Anna Cataldi

Anna Margherita Cataldi (born 14 November 1939) is an Italian humanitarian, journalist, film producer and author of several books.
She is known for having been Executive Producer for the Academy Award-winning Out of Africa, Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization and one of the original United Nations Messengers of Peace, a position she retained between 1998 and 2006.
Early life and education.
Anna Cataldi was born in Turin, Italy. She attended the "Liceo Artistico di Torino" and then the Polytechnic University of Turin, where she studied in the "Faculty of Architecture".
Out of Africa.
Starting in 1981, Anna Cataldi travelled to Denmark and Kenya to research the life of the writer Karen Blixen. This process lasted three years, at the end of which she wrote an original treatment for a movie based on Blixen's memoir Out of Africa, published using the pen name Isak Dinesen. In 1984, Columbia Pictures purchased the treatment from Cataldi and in 1985 she was associate producer for the Oscar-winning film Out of Africa, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.
Humanitarian work.
Somalia.
In September 1992, Anna Cataldi went on her first humanitarian mission with her good friend, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn. Together they travelled to Somalia, which was suffering from a major drought. Cataldi's first of many humanitarian missions was Hepburn's last, as she died early the following year.
Sarajevo.
After returning from Somalia, Cataldi obtained a job at Italian magazine "Panorama" as a war correspondent from Sarajevo, which was under siege at the time. After reporting on the events in 1992, she was appointed UNICEF International Media Consultant, a position she help between 1993 and 1994, during which she travelled to Sarajevo several times.
Messenger of Peace.
In 1998, newly appointed United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan made Cataldi one of the ten original United Nations Messengers of Peace. Annan presented the newly appointed Messengers of Peace by saying, "they are individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the field of arts, literature, music and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations". In this ambassadorial role she travelled on missions to Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, Zambia, Afghanistan and Angola. Cataldi resigned from the post in 2006 after Kofi Annan left his position as Secretary-General.
World Health Organization.
In 2007 Cataldi became Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization in the Stop TB programme. To raise awareness on the plight of tuberculosis, Cataldi travelled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Angola, Zambia, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan during her time as ambassador. She left the World Health Organization and the United Nations in 2011.
ECRE.
After leaving the United Nations, Cataldi was nominated Goodwill Ambassador for the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, known as ECRE. In her two-year stay she travelled to Hungary, Malta, Tunisia and Libya. During this period of time and following 2012, when she left ECRE, Cataldi became increasingly involved with issue regarding refugees, as well as the fate of the countries recovering from the Arab Spring. She in fact travelled to Tunisia in 2015 to report on the political situation for the Italian magazine "F". There, she interviewed several prominent women, some of which were part of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, which later won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Crimes of War Project.
Cataldi was also one of the founders of the "Crimes of War Project", together with five others including previous Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay Col. Morris Davis. For more than ten years Cataldi was involved in promoting the project and she is still a Member of the board of directors, which is "dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of armed conflict".
Publications.
Periodicals and newspapers.
Anna Cataldi contributed to the following newspapers and magazines during her journalistic career: El País, Panorama, Epoca, La Repubblica, L'Espresso, La Stampa, Le Règle du Jeu, The Nation, Rolling Stone, The International Herald Tribune, Front Line, and UN Chronicle.


Viridicatumtoxin A

Viridicatumtoxin A (also simply called viridicatumtoxin) is a fungus-derived tetracycline-like antibiotic, whose chemical structure was determined in 1976. It is found in "Penicillium viridicatum", "Penicillium aethiopicum", among other fungi.
Like viridicatumtoxin B, viridicatumtoxin A inhibits growth of "Staphylococcus aureus", including methicillin resistant "S. aureus" and quinolone-resistant "S. aureus", with an activity 8 to 64 times greater than that of tetracycline.


Snowmelter

A snow melter is a piece of snow removal equipment designed to melt snow using flame burners, hot water or both. The melt-water is discharged into a storm drain or onto the ground. Melting snow artificially helps keep roads, airport tarmacs and other surfaces clear and ready to use, and the technology is primarily employed in areas where trucking snow is not geographically or economically feasible. A built-in snowmelt system which melts the snow where it falls is another snow removal alternative.
Snow melters have been used since the 19th century.
Comparison with dumping snow.
There are two main barriers to dumping snow, the cost and availability of land, and the cost and logistics of trucking snow. The dumping of snow into bodies of water is no longer allowed in many places for pollution reasons which leaves dumping the snow on land or melting the snow. The availability of land suitable for dumping is limited and in most urban areas, the cost of land is significant. Suitable land for a snow dump may be distant requiring trucking the snow to the remote dump sites. Thus, melting snow on site by using an industrial snow melter may be more cost-effective than trucking it to a remote location for disposal.
Types.
Basic types of snow melters are mobile, semi-mobile and stationary. Mobile snow melters drive down a street or along a rail line collecting snow and melting it. These often have a holding tank so the melt-water can be discharged at a designated location. Semi-mobile units have wheels and are moved into position and then loaded with snow by another machine. Stationary snowmelt systems may be built into the ground.
Submerged combustion snowmelters use a flame that is applied to the snow, or a water bath. The flame causes tiny bubbles to form that transfer their heat almost instantly to the bath. Snow melters are rated by how many tons of snow they can melt in one hour.
Environmental issues.
In the past, it was common for organizations that had access to bodies of water to dump snow in lakes, rivers, or oceans. However, much of the snow is contaminated with chemicals and debris that are harmful to the environment if left untreated, and many cities and other government bodies have placed limitations on dumping snow into bodies of water. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issue guidelines on how to properly remove snow. In it they state, "As snow melts, road salt, sand, litter, and other pollutants are transported into surface water or through the soil where they may eventually reach the groundwater." They recommend, "Avoid dumping of snow into any waterbody, including rivers, the ocean, reservoirs, ponds, or wetlands. In addition to water quality impacts and flooding, snow disposed of in open water can cause navigational hazards when it freezes into ice blocks."
Proponents for snowmelters claim that these essentially speed up the natural snowmelting process. They discharge the melt water into storm drains and sewer systems where the water is treated and released back into the local water systems. However they consume substantial amount of energy and the burning flames produce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.


New Jersey State Park Police

The New Jersey State Park Police patrol and protect the State's 54 parks, forests, recreation areas and 130 natural trust preserves which encompass more than and are visited by more than 18 million people each year. Their motto is "Protecting New Jersey's Treasures and the people who visit them." All State Park Police Officers are sworn State Law Enforcement Officers who are PTC certified. Officers have statewide jurisdiction, carry weapons and have all of the arrest and law enforcement powers of any police officer in the state. They are dedicated to safeguarding New Jersey's resources 24 hours a day through the prevention of crime, apprehension of criminals, enforcement of criminal and motor vehicle laws of the state, and enforcement of park regulations. State Park Police respond to public safety emergencies and environmental emergencies as well as provide mutual aid assistance to municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. They use various methods of patrol, including foot, bike, boat, ATV, and motor patrol.
Functions.
Operating under the guises of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, a child agency of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, NJSPP makes up one of two state law enforcement agencies within the arsenal of the NJDEP. Organized under the administration of the Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Natural and Historic Resources, NJSPP is joined by their counterparts with the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife - Bureau of Law Enforcement which operates also a child agency of the NJDEP. Noteworthy enough, this section includes the New Jersey Forest Fire Service as well amongst a myriad of others. Although NJSPP headquarters is located in Trenton, New Jersey tasked with such an expansive coverage area the agency operates stations in each operational district in addition to a myriad of other facilities strategically located around the state.
The New Jersey State Park Police is part of the New Jersey Costal Evacuation Plan for Cape May, Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth Counties. They assist with the UASI Region, Urban Areas Security Initiative, which supports select high-threat, high-density urban areas in order to address their unique multi-discipline planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs in building and sustaining capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism. Additionally, they assist the County Prosecutors Offices in all 21 New Jersey Counties with their Child Abduction Response Teams (CART), providing All-Terrain Vehicles and K-9 Units for searches.
Department organization.
Communications Division.
Staffed 24/7 by dispatchers of the NJDEP Bureau of Emergency Management in a dispatch center accompanied alongside dispatchers from State Police. Referred to as "Trenton Dispatch" the men and women at the DEP Communications Center answer emergency and non-emergency calls from the public requiring a police response in addition to those made to the department's Hot Line number to reporting an environmental emergency: 1 (877) WARN-DEP and also a few others. The center responds to over 50,000 calls every year from the public as well as government and professional agents. Calls to the center are received and evaluated before being forwarded to the appropriate department for action. Given the broad range of the department's responsibilities, a call may be anything from a report of distressed or nuisance wildlife or a lost hiker, to a toxic chemical spill, a forest fire, industrial accident or terrorist event.
In addition to managing the department's 24 phone lines, the communication center also operates and maintains the department's state wide radio network. With radio coverage from High Point to Cape May, the communications center, can directly communicate with the department's field personnel anywhere in the state to support their mission. By doing so they support and dispatch the activities of the NJ State Park Police and Conservation officers. The center's operators are the primary contact for these law enforcement officers on patrol throughout the state, and provide motor vehicle lookups, as well as federal, state and local information checks as needed. The center also handles the activities of the Forest Fire Service and State Hazmat Response Personnel.


