Study links foie gras consumption with Alzheimer’s, arthritis, diabetes, other diseases

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

A study published on June 18 in the American Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found a link between the consumption of foie gras and other meat products and a number of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus type 2, tuberculosis, and amyloidosis. The link exists in genetically susceptible individuals.

The study was lead by Alan Solomon, M.D., a professor and researcher at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine and the director of the Human Immunology and Cancer / Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program. Amyloidoses are a group of disease states caused by the deposition in vital organs of proteins in the form of fibrils, causing a range of symptoms such as swelling and kidney damage. The deposition of amyloid beta in the brain is central in the origin of the disease process of Alzheimer’s disease. Foie gras is made from the livers of ducks or geese that have been force-fed.

According to Solomon, “we posit that this and perhaps other forms of amyloidosis may be transmissible, akin to the infectious nature of prion-related illnesses [such as mad cow disease]. In addition to foie gras, meat derived from sheep and seemingly healthy cattle may represent other dietary sources of [the fibrils]. People with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or other amyloid-associated diseases should avoid consuming foie gras and other foods that may be contaminated with fibrils,” continued Solomon.

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Use The Right Pos System For Your Business

By Adrianna Noton

A Point of Sale (POS) system is indispensable for any type of retail business. It is a combination of specialized hardware and computer hardware that allows staff members to enter customer purchases, manage inventory, take credit card payments, track expenses, generate reports, and much more. Whether you’re running a convenience store, restaurant, flower shop or specialty store, a POS system can help perform many different processes to maximize your efficiency.

Some of the chief benefits reported by businesses that use such systems include:

– More accurate and more detailed information

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdhLOIMltEc[/youtube]

– Greater productivity – The ability to share reliable information with product suppliers and other partners – The ability to operate on a leaner stock

Choosing a Point-of-Sale System

Shopping around for a POS system for your business is no easy proposition. First, you must know your business very well and have a solid idea of how things run and what information will be most helpful to you. If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, comparing systems requires in depth knowledge of computers, networks, software features, and more. The market is flooded with POS systems of all complexity levels and price ranges. Knowing what to look for and where to start can be very difficult. Below are some guidelines to help you get started.

Identify Your POS Needs

Identifying your point-of-sale needs can be as easy as finding out what your competitors (or other businesses similar to yours) are using or as difficult as performing an in-depth study of every transaction you process. It is a good idea to talk to your employees and your customers to get feedback on what kinds of features would help. For example, you could ask customers questions such as “do you ever shop with us online?” or “would you be interested in a frequent shopper program?” Also, keep in mind that even if there are software packages designed specifically for your type of business, they may vary wildly and you still need to research the features to determine what’ll work best for your business.

Establish a Budget

A great way to narrow down your options is to establish a budget for your POS system expenditure. When doing so, remember that you will need to invest in a server (unless the system will work with your existing one) retail software, accounting software, terminals (how many will you need?) Talking to other business owners is a good way to get an idea of the range of what’s out there in terms of price.

Research the Market

You may have initially taken a look at what’s available on the market in order to get an idea of what exists and in order to help you establish your budget. Now it is time to do more in-depth research and narrow down your choices. Once you find a system or two that seem to be the right fit for your company, you should research the providers. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company known for providing outstanding service. Also, ask for and call references.

About the Author: A Point of Sale POS system is indispensable for any type of retail business. As North America’s leading online payment processor for debit and credit card processing, we offer merchant accounts and merchant services for VISA, MasterCard, American Express and INTERAC Direct Payment.

Source: isnare.com

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U.S. retailers sue world’s largest credit card issuer

Saturday, July 16, 2005

U.S. retail chain stores Kroger’s, Walgreens and five other food and drugstore chains have filed a lawsuit against the world’s largest credit card company, Visa International Inc. The federal lawsuit claims the company practices fee fixing on transactions, and with restricting competition among member banks.

The retail merchants claim that Visa acts in collusion with its member banks to fix transaction fees taken as a percentage of each retail sale. The suit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and seeks unspecified damages.

