Category Archives: Alaska Stem Cells

ASPEN The aspens are turning a little later this year, but thats not preventing Teton Gravity Research and Matchstick Productions from stoking the metaphorical fires that burn internally for the upcoming ski season.

Each company debuts its latest ski and snowboarding film this week in Aspen, and each takes a slightly different approach to that obsession most of us have when it comes to making turns particularly in the deep, untouched stuff.

Matchstick asks the question, What do you want to be when you grow up? exploring skiing through the eyes of 12-year-old freestyle phenomenon Walker Shredz Woodring, while Teton Gravity Research asks: Is there an age limit to pursuing our dreams?

Teton Gravity Research employs a series of skits interspersed throughout its montage of big-mountain footage to add a little humor to the dilemma of aging skiers. Sage and Mac (aka Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Ian McIntosh, made up to look like seniors) rely on their cane and walker to make it to a cabin in Kaslo, British Columbia. There, like so many other powder lovers, theyre waiting for the weather to come through, so they can make those anticipated turns. The duo sprinkles humor into the otherwise high-adrenaline action of iconic skiers and riders like Kai Jones, Nick McNutt, Jeremy Jones, Tim Durtschi, Bode Merrill, Parkin Costain, Michelle Parker and Amy Jane David. Lines like Got those stem cells yet? particularly hit home for those of us beyond a certain age still dedicating our daily life to the mountains.

Tetons Magic Hour doesnt refer to a specific time of day but rather those magical moments we find on the mountainand the ones in some of the most beautiful, wild places on the planet, according to the films summary.

It opens with Jackson Holes Kings & Queens of Corbets, where Durtschi breaks his arm and eventually makes its way to places like Cordova, Alaska, where the ocean and mountains come together like few other places,; a new permit has just opened up new terrain, and pro athletes take on the biggest vertical they will all season or, as one skier calls it, the scariest thing in life. That trip also results in an injury, this time, a shoulder dislocation.

When the crew hits the Purcell Mountains in British Columbia, Mark Herbison, Christina Lustenberger and Sam Smoothy succeed in the first descent of the Mt. Ethelberts east face on Feb. 22 in minus-40-degree windchill conditions, which results in immediate frostnip.

Then, its on to the endless terrain of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia; Grand Teton National Park (which showcases some slow-motion, orgasmic face and full-body shots); a tumbling crash and some nice tree skiing in the Valhalla Ranges of British Columbia; and 15-year-old free-skiing sensation Kai Jones in Juneau, Alaska.

Matchsticks Anywhere from Here views the world of possibility from the eyes of Woodring who started skiing at age 6 in Sun Valley, Idaho, was recently signed by Oakley and has been called a skiing prodigy. He skis year-round (winters at Copper Mountain and summers in Mt. Hood or Europe) and dreams of competing in X Games, which seems likely. His nickname, Shredz, came from the older dudes who saw him ski, he said.

In Anywhere from Here, he answers that most annoying question adults seem to love asking kids.

I want to be someone who has a great time, he says. I want to be carefree. I want to explore the unknown. I want to stand on top of the world. I want to do the impossible. I want to fly. Wait, grow up? Is this a trick question? I dont want to grow up, and I want to be surrounded by kids who never grow up either.

Matchstick Productions packs its film with those kind of kids in adult bodies, including Sam Kuch, Tonje Kvivik, Eric Hjorleifson, Markus Eder, Emily Childs, Lucy Sackbauer and many more, as they play in the snow in Alaska, British Columbia, Austria, Colorado and Oregon.

Woodrings final answer is probably the best, as he says, You know what I dont know what I want to be when I grow up. All I know is that Im a skier, and it feels like, with this sport and these crazy magic shoes, I can pretty much go anywhere.

Big air and even bigger lines, powder shots, terrain parks and even surfing fill the screen in Anywhere from Here, and, just like Tetons flick, it serves its purpose to psych people up for the season. Woodring sums up that type of inspiration outside these two films, in an episode of No Days Off, presented by the Whistle, leaving viewers with these simple, but wise, words:

Go out there every day, do what you love, just shred.

Read more from the original source:
Two new ski and snowboard films showcasing in Aspen will stoke the winter season - Summit Daily

Life in the wild is full of amazing adaptations and deadly dangers. While many know some of these common adaptations, from camouflage and spines to thwart predators to webbed feet and aerodynamic wings for better movement. However, some adaptations are not as common and may only be limited to a particular species.

The animals in this list have found incredible ways to survive and thrive past problems that seem impossible o solve to the unaware observer.

Related: Top 10 Amazing Prehistoric Creatures With Unexpected Adaptations

The classic, bullet-like pecking of the woodpecker is perfect for punching cavities into trees to roost and nest in and to easily uncover and pluck out delicious insects and their eggs hidden beneath the bark. Its difficult to think that blurring intense head hammering of up to 20 times a second, at up to 24kph (15 mph), wouldnt give them horrible concussions, if not complete brain damage from all the concentrated physical stress.

Naturally though, woodpeckers are perfectly designed to take the rapid impacts, with a tiny, light brain weighing 2 grams (0.07 ounces). Its so small that it barely absorbs any of the pecking force, which is distributed through a dense, shock-absorbing skull. They even have a special bone, the hyoid bone, which wraps around their skull like a seatbelt for their brain. The woodpeckers protection is so impressive that athletic equipment companies have even based helmets and neck collars on its head anatomy.[1]

Naked mole rats are known for their naked, baggy skin and digging intricate tunnel systems. Digging deep runs the risk of asphyxiation as oxygen sometimes drops drastically from an overcrowded population or lack of ventilation. But these animals can survive nearly 20 minutes without breathing, while mice die without oxygen in about 20 seconds.

Unlike all other known mammals, a naked mole rats brain cells dont die or become damaged from oxygen deprivation. Its body slows to conserve energy in a vegetative state, and its metabolism becomes like a plant. Glucose burning depends on oxygen, but fructose can be turned into energy in an anaerobic pathway. Metabolizing fructose was previously thought by scientists to be only used by plants, but not anymore with this scrappy little mammal.[2]

Echidnas are a spiky Australian animal that is quite slow. This means the animals cant avoid the hot continents raging bushfires. But they dont need to because they have an even better fire survival strategy than just running for dear life. Echidnas dig their small bodies down into deep, cool soil and enter a torpor state, which lowers their body temperature and metabolism.

While they nap, the bushfire above can cause the spines on their back to melt from the burning heat, turning them into blunt nubs. But though its spikes may be on scorching fire, the echidna doesnt feel the nerveless keratin, which even regrows later on. The oblivious echidna continues happily dozing off to the inferno raging above before waking up once its over. They can then emerge even days later to again forage for food.[3]

During winter, the temperatures in Alaska and Canada can fall to -62 C (-80 F) at chilling, prolonged temperatures. Fortunately, most frogs survive by diving deep underwater to hibernate in coldness, where their body temperature never falls below freezing. But wood frogs have a much better strategy. They cover themselves in leaf litter on the forest floor for some insulation, but that isnt nearly enough to protect them from the subfreezing temperatures of the north.

They actually hibernate in a frozen state, ignoring the dangers of severe body damage from freezing blood and cells, despite looking like theyve been frozen to death. Although the wood frog allows ice to form on the outsides of its organs and cells, its liver produces a huge amount of glucose that spreads into every single body cell. This binds to water molecules and prevents lethal internal freezing. Since theyre on land already, they get a headstart on life when spring thaws them out while the underwater frogs are still waiting to heat up.[4]

Black widow females are known for having a bad reputation for making themselves widows, but surprisingly, their children play nice, unlike most spiderlings. Opposite most spider mothers, which lay their offspring haphazardly, letting the bigger ones born first cannibalize their younger siblings, the black widow perfectly times its eggs to all be hatched at the same size and development.

Without carefully timing the hatching of their eggs, the spiderlings would kill each other for food and competition. But at equal size and strength, none of them want to pick a fight they arent sure theyd win, so the black widows babies get along without murdering each other.[5]

Despite its cute doglike nose, vision is a meerkats best sense, so much so that meerkats are only active when the sun is out. They dont even come out of their burrows if its too cloudy. As a result, meerkats need to keep a sharp eye on the sky for eagles and hawks. To do this, they have to stare straight at the sun for the sharpest lookout, which would result in painful temporary blindness for most animals.

