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6 Natural Treatments for Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes poor sleep quality due to uncontrollable pauses in breathing, taking shallow breaths during sleep and suddenly waking up startled. During the night, someone with sleep apnea might repeatedly stop breathing up to 30 times every hour, often for very brief moments of time and without the person being aware of it at all. In fact, a scary finding is that many people with sleep apnea think that they actually get good sleep!
This is alarming it's more than just heavy snoring — it's a serious medical diagnoses, even potentially life-threatening, and can lead to various negative symptoms and a decreased quality of life. Because breaks in normal breathing cause less oxygen to make its way to the brain and elsewhere around the body, people with sleep apnea are triggered to wake up suddenly out of sleep and gasp for air in order to reopen their airways. The entire start-and-stop breathing process associated with sleep apnea can cause symptoms, including loud snoring, choking noises, poor sleep, and feelings of fatigue and anxiety during the day.
Missing sleep can take years off your life. Long-term complications of sleep apnea can include an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, depression, memory problems, viruses and sexual dysfunction. (1) Sleep disturbances have also been correlated with car accidents, poor job performance, low grades in school, and higher susceptibility to common colds and the flu.
Many people with sleep apnea use a breathing mask to help control symptoms, but this won't stop the underlying problems associated with sleep apnea, including inflammation of the throat muscles. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be treated and prevented by making lifestyle modifications, including losing weight, reducing inflammation, improving your diet and starting a regular exercise routine.
Natural Sleep Apnea Treatment
1. Reach and Maintain a Healthy Weight
One reason that weight gain increases your risk for sleep apnea so much is because it makes it more likely that you're essentially gaining weight on the inside of your neck, which affects your throat muscles and breathing capabilities. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have sleep disturbances since fat deposits around your upper airway can obstruct normal breathing. Some experts recommend getting a measurement of your collar size and neck circumference. If you're a man with a neck circumference over 17 inches (43 centimeters) or a women over 15 inches (38 centimeters), you have a significantly higher risk for sleep apnea.
And unfortunately struggling with obesity, getting poor sleep and having sleep apnea all seem to be a part of a vicious cycle, since a lack of sleep can mean lack of weight loss. Not only does obesity increase sleep apnea risk, but sleep apnea can also contribute to many of the same diseases that obesity does. Research shows that sleep apnea adversely affects multiple organs and systems and is associated with cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, visceral fat deposition anddyslipidemia. (2)
If you're overweight or obese, a reasonable goal to aim for is losing about 10 percent of your body weight. This amount has been shown to help reduce symptoms because it can help prevent your airways from collapsing while you sleep and reduce inflammation around the throat muscles. (3) Tips for reaching and staying at a healthy body weight include:
- Eat a high-fiber diet: Some of the best sources of dietary fiber include fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, sprouted beans or legumes, and ancient whole grains. Aim for at least 25–30 grams daily.
- Use healthy fats and eat enough protein: Coconut oil has natural fat-burning effects, plus many more benefits like improving gut health too. Other healthy fats that can help control your appetite include real olive oil, avocado, fats from grass-fed beef, nuts and seeds. Protein foods are satisfying and essential for building muscles as well. Regularly include proteins like cage-free eggs and wild-caught fish in your meals.
- Utilize adaptogen herbs: Adaptogen herbs like maca, ginseng and rhodiola can help control health conditions that can make it hard to lose weight (like high amounts of stress, thyroid issues, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, cellular toxicity and candida).
- Get regular exercise: Exercise is a prescription for good sleep. It helps regulate hormones, adds muscle mass, burns calories and can break up nasal congestion. Try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as a brisk walk, most days of the week.
- Sneak more exercise in and switch up your routine: Stand more during the day, try burst-training exercises and other forms of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to keep challenging your muscles, take group classes, add in weight training, and relax with yoga in between workouts.
- Try using essential oils for weight loss: Natural oils, including grapefruit, cinnamon and ginger oil, can help control your appetite, hormones and digestive symptoms.
2. Avoid Excessive Alcohol, Smoking and Overuse of Sedatives
Alcohol has been shown to interfere with sleep quality and can also relax the throat muscles, including the uvula and palate, which are needed to help control breathing. Over-the-counter sleep aids, sedatives and prescription tranquilizers can have the same effects. This can lead to worsened snoring and other symptoms, plus more grogginess during the day.
Both smoking and alcohol can also contribute to inflammation and fluid retention in the airways, which disturbs normal sleep. Smokers are three times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than are people who've never smoked, just in case you needed another reason to quit. (4) Work on quitting smoking, and if you do drink, plan not to have any drinks at least three hours before going to bed.
3. Treat Acid Reflux, Congestion and Coughs
Many people suffering from sleep apnea and heavy snoring also have other medical problems that interfere with normal breathing, including acid reflux/heartburn, congestion and chronic coughs. Nasal congestion leads to difficulty breathing through the nose and can worsen symptoms or even contribute to the development of obstructive sleep apnea.
In the case of esophageal reflux, it's possible that acid is making its way to your throat and voice box, where it causes irritation and swelling around certain throat muscles. Coughs might also irritate your upper airways and increase snoring. Adjusting your diet, reducing exposure to allergies and raising your head while sleeping can help reduce reflux and congestion.
4. Humidify Your Bedroom
Some people report decreased snoring, less congestion and clearer breathing when they sleep with a humidifier in their bedrooms. A humidifier might be able to help encourage your sinuses to drain and more air to move through your airways. You can also rub essential oils such as eucalyptus oil (the same kind used to make Vicks VapoRub) on your chest before sleeping to help naturally open your airways and soothe a stuffy nose or throat.
5. Adjust Your Sleeping Position
Elevating your head while sleeping might be able to help lower snoring. It's also a good idea to avoid sleeping on your back, which has been shown to make snoring and symptoms worse because it presses your tongue and palate tissue against the back of your throat.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, sleeping on your side using a pillow that keeps your head slightly raised is usually the best sleep position to alleviate sleep apnea symptoms. (5) A second option is to sleep on your stomach as opposed to your back.
6. Consider Using a Snore Guard or Sleep Device Temporarily
While you ultimately want to resolve the problems causing your sleep apnea symptoms in the first place, you can temporarily help control snoring by using an expensive, over-the-counter device called a snore guard that you insert into your mouth. Snore guards work by boiling the pliable device and fitting it into your mouth, so it helps bring your lower jaw forward slightly and keeps your airways more open.
Other people who suffer from chronic snoring might choose to use more expensive and permanent devices, such as a mandibular advancement device, which is inserted by a dentist into your mouth and lasts for several years.
Sleep Apnea Statistics
- 50 million to 70 million Americans have sleep or wakefulness disorders, and sleep apnea affects more at least 12 million to 18 million Americans every year.
- It's most common among adults over 45 who are overweight, especially men, but can also affect women, people of normal weight and even children. (6)
- Men are twice as likely to have sleep apnea than women. But women have a high chance too if they become obese, are going through menopause or drink excessive alcohol and smoke. (7)
- It's estimated that four out of every 100 middle-aged men and two out of every 100 middle-aged women have obstructive sleep apnea that causes noticeable symptoms. Studies show that sleep apnea occurs in about 2 percent of children and can occur even in very young children, especially if they're overweight.
- According to the National Institute of Health, sleep apnea is the leading cause of excessive daytime drowsiness in adults (8)
- Pauses in breathing associated with sleep apnea might last for 10 seconds to one minute and occur dozens of times per night.
- A Yale University study found that sleep apnea is associated with double the risk for having a stroke! It can also increase blood pressure, risk for blood clots and other cardiovascular diseases.
- People who are obese have been found to have four times the risk of developing sleep apnea that people who are a normal weight.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
The most common symptoms and signs of sleep apnea include: (9)
- snoring loudly, especially if the snoring is punctuated by silence (pauses in all breathing and sound)
- feeling like you're always tired or drowsy, even after getting a full night's sleep (also called hypersomnia, which is excessive daytime sleepiness)
- waking up suddenly or abruptly and feeling startled by a loss of breath (called "episodes of breathing cessation")
- Experiencing pausing in breathing or flow of air (called "hypoapnea") — pauses in breath happen more than four to five times per hour and in severe cases can occur almost every minute during the night (10)
- other people reporting that you're breathing abnormally while sleeping (starting and stopping normal breathing or snoring)
- shortness of breath when waking up
- night sweating and frequent urination
- waking up with a dry mouth, sore throat or bad breath
- having headaches
- struggling with other sleeping problems, including have trouble falling or staying asleep (insomnia)
- experiencing trouble concentrating, poor memory and brain fog during the daytime (even having a hard time driving or performing other tasks)
- becoming more irritable, anxious and depressed than usual due to a lack of sleep
- having lower immune function and higher risk for other disorders as a side effect of hormonal imbalances
Sleep Apnea vs. Snoring: How to Tell the Difference
Not everyone who has sleep apnea necessarily snores, but most people do. While snoring from time to time is pretty common for adults and not usually harmful, excessive and very loud snoring that interrupts normal sleep and your quality of life is a serious problem. How can you tell the difference between sleep apnea and simply "normal snoring"?
First and foremost, your spouse or partner (or anyone else who sleeps in close proximity to you) might be able to help clue you in on your own sleeping habits. Do they notice you snoring loud enough that it wakes them up repeatedly and disturbs their sleep quality too? Do they report that you're stopping and starting breathing, waking up startled or gasping for air? If you're struggling with sleep apnea, your snoring might take on other forms that aren't normal, including strong gasping, shaking and choking sounds that wake you up suddenly. If no one sleeps close enough to you to report symptoms, try using a tape recorder to track your own breathing sounds while you're sleeping.
Normal snoring also doesn't tend to make people tired, distracted and irritable during the day because it doesn't usually impair sleep quality. Chronic fatigue is one of the biggest signs of poor sleep quality due to sleep disturbances like sleep apnea. If you notice changes in your concentration, mood, memory, weight, appetite and personality (for example, you're dosing off when watching TV, having trouble completing tasks at work and getting angry with people more easily), then you might have sleep apnea.
If a family member notices you having any of the hallmark sleep apnea symptoms described above or you find yourself feeling overly drowsy and cranky during the day, it's a good idea to consult your doctor to talk about whether or not your snoring might be a bigger medical problem. Visiting a sleep clinic is another option, where a professional can track your symptoms and investigate a potential cause.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
Risk factors for sleep apnea include:
- Obesity and being overweight (11)
- Older age — sleep apnea is much more common in adults than in children or teens, and the risk keeps increasing over the age of 45
- Being a male
- Having a narrowed airway or congestion — a narrowed airway can be inherited or caused by your chronic congestion, enlarged tonsils and swollen adenoids due to illnesses
- Having a family history of sleep disorders
- Excessive use of alcohol and smoking cigarettes
- Frequently taking sleep-aiding drugs, sedatives or tranquilizers
- Having a history of medical complications, including heart disease, stroke, autoimmune disorders or thyroid disorders
- Using narcotic pain medications (including opioid medications and methadone)
There are three main types of sleep apnea, which are triggered by different things but can cause similar symptoms and complications. Symptoms of the two most common types, called obstructive and central sleep apnea, are very similar, which sometimes makes it hard for doctors to determine which type is causing the disorder.
- Obstructive sleep apnea: This is most common type that develops due to abnormal relaxation of muscles in the throat and tends to cause the loudest snoring. Normally, the throat muscles support breathing by relaxing and tensing parts of your mouth and esophagus that allow for air to pass through. The throat muscles control important body parts responsible for breathing, including "the soft palate" tissues in your mouth, the tonsils, the side walls of the throat and the tongue. Abnormal relaxation of the throat muscles causes shortness of breath during sleep, which can cut off oxygen supply and trigger your brain to keep waking you up in order to gasp for air. At the same time, it can cause other problems like a lowered pulse and lowered blood pressure. (12)
- Central sleep apnea: This type is less common than obstructive sleep apnea, but the two are also related. It occurs when your brain stops sending normal signals to your muscles that help control breathing. Unknowingly, people with central sleep apea make no effort to breathe for short periods of time because their throat muscles don't know to contract while they're sleeping, which leaves them short of breath.
Complex sleep apnea syndrome: This type is diagnosed when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea at the same time.
Final Thoughts on Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes poor sleep quality due to uncontrollable pauses in breathing, taking shallow breaths during sleep and suddenly waking up startled. During the night, someone with sleep apnea might repeatedly stop breathing up to 30 times every hour, often for very brief moments of time and without the person being aware of it at all. In fact, a scary finding is that many people with sleep apnea think that they actually get good sleep!
About 50 million to 70 million Americans have sleep or wakefulness disorders, and sleep apnea affects more at least 12 million to 18 million Americans every year.
Not everyone who has sleep apnea necessarily snores, but most people do. While snoring from time to time is pretty common for adults and not usually harmful, excessive and very loud snoring that interrupts normal sleep and your quality of life is a serious problem.
Many people with sleep apnea use a breathing mask to help control symptoms, but this won't stop the underlying problems associated with sleep apnea, including inflammation of the throat muscles. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be treated and prevented by making lifestyle modifications, including losing weight, reducing inflammation, improving your diet and starting a regular exercise routine.
