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Human Behavior

EXIT INTERVIEW – The Ripon Society

From the Republican Revolution of 1994 to the Global Pandemic of 2020, Mac Thornberry reflects on the past 26 years.

Plus, The Ripon Forum features Deb Fischer on the threat from China & Russia, and author John Barry on the fight against COVID-19 and the lessons of 1918

WASHINGTON, DC There are some things you dont want to be right about.

That was Mac Thornberrys response when he was asked, in the days and weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, how it felt to have introduced a bill to establish a Homeland Security Agency in March of that year, six months before the attacks occurred.

John Barry could very well say the same thing today. Barry is the author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. Published in 2005, it tells the story of the deadly virus that swept across America and the world in the winter of 1918, killing as many as 100 million people around the globe.

Barrys book is back on the bestsellers list because many of the experiences and mistakes he wrote about are being repeated as America fights the coronavirus pandemic today. In its latest edition, The Ripon Forum talks to Barry about this fight and the lessons that can be learned from the outbreak 102 years ago. The virus is actually relatively easy to predict, Barry said in our interview. What you cant really predict is human behavior.

The Forum also spoke with Mac Thornberry himself, who is retiring from Congress after 26 years in office. Thornberry was elected as part of the Republican Revolution of 1994 and is departing during the global pandemic of 2020. In between these two events, the Texas lawmaker saw and helped shape a number of other historic moments, the most significant of which, he says, was 9/11 and the ensuing effort to wage a war against terrorism overseas. Im absolutely convinced, Thornberry says of this effort, that if we had not taken the fight to the terrorists and kept on offense, that there would have been more 9/11s, and they may have been far worse.

Of course, the United States continues to face a threat from terrorism today. But an equally and in some ways even more daunting challenge that Thornberry and other key lawmakers are confronting these days is the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia. One of those lawmakers is Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer. Fischer serves as Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. In this role, she has helped author the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, a measure that would not only continue the effort to rebuild our military after years of neglect, but reaffirm the notion that America should continue to be the preeminent power around the world. According to Fischer, it is a notion that has support on both sides of the political aisle. The idea that America, not Russia or China, should play the leading role in world affairs is bipartisan, she writes in an essay for this latest edition. The Senate NDAA does more than any other bill in recent memory to promote U.S. leadership.

In addition to Thornberry and Fischer, this edition of the Forum also contains a number of other leading experts assessing some of the challenges facing the U.S. around the globe, including: Andrew Michta, writing about the transatlantic relationship and why European rearmament is so important to countering the Russian threat; David Dollar, writing about Chinas Belt and Road Initiative seven years after President Xi Jinping gave a speech outlining the programs ambitious reach; Clark Packard, writing about the U.S.-China trade relationship and whether decoupling the two countries economies is the right approach; Rup Narayan Das, writing about the importance of Americas relationship with India; and, Jessica Trisko Darden, examining U.S. foreign policy after the pandemic and four challenges that will need to be addressed.

With regard to the continuing fight against COVID-19, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia pens an op-ed for this latest edition about closing the digital divide and the importance of making sure rural areas of the country are connected. And Lisa Howley looks at how the pandemic has made the opioid epidemic worse.

And in the latest Ripon Profile, Missouri Congresswoman Ann Wagner discusses her role as Chair of the Suburban Caucus and the comprehensive plan she is spearheading to address the needs and concerns of a part of the electorate that could prove crucial to GOP electoral success.

The Ripon Forumis published six times a year by The Ripon Society, a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOPs success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

To view the online version of the latest edition ofThe Ripon Forum, please click here.

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EXIT INTERVIEW - The Ripon Society

Human Behavior

Wildfire smoke more harmful than other types of air pollution for people with asthma – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 23 2020

For people who suffer from asthma, wildfire smoke is more hazardous than other types of air pollution, according to a new study from the Desert Research Institute (DRI), the Renown Institute for Health Innovation (Renown IHI) and the Washoe County Health District (WCHD).

The study, which published last month in the journal Environmental Health, examined associations between airborne particulate matter (PM) from sources such as wildfire, transportation and industry, and medical visits for asthma at Renown Health's emergency departments and urgent care centers in Reno, Nev. during the six-year period from 2013-2018.

According to their results, on days when wildfire smoke was present, elevated levels of PM2.5 (fine particles of 0-2.5 micrometers in size, about 30 times smaller than a human hair) led to a 6.1 percent increase in medical visits for asthma patients when compared with days of similar pollution levels that came from non-wildfire sources.

Since we found significantly stronger associations of PM2.5 with asthma visits when wildfire smoke was present, our results suggest that wildfire PM is more hazardous than non-wildfire PM for patients with asthma."