Member banks, those banks that issue and process merchants’ Visa transactions, are unable to negotiate transaction fees directly with the merchant, and merchants are forced to accept Visa purchases regardless of the issuing bank. The complaint says, “The merchant restraints have resulted in exorbitant interchange fees that bear no relationship to the cost of the services being provided.”

Merchants see the rising use of card transactions and the effect it has on their bottom line. The interchange fees are currently 1.75% from most banks, but on some cards it rose this year to 2.9%. The National Retail Federation said for 2004 that between Visa and MasterCard, they pulled in $17.4 billion, a surcharge borne by the consumer regardless of whether they pay by cash or plastic.

Retailers do not oppose transaction fees, but believe they should be based on market forces. They claim that technology has lowered the cost of processing the transactions, but the savings is not being passed along to them. There are currently four major credit card providers in the U.S.

Webpronews writer John Smith cites this merchant quote: “The collective setting of interchange fees by Visa and its member banks constitutes horizontal price-fixing that leads to higher retail prices for our customers,” said Paul Heldman, Kroger senior vice president and general counsel. “This hidden cost must be borne by all Kroger customers, whether they pay for their groceries with cash, by check or by debit or credit card. At a time when technology has made card authorization and processing faster, cheaper, safer and more efficient than ever, we believe that our customers should be receiving the benefit of declining interchange fees. Instead, Visa is using its extraordinary market power to profit at our customers’ expense.”

A small group of Connecticut retailers filed a similar lawsuit last month naming along with Visa, MasterCard and several other large banks. The suit was filed in Connecticut’s federal court. That suit also calls the fees “exorbitant”.

The Vice-President of Visa, Paul Cohen, said “It appears this is another in a series of attempts by some merchants to receive all the value of electronic payments, while shifting their normal costs of doing business onto consumers.”

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PV Taiwan 2007: ITRI Taiwan awards winners of Jinyi Award and shows the solutions on photovoltaic industry

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) showed their solutions of excellence not only at TAITRONICS Autumn and TaiwanRFID exhibitions, but also held “The 4th Jinyi Award Ceremony” and “Photovoltaic Applications on Construction Seminar” accompanied with PV Taiwan Forum and Exhibition this year.

For the “Jinyi Award”, ITRI set a special pavilion at their booth to show the nominated products and current solutions with solar energy. According to ITRI, “Jinyi Award” encouraged individual or group participants can applied the creations on solar energy and photovoltaics to life of the human beings. ITRI also hoped those solutions can transform with valued products. This year, ITRI cooperated with Taiwan Design Center supervised by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) with judgments of the 4th Jinyi Award.

This competition has three groups (Product Design, Professional Design, Design Competition) with different natures, competition places, and fields of participants. Winners of “Professional Design Group” and the 1st and 2nd place of “Design Competition Group” were named at the Ceremony.

After the Ceremony, ITRI held “Photovoltaic Applications on Construction Seminar” for participants with semiconductor, photovoltaic, environment, and constriction industries. “Governments and companies in Taiwan should learn some successful cases in Europe and USA. ITRI started constructions of photovoltaic and solar energy system at South Taiwan. Photovoltaic and solar energy are the valuable and important energy source from now, and its industry will be taken effect on some environment issues such as increasing of oil prices, greenhouse effect, trendy changes of environment awareness.” Dr. Joeng-shein Chen (Deputy Manager of Photovoltaics Technology Center of Industrial Technology Research Institute) taught to the participants at this seminar.

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Affordable Fine Art: A Quick Guide To Buy Authentic Art

Submitted by: Shanaya Article

A piece of art enhances the d cor of a room, irrespective of its size and projects a person s taste. It reveals someone s character as well as their sentiments regarding it. A piece of art always alters the interiors of a house, giving it a certain elegance and more and more people are delving and researching about British Art to so as to redecorate their house instead of painting it due to avoid cost issues. However, there are certain things one should look into before being a proud owner of any piece of artwork.

