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CBD News: The 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP14) closed tonight with broad international agreement on reversing the global destruction of nature and biodiversity loss threatening all forms of life on Earth.




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CBD News: Opening statement by Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation Workshop on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 2




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CBD News: Young people from around the world are encouraged to submit videos for the 2019 Global Youth Video Competition showcasing positive solutions on three themes: Nature-based Solutions for Food and Human Health; Cities and Local Action to Combat Cli




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CBD News: Message from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca-Palmer, on the occasion of the World Environment Day, 5 June 2019: "Beat Air Pollution".




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CBD News: Message from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, on the occasion of the World Oceans Day, 8 June 2019: "Gender and the Ocean".




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CBD News: Government officials, experts and activists from around the world gather in Nairobi this week to open talks on a global agreement to safeguard life on Earth, in all its forms. The 27-30 August meeting marks the official start of negotiations tow




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CBD News: Migratory birds are a critical link in the global web of life, that not only capture our imagination but connect different ecosystems and species.




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CBD News: Delegates to the eleventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (11WG8J) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed on a set of recommendations for consideration by the Subsidiary Body




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CBD Notification SCBD/CPU/DC/KG/PD/PS/88522 (2019-110): Review of post-2020 Implementation Plan and Capacity-building Action Plan (Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety)




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CBD News: Agriculture and biodiversity have been inextricably linked for as long as we humans have been producing our own food. As the source of all variety in our crops and livestock, biodiversity is the very foundation of agriculture.




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DC/AC/88568 (2019-115): Submission of views on possible targets and indicators for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework related to the interlinkages and interdependencies between biodiversity and climate change




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CBD News: Twenty years ago, on 29 January 2000, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Cartagena Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003.




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DAIN/FD/88686 (2020-022): Engaging in Earth Hour 2020: Raise your Voice for Nature




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CBD News: Governments advance in the preparation of a New UN Biodiversity Framework; Negotiations in Rome demonstrate engagement across government and society




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CBD Notification SCBD/NPU/DC/WY/BG/RKi/88737 (2020-028): Peer review of a study related to Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol




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CBD Notification SCBD/NPU/DC/WY/BG/RKi/88737 (2020-030): Extension of deadline: Peer review of a study related to Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol




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CBD Notification SCBD/SSSF/AS/BB/ML/GD/88853 (2020-036): Launching of the UNEP Strategy for Private Sector Engagement





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Stability of Semi-Lagrangian schemes of arbitrary odd degree under constant and variable advection speed

Roberto Ferretti and Michel Mehrenberger
Math. Comp. 89 (2019), 1783-1805.
Abstract, references and article information




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The UK's 15 most in-demand programming languages




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God of thunder - Thor: Ragnarok

kamil.karpinski517 posted a photo:




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Estimation of the rate of convergence in the central limit theorem for a sequence of series in terms of averaged pseudomoments

M. M. Kapustei and P. V. Slyusarchuk
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 101-111.
Abstract, references and article information




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Nordic tale to be staged

The Leisure & Cultural Services Department will present Nobody but a princess..., a multimedia production featuring Nordic singers, dancers from the Hong Kong Ballet and overseas acrobats from November 8 to 10.

 

A story of a modern princess who discovers her identity and true love through her fantastic journey of wonders, the performance will be staged in a custom-made giant dome, complete with a state-of-the-art kinetic light display and pyrotechnics.

 

It will be held at 6pm, 7pm and 8.30pm from November 8 to 10 at the Cultural Centre Piazza.

 

The show will be conducted in English and include a strobe light effect. Admission is free.

 

Click here for details.




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Irish Projects Set for Les Arcs Co-Production Village

The Les Arcs Co-Production village, running December 13-16 within the Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 13-20), will present 25 projects in development and a further 10 works-in-progress. Several of the projects chosen for this year’s event are Irish films and films with Irish producers’ backing.




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Mortgage help for subsidised flats

Banks and financial institutions taking part in providing mortgage loans for the Housing Authority Subsidised Sale Flats Scheme (SSFS) may offer a mortgage principal moratorium plan to the scheme’s mortgagors.

 

The authority today wrote to these institutions to confirm and agree that such a plan is applicable for SSFS flats.

 

Principal repayment may be deferred for a maximum 12-month period and the mortgage loan repayment period may be extended correspondingly by a maximum of 12 months.

 

The principal moratorium period may commence by December 31 this year at the latest.