Daniel Kiser, M.S., Lead Author, Data Scientist with DRI and Renown IHI

An increase in the harmfulness of PM from wildfires compared to PM from other sources may be attributable to differences in the chemical composition of PM or changes in human behavior, since people are more likely to be outdoors in the summer, when wildfires typically occur. The research team notes that caution should be used when applying these results to other areas of the country, such as the Southeastern United States, since the harmfulness of wildfire smoke may be affected by the type of fuel that is being burned. Other factors, such as the distance that wildfire smoke was carried by the wind and burn temperature, may also play a role in the harmfulness of wildfire smoke.

The researchers found that air quality in the Reno area was affected by wildfire smoke on a total of 188?days during the study period. A total of 18,836 asthma-related emergency room and urgent care visits occurred over the same five-year period of time, indicating that the influences of wildfire smoke and other types of air pollution on this medical condition are important to understand.

"In places like Reno, where wildfire events occur regularly during parts of the year and are expected to become more frequent in the future, an accurate understanding of the impacts of wildfire smoke on population health is critical," Kiser said.

Source:

Journal reference:

Kiser, D., et al. (2020) Particulate matter and emergency visits for asthma: a time-series study of their association in the presence and absence of wildfire smoke in Reno, Nevada, 20132018. Environmental Health. doi.org/10.1186/s12940-020-00646-2.

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Wildfire smoke more harmful than other types of air pollution for people with asthma - News-Medical.Net

Human Behavior

Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections | The Crusader Newspaper Group – The Chicago Cusader

By Keisha L. Jackson

Air Force Veteran and Family Caregiver

September is National Recovery Month. This years theme: Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections (https://rm.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org) reminds people in recovery and those who support them that we all have victories to celebrate and things we may wish we had done differently.

Americas Heroes Group celebrates military family caregivers recent guest panelist, Sazha Alexandra Ramos, a Navy veteran in recovery from substance use disorder. Sazha is disrupting the narrative of addiction by getting the message out: people in recovery exist. With nearly six years of recovery, Sazha tells her story so others can learn and be proactive about seeking support services.

Though Sazha used substances as a teenager, it never deterred her from wanting to join the Navy. She believed the military would help her find purpose in life. After graduating high school, Naval boot camp, and A-School (technical training), she was stationed in Italy as an information technology specialist. Sazha was finding her purpose and connection. Six months later, her career capsized after being in an automobile accidenther head hit the window hard and her body suffered trauma.At 19, Sazha was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and she lost vision in one eye.

After a month in an Italian hospital, Sazha was transferred to a wounded warrior hospital in the U.S. and placed in barracks with primarily combat, wounded men. She was seen by doctors, neurologists, psychologists, a neuro-ophthalmologist, and was prescribed a lot of medications for physical and emotional pain. It was really tough there, says Sazha. I felt alone and didnt know how to talk to people about what was going on even though I had a therapist.

Sazha hoped to stay in the Navy, but a medical evaluation board determined otherwise. After multiple challenges seeking care with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she eventually received the treatment she needed.

During four months of seeking sobriety, Sazha lived in a recovery house, which led to her owning/operating two recovery houses; obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Human Behavior; presenting on a national level for harm reduction, collegiate recovery, and recovery housing; interning with the Association of Recovery in Higher Education; working at the SAFE Project; and for the Veterans Administration, the Chief of Naval Operations Awards Board, and on Capitol Hill for the Wounded Warrior Program that placed veterans in congressional members districts.

Sazha understands there are barriers to accessing treatment for substance use disorder and recognizes that financial support for Black and brown communities is crucial.She is committed to raising one million dollars for people of color and the veteran community to support their recovery housing journey.

If you would like to learn more about this effort, email info@recoveryorganization.com or text GIVE to 83336475.

Keisha L. Jacksonis a 22-year retired Air Force veteran. After caring for her mother who had stage 4 inoperable lung cancer, Keisha started learning about caregiver resources to share with other caregivers.

Looking to Advertise? Contact the Crusader for more information.

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Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections | The Crusader Newspaper Group - The Chicago Cusader

Human Behavior

Teaching the Robot Dog New Tricks – IndustryWeek

Rini Sherony studies how not just cars behave in their environment, but how the environment behaves around cars. As the lead for Toyotas university research collaboration on active safety/advanced driver assistance systems, she studies details like how safety cameras interpret the light reflecting off a particular pattern of grass growing on the roadside (and how to recreate that reading with surrogate grass made of polyurethane-based material and specialized paint). And how drivers and pedestrians behave (sometimes counterintuitively) when they encounter the New York left turn or the Michigan U-turn.