Dark areas around their eyes, which function just like the eye black grease pro athletes wear, reduce the suns glare for meerkats to see far and clear with their highly developed sight. So they can spot flying predators even in bright sunlight. They have a wide field of view with their long, horizontal pupils, which lets them not waste energy turning their heads around as they watch for danger.[6]

The cottonmouth, rattlesnake, and copperhead are all fearsome names of venomous North American snakes. Their bites are fatal to humans, and youd think any animal that hunts them must have incredible skill to avoid their fangs and kill them fast. But the kingsnake doesnt care at all if bitten with their lethal injections.

Kingsnakes are born resistant toall their venoms, with natural enzymes that break downthe toxic chemicals before they can do their work. Kingsnakes grow up to 1.8 meters (6 feet) and are nonvenomous snakes that kill with constriction, easily ruling with their special talent for killing and eating the other snakes from their region.[7]

A roosters crow is incredibly loud, enough to rouse the whole farm with noises over 100 decibels, which is about as loud as a chainsaw. People who work with chainsaws without ear protection become deaf as their inner ear hair cells die from the loudness. However, roosters crow to their hearts content every morning, which left scientists puzzled why the ear hairs of chickens werent damaged at all with hearing loss.

Analyzing the birds skulls, researchers found that a soft sound-absorbing tissue covered half the birds eardrum. Even more importantly, they discovered that a material completely covered a roosters ear canal whenever it tilted its head back to crowtheir own natural earplugs. Also, birds regenerate cochlear hair cells, unlike mammals.[8]

Being sliced and diced usually results in a brutal death, but not for the planarian. This simple aquatic flatworm can be cut into as many pieces as a scientists heart desires, only for all of them to regenerate into brand new worms in only a week. Their bodies are made of 20% pluripotent stem cells, which along with their simplicity, determine the rules of regeneration in the animal kingdom.

Amzingly, even 1/279th of a planarian can regrow into a full-size body, with its stem cells developing into every tissue and cell the partial planarian needs, clearly making them extremely valuable subjects of scientific research.[9]

Most fish out of water would be as good as dead, but the lungfish is an ancient animal from 400 million years ago, with an advanced respiration system that lets it survive without any water for years. Aptly named, the lungfish has lungs in addition to gills, taking in oxygen from the air just like land animals. So during the sunny, rainless dry season, while other fish flop around in the throws of muddy death as their ponds and streams evaporate, the lungfish has an instinctive game plan.

They deeply burrow themselves headfirst by taking mud right through their mouths and squeezing it out their gills. Once theyre at a good depth, they curl their elongated bodies, so their mouth is at the top to breathe, hidden from predators and elements as they wait for the rain to return to make their watery homes. Lungfish form a protective cocoon while underground, from the hardening mucus their skin secretes, only leaving their mouths uncovered for oxygen. For up to four years, they undergo hibernation, living off the energy in their tail muscles.[10]

Read more:
10 Huge Problems Animals Should Have But Don't - Listverse

The arrival every October of a survey from the long-term follow-up care unit (LTFU) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle sets in motion a routine. I walk it back from the mailbox, putting it on the kitchen table where it sits unopened for four or five days. Then its moved to the dining room table where it sits for another few days. Then its taken downstairs, still unopened, where its put in a stack of other stuff for a week-plus. The routine continues when a follow-up to the follow-up comes in the mail.

Paraphrasing, the second LTFU letter reads: cmon, man. Take 15 minutes, fill it out, mail it back. Which I do. Could this be avoidance behavior, as per psychologists? Quoting Bill Murray, the casual philosopher, (Stripes, 1981), thats a fact, Jack!

Ive been in remission for 17 years after a stem cell transplant from the Hutch a day after my 51st birthday. The LTFU began following patients in 1990, citing improvement in the mortality of transplantation.

There are about 6,800 people enrolled currently in LTFU. In 2019, 4,764 former patients received the survey and about half of them returned it, said Molly McElroy, the communications director for the Hutch. She added how theres one transplant patient ambulatory and upright from 1971; 100-plus from before 1980.

I was diagnosed in 1998 with a friendly leukemia, but during an annual checkup a few years later, the diagnosis changed, and: the prognosis isnt as promising.

Conversations like that are ineradicable, along with related reminiscences of hallway walks with chemo poles and technicians who warn, youre going to feel a little prick. This is before they draw blood or remove bone marrow. (The first time I heard it, I thought it funny; after the umpteenth, not so much.) Treatment of mantle cell lymphoma required difficult, four-cocktail, hospitalized chemotherapy at St. Marys in Grand Junction. Soon thereafter, we left for the Hutch and transplant.

Hokey and contrived as it sounds, remission from cancer is indeed about some of the people you meet along the way.

Lee Bradley fruit farmer, wine maker, country marketer, located in the northern suburbs of Paonia calmed the hothouse of my mind after diagnosis. We talked about what was coming, sharing common stories about doctors, the Hutch, the determination of it all. Last month, Bradley celebrated 20 years of good health. (His familys market, which sits alongside the north fork of the Gunnison river, is a good place to grab an easy chair and enjoy a summers day under the cottonwoods.)

Early on at the Hutch, a physician who looked like she had just left a Grateful Dead concert with her long hair, granny-glasses and leather-fringed jacket, calmly explained options. Including a clinical trial for which she had written the protocol. As a result, Im still getting mail from the LTFU. Dr. Leona Holmberg, MD, PhD., continues to get it done as a physician, researcher and oncology professor at the U. of Washington.

We also met a nattily dressed doctor with great humor. He was placing into my chest a dual Hickman catheter which would expeditiously transport stem cells, chemo, nutrition, blood products and whatever else. (A terrific invention, but not a good look on a beach. It flops around a lot.) He flirted good-naturedly with Susan, who was maybe 10 inches taller. Are you the same guy whose name is on this? I cracked wise about him getting a commission; smiling, he replied that hed done all right. Dr. Robert O. Hickman, who was a founding member of the Hutch bone marrow transplant team, died last year at 92, his invention still widely used.

After transplant, my blood counts were stubbornly stuck at zero. The body language of the doctor-posse when they rolled through my room in the mornings wasnt encouraging. Then I caught an infection and spent 10 days in isolation. My nurse recognized despair. On a rainy Saturday afternoon, she sat on the bed and without saying a word, pulled me close. For less than a minute. She likely broke a slew of HR rules, but Corinne Vaniers humanity was the tonic. The next day, my counts started to move north. Ten years after the transplant, we had lunch in Seattle and continue to be in touch.

Julia Vega, the daughter of longtime friends and a newspaper publisher pal, was a year younger than our son. She had a pelvic cancer and enjoyed some initial remission. Her dad and I shared stories about the Hutch, the Pete Gross House (apartments) and Dr. Holmberg, also her physician.

Vega was a theater student at Arizona State U. when diagnosed and instead of dropping out and taking it easy, she forged through doing the chemo, going to classes, participating in productions, graduating. I enjoyed her company as a middle schooler in North Carolina, and again at a newspaper convention where she accompanied her father, fragile thin and wearing a wig. We have a photo together from that meeting. Whenever I hear one of her favorite songs, Bob Dylans Shooting Star, I recall her grace.

A story about Chris Mesaric was framed and placed along the walls of a Hutch examination clinic. My brother and I had flown to Seattle to nail down the second opinion and I happened on it while he was wrapping up a conversation with yet another oncologist. Mesaric had grown up here, MHS Class of 1987, and had worked as an airframe mechanic for Boeing in Seattle before returning to Montrose. The docs had given him little chance in 1992 of surviving aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disease. He was also told that there would be no children, either. Yet he and Robin are the parents of two lovely daughters.

Mesarics brave fight went on for 11 years, receiving a Hutch transplant in 2001. He was inspirational, although we never met. We left the Hutch after five months, arriving home the day before Thanksgiving, 2003; Mesaric, 35, passed three weeks later. I know his folks, Frank and Linda Mesaric, and whenever I see Frank around town, his big, welcoming voice is at once a comfort and a knowing.

