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Researchers have discovered two gene variants that raise the risk of the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. Using automated technology to perform genome-wide association studies on DNA from thousands of subjects, the study broadens understanding of how gene changes may make a child susceptible to this early childhood cancer, as well as causing a tumor to progress.
First study to link known cancer-related genes HACE1 and LIN28B to neuroblastoma
"We discovered common variants in the HACE1 and LIN28B genes that increase the risk of developing neuroblastoma. For LIN28B, these variants also appear to contribute to the tumor's progression once it forms," said first author Sharon J. Diskin, PhD, a pediatric cancer researcher at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "HACE1 and LIN28B are both known cancer-related genes, but this is the first study to link them to neuroblastoma."
Diskin and colleagues, including senior author John M. Maris, MD, director of the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Children's Hospital, published the study online Sept. 2 in Nature Genetics.
Striking the peripheral nervous system, neuroblastoma usually appears as a solid tumor in the chest or abdomen. It accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, and 10 to 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths.
Gene variants both initiate cancer and provoke its progression
The study team performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS), comparing DNA from 2,800 neuroblastoma patients with that of nearly 7,500 healthy children. They found two common gene variants associated with neuroblastoma, both in the 6q16 region of chromosome 6. One variant is within the HACE1 gene, the other in the LIN28B gene. They exert opposite effects: HACE1 functions as a tumor suppressor gene, hindering cancer, while LIN28B is an oncogene, driving cancer development.
The current study showed that low expression of HACE1, a tumor suppressor gene, and high expression of LIN28B, an oncogene, correlated with worse patient survival. To further investigate the gene's role, the researchers used genetic tools to decrease LIN28B's activity, and showed that this inhibited the growth of neuroblastoma cells in culture.
The new research builds on previous GWAS work by Children's Hospital investigators implicating other common gene variants as neuroblastoma oncogenes. As in the current study, these gene variants show a double-barreled effect, both initiating cancer and provoking its progression.
Study may suggest new therapies
"In addition to broadening our understanding of the heritable component of neuroblastoma susceptibility, we think this research may suggest new therapies," Diskin added. "Our follow-up studies will focus on how we may intervene on these genes' biological pathways to develop more effective treatments."
Notes about this neuroblastoma and brain cancer research
Financial support for this study came from the National Institutes of Health (grants CA124709, CA151869, HD026979, and CA136979), the Giulio D'Angio Endowed Chair, the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Andrew's Army Foundation, the PressOn Foundation, the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Fondazione Italiana per la Lotta al Neuroblastoma and Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, and the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Co-authors with Diskin and Maris included researchers from institutions in Naples, Rende and Rome, Italy.
In addition to their positions at Children's Hospital, both Diskin and Maris are on the faculty of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact: John Ascenzi – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Source: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia press release
Image Source: Neuroblastoma image adapted from image by Dr Laughlin Dawes (Radiopaedia) CC-BY-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Original Research: Abstract for "Common variation at 6q16 within HACE1 and LIN28B influence susceptibility to neuroblastoma" by Sharon J Diskin, Mario Capasso, Robert W Schnepp, Kristina A Cole, Edward F Attiyeh, Cuiping Hou, Maura Diamond, Erica L Carpenter, Cynthia Winter, Hanna Lee, Jayanti Jagannathan, Valeria Latorre, Achille Iolascon, Hakon Hakonarson, Marcella Devoto and John M Maris in Nature Genetics online 2 September 2012 doi:10.1038/ng.2387


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And Eating by Silly Food Rules
These resprouted purple kohlrabi plants are very, very safe.
Life is complicated. Something as basic as eating shouldn't be, but leave it to us humans to let this vital, natural act all but take over our lives. Even though most of us now have the luxury of hunting and gathering our food from the farmers' market and garden and grocery store rather than out in the wilds, we nevertheless think about it constantly. But instead of worrying whether we'll be able to take down a bison to feed us through the winter, our days are now dominated by smaller, more specific—and yet still often overwhelming But it's the often ridiculous rules and rationalizations we've come up with that really send us over the edge of edible obsession. You know, those little things that make perfect sense only because you've conveniently convinced yourself that they do. For instance, some people believe that calories don't actually count if you've snitched the food from someone else's plate. Or that a healthy breakfast can consist of an enormous Nitrate-fearing health nuts will gleefully wolf down a mile-long hot dog if they're sitting in a sports stadium, and people who would never allow a bag of refined sugar into their homes are routinely seen walking around carnivals with their faces buried in clouds of cotton candy. Some people are more practical, only consuming certain foods if they're in season, or setting spending limits and refusing to pay more than a dollar for a can of tuna or 89 cents for a bunch of parsley. Then there's the inordinate number of us who know that when it comes to eating, anything goes if you're on vacation.
Ever since I moved to the country and started planting an enormous But plunking down cash for so-so stuff that I have in great abundance at certain times of the year? Can't do it. In a moment of weakness last summer I forked over two dollars for a miniscule packet of fresh dill—which grows wild in my garden but never when the cucumbers are ready—and the stress almost killed me. I do, however, make a few exceptions for year round essentials that I grow but not well (or not enough of), such as Kohlrabi, from the German words kohl (cabbage) and rabi (turnip), is not actually a cabbage or a turnip. Cultivated in Europe since at least the mid 1500's, this cold loving member of the brassica (cabbage) family is low in calories, high in fiber, and a good source of several vitamins and minerals. Although kohlrabi has been grown the U.S. since at least the early 1800's, it still has yet to become very popular. Sweet and mildly flavored, kohlrabi can be braised, boiled, stuffed, sliced, scalloped, steamed, julienned, roasted, and sautéed. You can grate it into slaw, toss it into salads, slip it into soups and stews, snack on it raw with dip, and stir-fry it. You can even wrap it in foil and grill it. I've seen recipes where kohlrabi was covered in cream, sautéed with anchovies, stuffed into empanadas, fried into cakes, served with hollandaise sauce, and turned into a cinnamon brunch bake. This vegetable is versatile. (2011 Update: Farmgirl Fare readers offer up even more ideas for what to do with kohlrabi in the comments section of this post.) Unfortunately all of these cooks are wasting their time So what are your silly food rules? Come on, I won't tell anyone.
The beauty of vegetables is highly underrated.