Among her recent projects, Sheronywho is senior principal engineer for Toyotas Collaborative Safety Research Centercollaborated with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and others to develop human test mannequins that do a better job of simulating pedestrians walking different speeds and angles. The mannequins, which have a skin readable by lidar and radar cameras during road testing, are modeled on data measurements from human volunteers, including kids.

Sheronys team also recently worked with Virginia Tech to predict the benefits of available automotive safety technology in 2050, when the most advanced safety features available today are projected to finally be in every car on the road. In addition, Sherony is active in committees for developing SAE standards for active safety/ADAS.

The data from CRSCs projects is publicly available, so automakers, policymakers, technology research universities and tech companies can come together to solve problems.

Sherony talked with IndustryWeek about the limits of safety technology now and in the future, the challenges ahead, and how she stumbled upon her new e-scooter research project while dropping her daughter off at college.

Rini Sherony

It looks like you're working on a few projects right noware there things that you want to highlight?

One project that just ended, we looked at, What are the remaining safety issues in 2050, after all the cars on the road are projected to have all the crash avoidance and passive safety systems. Approximately 46% of crashes today would still occur in 2050. Now were looking at the data more in depth, so we can understand why those crashes were not avoided or mitigated. When we understand what happened, then we can develop a countermeasure. Without in-depth understanding, its very difficult to know what you need a sensor to do, what detection, what algorithm.

I just finished another project with MIT--and we made the big data from that project publicly available. It's called the DriveSeg database. The project goal was to develop a kind of segmentation algorithm based on deep learning. So, a camera-based system that when it's running on real road, can separate different classes of objects, on the road but also on the roadsidepeople, bicycles and trees, for instance.That segmentation is really, really important: What is your imminent threat and how will you address that? The big data from that is made available for any researcher to take, and they can train their own internal algorithm if they want to use it.

Then, I just started a project a couple of months ago on e-scooters. I first encountered them when I was dropping my daughter off at college at the University of Michigan a few years ago. They were everywheresome kids were riding two or three on one scooter.

My colleagues and I started thinking, This is going to be a big safety issue because the occupants dont follow any path. They just come in at high speed. Theyre not wearing helmets. After a lot of discussion, we started this research project to understand the behavior. We have to cluster and classify the behaviors because then we can do countermeasures to offset those behaviors. Im doing that project with IUPUI, our long-term collaboration partner. They are doing a major data collection to understand the e-scooter vehicle interaction, the safety issuesso that not only we can develop safety countermeasures, but also convey that information to the regulatory agencies, city planners that allow these e-scooters, and even scooter makers so they can understand what safety issues there are and how they can improve.

Are there any things that youve learned so far about people's behavior around e-scooters?

Definitely one is the crossing scenario. A lot of times with scooters, people do not cross on designated sidewalks or intersections; they just come flying down. And sometimes they just go in the middle of the road. And since their speed is much faster than if you were walking, it's difficult to even know that they are coming, they just come so quickly. So we can totally see that that's going to be one key issue that we have to address on how to countermeasure.

Toyota

Testing e-scooters.

And then, with the MIT project, you're looking at different obstacles on the road.

The MIT project looked at pedestrians, bicycles, other cars, trees and people crossing with strollers and on the side of the road, just to see how you accurately segment them in real-world driving conditions. Especially in the U.S., the number-one fatal crashes are road departure crashes; that means that people depart the road, and then they either impact something on the side of the road or roll. When we analyze the roads where these crashes happen across the entire country, we found out that 40% of the roads don't have good lane markings, or they dont have any lane markings. So, the systems in generalthe first generation of systems, which uses lane markingare not going to be fully effective in all of these scenarios.

Then we needed to understand how we determine the road and roadside objects, so that could be added into the detection feature. You have to test with this real roadside objectsreal from the sensors' perspective, but not a real guardrail or real concrete divider because then it's a safety issue. So you have to create a surrogate which you test so that you know exactly what your performance is and how to improve it.

So we developed concrete divider, guardrail, a concrete curb and several versions of grass surrogates, which have the same camera radar lidar characteristics as the real objects, and they can be used for testing. I just started an assay group to standardize some of these roadside surrogates. Basically at the end of it, we will come up with a recommended document which will show that if you are going to test with this roadside objects, what the size, length and color should be, and how they will be built.

Testing surrogate grass.

What do you see as the biggest hurdles to get to the next level with the advanced crash avoidance?