Joyce Patricia Brown

Joyce Patricia Brown (perhaps better known as Billie Boggs) was a homeless person who defeated New York City's efforts to force her into a psychiatric treatment program. Her case set legal precedents for forced psychiatric care which have hamstrung involuntary psychiatric commitments of the homeless in New York and elsewhere.
In late 1987, NYC Mayor Ed Koch announced a new program for removing mentally disturbed homeless people from the streets, based on a state law allowing involuntary hospitalization of mentally ill people who were considered dangerous. Brown was the first homeless person to be involuntarily committed to a treatment program under the new program.
Brown was born on September 7, 1947 and became a secretary, living with her parents until they died in 1979, and then living with her sisters. She reportedly admitted to drug abuse including heroin and cocaine, and was arrested for an assault in Newark, New Jersey in 1982. In 1985, her sisters took her to East Orange General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, where she was diagnosed as psychotic, was treated with antipsychotic medications, and was put in restraints after attempting assaults on the staff. In May, 1986, after an argument, she left her sisters' home and apparently became homeless.
Brown had lived on a hot air vent grate near Second Avenue at 65th Street near a Swensen's Ice Cream Shop for about a year prior to her 1987 commitment. She was involuntarily committed to Bellevue Hospital on October 28, 1987 after a series of incidents which purportedly included running into traffic, exposing herself to passersby, making threats, tearing up and urinating on money that passersby gave her, and covering herself in her own excrement. She gave false names including "Ann Smith" and "Billie Boggs" (after Bill Boggs, a former local television talk show host in New York City), later claiming in court that she gave the false names to try to hide herself from her sisters. (Her sisters had been looking for her for some time, and went to Bellevue to identify her after recognizing court sketches of Brown in the news after her involuntary commitment.)
During Brown's 1987-1988 commitment and trial, Dr. Francine Cournos, a Columbia University assistant professor of psychiatry, testified that Brown was mentally ill.
Robert Levy, a staff attorney from the New York Civil Liberties Union (a state ACLU branch), defended her in court. On January 15, 1988, State Supreme Court Justice Irving Kirshenbaum ruled that New York City could not forcibly medicate Brown. Shortly thereafter, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Robert Lippmann ordered her released, in part because although she was mentally ill, her behavior was not obviously and immediately dangerous to anyone. She was released in late January after about eleven weeks of involuntary commitment and returned to the streets. She made appearances on talk shows and spoke at universities about homelessness.
In 2000, the New York Daily News reported that Brown attended a talk sponsored by the Institute for Community Living. The article, which described Brown as "formerly homeless," stated she was continuing to receive drug counseling and had recently suffered a stroke.
The Social Security Death Index reports that Brown died on November 29, 2005.


Morna Stuart

Morna Stuart (1905year of death not known) was an author of several plays and books. Her best-known work today is "Marassa and Midnight", a young-adult novel that tells the story of twin boys from Haiti separated during the French Revolution. During her lifetime, however, she received the most publicity for her play "Traitor's Gate", a work on the life of Thomas More.
Biography.
Information on Stuart's life is sparse. She was born in Nainital, Kumaon, India in 1905 and attended St. Michael’s School and St Anne's College (both in Oxford). Her first book, "The Children of Aries," was published under the pseudonym C.J. Campbell in 1925. Between 1937 and 1962 Stuart was a teacher as well as a scriptwriter for the BBC. She served as a warden for the Civil Defence Service from 1942-1945. She was an Incident Officers Clerk for the Belgravia Relief Control Team in 1943 and for Flying Squad in 1944.
Works.
Stuart is listed as a writer for 72 plays, screenplay adaptations, and lectures on literature, that aired on either television or radio for the BBC from March 1937 through May 1967. The topics of these programs included literary interpretations of historical figures (Thomas Paycocke, St. Francis of Assisi), adaptations of novels ("Cry, the Beloved Country", "Moonfleet"), and lectures on the "Pickwick Papers" and the Bayeux Tapestry.
"Marassa and Midnight", written in 1966 and published in 1968, is the story of two twins from Haiti separated during the French and Haitian revolutions. "Kirkus Reviews" found the title characters to be "magnificent", but opined that the story itself was "not strong enough to sustain them". Stuart dedicated the book to Harry Lockwood West, a British actor.
"Traitor's Gate" was produced at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. In a modern critique of reviews of the time, Maggie Gale states that it was criticized for taking "liberties with the facts" while simultaneously being lauded for its "theatrical value". The play was adapted into a TV movie in 1939, starring Margaretta Scott and Basil Sydney, and was translated into Indonesian in 1968.
Stuart's other works include the books "Till She Stoop" (1935) and "Nightrider" (1934), as well as "Michaelangelo's Confession of Faith", a poem set to music by William H Harris (1935). Other works include the plays "Mesmer: A fantasy based on the legend of Franz Anton Mesmer" (1946) and "The Masque of the King's Making" (1949). The latter was written specially for a festival held in October 1949 in honor of Alfred the Great and was performed by the College Dramatic Society of King's College, Taunton.


Dendrobates

Dendrobates is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. It once contained numerous species, but most originally placed in this genus have been split off into other genera such as "Adelphobates", "Ameerega", "Andinobates", "Epipedobates", "Excidobates", "Oophaga", "Phyllobates" and "Ranitomeya" (essentially all the brightly marked poison dart frogs; i.e. excluding the duller genera in the family like "Colostethus" and "Hyloxalus"), leaving only five large to medium-sized species in the genus "Dendrobates".
The generic name "Dendrobates" is derived from the Greek words δένδρον "dendron" "tree" and βάτης "batēs" "one that treads", meaning ‘tree climber’.


Jennings v Rice

Jennings v Rice (EWCA Civ 159; 2002) is an English land law case concerning proprietary estoppel.
Facts.
Mr Jennings, a gardener and bricklayer, sued the administrators of his former employer, for a large house and furniture (worth £435,000) on the ground that he had been given an assurance he would get it. Jennings worked as gardener of Mrs Royle since 1970 and from the late 1980s had increasingly begun to care for her, doing washing (laundry), helping dressing, shopping, overnight security following a break-in and in going to the toilet. She was running out of money and could not continue to pay him. She told him he need not worry about that since “he would be alright” and with more doubt expressed by the court, as to the claimant's recollection of exact words, perhaps words to the effect that “this will all be yours one day”, if not the court deemed then similar promises. Royle (who lived at Lawn House, Shapwick, Somerset) died in August 1997, aged 93, without a will and without issue.
Jennings claimed that either he had: a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975; or under a contract regarding land not falling foul of the Acts on formalities; or that he had a right to the house under the doctrine of proprietary estoppel. The administrator contested all three heads of claim.
The High Court awarded Jennings £200,000 taking into account the payments he had foregone, finding proprietary estoppel. It rejected his dependency claim, and stated that Royle's words had been too vague to make a contract or quasi-contract. The Court of Appeal approved the first instance decision on quantum:
The judge reminded himself that the house was valued at £420,000 and was not a suitable house for [Jennings] to live in on his own and he took into account that [Royle] had no special obligations to her family. He said that to reward an employee on the scale of £420,000 was excessive. He also compared the cost of full-time nursing care, which he estimated at £200,000, with the value of the house. He reasoned that [Jennings] would probably need £150,000 to buy a house. He concluded:
"I do not think that he could complain that he had been unfairly treated if he had been left £200,000 in [Royle]'s will. Most people would say that she would, at least, then have performed her promise to see him all right. The quality of her assurance affects not only questions of belief, encouragement, reliance and detriment, but also unconscionability and the extent of the equity.
In my judgment the minimum necessary to satisfy the equity in the present case is the sum of £200,000."
Jennings appealed to the Court of Appeal for the full value of the house (under the found proprietary estoppel). Rice
for the statutory beneficiaries of the death estate argued including the nieces and nephews argued that instead of the full value of the house — the maximum awardable — the reviewing court should uphold the decision below which took into account the actual detriment experienced.
Judgment.
The Court of Appeal held that the High Court had made a correct assessment: proportionality was essential between expectation and detriment in deciding how to satisfy an equity based on proprietary estoppel. The detriment to Jennings was more difficult to establish than his expectation, however courts must consider unconscionability. Holding that the appeal should be dismissed, Robert Walker LJ's leading judgment reasoned:


Kip Tiernan

Kip Tiernan (June 17, 1926 – July 2, 2011) was a social activist.
She was born Mary Jane Tiernan in Connecticut and raised by her grandmother, and came to Boston in her early 20s.
Kip Tiernan and her advocacy partner, Fran Froehlich, founded, helped found, or were founding members of Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Boston Food Bank, Community Works, Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Finex House, Food for Free, John Leary House, My Sister’s Place, Transition House, the Greater Boston Union of the Homeless, and Boston’s Emergency Shelter Commission. In 1974, Kip founded Rosie's Place in Boston, America's first shelter for homeless women. She founded this shelter in an abandoned supermarket after discovering that homeless women disguised themselves as men in hopes of getting into male-only shelters. Kip was also one of the founders of Victory House in the South End of Boston, a residential alcoholism treatment program for homeless, alcoholic men.
In 1980, Kip and Fran Froehlich co-founded the Poor People's United Fund, and from 1988 to 1990 they were fellows at the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College.
Kip's longtime companion, Edith Nicholson, died in the 1990s, and she married Donna Pomponio in 2004. Kip herself died July 2, 2011, of cancer.


Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 2

Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 2 or FL-TF2 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Miami, Florida and sponsored by the Miami Fire Department. FL-TF2 was started in 1991 and is designed to respond to a variety of disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks. The Miami Fire Department sponsors the team, and provides administrative staff as well as warehouse space and other infrastructure needs. The team is composed of experts from 23 additional fire and police departments as well as civilians making up the 210 members of the team.


Forasartan

Forasartan, otherwise known as the compound SC-52458, is a nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist (ARB, AT1 receptor blocker).
Indications.
Forasartan is indicated for the treatment of hypertension and, similar to other ARBs, it protects the kidneys from kidney blood vessel damage caused by increased kidney blood pressure by blocking renin–angiotensin system activation.
Administration.
Forasartan is administered in the active oral form which means that it must go through first pass metabolism in the liver. The dose administered ranges between 150 mg-200 mg daily. Increasing to more than 200 mg daily does not offer significantly greater AT1 receptor inhibition. Forasartan is absorbed quickly in the GI, and within an hour it becomes significantly biologically active. Peak plasma concentrations of the drug are reached within one hour.
Contraindications.
Negative side effects of Forasartan are similar to other ARBs, and include hypotension and hyperkalemia. There are no drug interactions identified with forasartan.
Pharmacology.
The angiotensin II receptor, type 1.
Angiotensin II binds to AT1 receptors, increases contraction of vascular smooth muscle, and stimulates aldosterone resulting in sodium reabsorption and increase in blood volume. Smooth muscle contraction occurs due to increased calcium influx through the L-type calcium channels in smooth muscle cells during the plateau component, increasing the intracellular calcium and membrane potential which sustain depolarization and contraction.
Effects.
Forasartan is a competitive and reversible ARB that competes with the angiotensin II binding site on AT1 and relaxes vascular smooth muscle, resulting in decreased blood pressure. Forasartan has a high affinity for the AT1 receptor (IC50=2.9 +/- 0.1nM). In dogs, it was found to block the pressor response of Angiotensin II with maximal inhibition, 91%. Forasartan administration selectively inhibits L-type calcium channels in the plateau component of the smooth muscle cells, favoring relaxation of the smooth muscle. Forasartan also decreases heart rate by inhibiting the positive chronotropic effect of high frequency preganglionic stimuli.
Scarce use.
Even though experiments have been conducted on rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and humans, forasartan is not a popular drug of choice for hypertension due to its short duration of action; forasartan is less effective than losartan. Research demonstrates that forasartan is also significantly less potent than losartan.


Will of George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) wrote his will over a number of years and with a number of codicils. Handel created the first version of his will with nine years to live, and completed his will (with the final codicil) three days before his death. Handel's will begins with the following text:
Parts of the will.
The following table documents the dates of the original will and the four codicils, as well as the witness statements at the conclusion of each part of the will.
Handel's will.
The contents of each part of Handel's will are detailed in the following table. Note that where quotes have been supplied from the will, the original spelling, punctuation and capitalisations have been reproduced. The Item column gives the precise ordering of each bequest in Handel's will.
Handel's funeral.
In the final codicil to his will (item 39 in the above table), Handel expressed a desire to be buried in the following manner:
Handel was buried in the south wing of Westminster Abbey, and his funeral took place on Friday 20 April 1759. The funeral service was performed by Dr. Zachary Pearce (Bishop of Rochester), and took place in the presence of more than 3,000 visitors. The choirs of the Chapel Royal, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey sang the Funeral Anthem of William Croft.


Die Gruft

Die Gruft (German: "the crypt") is a homeless institution run by the Caritas of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna in the 6th district of Vienna Mariahilf on the premises below the Church of Mariahilf (often: Barnabite Church). It opened in 1986, and is currently open 24 hours a day offering meals, shower facilities, shelters, overnight accommodation, medical and psychiatric care to homeless people.
History.
Die Gruft was founded in 1986 by Salvatorian pastor and theologian Albert Gabriel (then pastor at the Mariahilfer Church) with the support of students from the nearby Amerling-School. It originally served as a warming room for the homeless during advent. They offered tea and simple hot meals for two hours daily in the former plague cemetery below the Mariahilfer Church. Since October 1994, the tomb has been open 24 hours a day, through the support of the Social Welfare Fund. In July 1996, Caritas Wien took over management of the institution.
Statistics and funding.
Free food is served three times daily, for a total of 81,897 food portions in 2007. In addition, there were 25,477 overnight stays in 2007 and 1,165 received care by social workers. Of those, about 15% were women.
Half of the funding is provided by the Social Welfare Fund - around 500,000 euros in 2008 - the other half by donations. In 2012, 97,285 meals were donated - more than ever before - and there were 19,453 overnight stays, slightly more than in 2011.
Expansion and Zweite Gruft.
In 2009, Caritas opened "a Zweite Gruft" (German: "second crypt") in Vienna's 18th district, Währing, specifically for EU foreigners.
Due to an increased demand for space at the site below the Mariahilfer Church, an expansion of the crypt began on 31 August 2012. On 19 September 2013, an above-ground building for daytime care of the homeless opened. This added 450 m2 of usable space in and around the vicarage of the Barnabite Church.


National Waste Strategy

The National Waste Strategy is a policy of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The development of national waste strategies is intended to foster a move to sustainability in waste management within the United Kingdom.
Structure.
The Environment Act 1995 added a requirement to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to prepare a National Waste Strategy for England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, a Strategy for Scotland. The Strategy must include:
The statutory objectives are:
England.
Waste Strategy 2000 (WS2000).
The first version of the Strategy for England and Wales was published in May 2000. By 2007 Defra reported that:
Waste Strategy for England 2007 (WS2007).
WS2000 was superseded by the Waste Strategy for England 2007 which was published in May 2007. The main proposals for England were to:
Waste Management Plan for England (2013).
WS2007 was superseded by the Waste Management Plan for England in December 2013. It did not introduce any new policies or change the landscape of how waste is managed in England. Its core aim was to bring current waste management policies under the umbrella of one national plan. It reports that (at the time of publication) "recycling and composting of household waste in England increased to 43% and business recycling rates have increased to 52%. Local authorities, who cover all household waste and some commercial and industrial waste, have reduced the amount of waste they send to landfill by about 60% since 2000."
Wales.
Wise About Waste: The National Waste Strategy for Wales (2002).
The Welsh Assembly Government published Wales' first national waste strategy in 2002, which replaced WS2000. The targets set in the strategy included those where Wales must meet targets set for the UK in EC Directives, primary Wales specific targets where the Assembly Government and its key partners (e.g. local government) had a direct influence over their outcome and secondary Wales specific targets where the Assembly Government’s influence is less.
Towards Zero Waste: One Wales. One Planet (2010).
Wales published its updated national waste strategy, Towards Zero Waste, in 2010. It sets out how the Welsh Assembly Government will build on the successes achieved through Wise About Waste, via a long term framework for resource efficiency and waste management between now and 2050.
Scotland.
National Waste Plan (2003).
Published in 2003, the National Waste Plan established the direction of the Scottish Executive’s policies for sustainable waste management to 2020. It had the following waste management objectives:
Scotland's Zero Waste Plan (2010).
The Zero Waste Plan sets the strategic direction for waste policy for Scotland up to 2020. Its objectives include the following:
Northern Ireland.
Waste Management Strategy 2000 - 2006.
In March 2000 the Department of the Environment published the first waste management Strategy for Northern Ireland. This set out how waste generated should be managed based on the waste hierarchy.
Towards Resource Management: The Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy 2006 - 2020.
In 2006, the Department of the Environment published Towards Resource Management, which focused on the period up to 2020. The strategy highlighted the need to increase waste recycling and recovery in a number of ways that included:
Delivering Resource Efficiency (2013).
The revised waste management strategy entitled Delivering Resource Efficiency was published in 2013. It retains and builds on the core principles of the previous strategy, Towards Resource Management.


Gilbert Blue

Gilbert Blue (December 5, 1933 – June 11, 2016) was a Native American chief of the Catawba Nation in the U.S. state of South Carolina from 1973 until 2007. He was a grandson of chief Samuel Taylor Blue. Blue was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his time as chief, the Catawba received federal recognition.
Personal life.
Blue died on June 11, 2016, of mesothelioma.


