Bunny's Blog: Iams Home 4 the Holidays Kicks Off Today

The Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive enters its 14th year and remains focused on raising awareness of pet adoption while also ensuring proper nutrition for more homeless pets this year.

The campaign, which runs from October 1 through January 2, is a partnership between Iams and the Helen Woodward Animal Center to give more orphaned pets a fresh start through loving homes and good nutrition.

There are many new and simple ways to get involved in the campaign this year from joining the Iams Facebook community to help feed homeless pets to adopting an animal from a local shelter.

  • Digital Dish Drive ? New this year, Iams will feature a different dog and cat available for adoption on the Iams Facebook page, beginning Oct. 1, and during scheduled "feeding" times each day, every ?Like? or ?Share" will result in a meal donation to a participating shelter.?
  • Iams Lifelong Rewards ? Join the Iams community by mobile sign up at www.Iams.com or at a participating pet adoption center when you adopt your new family member. For every sign up, Iams will donate food to a homeless pet awaiting adoption.?
  • Bags 4 Bowls ? For every specially marked package of Iams pet food purchased during the campaign, Iams will donate one bowl of food to a participating Iams Home 4 the Holidays animal organization.?
  • Find Adoptable Pets Near You ? To find a participating animal shelter or rescue near you, visit home4theholidays.org.?

Each year Iams and the Helen Woodward Animal Center work to ensure that Iams Home 4 the Holidays is reaching people in new and unique ways to generate widespread awareness for pet homelessness.

For more information about the campaign or to find out how to get involved, become a fan of the Iams Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Iams.

Source: http://bunnyjeancook.blogspot.com/2012/10/iams-home-4-holidays-kicks-off-today.html

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Power Meals: Oven Roasted Beets

This is actually the first time I roasted Beets. ?My mom used to serve them but I never ate them and I really eat all vegetables. ?After coming across this article ( below) ?on the internet that I found, I decided to give them a try. ?I chose to make fresh beets, but you can buy them in a jar or can. They were so easy to prepare and they are insanely nutritious and delicious. ?I ate them for breakfast this morning! ?Below are the health benefits of Beets:

You probably rarely think about beets. If people do think about them, most grimace and say, "yuck!" But if you are at all health-conscious, it is time to expand your palette! Not only are beets a great boost to your physical well being and a wonderful source of iron, it has been shown to be an immunity booster and guard against cancer. ?Here are 15 great reasons to eat beets:

1. Beets have ZERO trans fat and ZERO saturated fat. They are also low calorie! How's that for a food to satisfy your hunger and have the ability to satisfy a sweet tooth at the same time? You've got to love a food that meets a sugar craving and doesn't harm your body!

2. Canned beets are very inexpensive! Buy them sliced or whole and buying the store brand they will cost about 60 cents or less! Just put a few cans in the refrigerator and next time you are looking for a snack food they will be super cold and ready to eat, no dirty pots, no cooking. Just drain and enjoy with a fork!

3. Beets are high in carbohydrates which means they are a great instant energy source, but unlike processed foods which are high in carbohydrates, beets will energize your body. Beets can be regarded as body fuel.

4. Beets contain sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosperous! They are also considered a fiber food and contain vitamins A and C as well as niacin! You can't beat that!

5. Beets contain folic acid which is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important for pregnant woman or anyone undergoing physical healing. Many people take folic acid in the form of herbal supplements, but if you eat beets, you won't need to! It is always better for the body to receive it's nutrients and vitamins through food over a supplement because it is like mainlining the natural source into your bloodstream. The benefits are far superior and faster with real food over powder mixes or pills.