In addition, you want to maintain a healthy weight; avoid excessive alcohol, smoking and overuse of sedatives; treat acid reflux, congestion and coughs; humidify your bedroom; adjust your sleeping position; and consider using a snore guard or sleep device temporarily to treat sleep apnea symptoms.
Read Next: How to Stop Snoring — 11 Remedies that Work!
How to Stop Snoring – 11 Remedies that Work!
Have you ever been frustrated at your partner for keeping you up all night with loud snoring? Better yet, have you ever woken yourself up with your own snoring and wondering how to stop snoring?
Despite what you may think about yourself, everyone snores occasionally. It's a natural occurrence due to the relaxed state your throat moves into during sleep. But if it's severe, it can disrupt sleep patterns, cause insomnia, and lead to irritability in both the snorer and the one lying awake because of the snoring.
It's important to note, however, that snoring could also be an indication of sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition that should receive medical attention. Sleep apnea is typically caused by a breathing obstruction, which awakens the sleeper, at which point the person begins breathing again. Normal snoring usually does not affect the quality of sleep as much as sleep apnea. If you suffer from extreme fatigue, sleepiness and exhaustion during the day, your problem may be more than just snoring, and you should get it checked out by a doctor.
As mentioned, snoring can cause insomnia, a big problem for many, with 48 percent of Americans reporting occasional insomnia and 22 percent reporting consistent insomnia. (1) So how do you stop this nasally, sleep-disruptive sound? It's necessary to identify exactly how and why you are snoring if you want to know how to stop snoring. Once you do that, believe it or not, there are solutions to help eliminate snoring so everyone can get much-needed rest instead of being always tired.
How to Stop Snoring Naturally
What is snoring anyway? Snoring is due to the lack of freely moving air through the nose and throat during sleep. When this happens, the surrounding tissues vibrate, which produces the annoying snoring sound.
People who snore often probably have more throat and nasal tissue or "floppy" tissue, also known as uvala, that's prone to vibrate more than others. Not only that, but the position of your tongue can also get in the way of smooth breathing. Snoring also occurs when the throat muscles are relaxed. During sleep, the tongue falls backward toward the throat, and the walls of the throat may vibrate, which causes those snoring sounds you long to get out of your bedroom.
While we all need a good night's sleep, including the non-snoring partner, if you can't sleep due to snoring, it can lead to some serious health problems, such as weight gain, depression, brain damage, hormonal issues, risk of heart disease and stroke, increased blood pressure, increased risk of diabetes, and accelerated aging, to name a few.
Here's how to stop snoring naturally.
1. Side Sleeping
If your snoring problem is minor, this just might do the trick. The biggest difficulty may become how to keep you on your side. Using a body pillow could be useful in maintaining the position.
Ultimately, this position can prevent the relaxed and untoned muscles in the the throat from blocking the breathing passageways. An old remedy that could be useful is to tape a tennis ball to the back of your pajamas so you don't roll onto your back. If you have a bed with a recline control, you can set the bed in an angled head-up position, which may open the nasal airway passages. (2)
2. Peppermint Oil and Goldenseal
If your snoring occurs because of nasal or chest congestion, pure peppermint oil oil can relieve the congestion. It's been shown to be a great essential oil sore throat relief and congestion in the nasal passageways, which in turn could be how to stop snoring for congestion issues. (3)
Goldenseal is another supplement you can use to help relieve congestion in your chest and nasal passages and is typically found in powder, liquid or capsule form. (4) You can even have a cup of herbal tea that contains peppermint or goldenseal. Just make sure you don't have a tea with caffeine, as that can greatly interrupt your sleep.
3. Spearmint and Fenugreek
Digestion plays a big role in our sleep patterns and can cause snoring. Fenugreek and spearmint are amazing herbs that can cure snoring from digestive issues, in particular caused by indigestion — an acid problem in the digestive system. These herbs can help rid your body of this acid and decrease your chances of snoring while you sleep.
Fenugreek has been shown to fight sleep apnea and improve digestive issues that lead to snoring, while spearmint also relieves indigestion and acid reflux symptoms that can also contribute to snoring. (5, 6)
4. Vitamin C
The sinuses can obstruct the airways, causing the mouth to open and the uvula, the fleshy extension at the back of the soft palate that hangs above the throat, to vibrate and create the annoy of an all-night snore. Vitamin C may help prevent this because we know it helps promote a healthy immune system. That healthy immune system can clear the sinuses. (7)
Papaya, pineapple, which also contains sinus-fighting bromelain, broccoli and red bell pepper, to name a few, are the some of the best vitamin C foods.
5. Eucalyptus and Peppermint
Eucalyptus has long been around to help with chest colds. There are a few ways that you can apply eucalyptus oil to provide a snore-free night of sleep. Putting eucalyptus leaves in a steam inhaler and breathing it through your mouth or nose can help clear your sinuses. (8)
You also could try using a steam bowl by putting your head over a bowl of pure hot water and covering it with a towel so you can inhale the steam. Add five drops of eucalyptus and five drops peppermint essential oils to the bowl. Don't forget that steam is hot and can burn you, so be careful. Do this just before bed to help clear out your airways and reduce inflammation in your nasal passages that may be a contribute to the snoring problem.
If you're not a fan of the steam, a neti pot using the right solution of salts and pure water can do wonders, too, but don't put essential oils in the neti pot, as this can burn the membranes of the nasal passages!
6. Oral Appliance
You may want to talk to your dentist about getting a dental appliance that can help change the opening of your airway so your tongue has enough room, avoiding an obstruction when you sleep. The American Dental Association reports that devices worn only during sleep may be an effective treatment option and can help eliminate snoring altogether. An oral appliance fits like a sports mouth guard or an orthodontic retainer. It supports the jaw in a forward position to help maintain an open upper airway. (9)
7. Get Your Bodyweight Back to Normal
If you carrying around extra body weight, this excess weight, especially around the neck, can cause the throat to narrow when you lay down. This creates a higher incidence of snoring. For instance, in a study published in Lung India, "neck circumference of snorers was significantly more than the neck circumference of non-snorers in all BMI groups." (10) This shows the greater the neck circumference, which is more typical in those who are overweight, plays a pivotal role in snoring.
Reducing your weight can lead to healthier sleep in addition to other health benefits, and it's one of the best solutions for people wondering how to stop snoring.
8. Consider Getting a Humidifier
Dry air can contribute to your snoring problem because dry air dries out the throat and nasal membranes, creating congestion. Congestion can restrict the natural breathing pattern and cause the tissues to vibrate. A humidifier could help by eliminating the dry air and creating more comfort for the body, ultimately allowing for more natural breathing. You can even add essentials oils to the humidifier. (11)
9. Limit or Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol relaxes most people, and because snoring occurs when the throat and tongue is relaxed, alcohol can add to the problem due to the extreme relaxed state it may cause. This could actually make your snoring worse. Limit your alcohol consumption or avoid it altogether to get a much better night's sleep. (12)
10. Try Regular Throat and Tongue Exercises
A stronger throat and tongue may help avoid over-relaxation of the throat area. Try putting your upper and lower molars gently together. Open your mouth, focusing on pressing your molars wide apart but not to the point of overstretching. Repeat this 10–15 times, and you will start to feel the back of your mouth opening up. (13)
11. Avoid Dairy Products and Big Meals Late at Night
Drinking milk or having other dairy products can make snoring much worse because it leaves a layer of mucus in your mouth and throat. This mucous adds to the blockage of the airways. (14)
Also, try to avoid eating a big meal just before bedtime. When your stomach is full, it can push up against your diaphragm and affect your rhythmic breathing. (15)
What Type of Snorer Are You?
It helps to determine what type of snorer you are in order to really pinpoint how to stop snoring. Taking the time to determine this and why you snore can help you find the right solution and get a good night of rest consistently.
To figure this puzzle out, ask your partner to help you keep a sleep diary to monitor your snoring. By observing patterns in your snoring, you can often determine the reasons why you snore and what makes it worse. With the help of your partner, let's see if you can pinpoint when you snore by how you sleep.
1. Mouth Shut Snorer
If your mouth stays shut while you snore, it may indicate a problem with your tongue and nasal passageways.
2. Mouth Wide Open Snorer
If you snore with your mouth wide open, this could be an indication that the tissues in your throat are more likely to be causing you to snore. If your throat is partially obstructed, you're apt to try to force in more air, which creates the snore sounds.
3. Back Snorer
Sleeping on your back often causes you to breathe through your mouth. This can making snoring worse.
4. A Snorer No Matter What
If you snore in any position no matter what, it could be a sign of a more serious problem, such as sleep apnea. Please have a visit with your doctor if your snoring is loud enough to keep your partner awake, you wake yourself up, everything you have tried does not seem to help or you snore in any sleeping position. You may need a more specified approach or more individualized details from a health care provider to determine how to stop snoring in this case.
What Causes Snoring?
1. Fitness Level
If you're obese or out of shape, this can exacerbate the problem of snoring. Why?Overeating and/or lack of exercise can lead to an increase in fat around the throat. This extra fat can cause the airway to be more narrow and affect normal breathing by creating an obstruction in the oropharynx during sleep.
In this case, snoring can be even more pronounced. This particular cause is notably higher in men than women because men tend to put on weight in their neck more than women.
When you lay on your back, the fatty tissue adds pressure onto the airway, blocking it off. Maybe this is why rolling over can sometimes help. The good news is exercising,losing weight and treating obesity can be all it takes to end your snoring, and that will create better overall health too.
Snoring and excessive weight can affect children as well. A study published in theJournal of Paediatrics and Child Health revealed that snoring and sleep apnea were significantly higher in obese children. (16)
2. Menopause
I know that the last thing women want to hear is yet another problem that menopause symptoms cause, but as women get older, it's common that their muscle tone diminishes and causes them to put on some weight. By the time women have reached the age of approximately 70, they're just as likely to be snorers as men of the same age. This is just one more reason why staying fit and healthy, as a lifestyle, is the way to go. (17)
3. General Aging
As you reach middle age, typically 45–64, your throat becomes narrower and the muscle tone in your throat decreases. (18) Of course, growing older is part of life, but there are things you can do to make a difference in your snoring patterns or possibly eliminate snoring altogether, such as positive lifestyle changes, bedtime routines and, believe it or not, throat exercises.
4. It's True: Men Do Snore More than Women
Why do men snore more than women? It's because men have narrower air passages than women. It's not entirely the guys' fault. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids and other physical attributes that contribute to snoring are often hereditary. (19)
5. Nasal and Sinus Problems
Blocked airways or a stuffy nose make inhalation difficult and create a vacuum in the throat, leading to snoring. Keeping a clean house, free of dust, and a healthy body can help eliminate the snoring as well as the nasal and sinus problems.
6. Alcohol, Smoking and Medications
Alcohol intake, smoking and certain medications, such as tranquilizers and diazepam, can increase muscle relaxation, leading to more snoring. And, of course, smoking causes major problems with breathing in our lungs. As I'm sure you know, it's best to stop smoking right away. This includes electronic cigarettes too.
7. Sleep Position
Studies revealed that sleep positioning plays an important role in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Subjects were given positioning therapy using a head positioning pillow to see if snoring sounds were reduced in a study published byScientific Reports. In most patients, significant improvement was shown whether overweight or normal weight with the use of this pillow. (20) As noted above, lying on the back may cause more throat obstruction, so a special pillow may be how to stop snoring for some.
In another study from Amsterdam, an average of 56 percent of patients with obstructive sleep apnea causing snoring was dependent upon supine and non-supine positions. (21)
8. Asthma
We know that sleep apnea often comes with snoring, but it's been reported, to no surprise, that sleep apnea is prevalent in those who have asthma. In fact, these conditions have been on the rise in recent years. Possible shared characteristics include intermittent hypoxia, nerve reflex, inflammation and leptin. Other links include medication, nose diseases, smoking, obesity, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. (22)
That means using asthma natural remedies may also be how to stop snoring for asthma suffers who also snore.
Takeaways on How to Stop Snoring
A good night of sleep is not impossible, but you do have to take the time to figure out what the problem is. If you have a partner, work together to solve the problem. Try some of these methods and, through a process of elimination, you may discover that the awesome, ever-so-desired eight hours of sleep is in your future, consistently.
If you're pregnant, breast-feeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, make sure to check with your doctor first prior to using any essential oils or herbal remedies.
And remember, if you're wondering how to stop snoring, first determine what type of snorer you are — mouth shut snorer, mouth wide open snorer, back snorer and snorer no matter what. Then, here's how to stop snoring naturally:
- side sleeping
- peppermint oil and goldenseal
- spearmint and fenugreek
- vitamin C
- eucalyptus and peppermint
- oral appliance
- weight maintenance
- humidifier
- limit or avoid alcohol
- throat and tongue exercises
- avoid dairy and big meals late at night
Read Next: 11 Reasons You're Always Tired and How to Fix It!
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Sources & References:
- https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disorders-problems/insomnia/sleep-aids-and-insomnia
- http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-to-stop-snoring.htm
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26748912
- http://www.britishsnoring.co.uk/snoring_causes/are_you_overweight.php
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26657174
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22441662
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26481749
- http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/easy-snoring-remedies
- http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=109
- http://www.livestrong.com/article/113668-herbs-prevent-snoring/
- http://www.aadsm.org/oralappliances.aspx
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/05/will-sleeping-on-your-side-reduce-snoring.aspx
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20640920