Scutigera coleoptrata

Scutigera coleoptrata is a small, typically yellowish-grey centipede with up to 15 pairs of long legs. Originating in the Mediterranean region, the species has spread to other parts of the world, where it can live in human homes, thus gaining the name house centipede. It is an insectivore; it kills and eats other arthropods, such as insects and arachnids.
Etymology.
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the species in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae, giving the name "Scolopendra coleoptrata", writing that it has a "coleopterated thorax" (similar to a coleopter). In 1801, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck separated "scutigera" from "scolopendra", calling this species "Scutigera coleoptrata." The word "scutigera" comes from "to bear" ("gerere)" and "shield" ("scutum)," because of the shape of the plates in the back of the chilopod.
Morphology.
The body of an adult "Scutigera coleoptrata" is in length. Up to 15 pairs of long legs are attached to the rigid body. Together with the antennae they give the centipede an appearance of being in length. The delicate legs enable it to reach surprising speeds of up to running across floors, up walls and along ceilings. Its body is yellowish-grey and has three dark dorsal stripes running down its length; the legs also have dark stripes. "S. coleoptrata" has developed automimicry in that its tail-like hind legs present the appearance of antennae. When the centipede is at rest, it is not easy to tell its cranial end from its caudal end.
Unlike most other centipedes, house centipedes and their close relatives have well-developed faceted eyes.
Reproduction and development.
House centipedes lay their eggs in spring. In a laboratory observation of 24 house centipedes, an average of 63 and a maximum of 151 eggs were laid. As with many other arthropods, the larvae look like miniature versions of the adult, albeit with fewer legs. Young centipedes have four pairs of legs when they are hatched. They gain a new pair with the first molting, and two pairs with each of their five subsequent moltings. Adults with 15 pairs of legs retain that number through three more molting stages (sequence 4-5-7-9-11-13-15-15-15-15 pairs).
House centipedes live anywhere from three to seven years, depending on the environment. They can start breeding in their third year. To begin mating, the male and female circle around each other. They initiate contact with their antennae. The male deposits his sperm on the ground and the female then uses it to fertilize her eggs.
Behavior and ecology.
House centipedes feed on spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and other household arthropods. They administer venom through forcipules. These are not part of their mandibles, so strictly speaking they sting rather than bite. They are mostly nocturnal hunters. Despite their developed eyes, they seem to rely mostly on their antennae when hunting. Their antennae are sensitive to both smells and tactile information. They use both their mandibles and their legs for holding prey. This way they can deal with several small insects at the same time. To capture prey they either jump onto it or use their legs in a technique described as "lassoing". Using their legs to beat prey has also been described. Like other centipedes they can stridulate.
In a feeding study, "S. coleoptrata" showed the ability to distinguish between possible prey, avoiding dangerous insects. They also adapted their feeding pattern to the type of hazard the prey might pose to them. For wasps, they retreat after applying the venom to give it time to take effect. When the centipede is in danger of becoming prey itself, it can detach any legs that have become trapped. House centipedes have been observed to groom their legs by curling around and grooming them with their forcipules.
In 1902, C. L. Marlatt, an entomologist with the United States Department of Agriculture, wrote a brief description of the house centipede:
Habitat.
Outdoors, house centipedes prefer to live in cool, damp places. Centipede respiratory systems do not provide any mechanism for shutting the spiracles, and that is why they need an environment that protects them from dehydration and excessive cold. Most live outside, primarily under large rocks, piles of wood, and especially in compost piles. Within the home, these centipedes are found in almost any part of the house. Most commonly they are encountered in basements, bathrooms, and lavatories, which tend to be humid, but they can also be found in drier places like offices, bedrooms and dining rooms. The greatest likelihood of encountering them is in spring, when they come out because the weather gets warmer, and in autumn/fall, when the cooling weather forces them to find shelter in human habitats.
Distribution.
"S. coleoptrata" is indigenous to the Mediterranean region, but it has spread through much of Europe, Asia, North America and South America. It is thought to have first been introduced to the Americas in Mexico and Guatemala and now it reaches north into Canada and south to Argentina.
In the United States, it spread north from the southern states, reaching Pennsylvania in 1849, New York in 1885, and Massachusetts and Connecticut in about 1890. In 2009, its distribution extended from Virginia in the east to the coast of California in the west.
In 2011 it was sighted in Chile, in the Metropolitan and Los Lagos regions.
In South Africa, they have been found in the Western Cape, in and around Cape Town (sightings have been reported in Pinelands; Vredehoek, Mowbray, Edgemead, Green Point, Zonnebloem, Woodstock; Stellenbosch and Gordon's Bay) and also in KwaZulu-Natal, in the city of Pietermaritzburg. They are also found around the Garden Route, including Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay, George and Knysna, and in Bloemfontein in the Free State.
In 2013 they were recorded in Lichinga, Mozambique, and in 2017 in Pemba and at Lujeri Tea Estate, Mulanje, Southern Malawi.
They have been found in eastern and southern Australia, from Perth to Adelaide, South Australia, to Sydney, New South Wales and in Tasmania. Other countries they have been found in include New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
It is relatively rare in South and Southeast Asia.
Biological details.
The faceted eyes of "S. coleoptrata" are sensitive to daylight and very sensitive to ultraviolet light. They were shown to be able to visually distinguish between different mutations of "Drosophila melanogaster". How this ability fits with its nocturnal lifestyle and underground natural habitat is still under study. They do not instantly change direction when light is suddenly shone at them, but will retreat to a darker hiding spot.
Some of the plates covering the body segments fused and became smaller during the evolution to the current state of "S. coleoptrata". The resulting mismatch between body segments and dorsal plates (tergites) is the cause for this centipede's rigid body.
Tergites 10 and 11 are not fully developed and segment 18 does not have a sternite. This model deviates from descriptions by Lewis who identified only 7 tergites and 15 segments.
Another feature that sets "S. coleoptrata" apart from other centipedes is that their hemolymph was found to contain proteins for transporting oxygen.
The mitochondrial genome of "S. coleoptrata" has been sequenced. This opened up discussions on the taxonomy and phylogeny of this and related species.
Interaction with humans.
Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, "S. coleoptrata" can live its entire life inside a building, usually the ground levels of homes. Though they often startle their unwitting housemates with their appearance and surprising speed, they are not generally considered dangerous to humans. House centipedes typically flee when disturbed and bites are uncommon unless provoked. Its small forcipules have difficulty penetrating human skin, and its bite and venom rarely produce more than a mild, localized swelling.
Techniques for eliminating centipedes from homes include drying up the areas where they thrive, eliminating large indoor insect populations, and sealing cracks in the walls. An alternative is to let them live, allowing them to control pests, e.g., roaches, flies, moths, bed bugs, silverfish, earwigs, etc.


Ultra trust

In United States trust law, an Ultra Trust is a registered trademark whose intellectual property is owned by Estate Street Partners LLC that describes a specific type of intentionally defective grantor-type irrevocable trust that includes an independent trustee as well as a special limited power of appointment. Unlike general powers of appointment, a special limited power of appointment within the Ultra Trust is limited to a specific person(s) who retains the benefit of the power (grantor) from the person in whom the power is vested (trustee). Generally, Ultra Trust's are used to reposition all types of assets for purposes of asset protection, as an Ultra Trust offers the ability to have an independent third party own assets previously owned by the grantor.
An Ultra Trust is a legal entity with special provisions, benefits, and limitations created and drafted by an attorney who has expertise with debtor—creditor law, income tax law, gift tax law, and estate tax law, as well as trust law. The purpose of an Ultra Trust is to reposition assets from a person's legal ownership in order to limit one's exposure to potential future liabilities.
The Ultra Trust legal entity is created with these legal principles:
1. With respect to an irrevocable trust, a creditor of the grantor may reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the grantor's benefit.
2. A grantor can retain special limited powers of appointment without subjecting the assets owned by the Ultra Trust to creditors claims.
3. Estate Street Partners advocates that subsequent to the structure of the Ultra Trust is set-up, that a full market value consideration exchange is created to transfer or exchange property into the trust should be executed.
The grantor achieves benefits by retaining a special limited power of appointment: (1) The grantor or any third party can gift or exchange unlimited assets to the trust at any time, (2) the assets held by the trust may be entitled to a step-up in basis, (3) the grantor pays the trust's income and capital gains taxes on assets owned by the trust, allowing the trust to grow tax free, (4) the grantor can put any domestic or foreign asset into the trust including LLC Membership Units, S-Corp shares, C-Corp shares, life insurance, CD's, cash-like instruments, real estate, and a personal residence while retaining all the tax benefits of home ownership if remaining a grantor-type trust.
The Ultra Trust is a sophisticated and highly technical legal agreement. Its ability to achieve a particular goal or outcome is highly dependent upon the expertise of the author of such legal agreement and an individual's specific circumstances. An amateur should never attempt to draft one without the assistance of an expert.


Rafael Moure-Eraso

Rafael Moure-Eraso (born May 2, 1946) is a former chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
Early life.
Moure-Eraso was born in Cali, Colombia, in 1946. He grew up in Bogotá where he was educated by Augustinian friars and at the University of Los Andes.
Education.
He received his B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967 and M.Sc. in chemical engineering from Bucknell University in 1970. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Environmental Health-Industrial Hygiene in 1974 and 1982.
Career.
For over 30 years, Moure-Eraso has been involved in workplace safety issues. Prior to joining the CSB Moure-Eraso served as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Health (NACOSH) for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Moure-Eraso has also worked as a chemical engineer for Rohm and Haas and the Dow Chemical Company. He was a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for 22 years and chairman of the university's Department of Work Environment for 5 years. He has also served as an industrial hygienist engineer with the national offices of the United Automobile Workers union and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union.
Chemical Safety Board.
Moure-Eraso was nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in March 2010 and confirmed by the Senate in June 2010.
In March 2015, he was called to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee regarding the management of the Chemical Safety Board. Following that testimony fourteen members of the committee issued a letter to the White House calling on the president to use his statutory authority to remove Moure-Eraso from his position as chairman of the CSB. The letter cited a pattern of retaliation against whistleblowers, disenfranchisement of fellow board members, low morale in the organization, and possible violations of the Federal Records Act by using personal email accounts for official business.
Moure-Eraso told the "Los Angeles Times": "A lot of it is political. The mission of the organization is to produce good reports that make a difference for safety. We are doing that. I can show that we are producing the best reports ever produced in the agency. I stand by that. All of this other talk is peripheral... There have been a lot of accusations, but none of those have ever ended in any findings. The Office of Special Counsel has made no recommendations. Anybody can claim actions against whistleblowers, but there’s no evidence of this. To just say it is not enough. What I would like to be judged for is the quality of the product and the fulfillment of our mission. There will always be people complaining. But they are all rumors." He resigned his post on March 26, 2015.