There were good times, of course, during the procedures, before the transplant. Routines that got us away from the grimness. After morning bloodwork, we had a daily 16-block hike to the Barnes & Noble bookstore in downtown Seattle. One day, former Sen. Gary Hart was spotted in the shelves, browsing, and we chatted. There were plenty of windows to look into, galleries of all sorts, and all the bits and bobs and fish tossing from the Pike Place Market. Even a free monorail to ride. We enjoyed a couple of nights out with live music at Dimitrious Jazz Alley. William visited from Alaska and the three of us caught a Mariners/White Sox game at Safeco Field. Ryanns down-the-elevator, in-the-building interim school provided friendships and field trips. There was retail therapy. The downtown flagship Nordstroms store provided almost 400,000 square feet of distraction and attraction. (After we returned to Montrose, they had to lay off the lobbys pianist. Jes kidding.)

Theres a picture of the four of us on the refrigerator from Day One. Bald and bloated, Im unrecognizable. After Susan declared we can do this, upon turning that apartments front door key, thats when the recovery, like the new bone marrow, began to graft itself.

The piece of mail in October confirms it. Im thankful for those follow-up people who still have my address.

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COLUMN: Surveys bring Thanksgiving | Opinion | montrosepress.com - Montrose Daily Press

By Christina Ausley, Seattle P-I

A man walks past a mural of frontline workers.

A man walks past a mural of frontline workers.

Photo: Sajjad Hussain, AFP Via Getty Images

A man walks past a mural of frontline workers.

A man walks past a mural of frontline workers.

Washington blood donors urged to help amid surge in hospital usage

This years blood supplies arent quite keeping pace with the needs of local hospitals around the Seattle area, according to Bloodworks Northwest officials.

Bloodworks officials noted requests for blood donations are up 120% of normal as of early October, particularly for type O blood. As need increases, so too does pressure on the current supply for even common surgical procedures, making the need for more donors relatively urgent this month within Pacific Northwest hospitals.

This month, blood donors can learn if they have COVID-19 antibodies that may help patients currently fighting coronavirus because Bloodworks is testing all whole blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies through Oct. 31 in conjunction with pandemic response efforts. A positive test result indicates if the donors immune system has produced antibodies to SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) regardless of whether the person ever showed symptoms.

Bloodworks Northwest is backed by 75 years of Northwest history and 250,000 donors. The local, non-profit remains an independent, volunteer-supported and community-based organization and leader in transfusion medicine.

With patients across hospitals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, Bloodworks partners closely with local hospitals to deliver a high level of patient care among blood components, complex cross-matching, specialized lab services for organ transplants, care for patients with blood disorders, and collection of cord blood stem cells for cancer treatment.

Many patients with traumatic injuries, undergoing surgeries or organ transplantation, or receiving treatment for cancer and blood disorders fall dependent on Bloodworks services, especially among an already trying year given the expanse of the novel coronavirus.

Hospitals are seeing an increase in traumas, transplants, and emergency situations requiring blood, said Bloodworks President and CEO, Curt Bailey. Overall blood usage is up 20% which translates to an additional 600 units of blood needed each week. This is unsustainable unless more community members step up to fill these growing needs of our hospitals and those lives depending on them.

To fill the need, it typically takes around 1,000 people each day to make appointments and give blood at Bloodworks donor centers and pop-up blood drives happening throughout Western Washington and Oregon, according to Bloodworks.

As this high usage trend continues, our deficit increases with our most-needed Type O blood types fast approaching critically low levels, said Vicki Finson, executive vice president of blood services. Local hospitals are counting on all of us to meet their commitment to provide the best patient care possible. Whether youre a first-time donor or longtime donor, please make an appointment now to keep our shelves stocked for patients.

Notably, donations alongside Bloodworks provide 95% of the lifesaving blood supply to Pacific Northwest hospitals, according to Bloodworks officials.

So whether you have a spare hour to check in and enjoy a post-donation cookie, or are searching for ways to help hospitals amid COVID-19, check out information about who can donate and where, available here.

As of late, theyve launched pop-up locations across Bellevue, Bellingham, Central Seattle, Everett, Federal Way, Lynnwood, Olympia, North Seattle, Silverdale, Tukwila, Vancouver and Eugene, Oregon.

Appointments and masks are required, and in accordance with current social distancing guidelines, no walk-ins, guests or people younger than 16 years of age are permitted onsite. Bloodworks has posted additional information addressing questions and concerns for blood donors here.

RELATED:

See the article here:
Washington blood donors urged to help amid surge in hospital usage - Seattle PI

News1.The Goldboro Gamble, Part 2

Andy Gheorghiu. Photo contributed

Yesterday we published the second part of Joan Baxters two-part Goldboro Gamble series.

In Part 2, Baxter shows how and why Canadian and German environmentalist activists are coming together to oppose the proposed Nova Scotian liquified natural gas plant.

For example, writes Baxter:

Andy Gheorghiu is a policy advisor with Food and Water Action Europe, an NGO based in Brussels, who campaigns extensively against fracking and for climate and environmental protection in his native Germany. In an interview with the Examiner, he said that an LNG facility like Goldboro is energy infrastructure that would operate for decades, and lock in the use of fossil fuel in Germany.

Gheorghiu added:

This is an aspect that everyone should be aware of, no matter if private or public entities where they invest right now in a new fossil fuel infrastructure, including this one, will either face a high financial risk or they are there clearly and willingly betting on the failing health of the climate movement.

We already have three to four times the import and storage capacity for natural gas compared to what we consume in Germany. So we really dont need more gas infrastructure.

I personally think this is a bloody scandal. How can you use a state-owned bank or the private arm of a state-owned bank to co-finance this fossil fuel project that is on very shaky financial ground and so on and so forth? [Gheorghiu is referring to a German bank that may be extending loan guarantees for the LNG plant project.]

Its insane to invest in such a project no matter from which perspective you look at it. Either you have highly incompetent but well-paid people within these ministries that dont do their homework, or you have behind the scenes very successful lobbyists that have more resources and can do a better job that I can do to convince people.

However, Gheorgiu said he is quite confident that the opponents of the project will kill it because it has no economic future.

Click here to read Part 2: Germans and Canadians join to oppose proposed Nova Scotian liquid natural gas plant that nobody needs.

This article is for subscribers. Click here to subscribe.

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Patty Cuttell, left, won the council race in District 11, defeating Bruce Holland, right, by just 28 votes.

The second place finisher in last weekends council race for District 11 plans to ask for a judicial recount, but he isnt getting his hopes up, reports Zane Woodford:

Bruce Holland received just 28 fewer votes than Patty Cuttell in the 12-way race for District 11 Spryfield-Sambro Loop-Prospect Road. Cuttell received 1,662 votes, and Holland received 1,634.

Click here to read Runner-up to request recount in tight Halifax council race.

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Glen Assoun. Photo: Halifax Examiner

Glen Assoun says hes fearful hell die before governments offer him compensation for almost 17 years of wrongful imprisonment that have left him with a weak heart and fragile health, reports Michael Tutton for the Canadian Press:

The 64-year-old Halifax man said in an interview Monday he has to lie down frequently, he lacks energy and his doctor told him his coronary system is operating at one third of its normal capacity.

I think the prime minister of Canada is just waiting for me to die so this will go away, Assoun said from his home, hours after downing Aspirins to relieve what he described as a sharp pain in his chest.

During his time in a federal penitentiary, Assoun suffered mental illness. In 2008, he said, he had a heart condition diagnosed that required the insertion of stents small mesh tubes that are placed in a narrowed coronary artery.

Assoun said he worries his stents are becoming less effective.

I cant sit for long periods of time and I cant stand for long periods of time, he said. My doctor said Its because of your heart and . . . its not pumping enough blood to give you energy.'

Its been difficult to talk about Glens health, as its such a personal matter. But I have mentioned it from time to time. It lends urgency to getting him some resolution on this case. Money is important, but its not the only thing an official apology would go a long way to bring him peace, I think, as would a full explanation for why this happened to him.

Glens story is blowing up again. Im doing some reporting on this now, and hope to have a report up soon.