6. Studies have shown that beets guard against cancer, especially colon cancer.

7. Medical studies have also shown that including beets in your diet helps protect a body against heart disease.

8. Beets are available all year round! So they are not difficult to find in any produce section if you want them fresh!

9. Beets can be eaten raw or you can boil, steam roast or sautee them. Additionally raw beets can be juiced in a Jay the Juiceman type juicer very easily! But be warned, beet juice is EXTREMELY strong and powerful! If you want to get naturally drunk without alcohol, take a glass of beet juice and see what happens. It is startling! If you want the benefits of beet juice but candle handle drinking it straight up, then mix it with some carrot or apple juice for a milder but still beneficial juice.

10. Borscht, a very popular vegetable soup made of beets is a traditionally loved dish in Poland, Russia,?Germany?and other Eastern European menus. There are cold and hot Borscht soups and each country varies some of the ingredients, but beets are the one common and main ingredient of this revered and hearty soup.

11. Even the leaves of raw beets have been eaten and useful and beneficial to one's health. The leaves have been known to counter "garlic" breath and in Roman times Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for healing wounds.?

12. Beets being naturally colorful and bright red make an excellent and healthful garnish for artistic presentation of a meal. They also can be made into a number of cold salads for a change of pace meal.?Betacyanin?is the pigment that gives beets their red color, this pigment is what is responsible for helping to fight cancer.?

13. Beets have been shown to help cleanse the blood, cleanse the colon and strengthen the?gall bladder?and liver.?

14. There is something called Beet Therapy. Doctors have used it to get rid of tumors and to help people with blood diseases and leukemia.?

15. Some people have used beats to treat and cure boils, abscesses and even acne.

So, after knowing all this, isn't it time to introduce beets into your diet? What have you got to lose? In fact they will even help you lose weight! So, go on and enjoy a couple of beets and spread the word!?

Roasted Beets

Chop off beet greens (you can saut? them or put in fridge for future use) gently scrub and wash beets under running water in the sink, pat dry, drizzle Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Black Pepper over beets. ?Place in pyrex pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. ?Make a few slits in foil for venting. ?Bake at 400 degrees F for about 45 minutes. ?That's it! ?When done the skin will peel right off easily. ?They are so good you must try this recipe. ?Serve cut in quarters and drizzle olive oil and enjoy!

Source: http://powermeals.blogspot.com/2012/09/oven-roasted-beets.html

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Everything went wrong for Romo

Matt BirkAP

The question of same-sex marriage has created some same-team awkwardness.

Last month, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo came out in favor of expanding the legal definition of marriage to include folks of the same gender.? Over the weekend, Ravens center Matt Birk voiced his opposition to it in an op-ed that ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

?I think it is important to set the record straight about what the marriage debate is and is not about, and to clarify that not all NFL players think redefining marriage is a good thing,? Birk wrote.

On Monday, Birk said he won?t let the issue become a ?circus? in the locker room, but he also said he won?t remain silent.

?I took a stance like other guys have done before me. In doing so, it?s not my aim, it?s not my goal to engage in any debates with any one person or persons. Obviously, we all have opinions,? Birk said, via J. Michael of CSNBaltimore.com.? ?It just so happens we disagree on what marriage is in the public forum.? Certainly, a very inflammatory, very hot topic because it?s important. I understand that.

?Out of respect to my teammates and my team, the organization, this isn?t going to turn into a circus.? It probably won?t be the last time that I publicly make a stance on it.?

Birk explained that he told Ayanbadejo on Friday that the column was coming.? Coach John Harbaugh has assumed the posture of Switzerland.

?Don?t discourage it or encourage it,? Birk said.? ?As long as everybody respects everybody else?s opinion, that?s the main thing. We talk about politics, religion . . . movies, music.? It?s OK to have an opinion.?

One of Birk?s former teammates, Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, also has weighed in, via a written submission that only Kluwe could craft.

Regardless of where folks land on this one, here?s hoping that it doesn?t become an issue in the locker room for the Ravens or any other team.? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on matters like this, but it?s important to respect everyone else?s opinion on matters like this, too.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/01/bears-win-big-thanks-to-romos-interceptions-bryants-drops/related

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Georgia's Saakashvili challenged in parliamentary vote

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgians elect a parliament on Monday with tension high after a prison abuse scandal that has turned the vote into the biggest test of President Mikheil Saakashvili's grip on the Caucasus Mountain nation in nearly a decade in power.