Angel Robinson Garcia

Angel Robinson Garcia (May 9, 1937 – June 1, 2000) was a Cuban professional boxer, who was the Latin American Super-Featherweight champion. He also fought for the Cuban national Lightweight title, but lost.
Robinson Garcia was known for his large number of professional fights-he fought 237 times-the quality of opponents he faced and number of countries he visited. Robinson Garcia competed against 42 boxers who were world ranked, 16 world champions, 6 International Boxing Hall of Fame members, in 19 countries and 4 continents. Many of the places he fought at, like France, the United States and Italy, were visited very often by Robinson Garcia.
Notable professional fights.
Angel Robinson Garcia started his professional boxing career on July 23, 1955, beating Roberto Garcia by first-round knockout at Havana. He was undefeated for his first four fights, all wins by knockout. On October 28 of 1955, he faced Reinaldo Marquez at Santa Clara, losing for the first time, on a four-round decision. He avenged that loss with a six-round decision win over Marquez on April 5, 1956, also at Santa Clara.
Having amassed a record of 28–2 with 10 knockouts, Robinson Garcia challenged Isidro Martinez, 19-4-1, for the Latin American Super-Featherweight (Junior-Lightweight) title. Robinson Garcia defeated Martinez after dropping him in round eight, with a ninth-round technical knockout, on February 26, 1958, at Havana. Two weeks after, Robinson Garcia held his first fight abroad, and first in the United States, when he faced Bobby Rogers on March 11 at the Auditorium, Miami Beach, losing that encounter by a ten-round decision.
On June 28, 1958, he faced fellow Cuban, world-ranked "Puppy" Garcia, who was 33-8-4 before their fight, at Havana, losing a 10-round unanimous decision.
On January 20, 1959, Robinson Garcia fought Frankie Ryff, again losing by unanimous decision in 10 rounds. On March 14 of that year, he met Doug Vaillant in Havana, losing a ten-round unanimous decision before then taking on Mexico's Alfredo Urbina on May 16, beating the Mexican by a ten-round unanimous decision. He then met Carlos Hernandez, the future Venezuela's first world champion boxer in history, and fought Hernandez to a ten-round draw (tie) August 15, 1959. Robinson Garcia faced Vicente Rivas and Jiro Sawada before 1959 ended, losing to Rivas but beating Sawada, both by ten-round decisions in Venezuela.
During 1960, Robinson Garcia squared off with Jose Stable twice, "Mantequilla Napoles", Hernandez and Vaillant in rematches. He split his two bouts with Stable, winning a split decision and then losing a unanimous one, lost a ten-round decision to Napoles, drew with Vaillant and lost twice to Hernandez. He also fought six other fights against lesser-known rivals, going 5–1 with 3 knockout wins on those.
Robinson Garcia had a third meeting with Doug Vaillant, this time with the Cuban national title on the line. On February 1, at Havana, they had a close 12 round bout, Vaillant prevailing by a split decision. On March, Robinson Garcia made his first trip as a professional boxer to Mexico, being defeated there on March 25 by Urbina on a rematch by ninth-round technical knockout and then on April 22 by Kid Anahuac by third round disqualification. Robinson Garcia lived in Mexico for one month, before returning to Cuba to face Jose Napoles a second time: on June 3, 1961, he again went ten rounds with the future world Welterweight champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame member, but once again dropped a points decision.
One month later, on July 7, Robinson Garcia boxed 16-1-2 Pastor Marrero at Havana and won by decision in ten rounds. Fidel Castro soon abolished professional boxing in Cuba, however, and this would be Robinson Garcia's last presentation as a boxer in his home country.
Robinson Garcia flew to Jamaica to fight Bunny Grant at the National Stadium in Kingston, on August 30, losing that fight by a close but unanimous ten-round decision, judges Tony Bridge scoring against him 99–96, Gilbert Aarons also against him 97-96 and Seaside Johnson deeming him loser by a wider score of 99–93.
Robinson Garcia returned to the winning column six weeks later, defeating Hilton Smith by a 10-round unanimous decision at Miami. He temporarily moved to Miami, being trained by Angelo Dundee at the 5th Street Gym there.
He then settled in France, fighting his next seven bouts there, going undefeated during that period, with four knockout wins. On September 11, 1962, Robinson Garcia faced world ranked Valerio Nunez, 36-1 before their bout, at Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Italy, and upset Nunez by pulling a seventh-round disqualification win.
After 2 more victories and 1 draw, Robinson Garcia faced the well-known French fighter, Jean Josselin, until then undefeated in 17 outings, on December 3, at the Palais des Sports, Paris, France, losing to Josselin by a ten rounds unanimous decision.
Robinson Garcia began 1963 by fighting against another world champion and future International Boxing Hall of Fame member, Eddie Perkins, at the Palais de Sports, losing a ten-round unanimous decision. He slowed his schedule somewhat during this year, fighting only 4 more times, during which he went undefeated with 2 wins and two draws, one win by knockout.
1964 was another typical career year for Robinson Garcia, as he fought eight times, including: a fight on March 9 against another world champion and future International Boxing Hall of Famer, Ismael Laguna, where he actually dropped Laguna in the first round before losing on points in ten rounds at Paris; an April 13 upset of 16-1 Rey Adigun, beaten by a fifth-round technical knockout; and a June 5 upset of Rafiu King, who was beaten by ten rounds decision at the Ivory Coast.
In 1965, Robinson Garcia returned to the ring 13 times, going 9–4 with 2 knockouts against the likes of Joe Tetteh, beaten by a ten-round decision at Tunis, Tunisia January 30, and Olli Maki, against whom he lost by ten-round decision in Tampere, Finland, on February 21. 1965 also saw Robinson Garcia re-settle, moving to Spain, where he held his next 11 bouts after the Maki fight.
Robinson Garcia had an active 1966, with 20 fights that year, winning 12, losing 3 and drawing 5, with 6 knockouts. On February 22, he met Maurice Cullen at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, losing by ten-round decision. On April 10, he knocked out Kid Tano, 45-5-6, in six rounds at the Canary Islands and then, only 11 days later, he held Italy's Carmelo Bossi, a future world champion, to a ten-round draw at Barcelona.
1967 saw an April 28 fight against Bruno Arcari at Genoa, Italy, which Robinson Garcia lost by ten-round decision; a rematch with Bossi on July 14 in Rome that resulted in Bossi defeating Robinson Garcia by fifth-round knockout; a rematch with Eddie Perkins in Milan on December 5 that was won by Perkins by ten-round decision; and seven more bouts in which Robinson Garcia won 5, lost 2 and scored 4 knockout wins.
In 1968, Robinson Garcia fought 9 times, going 5-2-2 during the year with 3 knockouts. Among those he met on the ring that year were LC Morgan twice (March 22, ten-round draw in Rome; April 19, ninth-round knockout win in Rome), Paul Armstead three times (May 10, ten-round decision loss at Toscana; June 21, ten-round decision win at Milan; July 28, ten-round draw at San Remo) and International Boxing Hall of Fame member, future undisputed world Lightweight Champion Ken Buchanan, who beat Robinson Garcia by a ten-round decision on October 23 at London.
Robinson Garcia had a layoff of eight months between the Buchanan contest and his next one, on June 1969. The second half of that year, however, saw him fight 12 times, including a September 10 loss by ten-round decision to future WBC world Lightweight-and Spain's second-Champion Pedro Carrasco at the Basque Country and a December 30 defeat at the hands of 19-2-4 Chris Fernandez by ten-round decision also.
Robinson Garcia contested 17 bouts in 1970. These included an August 21 match with José Durán, won by Durán by ten rounds decision at Madrid and a November 20 bout with French Roger Menetrey which Menetrey won by ten-round decision at Geneva. Apart from those two fights, Robinson Garcia won 10 and lost 5 in 1970, with 1 knockout win. Between November and December 1970 alone, Robinson Garcia had 6 bouts.
Robinson Garcia went 5-6-4 in 15 bouts during 1971, with 2 knockout wins. The fights he held in 1971 included rematch wins over Joe Tetteh (by ten-round decision, February 11) and Bunny Grant (ten-round decision on April 5). Also in 1971 was a May 21 ten-round draw against former Spain and European Boxing Union Lightweight and future WBC world Junior Welterweight Champion Miguel Velazquez, who was 46-1-2 before this bout; a rematch loss to Chris Fernandez on
July 2, by ten-round decision; and an October 1 loss to Robert Gallois, 45-5-1, by ten-round decision at Marseilles.
Perhaps the most notable of Robinson Garcia's fights was on January 15, 1972, when he faced a then 26–0, future four division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame member Roberto Durán at the Gimnasio Nuevo Panama-now Gimnasio Roberto Durán-at Panama City. Robinson Garcia gave Durán a relatively close fight but still lost by unanimous ten-round decision with scores of 99–93, 98-94 and 98–96, all in favor of the Panamanian. Robinson Garcia went 1-4 the rest of that year, facing, among others, Esteban De Jesus in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to whom he dropped a ten-round decision on July 8.
He split eight bouts in 1973, going 4-4 during that span, with 2 knockouts. On March 29, he boxed the future ranked challenger, Puerto Rican Sandy Torres at Tampa, Florida, and lost a ten-round decision. On July 17, he boxed future WBC world Junior Welterweight Champion Saoul Mamby at the Miami Beach auditorium and lost a ten-round decision as well.
During the first half of 1974, Robinson Garcia contested in ten fights, going 6–4 with 3 knockout wins during this span. He faced, among others, Mexican Marcos Geraldo (who'd later last ten rounds against Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler) on January 23 at the Silver Slipper Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, upsetting Geraldo by a fourth-round knockout win; then-undefeated Sugar Ray Seales on February 13 also at the Silver Slipper Hotel, losing by ten-round decision; Puerto Rican Josue Marquez (who had recently fought Antonio Cervantes for his world Junior Welterweight title) only five days after the Seales fight, losing by ten-round decision at San Juan; future Alexis Arguello world Junior Lightweight title challenger Arturo Leon, whom Robinson Garcia defeated by six-round decision at the Caesars' Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada, on April 18; Eddie Perkins again only nine days after the win against Leon-a ten-round unanimous decision loss at Tucson, Arizona; and future Angel Espada world Welterweight title challenger Johnny Gant, who obtained a ten-round decision win over Robinson Garcia on July 18 at Baltimore, Maryland. Robinson Garcia had five extra fights apart from these in 1974, going 5–0 with 3 knockouts against lesser opposition, to finish 1974 winning 11 of 15 bouts held that year.
1975 was a relatively inactive year for Robinson Garcia as he only fought five times. Nevertheless, among those five bouts was one against future Leonard world title challenger Larry Bonds, who outpointed Robinson Garcia over ten rounds at Las Vegas on February 26, future three time world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame member, the then-only 16 years old Wilfred Benitez, who beat Robinson Garcia by ten-round decision on June 9 at the Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico-(sometimes incorrectly said to be in San Juan); and Adriano Marrero, a Dominican who would later challenge Antonio Cervantes unsuccessfully for Cervantes' WBA world Junior Welterweight title and who beat Robinson Garcia by a 10-round decision on August 5.
Of Robinson Garcia's seven 1976 bouts, six were held in the United States and one in Canada. He went 1-5-1 during that span, losing to former undisputed world Welterweight Champion Billy Backus by a ten-round unanimous decision on April 3 at Utica, New York; to Rafael Rodriguez on points in 10 on May 5 at Minneapolis, Minnesota; to former and future WBA world Welterweight title challenger Clyde Gray by ten round unanimous decision on September 2 at Halifax, Nova Scotia; and to Willie "The Worm" Monroe by a seventh-round technical knockout December 3 at Rochester, New York. He beat 24-10 Perry Abner by an upset ninth-round technical knockout on July 28 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1977, Robinson Garcia fought only 3 times, losing twice and winning once.
1978 proved to be Robinson Garcia's last year as an active professional boxer. He lost twice that year, including his last bout, on February 25, to contender Paul Payen, 17-1 coming in, on a ten-round decision at Hainaut, Belgium.
In 237 bouts, Robinson Garcia had a win-loss-draw record of 135 wins, 82 losses and 20 draws, his 53 knockout wins making him a member of the exclusive club of boxers with 50 or more knockout wins in professional boxing. Of his 82 defeats, only 3 were by way of knockout or technical knockout. The latter fact might have, ironically, contributed to his later, boxing related diseases as he took punches from some of boxing's best fighters of his era for prolonged periods of time.
Life away from boxing.
According to Ferdie Pacheco, Robinson Garcia once told him that he spent 6 months in an Italian jail for beating up a woman.
Cuban boxing expert Enrique Encinosa said that Robinson Garcia returned to Paris, living as a homeless man there before Fidel Castro allowed him to return to Cuba and spend his last days at the Caribbean country. Also according to Encinosa, Robinson Garcia was once married in Paris.