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Last week, the province announced a $50 million loan assistance program for large tourism operators:

The Tourism Sector Financing Assistance Program will provide large operators access to lower-cost financing through a loan backstop. The $50 million program will assist the Nova Scotia tourism sector by providing eligible operators access to debt financing, such as lines of credit or term loans issued by a chartered bank or the Business Development Bank of Canada, at more favourable terms.

Eligible tourism businesses include resort, tour, and scenic and sightseeing transportation operators with at least 100 full-time and/or seasonal employees, annual revenue of at least $10 million and who have experienced revenue decline of at least 50 per cent for the period April 1 to July 30, 2020 compared to the same period last year.

Yesterday, the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia issued a press release slamming the program for excluding hotels:

First and foremost, we fail to understand why a decision to address the critical needs of the Tourism Industry was done by a group that includes a University that does not offer any form of Tourism related programming and Deputy Ministers who did not complete any industry consultation.

Furthermore, the defining terms resort, tours and scenic and sightseeing operators completely shuts out 95% of HANS membership alone. The hoteliers in our membership employ over 4,000 people. The livelihood of these people has been hanging in the balance for the Province to finally release its support plan for Tourism.

HANS Executive member, Kevin Toth, shares that this announcement is discouraging and totally unfair to the small/mid-sized operator not to mention the urban operator which will most likely suffer thedeepest and longest.

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The RCMP has been breaking up homecoming parties at Acadia University:

October 21, 2020, Wolfville, Nova ScotiaKings District RCMP havecharged a number of individuals over the homecoming weekend in the Town of Wolfville. Police continue to provide enforcementto address ongoing concerns related to partying, noise, liquor and Health Protection Act violations.

On October 15, Kings District RCMP responded to a call about a large gatheringon Prospect St. and charged five adults under Section 23(b) of the Emergency Management Act for failing to comply with direction, order or requirement. The fine amount is $697.50. One of the individuals is also facing a charge for occupier allowing or permitting activity prohibited by subsection 4(4) in dwelling unit. This charge is Section 4(5) in the Wolfville Prevention of Excessive Noise By-law and carries a $352.50 fine.

On October 16 and 17, Kings District RCMP issued 14 Summary Offence Tickets under the Provincial Liquor Control Act for Illegal Possession of Liquor under Section 78(2). Three adultsfrom Nova Scotia also received fines under the Provincial Health Act, two under section 23(a) of the Emergency Management Act for failing to comply with the Act/any regulations which has a fine of $582.50 and one under Section 71(1)(b)of the Health Protection Act for failing to comply with Part I of Act or Regulations,a fine of $1,000.

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The pandemic has changed some aspects of the political landscape and may affect many more, writes Richard Starr. One thing thats different is the debate about federal health transfers to the provinces. Although likely to be subject to political wrangling, an improved formula may be coming.

Starr has been bird-dogging the health transfer issue for years, but until the pandemic no one was much listening to him. He gives a good overview of it here.

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Heres a cool video of Jupiter, as seen by the Juno spacecraft:

NASA explains:

Are you willing to wait to see the largest and oldest known storm system in the Solar System? In the featured video, Jupiters Great Red Spot finally makes its appearance 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the 5-minute video. Before it arrives, you may find it pleasing to enjoy the continually changing view of the seemingly serene clouds of Jupiter, possibly with your lights low and sound up. The 41 frames that compose the video were captured in June as the robotic Juno spacecraft was making a close pass over our Solar Systems largest planet. The time-lapse sequence actually occurred over four hours. Since arriving at Jupiter in 2016, Junos numerous discoveries have included unexpectedly deep atmospheric jet streams, the most powerful auroras ever recorded, and water-bearing clouds bunched near Jupiters equator.

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Wednesday

Public Information Meeting Case 21875 (Wednesday, 6:30pm) online meeting about the development of the former NS Home for Coloured Children. More info and link here.

No public meetings.

Wednesday

BRIC NS Primary Health Care Learning Series (Wednesday, 12:30pm) Zoom webinar. George Kephart will present Measuring the Complexity Case-Mix of Patient Needs to Inform the Design and Deployment of Collaborative Family Practice Teams, followed by Ruth Martin-Misener with Facilitators and Barriers to Addressing Patient Care Priorities in Collaborative Care Models in Nova Scotia: Focus Group and Interview Findings from a Rapid Review. More info and link here.

Stem cells on the Rock(s) (Wednesday, 4pm) Jessica Esseltine from Memorial University will talk. Info and link here.

Interrogating Whiteness (Wednesday, 5:30pm) the first of a two-part panel discussion (Closed Captioned) with Benita Bunjun, Vincent Simedoh, Patricia Doyle-Bedwell, Tonya Hoddinott and Brad Richards. More info and link here.

Theres Something in the Water (Wednesday, 7pm) movie screening with Ingrid Waldron and David Suzuki; theyre joined in conversation afterwards with community activists Dorene Bernard, Louise Delisle, Michelle Francis-Denny, moderated by Sherry Yano. Info and link here.

This Cleaving and This Burning (Wednesday, 7:30pm) virtual book launch for J.A. Wainwrights latest. More info and link here.

Thursday

Reclaiming Power and Place Virtual Read (Thursday, 10:30am) a group reading of Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019). More info here.

Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiovascular and Renal Disease Beyond Biomarkers (Thursday,11am ) Dylan Burger from the University of Ottawa will talk. Link here.

Habitat (Thursday, 12pm) architecture lecture with Elisa Iturbe (Yale School of Architecture), Ciro Miguel (ETH, Zrich) and Vanessa Grossman (TUDelft). More info here.

Severi varieties of projective surfaces (Thursday, 2:30pm) Adrian Zahariuc from the University of Windsor will explain

Severi varieties are spaces which parametrize projective plane curves of fixed degree and geometric genus, and this definition may be easily extended to other projective surfaces by taking the spaces which parametrize curves of fixed homology class and geometric genus on the given surface. In this talk, I will first give a gentle and concrete introduction to these objects, and then I will focus on a question which (although known for the projective plane) is still open for most other projective surfaces, namely the question of whether the Severi varieties are irreducible. This question can be rephrased as follows: is it possible to continuously deform any curve on the surface into any other curve on the surface of the same homology class and geometric genus while keeping the genus fixed throughout the deformation?

More info here.

Forecasting nonlocal climate impacts for mobile species using multivariate spatiotemporal extensions to empirical orthogonal function analysis (Thursday, 3:30pm) James Thorson from the Alaska Fisheries Science Centre and National Marine Fisheries Service will talk. Abstract and link here.

Wednesday

Social Entrepreneurship Workshop (Wednesday, 3pm) This webinar is about creating social capital, as well as profit and return; part of the RBC Talent Hub program. Link here.

Thursday

Entrepreneurial Mindset Success Certificate: COVID-19 Resiliency Session (Thursday, 12am) a bunch of woo-woo. More info here.

Prototyping workshop (Thursday, 12pm) an interactive webinar. More info here.

03:30: One Marvel, container ship, sails from Fairview Cove for New York06:00: Oceanex Sanderling, ro-ro container, arrives at Pier 41 from St. Johns06:00: Lagarfoss, container ship, arrives at Pier 42 from Reykjavik, Iceland06:30: Nolhanava, ro-ro cargo, arrives at Fairview Co ve from Saint-Pierre08:00: Boarbarge 37, semi-submersible barge, moves from Irving Shipyard to Woodside Industries Marine Dock10:00: MOL Maneuver, container ship, arrives at Fairview Cove from Norfolk11:30: Lagarfosssails for Portland14:00: MOL Maneuversails for Dubai

Ive been less productive lately than Id like to be. But sometimes you just have to roll with it, I guess. I could spend another hour trying to drum up something interesting to say this morning, or I could get into some work that Ive been putting off too long. So.

Please subscribe, or drop us a donation. Thanks!

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I don't have much to say, so I'm giving you a cool video of Jupiter - Halifax Examiner

About Arctic Medical Center

Arctic Medical Center offers advanced services to adult patients from in and around Anchorage, Alaska. As a premier medical center, the team of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care providers, which includes a chiropractor, provides customized health care. They combine advanced medical treatments, state-of-the-art regenerative medicine, chiropractic care, and other integrative medicine therapies like massage therapy to help patients lead healthy, pain-free, active lives.