Purple kohlrabi in my kitchen garden (read about growing kohlrabi here)
Kohlrabi Purée Recipe **Click here to print this recipe** The Silver Palate ladies, who are self-described kohlrabi fans, say that "kohlrabi, once tasted, can become an obsession, for it seems to exude freshness," and liken it to an almost peppery version of broccoli. They do include two other kohlrabi recipes besides this purée in Kohlrabi is usually available from May to December and comes in both white- (which is actually green) and purple-skinned varieties. The insides of both are white. Since my motto is, Why go with green if you can choose purple instead? I always grow the purple variety in my Look for kohlrabi bulbs that are about 2½ inches in diameter. Any larger and the skin may toughen and need to be peeled, and the insides can be woody. Freshly picked kohlrabi will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. You'll need both the bulb and the leaves for this recipe, which is where my problem comes in. By the time the bulbs have formed on the plants, insects have usually ravaged the leaves. They'll grow back if given the chance, as you can see in the top photo of these old plants I discovered buried under weeds last fall, but by then the bulbs will no longer be edible. Fortunately the young leaves are wonderful in salads. This spring all the leaves remained untouched, but most of the plants never formed bulbs. Apparently this cool season vegetable doesn't care for our drastic late winter and early spring temperature fluctuations. But I did manage to harvest kohlrabi enough to make one batch of this glorious purée. You can read more about my experiences growing kohlrabi (with other gardeners chiming in in the comments section) here. If you don't have any kohlrabi leaves, kale would probably make a good substitute. Kohlrabi plants are beautiful. Kohlrabi purée is not, which is why I haven't included a photo. This is actually a good thing, because if you believe that guests should only be served food that is pleasing to look at, you can save this recipe for a time when you only need to feed yourself. Rosso and Lukins suggest serving kohlrabi purée alongside your favorite meatloaf instead of mashed potatoes, but I turned it into a main course and managed to devour an embarrassingly large amount while standing in the kitchen. I've adapted the recipe slightly, mostly because I'm not the type of person who ever has 3 Tablespoons of chicken stock hanging around in the fridge. The mushrooms add a nice flavor, but I've left them out before, and the purée still tasted delicious. 4 kohlrabi bulbs with leaves 1. Trim the kohlrabi bulbs, peeling them if the skins seem tough. Rinse the leaves (discarding any that are yellow) pat them dry, and coarsely chop. Set aside. But the bulbs into 1-inch chunks. 2. Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil, and add the kohlrabi chunks. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, another 1 to 2 minutes. Don't let the garlic brown. 4. Add the mushrooms and the reserved kohlrabi leaves to the skillet. Cover, and cook 5 minutes. Then uncover, and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated, 3 minutes. Set the skillet aside. 5. Drain the kohlrabi chunks and place them in the bowl of a food processor (I love my 6. Transfer the purée to a saucepan and reheat over low heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 6 portions. (I love that they don't actually say it will 'serve' six people, but that it does indeed make six portions.) Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index. © FarmgirlFare.com, the fresh veggie foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres
Serves up to six
Adapted slightly from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins (authors of The Silver Palate Cookbook)
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces cultivated mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas), quartered
3 Tablespoons cream (or milk, chicken stock, olive oil, or water)
Salt and pepper to taste

subset: commoncrawl


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By: JESSE WASHINGTON - Associated Press national writer January 21, 2013 "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This sentence spoken by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been quoted countless times as expressing one of America's bedrock values, its language almost sounding like a constitutional amendment on equality. Yet today, 50 years after King shared this vision during his most famous speech, there is considerable disagreement over what it means. The quote is used to support opposing views on politics, affirmative action and programs intended to help the disadvantaged. Just as the words of the nation's founders are parsed for modern meanings on guns and abortion, so are King's words used in debates over the proper place of race in America. As we mark the King holiday, what might he ask of us in a time when both the president and a disproportionate number of people in poverty are black? Would King have wanted us to completely ignore race in a "color-blind" society? To consider race as one of many factors about a person? And how do we discern character? Martin Luther King III beside his father's bust For at least two of King's children, the future envisioned by the father has yet to arrive. "I don't think we can ignore race," says Martin Luther King III. "What my father is asking is to create the climate where every American can realize his or her dreams," he says. "Now what does that mean when you have 50 million people living in poverty?" Bernice King mirrors her father iconic pose Bernice King doubts her father would seek to ignore differences. "When he talked about the beloved community, he talked about everyone bringing their gifts, their talents, their cultural experiences," she says. "We live in a society where we may have differences, of course, but we learn to celebrate these differences." The meaning of King's monumental quote is more complex today than in 1963 because "the unconscious signals have changed," says the historian Taylor Branch, author of the acclaimed trilogy "America in the King Years." Fifty years ago, bigotry was widely accepted. Today, Branch says, even though prejudice is widely denounced, many people unconsciously pre-judge others. "Unfortunately race in American history has been one area in which Americans kid themselves and pretend to be fair-minded when they really are not," says Branch, whose new book is "The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement." Branch believes that today, King would ask people of all backgrounds — not just whites — to deepen their patriotism by leaving their comfort zones, reaching across barriers and learning about different people. "To remember that we all have to stretch ourselves to build the ties that bind a democracy, which really is the source of our strength," Branch says. Bernice King says her father is asking us "to get to a place — we're obviously not there — but to get to a place where the first thing that we utilize as a measurement is not someone's external designation, but it really is trying to look beyond that into the substance of a person in making certain decisions, to rid ourselves of those kinds of prejudices and biases that we often bring to decisions that we make." That takes a lot of "psychological work," she says, adding, "He's really challenging us." For many conservatives, the modern meaning of King's quote is clear: Special consideration for one racial or ethnic group is a violation of the dream. The quote is like the Declaration of Independence, says Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank that studies race and ethnicity. In years past, he says, America may have needed to grow into the words, but today they must be obeyed to the letter. "The Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal," Clegg says. "Nobody thinks it doesn't really mean what it says because Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. King gave a brilliant and moving quotation, and I think it says we should not be treating people differently on the basis of skin color." Many others agree. King's quote has become a staple of conservative belief that "judged by the color of their skin" includes things such as unique appeals to certain voter groups, reserving government contracts for Hispanic-owned businesses, seeking more non-white corporate executives, or admitting black students to college with lower test scores. In the latest issue of the Weekly Standard magazine, the quote appears in the lead of a book review titled "The Price Was High: Affirmative Action and the Betrayal of a Colorblind Society." Considering race as a factor in affirmative action keeps the wounds of slavery and Jim Crow "sore and festering. It encourages beneficiaries to rely on ethnicity rather than self-improvement to get ahead," wrote the author, George Leef. Last week, the RightWingNews.com blog included "The idea that everyone should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin" in a list of "25 People, Places and Things Liberals Love to Hate." "Conservatives feel they have embraced that quote completely. They are the embodiment of that quote but get no credit for doing it," said the author of the article, John Hawkins. "Liberals like the idea of the quote because it's the most famous thing Martin Luther King said, but they left the principles behind the quote behind a long time ago." In October, after black actress Stacey Dash was attacked for switching her support from President Barack Obama to Mitt Romney, she said she chose Romney "not by the color of his skin but the content of his character." Clegg acknowledges that it can be difficult today for some people to resist jumping to conclusions based on skin color. He says past discrimination resulted in fewer opportunities for