We continue to work on improving and adding new features to for road departure. Lane-marking-based systems are in production, but we are adding new features so that in absence of lane marking, you can know when the car is going to depart the road. Then, in addition to that, we're looking into different intersection systems. So intersection also is very critical data--high fatalities and injuries and the intersection crashes are usually very, very complex. In fact, you cannot even have like one category of accident under an intersection. When you analyze all the crash data, you have four or five different variationsyou have to look at each of them.

But another big challenge to all of this is humans, both inside and outside the vehicle. I'm sure you're familiar with the different levels in for the crash avoidance systemssome of them would fall under either Level One or Level Two. And also even on Level Three, which is a much higher level, it still needs human engagement. So when the system needs to hand over, when they're outside their ODD (operational design domain) or when they're just giving warning or in a scenario they're not supposed to work, a human needs to effectively take over immediately and drive the vehicle. And there are a lot of issues with that. Regular drivers, they don't pay attention, they are not engagedespecially when they are not doing all the driving.

Then you see outside the vehicle also a lot of variation of behavior, from pedestrians, bicycles to e- scooters. And the human behavior is so different, even within the same country, even region to region. How somebody behaves in Ann Arbor is not how somebody behaves in Boston.

We have done many data collections at different cities and in the rural Ann Arbor area. And there's such diverse behavior. It is very challenging to have a system work with humans when you have such diverse behavior across the country. And forget about when I'm trying to do globallyit's like a whole other issue.

And that will continue to be a challenge for a while, but that's why a lot of data collection is necessary in real-world driving conditions--to capture all of these behaviors, then data mining, then applying machine learning algorithm-deep learning to kind of recognize different clusters of behavior and train the system so that next time it sees a particular situation, the system is able to recognize that OK, this is potentially a safety situation.

What would be an example of a different behavior from region to region?

For example, on New York roads, there is a very complex left turn. It is at an anglesometimes it has five lanes instead of four--they have a fifth lane only coming from one direction. So all these are monitored, sometimes by light and sometimes by stop signs. To take a turn in there is extremely complex. The car has to know exactly where everybody is, which direction they're going, track them, and decide what's the safest way to do it. Versus in Michigan, we have the wonderful Michigan U-turn, which is not common across many places. So to know that somebody is going to suddenly take a U-turn and come in close proximity is very challenging.

Can you highlight some of the partnerships youre bringing to the table?

The partnerships with different universities that we have are immensely critical to succeed. From Toyota's side, we bring in complex real-world problems we need to solve. From the partner side, they bring in expertise to break down those problems and develop countermeasures. Our universities always say, Hey, we are very good in writing AI algorithms, but we don't know what to use it for. We don't know what problem to solve, but you guys bring some amazing problems. So together working organically, that collaboration, is amazing for me, because you get to work with not only the smart people, but all these young people who are so passionate, who feel so great about working on something which will help improve road safety, will help saving people's lives. They can bring in some amazing out-of-the-box ideas. This collaboration with universitieswith the students, graduate students and professorsit's very, very critical for us to make meaningful results.

Can you think of an example when a student or someone at the university came up with an out-of-the-box idea?

Some of the first projects we worked on with CSRC were with Indiana University Purdue at Indianapolis. One of the first tasks was to develop the pedestrian mannequin which is representative of real people, and it was not easy. So we did have real people come into the lab and scanned them with radar and all the other sensors, but then to develop a mannequin, which not only looks like it, also articulation so when people walk, their hand and legs move in a certain way, so to make the mannequin do that, and accurately, it was very, very challenging. One student took the mannequin home, and he put in his yard and he changed different things to make it move ... It was so realistic his neighbors thought it was an intruder!

Steve the pedestrian dummy has 'skin' that emits a radar signature.

Do you have an idea of how the open-source information is being used? Do you have dialogue with the other organizations that are using it?

Oh yes, absolutely. One example is the SAE standard organization group, which I co-chaired with a professor. Other automakers were part of the task forcethere was GM, Ford, Daimler, suppliers. We provided all the details and together with their feedback developed the standards. We also had many meetings with National Highway Transportation Safety Agency, who are also developing testing protocols for some of these methods. They used some of our mannequins for their testing, and for a bicyclists' mannequin we developed, we ended up doing a global harmonization effort with the European standardization organization, EuroNCAP, and their suppliers who are building that. They ended up changing part of their mannequins design because some of the adaptation we did was a lot more realistic to what you see in real conditions--although it was much harder to build it.

So yes, we have worked very closely, not only in the U.S,, but globally with other OEMs, suppliers, with the regulatory agencies to provide this information because we want everybody to learn from it and make the systems better, make the standards better. So overall we can together achieve a lot of crash and injury reduction and make the road safer.

Got a manufacturing candidate for Profiles in Leadership? Contact leadership editor Laura Putre.

