the whole thing," board member Dr. Elwood Rice told school administrators. He also approved the administration's decision to lessen the district's number of professional development days and the idea to put six snow make-up days at the end of the school year, instead of forcing students to attend school on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and President's Day.
Adding six minutes to the school day, District Superintendent Kevin Freeman told the board, generates 172 days of student attendance, six teacher professional development days, one music festival/professional day, and two parent teacher conferences. It also allows the district to generate enough hours to be "comfortably over 1,044 hours in case of an abundance of early cuts and late starts due to inclement weather (170 full days and two early dismissal days).
The new start time also will have elementary students attending school a total of 1,147.2 hours, middle school students 1,138.5 and high school students 1,127 – all of which meet Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requirements. Additionally, it addresses and eliminates any overlaps or delays in busing issues, Freeman noted.
In other news, the board also discussed the need for roof replacements and repairs needed at the high school and McMillan Elementary. The board approved the purchase of poly-urethane covering on both buildings until more permanent roofing can be purchased.
The Operations Department is researching a process to re-coat existing rooftops within the district. The process is a system often used with commercial properties. It uses materials to seal and creates reflective coatings in an attempt to extend the life expectancy of the existing roofs.
A number of experts have been consulted. The general opinion is that this relatively inexpensive material may be able to extend the lifespan by 10 years.
The regular meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. into executive session for personnel, real estate and student discipline purposes.


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Los Alamos National Laboratory
New insight into viral factors that facilitate HIV transmission
New insight into viral factors that facilitate HIV transmission
Understanding viral factors that facilitate transmission of HIV infection is critical to developing vaccines
The HIV-1 pandemic afflicts more than 34 million people worldwide, and more than 1.5 million people died in 2010 due to direct or indirect effects of HIV infection.
The best hope to relieve this humanitarian disaster is to develop an effective vaccine to prevent new infections. LANL is at the forefront of this research, which lies at the intersection of public health and global security.
Understanding the genetic 'bottleneck'
Understanding viral diversity early after infection, before the virus can evade host immunity, is important for the design of an effective vaccine. In general, a genetic "bottleneck" occurs during heterosexual transmission, in which a transmitted or "founder" virus from the genetically diverse population in the transmitting partner establishes a new infection.
To understand properties of the transmission bottleneck, LANL researchers and collaborators examined the HIV genetic diversity in heterosexual donor-recipient partners infected with HIV. Their findings indicate a minor genital tract HIV variant, with properties that favor transmission, is the founder of the new infection.
The scientists wanted to understand if the genetic bottleneck is driven by chance or whether particular viral variants are selected during transmission.
To detect new infections close to the time of transmission, the researchers studied discordant couples (those in which only one partner is infected at first) in Zambia and Rwanda, who had received counseling to prevent transmission. The researchers studied HIV genetic sequences from the blood and genital tract of the chronically infected transmitting partner and in the blood of the newly infected partner.
A selective, and not random, process determines transmitted virus
They found that the infected donor's predominant virus subpopulation in the genital tract differed from that in the blood. Comparing the HIV sequence population in each newly infected partner with that in the genital tract of the transmitting partner revealed that the transmitted variant was genetically distinct from the donor's predominant genital-tract variants. The results imply that a selective process, rather than a random one, determines the transmitted or founder virus.
Viral factors critical to developing vaccines
Understanding viral factors that facilitate transmission of HIV infection is critical to development of preventative approaches, including vaccines, to curtail the epidemic. The evidence of a selective process in epidemiologically linked transmission partners suggests possibilities of targeting the transmission bottleneck to prevent new infections.


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L.A.H. - Throw Dat Money [Unsigned Hype]
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WASHINGTON (AP) — 3:20 p.m.
Robert Porter, White House Staffer, Photo Date: 8/14/2015
The White House says the security clearance review for a former top staffer was still ongoing when he resigned last week, despite a completed FBI background check.
FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed Tuesday that the FBI had closed its investigation of White House staff secretary Rob Porter in January.
But press secretary Sarah Sanders says the White House's assertion that Porter's clearance was still under review with an interim clearance is accurate — because Porter hadn't received a final sign-off from the White House office of personnel security.
"We find those statements to be consistent with one another," Sanders says.
Porter resigned last week amid domestic violence accusations from his ex-wives.
Wray also revealed that White House officials were provided with Porter's background check findings last year.
11:25 a.m.
FBI Director Christopher Wray is providing new details that call into question the White House timeline leading up to the departure of former staff secretary Rob Porter.
Wray tells senators that the FBI administratively closed its file on Porter, who was operating under a temporary security clearance, in January, a month before he departed amid domestic abuse allegations. Wray says the FBI provided information to the White House on Porter in November, "then earlier this month we received some additional information and we passed that on as well."
Wray is declining to elaborate on what information was passed on to the White House.
The White House has repeatedly said that Porter's "background investigation was ongoing" when he resigned his position, and that the first the White House learned of the allegations against him was last Tuesday.