Saakashvili, a pro-Western leader who swept to the presidency after the bloodless Rose Revolution of 2003 and fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008, hopes to head off a challenge led by a once-reclusive tycoon with a fortune nearly half the size of the former Soviet republic's economy.

He must step down after a presidential vote next year, when constitutional changes will weaken the role of head of state giving more power to parliament and the prime minister.

That may give Saakashvili, 44, a way to remain in charge of the country of 4.5 million, an important gas and oil transit route to the West, if his United National Movement retains its dominance of parliament.

Many Georgians just want political and economic stability. The economy, hit by the 2008 war and the global financial crisis, has been growing again since 2010 but inflation is high again and is likely to hit 6-7 percent this year.

For Saakashvili's main rival, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the election is a high-stakes election debut.

"Besides being a contest for parliament, it is also a shadow leadership election," said Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He said the vote "marks a turning point for Georgia".

UPHILL STRUGGLE

Ivanishvili, 56, and his six-party Georgian Dream movement face an uphill battle to wrest control from the ruling party, but grim video footage showing the abuse and rape of inmates at a Tbilisi prison has increased their chances.

The video aired on two channels opposed to Saakashvili, one of which is owned by Ivanishvili, and has undermined the president's projected image as a reformer who imposed the rule of law and rooted out post-Soviet corruption.

The controversy has helped Ivanishvili make the case that Saakashvili has become an undemocratic leader who tramples rights and freedoms, and could help win over the large group of Georgians who summertime polls showed were undecided.

The prison scandal led to street protests and heated rhetoric which included Saakashvili trading barbs with Georgia's powerful neighbor Russia, which during the 2008 war strengthened its control of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which make up about one-fifth of the small country's territory.

Saakashvili's supporters say the election could determine whether Georgia moves closer to Russia or remains a staunch U.S. ally. They accuse Ivanishvili, who made much of his money in Russia, of being a Kremlin stooge, a charge he denies.

THE BALLOT BOX OR THE STREETS

Concerns about post-election have triggered calls for restraint from the West, which wants a stable Georgia because of its role as a conduit for Caspian Sea energy supplies to Europe and its location between Russia, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia.

"Political leaders should be chosen through the ballot box and not on the streets," parliamentary delegation heads from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, NATO and the European Parliament said on Saturday.

Ivanishvili told a rally on Saturday "this regime's hours are numbered", but has also said Georgian Dream would accept any outcome deemed legitimate by international observers.

A poll by the U.S. National Democratic Institute in August gave UNM 37 percent support against 12 percent for Georgian Dream but showed 43 percent of respondents could vote either way. There have been no major polls since the abuse scandal.

Elected in 2004 after the Rose Revolution protests toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister, Saakashvili cultivated close ties with Europe and the United States and sought to bring Georgia into NATO.

He also clamped down on police bribe-taking, made frequent power outages a thing of the past and presided over an economic resurgence before Georgia was hit by the global financial crisis and a 2008 war with Russia.

But opponents say he has curbed democracy, persecuting opponents, pressuring courts and controlling the media, and he faces criticism for leading Georgia into the 2008 war with Moscow in which Russian forces routed his army. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Steve Gutterman and Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/georgias-saakashvili-challenged-parliamentary-vote-203426215.html

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Can the World Save Lives and Combat Climate Change?

Environmental, humanitarian and economic challenges do not exist in isolation, but that is how the world most often deals with them. To take just one example: one of the key challenges facing cities around the globe in the 21st century is flooding. Flooding is determined by environmental factors, from climate change to overcrowding of floodplains with habitation. Flooding is also often a humanitarian disaster when it strikes and can be an aftereffect of big development projects, like hydroelectric dams.