Arctic Medical Center treats a wide range of ailments, including neck, back, hip, and joint pain, as well as sexual health. Their goal is to offer highly personalized care not only to relieve painful symptoms but also to heal the underlying condition causing them.

Research shows that regenerative medicine techniques, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and mesenchymal stem cells, may stimulate and support the natural healing response of the human body. Arctic Medical Center explores every treatment option available with patients to find the most-effective solution.

The team of expertly trained physicians and wellness providers are committed to serving their patients and the community. New patients are welcome at Arctic Medical Center, and appointments are available by calling the practice or booking online.

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Arctic Medical Center: Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell ...

https://www.projectlifemovement.org/impact/https://www.projectlifemovement.org/impact/

Our Impact

The Project to Save Lives Leukemia, Sickle Cell anemia and other diseases can often be cured with a bone marrow transplant. However, African American patients with leukemia and Sickle Cell have only a 23% chance of finding a bone marrow match on the National Registry. For mixed race patients the chance of finding a match is even lower. Conversely, African American and mixed race patients with leukemia or Sickle Cell have a 77% or more chance of dying if the only treatment that will save their lives is a bone marrow match and transplant. Compare this to the 41% chance of finding a match for Asian or Pacific Islanders, 46% for Hispanics or Latinos, 57% for American Indian and Alaska Natives, and 77%f for whites. The only reason for these discrepancies is the lack of bone marrow donors from the African American and mixed race communities. The solution to this problem is simple. We can save lives by having more African American and mixed race bone marrow donors, and providing supportservices to African American and mixed race children and adults in need of bone marrow transplants. This is the mission of The Project to Save Lives.

Doctors also use bone marrow transplants to treat aplastic anemia, autoimmune diseases (including scleroderma and multiple sclerosis), Hodgkin lymphoma, immune deficiency disorders, inborn errors of metabolism, non-hodkin lympohma, myelodysplastic syndrome, myeleproliferative neoplasms, multiple myeloma, myelofibrosis.

Thousands of patients with these diseases will need a bone marrow transplant to survive. Given the lack of African American and mixed race donors, the shortage of diverse donors costs lives. With ethnicity being the key to a perfect match between donor and recipient, we can change the odds only by increasing donors from the African American and mixed race communities. Increase the donors and the odds of finding matching donors will increase. You could save a life and become a hero by being a donor, and being a donor can be as simple as donating blood platelets.

ligible donors must be 18-44 years of age and in general good health. Donors must be willing and committed to donate to any patient they might match. Registration involves completing a consent form and a simple cheek swab test. Cheek swabbing is free. This can be done at an actual drive or by requesting a kit online to complete your swab. This places you on the Be The Match Registry for anyone you might match. While the current method of registration is digital The Project to Save Lives is working on a method of registration for those not equipped to register digitally.

If you match a patient in need, there are two ways to donate. The patients doctor chooses the method of donation that is best for the patient. 80% of the time Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation is used. This is the method of collecting blood-forming cells for transplants. The same blood forming cells that are found in marrow are also found in the circulating (peripheral) blood. PBSC is a non-surgical procedure, called apheresis. The donation takes place at an experienced facility that participates in PBSC collections. For 5 days leading up to donation you will be given injections of a drug called filgrastim to increase the number of cells in your bloodstream that are used for transplant. Some of your blood is then removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through the other arm. The other 20% of marrow donations take place in a hospital under general anesthesia. Doctors use a needle to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of your pelvic bone. Donors feel no pain or discomfort during the donation. The procedure is out-patient. There is small discomfort to save a life. Further, donors never pay for donating and are never paid to donate. The amount of cells donated will not weaken your immune system. Most donors are back to their usual routine in a few days and your marrow naturally replaces itself within 4-6 weeks.

Some believe that donors are usually found in their family. This is not true. 70% of patients do not have a matching donor in the family. Adding more registry members increases the ethnic diversity of the registry which increases the variety of tissue types available, which helps more people of ethnicity and ethnic diversity find the match they need. Additionally, members of the LGBTQ+ community can join the registry and donate. The African American and mixed race communities need members who are committed to helping save a life. This means being willing to donate to anyone in need. If you are called as a potential match for a patient, your commitment means that youre willing to take up to 20-30 hours spread over 4-6 weeks to: attend an information session, attend appointments, and donate. You are also committing to keeping your contact information up-to-date so that the registry can find you to quickly get a blood sample for further match testing.

There are many myths about bone marrow donation:MYTH: Donating is very painful.FACT: Donating is less painful than you think.MYTH: Donating involves opening up or removing bones.FACT: This is not true. Most blood stem cell donors (80%) give PBSC a process similar to platelet donation. This is a non-surgical, out-patient procedure and no bone is removed. The donorreceives a drug for 5 days to increase the number of cells in the bloodstream. The cells are then collected during donation. The donor may experience head or muscle aches that disappearshortly after the donation, and are typically back to their normal routine in 1 to 2 days.

The other procedure (20%) is a surgical, out-patient procedure that takes place in a hospital operating room. While the donor is under anesthesia, the doctors collect marrow from the back ofthe donors pelvic bone. After donation, donors may feel soreness in the lower back. Donors are typically back to their normal routine in 2 to 7 days.MYTH: Donating is dangerous.FACT: There are few risks to donating.MYTH: Donating takes a long time.FACT: It doesnt take long to save someones life.MYTH: Donating is expensive and you need medical insurance.FACT: Donating is absolutely free to the donor.MYTH: Sharing your personal information and DNA is risky.FACT: Be the Match and HIPPA will protect your privacy andconfidentiality.MYTH: Asking about a donors ethnic background is racist.FACT: Ethnic background is an important factor for matching donors to patients. When it comes to matching human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types,a patients ethnic background is important inpredicting the likelihood or finding a match. This is because HLA markers used in matching are inherited.MYTH: Gay men cannot join or donate.FACT: Gay men and others in the LGBTQ+ community CAN join the registry and donate.MYTH: Be the Match discriminates against people age 45+.FACT: Age guidelines protect the safety of the donor and provide the best possible outcome for the patient. They are not meant to discriminate.

More Important Facts:1. Every 3 minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like Leukemia. For many of these and other patients with diseases like Sickle Cell anemia, a marrow transplant is the only lifesaving treatment-their only chance for a cure.2. Every year, more than 14,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancerslike leukemia and lymphomaor other diseases for which a marrow or cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope of a cure.3. 70% of all patients who need a transplant do not have a matched donor in their family. They depend on Be The Match Registry to find an unrelated donor or cord blood unit.4. Approximately 70 % of transplants facilitated by the National Marrow Donor Program are for patients diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma.5. Every 10 minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. Thats more than six people each hour, or 148 people each day.6. More than 70 diseases can be treated & cured by an unrelated donor transplant.7. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.8. Be The Match Registry works tirelessly on behalf of patients in need of a life-saving transplant. Through successful partnerships with organizations, more volunteer donors step forward, more funding becomes available to support critical outreach and more advances are made in the science of transplants. We all have the power to heal, the power to save a life. Take the first step.9. African Americans and people of mixed race are particularly at risk of dying due to inability to find a match.10. Due to significant medical achievements in recent decades, survival rates are higher than ever for bone marrow and PBSC transplants. There are Health Benefits of Diets That Increase Bone Marrow in Donors. There are health benefits to diets that will increase your Red Blood Count to make you a more valuable donor. The Be the Match registry can give you information on what to eat to increase your Red Blood Count which will, in turn, greatly improve you health.

Join the Be The Match RegistryBe the Match is the largest, most diverse registry of potential marrow donors and cord blood units in the world. Be the Match offers one-on-one support, education and guidance before, during and after transplants. But first a marrow match must be found. And there are many patients in need of a donor. The ICLA DA SILVA FOUNDATION, INC. is A Recruitment Center for the Be the Match Registry. The Icla da Silva Foundation is the largest recruitment center for the Be The Match Registry in the United States. It recruits over 38,000 new potential bone marrow donors every year, with a strong focus on minority communities. The Icla da Silva Foundation was established in 1992, in memory of the 13-year-old Brazilian girl named Icla da Silva. After two years of fighting leukemia, Icla passed away in New York City, where she came hoping to get her life saving treatment: a bone marrow transplant. The young girl never found a matching donor.