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Fifty-five men met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create a country and change a world: the Constitution. Here is a remarkable rendering of that fateful time, told with humanity and humor. Decision in Philadelphia is the best popular history of the Constitutional Convention; in it, the life and times of 18th-century America not only come alive, but the very human qualities of the men who framed the document are brought provocatively into focus - casting many of the Founding Fathers in a new light. A celebration of how and why our Constitution came into being, Decision in Philadelphia is also a testament of the American spirit at its finest.
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excellent book
absolutely, this was a great book in my mind. While the authors might not be the big names you hear today the book was excellent. It is worth going outside of the modern popular box and learning from these authors. Their work was well done.
well I am currently listening to Plain Honest Men, also about the Constitutional Convention. This book is on the same line and covers many of the same things but I am trying to immerse myself in this topic for a while and this book is not the same as the other. Do they have repeat information, sure, but it is history, what happened happened and facts have to be reported, but the books both are great listens and teach a great deal on the subject from different narratives and points of view. Try them both.
This was a great listen. It is very informative and will teach you a great deal on how our national government was formed and why it is the way it is today. You will learn about people you have likely neer heard of unless you have studied this topic previously, such as Roger Sherman and James Wilson and you will see the played just as an integral role as James Madison and Ben Franklin in many respect. I am not saying they were "as" important, I am just saying you will learn they were far more important than mainstream history has ever given them credit for. This is just some of the things this book will teach you.
- Josh