Or take the metals in a cell phone. As Judith Rodin, president of the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation, noted at her organization's event about "resilient livelihoods" on September 25, tungsten is the "metal that puts the buzz in your cell phone." Mining that tungsten is an economic development opportunity but also too often creates a humanitarian crisis when such economically valuable minerals become a source of conflict?as has been the case in the eastern Congo. At the same time, the mining practices used to extract such metals can be more or less bad for the environment and human health.

The U.N. buzz phrase of the last decade?"sustainable development"?is slowly morphing into a new sustainable buzzword for the development and humanitarian communities: resilience. Resilience means, at its core, an ability to bounce back from stress in a healthy way, Rodin said. But, as development expert Edward Carr of the University of South Carolina rightly notes, resilience of what, to what? Enabling the poor to be resilient in the face of challenges like climate change may require a fundamental rethinking of the methods used to address both poverty and global warming.

After all, poverty and climate change are inextricably linked: The developed world has progressed, thanks to fossil fuels, and burning them has resulted in the elevated levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trapping heat, raising global temperatures and spawning weird weather. To resolve the energy poverty of billions will likely require burning more fossil fuels, but preventing catastrophic climate change definitely requires reducing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gas. "You cannot tackle one without the other," Rodin noted.

Thus far, despite some recent success in reducing poverty thanks to rising living standards in China, the world has mostly failed to truly tackle either. Although drought in the Horn of Africa is predictable and cyclical even under the present climate, famine still stalks the region. "To have drought at the level of 2011 and no deaths in Ethiopia? That was progress," argued Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme at the Rockefeller event. Yet, thousands perished of starvation throughout the region and populations in Somalia, Kenya and elsewhere remain reliant on aid?a decades-long failure that also encompasses civil war and political instability. "How do you eventually graduate from aid?" asks Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen, a Denmark-based company that makes disease-control products.

Plus, "we are not winning the war on hunger. We are losing it," argued European Union Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva at the Rockefeller event. One of the big reasons that levels of hunger have started to grow again is the impact of climate change?variable weather means variable harvests whereas programs to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of cars have ended up taking away food to make biofuels like ethanol. The lack of investment in agricultural innovation and the devastating impact of food aid on local farmers hasn't helped either. "Yes, we feed the hungry but we kill the farmers," Georgieva noted. Or, as food security specialist Amadou Diallo of the government of Niger said: "The basis of peace is food security." When people lack food, they turn to rebellion or terrorism.

Switching from food to cash grants except in those cases where food cannot be provided locally may be the key, argued Degan Ali of Adeso, an advocacy group for development in Africa, at the Rockefeller event. Such "flexible interventions" give the poor the ability to invest in their homes and villages rather than abandon everything and become permanent refugees.

In fact, one of the goals of humanitarian assistance now is preventative: keep people home rather than trekking to refugee camps, argued Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, at the event. Interventions that have been proved to work in that regard are as simple as selling off livestock or providing fodder for lactating goats. These ideas "solve the problem in a far more fundamental manner than rushing in with food aid," Shah argued?a fact that has been born out in academic research for the past several decades.

At the same time, the world will continue to urbanize, as one-time villagers abandon everything and move to the city for a better life. That may improve economic circumstances but it also tends to increase the impact of natural disasters. Floods are more devastating, thanks to migrant villagers building in neglected floodplains or other undesirable areas.

So finding new ways to fund environmental improvement and economic development at the same time will be crucial. And a new project in western Kenya may provide an all too unique example of how the two might be linked.

Life saver?
The LifeStraw is a plastic tube with a hollow-fiber membrane tucked inside. The membrane filters out bacteria, particles, viruses and other nasty stuff from freshwater, making it safe for drinking according to both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization standards. That is no small thing in the all too many parts of the world where there is no guarantee that drinking water will not induce illness. All told, nearly one billion people worldwide lack access to such safe drinking water?a long-standing humanitarian crisis.