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Teaching the Robot Dog New Tricks - IndustryWeek

Human Behavior

New Canaan Library Presents Webinar with Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim, Joined by Matthew Busse of New Canaan YMCA – HamletHub

New Canaan Library is pleased to present a live webinar on Thursday, October 1 at 7 pm with Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim, an immersive and eye-opening perspective on swimming and on human behavior itself. Ms.Tsui will be joined in conversation by New Canaan YMCA Director of Pool Operations, Matthew Busse. Please register at newcanaanlibrary.org; Zoom sign in information will be provided upon registration.

Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Husseins palace pool, modernday Japanese samurai swimmers, even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry sixhour swim after a shipwreck.New York Timescontributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what seduces us to water, despite its dangers, and why we come back to it again and again. She offers an immersive, unforgettable, and eye-opening perspective on swimmingand of human behavior itself.

Bonnie Tsuihas written forThe New York Times,The New Yorker,The Atlantic,Outside, and other publications.Why We Swimwas named an Editors Choice/Staff Pick byThe New York TimesBook Review and aBoston GlobeandLos Angeles Timesbestseller. Her previous book,American Chinatown, was the winner of the Asia/Pacific American Award for Literature and aSan Francisco Chroniclebestseller. She lives, swims, and surfs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

MattBusseis the director of pool operations at the New Canaan YMCA. He grew up in New Fairfield, Connecticut, a lake town known for having a deeply rooted culture in aquatic recreation. Matt began his time at the New Canaan YMCA in 2019 as the assistant aquatic director. Matt is currently pursuing his masters degree in recreation administration, focusing on non-profit management. He has been a member of the Impact Panel for the Water Safety Task Force for the Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors, where he stressed the importance of safety around water and parents engaging with their children while in water.

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New Canaan Library Presents Webinar with Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim, Joined by Matthew Busse of New Canaan YMCA - HamletHub

Human Behavior

Letter to the editor: ‘Cuties’ degrades girls and women – Canton Repository

The Repository

With politics, the pandemic and disasters in our lives, we are also dealing with our innocent young girls being demoralized. The explicit TV shows, and now a movie called "Cuties" builds and fuels a fire in lust and degradation to girls, women and our future generations.

It only took one glimpse of the movie showinginnocent young girls, inspired by adults, the lowest form of disrespect of any human being.

No word or words can justify what these young girls are taught by exploiting their bodies. So-called adults thinking only of themselves, desperate for attention and social power. They sacrifice young girls, robbing them of their innocence of having a life in the adventures of childhood. Fueling their ego, by using our most vulnerable; not thinking of the consequences they will cause. Our human bodies are unique, clothed with dignity. When did our conduct of character and respect being a female diminish?

We are not less important. We have gifts of kindness, goodness and love. We learned them as children with moral conduct and behavior. A sweetness in our quality of life.

Instead of women showing more of their bodies, they should be respectful in decency with quality in proper behavior. Virtue in moral excellence. When respecting our bodies, we respect others in speech and attire. Etiquette in social behavior.

As women, we do not have to justify muscular power or strength to earn respect. We should be proud of who we are, carrying on the examples of transitions as role models in behavior and ethical principles.

Let these young girls be children to embrace their childhoods. Be a trusting adult in each stage in their life. A lifeline in their stages of development.

God bless our youth and all citizens as we go forth in peace and love. And God bless our United States of America.

JEANIE WILSON, CANAL FULTON

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Letter to the editor: 'Cuties' degrades girls and women - Canton Repository

Human Behavior

CBS Options Year Licensing Deal For Evil, Unicorn To Stream On Netflix – mxdwn.com

Lorin Williams September 23rd, 2020 - 10:38 AM

CBS TV Studios has finalized a deal for its freshman seriesEvilandThe Unicornto stream on Netflix, according to Deadline. For one year, the first seasons of each show will be available to stream on the platform beginning October 1. This will not be an exclusive deal as both series will continue to stream on the networks streaming service CBS All Access, soon to be rebranded as Paramount+.

According to Deadline, CBS is electing this maneuver in attempts to draw new viewership to the two series. Netflix has produced similar success for shows such as The CWsRiverdaleand NBCsGood Girls,with audiences discovering the series after the season one bow. While critics enjoyed bothEvilandUnicorn,the renewed series experienced modest ratings. CBS, which produces both shows, hopes the additional streaming access will boost the titles in wake of second seasons beginning this fall.