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Discussion in 'Couples and Women Seeking' started by parecek21, Apr 17, 2013.
Hi, we're couple from czech rep. We are looking for some BBC visiting prague
I've heard nothing but good things about Czech chicks.
i will visit prague soon
hey do u travel also?? i got here in hurghada-Egypt lots of tourists from czech. tell me if u need a vacation here anytime
Hey, we spoke before. Defintley love to talk again, and maybe skype?? Very fit hung dom black bull in UK here, not far over to you... x
Separate names with a comma.


text:
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text:
There has been fierce fighting in Iraq's Anbar province, with reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has seized a strategic bridge that connects the cities of Baghdadi and Haditha.
Iraqi troops have been trying to recapture Baghdadi from the armed group.
Sources told Al Jazeera that 20 Iraqi troops had been killed in battles – a number disputed by an official of the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM). The official said there were "almost no casualties" on the part of the Iraqi forces but "many casualties on the enemy side".
CENTCOM oversees the US-led coalition air strikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
Baghdadi, whose siege by ISIL has trapped residents, is not far from Ayn al-Asad airbase, which houses American forces and their coalition partners.
It is the second largest US military airbase in Iraq.
Earlier on Thursday, ISIL sent a military vehicle with suicide bombers to try to get to one of the gates of the airbase and detonate the explosives, Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from the capital, Baghdad, said.
"While the truck did not reach the gate, it did come to a few kilometres of one of the main gates of that base where they were repulsed by Iraqi forces," she said.
Release reported
In another development, ISIL has released 30 men it had captured near Tikrit, according to Anwar Assi al-Obeidi, an influential local sheikh.
ISIL fighters reportedly captured 118 men and nine boys on Sunday from Rubaidha village, east of Tikrit, and then released 21 of the men – leaving 97 men and nine boys still in captivity.
Most of those captured have relatives fighting against ISIL, Obeidi told Al Jazeera on Thursday, adding that 600 members of his al-Obeid tribe have been killed by ISIL fighters since June.
A new UN report released this week documents widespread human rights violations committed by ISIL in Iraq between September and December last year.
"Members of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious communities, including Turkmen, Shabaks, Christians, Yazidi, Sabaeans, Kakae, Faili Kurds, Arab Shia and others have been intentionally and systematically targeted by ISIL and associated armed groups and subjected to gross human rights abuses," the report says.
Meanwhile, the number of Christians abducted by ISIL in neighbouring Syria has risen to 220 in the past three days, as the group rounded up more hostages from a chain of villages along a strategic river, activists said on Thursday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighters picked up dozens more Christian Assyrians from 11 communities near the town of Tal Tamr in the northeastern Hassakeh province.
The province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest battleground in the fight against ISIL in Syria.
It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians.


text:
Posts Tagged 'mozilla'
Google Chrome brings new shine to browser market
It's no secret that near everything Google touches turns to gold, but as of yesterday the company has plans to embed an entirely different metal on your desktop – Chrome.
Google Chrome is a new Internet browser that has been designed from the ground up to simplify the user interface and, perhaps more importantly, streamline and speed-up the multitude of processing that happens behind the scenes when you visit a Web site.…
Lightning Sweetens Thunderbird
It seems like ages ago that Mozilla Firefox, and all its mod-loveliness, replaced Internet Explorer as my net browser of choice. And when I saw the company also offered an alternative to Outlook Express, it wasn't long before I switched all my e-mail habits to Thunderbird and bid Microsoft farewell.
The one thing that Thunderbird always lacked, however, was a slick task/event/calendar interface, a fact that very nearly caused me to dig into my dusty MS Office folder to …


text:
In Western society of the "current year" – 2017 – politics is firmly and sharply divided between two extremes. This divide manifests in the political apparatus of each country differently, but in two broad strokes an observer can characterise vast swathes of politics. This is the first article in a series that will examine this state of affairs and the knock-on effects.
Despite its flaws, the age-old left/right dichotomy continues its stranglehold on the interpretation of democratic and parliamentary systems. One could argue that this nomenclature has, despite massive changes to parties on both sides of the divide, become even more entrenched in the way we look at politics. Alongside the entrenchment of this simple one-dimensional axis of political alignment we have seen increasing hostility from each side. For the most part, in 2017 we are no longer able to reach out to the "other side" and hold a rational discourse, an exchange of ideas, or a logical debate. Instead both sides have descended into bitter "cold civil war"[1][2][3][4] which threatens to shake apart the very foundations of our societies[5][6].
Any political statement made in this context can no longer be judged on its own merit. Most of the time the first judgement a responder makes to a given political statement is to figure out which "side" the statement is coming from; the political "team" of the person making the statement. This is regardless of the fact that the person may have their own idiosyncratic, unique views or, while superficially appearing to be on one "side", they share deep irreconcilable differences with certain mainstream elements in that "side"[7][8]. This is perhaps a product of the internet era and the anonymity that it brings (or the pseudo-anonymity in the case of social media). While very few ordinary people would ever have brought up politics in polite company before (at least not baring their heartfelt, sincerest of views), the internet opens up a chasm of opportunities for a normal person to give their opinion on just about any topic, and naturally leads to "echo chambers"[9][10].
This results in a scenario where, after being labelled as being left or right, the person feels they may as well join the mainstream left or right side with all the side's foibles. There are a number of reasons for this phenomenon; chief among them being that safety in numbers is a core human instinct and that constantly distancing yourself from would-be allies, being a martyr for your own unique politics is not a particularly pleasant option. As such we get a self-polarising social system, which builds upon and builds towards the unfortunate two-party dichotomy. In Europe this seems to have manifested itself in a particularly strange manner. In the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and other places we see that the political parties of the old order feel the need to rally together to stand directly in the way of the new so-called "populist" parties such as the UKIP, Front Nationale, Alternativ fur Deutschland and Sverigedemokraterna – while the media slanders them all as "far right", "Nazi" and so on.
Being herded into groups alongside people you'd rather not normally be associated with, in order to achieve a "greater good" isn't that uncommon in politics. After all, it's fairly rare to find a political party and/or candidate that precisely matches your own views; but the entrenched polarisation exacerbates it tenfold. As such, huge numbers of people with fairly "normal" mainline views end up supporting causes they never thought they would. Let's take a broad look at the kinds of ideas, ideologies and movements that the left and right seem to be host to, and then compare them to their opposite-side faction or idea, if it exists:
|Civic Nationalism
|Equality of outcome
|Equality of opportunity
|Social Justice
|Bootstrap mentality
|Mass immigration
|Vetted immigration only / No immigration
|Western cultural suicide / white guilt
|Cultural preservation / Defending western values
|Political Islam
|Political Christianity
|Whitewashing / Misrepresenting Islam
|Destruction of church-state divide
|Democratic Socialism
|Economic Conservatism
|LGBT Activism
|De-politicised LGBT
|Science Denial*
|Big government
|Anti-white Racism
|White Nationalism
|Green activism
|Environmental deregulation
* So long as the science or lack thereof reinforces their other views
Note that political issues that don't have a clear opposing view – such as mass surveillance – don't really get any airtime in the discourse of the cold civil war.
Next up in this series we will be looking at how the Left shot itself in the foot by politically motivating hundreds of millions of people into voting against their scientific rationality because the alternative was their cultural suicide and ethnic replacement. In a future issue we'll cover how and why the mass media seems slanted to one particular side.
- http://abovethelaw.com/2017/01/we-are-now-in-a-cold-civil-war/
- http://takimag.com/article/the_cold_civil_war_grinds_on_john_derbyshire/print
- http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/07/the_cold_civil_war.html
- http://www.salon.com/2017/01/27/dispatches-from-the-cold-civil-war/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/business/economy/trump-election-democracy.html?_r=0
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-political-dysfunction-fueled-the-rise-of-republican-presidential-candidate-donald-trump-1462807741
- http://www.pewresearch.org/packages/political-polarization/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/09/polarization-is-getting-worse-in-every-part-of-politics/
- http://www.wired.co.uk/article/online-stubbornness
- http://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/15/is-the-internet-echo-chamber-driving-americas-political-divisions/
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text: Lazos humanos y gramaticales: Gramática y vocabulario a través de la literatura is intended for a high intermediate (4th semester) or advanced college-level audience (5th semester). It combines an intensive review of selected Spanish grammar and vocabulary to accompany a collection of 15 short stories (most never anthologized). The stories provide the basis not only for literary study but also for an advanced examination of lexical and grammatical topics. Learners will have abundant opportunity to further develop their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while receiving extensive exposure to culture.


text:
TWG International Logistics program focuses on management and operations and teaches specialist skills in applying the concepts, techniques and principles that underlie logistics and supply chain management; the relationships between business processes within and between organisations; using systems approaches to solve business problems; and managing the effects of current and future trends in logistics management on business processes.
Logistics professionals are in high demand in private and public sectors throughout the world. Examples of the rewarding career opportunities available within this diverse field include director of distribution, export manager, operations manager, procurement manager, shipping coordinator, freight manager and many more.
- Material Management
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- Supply planning & MRP, DRP & JIT concepts
- Transportation
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- Technology in WHM


text:
Roy Chubby Brown: You Fat Bastard! Trailer (1999)
"Once again Chubby's Helmet Stands Proud in the Australian Bush" 15 November 1999 69 mins
After his hugely successful first tour of Australia and the equally successful film "Chubby Goes Down Under", the legendary Roy Chubby Brown is enjoying the same cult following in Australia that he enjoys in the UK. This video was shot on Roy's last tour of Oz and is over an hour of live stand-up culminating with his amazing "Full Monty" style strip. If you haven't seen it live you won't believe your eyes as you watch the Biggest, Baddest and Bluest Fat Bastard of them all!
Watch the official Roy Chubby Brown: You Fat Bastard! 1999 trailer in HD below or find more Roy Chubby Brown: You Fat Bastard! videos on Vidimovie.