More than 870,000 households in western Kenya now have family-size capacity versions of these straws, part of a program to deliver, maintain and make sure such potentially life-saving technology is used. And this humanitarian program is funded by selling carbon dioxide emission reductions.

What's the connection between CO2 and humanitarian aid? One word: firewood. In the absence of the LifeStraw, these Kenyan families must boil their water to ensure its safety. To do so, they must gather extra firewood (more than that they would need just for cooking), which spurs both bigger the cutting down of trees as well as times when such critical safety practices have to be skipped due to a lack of resources. Skipping even one day of safe drinking water can mean a health disaster. "It's not a vaccine. You can't relax and stop using it," Vestergaard Frandsen says. As it stands, more than 1.5 million children die of diarrheal disease annually around the world, mostly due to bad drinking water.

In order to generate its 2.7 million metric tons worth of verified emission reductions to date, the LifeStraw effort sends field workers out every six months to ensure the technology is both working and being used?and have committed to keep doing so for a decade. Already, according to the company, they are "seeing a statistically significant reduction in the odds of a child under five presenting at a clinic with diarrhea," Vestergaard Frandsen says. Each LifeStraw can filter at least 18,000 liters?enough to supply a family of four for three years with their clean drinking water needs.

The carbon credits fetch between $11.50 and $14 per metric ton, generating at least $30 million for the project. But such a charismatic carbon project is all too rare these days, both because the carbon market is dominated by less robust emission reductions from heavy industry in China and India as well as development efforts that proceed with little thought of the environmental cost or co-benefits. At present, there is simply no way to scale up such innovative efforts because there is no larger market for such "premium" credits as well as no interest from aid agencies. "In development aid, we give upfront dollars and start hoping," Vestergaard Frandsen notes. In order to solve environmental and economic problems, that has to change.

Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-save-lives-combat-climate-change-113100145.html

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Supreme Court Justices attend annual Red Mass

Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl, bottom center, speaks with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, left, as Justices Elena Kagan, center right, and Stephen Breyer, top right, all talk on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle after the 60th annual Red Mass at in Washington on Sunday Sept. 30, 2012. The Red Mass is held traditionally in Washington the day before the Supreme Court?s new term opens. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl, bottom center, speaks with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, left, as Justices Elena Kagan, center right, and Stephen Breyer, top right, all talk on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle after the 60th annual Red Mass at in Washington on Sunday Sept. 30, 2012. The Red Mass is held traditionally in Washington the day before the Supreme Court?s new term opens. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl speak with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle after the 60th annual Red Mass in Washington on Sunday Sept. 30, 2012. The Red Mass is held traditionally in Washington the day before the Supreme Court?s new term opens. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl shake hands with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts after the 60th annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Sunday Sept. 30, 2012. The Red Mass is traditionally held in Washington the day before the Supreme Court's new term opens. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl talks with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after the 60th annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Sunday Sept. 30, 2012. The Red Mass is traditionally held in Washington the day before the Supreme Court's new term opens. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

(AP) ? An American archbishop has reminded a congregation that included six Supreme Court justices Sunday to be open to the spirit of God, beg for his blessings and "strive to be instruments of a new evangelization."

The Archdiocese of Washington says Justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer were at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle for Red Mass, celebrated the Sunday before the Supreme Court begins its new term.

The Most Rev. Timothy Broglio, archbishop for the military services, said the Mass was also "a moment to pause and pray for those who serve our country and foster justice for all."

The John Carroll Society, a group of Roman Catholic Washington professionals, has organized the Red Mass at the cathedral since 1953.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-30-Supreme%20Court-Mass/id-53b731be63174f77a9181e0c1e20bc72

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Pranked teen shines at homecoming ceremony

Whitney Kropp, the teen who was elected to the court as a hurtful prank by classmates, attended the homecoming dance in ?West Branch, Michigan, wearing a donated dress as her entire town rallied around her. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

By NBC News staff

In a red, ruffled dress and flowers in her hair, Whitney Kropp, the Michigan high school student picked by her classmates to be on her school?s homecoming court as a prank, took to her school?s football stadium Friday for the ceremony.?