 

The arrangement is applicable to the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme, the Buy or Rent Option Scheme, the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme in the primary market and under the Secondary Market Scheme.

 

To encourage participating financial institutions to provide mortgage loans and better mortgage terms for SSFS flat purchasers, the authority provides a mortgage default guarantee for them.

 

It undertakes to meet the shortfall in repayment in the event of default by the borrowers under specified circumstances during the guarantee period.

 

Due to the requirements in the guarantee deed on the mortgage loan period and the monthly instalment amount, participating financial institutions may not be able to offer a mortgage principal moratorium plan to SSFS flat owners.

 

In light of the economic downturn arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, the authority confirmed today that a mortgage principal moratorium plan is applicable for SSFS flats.

 

The move will encourage participating financial institutions to offer such a plan to SSFS flat owners, reducing their burden of mortgage repayment.




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Scheme to encourage 5G use opens

The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today announced the launch of the Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging Early Deployment of the fifth-generation mobile technology.

 

Launched under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, the scheme is open for applications until November 30 on a first come, first served basis.

 

It encourages various sectors to deploy 5G technology early to foster innovation and smart city applications and to improve the efficiency of their operations and the quality of their services that enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness.

 

The scheme will subsidise 50% of the actual cost directly relevant to the deployment of 5G technology in an approved project, subject to a cap of $500,000.

 

About 100 qualified projects will be subsidised.

 

Click here for more details.

 

For enquiries, call 2961 6333 or send an email to the OFCA.




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Minimum wage views sought

The Minimum Wage Commission today launched an eight-week public consultation to review the statutory minimum wage rate.

 

The commission said it adopts an evidence-based approach in conducting the minimum wage rate review and will consider the community's views.

 

Views can be sent by email before June 16.

 

Click here for information.




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Minimum wage report due Oct

The Minimum Wage Commission will submit to the Chief Executive in Council its recommendation report on the statutory minimum wage rate by the end of October at the latest.

 

In accordance with the Minimum Wage Ordinance, the Chief Executive has required the commission to submit its recommendation report on or before October 31.

 

Pursuant to the ordinance, the commission must maintain an appropriate balance between the objectives of forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs as well as the need to sustain the city's economic growth and competitiveness.

 

The commission is conducting a public consultation on the statutory minimum wage rate review.

 

Views can be sent by email before June 16.

 

Click here for the consultation details.




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Managing the Care of Patients With Diabetes in the Home Care Setting

Caryl Ann O'Reilly
Jul 1, 2005; 18:162-166
Articles




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Diabetes Management in the Elderly

Erika Leung
Aug 1, 2018; 31:245-253
From Research to Practice




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Rationale for the Use of a Mediterranean Diet in Diabetes Management

Gretchen Benson
Feb 1, 2011; 24:36-40
Nutrition FYI




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Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Older Adults

Ruban Dhaliwal
Feb 1, 2014; 27:9-20
Research to Practice




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Is Massage Useful in the Management of Diabetes? A Systematic Review

Jeanette Ezzo
Oct 1, 2001; 14:
Articles




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Management of Competitive Athletes With Diabetes

W. Guyton Hornsby
Apr 1, 2005; 18:102-107
Articles




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Select Vitamins and Minerals in the Management of Diabetes

Belinda S. O’Connell
Aug 1, 2001; 14:
Articles




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Hypertension Management in Diabetes: 2018 Update

Pasquale Passarella
Aug 1, 2018; 31:218-224
From Research to Practice




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Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists for Type 2 Diabetes

Deborah Hinnen
Aug 1, 2017; 30:202-210
Feature Articles




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DASH Eating Plan: An Eating Pattern for Diabetes Management

Amy P. Campbell
May 1, 2017; 30:76-81
From Research to Practice




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Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Surgical Patients

Samuel Dagogo-Jack
Jan 1, 2002; 15:
Articles




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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Pregnancy: Is Metformin the Magic Bullet?

Howard Craig Zisser
Apr 1, 2007; 20:85-89
Articles




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Glucose Metabolism and Regulation: Beyond Insulin and Glucagon

Stephen L. Aronoff
Jul 1, 2004; 17:183-190
Feature Articles




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Case Study: A Patient With Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes and Complex Comorbidities Whose Diabetes Care Is Managed by an Advanced Practice Nurse

Geralyn Spollett
Jan 1, 2003; 16:
Case Studies




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Fixed-rate mortgage scheme opens

The Mortgage Corporation today announced that the pilot scheme for fixed-rate mortgages will start receiving applications from May 7.