text: I was thinking in something like this. (Only using the cards I got on my NA account) 2.25x/56.25x/2.25x A.Isis with L.Kali skill or regular Amaterasu's (L/R version). Awakenings count: x7 (140% less skill bind) x9 (probably everyone would start w/ low or no cooldown - except Serket herself) x7 (somewhat enough for this team) x6 (no jammers) x6 (no poisons) x1 (meeh, not much) x2x1x2 (meh, not useful as is) What do you think? Usable? Any suggestions?


text:
The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis celebrates the holiday with a performance by a youth choir, and a procession led by the year's Lucia, attendant and Head Starboy. Each year, hundreds pack the institute to watch the holiday celebration.
Photos: Celebrating Santa Lucia at the Swedish Institute
Arts & Culture Nikki Tundel · Minneapolis ·


text:
Here are mine, what were yours? (full disclosure: this is edited from a post on my own blog)
When, I arrived, the host immediately wished me a happy birthday, and "Happy Birthday Kevin" was printed on my menu. Cheesy? Birthdays are cheesy.
More important was the food. Lamb brains and steak for me. Beet salad and chicken with eggplant lavosh for the wife. All four were simply outstanding. Chef Wadi has such an extraordinary command of such broad range of flavors that you find yourself fishing for analogies far cheesier than the "happy birthday" bit.
Cave Vin
I think the words criminally underrated are in order. We popped by during restaurant week at my wife's discretion. We were both thrilled with the result.
I had escargot, mussels and braised short rib. If you are going to ingest 8,000 calories in a meal (not an exaggeration), this is the way to do it. Nothing revolutionary, just fantastic technique on display in a subtly romantic room. I will remember that balsamic reduction for, well, until I eat their short rib again.
The Strip Club
I'm not a steak joint kind of guy. In Minnesota, we have access to great cuts of meat, and I know how to prepare them. Throwing down $60 for 26 oz. of meat and hash browns isn't my idea of a good night.
Enter The Strip Club. First of all, they use grass fed cuts of meat, which feature a higher degree of difficulty. Second, my rib eye clocked in under $30.
Third, instead of 8 lbs. of cheesy potatoes on the side, TSC offers a remarkable array of small plates. The Devils eggs earn every accolade they have received, and the poutine is decadent fun.
Throw in great service, and one of the coolest spaces in the cities, and this is a steakhouse I can get behind.
Victory 44
Yes, it's my neighborhood place. I've been there 44 times. I'm their mayor on Foursquare. I've been with it through it's various iterations, including their time with the now Travail chefs at the helm.
What has impressed me is the consistency. Regardless of format, or chefs at the helm, the food has always been interesting and affordable.
Of late, the place has caught fire, culminating in a New Years Eve tasting menu presented by chef Erick Harcey. Highlights: Pork belly with pops of jalapeno balancing ribbons of apricot gel. A dessert made with foie gras, and black cod fused with prosciutto.
Note: V-44 is planning to do this every weekend. Well worth the trip.
Black Sheep
Tradition holds that restaurants do their worst work during Valentines Day and New Years. And yet, one entry on this list was our NYE meal, and the other is Black Sheep, where I spent V-day with my lovely bride.
A crock of olives and such was needlessly hot, but tasty, but that is some pizza to get hot over. Black Sheep nails everything, from crust, to ingredients, to reheating instructions. At the same time, it's an exercise in elegant simplicity. Just like love.
La Sirena Gorda
The kid in candy store metaphor is overused, but it rings pretty true when I enter Midtown Global Market. That said, I find myself going back to La Sirena Gorda, in spite of the wonders around me.
The octopus tacos are simply one of the best plates you can find in the cities. That they clock in under $10 is every reason for you to go get them, and a testament to a chef who can make great food out of affordable ingredients.
Corner Table
Handpicked for our anniversary dinner, Corner Table delivered on every score.
The nosh plate was lovely and innovative, and I say that as someone who hates the word "nosh" (it's the first syllable of the word 'nauseous', and pretentious besides). But, having taken half a dozen stabs at gazpacho myself, I am extra-appreciative of how hard that is too pull off.
I'll also note that this place has made me a fan of the "eggs for dinner" movement. Poached and perched perfectly on poultry. That's the way to do it.
Sole Café
Simply two great chefs making the best Korean food in the cities. The spicy pork stir-fry is lovingly prepared (and the chef will come out to make sure you love it), but it's the Korean accoutrements that got to me.
To be honest, I have never understood why Korean restaurants feel compelled to serve patrons a salad bar of goodies. Thanks to Sole Café, I've gotten religion in that regard. All I can say is, go try.
Unapologetically fussy. Not as perfect as it needs to be. Still, it was a lot of fun to dine here. The service was near flawless, the wines represent a remarkable value, and the food…
A couple of the courses needed work. But the hits were electric. The octopus was the best thing I've ate this year, and our cheesecake dessert was astonishing as well.
At present, this place is a bit overrated. But it's hard to fault the critics for being excited about the potential. Just be prepared for the price point, and the portion size. It's a different philosophy, and one that Americans would do well to embrace.
I Nonni
On the opposite end of the philosophy, I Nonni offers a three-course all-you-can-eat menu on Tuesdays. The three courses were delicious, the all-you-can-eat redundant. Three courses are plenty.
This is the best Italian in Lilydale, naturally, but also the Twin Cities. You cannot leave without eating the Veal Osso Buco. I'll put it this way: there is more the Italian than pasta.
Midtown Global Market
920 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55407
La Sirena Gorda
920 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55407
Corner Table
4257 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55409
Cave Vin
5555 Xerxes Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410
I Nonni
981 sibley memorial hwy, Lilydale, MN 55118
The Strip Club
378 Maria Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55106
Victory 44
2203 44th Ave N, Minneapolis, MN