African-Americans, which increased poverty, unemployment, and other social pathologies in the black community. "Then white people say, what did we tell you, that's the way these people are," Clegg says. "It's wrong, people shouldn't do it, but it's going to happen." Yet as we discipline ourselves not to pre-judge African-Americans, Clegg says, we cannot forget that King asked us to judge character. That means taking actions such as reducing the high rate of black children born to unmarried parents and placing more value on education, he says. "I don't think King would neglect the 'content of their character' side today," he says. "You have to break the vicious cycle from both ends. People have to do their best not to use stereotypes, but at the same time, people have to not live up to them." Some doubt we will ever be able to ignore what a person looks like. "To ignore color is to ignore reality," says Lewis Baldwin, an Alabama native who marched in the civil rights movement and now teaches courses on King at Vanderbilt University. "Dr. King understood that we all see we are different. You accept color differences, affirm them, celebrate them, but don't allow them to become a barrier to human community," said Baldwin, author of a new King book, "In A Single Garment of Destiny: A Global Vision of Justice." Yet Martin Luther King III believes that one day we will be able to live every word of his father's dream. "I think my father's vision was that we should at some point have a colorblind society," he says. "He always was challenging us to be the best nation we could be." Leave a Reply. |
April 2018
Jude's Korean adventures
Alcohol in South Korea All bars and local night establishments are filled to the brim with things you have seen in all other places like Jack Daniels and Jagermeister. However you may spy a little green bottle with Korean writing on it and you may ask what is that? It's called Soju, my friends or 소주 for the Hangil inclined (Korean Language). Soju is a spirit primarily made from rice, barley, potatoes or tapioca and has an average alcohol content of 20% ABV however there are some brands of Andong Soju that are upward of 45% ABV. None the less, they will both get the job done. Soju has a taste very similar to vodka but it is slightly sweeter and easier to consume by itself. Now we get to the matter of cost and availability; however rest assured the answer will be qiute positive. Soju is available all over South Korea from the local convenience store for 1,000 Won = roughly $1 or in a restaurant for 3,000 Won =$3. So these adult treats certainly won't set you back any considerable amount. It alco mixes quite well with beer, cider, and energy drinks. Soju has been around since the 13th century and shows no signs of going anywhere anytime soon. So when you get the chance come on down to the Republic of South Korea and have a shot of deliciousness. Jude Falcon |


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Goods Manufacturer |
Every once in a while, the human spirit is gripped by such intense passion and commitment that it changes the course of history. Such was the case with Kathleen Long and Lady Dowding, whose love and concern for animals altered the course of cosmetic history forever. What began as the philosophy of one small company eventually effected every major cosmetic house worldwide and set a new standard for consumers and manufacturers alike. In 1963, Beauty Without Cruelty was founded in England by the trustees of BWC Charitable Trust, an animal welfare organization. Its goal was to manufacture and distribute natural, color cosmetics that were NOT tested on animals (as was the norm) and did NOT contain any animal ingredients. The driving force behind the project was Katherine Long, a dedicated, life-long animal welfare activist, a cosmetician, and a vegetarian. Together with Noel Gabriel, Katherine developed the first, full line of cruelty-free color cosmetics. After Katherine's death in 1969, Beauty Without Cruelty almost closed its doors but Lady Dowding, a founding trustee, was determined to keep the company and its purpose alive. Lady Dowding, a warm, open-hearted person, was a charismatic leader and BWC continued to grow and influence others. In 1978, after tireless efforts, Lady Dowding appointed Joseph Piccioni as managing director of BWC. Joseph had considerable business experience and was dedicated to animal rights. He contributed his expertise, vision, and personal assets to develop BWC into one of the most sought-after cosmetic brands in Great Britain. In 1989, Beauty Without Cruelty was introduced in the United States. Based on the principles of high quality, fair pricing, and environmental sensitivity, BWC cosmetics quickly became one of the industry's leading brands. Later that year, a natural skin care line was developed to compliment the color line from England. Its cruelty-free, vegetarian ethic was embraced by American consumers making it one of the most respected and recognized lines in the marketplace. Today, Beauty Without Cruelty has a full line of cruelty-free, vegetarian skin, body, and hair care products made with the finest natural ingredients and aroma-therapeutic essential oils, and a full line of colour cosmetics to meet the needs of every woman.


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Web Writing is a distinctive task
Written content for a website is unique. While an article in a magazine or on the TV has to battle to appeal to an audience both with words and visually, a website needs to go one step further and appeal to a Search Engine. And Search Engines don't care for pictures, or flashy effects. Nor do they worry about proper grammar, metaphors or other elegant ways to express your message. If a website doesn't use keywords, a Search Engine won't be engaged. But neither can you create a whole page that reads as linking keywords. You need to try and engage a delicate balance between what is logical and engaging to a reader, and what is logical to the Search Engine.
For example, it would make absolutely no sense to have this website's content stuffed full of terms just as SEO company Albury, online marketing company Albury, digital agency Albury, online marketing Alburyand AdWords management company Albury. The aim is to balance these keywords naturally through the content so that it remains engaging, logical and readable.
This is the Key to SEO Copywriting.
3 Second Rule
On average, a person will decide whether your webpage interests them in the first 3 seconds. To attract them to stay for longer than this, you will need to have a compelling headline, content and imagery to draw them in.
There are key techniques that we implement that are tried and tested to best draw someone's attention to the content of a page, and to engage further. Commonly known as "eye stoppers" or "pause points" the intention is obvious, that you want the reader to stop and think about the content and stop thinking about pressing the "back button" to leave.
Meaningful connections
So, now that you have the keywords to lure the Search Engines, and the Eye stoppers to catch a customer's attention, you need to push them further into your site. There's no benefit to having a visitor to your site if they don't engage with the services you are providing.
For the most part, if SEO is done properly you should be having your Keyword profile focusing on a variety of 'Money Keywords' so you can draw in the sort of customer that intends to engage with you further, but most of the time you won't be that lucky. This means you have to have a site that encourages interest, debate, exploration and intrigue in what you have to say and offer.
Tell the people why they should engage with you and your brand, what makes you special, and why you deserve their business. You don't need content that will win a Pulitzer (although it couldn't hurt) but all you really need to do is present more than just the facts, and justify why they should engage with you and feel good about doing so.
Think Beyond the Homepage
It is an interesting idea, but the majority of the time, a well-optimised website will have its predominate traffic enter the site through a secondary page, rather than the home page. This is because it is about more than just one page, but the site as a whole. Each has the potential to have its own attractions and keywords to bring in more visitors and increase your visibility to interested parties.
We provide this service to try and create an overall strategy for your websites content, but also allow each page to develop to its greatest potential to allow for subcategories and themes. A search engine will utilise its ability to detect overall themes through the language used, and when you broaden the potential, you are likely to be able to fall under 5 or 6 areas, rather than just the 1 theme of your home page.
Our Copywriting Services
Similarly to how any of our SEO services begin with an audit, our copywriting begins with discussing your intentions and how our skills and knowledge can best bring this to life. From this we create a Client Content Report which will formulate a strategy for how best to incorporate all of our visions into a joint masterpiece.
Once thorough research has been conducted, so that we are confident we understand what currently exists in your market, only then will we start writing and creating the physical content for you. The process includes a review after a few pages to confirm that you are satisfied with the progress.
SEO fits logically
Once the content is streamlined with your SEO aims, it all flows happily. The SEO considerations allow for keywords and linking profiles to optimise your visibility to a Search Engine and your content engages with your visitors. By engaging with a SEO company for content considerations you can make sure you have an optimal balance of both worlds, and appeal to buyers and search Engines.