 

The aggregate loan amount of the Fixed-rate Mortgage Pilot Scheme is $1 billion, subject to a maximum loan amount of each private residential mortgage of $10 million.

 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the pilot scheme, announced in the 2020-21 Budget, provides an alternative financing option to homebuyers for mitigating their risks arising from interest rate volatility, thereby promoting the development of the mortgage market in the long run.

 

In response to the change in market interest rates, mortgage interest rates under the pilot scheme have been lowered, as compared to the levels previously announced in the Budget. The interest rates per annum for 10, 15 and 20 years are 2.55%, 2.65% and 2.75%.

  

Mortgages under the pilot scheme will be offered through Bank of China, Chong Hing Bank, Dah Sing Bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Shanghai Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and The Bank of East Asia.

 

At the end of the fixed-rate period, borrowers may either re-fix the mortgage rate under fixed-rate mortgages or convert the mortgage to a loan on a floating rate, which is the prime rate minus 2.35%.

 

The pilot scheme will be effective until October 31.




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Government unveils COVID-19 support package for startups

The Treasury has announced a new set of financial measures aimed at helping startups during the coronavirus pandemic, including a £250 Future Fund for startups with at least £250,000 in funding




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Math in the Media - May 2020:John Conway, "magical mathematician", Topological analysis of zebrafish, teaching online...




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2020 Mathematical Art Exhibition gallery on AMS Mathematical Imagery




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Extreme ultraviolet imaging displays potential to enhance study of Alzheimer's disease

(University of Southampton) Scientists have published highly detailed images of lab-grown neurons using Extreme Ultraviolet radiation that could aid the analysis of neurodegenerative diseases.




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Inhibiting thrombin protects against dangerous infant digestive disease

(University of South Florida (USF Health)) A new preclinical study by researchers at the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine offers promise of a specific treatment for NEC, a rare inflammatory bowel disease that is a leading cause of death in premature infants. The team found that inhibiting the inflammatory and blood-clotting molecule thrombin with targeted nanotherapy can protect against NEC-like injury in newborn mice.




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COVID-19 patient tests positive again

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

 

A recovered COVID-19 patient has tested positive for the virus again, the Hospital Authority announced today.

 

The authority’s Chief Manager (Quality & Standards) Dr Lau Ka-hin told a media briefing this afternoon that the patient was first admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on March 24 after having fever for a week. He subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

 

He was discharged on April 16 after two consecutive negative tests for the virus.

 

Dr Lau said: "The patient presented to the Accident & Emergency Department of Queen Mary Hospital on May 5 because of some abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

 

"He was admitted to our hospital and was found to have a positive result for COVID-19 in the throat saliva, but the cycle threshold value is very high - nearly 36.

 

"The experts consider that this is the residual virus left in the patient’s body, which is not infective, and it is not likely to be a reinfection at this moment."

 

He added that the patient is in a stable condition.




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Inhibition of the erythropoietin-producing receptor EPHB4 antagonizes androgen receptor overexpression and reduces enzalutamide resistance [Molecular Bases of Disease]

Prostate cancer (PCa) cells heavily rely on an active androgen receptor (AR) pathway for their survival. Enzalutamide (MDV3100) is a second-generation antiandrogenic drug that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to treat patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, emergence of resistance against this drug is inevitable, and it has been a major challenge to develop interventions that help manage enzalutamide-resistant CRPC. Erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular (Eph) receptors are targeted by ephrin protein ligands and have a broad range of functions. Increasing evidence indicates that this signaling pathway plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Overexpression of EPH receptor B4 (EPHB4) has been observed in multiple types of cancer, being closely associated with proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of tumors. Here, using RNA-Seq analyses of clinical and preclinical samples, along with several biochemical and molecular methods, we report that enzalutamide-resistant PCa requires an active EPHB4 pathway that supports drug resistance of this tumor type. Using a small kinase inhibitor and RNAi-based gene silencing to disrupt EPHB4 activity, we found that these disruptions re-sensitize enzalutamide-resistant PCa to the drug both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we found that EPHB4 stimulates the AR by inducing proto-oncogene c-Myc (c-Myc) expression. Taken together, these results provide critical insight into the mechanism of enzalutamide resistance in PCa, potentially offering a therapeutic avenue for enhancing the efficacy of enzalutamide to better manage this common malignancy.