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The New Diabetes Formulation Paradigm
The recent trend of developing diabetes-specific products that are mainstream and safe enough for regular consumption could transcend all healthy food and beverage categories.
Processors are seeing the old model of manufacturing special foods for persons with diabetes give way to several approaches. Actively, processors seek to include ingredients in formulations to tailor a food toward having a reduced glycemic impact. Fiber, fiberlike starch fractions and bioactive nutraceuticals are all being employed to this effect.
From the other direction, portion control is the chosen path. Since nearly 90 percent of the 15 million or so Americans with type 2 diabetes are overweight - most simply because they eat too much - this uncomplicated approach is popular. It also has the added benefit of being more inclusive.
Even persons without diabetes, but facing weight management or blood pressure problems, benefit from foods re-packaged to help with portion control. Since the formulation itself need not be changed, processors benefit from the wider appeal and marketability. Value-packed miniaturization is proving to be especially appealing to consumers, especially with premium and indulgent foods.
Sugar by Any Other Name is Still as Sweet
Sugar – the amount, the timing, the type and (when necessary) avoidance of intake – often challenges individuals managing blood glucose levels. The old paradigm of formulating for diabetes was mostly a matter of simply substituting sugar with a noncaloric sweetener. This approach is still viable, and the 21st-century substitutes are far more sophisticated.
Sugar ranks next to fat and calories in the information consumers seek on food packages. Consumers with diabetes are concerned about sugar and particularly about its replacement – the artificial sweeteners. Focus on satiety does not bode well for sugar-free formulations, however. Numerous studies suggest sugar-free products do not satiate a person's appetite, actually making the products a liability to some persons managing caloric intake.
|Sweeteners that are low in calories, glycemic index and insulin response are a boon to sugar-free beverage manufacturers. Photo courtesy of Palatinit Food Ingredients.
Removing sugar can be complicated, especially when it comes to baked goods and dairy products such as yogurt. These foods often rely on sucrose and other simple sugars for taste and texture. Makers of baked goods, confectionery, dairy products and beverages have responded by collaborating with sweetener companies to create treats that specifically address consumer demand for perfection in sugar-modified foods.
Palatinit Food Ingredients, Morris Plains, N.J., offers two popular examples of nutritive sweeteners for such applications. Palatinose is a caloric sweetener yet is very low-glycemic and low-insulinemic. It acts as a functional carbohydrate sweetener, and Isomalt is a low-calorie, very low-glycemic bulk sugar replacer.
Some research suggests sugar avoidance may even increase the threshold for satiety. For this reason, processors are focusing on every stage of formulation, from reducing the amount of sugar, replacing a portion of the sugar with a non-nutritive sweetener (so-called "fractional" products) to making products that are completely sugar-free.
Nutritive sweeteners, regardless of type, break down in the body into simple sugars to be used for energy. Non-nutritive sweeteners created specifically for their lack of calories and nonglycemic attributes are hard to market due to some consumers' negative perceptions. For example, according to Linda Gilbert of HealthFocus International, Atlanta, one in five parents actively seeks out no-sugar-added children's products. A majority of parents tend to shy away from artificial sweeteners in children's foods altogether.
Future Sweet
Two nonglycemic sweeteners currently labeled by FDA as dietary supplements (as opposed to food additives) are available in consumer retail markets but may not be used by U.S. food processors. Both are very stable under high temperatures and are being used to sweeten processed foods and beverages in other countries.
Stevia is a natural sweetener that comprises 40 percent of the sweetener market in Japan. Mesa, Ariz.-based Wisdom Natural Brands claims stevia and other natural sweeteners are healthier than artificial sweeteners for individuals with diabetes. The company cites scientific research demonstrating stevia to be effective in helping the body reduce fat in addition to achieving and maintaining proper glucose balance.
Stevia is available in the U.S. market as ground leaves and as stevioside, a highly refined white powder for use without restriction by consumers in foods, beverages, cooking and baking. The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, incorporates stevia in its Diet Coke products in Canada and Japan.
Lo han kuo is another natural nonnutritive sweetener. Derived from a sweet gourd and about 200-250 times as sweet as table sugar, lo han kuo has been used in Asia for generations. At one calorie per gram, it provides a natural and ultra-low calorie sweetness in foods and is very stable under high temperature, thus suitable for cooking and baking. It is commonly mixed with xylitol. Xylitol itself is a flavorless nonnutritive sweetener ideal for foods and beverages. It is a polyol occurring naturally in many fruits and vegetables and is commercially produced by Danisco Sweeteners, Ardsley, N.Y.
The difficulty of replacing sucrose with a single substitute has prompted ingredient blenders such as Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. to develop application-specific blends. Cargill's Eridex natural nonnutritive sweetener erythritol is blended with dextrins to yield a virtually calorie-free (0.2Kcal/g) bulk sweetener for formulations. The blend is used commercially in Hershey's Sugar Free Pot of Gold Truffles and reduced-calorie, all natural Light Smoothies from Stonyfield Farm, Londonderry, N.H.
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