SEO WordSmith Plans
The written content of any site is always a subjective task, it depends upon many factors – the content needed, the market to be aimed at, the sheer quantity of what needs to be produced and more – and as such we have SEO WordSmith Plans. These plans are inclusive and flexible depending upon the circumstances of the project, and are developed to provide you with the best possible Return On Investment (ROI) for the content you need created.
The whole process is run by our Web Copywriter Team, each a professional in their own fields ranging from qualified journalists to online feature writers. They are all carefully selected for each project based upon their specific skill sets and ability to apply language to effect an optimal result.
If you are interested in finding out more about our SEO WordSmith Plans, contact us today.


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In 2011, cross-border trade reached a value of around US$18.2trillion. Most of this activity—80 to 90 percent—was settled onopen account terms, meaning that the buyer received the shipmentbefore paying the seller. Open account trade has clear benefits forbuyers of goods, but it puts sellers at some risk that the buyermight not pay. This can be especially troublesome when a companyfirst begins selling to a new buyer in an unfamiliar region of theworld. The traditional method for mitigating counterparty risk insuch a situation is the letter of credit (L/C), a paper documentissued by a bank that assures payment once the bank receivesdocumentation that the shipment has fully met the contractterms.
|Now companies have access to a new instrument. The bank paymentobligation (BPO) functions like a traditional letter of creditinstrument that supports a commercial open account trade payment.It transfers buyer risk to an obligor bank in the same way that anL/C does, but it does so much more efficiently because fulfillmentof a BPO involves the digital exchange and matching of data in ISO20022 XML format.
|So far, around 50 banks have signed up to support BPOs, andthose banks cover approximately 75 percent of the trade flows thatpass through the global banking system. That number should continueto climb. In April, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)approved the Uniform Rules for Bank Payment Obligations (URBPO),the bank-to-bank rules governing use of the new instrument; therules went into effect at the beginning of July.
|The rules can be incorporated on a bilateral basis into anytransaction flow. But for now, SWIFT's Trade Services Utility (TSU) is the standard data matchingengine used for BPO transactions, largely because having a neutralthird party match the data helps build confidence in theinstrument.
|Although it will take many years for the BPO to become aswell-established and widely used as the L/C, companies arebeginning to test the waters. Early adopters include BP Chemicals,which has been using BPOs for more than a year, and Japanesedepartment store chain Ito-Yokado, which uses BPOs to supportimports from its Chinese suppliers. By mitigating key risks withintrading relationships, BPOs have the capacity to become animportant component in a company's supply chain managementstrategy.
|How Does a BPO Work?
|A BPO is born when the buyer in a transaction asks its bank tocreate an open account payment instrument with a bank paymentobligation. The buyer submits to its bank information about theorder, such as quantity, unit cost, port of departure, port ofarrival, payment terms, and International Commercial terms(Incoterms). The buyer's bank then uploads this information to theSWIFT TSU, which in turn passes the information to the seller'sbank for checking. When the seller's bank accepts the data, the"baseline" for the BPO is established, and the buyer's bankguarantees that it will pay the seller's bank as long as the sellerships the merchandise in accordance with the terms of theagreement.
|Once the seller has shipped the goods, its bank uploads theshipping and logistics data (e.g., bill of lading, airway bill) tothe TSU to be checked against the baseline. As long as the datamatches, the buyer's bank is required to settle the invoice withthe seller's bank on the due date.
|So if Company B orders 100 cartons of blueT-shirts and requests a BPO for the transaction, its bank willupload the transaction's purchase order information to the SWIFTTSU. Then the seller—say, Company S—will have its bank uploadinvoice data, which should describe the manufacture and shipping of100 cartons of blue T-shirts. The TSU will match the purchase orderdata with the invoice data. If the quantity, price, shipping terms,port of departure, etc. all match, then the bank for Company B isobligated to pay the bank for Company S. This is similar to thetransaction-data matching that happens regularly in enterpriseresource planning (ERP) and treasury management systems, but it'sperformed by an independent third party, and the BPO addsassurances of payment from the buyer's bank.
|The Value Proposition
|Bank payment obligations offer substantial benefits for bothsellers and buyers. For the seller, the BPO mitigates non-paymentrisk by substituting bank counterparty risk for buyer counterpartyrisk. Perhaps more importantly, a BPO effectively separates therisk of non-payment from the seller's ability to finance itsreceivables. Once the baseline for the BPO is established and thebuyer's bank is unconditionally obligated to pay, the seller may beable to obtain pre-shipment financing.
|From the buyer's point of view, a BPO offers the opportunity tonegotiate better contract terms because the supplier has betteraccess to financing. A buyer that is larger than its suppliers, orthat has a better credit rating, can use BPOs to leverage its lowercost of capital upstream for strategic suppliers. In return, thebuyer may request extended payment terms or a reduction in the costof goods. BPOs can also be helpful when a particular buyer exceedsthe internal credit limit that it has been granted by the seller.The seller can use a BPO to diversify its exposure away from thatbuyer in favor of the buyer's bank.
|For both parties, the BPO removes many of the time-consumingactivities involved in matching paper invoices and the paymentdelays associated with document discrepancies. Moreover, becausedata from both buyer and seller is available in the standardizedISO 20022 format, the parties can upload it to their treasury orERP systems and mine it for insights into their overall financialsupply chain activities.
||BPOs in Context
|How does the BPO compare with existing tools and techniques? Interms of their risk mitigation benefits, BPOs are most comparableto letters of credit. In both cases, the buyer's bank guaranteespayment as long as certain conditions are met and documented.However, the BPO is not simply an electronic L/C. For one thing,the BPO is a straightforward bank-to-bank arrangement in which theseller's bank—and not the seller itself—is the beneficiary. Assuch, the two-party BPO is simpler and more insulated from theunderlying transaction than a traditional L/C, in which the issuingbank, the advising bank, and the beneficiary are allparties.
|In addition, because the trigger to payment with a BPO is thepresentation of XML data, rather than the exchange of paper-baseddocumentation such as invoices and bills of lading, there is farless friction in the process. This means that although the BPOprovides many of the same features as an L/C, it costs less andbehaves quite differently. Cycle times are much faster and muchmore predictable, so a buyer can issue a BPO much closer to theshipment date—say, two days before shipment instead of 30 to 60days out. The seller still gets the risk protection it wants beforeshipping the order, but the buyer doesn't have to tie up its linesof credit for months to account for the inefficiencies of the100-year-old L/C process. Ultimately, a BPO enables both parties tomanage working capital much more precisely than does a letter ofcredit.
|Although the BPO may be used as an L/C substitute, it wasdesigned to be an alternative to other open account risk mitigationand financing tools, such as credit insurance and factoring. Onekey difference from either of these options is that a BPO istransactional, meaning it can be used on a shipment-by-shipmentbasis, while credit insurance and factoring are portfolio-based andtypically do not offer sellers the ability to select particulartransactions for protection.
|Another important differentiator between BPOs and creditinsurance is that the latter does not help with liquidity or supplychain financing. Credit insurance may be a good solution for purerisk mitigation, but even then, it is a secondary source ofrepayment for the company selling the goods. The seller first hasto seek payment from the buyer and then, if the buyer doesn't pay,the seller has to go through the claims process, which can becumbersome and time-consuming.
|Factoring, or selling an accounts receivable portfolio, ispopular with exporters, and it can make sense when a company has aportfolio of transactions that are small and repetitious. However,factoring businesses often want to take over servicing the seller'saccounts receivable ledger, which an exporter may find intrusive,while BPO servicing is done by the exporter. Companies with morebig-ticket, episodic receivables may find BPOs to be a morecost-effective and efficient solution than factoring.