text:
Irken Hangover
I do not own IZ, The Hangover, Buzz Lightyear and any related material, or the characters Nick Gray and Darithil.
Read and Review
"Alright, so we have...coupons from Schloogar's," Dib said as he sorted through a pile of objects on the table in the diner the trio had stopped in. "A pair of sun glasses," He examined them and saw something on one of the arms of the shades. "Belonging to one 'Skloo'garata'."
"And...what is this?" Skoodge pulled a big, pink rubber object out of his pocket.
"Ew!" Dib and Carlos said at the same time.
"Skoodge get rid of that, it might have something infectious on it!" Dib said.
"Why? What is it?" Skoodge said, examining the dildo. "And why is it shaped like a human's-"
"Dick! Hey Dick!"
"It's Rick, damn it! And no the transmitter is not working!" A human technician shouted down at Zim from the transmission tower. "Can you learn some patience?"
"I am patient; it's Skullene who's throwing a hissy fit!" Zim called back up.
"I AM NOT THROWING A HISSYFIT DAD!" Skullene shouted from inside. "I'M JUST WORRIED ABOUT SHEN!"
"And throttling Loe at the same time!" Lok laughed.
"I just needed a stress relief!" Skullene snapped as she walked out, dragging Loe by the neck as he slowly turned a darker shade of green, unable to breathe and feeling like his head would explode.
"I once again bring up the possibility that the almighty Zim's widdle angel is preggers!" Zim said...dramatically.
"Oh and just because I'm mad I'm pregnant?" Skullene hissed. "In that case I'm having triplets dad because I am pissed! Where is my second stress reliever?"
At this Lok stopped laughing and made a run for it.
"Get back here you son of a-"
Las Vegia
"GUN! HE'S GOT A GUN!" Aliens fled the diner as Skoodge pulled a handgun from his pockets while searching for clues to Shen's whereabouts.
"Oh man! We gotta go before the cops or Star Command shows up!" Dib said, getting up and dropping some monies on the table.
"Cheese it!" Carlos shouted before smashing his way out through the window next to their table.
"Good idea!" Skoodge got up.
"Wait!" Dib stopped the Irken from jumping. "It seems he's forgotten that we're on the 92nd floor."
Skoodge paled as he realized the fatal mistake he had been about to make. "Why did they put a diner up in a building so tall anyways?"
"It's your crazy speciies Skoodge, not mine, now let's take the elevator!"
"Okay, so we have coupons from a restaurant, a pair of sun glasses, a dildo, a gun," Dib paused as he found something else in his pockets as he and Skoodge descended in the elevator. "Hey...a camera!" He held up an Irken made camera. "Maybe it can tell us where we were last night!"
They rushed out of the elevator, through the lobby, and found Carlos with his head literally stuck into the top of a transport ship labelled Irken Supreme Safety Helmets.
"Talk about irony!" Skoodge said as they pulled Carlos out and found a helmet stuck on his head.
"Wow...I feel like I have a headache, yet my head feels comfy and safe!" Carlos said as he pushed the visor on the helmet up away from his face.
"Well come on then Daredevil let's get out of here!" Dib insisted as a Star Command cruiser began its approach.
"Right-o! We're off!" Carlos had his bat like wings for and snatched both Skoodge and Dib off the ground, taking flight with an evil laugh.
"Holy crap..." A robot on the cruiser stared through the canopy at the flying creature. The robot had tank tracks for feet, and a short round body with a floating golden cylinder of a head with yellow eyes encased in a glass dome on the top of the body. "Are you guys seeing this?"
"No, and neither are you so arm the stun cannons!" A man with a large chin and sitting in the Captain's chair snapped.
"You got it boss!" The robot then fired the stun cannons.
"Wait XR that's the-" A blue skinned female alien with red hair started before XR accidently blew a hole in a nearby building after missing the fugitives.
"Uh...sorry!" The robot hastily corrected his weapons selection and fired a blue beam that struck Carlos, Skoodge and Dib. They all went limp and plummeted towards the planet before a tractor beam pulled them into the ship.
"Heh, that'll show the scum to never steal from Star Command," The Captain chuckled. "Cart them off to the orbital command."
Carlos sat up, yawning as he stretched. "Aw man that was a nice nap." He looked around the cell that he, Dib and Skoodge were in. "...aw son of a-"
"I think it's working now!" Rick called from the top of the transmitter. "Try it!"
"Okay! But if it connects me to Panda Express again I'll eat your face to go along with my 17th order!" Zim replied before he dialled Carlos' comm. number in his PAK communicator.
Las Vegia
Carlos answered his phone. "Carlos' Castration Services, who will we be 'snipping' for you today?"
"Carlos you moron!"
"ZIM!" Carlos leaped to his feet, causing Dib and Skoodge to wake up. "Uh...hey Zimmy!"
"Carlos, tell me that nothing has gone wrong."
"Nothing has gone wrong," Carlos replied without hesitation.
"Okay, now say that three times very fast!"
"Nothing'swrong nothing'swrong nothing'swrong!" Carlos said quickly.
"Good. Now tell me how the vacation has been. Is Zim's widdle angel's hubby ready to come home soon?"
"Yeah!" Carlos replied eagerly. "Yes, in fact he's already packed all but the essentials. He really can't wait to see Skully again!" He looked to Dib and Skoodge who gestured desperately, mouthing words. "And...We'll arrive right when we're supposed to!"
"Good, now can you tell me if-WAUGH!" Carlos heard struggling and shouting on the other end before Skullene spoke into the communicator.
"Carlos put Shen on!" She whined. "I miss him!"
"Zim stands by the pregnancy theory!" Zim shouted.
"Uh...I can't."
"Why not? Pwease?" Skullene whined like a little girl.
"Because he's...sleeping! He had a very long night and he was up practicing his vows," Carlos replied. "In fact the only time he slept was when I cooked breakfast!"
"Aw...so sweet," Skullene cooed. "Tell him I said to get lots of rest and that I love him."
"And I'm sure he'll tell me to say 'I love you too'."
"Well I'll say 'I love you more!'"
"And he'll say 'No, I love you more!'"
"And I'll say 'No, I love you more!'"
"No, I love you more!" Carlos now spoke with the same tone Shen and Skullene-and pretty much any crazy love couple used for gooey affectionate scenes.
"No, I love YOU more!"
"No, I love YOU more!"
"I love YOU more!"
"I so love you more!"
"Silence Dib! I'm speaking to the love of my life here!" Carlos snapped. "Gotta go muffin cake, bye!" He hang up before realizing what had just happened. "Aww fffff-man I wanna swear so badly, but it's a rated K story!"
"Actually it's rated T."
"Really? Well I still can't drop an F bomb so...Aww crap!" Carlos groaned. "Shen, Skullene, and Zim will kill me for that!"
Slowly the camera view panned out, showing that several figures stood behind the one way mirror, plotting, whispering...
"Hey, who the hell are those guys?" Carlos pointed at the screen.
"What? He can see us? Oh crap, down!" The figures scattered. "Louise, I told you to set the one way mirror to hide us!"
"Sorry boss!"
The mirror then showed a reflection of the cell interior instead of the observation room.
"...well that was interesting," Dib said, concerned for the discipline of the galactic peacekeepers.
Suddenly the door opened, and Captain Buzz Lightyear himself, the very captain who had captured the three marched in as a table and seats popped out of the floor. Another officer came in, this one the blue skinned woman.
"Alright boys just take a seat," She said with a smile. "We'll get this sorted and have you in court in a few days."
"Wait, you don't understand there's an emergency!" Dib said. "And if we don't fix it then the whole galaxy will be plunged back into war between the Irkens and the Vortians!"
"...we literally heard that before," The woman said, biting her lower lip. "Sorry fellas."
Suddenly the man flipped open his left gauntlet. "Log, interrogation has begun. Subjects are an Irken who is grossly overweight and short-"
"Hey!" Skoodge whined, his eyes watering.
"A humanoid with oddly shaped hair and an abnormally sized head that is perhaps evidence of genetic deformities among the species."
"My head isn't big! Look at your CHIN!" Dib snapped. "I think it just grew!"
"And what appears to be a selectively bred mutant capable of flight and sustaining large amounts of damage, perhaps a rather pitiful attempt at creating a more advanced hybrid subspecies," The man droned on.
Carlos growled, his eyes glowing as smoke literally came from his nostrils. His teeth were clenched and extra sharp now while his tail whipped back and forth.
"Uh...Buzz is this a good time?" The blue skinned woman asked nervously.
"All three express violent and primitive behaviours, evidence of a depraved and slothful culture," Buzz kept going. "I shall do my best to show compassion to such lawless people, though I fear any sympathy may have come far too late."
"Is this guy even listening to us?" Dib demanded, looking at the red headed alien.
"Uh...sadly I don't think so," She face palmed herself right in the forehead, wishing she had gotten another job.
"I think that Nick guy warned us about this guy," Skoodge sniffed, wiping his eyes after Buzz went on to criticize his eye colour next. "Captain Lightyear, one of the top guns around here, and known for long winded speeches."
"Good...can I kill him?" Carlos asked.
"Carlos, no, he's a cop." Dib said firmly. "And we have to show respect and integrity if we want to get out and find Shen, maybe they can even help us!"
"Wait, Shen? Shen Baron?" The alien woman's eyes widened. "The one to wed the Irken Princess in a few days?"
"Yes!" Dib nodded. "I'm Dibbun Membrane of Earth, this is Skoodge and-"
"I am The Carlos; at your service, m'lady," Carlos kissed her hand and released it as she blushed darker blue a bit.
"Further attempts at communication have only resulted in a show of sexual obsession with my partner," Buzz was still recording! "And unfortunately she seems to have given in."
"We were sent here with him from Earth to get away from the Irkens and Vortians pressuring him and Skullene to follow some old traditional wedding styles that involved self mutilation," Skoodge explained. "We showed up here, went to the roof of Splor's Palace and shared a few drinks, after that I don't know what happened but that was five days ago and he wasn't anywhere when we woke up!"
"They have finally begun to provide details to their reasons for disturbing the peace: it appears they were all easily intoxicated by alcoholic beverages," Buzz monotone his way through the conversation. "Proof that Irkens are the universe's light weights along with Terrans."
"We need to find him!" Dib pleaded. "Not only will Tallest Zim bombard this planet to find him, but the Irkens and Vortians will go to war again!"
"Oh man I knew I recognized you three!" The woman stood up. "From Kill Zim! Alright, I believe you, this is a serious issue."
"And now it appears that the revelation of the celebrity status of the three accused has drawn inappropriate favouritism from my partner," Buzz frowned. "I will be sure to record this for later."
"Seriously, can I please kill him?" Carlos persisted.
"No!" Dib and Skoodge snapped at the same time.
"Buzz this is a serious issue!" The woman said. "If Shen Baron is missing the Irken Armada and the Vortian Fleet of War will be on the move to here in a few days!"
"Overcome by the incredible and suspicious story of the prisoners, my partner has slowly begun to cave under pressure," Buzz continued, as if ignoring the issue. "I shall take steps to make sure she is never coerced to pity such scum again-"
THUNKA-THUD! Carlos leaped over the table and tackled Buzz. "I'm gonna rip that glove off and shove it in your mouth and rip your guts out and make them into a milkshake that will bring all the boys to the yard!" (I'd like to thank ngrey651 for that one.)
"It sure was nice of her to point us to that repair shop!" Dib said as he, Skoodge and Carlos flew in Zim's royal cruiser, which was no completely fixed. Skoodge was looking at the logs and security footage to see if they had tried to use it during the past few days.
"Well it looks like we tried to use it a little after those drinks, but then left...and came back with that Star Command ship!" Skoodge groaned. "Man I can't believe we stole a law enforcement cruiser."
Carlos chuckled. "We're livin' the life Skoodge! All we gotta do is find out where Shen is. One Vortian can't be that hard to find, and he's a Pirate, he can hold his own."
"Not if he runs into..." Skoodge paled. "A ninja!"
"...Meh," Carlos shrugged. "Alright so what else did she tell us?"
"Well she said that there's an Irken named Skloo over in the Upper Districts," Dib was reading a data file the woman had given them. "I have the address, let's go there and see if Skloo knows where Shen is."
A half hour later the ship landed in an apartment complex that stretched up into the sky. Getting out, they passed through seemingly endless hall ways and stair wells until they reached a room on one of the upper floors. They all exchanged a look and then Carlos slowly reached out...
And knocked Dest right between the eyes as he opened the door. The Irken growled and grabbed Carlos, who yelped as he was slammed head first into the ceiling. Reacting, the demon boy kicked Dest in the chin while Skoodge tackled Dest into the room. Dib and Carlos ran to his aid...only to have a doze nguns locked on them!
"Uh oh..." Dib whispered as he took in the sight of a lot of female Irkens holding guns. They all wore tight clothing or an assortment of skirts and sleeveless tops that exposed their mid riffs. They were gathered around one large red eyed Irken wearing fancy clothes and with golden rings on his hands. He made Skoodge look slim!
"So...you sons of bitches come back to me...and have the balls to raid my home?" The fat Irken growled. "I oughta kill you all right now...but if you give it back to me now, I will spare you."
"Give what back?" Dib demanded. "Your hit man there wouldn't tell us anything! He just kept beating on us and chasing us!"
The Irken known as Skloo stood up, snarling. "I. Want. My. Sun glasses!"
"Oh, here yah go!" Carlos held them out.
"...oh, thanks." Skloo took them and put them on. "Ah...the natural balance is restored...now get out of my home!"
"Wait!" Carlos shouted as the Irken girls moved in to shove them out. "We have to ask you something."
"Do you have experience with cracking vault doors or scaling walls?" Skloo suddenly asked.
"Don't you want a job? That's what they all want!" The fat Irken waved one hand. "All these poor bums always come to me asking for a job, but can they provide? No!"
"Actually we just want to know what's happened for the past few days," Dib said. "You see, five days ago we were drugged, and we lost our friend-"
"Oh yeah! Shen! That Vortian guy." Skloo nodded, grinning. "Vel'ra can't get over him, can you Vel'ra?" A pink eyed Irken girl blushed and looked away.
"He was so polite," She said meekly. "He called us all beautiful roses he wished he could make a garden for so we could flourish. His family must be very proud of him."
"Sounds like Shen," Carlos nodded. "Shen on drugs anyways. And yep, his fiancée is very proud of him and I hope him being drugged up and hitting on a lot of hot alien women won't ruin their wedding."
"We met you guys at the hospital two days ago!" Skloo said. "You brought in the fat one there for a butt related injury?"
"Huh?" Skoodge placed a hand on his butt. "Ow..I feel a scar!" He began to cry. "My beautiful ass!"
"Aw..." Several women cooed and hugged Skoodge as he cried.
"He is so adorable," One said.
"Cheer up little fella," Another said, wiping his tears away.
Carlos rolled his eyes. "Ok...so we were at that hospital just a few blocks over?"
"Yeah, then Big Head there started waving around a lot of monies he said he won over at some casino," Skloo said. "I think it was the Venira Fantasies casino."
"Awesome! Maybe they found whatever drugged us!" Dib said.
"And maybe we can win a whole lot of cash if you go to the casino!" Carlos grinned.
"Score!" They both said at once.
"Alrighty then seeing as you gave me my super cool shades back, I won't send Dest after you anymore," Skloo said as Dest growled viciously. "But still, get out of my home, you make my IQ drop by proximity, along with my sanity."
"Right-o, thanks Don Skloo!" Carlos said as the trio left.
"Ok...man this place is big," Dib looked around as the group got out of their ship and entered the massive Venira Fantasies Casino. Just as the name said, it was owned and run by Venirans, who had re-established their Empire and were making sure Venira-formerly the Gladiator Planet would remain safe against future invasions. Then again nobody wanted to mess with hundreds of millions of angry Venirans who had just gotten their hoe back after centuries of slavery, seeing as they were known as the only race that could at one point take the Irken Empire on even grounds...until the Massive was built.
"Welcome to Veniran Fantasies," A Veniran, large and muscular like most of his species said in a voice that was too deep and rugged to fit the occupation. "May I help you-" He paused as he held the door open for the three. "By Vishiva! Three of the Great Saviours-"
"SH!" Dib covered his mouth. "Listen to me, we have a problem and we need you to keep quiet about it, okay?" The Veniran nodded. "Good...now, we need to know where to find security footages of the casino interior. We need to know when we were here last night and what we did."
The Veniran nodded as Dib removed his hand. "I can point you in the direction, but not even all of the Great Saviours combined would be allowed into the security center." The 'Great Saviours' was a title given to Zim and his comrades who had helped in liberating the Venirans, something the former slaves never forgot.
"Don't worry," Carlos smirked, cracking his knuckles. "I'll handle any problems we have."
"Oh man I know that guy," Skoodge swallowed as he, Dib and Carlos knelt behind a corner, watching a very tall, battle scarred Veniran who did not wear a black and red uniform like the Venirans who worked at the casino. This one made Credaran-their old friend and current Emperor of the Venirans look like an insect! He could pick Credaran up by the waist with one hand! He was almost half as tall as a telephone pole!
"He's the champion fighter from Veniran Violence, one of Red's old reality shows," Skoodge said. "He's killed lots of bad asses, ass kickers, ass kissers and-"
"We know, all sorts of asses," Carlos shook his head. "Man that joke is really being overused." He stood up. "Well it's time for me to handle this. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."
"Wait...that's not the one I was talking about," Skoodge said. "The Champion is right behind that one."
"Wha?" Carlos and Dib glanced around the massive Veniran...
And saw a Veniran who looked grossly underdeveloped, barely reaching Carlos' neck. He and Dib exchanged a grin before the demon boy strolled forward confidently.
"Halt," The larger Veniran growled.
"Sirs, I and my companions are facing a crisis of unparalleled proportions," Carlos said. "I need your access cards so I can get into that office."
"And why should we give them to you? Huh?" the large one growled while the small one raised an eyebrow.
"Because if you do not, then I shall be forced to engage you both in combat, Kung-Fu style," Carlos replied in his 'Sherlock Holmes-esque' voice.
"I see..." The smaller one nodded. "Stand down Mongo."
"Yes sir," The larger one snapped a salute.
"Shall we take this outside strange bipedal creature with equally strange but oddly fashionable fur on his head?" The small Veniran asked.
"Oh, you noticed? Why thank you! And yes, let us take this outside," Carlos and the small Veniran walked towards the nearest exit as Dib and Skoodge stared.
"What are they doing?" Skoodge asked.
"I think they're gonna duel," Dib shrugged.
"After you," The Veniran said as he held the door open.
"Oh, why thank you." Carlos nodded and stepped through, the Veniran following after him.
Dib smiled and turned to Skoodge. "He'll have those keys in five-" He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned...
To see Carlos, with a trash can shoved over his upper body and with his hands just sticking out from under the rim of the cylindrical container.
"Carlos? What happened?" Dib asked.
Immediately Carlos began to tap on the outside of the trash can with his fingers, using morse code.
"He says...That...guy...knows...his...Karate..." Dib translated. "But..on...the...bright...side...I...got...the keys! Yes! Where are they?" Carlos resumed his tapping. "Between...my...teeth..." Dib sighed. "Crap."
He and Skoodge tried for several minutes to pull the trashcan off of Carlos, but it seemed to be super glued to him! Finally they gave up, releasing the trash can and gasping for breath. Dib straightened his glasses, thinking until he had one idea...
He looked to Skoodge. "We both know the answer to this."
Skoodge nodded. "...to the hardware store!" He struck a dramatic pose before he accidently knocked Carlos over, causing the demon boy to go rolling down the hall thanks to his new trash can.
"Hang on Carlos, we're coming!" Dib shouted before chasing after him with Skoodge. "Man this day is a little too exciting for me!"
"So you'll check around for them then?" Nick asked.
"Yeah don't worry yerself there Nick," A voice with a familiar southern drawl replied. "I heard about them from Skloo a few minutes ago when I was making a delivery."
"Skloo? Why would they go near that guy?" Nick blinked, confused.
"Well he wouldn't tell me is the problem here, he said it's a big secret. I'm tryin' to get him drunk enough to spill but so far all he's spilt is vomit and piss."
"I really didnt't have to know that," Nick shuddered. "Just find them for me, please."
"You got it buddy! I'll track them down or my name ain't Qucik Shot Rikalo!" With that, Nick's mercenary friend from Las Vegia hung up, leaving the communications officer extremely confused while he pondered just what was happening with Shen and the boys...
Then he was pretty sure it was Carlos' fault based off of what he knew about the demonic boy, the prince of madness, the child of chaos incarnate...
Yep, Carlos' fault.
Stupid, stupid Carlos.
End of Chapter!