Evil, the only genre series on the network, comes from Robert King (The Good Fight, Vertical Limit)and Michelle King (BrainDead, The Good Wife).The series explores the thin line between spirituality and science as an atheist psychologist and Catholic priest-in-training investigate strange occurrences. The twos faith in their beliefs is shaken as they must determine if these afflictions in human behavior are purely mental or demonic. The show stars Katja Herbers (Manhattan, Westworld), Mike Colter (The Following, Luke Cage),Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest), Christine Lahti (Chicago Hope, Law and Order: SVU),and Aasif Mandvi (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Million Dollar Arm).

The Unicornstars Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified) as a recently widowed father of two who, with the help of family and friends, gets back on his feet and in the dating scene. Created by Mike Schiff (Grounded for Life), Grady Cooper (The Lance Krall Show),and Bill Martin (In with The Flynns), it stands as being one of only two single-camera comedies on CBS, via Deadline.Along with Goggins, the cast includes Omar Benson Miller (CSI: Miami, Ballers),Michaela Watkins (Brittany Runs a Marathon, Casual), Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, Childrens Hospital),and Sarayu Rao (I Feel Bad, Blockers).

According to Deadline, CBS boasts some of the most-watched series on Netflix. Neilsen reports state two crime procedurals NCISandCriminal Minds rank among the highest viewed shows on the streaming platform.

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CBS Options Year Licensing Deal For Evil, Unicorn To Stream On Netflix - mxdwn.com

Embryology

Plant of the Month: Dittany – JSTOR Daily

It is easy to assume that women today have greater reproductive agency than women of the premodern world did. But in many contexts our foremothers actually did seek to exercise agency over their bodies and others through their knowledge and use of medicinal herbs. Perhaps, then, it is not such a stretch to think that they had reproductive options, too.

While for most of history women did not have embryology, ultrasounds, and contraceptive pills, it isnt the case that they had no knowledge of or interest in birth control options. In the early 1990s, historian John M. Riddle argued that in the ancient world and well into the early modern period, most European women had even greater reproductive freedom than we do today. For much of western history, womens agency over reproduction was predicated on knowledge of medicinal herbs like dittany.

For more than 2,000 years, dittany was used as an emmenagogue: a substance to provoke menstruation. In ancient, medieval, and early modern European medicine, regular menstruation was viewed as essential to a womans health. Male physicians offered numerous theories and explanations as to why women menstruated; however, all agreed that missed or delayed periods signaled an imbalance or corruption of the humors. Menstruation was viewed akin to a purge, either as a means to purify the female body or to expel excess bloodand unexpelled menstrual fluid was deemed harmful. Thus, when a woman suffered from delayed menstruation, she turned to known emmenagogic herbs to induce bleeding and return her to health.

Almost all early modern European herbals associated dittany with womens health and identified it as an effective emmenagogue. The most famous of these herbals, Pietro Andrea Mattiolis commentary on Dioscorides, explained that the truest and most potent dittany was found only on the isle of Crete, although two additional varieties with similar virtues were readily available throughout Europe. Of its many uses, this herb was most effective for womens reproductive health, quickening childbirth and easing the pain of labor. Another sixteenth-century herbal, by English botanist John Gerard, stated that dittany of Crete, whether taken in a drink or used in a pessary (vaginal suppository), bringeth away dead children; it procureth the monethly termes [menstruation], and driveth foorth the secondine or the afterbirth. Both herbals are held in the Dumbarton Oaks Rare Book Collection.

As is the case today, delayed or missed menstruation in the early modern world could have been caused by any number of health and environmental factors. Pregnancy, however, was and remains a leading cause. Therefore, argued Riddle, emmenagogues were not only used to restore womens health but were also employed as a means to prevent or terminate unwanted pregnancies. Early modern printed medical books routinely caution women from using emmenagogic herbs while pregnant. For example, a popular 1684 English sex and midwifery manual, Aristotles Masterpiece, instructed women on the precautions to take after they think they have conceived: Let her abstain from all things which may provoke either urine or the courses [menstruation] While intended to help women safeguard a desired pregnancy, this passage also clearly associates inducing menstruation with terminating a pregnancy.

As many historians of science and medicine have concluded, the use of herbs to draw the menses down or provoke menstruation was rather well-known and commonplace among women. For example, a popular sixteenth century Roman herbal, also held in Dumbarton Oakss Rare Book Collection, lists 160 plants capable of provoking menstruation, including three types of dittany. Elite European women in the early modern world would have read printed vernacular medical books such as herbals and collected medicinal recipes, since they were expected to have general medical knowledge in order to fulfill their Christian duties as wives, mothers, and caregivers, both within the home and the community. These women were well versed in the uses of herbs like dittany. Historians postulate that women of lower social classes would have known of the medicinal uses of herbs through the oral tradition that paralleled the written sources and was subsequently largely lost with the professionalization of medicine and the increasing religious and legal restrictions on womens reproduction.