Educate yourself in this field and choose a type like Contemporary Impressionism

It is mandatory that you do your research well before buying any artwork. Set up a few questions why and for who are you buying and the type of painting you think would appeal or reach out to you. Research about the artists you would prefer and view their work, if possible, online. Before buying, see if you are absolutely in love with the painting or not as you would be hanging it on your wall for display [or not].

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMjsXcMzQys[/youtube]

Contact the artists you are interested in

If, perhaps, you are interested in various pieces of art, it is best to view their work in person as they may have something that would appeal to you even more. Before visiting their studio, home, website or gallery, research about them to avoid any possible scams. You can even attend auctions or festivals to find out information about the artists you are interested in. read about their career achievements or dig it up. Either way, research is a key factor to buying an original piece of art and to avoid any possible scams.

Fix an appropriate but flexible budget

One of the most crucial things before purchasing any artwork is to fix a suitable budget. There are many pieces of art that may be too expensive for you to buy so you need to have a strict budget. The most common thing that happens is that as person gets carried away during art auctions and exhibitions and this is where you need to establish a certain limit. Fix a budget of around 250 to 2000 and bargain if you have to.

Conclusion

Before buying Fine Art for Interiors, it is better to talk to an art consultant as it is a onetime investment. Keep all the receipts and documents safe and check whether the work is an original piece or not before buying. Follow you heart and select the work which you love the most and are a proud owner of a contemporary piece of art.

It is mandatory that you do your research well before buying any artwork. Set up a few questions why and for who are you buying and the type of painting you think would appeal or reach out to you. Research about the artists you would prefer and view their work, if possible, online. Before buying, see if you are absolutely in love with the painting or not as you would be hanging it on your wall for display [or not].

About the Author: Click here for many pieces of art that may be too expensive for you to buy so you need to have a strict budget. Please visit at website

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Source:

isnare.com

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Iranian International Master Dorsa Derakhshani discusses her chess career with Wikinews

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation announced two teenage chess players, Dorsa Derakhshani and her younger brother Borna Derakhshani, were banned from representing the national team. The federation announced their decision although Dorsa Derakhshani had previously decided and informed the chess federation she did not wish to play for Iran.

Dorsa Derakhshani is currently 21 years old and holds the International Master (IM) as well as Woman Grand Master (WGM) titles. Her brother, Borna, plays for the English Federation and holds the FIDE Master title.

Dorsa Derakhshani was banned since she did not wear a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, while competing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival in January 2017. Under the laws of Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab is a mandatory dress code. Her brother Borna Deraskhsani was banned for playing against Israeli Grand Master (GM) Alexander Huzman at the same tournament. Iran does not recognise the existence of Israel, and previously, Irani athletes have avoided playing against Israeli athletes.

Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the president of the country’s chess federation, explained the decision to ban the players saying, “As a first step, these two will be denied entry to all tournaments taking place in Iran and in the name of Iran, they will no longer be allowed the opportunity to be present on the national team.” ((fa))Farsi language: ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????. He further stated, “Unfortunately, something that should not have happened has happened and our national interest is paramount and we have reported this position to the Ministry of Sports.” ((fa))Farsi language: ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????.

IM Dorsa Derakhshani, who currently studies at Saint Louis University in the United States and plays for the United States Chess Federation, discussed her chess career, time in Iran and the 2017 controversy, and her life in Saint Louis with a Wikinews correspondent.

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David S. Touretzky discusses Scientology, Anonymous and Tom Cruise

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

David S. Touretzky, prominent free speech activist and critic of Scientology, discussed his opinions on the recent Internet backlash against the Church of Scientology in an interview with former Scientologist and Wikinews reporter Nicholas Turnbull. The recent conflict on the Internet between critics of Scientology and the Church has been spurred on in declarations by a nebulous Internet entity using the name Anonymous that the Church of Scientology “will be destroyed”. Anonymous has directed recent protests at Scientology centres across the world, which have attracted significant numbers of individuals supporting the cause. In recent e-mail correspondence with Wikinews, a representative of the Church of Scientology declared that the Church considers the activities of Anonymous to be illegal, and that Anonymous “will be handled and stopped”.