Building a Business Case for 21st-Century TradeSettlement
|It takes two to tango in any kind of trade transaction, andlocal banks in emerging markets may have never heard of a bankpayment obligation. Nevertheless, for companies that engage inlarge transactions in far-flung regions of the world, now is a goodtime to look into this option.
|Before an organization can encouragetrading partners to adopt BPOs, however, it needs to build internalconsensus around the idea. This is not an insignificant challenge.People in the company's procurement, treasury, finance, andlogistics departments will all have different perspectives on whatis important when it comes to trade instruments. For example,procurement and logistics usually focus on getting the right goodsto the right place at the right time, whereas treasury's prioritymay be to avoid the ballooning of the balance sheet by offeringbuyers generous terms to close deals. To overcome varying andsometimes contradictory priorities, everyone in the organizationhas to recognize BPOs' benefits for their particular function.
|At the same time, companies looking to use BPOs may facetactical hurdles in areas such as obtaining IT support in creatingand deploying the XML message schemas for exchanging data withbanks. Many companies overcome this type of challenge by engaging aC-level executive in the process, someone who is capable of makingsupply chain decisions (both operational and financial) through anenterprise lens, rather than at the line-of-business or functionallevel. Quite often, this executive reports to the CEO, reflectingthe fact that supply chain optimization is seen as a major sourceof competitive advantage.
|Finally, companies wanting to move forward with BPOs need tomake sure that their bank not only has the necessary capabilitiesnow, but also has made a long-term commitment to supporting thisnew instrument. The bank needs to have a global network and deepexpertise in trade finance.
|As companies build a business case for using BPOs, they need toclearly articulate the overall benefits they hope to achieve. Goalsmay relate to risk mitigation, financing, and visibility. Companiescan measure BPOs' success by evaluating changes in their usage oflines of credit—in other words, whether they're using less creditor turning it over faster. They can look at working capital metrics such as days payables outstanding(DPO), days inventory outstanding (DIO), and days sales outstanding(DSO). And they can evaluate the degree to which administrativecosts fall and cycle times accelerate.
|The BPO has much to offer counterparties currently trading onopen account terms. Although the tool is just starting to gainmomentum, early adopters are already reaping the benefits.Incorporating a bank guarantee into existing open account trade maybe well worth the disruption to established business practices.Because it draws on database technologies and global standards,this new instrument has the potential to benefit all parties in atrade transaction—and to bring trade settlement into the 21stcentury.
|Paul Johnson is thesenior product manager, global trade and supply chain, withBank of America Merrill Lynch. His primaryresponsibilities include development and rollout of new trade andsupply chain programs, product management and globalsales/marketing support, structuring unique trade transactions,training, and working with risk management and compliance.
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62 Seconds of People Having Trouble Rollerblading
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If you tried to post a status update on Facebook or "like" someone else's Monday morning, you probably got a message like this:
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You are not alone. The Miami Herald reports:
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"Some users are seeing a 'temporary disruption of service' warning.
" 'Servers are down,' one user posted on Twitter.
" 'So, it's not just me,' posted another."
The site "Downrightnow" said, indeed (as of 10:40 a.m. ET) that Facebook was having some problems.
And here's an example of the sort of reaction trending on the rival Twitter under the hashtags #GetWellSoonFacebook and #RIPFacebook:
The Two-Way has reached out to Facebook for comment, but we haven't heard back yet.
Update At 11:50 a.m. ET. Facebook: 'Now Back To 100%'
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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Ashley Lopez
Ashley Lopez is a reporter for WGCU
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Previously, Lopez was a reporter for Miami's NPR member station,
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SI Swimsuit Supermodels on the red carpet
Kate Upton attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit On Location party at Marquee Nightclub on February 13, 2013 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Al Powers/Powers Imagery/Invision/AP)
Kate Upton is everywhere these days, so we weren't too surprised that SI picked her for their swimsuit issue cover . . . again. Of course that cover image she's holding up is pretty impressive.
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Other models on the red carpet were Cintia Dicker, Jessica Gomes, Julie Henderson, Ariel Meredith, Genevieve Morton, Jessica Perez, Chrissy Teigen, Anne V, Adaora and Nina Agdal as they celebrated the 50th edition of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue at Marquee Nightclub, with many of them wearing Forevermark Diamonds to the event. Check out some of the pics from the event in the slideshow above.
Photo Credit: Al Powers, Powers Imagery
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Tags: 50th edition SI swimsuit, Adaora, Anne V, Ariel Meredith, Brent Musberger, celebrities, Chrissy Teigen, Cintia Dicker, Forevermark Diamonds, Genevieve Morton, Jessica Gomes, Jessica Perez, Julie Henderson, Kate Upton, Katherine Webb, Marquee nightclub, Nina Agdal, red carpet, red carpet celebrities, red carpet dresses, SI swimsuit issue, supermodels


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A reader pointed us to a forum discussion at a website called CycleChat.net regarding infrastructure for bicycles. A poster on the forum named Tommi published a post about the positive aspects of implementing bicycle infrastructure. He did so, we gather, as a counter to the tiresome rants of members of cycling's secret sect who continue to oppose infrastructure for bicycles because it interferes with their testosterone thrill of 'running with the bulls'.
We thought it highly appropriate to republish Tommi's search results here on Copenhagenize.com. They deserve a wider audience. This is on the same day that David Suzuki published this piece calling for infrastructure.