With offices across the United States and Puerto Rico, the Foundation is continuously expanding its efforts in providing assistance and hope to thousands of families in the United States and all over the world. The mission of the Icla da Silva Foundation is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors and providing support services to children and adults with leukemia and other diseases treatable by marrow transplants. The Icla da Silva Foundation is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c) 3 of the IRS Code. Eligible donors must be 18-44 years of age and in general good health. Be willing and committed to donate to any patient that you might match. Registration involves completing a consent form and a simple cheek swab test. This places you on the Be The Match Registry for anyone you might match. You can contact the ICLA/Be the Match organization through the following:

https://bethematch.org/support-thecause/donate-bone-marrow/donation-faqs/. You can also contact The Project to

Save a Life through its two community volunteers: John-Michael Lawrence atlawrencejohnmichael9@gmail.com and Rhoda London at diversitydonordrive@aol.com.

What You Can Do Besides Being a Donor:If you are not able to donate or are younger than 18 or older than 44, you can:1. Host an actual cheek swabbing drive in you place of worship, school, business organization;2. Publicize a digital drive in any of the above on Facebook or any other social media;3. Share the information with other groups,family and friends;4. Make a financial donation in honor of your own good health or in honor of your recovery from and illness. Since swabbing and medical expenses are free, financial donations go to support analyzing the swabs and medical expenses for the donor and recipient;5. For a PHYSICAL Drive, register online at Join.Bethematch.org/JaxDonors for information and videos on how to hold a drive. Please join the effort, you can save a life.

More:
The Project to Save Lives Free Press of Jacksonville - Jacksonville Free Press

Many of us look for ways to give back during the holidays as a chance to demonstrate gratitude for what we have by helping others who might not be so fortunate. Northwest Arkansas is chock full of wonderful nonprofit organizations that can always use a helping hand, but if you're looking for a way to kick your giving up a notch, consider these three organizations for a chance to -- literally -- give a piece of yourself to save someone else's life.

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks

3503 S. Thompson, Springdale, (479) 927-1200

1400 SE Walton Blvd., Bentonville, (479) 464-2506

"There are 12 hospitals in Northwest Arkansas that use blood that comes from our center and nowhere else," says Community Blood Center of the Ozarks Marketing Manager Chris Pilgrim. "And over 40 hospitals from southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas, combined."

Donating blood is one of the easiest ways to save someone's life, says Pilgrim, but only a small percentage of the population actively participates. Out of the 37% of Americans who are eligible, only 10% actually give.

"You would think that a fear of needles would be the No. 1 reason people don't give blood -- and while that's pretty significant, it's not the biggest reason," he says. "The biggest is just that people have never been asked. It's kind of something that goes on in the background. It takes a conscious decision for 200 people a day to donate blood and keep things going here."

If aversion to needles is your issue, fear not, says Pilgrim.

"If you're scared of needles, it doesn't hurt very much -- it's a slight sting, and the needle is in your arm for maybe 10 minutes," he says. "When you're finished with your donation, you walk out. It's that easy. It doesn't take much time or any money, but it has a real impact on someone's life. That's the biggest gift you can give, when you save lives."

And each donation, says Pilgrim, saves multiple lives.

"We used to say that one donation could save three lives, because we divided it up into red blood cells, platelets and plasma, but your blood donation could get divided up and go with lots of people -- the more you give, the more you multiply."

While all blood donations are valued in order to keep the area hospitals fully stocked, Pilgrim says that some blood types are a lot more in demand than others.

"There are a couple of specific blood products that we look for," says Pilgrim. "First of all, when you're talking about red blood cells, O Negative is a universal type. Even though only 6% of the population is Type O Negative, it's used more than its fair share in trauma cases when you can't readily type a victim. The other universal is AB plasma -- it can be given to anybody."

You can give blood at any of the center's locations -- there are also two Missouri locations -- and it's suggested that you first make an appointment online to expedite your visit. Pilgrim says the bulk of the donations, however, are collected at blood drives.

"The vast majority of the blood we collect comes from places where we take our show on the road -- churches, schools, businesses," he explains. "If you have a business that wants to hold a blood drive, please give us a call. We can take you through the steps and help make it as painless and rewarding as possible."

Project Zero

theprojectzero.org

Tiphanie Gurwell, Northwest Arkansas outreach coordinator for the nonprofit organization Project Zero, says there are hundreds of children in Arkansas who are waiting to be adopted -- and it's her organization's goal to find each and every one of those children a home. Project Zero, according to its mission statement, will "diligently and enthusiastically promote adoption through the foster care system with the ultimate goal of finding a forever family for every child that is waiting."

Project Zero works specifically with a group of children who might be harder to place, says Gurwell.

"A lot of these kids are part of a sibling group, or they have special needs, or they're teenagers," she says. "So they're what we would consider the harder-to-place kids. When most people go into adoption, they want younger kids; that number doesn't take into consideration the kids that are having their parental rights terminated but are getting adopted quickly. We generally don't advocate for a child under the age of 5 unless they're in a sibling group or have a special need."

Gurwell says one of the ways the organization seeks to connect potential adoptive parents with children are its private events where children and adults mix and mingle and get to know each other, like the one coming up in Little Rock.

"Seventy-nine percent of the kids [in state care] will attend this event," says Gurwell. "They'll come and get Christmas presents and play fun games, all while interacting with families who are looking to adopt. They may connect in a way they don't just by looking at a photo on the internet. It's kind of a game changer, because you get that one opportunity, and it's no longer just a picture or a number -- you get to meet with and talk to the child."

Even one visit to the organization's website is enough to personalize its mission: It maintains a "Heart Gallery," a collection of pictures, biographies and, sometimes, videos of the children for whom they're advocating. The photos show smiling, hopeful faces, and the biographies are heartbreakingly forthright about the trauma the child might have endured and the special needs that resulted. But they also give insight into each child's particular personality and their hopes and dreams for their futures.

"I really didn't have a family in my past, and I would like to start over and build a new life in a new family that loves me, and I love them, and that cares about me and loves me and understands what I've been going through," says Andreka, a teenager, in a short video. Though the teenagers in the Heart Gallery may be aging out of the system soon, their need for a permanent placement is still great, says Gurwell.

"Typically, the kids that age out of foster care don't end up doing the best," explains Gurwell. "If you grew up your whole life, and no one ever taught you how to budget, how to pay a bill, how to apply for a loan, how to apply for college -- what ends up happening is that, at the age of 18 or 21, they age out with very little knowledge. [The Division of Children and Family Services] does the best they can do, given their resources, but when you get out in the real world, and you're working a minimum wage job, you're trying to go to college and there's no one to ask for help? The statistics show they're likely to end up in the same situation that they were removed from. A lot of them will end up in jail or homeless.

"I think it's important for people to get these kind of negative stereotypes out of their head -- like, they're going to come into my house angry, or they don't want to be adopted. There are a million different excuses people have when talking about teens, but I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of our teens, and they do want to be adopted. They want to be loved. Even if it's a short period -- let's say you adopt at 16 or 17 years old. Those two years can be a game changer. They've got someone to come home to. It may be a minimum time in your home, but it's a lifetime commitment to that child."

Gurwell says there's no one profile of a family that would make good adoptive parents.

"Every child has a different story," she says. "Some kids need a single mother because of their trauma. Some kids need a two-parent family or need to be the only child or youngest child in the home. Each case is so unique. I would say the only thing we wish for in our families is, obviously, that they be able to support the child financially without government assistance. From our organization's perspective, we want families who are open-minded, we want families who aren't going to come in and say, 'I want a kid 5 and under.' We want families who say, 'We are called to do this, but we don't know what it looks like, so let's just roll with it and see what happens.' I think sometimes when we put barriers up of what we don't want, it limits the connections you might make with someone you might not even think about looking at -- but then you meet a child, and it's a game changer."

For those interested in exploring the possibilities of adoption, the Project Zero website is a great place to start and can explain what the next steps in the process would be.