Egyptian Laws and Legislations Related to Conserving Cultural Heritage in Historic Cairo Area

The conservation process for Cultural heritage in Egypt is subject to the following laws:
Law no. 117 of 1983.
It is "The law for protection of monuments". This law was updated in 2010 and the executive regulations were issued in the same year. This law was the only enforced law in the field of heritage conservation until law no.144 of 2006 and its executive regulations issued with.
This law includes “"Artifacts produced by different cultures or caused by arts, sciences,
literature or religion of the pre historic era and during consecutive historic periods till a
hundred years ago when it held value or had archaeological or historic importance is
considered one of the manifestation of different cultures"”
Law no.144 of 2006.
It is about conserving architectural heritage. This law was concerned of protecting the buildings of distinctive value and buildings of high heritage value.
This law includes “Buildings and structures of distinctive architectural order or related to
national history or a historic personality or those representing a historic era or considered
a touristic destination; those are protected against demolition or modification”
Law no. 119 of 2008.
It is called "Urban Harmony". This law and its executive regulations are responsible for conserving areas of distinctive value for their architectural and urban characters as well as buildings and other natural elements.
This law includes "The areas characterized by richness of contents of heritage, architectural, physical symbolic, aesthetic or natural value; and need to be dealt with as an integrated unit for conservation"
It is different from the above-mentioned laws in terms of the area of application where this law is concerned about the urban area and the monument context not the monument building itself. It defines the monument frontiers, boundaries and its buffer zone. So, this law work as a complementary law for conserving the whole context in an integrated way.


Tomson v. Ward

Tomson v. Ward 1 N.H. 9 (1816) was the first New Hampshire Supreme Court decision recorded in the official New Hampshire reports.
Ruling.
In the case the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that "[a]n unrecorded deed of lands voluntarily given up, and cancelled by the parties to it, with intent to revest the estate in the grantor, as between them and as to all subsequent claimants under them, operates as a reconveyance, and revests the estate in the grantor."


Lucile Land Lacy

Alma Lucile Land Lacy (August 18, 1901 — October 29, 1994) was an [American painter and printmaker.
Biography.
A native of Temple, Texas, Lacy was a pupil of Ellen Douglas Stuart and Ella Koepke Mewhinney. She graduated from Baylor Female College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and attended the New York School of Interior Decoration before receiving a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1940. She began her teaching career as an assistant in her alma mater's art department in 1933; from 1924 until 1931 she was an instructor, and from 1932 until 1944 she headed the department. Upon retirement from the college she studied at the University of Pennsylvania, which led to her licensing as an occupational therapist in 1945. In that year she began work as a therapist at the Old Farms Convalescent Hospital in Avon, Connecticut, continuing for two years. In 1947 she took a position as chief occupational therapist at the Veterans Administration hospital in Temple, and two years later she moved to Houston to occupy the same role, remaining there until 1953. She was active in state and national associations for her profession. Lacy later returned to Temple, where she died. She is buried in that city's Hillcrest Cemetery.
Artwork.
Lacy was a member of numerous artistic organizations during her career, including the Southern States Art League and the Texas Fine Arts Association. In 1939 she was one of eight women who founded the Printmakers Guild, later called Texas Printmakers, to challenge the male-dominated Lone Star Printmakers; the others were Bertha Landers, Stella LaMond, Mary Lightfoot, Verda Ligon, Blanche McVeigh, Coreen May Spellman, and Lura Ann Taylor. From 1942 until 1944 she was president of the Texas Art Education Association. She exhibited her work widely, both in Texas and elsewhere in the United States, and in 1943 was the subject of a one-woman show of prints at the Dallas Museum of Art. A scholarship in her honor at her alma mater, today the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, was established by former pupil Marjorie Hamilton Gillies. Three of Lacy's prints, the linocut "First Monday" of c. 1935–1940 and the lithographs "Left Side of Tracks", of 1940, and the undated "Summer Blankness", are in the collection of the National Gallery of Art; they are part of the donation made to the museum by Reba and Dave Williams of the Print Research Foundation in 2009.


FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force

A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (US&R Task Force) is a team of individuals specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage and medicine. The teams are deployed to emergency and disaster sites within six hours of notification. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the Task Force concept to provide support for large scale disasters in the United States. FEMA provides financial, technical and training support for the Task Forces as well as creating and verifying the standards of Task Force personnel and equipment.
There are 28 Task Forces in the United States, each sponsored by a local agency. In the event of a disaster in the United States, the nearest three Task Forces will be activated and sent to the site of the disaster. If the situation is large enough, additional teams will be activated.
Task Force makeup.
Each Task Force is capable of deploying as a Type I with 70 personnel or a Type III with 28 personnel. This deployment configuration is increased if the Task Force mobilizes for a ground transport.
Each task force member is a specialist in one of four areas:
The search and rescue personnel are organized into four Rescue Squads, each composed of an Officer and five Rescue Specialists, and are capable of working 12-hour alternating shifts. The medical personnel include two task force physicians and four Medical Specialists.
Canine rescuers.
The canine rescuers are a critical element of each US&R Task Force as their keen sense of smell allows them to locate victims that might go undiscovered. The majority of the dog handlers on the Task Forces are civilian volunteers. The dogs are usually considered to be family pets by the handlers when the dogs are not on duty.
The canine rescuers will become unmotivated if they are unsuccessful in locating victims, as they consider search and rescue to be a type of game. To keep the canines engaged after long hours of working, one of the Task Force members will hide in the rubble so the dog will have a successful 'find'. In most instances, the dogs do not wear any equipment (collars, vests, booties, etc.) while working a debris pile. Protective booties may be used in areas where traction is not a primary safety concern. However, on large, unstable debris piles dogs typically do not wear booties or other protective equipment as they need to be able to splay their paws to obtain maximum traction and maintain balance. Harnesses, collars and other equipment can also pose a serious risk to the dog while working if they were to become snagged on steel rebar or other items contained within a disaster site. Because the dogs often work out of sight and out of reach of the handler, it is critical to minimize the possibility of the dog becoming trapped in a confined space or choking from an entangled collar. Because of the distinct possibility of injury from broken glass and metal, the medical unit maintains supplies for the canine rescuers.
After first passing an evaluation of basic obedience, alert, directional control, agility and search skills currently known as an FSA (Foundational Skills Assessment), all canine/handler teams must pass an advanced certification known as a Certification Evaluation (or CE). This advanced certification process evaluates the ability of the canine and handler to locate an unknown number of buried subjects in multiple rubble piles in a limited period of time. All canine teams in the FEMA USAR system must achieve and maintain an advanced certification through the Certification Evaluation program to be considered a depolyable resource. This process is analogous to the Type II Basic and Type I Advanced certifications used prior to 2006.
History.
The origins of the FEMA Task Forces goes back to the early 1980s when the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and Metro-Dade County Fire Department created search and rescue teams to deal with rescue operations in collapsed buildings. The State Department and the Office of Foreign Disaster Aid requested the help of these teams to assist with rescue operations in the 1985 Mexico City, the 1990 Luzon and the 1989 Leninakan earthquakes.
After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, seeing the value in having a network of such teams in the United States, FEMA created the National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Response System that same year. In 1992, the concept was incorporated into the Federal Response Plan first published in 1992 and was later retained in the National Response Plan and the National Response Framework. FEMA sponsored 25 national urban search-and-rescue task forces. The number of teams has expanded to 28 since 1991.
Notable US&R Task Force responses.
Task Forces respond to a variety of different situations ranging from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes to man-made disasters such as gas explosions and bombings. Listed below are a few of the notable situations that US&R Task Forces have responded to:
Task Force locations.
The 28 teams of the US&R Task Force program are spread throughout the United States. The teams are identified by the official two-letter U.S. Postal Service state abbreviations followed by the letters TF for Task Force and a sequential number for the number of the task force for that state. The numbering of the Task Forces is in alphabetical order of the sponsoring agency location within each state.
The U.S. Army's 911th Engineer Company, modeled on a FEMA USAR Task Force, provides additional response to the National Capital Region.
Task Force equipment.
FEMA has created a standardized list of equipment that each Task Force maintains. The 16,400 pieces of equipment are cached and palletized for quick access and transportation. The complete load of equipment weighs 60,000 pounds (27,215 kg) and is designed to be transported by tractor trailer or in the cargo hold of one C-17 transport aircraft or two C-130 transport aircraft.
The equipment cache allows the Task Force to operate independently for up to four days. The cache contains five categories of equipment: Medical, Search and Rescue, Communications, Technical Support and Logistics.
Medical.
The medical portion of the cache includes medical treatment and tools to provide sophisticated medical treatment for victims and task force members, including limited treatment of disaster search canines. The treatment materials are designed to be enough to handle 10 critical cases, 15 moderate cases and 25 minor cases.
Items included in the medical cache are medicines, intravenous fluids, blankets, suture sets, airways, tracheal tubes, defibrillators, burn treatment supplies, bone saws and scalpels. On site, the "durable" medical equipment will stay with the Task Force when patients are transferred to other medical facilities. The local medical facilities must provide their own medical equipment as the equipment may be needed again by the Task Force.
Search and Rescue.
The Search and Rescue portion of the cache contains all the equipment that the Search and Rescue teams will need to extricate victims from debris. Technical search tools include telescopic cameras with heat detecting sensors and seismic listening devices (Delsar).
Construction type equipment such as concrete saws, jackhammers, drills and rope, and technical rescue type equipment such as lifting airbags, shore systems, and hydraulic rescue tools. Non-reusable shoring material such as lumber and pipe is not included in the cache and is to be found or acquired at the disaster site.
Communications.
Generators, lights, radios, cellular phones, laptop computers Task Force personnel will be issued portable radios at the point of departure to a disaster and are responsible for that radio until the Task Force returns to the point of departure. The radios operate in the 403-430 MHz range and are capable of penetrating structures and below grade environments (i.e. underground).
Technical support.
Snake-like cameras, fiberscopes, sensitive listening devices, measuring devices such as laser rangefinders, strain gauges and levels; audio-visual equipment such as still and video cameras, LCD projectors; haz-mat equipment and support equipment for canines such as kennels, harnesses and sleeping pads.
Logistics.
Sleeping bags, cots, food and water, as well as cold weather gear, portable toilets, portable showers, safety equipment such as gloves, earplugs, kneepads, respirators and protective eyewear; administrative equipment such as office supplies and reference materials; equipment maintenance materials and Task Force member's personal gear.


Morrells of Oxford Ltd v Oxford United Football Club

Morrells of Oxford Ltd v Oxford United Football Club [2001] Ch 459 is an English land law case concerning covenants and their interpretation in a conveyance, particularly discerning and distinguishing those expressly or impliedly with no intention to bind successors — those of a personal nature, enforceable "inter partes", that is between the parties to the original deed. It concerned a restraint of trade covenant and was unlike the others surrounding it (see purposive interpretation and contextual interpretation) not expressed to bind all heirs and assigns (or other synonyms for successors in title).
Facts.
Morrells of Oxford Ltd trading as Morrells Brewery, were the successors in title to the original purchaser of a pub (i.e. they are the current owners). They sought to enforce a covenant against the developers of adjoining land, who were the successors in title to the local authority and whose registered land referred also to the same deed. In selling this adjoining farmland four decades before, the council had agreed not to allow the (alcohol-) licensing of premises within half a mile of the pub which they licensed and allowed to be built on that basis in the 1960s. The covenant was clear enough to qualify for enforcement if the local authority proposed to breach the covenant by selling alcohol on its own land but they did not and were in the process of selling the land to independent developers who ultimately built the Kassam Stadium of Oxford United FC. The stadium's developer calculated it was a commercial necessity for an on-site alcohol consumption licence to be legally permissible on the site before completing their purchase of the stadium. The relevant, contentious Deed of Conveyance dated to 1962. Morrells argued that it bound and benefitted both sets of successors (respectively) by meeting the requirements of the Law of Property Act 1925, section 79.
Judgment.
Robert Walker LJ held the purpose of s 79 was to remove the difficulty of expressing an intention to bind successors by allowing in some cases that intention to be presumed unless a contrary intention was apparent. Here the other covenants in the conveyance made it clear they should bind successors. The court held that the absence of such words in the covenant amounted to the contrary intention, that is an intention not to bind successors. The covenant was thus personal in nature ("inter partes") and could not be enforced against successors in title. He said that Law of Property Act 1925, section 79 ‘extends the number of persons whose acts or omissions are within the reach of the covenant in the sense of making equitable remedies available, provided that the other conditions for equity’s intervention are satisfied.’
The section on its own ("per se") does not make all covenants bind all successors, it leaves latitude as to construction (wording) as whether certain covenants are to be considered personal, those which are imposed so as not to bind the land itself. He summarised the applicable test for whether a covenant touches and concerns the land: "A’s duty is a duty not to make a particular use of A’s land; and A’s duty enhances B’s Freehold or Lease (i.e. benefits B’s land); and A’s duty, when created, is not intended to impose only a personal duty on A."


Fenoxycarb

Fenoxycarb is a carbamate insect growth regulator. It has a low toxicity for bees, birds, and humans, but is toxic to fish. The oral LD50 for rats is greater than 16,800 mg/kg.
Fenoxycarb is non-neurotoxic and does not have the same mode of action as other carbamate insecticides. Instead, it prevents immature insects from reaching maturity by mimicking juvenile hormone.


Director of National Parks

Director of National Parks is a government-owned corporation of the Australian government responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the "Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999" ("EPBC Act"). The agency is a corporation sole.
Parks Australia (formerly the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) is a division of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment which supports the Director of National Parks in the management of six Commonwealth national parks, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, and Australian marine parks.
Legal status and history.
The Director of National Parks was established under the EPBC Act as a corporation sole, i.e. the corporation is constituted by the person appointed to the office named the Director of National Parks.
It was established on 17 July 2000 upon the proclamation of the EPBC Act and is a continuation of the office of the "Director of National Parks and Wildlife" which existed under the "National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975".
As of May 2018, the office is held in an acting capacity by Dr. Judy West who succeeds Sally Barnes who was director from 2014 to 2018 and Peter Cochrane who was director from 1999 to 2013.
Responsibilities.
The Director of National Parks’ responsibilities under the EPBC Act include:
Portfolio and delegations.
The Director of National Parks’ portfolio consists of the following groups of protected areas:
The management of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Commonwealth Marine Reserve has been delegated by the Director of National Parks to the Australian Antarctic Division, another agency within the Department of the Environment and Energy.
The portfolio does not include the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park because this protected area is managed by another departmental agency, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Parks Australia.
Parks Australia (formerly the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) is a division of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment since 2020 (previously the Department of the Environment and Energy). Parks Australia staff are part of the federal environment portfolio. It supports the Director of National Parks in the management of six Commonwealth national parks, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, and Australian Marine Parks.
For the financial year 2016-17, Parks Australia had a staffing level averaging at 321 people and consisted for four sections reporting directly to the Director of National Parks and the following three branches – the Joint Management Branch, the Marine Protected Areas Branch and the Parks Island & Biodiversity Science Branch.