?I had thoughts about not coming, but you know what, I?m glad I changed my mind and actually came out,? Kropp told NBC News.?

Kropp's appearance was met with thunderous applause and camera flashes from her fellow students at Ogemaw Heights High School in West Branch, Mich.,?and even members of the opposing team.

John M. Galloway / AP

Whitney Kropp, third from left, waits for the ceremony to begin at Ogemaw Heights High School's homecoming football game on Friday.

At Kropp?s side was Josh Awrey, the class of 2015?s male representative, the Bay City Times reported.?

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After the ceremony, Kropp, who said she had been bullied throughout her time in high school, told reporters that she was glad she decided to remain on the court.

?I?m overwhelmed," Kropp said. "I?m so happy ? this is so much right now for me. The school is fantastic they treated me so well."

'Easy target'
Kropp said last month she was initially surprised to learn that her classmates nominated her to be in the running for her school?s homecoming queen. But she said she soon felt humiliated and betrayed when she found out that it was all a joke.

John M. Galloway / AP

Sophomore homecoming representatives Whitney Kropp and Josh Awrey give each other a hug during the homecoming ceremony on the Ogemaw Heights High School football field on Friday.

?People had bullied on me, I guess, for my looks, how I did my hair, how I dress, my height, so I guess they thought, you know, maybe someone that is different is someone that?s an easy target,? Kropp said.?

But, Kropp said she pulled through with the support of her mother and the rest of the town.?

"You want to protect your kid, and you feel angry and mad at what has happened, but at the same time the outpouring to help her has been beyond expected," Kropp's mother Bernice Kropp?said.?

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com?

Word spread quickly through the community of about 2,100 residents in West Branch.?Resident Jamie Kline started a?Facebook support page, gaining more than 4,000 likes?in Michigan and nationwide. Personal stories of bullying and messages of encouragement filled the page.

A salon owner in West Branch donated service to cut, color and style Kropp's hair, and other local businesses paid for her dinner, gown, shoes and tiara for the dance.?

Sophomore student Whitney Kropp never saw herself as part of the "in" crowd at her high school, so she was surprised to find out she was voted to homecoming court. It turned out to be a prank, but now the community is rallying behind Whitney to show their support for her. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

Before the game, a local company even made T-shirts in support of Kropp in her favorite color, orange, adding to the messages of encouragement that Kropp says helped her prevail.?

John M. Galloway / AP

Kristy Erway, Hannah Gebnard, and Paige Sharp of Cadillac High School hang a banner in support of Whitney Kropps in West Branch, Mich., on Friday.

?The kids that are bullying you do not let them bring you down,"?she?said. "Stand up for what you believe in, and go with your heart and go with your gut. That?s what I did and look at me now. I?m just as happy as can be.?

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/01/14168666-teen-picked-for-homecoming-court-as-prank-shines-at-ceremony?lite

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Novel pathogen epidemic identified in sub-Saharan Africa: Spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella tracked

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? Researchers have found that the spread of a dangerous bacteria that can be fatal in up to 45% of people infected in sub-Sahara Africa may have been instigated by the emergence and spread of HIV in Africa. The study also found that one of the major contributing factors for the successful spread of the disease -- non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) -- was the acquisition of genes that afford resistance to several front line drugs used to treat blood-borne infection such as iNTS.

A new study out September 30 reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

The team found that invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease is caused by a new form of the bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium that has spread from two different focal hubs in Southern and Central Africa beginning 52 and 35 years ago, respectively. They also found that one of the major contributing factors for the successful spread of iNTS was the acquisition of genes that afford resistance to several front line drugs used to treat blood-borne infection such as iNTS.

iNTS is a blood-borne infection that kills approximately one of four people in sub-Saharan Africa who catch it. Yet, in the rest of the world, NTS is a leading cause of acute inflammatory diarrhea that is self-limiting and tends to be fatal in less than 1 per cent of people infected. The disease is more severe in sub-Saharan Africa than the rest of the world because of factors such as malnutrition, co-infection with malaria or HIV and potentially the novel genotype of the Salmonella bacteria.