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The number of places available through the clearing system is expected to plummet by up to 50 per cent, according to a Daily Telegraph survey.
Institutions warned that students who failed to reach their required grades would face an unprecedented struggle for the few remaining courses.
Some universities with traditionally high numbers of clearing places said courses would be "extremely limited" and only available to "highly capable" students. Others have been forced to pull out of clearing altogether because they were already oversubscribed.
Hertfordshire University said it would have fewer than 100 clearing places this year, compared with more than 1,000 last summer.
Glasgow Caledonian University, which offered 390 places through clearing in 2009, has none available this year.
Lincoln said the number of clearing places had dropped by two-thirds to just 100 while the University of the West of England said courses had been slashed from 600 to 200.
Limits on the number of British and EU students universities can take on do not apply to those from outside Europe, meaning international students – who pay the highest fees – will be unaffected by the squeeze on places.
Some institutions have been boosted by government grants designed to recruit extra students in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.
Manchester Metropolitan University's quota increased to 1,000.
But Professor David Green, Vice Chancellor of the University of Worcester, said talented students would still miss out on university entirely because institutions fear they will be fined if they overshoot their quota.
Institutions have already been warned they could be fined £3,700 for every student recruited beyond strict limits.
He said: "The prospect that tens of thousands of highly motivated, young people with good qualifications are set to miss out on a university place this year is appalling. It must not be allowed.
"The new fines and control number system means that universities have a powerful financial incentive to under-recruit – just when applications have surged to an unprecedented all-time high."
The total number of places available through clearing this year is expected to fall from around 48,000 to about 24,000. Some 170,000 candidates are expected to enter clearing today following a 12 per cent surge in applications.
At Kingston University clearing places have fallen to hundreds rather than thousands, while Nottingham will offer lifelines to just 50 students – its lowest ever.
Wolverhampton University, which took on 1,000 students through clearing last summer will only offer 800 this year, despite receiving more than 500 additional places from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
The National Union of Students warned that caps on university places, cuts to education and training budgets and increasing youth unemployment would create a "lost generation" of students.
Universities have recruited extra officers to deal with the anticipated onslaught of calls, and urged students to call early to maximise their chances.
A spokesman for the University of East London said: "Competition for places is likely to be fierce this year and applicants will need to be prepared to call institutions as early as possible on results day to secure a place."
But application advisory services cautioned students against jumping into "a race to peck at crumbs", warning that dropout rates would rise as a result.
Johnny Rich, editor of Push.co.uk, said: "Snapping up a place in clearing may get you into university, but if it's not what you want, you may leave with huge debts and no degree. You'd be better off waiting a year or two until you can get the place you want."
- Considering taking a gap year? Get advice from our experts