There is evidence, therefore, that early modern European women sought to control menstruation and fertility through herbs. Moreover, historians argue that these practices were socially acceptable and legally permissible due to early modern definitions of pregnancy and abortion that differ from our own. Unlike contemporary science, premodern theories of conception did not distinguish between an embryo and a fetus. Early modern sources also didnt assign full personhood to a fetus. Furthermore, a woman in the early modern world was not pregnant until she declared it. Without our contemporary tests and ultrasounds, detecting pregnancy within the first few months was difficult, and, thus, left up to the mother. Prior to the professionalization of obstetrics, it was women, not male physicians, who determined when a fetus became viable. The quickeningwhen a pregnant woman began to feel or perceive fetal movements, usually between fifteen to seventeen weeks (three to four months)was the most important confirmation of a viable pregnancy and often when women announced it.

This window of time, coupled with the prevalence of emmenagogic herbs in early modern herbals and vernacular medical books, gave premodern women agency over their bodies. If pregnancy was unwanted, women could turn to a herb like dittany to try to provoke menstruation.

But did dittany actually work? There is no scientific evidence of its efficacy as an early-term abortifacient, although there is some evidence that other herbs, such as pennyroyal (with which dittany was often compared) may have that effect. Contemporary research on pennyroyals key active compound, pulegone, has revealed that the plants essential oil does have the potential to produce significant effects on the female reproductive system. But there is some danger involved: Pulegone also makes pennyroyal toxic, and plants in different regions and climates produce varying amounts of it, making proper dosage difficult.

While we have no conclusive evidence on the risks or efficacy of dittany as a form of premodern birth control, we infer from the sources that European women could access this herb and that the prevailing medical literature regarded dittany as an antifertility agent, since controlling menstruation also controlled fertility. Both the historical record and contemporary scientific research support the conclusion that premodern women in the West sought to exercise agency over reproduction, especially in the early stages of pregnancy or before quickening, and that medicinal herbs were central to this endeavor.

Such efforts became increasingly contested and restricted in the course of the nineteenth century. By the mid-1800s in the United States, the American Medical Association had begun pushing to criminalize abortions, while, in 1869, the Catholic church officially prohibited early abortion by canon law.

Fast forward to today, and the reproductive rights of women remain at the center of political discourse in the United States. By investigating the history of herbal emmenagogues and abortifacients, the Plant Humanities Initiative reminds us that women have long sought reproductive agency and illuminates how plants have played a critical role in that story.

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Plant of the Month: Dittany - JSTOR Daily

Embryology

Innovation to Bolster the Sperm Bank Market between 2015 and 2021 – Crypto Daily

Sperm bank is a specialized organization, that collects and stores the sperms collected from human sperm donors for the provision to women who need such sperm to have a pregnancy. Sperm bank also known as cryobank or semen bank, and sperms donated in the bank are known as donor sperm, whereas the process of sperm insertion is known as artificial insemination. It is notable that the pregnancy achieved by using sperms in the sperm bank is similar to natural pregnancy, achieved by sexual intercourse.

The major mechanism involved in the operation of sperm bank underlies the provision of sperms, donated by sperm donors, to the needy women, who, due to various reasons, such as, physiological problems, widow, age and others, are not able to achieve pregnancy. Sperm bank forms the formal contract with sperm donors, usually for the period of 6-24 months, during which he has to produce sperms and donate to the bank. Usually, monetary compensation will be offered to sperm donors. Although, a donor can donate his sperms for more than two years, but, due to laws and regulations of various countries and a potential threat of consanguinity, a contract is made for maximum two years only. A donor produces his sperms in a specialized room, called mens production room. From this, the semen fluid is washed, in order to extract the sperms from other materials present in the semen. In case of frozen storage, a cryoprotectant semen extender is added in the sample. Usually, around 20 vials can be extracted from one sample of semen, collected from a sperm donor. These vials are stored in cryogenically preserved condition, in the liquid nitrogen (N2) tanks. Usually, sperms are stored for the period of around 6 months. However, it can be stored for a longer period of time.

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The services offered by sperm bank includes provision of sperms, donors selection, guiding recipient for selection of donor, sex selection of baby, and sales of sperms. Although, sperm banks play a major role in the women who are not able to achieve pregnancy, due to some controversial issues, such as, use of sperms by lesbian couples and others, government healthcare bodies of various countries imposed strict regulations on the sperm bank. In the U.S., sperm banks are regulated by FDA, and treated as Human Cell or Human Tissue or Human Cell and Tissue (HCT/Ps), in the European Union, it is been regulated by EU Tissue Directive, whereas, in the U.K., it is regulated by Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority.