Here's what the post at CycleChat.net looked like: Well, I did some digging and it seems Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Wales, as well as UK and US and OECD believe cycling infrastructure (cycle lanes and cycle tracks) increases cycling and/or safety enough to recommend investing in it. (I didn't even try counting the authors.) Few observations that caught my interest about the studies regarding cycling infrastructure: - support is continuous (1987-present) - support is global - support is published in credible publications As I don't have the energy or real interest in looking for the counterclaims (I'm sure someone can provide them) I'll just make few similar observations though with less material backing it up: - opposition is outdated ("cycle lanes/tracks are worthless/dangerous conclusions stop at around year 2000, except in UK") - opposition is localised (only in UK/US) - opposition is published in random web pages Much of the rest of the world including quite a bunch of (presumably) smart people seem to have come to the conclusion cycle lanes and cycle tracks are very much worth every penny. Comparing the credibility between the camps I can't say I'm surprised. I firmly believe separated infrastructure is a fundamental part of a functional cycling environment and there's plenty of research to support that theory. But if cycle lanes and cycle tracks really are as useless and dangerous as some try to claim then you should have no trouble proving with abundant research how omitting infrastructure leads to even more and safer cycling. I'm looking forward to the research proving how the rest of the world is wrong. ………………….. Sweden: "In mixed traffic, the risk per cyclist seemed to decrease with an increased number of cyclists; on a cycle track, the risk seemed independent of the bicycle volume. However, for left-turning cyclists, the picture was totally different; cyclists on the carriageway face a 4 times higher accident risk than cyclists on separate cycle tracks. Linderholm finally suggested that cyclists should be moved onto the carriageway some 30 metres before the intersection, but that if left-turning cyclists exceeded 20 per cent of cyclists going straight ahead, it was preferable to build a cycle track across the intersection." Denmark, improved cycle track design: "At all junctions, the number of serious conflicts was reduced from the before to the after period. Behavioural studies showed that the modified junctions had changed the interaction between cyclists and motorists in a way that appeared to promote traffic safety." Two-way cycle tracks: "Ekman and Kronborg (1995) produced a report based on an international literature review, and interviews with experts from Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The conclusion was that one bi-directional cycle track was cheaper to build than two one-way tracks, one on each side of the road, but that bi-directional tracks were, however, less safe for cyclists, since it made merging with car traffic before the stop line at a junction impossible." Denmark: "They concluded that cycle lanes and cycle tracks were safer than no cycle facilities between junctions. There were however problems with parked cars on cycle lanes. It was recommended that separate cycle tracks should be built on road links when the volume of motorised traffic was high and when speeds were also high." Denmark: "ensure acceptable safety levels: This is best achieved by constructing, wherever possible, segregated paths, designed in such a way as to encourage their use by cyclists."
Anon, 1998. Safety of vulnerable road users. In PROGRAMME OF CO-OPERATION IN THE FIELD OF RESEARCH ON ROAD TRANSPORT AND INTERMODAL LINKAGES. OECD, pp. 1-229.
"High quality, integrated bicycle routes (on and off road) should be provided to meet the challenge of increasing Australia's participation in active travel and recreation."Bauman, A. et al., 2008. Cycling: Getting Australia Moving: Barriers, Facilitators and Interventions to Get More Australian Physically Active Through Cycling, Dept. of Health and Ageing.
Costa Rica: "new infrastructure is being put in place to protect vulnerable road users, including [...] cycle tracks" "The creation of networks of connected and convenient pedestrian and cyclist routes, together with the provision of public transport, can lead to greater safety for vulnerable road users. The routes will typically consist of footpaths or cycle paths separate from any carriageway, pedestrian-only areas with or without cyclists being admitted, footpaths or cycle tracks alongside carriageways, and carriageways or other surfaces shared with motor vehicles." Denmark: "Bicycle paths have also been shown to be effective in reducing crashes, particularly at junctions. Danish studies have found reductions of 35% in cyclist casualties on particular routes, following the construction of cycle tracks or lanes alongside urban roads."Cameron, M., 2004. World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. Injury Prevention, 10(4), pp.255-256.
"This review has shown that cost-benefit analyses of cycling and walking infrastructure generally produce positive benefit-cost ratios (BCRs). Although these should be treated with caution due to the diverse methods used, it can be concluded that eight authors produced sixteen benefit-cost BCRs for various cycling/walking projects, and only one was negative (Figure 1). The BCRs were also of an impressive magnitude: the median BCR was 5:1, which is far higher than BCRs that are routinely used in transport infrastructure planning."Cavill, N. et al., 2008. Economic analyses of transport infrastructure and policies including health effects related to cycling and walking: A systematic review. Transport Policy, 15(5), pp.291-304.
"The available research results indicate that roundabouts with separated cycle lanes are safer than roundabouts with mixed traffic or roundabouts with adjacent cycle lanes."Daniels, S. & Wets, G., 2005. Traffic Safety Effects of Roundabouts: A review with emphasis on bicyclist's safety. In 18th ICTCT workshop. pp. 1-12.
"This review assesses the evidence base from both peer reviewed and grey literature both in the UK and beyond. Almost all of the studies identified report economic benefits of walking and cycling interventions which are highly significant. The median result for all data identified is 13:1 and for UK data alone the median figure is higher, at 19:1."Davis, A., 2010. Value for Money: An Economic Assessment of Investment in Walking and Cycling, Department of Health South West.
"The first part of that environment is bicycle infrastructure that addresses people's concern about safety from motor vehicles. In Portland, this includes a network of bike lanes, paths, and boulevards." "Finally, the role of bike lanes should not be dismissed in planning for a bicycle-friendly community. A disproportionate share of the bicycling occurs on streets with bike lanes, indicating their value to bicyclists."Dill, J., 2009. Bicycling for transportation and health: the role of infrastructure. Journal of public health policy, 30 Suppl 1(1), pp.S95-110.
"Higher levels of bicycle infrastructure are positively and significantly correlated with higher rates of bicycle commuting."Dill, J. & Carr, T., 2003. Bicycle Commuting and Facilities in Major U.S. Cities: If You Build Them, Commuters Will Use Them. Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1828(1), pp.116-123.
"The estimated change in demand is relatively small: an increase in persons cycling from 11.6% to 14.2% (strict level) and to 20.9% (tolerant level) for all the regular trips, and from 6.0% to 8.3% and to 14.3%, respectively, for commuting."Foltýnová, H. & Braun Kohlová, M., 2007. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE : A CASE STUDY OF PILSEN.
"Improved cycling infrastructure in the form of bicycle paths and lanes that provide a high degree of separation from motor traffic is likely to be important for increasing transportation cycling amongst under-represented population groups such as women."Garrard, J., Rose, G. & Lo, S.K., 2008. Promoting transportation cycling for women: the role of bicycle infrastructure. Preventive Medicine, 46(1), pp.55-59.
"The assumptions in this analysis suggest that the basic plan will benefit most strongly from earlier investments that built the base for a functioning network of bicycle facilities, yielding roughly 4 times the amount of bicycle miles traveled per invested dollar, compared with past investments. The 80% plan yields about twice as much"Gotschi, T., 2011. Costs and benefits of bicycling investments in Portland, Oregon. Journal of physical activity & health, 8 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), pp.S49-58.
"Overall, there is internal consistency in the changes of safety and traffic volumes, which indicate causality, and the causal direction seems clear." "The magnitude of the changes in traffic volumes on the reconstructed streets, and the traffic volumes on parallel streets, however, do indicate that thousands of travelers in total must have changed their choice of transport mode." "The construction of bicycle tracks resulted in a 20 percent increase in bicycle/moped traffic mileage and a decrease of 10 percent in motor vehicle traffic mileage on those roads, where bicycle tracks have been constructed."Jensen, S.U., 2008. Bicycle tracks and lanes: A before-after study. Transportation Research Board 87th, (August).
"The conclusion is that the safety benefit of cycle lanes are very good except at some priority junctions located alongside the cycle lane. This study therefore show that focus shall be put on the priority junctions when establishing cycle lanes. The Danish Road Directorate have as a result of that started a new project with main emphasis on cyclist safety at priority junctions." (Author: Flaw in cycle lane design found in 1997. Please point me to a more recent report showing how dangerous Danish infrastructure is.)Jensen, S.U., Andersen, K.V. & Nielsen, E.D., 1997. Junctions and cyclists. In Velo-City. Barcelona, pp. 275-278.