"The immune system susceptibility provided by HIV, malaria and malnutrition at a young age, may provide a population in sub-Saharan Africa that is large enough for this detrimental pathogen to enter, adapt, circulate and thrive," says Chinyere Okoro, joint first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "We used whole genome sequencing to define a novel lineage of Salmonella Typhimurium that is causing a previously unrecognised epidemic across the region. Its genetic makeup is evolving into a more typhoid like bacteria, able to efficiently spread around the human body"

From sequenced samples, the team created a phylogenetic or 'family tree', depicting the pathogen's evolution, dating when each sample first emerged and overlaying this with geographical information about where these samples came from. They found that this invasive disease comprises of two very closely related waves; the first wave originated from a possible south-eastern hub, about 52 years ago and the second originated about 35 years ago, possibly from the Congo Basin.

"The HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is thought to have begun in a central region and underwent expansion eastwards, a strikingly similar dynamic to that observed for second iNTS wave," says Dr Robert Kingsley, joint first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Our findings suggest the current epidemic of iNTS and its transmission across sub-Saharan Africa may have been potentiated by an increase in the critical population of susceptible, immune-compromised people."

The team identified that the vast majority of samples from the second wave of iNTS contains a gene that makes them resistant to chloramphenicol, a frontline antibiotic in the treatment of Salmonella. This gene was not present in the samples from the first wave of iNTS. This observation suggests that iNTS acquired this gene early on in the evolution of the second wave, probably around the time of its spread from the Congo basin.

"Because it acquired resistance to chloramphenicol, this pathogen has much greater opportunity to survive and spread across the region," says Professor Gordon Dougan, lead author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "This is the first time that the power of whole-genome sequencing has been used to track the spread of iNTS. Our research highlights the power this approach has to monitor the emergence and spread of dangerous pathogens both locally and globally over time."

"There has been some evidence that this disease can be passed from human to human. Now the race is on to discover how NTS is actually transmitted in sub-Saharan Africa so that effective intervention strategies can be implemented."

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Journal Reference:

  1. Chinyere K Okoro, Robert A Kingsley, Thomas R Connor, Simon R Harris, Christopher M Parry, Manar N Al-Mashhadani, Samuel Kariuki, Chisomo L Msefula, Melita A Gordon, Elizabeth de Pinna, John Wain, Robert S Heyderman, Stephen Obaro, Pedro L Alonso, Inacio Mandomando, Calman A MacLennan, Milagritos D Tapia, Myron M Levine, Sharon M Tennant, Julian Parkhill, Gordon Dougan. Intracontinental spread of human invasive Salmonella Typhimurium pathovariants in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Genetics, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ng.2423

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/SuSCC8XrBPo/120930141545.htm

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Service: South Africa

We have a number of links in South Africa and next October one of our key projects will be based at Umzingisi School in Port Elizabeth. The Stanley boys have forged strong links with this community over a number of years and we are now opening up the opportunity for all doing Junior Social Apprentice. Umzingisi is a school of sporting excellence so getting actively involved is a must. There will also be a number of projects running in local townships and schools including work at a soup kitchen.

The challenge will be in coaching, teaching and leadership and to develop an understanding of new cultures. Planning to be done will include sourcing flights, finding out about activities, risk assessments and significant fundraising. Costs will be in the region of ?1500 per pupil; however, this will be dependent on securing flights early. Fundraising target will be to secure 30-40 long term sponsors per group each willing to make a regular charitable donation.?

Source: http://intranet.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/service/jnr-social-apprentice/south-africa

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