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The global market for sperm banks is expected to increase in steady manner in the forecast period, due to market growth propellers, such as, increased prevalence of women miscarriage, technological innovations in the sperm storage industry, and growing awareness towards this type of pregnancy. Increased miscarriage rate is one of the major drivers that fuels market growth. According to the study report published by HopeXchange, out of 4.4 million pregnancies carried every year in the U.S., around 1 million pregnancies result into miscarriage. Similarly, due to growing concerns towards such pregnancy that achieved without sexual intercourse is also an important market growth propeller. On the other hand, various governmental regulations, negative mindset towards sperm banks and donor, high cost associated with the operating of sperm bank and limited spread across the various regions of the world are some of the major hurdles in the market growth.

Major players operating in the market includes Cryos International Sperm Bank, FairFax Cryobank, Androcryos, New England Cryogenic Center, Inc. and others.

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Innovation to Bolster the Sperm Bank Market between 2015 and 2021 - Crypto Daily

Embryology

Northern N.J.’s University Reproductive Associates offers essential fertility care in a safe environment – Jersey’s Best

Infertility can cause substantial anxiety and raise many difficult questions: What if I cant become pregnant? What will fertility treatment entail? What if all this puts too great a strain on my relationship with my spouse or partner?

Peter McGovern, MD, a board-certified OB/GYN and the co-founder ofUniversity Reproductive Associates (URA), has addressed those questions thousands of times in 25-plus years as a fertility specialist.

There is substantial fear about the process of receiving fertility care, the reproductive endocrinologist said. People dont understand whats possible, and they often feel devastated that they may need medical assistance to achieve something that they think should be basic. Its a big frustration, but people dealing with fertility issues shouldnt lose hope.

In recent months, of course, Dr. McGovern and his colleagues at University Reproductive Associates also have had to address a host of new concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peoples lives have been upended, and all of us are living in a new reality weve never seen, he said. On top of that, those dealing with fertility issues are wondering how this virus will affect their treatment and pregnancy. COVID essentially has doubled the anxiety some fertility patients already felt.

In response, the physicians, other clinicians and staff at URA have doubled-down on their efforts to address the full range of patients concerns, and to provide essential care in a safe and reassuring environment.

With the pandemics arrival in New Jersey in March, URA enhanced the already rigorous cleaning and sanitization protocols employed at its Hasbrouck Heights, Hoboken and Wayne offices. The practice also adopted other safety approaches recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health department, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). This enabled its physicians to continue to see patients who were at critical points in their care. By the middle of April, as a growing body of scientific evidence provided reassurance about pregnancy and the risks associated with COVID-19, URA began scheduling in-office visits for more patients, in addition to the telehealth appointments it conducts for patients who do not need a physical examination or sonogram at a particular visit.

Today, Dr. McGovern noted, URA has established a new normal that enables patients to receive needed care promptly and safely rather than having to defer their pursuit of pregnancy and their dream of having a child.

There are temperature checks and mandatory face coverings, and many of the other steps you will encounter at all medical facilities. In addition, we have taken several steps specific to the nature of our practice, such as operating a high-technology disinfection system for the air in our embryology labs and using a highly effective, safe disinfectant for vaginal sonogram probes, Dr. McGovern said.

Meanwhile, Dr. McGovern said, the telehealth visits eliminate travel time and inconvenience for patients, while enabling spouses, partners or others to join them for the consultation. He added that based on its experience with telehealth during the COVID outbreak, URA envisions offering the virtual sessions on an ongoing basis. Two other components of URAs approach to providing comprehensive, compassionate care that will continue going forward, just as they did before the pandemic, are the practices provision of free initial consultations for patients without insurance to evaluate their options and the extended support provided to patients throughout the insurance process.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been a time of great anxiety and sorrow. As reproductive endocrinology specialists, we have long experience in helping patients address those emotions. We also are adept at providing fertility care in the setting of other medical conditions and concerns. By employing evidence-based approaches to safeguarding patient health and providing effective treatment, we have been able to help many women become pregnant during these difficult months. Enabling people to experience the joy of having a child is why all of us here do what we do, and while it provides a wonderful sense of accomplishment at any time and in any circumstance, it has been particularly meaningful this year.

For more information on University Reproductive Associates, call (201) 288-6330. Offices in Hasbrouck Heights, Hoboken and Wayne. visitwww.uranj.com.

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Northern N.J.'s University Reproductive Associates offers essential fertility care in a safe environment - Jersey's Best