"The construction of cycle tracks in Copenhagen has resulted in an increase in cycle traffic of 18-20%" "Taken in combination, the cycle tracks and lanes which have been constructed have had positive results as far as traffic volumes and feelings of security go. They have however, had negative effects on road safety. The radical effects on traffic volumes resulting from the construction of cycle tracks will undoubtedly result in gains in health from increased physical activity. These gains are much, much greater than the losses in health resulting from a slight decline in road safety." "The cycle tracks (kerb between drive lane and cycle track, and kerb between sidewalk and cycle track) increase cycling by 18-20%, whereas cycle lanes (only a 30 cm wide white marking to drive lane) increase cycling by 5-7%" "I do know that it will lead to better safety for the bicyclists." "While the bike lanes do not seem to have an effect one way or the other, if someone tried to use Soren's study to "prove" that an increase in cycle tracks increased accidents by 9%, they'd be guilty of cherry picking the numbers. The accident rate may have increased by 9%, but the number of bicyclists increased by 18-20%." "To to sum up, individual accident rates dropped when bicycle infrastructure was added, and taking that a step further, Soren's follow-up correspondence recommends that if Dallas added cycle tracks, ridership would be "much higher", and "that it will lead to better safety for the bicyclists." He even recommends maintaining parking on streets to further decrease accident rates."Jensen, S.U., Rosenkilde, C. & Jensen, N., 2007. Road safety and perceived risk of cycle facilities in Copenhagen. Presentation to AGM of European Cyclists Federation, pp.1-9.
"Consequently, in most cities with cycling facilities, there are many discontinuities where the path or lane simply ends abruptly. These discontinuities are partly the result of a logical inversion: it has long been standard practice to consider existing road infrastructure as the main network for cycling and the cycling facilities as the supplement to avoid conflicts. Rather, creating a complete network of cycling facilities where they are needed, supplemented by "shared streets" where they are not, should become the standard."Larsen, J. & El-Geneidy, A., 2010. Build it, but where? The Use of Geographic Information Systems in Identifying Optimal Location for New Cycling Infrastructure. In Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting. p. 16.
What is already known on this subject • Individuals, in particular women, children, and seniors, prefer to bicycle separated from motor traffic. • Cycle tracks (physically-separated bicycle-exclusive paths along roads) exist and continue to be built in The Netherlands where 27% of all trips are by bicycle and 55% of bicycle riders are female. • Engineering guidance in the United States has discouraged bicycle facilities that resemble cycle tracks, including parallel sidepaths and sidewalk bikeways, suggesting that these facilities and cycle tracks are more dangerous than bicycling in the street. What this study adds • Overall, 2 ½ times as many cyclists rode on the cycle tracks compared with the reference streets. • There were 8.5 injuries and 10.5 crashes per million-bicycle kilometers respectively on cycle tracks compared to published injury rates ranging from 3.75 to 67 for bicycling on streets. The relative risk of injury on the cycle track was 0.72 (95% CI=0,60-0.85) compared with bicycling in the reference streets. • Cycle tracks lessen, or at least do not increase, crash and injury rates compared to bicycling in the street.Lusk, A.C. et al., 2011. Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street. Injury prevention journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 17(2), pp.131-135.
"The average number of bicycle crashes a year within the 2.5 km buffer of the Phase-1 of the Midtown Greenway from 1998-2000 was 78.33 crashes a year with a standard deviation of 8.33. In each of the two years after the opening of the Phase-1 of the Midtown Greenway, there were 50 bicycle crashes within the buffer. This is a statistically significant decrease in the number of crashes." "Although the transferability of the results of this study to other off-street bicycle facilities may be limited, it does present a methodology that can be used to measure the effect of building a bicycle facility on the safety of bicycling in the area. Questions remain about the safety of off-street bicycle facilities that force bicyclists to cross streets."Poindexter, G. et al., 2007. Optimization of Transportation Investment: Guidelines for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Bicycle Facilities: Refining methods for estimating the effect of bicycle infrastructure on use and property values
"Within the United States, Davis, California is generally recognized as having the most elaborate system of cycling facilities of any American city. It also has, by far, the highest bicycling modal split share (22%), and a very low fatality and accident rate, among the lowest in California. If Forester were correct that separate facilities are so dangerous, one would certainly expect Davis to be overwhelmed by all the resulting bicycling injuries and deaths. Yet cycling in Davis is extraordinarily safe. In short, those countries and cities with extensive bicycling facilities have the highest cycling modal split shares and the lowest fatality rates. Those countries and cities without separate facilities have low modal split shares and much higher fatality rates. Forester claims that this is pure correlation and proves nothing. Nevertheless, the differences we have cited are dramatic—indeed, an order of magnitude or greater—and they directly contradict Forester's claim that separate facilities are so unsafe and inconvenient."Pucher, J., 2001. Cycling Safety on Bikeways vs . Roads. Transportation Quarterly, 55(4), pp.9-11.
"The infrastructure, programs, and policies needed to increase walking and cycling are well known and tested, with decades of successful experience in many European cities. One key lesson is that no single strategy is sufficient. As shown by a recent international review of the literature, communities must implement a fully integrated package of measures such as those discussed previously in this paper (Pucher et al., 2010). A comprehensive approach has much greater impact on walking and cycling levels than individual measures that are not coordinated. The impact of any particular measure is enhanced by the synergies with complementary measures in the same package." Considering cycle lanes are waste of money and cycle tracks are inherently dangerous you should have no problem pointing out another report of comparable research that shows leaving out cycle lanes and cycle tracks would have resulted much more significant results.Pucher, J. & Buehler, R., 2010. Walking and Cycling for Healthy Cities. Built Environment, 36(4), pp.391-414.
"The success of Portland is important because it shows that even car-dependent American cities can greatly increase cycling by implementing the right package of infrastructure, programs, and policies." (Author: Considering cycle lanes are 'waste of money and cycle tracks are inherently dangerous', opponents should have no problem pointing out another report of comparable research that shows leaving out cycle lanes and cycle tracks would have resulted much more significant results.)Pucher, J., Buehler, R. & Seinen, M., 2011. Bicycling renaissance in North America? An update and re-appraisal of cycling trends and policies. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 45(6), pp.451-475.
"Before-and-after counts in several North American cities and London (UK) show increases in number of cyclists after bike lanes installed." Off-street paths: "Two studies showed an increase in the number of cyclists" "Stated preference studies almost uniformly found that both cyclists and non-cyclists preferred having bike lanes to riding in mixed traffic. The findings from the studies of off-street paths were varied, with some showing positive associations and others showing no statistically significant relationship. Only four studies examined bicycle boulevards and traffic-protected cycletracks, types of roadway infrastructure less common in the US. The findings generally showed a positive association between these facilities and bicycling, though without good estimates of the quantitative effects on actual bicycling rates."Pucher, J., Dill, J. & Handy, S., 2010. Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: an international review. Preventive Medicine, 50 Suppl 1(1), p.S106-S125.