Touretzky, a research professor in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University, has been a prominent critic of the Church of Scientology since mid-1995, and has been protesting against Scientology vociferously since then; he has also run websites that publish material that Scientology wishes to keep suppressed from the public eye, such as extracts from Scientology’s formerly-confidential Operating Thetan (OT) materials. Touretzky views the actions of the Church of Scientology as being “a threat to free speech”, and has endured harassment by the Church of Scientology for his activities.

The Church of Scientology continues to suffer damage to its public reputation through increased exposure on the Internet and vocal protests by Scientology critics such as Prof. Touretzky. A recent event that focused intense attention on Scientology’s totalitarian attitude was the leak of an internal Church of Scientology propaganda video to the Internet video sharing site YouTube, in which celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise spoke heavily in Scientology’s jargon and stated that that “we [Scientology] are the authorities” on resolving the difficulties of humanity. The declaration of war by Anonymous followed shortly after this leak, in the form of a video posted to the Internet.

The ongoing dispute, cast by some as Scientology versus the Internet, brought Scientology terms such as “SP” (Suppressive Person, an enemy of Scientology) and “KSW” (Keeping Scientology Working) into general usage by non-Scientologists from the late 1990s onwards; increased attention has been drawn to Scientology by the release of the Cruise video in addition to media coverage. This focus has caused an even greater propagation of these terms across the outside world, as Touretzky comments in the interview.

Wikinews asked Prof. Touretzky about the impact that the activities of Anonymous will have on Scientology, the public relations effect of the Tom Cruise video, the recent departure of individuals from the Church of Scientology’s executive management, the strategies that Anonymous will employ and Touretzky’s experiences of picketing the Church.

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How Can Choose Export Management Software!

How Can Choose Export Management Software!

by

ajays_operations

Trade between different countries is an economic activity that can be traced back to ancient times. Silk route, one of the oldest and longest is testimony to the fact. Back then the countries would export goods they specialized in and imported the ones they couldn t produce or grow in the home country. This holds true even in the present day. The exception is that now countries also export surplus production. There are nations with extraordinary infrastructure and resources to produce a certain commodity. They produce them many a times over their own requirements and export the excess production. In our times, this practice is quite common,as many countries have gone easy with trade duties and taxes. With the world slowly moving towards free trade and free market, the import export activity will only see rise and hence the need of reliable export management software solutions. Documentation and procedures in the export import business have been much the same for decades. Also, they have been too many and with the influx in trade, it s cumbersome to handle them manually. Not only its time consuming, but also engrosses substantial man hours and expenses. Still there remains scope for errors and omissions, everything being done on a manual basis. On second thoughts, automat sings the monotonous and logical activities are a brilliant idea. For quite sometime, there has been a need for export management software solutions for smooth operation of trade activities. Export management software solutions are a comprehensive package available these days to meet every day requirements of export import operations. Among other solutions, it comprises of export documentation software for proper and efficient documentation of all the trade related documents. Every export management software solutions provider is going to promise you an ultimate solution to your needs. They may offer you feature that you might not need at all. You must choose a software solution as per the requirements of your business and one that adheres to the standard business practices. The basic idea behind automation is to make things simpler and smoother. Make sure you pick a solution that s easy to understand and use. You must be able to train all the prospective users on the software. The money invested in export management software solutions would only make sense if users find the technology easy to use. In order to have everything running well, make sure you have the software tested for bugs or errors. Also ensure what kind of post-sales support is available for you might need it in case the software crashes.

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Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQxcQt9WaaA[/youtube]

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9 browser

Friday, March 18, 2011

At 9:00 p.m. PDT Monday (0400 UTC Tuesday), Microsoft rolled out the first stable Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) release, available in 39 languages, for Windows Vista and Windows 7. Internet Explorer is the most used web browser, responsible for 56% of webpage hits. The new version adds support for new technologies with relation to the HTML5 specification and several feature changes. The browser was released as a beta with a campaign promoting the benefits of HTML5.