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Project Description
Van Gogh Museum
Cutting edge at The Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh is more popular than ever. Like a rock legend who died too young, his life and work are constantly being rediscovered by new young fans. One and a half million people visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam last year, an impressive figure for a relatively small museum. The institution is now taking a new approach to presenting Van Gogh's works, increasing access digitally, and deepening our understanding of the Dutchman who, in his brief ten years as a working artist, changed art forever.
All of our data was previously fragmented in 26 different systems. Our 200 employees can now efficiently manage all functions in a crossover Axiell system.
"The world's largest collection of the works of van Gogh is not the only attraction; people are drawn to the man himself, to the myth. His thoughts about life, its struggles and possibilities. Love and loss, passion, society. And hard, determined work. Much of who he was is captured in his lively letters to his brother Theo and the arts establishment of the day. The more you know about someone, the more interesting he becomes – and no other artist is as well-documented as van Gogh," says Nikola Eltink, Sector Manager at the Van Gogh Museum.
Two hundred canvases, five hundred drawings, and seven hundred and fifty letters are given depth and context by a large collection of facts, data, and contemporary documents. The 17,359 objects at the museum and 35,000 books, articles, journals, and catalogues at the library are a gold mine for studies and research of the pioneering van Gogh and contemporary famous artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
More and more of van Gogh's world is going to become accessible on the net. Axiell is our partner and a great help to us in various decisions here as well.
The museum itself has added thousands of photographs of paintings and details of paintings taken in various lighting over the years. A great deal of this material is digitally accessible and the index is constantly expanded. Before Axiell's Adlib system came into the picture, all the data were managed by twenty-six separate systems. Now, 200 employees can work in the same management system to quickly and easily access the information they need. As a supplier, Axiell is also involved in the decision process related to the technology. The solution has brought the stability needed to launch new initiatives.
The collections will now be hung and presented in an entirely new way, with focus on how van Gogh developed and how his life took shape at the same time. The website will be expanded and will offer visual surprises. An Experience Tour based on visual material from the museum will travel the world. And the museum is planning several blockbusters, such as the co-exhibition with iconic Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch, a contemporary of van Gogh's.
"We work extensively with new media, which is unusual for a museum. But we have a relatively young audience, especially on Friday evenings when we hold arts events with pictures, music, and speakers on a van Gogh theme," Etink explains. The beautiful building from the 1960s is also being rejuvenated. It was built by the government after Theo's grandson, who had inherited the works, founded the van Gogh Foundation and loaned the collections on the condition that a museum was built. A large new entrance facing Museumplein will open additional space and create a closer connection to the neighbouring Rijksmusem and Stedelijk Museum. Like most of the renowned institutions in Amsterdam, they also have their backbone of knowledge in an Axiell system.
The magic of van Gogh and his art does not fade; quite the opposite in fact. Is that due to the immediate expressiveness of the art, that which instils more deep-seated emotions than experiences of the subject depicted? Or is it the fate, the thoughts and philosophical questioning, of Vincent van Gogh the man that resonate in the hearts and minds of people all over the world? Most likely both.
And what about the severed ear? That incident hardly does justice to the hard-working artist who had a systematic plan for developing his art. And yet, his disappointments in love, his final illness, and his premature death at 37 were all part of what created the immortal myth.


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Venezuela Remains Firm in Fight against Economic Warfare
Por Luis Beaton
Caracas, May 19 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela is strongly facing an economic warfare sponsored by foreign powers with complicity with the domestic right-wing opposition, which is striving to overthrow the constitutional government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Something that bothers the people sometimes, especially over the past few months, is the shortage of bread in the market, in addition to several factors, including the blockade to imports of flour and inputs for bakeries.
On Thursday, Maduro announced an encouraging response to the campaign against his government: Venezuela will import 60,000 tons of wheat a month from Russia.
After a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Maduro said that Russia would support the Bolivarian homeland in these areas to supply the raw material to the country's bakeries.
We are ready and all phytosanitary and commercial agreements were signed. Very soon, Russia will regularly supply 60,000 tons of wheat a month to Venezuela, starting this year, the president noted.
Despite the campaigns against them, authorities in Miraflores (the seat of the Venezuelan government) are tuning up the mechanisms to win this relentless economic warfare against the people of Bolivar and Chavez. In that regard, the meeting between Maduro and Putin strengthened the existing international commitment by the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and external producers to reducing oil production by 1.758 million barrels a day. The agreement came into force on January 1, 2017.
According to the president, the agreement is expected to be extended for another nine months in order to stabilize the market and boost the recovery of prices this year, thus contributing to improving the local economy and the plans to diversify its sources of income.
The oil pact was reached at a ministerial meeting held on November 30, 2016, in Vienna, Austria, where the OPEC members agreed to reduce oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day, setting the group's production ceiling at 32.5 million barrels.
Add to that the commitment to producing 558,000 barrels a day by 11 non-OPEC countries, thus guaranteeing a cut in production of 1.758 million barrels a day in 2017 to stabilize prices.
Maduro's announcement shows that not everything is a tragedy for the Venezuelan people and that there are foreign forces that march alongside them and agree on major steps to strengthen cooperation ties by supporting and implementing investment and technical-military projects, especially in agriculture and the industry, according to a communiqué from the Foreign Ministry.
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Bio & Incident Details
Age: 35
Tour: Not available
Badge # Not available
Cause: Aircraft accident
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Detective Strehl was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed near Antonio in Jefferson County, Missouri. Officer Strehl was on a special DEA task force on drug surveillance when the accident occurred.
Detective Strehl is survived by his wife and three sons.


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Food Sensitivity More Likely In Black Children
September 6, 2011 by staff
Food Sensitivity More Likely In Black Children, If you have recent African ancestry, which may be more prone to allergy to peanuts, geneticists warn.
Food allergies are more common in black children. To find out if some ethnic groups are at greater risk than others, the team of Rajesh Kumar Memorial Hospital in Chicago Children looked for a link between ethnicity and peanut sensitivity in more than 1,000 children.
The review group of the genomes of 150 known genetic markers of Asian, European and African. The team also looked for antibodies to peanut in children's blood – high levels suggests that the immune system has overreacted to peanuts.
"For every 10 percent increase in African ancestry … there was a 25 percent increased risk of having antibody levels associated with peanut allergy," says Kumar, regardless of whether the children were described as Hispanic or ethnically black.
When the group tested for allergies to milk, however, found that children whose mothers identified as black were more likely to be allergic to milk, regardless of their genetic ancestry (Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-0691).
Genetic factors appear to be important in allergy to peanuts, says Kumar, but the sensitivity to milk may result from cultural factors.
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST.


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What voting machines does San Mateo County use
Although San Mateo County uses a fully electronic voting machine (eSlate), it is not a touchscreen. Voters navigate the ballot by turning the dial on the eSlate.
A voter makes ballot choices by pressing the "enter" button. The eSlate gives the voter many different ways to correct or change a voting choice before the ballot is cast. The eSlate produces a printed paper record of all the choices made; this lets the voter verify that it is correct before they press the "Cast Ballot" button to make it official.


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It sounds as though the quality of the relationships you form with your clients is critical to your success.
Meeting difficult challenges requires strong collaborative relationships. We work hard to build relationships based on mutual trust and openness.
"Crosby has been a valuable business partner in designing, customizing and administering several complex and innovative benefit plans. Our employees have access to accurate and timely information both through online tools and traditional customer service methods."
Too often, third party administrators are considered rigid and stuck in their ways. Crosby aims to bring a new approach to outsourced administrative services. Throughout the years, Crosby has developed special customizations to meet a particular client's needs. Some of those special cases (which can...


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- Susana R. Milla-Lewis *,
- M. Carolina Zuleta and
- Thomas G. Isleib
Studies on genetic diversity in Arachis spp. using microsatellite markers have included few or no commercial cultivars among the genotypes analyzed. The primary objective of this investigation was to evaluate the utility of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for detecting molecular polymorphism among elite virginia-type peanut germplasm. Within that context, we had a secondary objective of assessing the impact of decades of plant breeding on allelic diversity levels among virginia-type peanut cultivars. All U.S. virginia-type cultivated varieties (except four) released between 1943 and 2006 were genotyped at 39 microsatellite loci. A total of 171 alleles were amplified. Allelic frequencies ranged from 0.02 to 0.97, with an average of 0.27. Although no significant difference was observed for the number of alleles present between the initial and the most recent time periods, our results indicate that levels of diversity present in virginia-type peanuts have fluctuated significantly since the 1940s and peaked during the 1970s. Our study demonstrates that microsatellite markers may be useful for detecting molecular variation among peanut cultivars. Moreover, this is the first report of using microsatellite markers to describe genetic diversity in a collection of cultivated varieties of peanut.Please view the pdf by using the Full Text (PDF) link under 'View' to the left.
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