"The evidence to date suggests that purpose-built bicycle- only facilities (e.g. bike routes, bike lanes, bike paths, cycle tracks at roundabouts) reduce the risk of crashes and injuries compared to cycling on-road with traffic or off-road with pedestrians."Reynolds, C.C. et al., 2009. The impact of transportation infrastructure on bicycling injuries and crashes: a review of the literature. Environmental health a global access science source, 8(1).
"Walking and biking remain attractive transport modes for a number of reasons: - biking and walking infrastructure usually have a very high spatial penetration"Rietveld, P., 2001. Biking and Walking: The Position of Non- Transport Systems Motorised in Transport Systems.
"A report commissioned by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing seeking to raise population levels of physical activity identified the barriers and recommended strategies that a whole-of-government approach could use to increase levels of cycling. These recommendations are largely dependent upon each other and would need to be implemented in an integrated, co-ordinated way: • Improved bicycle infrastructure: to provide safe, attractive and enjoyable on and off road bicycle routes as well as high quality end-of-trip facilities."Rissel, C.E., 2009. Active travel: a climate change mitigation strategy with co-benefits for health. New South Wales public health bulletin, 20(1-2), pp.10-13.
The CBAs presented are based on high, though realistic cost estimates, and ''low'' benefit estimates in order to prevent overestimates. The analyses are therefore judged to produce ''down-to-earth'', conservative estimates of the profitability to society of building walking and cycling track networks in Norwegian cities. (a) Best estimates of future pedestrian and bicycle traffic leave no doubt that building walking and cycling track networks in Hokksund, Hamar and Trondheim is beneficial to society. Net benefit/cost ratios in these cities are approximately 4, 14 and 3, respectively.Sælensminde, K., 2004. Cost-benefit analyses of walking and cycling track networks taking into account insecurity, health effects and external costs of motorized traffic. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 38(8), pp.593-606.
"Infrastructure (e.g. cycleways and cycle [t]racks) is an essential ingredient for improving bicycle use and cyclists' safety. Well-planned and well-kept infrastructure (through design, maintenance and adequate connectivity) encourages cycling and reduces road accidents."Vandenbulcke, G. et al., 2009. Cycle commuting in Belgium : Spatial determinants and ' re-cycling ' strategies.
"It was found that the bicycle network plan resulted in a significant increase in bicycle use and in improved cycling conditions." "Cycling comfort and safety clearly improved" (Author: While Delft already had bicycle use in the 40% range, building infrastructure still managed to increase it.)Wilmink, A. & Hartman, J., 1987. Evaluation of the Delft Bicycle Network Plan, Delft.
"The benefits of facilities for pedestrians and cyclists exceed costs by a wide margin." "Thus we conclude that the following 10 measures are the most important according to the PROMISING project: 1. A separate network of direct routes for pedestrians and a separate network of direct routes for cyclists." "The safety approach has to be interrelated. Main elements are: - segregation of motorised traffic with a flow or distribution function from non-motorised transport, - creating a network of main traffic routes for pedestrians and cyclists,"Wittink, R., 2001. Promotion of mobility and safety of vulnerable road users, Final report of the European research project PROMISING,
"The three year Danish National Cycle City project aimed to increase cycling in Odense between 1999 and 2002 through a multifaceted approach that included promotional campaigns and infrastructural measures. A controlled repeat cross sectional study comparing national travel survey data collected in Odense and in nearby towns and cities between 1996-97 and 2002 found an increase in the proportion of all trips made by bicycle in Odense from 22.5% to 24.6% (equating to an estimated net increase of 3.4 percentage points after adjustment for regional trends) and a net increase in the distance cycled of 100 metres per person per day." "The Cycling Demonstration Towns programme in England involved various combinations of town-wide media campaigns, personalised travel planning, cycle repair and cycle training services, and improvements to infrastructure for cycling. The effect of the first phase comprising six towns (2005 to 2008) was examined in a controlled repeat cross sectional study based on telephone surveys of quota samples of local residents. Net increases were found in the proportions of residents who reported cycling for at least 30 minutes once per month (+2.78% or +1.89%, depending on the choice of control areas) or 12 or more times per month (+0.97% or +1.65%)." Considering cycle lanes are waste of money and cycle tracks are inherently dangerous you should have no problem pointing out another report of comparable research that shows leaving out cycle lanes and cycle tracks would have resulted much more significant results.Yang, L. et al., 2010. Interventions to promote cycling: systematic review. Bmj Clinical Research Ed., 341(c5293).
This is in no way a complete list. But it's a fine start.


text:
What Is a Breast Self-exam?
A breast self-exam (BSE) is a step-by-step examination of your breasts that you do yourself. It is one tool that can be used to help detect changes in your breasts that might be a sign of cancer. It is a way for you to notice any changes, lumps, or abnormalities in your breasts. It is also a chance for you to become familiar with what is normal for your breasts.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that all women aged 20 years and older talk to their doctor about the benefits, harms, and limitations of breast self-exams. While BSE continues to be widely promoted, there is no evidence showing a decrease in death among women who do these self-exams. Women can choose to do BSE regularly, occasionally, or never. However, even if you never do a step-by-step self exam, you should still be familiar with your body and report any changes to your doctor.
If you and your doctor decide you will do breast self-exams, here is the best way to go about doing it. Do your breast self-exam when your breasts are not swollen or tender. Follow these guidelines from the ACS:
Steps for a Breast Self-exam
- Lie down with a pillow under your left shoulder. Place your left arm behind your head.
- Use the finger pads of your right hand to feel for lumps in your left breast. Move the finger pads in little circles to feel for any lumps.
- Use varying levels of pressure to feel the breast tissue:
- Light pressure to feel tissue beneath the skin
- Medium pressure to feel deeper tissue
- Firm pressure to feel tissue near the chest and ribs
A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal.
- Move around the breast using a up and down pattern. Check the whole breast area—from the bottom of the breast up to the collar bone, as well as from the chest bone to the underarm.
- Repeat the exam on your right breast, using the finger pads of your left hand.
- Stand in front of a mirror so that you can clearly see both of your breasts. Press your hands firmly on your hips. Look for any changes in the size, shape, or contour of the breasts. See if the skin (including the nipple) has any puckering, dimpling, scaliness, or redness.
- Lastly, check each underarm while you are sitting or standing. Raise your arm a little so that you can feel the underarm area. Note: If you raise your arm too high, it will be harder to feel this area.
Remember that breast changes are not always due to cancer. But, if you do notice lumps or other abnormalities, call your doctor right away.
If you are unsure as to whether you should do a BSE, talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks.
American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org
Women's Health—Office on Women's Health http://www.womenshealth.gov
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation http://www.cbcf.org
Canadian Cancer Society http://www.cancer.ca
American Cancer Society guidelines for breast cancer screening: update 2003. CA-A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. May/June 2003.
Breast awareness and self-exam. American Cancer Society website. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/moreinformation/breastcancerearlydetection/breast-cancer-early-detection-acs-recs-bse. Accessed January 26, 2016.
Breast cancer screening concepts. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/breast/healthprofessional/page4. Updated January 8, 2016. Accessed January 26, 2016.