It includes support for SVG and the HTML5 canvas, audio, and video tags. It has a failing Acid3 score of 95/100, below Mozilla Firefox 4.0’s 97/100, rating and the 100/100 in Google Chrome 10. The program is the first of its series not to run on Microsoft Windows XP. It includes a redesigned layout of the address bar and the ability to pin sites to the taskbar on Windows 7, along with several minor improvements.

The browser received mixed reviews. “IE9 as a Consumer Browser — Not Worth It,” Jason Mick, DailyTech, concluded. A study by Which? on Tuesday showed that IE9’s Tracking Protection Lists, an optional anti-tracking feature, may mislead users. “We’re disappointed with the way these lists work, and feel consumers who install multiple lists could be left with a false sense of security.” Dr. Rob Reid, Which? Policy senior advisor, said.

In a more positive review, a PC Magazine reviewer said that the positives of the new browser outweighed the negatives, and it is “a major improvement over its predecessor.”

The announcement comes after the company launched a campaign to get Internet Explorer 6 usage down to 1%. Microsoft delayed the Japanese release “to reduce load on network bandwidth at such a critical time” with reference to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan this past Friday.

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Garuda Indonesia Flight 200’s pilot’s marital problems may have affected judgement

Thursday, October 25, 2007

A new theory has emerged as in to why the pilot of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 attempted to land at a hugely excessive speed, despite 15 automated warnings he was flying too quickly and the co-pilot’s call for a ‘go-around‘ procedure to be performed. 21 people were killed in the March 7 crash of the Boeing 737-400 passenger jetliner.

Stephanus Geraldus, head of the Garuda pilots association, said that problems at home and a lack of sleep may have affected Marwoto Komar’s judgement. The news comes as Indonesian authorities announce they are pressing ahead with a possible prosecution.

The final report into the disaster, released on Monday, found that Komar, 45, had exhibited what was described as a “fixation” to land the plane, resulting in the excessively fast approach.

“If you look at his long flying experience, it’s impossible that he would try to land at that speed,” Captain Geraldus said, adding that marrital problems with wife Norma Andriani, a former air hostess, were “common knowledge”. This was backed up by Dudi Sudibyo, an analyst at Angkasa magazine (translated: ‘Airspace’).

“I understand he was arguing with his wife until late that night,” said Sudibyo, who went on to express concern at the lack of addressal of potential mental problems on the part of the pilot in the report. Sudibyo is himself a licensed pilot.

Lack of sleep may also have contributed. Both Komar and Gagam Rochmana, the flight’s co-pilot, reported for duty at 4:30 a.m., with the flight departing Jakarta for Yogyakarta as scheduled at 6 a.m. “What I want to know now is: why he didn’t report that lack of sleep and ask to be shifted to the next flight, or maybe he felt extremely confident he could fly – overconfident,” Sudibyo specualted. The report did not find any explicit evidence that they were unfit to fly, but did comment that “they did not provide the investigation with information about (their) activities during the 72 hours prior to commencing duty”.

Police officials have commented that a prosecution is likely with the only personnel required to complete the case against the pilot and co-pilot being expert witnesses, and that the pilots had been grounded since the accident. “We’re looking to prosecute under criminal negligence causing death and serious injury,” Inspector-General Adiwinoto said.

“We need witnesses who can prove there was negligence, and since this was an aviation matter, that could be someone from the National Safety Transportation Committee, or it could also be a medical doctor because of the deaths and injuries.

“We have been proceeding with this investigation all along, but we needed enough preliminary evidence, which we now do have, with the report that says, yes, there was human negligence.” He also said that the airline may itself be prosecuted for failing to provide necessary training to the flight crew. This new development comes at the same time as six Garuda Boeing 737-400s are grounded for failure to comply with import regulations.

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