The word gerbil is a diminutive form of  jerboa , though the jerboas are an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche. One Mongolian species, Meriones unguiculatus, also known as the clawed jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet.
Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is a type of surgery that enables doctors to view the inside of the chest cavity after making only very small incisions. The doctor can examine the outside surface of the lung and the inner surface of the chest wall through a camera attached to the scope.
A VAT is a tax imposed and collected on the value added at each stage in the. production and distribution of a good or service. It is, in effect, levied on the. difference between the sales and production inputs of a business. The VAT is generally thought of as a consumption tax, similar to a retail sales. tax. One important difference, however, is that the VAT is collected in stages as the. goods and services are produced and sold, whereas the retail sales tax is collected at. once upon the final sale.