Be the Match

Bethematch.org

(800) MARROW-2

When Bill Brashear got the news that his son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, it was a shock: His son was a healthy young man in the prime of his life who had never experienced previous health issues.

"It was gut wrenching," he says. "It was horrible. But the wonderful thing that came out of it was [our knowledge of] Be the Match."

Early on in his treatment, Brashear's son needed a blood stem cell transplant; fortunately, a match was found within his family. But when he needed another one later on, the family turned to the international donor database Be the Match.

"They did a search for [my son's] DNA makeup and didn't find a match in anyone in the United States but found a young man in Germany," says Brashear. "They harvested this person's blood cells in Germany, a courier was there, got the blood cells that he had donated, flew back to the United States, and the next day, they were infused in [my son]."

Clifford Ackerman now works with the organization as a patient and lead liaison, but his first introduction to Be the Match was as a patient when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"I had two sisters and a fraternal twin, and nobody matched me," he says. "I found a match through Be the Match, and now I have a blood brother who saved my life by joining the registry eight years before to help someone in his community. We just celebrated Thanksgiving -- if you want to show how thankful you are for what you have, this is a wonderful way."

Be the Match collects donations in three areas: peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), marrow and umbilical cord blood. These donations can be used to help treat 70 different blood diseases and cancers. Be the Match facilitated nearly 6,200 transplants in 2018. But with nearly 70 percent of patients requiring transplants outside their friends and family group, new donors are always needed.

"It's very similar to donating plasma platelets," Ackerman explains of the outpatient process, which is open to donors ages 18 to 44. "Nothing is completely painless -- there's always a small discomfort to save a life. With this process, it's either a bit of achiness before or after the process. It's not like what you see on Grey's Anatomy or ER or House -- you don't feel pain or discomfort during, but maybe some achiness afterward."

Most matches are found by people who match the patient's ethnic background, and the likelihood of a patient finding a match in the system ranges from 77% for white patients, 57% for American Indian and Alaska Native patients, 46% for Hispanic or Latino patients, 41% for Asian or Pacific Islander patients and 23% for African-American patients.

The entire process, from the initial medical exam to determine eligibility through the donation procedure, usually takes around 30 hours, says Ackerman, and is entirely free for the donor -- it's either paid for by the patient's insurance or by Be the Match.

"We pay for the travel, the meals and even for one companion," says Ackerman. "Even tolls, mileage, day care -- even pet care. If they come up to us and say, 'Hey, I started a new job or ran out of paid time off', we'll even cover their wages."

Ackerman says a young man named Blee, a 2014 graduate from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, is currently looking for a matching donor to help treat his aplastic anemia. To start the process to see if you're a match for Belee -- or another patient currently waiting on a donor -- scan the QR code pictured with this story or text NWADG4aCure to 61474. Ackerman says the initial screening is simple and fast, and a swab kit can be mailed to your home address quickly.

"Be the Match is such a big deal," says Brashear. "It saved [my son's] life, and it's saved other people's lives, but we don't hear enough about it. That's why I'm shouting from the rooftops and ringing the bells and whatever else to get the word out -- because it might save somebody's life, for sure."

Courtesy Photo The Heart Gallery on the Project Zero website is a great place to find out more information about the children in the foster care system who are seeking permanent homes in Arkansas -- like Jawaun.

Courtesy Photo The Heart Gallery on the Project Zero website is a great place to find out more information about the children in the foster care system who are seeking permanent homes in Arkansas -- like Jawaun.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Community Blood Center of the Ozarks' Chris Pilgrim says the majority of the blood donations the organization collects come from community-organized blood drives like this one at Rogers High School in November. Contact the CBCO if or your organization would like to host a blood drive.

NAN Our Town on 12/05/2019

Read more:
Next level giving: A piece of your heart can literally save lives - NWAOnline

In-The-News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Dec. 2.

What we are watching in Canada ...

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. Canada's premiers are meeting today just outside Toronto for the first time as a group since the federal election.

The campaign laid bare some regional divisions, and the premiers of Saskatchewan and Alberta where the Liberals won no seats have been especially vocal about their asks from Ottawa.

Saskatchewan's Scott Moe and Alberta's Jason Kenney want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to change the equalization formula, but there is unlikely to be consensus on that around the premiers' table.

Moe, who is chair of the Council of the Federation, says all of the premiers will come to the meeting with various priorities and differing opinions, but the goal is to find a few issues on which they have common ground.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says health care is a concern for everyone, and that all premiers want a 5.2 per cent annual increase to the Canada Health Transfer.

Climate policy will be another tough area to get all parties on side. Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have all launched legal challenges against the federal carbon price, while others have accepted it or launched their own programs.

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Also this ...

A hockey player paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says he's thrilled with the progress he's made since receiving spinal surgery in Thailand a month ago.

Doctors implanted an epidural stimulator in Ryan Straschnitzki's spine and one week later injected stem cells above and below the injury to try to reverse some of the damage.

The 20-year-old has just a week to go before returning home to Airdrie, Alberta.

Straschnitzki, paralyzed from the chest down, says he's been able to straighten his legs and walk with the use of a wheeled machine.

He says the experience has left him at a loss for words, shocked and excited all at the same time.

Straschnitzki, who's hoping to make the Canadian sledge hockey team, took his sled with him to Thailand and has been sitting in it as part of his rehab.

He has finally been cleared by doctors and is to get some ice time in Bangkok later this week.

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ICYMI (in case you missed it) ...

WHITEHORSE, Yukon Canada is getting its first Arctic university.

This past week, the Yukon legislature passed a bill to make Yukon College a university. It will be an institution with an Indigenous flavour that will make it as unique as the region it is to serve.

"Everybody knows we're moving toward something big and something special," said Tom Ullyett, chairman of the board of governors.

The idea of a northern university has been kicked around since at least 2007 when a survey in all three territories found residents wanted more influence over Arctic research. Northern First Nations have been asking for one for 50 years.

Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have colleges that teach courses toward degrees from southern institutions and have announced plans to broaden their post-secondary offerings.

Yukon College has done the same in science, education and social work and also offers courses towards bachelor's degrees in Indigenous governance and business administration.

Once the college is transformed, it will become the first institution in the territories to grant a degree under its own name. Diplomas the first graduates of the governance program get next spring will read "Yukon University."

The institution, which will also offer trades programs, will allow northerners to further their education closer to home.

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What we are watching in the U.S. ...

NEW YORK A wave of new laws in 15 states that allow people to make claims of sexual abuse going back decades could bring a deluge of lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church that could surpass anything seen so far in its clergy abuse crisis.

Associated Press interviews with attorneys and clergy abuse watchdog groups found it could result in at least 5,000 new cases against the church and more than $4 billion in payouts.

It's a financial reckoning playing out in such Catholic strongholds as New York, California and New Jersey, among eight states that go the furthest with "lookback windows" allowing sex abuse claims no matter how old.

Catholic leaders worry about the difficulty of defending such old cases, and more dioceses are considering bankruptcy and victim compensation funds.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

MADRID Delegates from almost 200 countries have begun a two-week international climate conference in Madrid that seeks to step up efforts to stop global warming.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that the efforts so far are insufficient to overcome the "point of no return" in climate change.

"What is lacking is political will," Guterres told reporters on the eve of the COP25 meeting, which opened today.

The summit, which moved to the Spanish capital after Chile had to pull out amid anti-government protests, aims to put the finishing touches to the rules governing the 2015 Paris accord.

That involves creating a functioning international emissions-trading system and compensating poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec. 2, 2019.