Re Dennis

Re Dennis [1996] Ch 80 is an English land law case, concerning co-ownership of land.
Facts.
Mr and Mrs Dennis were joint tenants. He failed to comply with a bankruptcy notice, an act of bankruptcy. Then his wife died. Then he was declared bankrupt. There was no secured lending affecting their house (mortgage) to which the wife had assented. The question in law was whether the act of bankruptcy terminated (severed) the joint tenancy between the couple; if so then the husband's trustees would not receive automatically the wife's share, instead her Will would be free to allocate the property as she saw fit (or if she had died intestate, the Intestacy Rules would prevail).
Judgment.
Held, under the Bankruptcy Act 1914, severance occurred at the date of the act of bankruptcy, so on her death the wife was a tenant in common with a half share and that passed to their children. Had a joint tenancy continued then the bankrupt's trustees would have acquired her share to consider in accordance with the bankruptcy rules.


Mikeover Ltd v Brady

Mikeover Ltd v Brady [1989] is an English land law case, concerning the definition of leases, specifically a standard tenancy as opposed to a licence. Here a licence was confirmed and upheld where two former co-habitees had fallen out and separated; removing from the remaining licensee, in arrears, the extra time to remain afforded by the old Rent Act 1977 type tenancies which he hoped to benefit from.
Facts.
Mikeover Ltd had leased 179 Southgate Rd, London, N1, and then let it out to Mr Brady and Miss Guile. They each signed separate but identical ‘licence’ agreements allowing them to share for six months for £86.66 a month. After the sixth months expired they were allowed to remain on the same terms. Miss Guile moved out early 1986, telling Mr Ferster, the Mikeover Ltd director, in April 1986. Mr Brady offered to continue to pay £173.32 in rent. Mr Ferster replied ‘I can’t accept it. I’ll hold you responsible for your share only.’ But Mr Brady still fell into arrears for his half, and Mikeover Ltd tried to remove him in early 1987. He claimed he had a lease of the flat to get Rent Act protection.
County Court held they had only licences.
Judgment.
Slade LJ held they had only licences. There was exclusive possession in common with the other occupier, but there was no unity of interest, and no joint tenancy, and the limitation on payments to their own shares was pivotal. This meant the arrangements were incapable of creating a joint tenancy because the obligations were not joint. There was no sham. It was established that there must be the four unities present, of possession, interest, title and time, and there was no unity of interest because there was only a several obligation for payment of the rent. That requires the existence of ‘joint rights and joint obligations’.
Following devoutly the likewise 1989 case of "Stribling", Slade LJ added:
Parker LJ with whose judgment Fox LJ and Sir Denys Buckley agreed, said:<br>
The entire inconsistency with a joint tenancy of a provision rendering each licensee responsible only for one third of the total required by the landlord was, as we read "Stribling v Wickham", part of the essential reasoning which led this court to its final decision.
Commentary.
Academic critque published by journal: it is not clear why there is a requirement for a genuine (factual) joint tenancy [at all times of occupancy], when there is no such requirement for having a freehold together.


United States Army Snow Plow No. SN-87

The United States Army Snow Plow No. SN-87 is a historic railroad snow plow, that is part of the collection of the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is a 74,000-lb. wedge plow, mounted on a pair of trucks, built in 1953 by the O.F. Jordan Company of East Chicago, Indiana, under contract to the United States Army. It was used by the Army until 1990, when it was donated to the museum.
The plow was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.


Pyriproxyfen

Pyriproxyfen is a pesticide which is found to be effective against a variety of insects. It was introduced to the US in 1996, to protect cotton crops against whitefly. It has also been found useful for protecting other crops. It is also used as a prevention for flea control on household pets, for killing indoor and outdoor ants and roaches. Methods of application include aerosols, bait, carpet powders, foggers, shampoos and pet collars.
Pyriproxyfen is a juvenile hormone analog and an insect growth regulator. It prevents larvae from developing into adulthood and thus rendering them unable to reproduce.
In the US, pyriproxyfen is often marketed under the trade name "Nylar". In Europe, pyriproxyfen is known under the brand names Cyclio (Virbac) and Exil Flea Free TwinSpot (Emax).
Toxicity in mammals.
Pyriproxyfen has low acute toxicity. According to WHO and FAO, at elevated doses exceeding 5000 mg/kg of body weight, pyriproxyfen affects the liver in mice, rats and dogs. It also changes cholesterol levels, and may cause modest anemia at high doses.
Rumor of link to microcephaly outbreak in Brazil.
Starting in 2014, pyriproxifen was put into Brazilian water supplies to fight the proliferation of mosquito larvae. This is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) for larvicides. In January 2016, the Brazilian Association for Collective Health ("Abrasco"; ) criticized the introduction of pyriproxyfen in Brazil. Abrasco demanded the "immediate suspension of [use of] pyriproxyfen and all growth inhibitors ... in drinking water." The organization is opposed to the use of growth inhibitors in the context of an ongoing outbreak of fetal malformation.
On February 3, the rumor that pyriproxyfen, not the Zika virus, is the cause of the 2015-2016 microcephaly outbreak in Brazil was raised in a report of the Argentinean organization Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Villages (PCST). It attracted wide media coverage.
The statement from Abrasco was cited in the PCST report; subsequently, Abrasco clarified that position as an misinterpretation of their statement, saying "at no time did we state that pesticides, insecticides, or other chemicals are responsible for the increasing number of microcephaly cases in Brazil". They also condemned the behavior of the websites that spread the misinformation, adding that such "untruths...violates the anguish and suffering of the people in vulnerable positions". In addition, the coordinator for the PCST statement, Medardo Ávila Vazquez, acknowledged in an interview that "the group hasn’t done any lab studies or epidemiological research to support its assertions, but it argues that using larvicides may cause human deformities."
On February 13, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul suspended pyriproxyfen's use, citing both Abrasco and PCST positions. The Health Minister of Brazil, Marcelo Castro, criticized this step, noting that the claim is "a rumor lacking logic and sense. It has no basis." They also noted that the insecticide is approved by the National Sanitary Monitoring Agency and "all regulatory agencies in the whole world". The manufacturer of the insecticide, Sumitomo Chemical, stated "there is no scientific basis for such a claim" and also referred to the approval of pyriproxyfen by the World Health Organization since 2004 and the United States Environmental Protection Agency since 2001.
George Dimech, the director of Disease Control and Diseases of the Health Department of Pernambuco in Brazil, gave an interview to the BBC where he pointed out that the city of Recife has the current highest reported number of cases of microcephaly, yet pyriproxyfen is not used in the region, but another insecticide altogether. He added that "this lack of spatial correlation weakens the idea that the larvicide is the cause of the problem." In addition, the BBC interviewed researchers in Pernambuco, where no evidence has been found of the cases being linked to any environmental cause like an insecticide. Neurologist Vanessa van der Linden stated in an interview, "Clinically, the changes we see in the scans of babies suggest that the injuries were caused by congenital infection and not by larvicide, drug or vaccine."
Noted skeptic David Gorski called the claim a conspiracy theory and pointed out that antivaccine proponents had also claimed that the Tdap vaccine was the cause of the microcephaly outbreak, due to its introduction in 2014, along with adding, "One can’t help but wonder what else the Brazilian Ministry of Health did in 2014 that cranks can blame microcephaly on." Gorski also pointed out the extensive physiochemical understanding of pyriproxyfen coded in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, which concluded in a past evaluation that the insecticide is not genotoxic, and that the doctor organization making the claim has been advocating against all pesticides since 2010, complicating their reliability.
A professor from the University of Adelaide in Australia, stated that "The effect of pyriproxyfen on reproduction and fetal abnormalities is well studied in animals. In a variety of animal species even enormous quantities of pyriproxyfen do not cause the defects seen during the recent Zika outbreak." A colleague also from the University of Adelaide stated that "While the evidence that Zika virus is responsible for the rise in microcephaly in Brazil is not conclusive, the role of pyriproxyfen is simply not plausible." Another professor in Australia concluded that "insect development is quite different to human development and involves different hormones, developmental pathways and sets of genes, so it cannot be assumed that chemicals affecting insect development also influence mammalian development."


Selling Sunset

Selling Sunset is an American reality television series on Netflix created by Adam DiVello.
The series revolves around the Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate brokerage firm in Los Angeles, and follows a group of agents as they navigate their personal and professional lives.
The first season premiered with eight episodes on March 21, 2019. The show returned for a second season on May 22, 2020, and a third season on August 7, 2020. On March 11, 2021, Netflix renewed the show for seasons four and five.
Controversies.
Celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen have questioned the authenticity of the show. A long-term real estate agent in LA told the Mail that "The Oppenheim brothers are the real deal but none of us have ever come across the women they have working for them. It's clear these 'girls', as they call them on the show, were hired to make the show sizzle." Star Chrishell Stause has fought back against the accusations, going so far as to post a picture of her real estate license online to dismiss the rumors.