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A premier meeting and a medical marvel; In-The-News for Dec. 2 - Alaska Highway News

Granite Investment Partners Llc increased its stake in Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) by 29.41% based on its latest 2019Q2 regulatory filing with the SEC. Granite Investment Partners Llc bought 2,051 shares as the companys stock rose 4.52% . The institutional investor held 9,026 shares of the health care company at the end of 2019Q2, valued at $4.74M, up from 6,975 at the end of the previous reported quarter. Granite Investment Partners Llc who had been investing in Intuitive Surgical Inc for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $60.20B market cap company. The stock increased 2.17% or $11.08 during the last trading session, reaching $522.31. About 267,266 shares traded. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) has risen 3.28% since October 11, 2018 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 3.28% the S&P500. Some Historical ISRG News: 03/05/2018 New Study Shows Robotic-Assisted Surgery Benefits for lnguinal Hernia Repair; 17/04/2018 After-hours buzz: IBM, ISRG, UAL & more; 17/04/2018 Intuitive Surgical 1Q Net $288M; 21/04/2018 DJ Intuitive Surgical Inc, Inst Holders, 1Q 2018 (ISRG); 17/04/2018 INTUITIVE SURGICAL 1Q ADJ EPS $2.44; 16/04/2018 Intuitive Surgical Inc expected to post earnings of $2.07 a share Earnings Preview; 23/05/2018 Intuitive Surgical at Goldman Sachs Conference Jun 13; 29/05/2018 Intuitive to Begin Direct Operations in India; 17/04/2018 INTUITIVE CLIMBS 6% POST-MARKET AS 1Q RESULTS BEAT ESTIMATES; 17/04/2018 INTUITIVE SURGICAL 1Q ADJ EPS $2.44, EST. $2.07

Sivik Global Healthcare Llc increased its stake in Bluebird Bio (BLUE) by 41.2% based on its latest 2019Q2 regulatory filing with the SEC. Sivik Global Healthcare Llc bought 7,295 shares as the companys stock declined 6.01% . The hedge fund held 25,000 shares of the health care company at the end of 2019Q2, valued at $3.18 million, up from 17,705 at the end of the previous reported quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare Llc who had been investing in Bluebird Bio for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $4.94 billion market cap company. The stock increased 0.17% or $0.15 during the last trading session, reaching $89.46. About 189,472 shares traded. bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) has declined 15.47% since October 11, 2018 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 15.47% the S&P500. Some Historical BLUE News: 24/04/2018 Breakthrough CAR-T Cancer Therapy to Get New Medicare Coverage; 30/05/2018 Legend Announces FDA clearance of IND application on CAR-T immuno-cell therapy for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma; 23/05/2018 Cesca Therapeutics Chief Technology Officer, Phil Coelho, Provides Deep Dive into the CAR-T Manufacturing Process in Cell & Gene Therapy; 20/04/2018 Cynata Therapeutics Completes Patent Application to Cover Cymerus Stem Cell Technology in the Treatment of Side Effects Related to CAR-T Therapy; 20/03/2018 Incysus to Present Scientific Overview at the 2018 CAR-T Congress USA Meeting; 29/03/2018 Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Adds Bluebird Bio; 17/05/2018 ToolGen, Inc., Demonstrates CRISPR/cas9 Gene Editing Improves Anti-Tumor Activity of Human CAR-T Cells; 16/04/2018 Humanigen Signs Agreement With MD Anderson Cancer Center to Begin Research Investigating Lenzilumab as CAR-T Support; 30/05/2018 Janssen Announces Initiation of Phase 1b/2 Clinical Development Program Evaluating JNJ-68284528 CAR-T Cells for the Treatment o; 02/05/2018 bluebird bio 1Q Loss/Shr $2.31

Sivik Global Healthcare Llc, which manages about $250.21 million and $413.55M US Long portfolio, decreased its stake in Nevro Corp by 20,000 shares to 30,000 shares, valued at $1.95M in 2019Q2, according to the filing. It also reduced its holding in Wellcare Health Plans Inc Com Stk (NYSE:WCG) by 15,000 shares in the quarter, leaving it with 20,000 shares, and cut its stake in Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY).

More notable recent bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) news were published by: Seekingalpha.com which released: Key events next week healthcare Seeking Alpha on September 13, 2019, also Nasdaq.com with their article: UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Oct. 11 Nasdaq published on October 11, 2019, Globenewswire.com published: Interpace Announces New Contracts with Multiple Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans GlobeNewswire on September 30, 2019. More interesting news about bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) were released by: Seekingalpha.com and their article: Intel: Size Matters Seeking Alpha published on October 09, 2019 as well as Globenewswire.coms news article titled: Double the Del-Iciousness: Del Tacos Best Taco Deal Yet GlobeNewswire with publication date: October 07, 2019.

Investors sentiment decreased to 1.27 in 2019 Q2. Its down 0.43, from 1.7 in 2019Q1. It dropped, as 30 investors sold BLUE shares while 63 reduced holdings. 35 funds opened positions while 83 raised stakes. 60.47 million shares or 0.32% more from 60.27 million shares in 2019Q1 were reported. D E Shaw & has invested 0% in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE). Winslow Evans And Crocker Incorporated stated it has 0.15% in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE). 752,300 are owned by Victory Cap Mngmt Inc. Peregrine Asset Advisers Incorporated invested in 1.15% or 14,081 shares. Guggenheim Capital Ltd invested 0.03% in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE). Hrt Finance Limited Liability Corporation owns 0.03% invested in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) for 3,765 shares. 1.42 million were accumulated by Price T Rowe Assocs Inc Md. Next Financial Group Inc stated it has 16 shares. State Of Alaska Department Of Revenue has 0.01% invested in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) for 6,199 shares. Fmr Limited Liability holds 0.12% or 8.27 million shares. 101,918 were accumulated by Tekla Cap Mngmt Limited Liability Corp. Pub Employees Retirement Association Of Colorado invested in 7,118 shares. Rhumbline Advisers accumulated 0.01% or 46,795 shares. Winfield Associate stated it has 0.17% in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE). Shelton Mgmt stated it has 0.02% in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE).

More notable recent Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) news were published by: Seekingalpha.com which released: Intuitive buys robotic endoscope business Seeking Alpha on July 15, 2019, also Finance.Yahoo.com with their article: How Much Of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) Do Institutions Own? Yahoo Finance published on May 06, 2019, Seekingalpha.com published: Leerink likes Acadia Pharma in premarket analyst action Seeking Alpha on September 13, 2019. More interesting news about Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) were released by: Nasdaq.com and their article: Anatomy of Success: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Nasdaq published on May 11, 2018 as well as Fool.coms news article titled: This Healthcare Company Provides Shelter From a Volatile Market Motley Fool with publication date: October 05, 2019.

Granite Investment Partners Llc, which manages about $892.06M and $1.87 billion US Long portfolio, decreased its stake in Paylocity Hldg Corp (NASDAQ:PCTY) by 3,368 shares to 31,055 shares, valued at $2.91M in 2019Q2, according to the filing. It also reduced its holding in Donaldson Inc (NYSE:DCI) by 23,080 shares in the quarter, leaving it with 16,800 shares, and cut its stake in United States Lime & Mineral (NASDAQ:USLM).

Since July 23, 2019, it had 0 insider buys, and 1 insider sale for $2.65 million activity.

Investors sentiment decreased to 1.05 in 2019 Q2. Its down 0.15, from 1.2 in 2019Q1. It dropped, as 68 investors sold ISRG shares while 223 reduced holdings. 75 funds opened positions while 231 raised stakes. 96.46 million shares or 0.41% more from 96.06 million shares in 2019Q1 were reported. Tarbox Family Office Inc accumulated 0.01% or 87 shares. Minnesota-based Gradient Ltd Liability Corp has invested 0% in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG). 15,127 were accumulated by Pub Sector Pension Board. Davis R M reported 0.01% stake. Greenleaf owns 2,585 shares or 0.02% of their US portfolio. Weik Cap accumulated 845 shares or 0.21% of the stock. Df Dent And, Maryland-based fund reported 258,198 shares. Moreover, Altfest L J And has 0.09% invested in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) for 634 shares. Bath Savings Tru stated it has 0.4% in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG). 512 were reported by Evercore Wealth Mngmt. Goldman Sachs Gru Inc accumulated 519,547 shares or 0.08% of the stock. 1St Source National Bank reported 2,717 shares. Stephens Ar holds 0.02% of its portfolio in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) for 1,681 shares. Sg Americas Securities Llc invested in 0.1% or 27,940 shares. 795 are held by North Mngmt Corp.

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Bluebird Bio (BLUE) Stake Maintained by Sivik Global Healthcare Llc; Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Share Value Rose While Granite Investment Partners Has...