StemCell Therapy

Executive Summary

State Medicaid websites are a key source of information and an avenue for enrollment in or renewal of coverage for many applicants and existing enrollees. Medicaid households include a disproportionate share of nonelderly adults with limited English proficiency (LEP), and three in ten nonelderly Medicaid adults report having a disability. When the continuous enrollment requirement related to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends and states resume regularly scheduled redeterminations and renewals, individuals with LEP and/or disabilities may be at increased risk of losing coverage, despite remaining eligible, due to barriers in accessing eligibility and renewal information. Several federal laws require state Medicaid agencies to provide information in a way that is accessible to people with LEP and people with disabilities (Appendix).

This issue brief reviews accessibility of information for people with LEP and people with disabilities provided through state Medicaid websites and call center automated phone trees as of June 16, 2022. The analysis shows that while states have taken some steps to support access to information and applications for people with LEP and people with disabilities, gaps in accessibility remain. Given the potential challenges people with LEP and people with disabilities may face maintaining coverage once Medicaid renewal and redeterminations resume following the end of the public health emergency, specific steps to minimize barriers and ensure easy access to information, applications, and assistance could help prevent coverage losses among those who remain eligible.

Most states have taken steps to support access to information and applications for people with LEP and people with disabilities. Such steps include the following:

While states have taken steps to support access to information and applications for people with LEP and people with disabilities, continuing gaps in accessibility remain. Some of these gaps include:

State Medicaid websites are a key source of information and an avenue for enrollment in or renewal of coverage for many applicants and existing enrollees. Medicaid households include a disproportionate share of nonelderly adults with limited English proficiency (LEP), and three in ten nonelderly Medicaid adults report having a disability. While Spanish is the most common language spoken among nonelderly adults in Medicaid households who have LEP, Chinese and Vietnamese are each spoken by 3% of these adults, and there are a diverse set of languages spoken overall by this group. Medicaid enrollees have a variety of disabilities, including blindness or low vision; deafness or hard of hearing; intellectual and developmental disabilities such as autism or Downs syndrome; traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries; and mental illness. Some people may have both LEP and a disability.

When the continuous enrollment requirement related to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, and states resume regularly scheduled redeterminations and renewals, individuals with LEP and/or disabilities may be at increased risk of losing coverage, despite remaining eligible, due to barriers in accessing eligibility and enrollment information. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance about the PHE unwinding reminds states about these obligations and prompts states to review their communications with people with LEP and people with disabilities as a strategy to mitigate inappropriate coverage loss. Several federal laws require state Medicaid agencies to provide information in a way that is accessible to people with LEP and people with disabilities. The Appendix provides background information on these laws.

This issue brief reviews accessibility of information for people with LEP and people with disabilities provided through state Medicaid websites as well as call center automated phone trees and information on application assistance, as of June 16, 2022. We assessed homepages and call center automated menu options in all 50 states and DC and PDF applications in the 41 states that provide them online (Appendix Table 1). We had limited ability to assess online applications because, while all states except Alaska provide an online application, individuals must create an account to view the online application in all but three states (IN, MS, UT) (Appendix Table 1). We identified sixteen states that provide information about how to obtain one on one assistance with completing an application on their homepage or application. See the Methods box for more detail.

Overall, about two-thirds of states (33) provide information on their Medicaid program homepage in a language other than English (Appendix Table 2 and Figure 1). The number of languages other than English range from 1 to over 100 in 17 states using automated translation systems such as Google Translate. Five states (GA, KY, LA, MA and NE) also use Google Translate to offer translations in a more limited number of languages. In the remaining 11 states with translated information, the number of languages available other than English ranges from 1 to 22. All 33 states that offer translation on their homepages offer information in Spanish, and, in five states, Spanish is the only language other than English that is available. The other languages most commonly available include Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. There may be potential quality issues with translations in states using automated translations, such as Google Translate. Google has indicated that it is not intended to replace human translators or to be used in public health contexts without having translations verified and other research has found Google Translate to be unreliable in medical contexts., Two states (MD and GA) include disclaimers that the English version of the homepage is the most reliable. In three states (FL, MS, and KY), some content in the headers, footers, and/or menus of the translated versions of the homepage remains in English. In nine states, clicking links in translated versions of the homepage leads to English content. Ten state homepages included automated chatbots to address simple questions. In seven of these states, the chatbots can address questions in Spanish, including Florida, which also translates into Haitian Creole, and Rhode Island, which uses Google Translate to offer over 100 languages.

Most states with online PDF applications (34 of 41 states) offer the application in languages other than English (Appendix Table 2 and Figure 1). In 23 of these states, Spanish is the only other language in which the PDF application is available. In the remaining 11 states, PDF applications are offered in additional languages, including in over 10 languages in California, New York, Oregon and Washington. The most common other languages available are Vietnamese (6 states), Chinese (5 states) and Korean (5 states). Most PDF applications (37 of 41) ask about the applicants preferred spoken language, which may facilitate access to linguistically accessible communications in the future. Seven states had mobile device applications through which individuals could access applications and eligibility information and submit documents, and in three of these states (CO, MD, and MI), these applications could be accessed in languages other than English, primarily Spanish.

Seventeen states include multilingual taglines on their homepages or within one click of their homepages with information on how to access language assistance services (Appendix Table 2). Eleven of these states provide taglines in at least 15 languages other than English. All 17 states include taglines in Spanish, and the other most common languages are Chinese (13 states) and Vietnamese (12 states).

Most states with PDF applications (29 of 41 states) include multilingual tagline notices regarding the availability of language assistance services on the PDF application (Appendix Table 2). These taglines are generally present on the first or second page of the application or as a footer running across every page. In 11 of these states, taglines are only provided in Spanish and English, and, in the remaining 18 states, they are provided in between 5 and 19 languages other than English. In addition to Spanish, the most common other languages in which taglines are offered are Chinese (13 states) and Vietnamese (13 states)

In 49 states, call centers answered with automated phone trees, and 40 of these states offered menu options in languages other than English. However, in 31 of these states the only other language offered through the menu is Spanish (Appendix Table 2 and Figure 1). In the remaining states, phone tree menus offer between two and six languages other than English. In some states, other language options are only offered after the applicant listens to a long set of options in English.

Approximately half of states (25) provide general information about the availability of reasonable modifications (also known as reasonable accommodations) for people with disabilities on their homepage or within one click from their homepage, while 32 states provide this information on their online PDF application (Appendix Table 4 and Figure 4). States often provide information about reasonable modifications for people with disabilities on a separate webpage titled Nondiscrimination policy or Accessibility rather than directly on their homepage. Users can usually find these separate webpages by clicking on a Nondiscrimination policy link at the bottom of the homepage. States often use these separate webpages to outline their general commitment to serving the needs of people with disabilities (CT). Most of these separate webpages include information about free auxiliary aids and services necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in all services, programs and activities (KY). Additionally, states often include information about reasonable accommodations such as alternative formats including Braille or large print materials, teletypewriter (TTY) numbers, and how to request qualified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on these separate webpages. The availability of information in plain language also is an important means of providing access for people with cognitive disabilities, though our website review did not assess content for plain language.

Two states (CA, CO) post a large print PDF application form online, while another 15 states include information on their homepage about how to obtain materials in large print or Braille (Appendix Table 4 and Figure 4). For example, Wyomings homepage indicates that a large print PDF application is available upon request. Like Wyoming, most other states often list a phone number (and/or a TTY number) for individuals to call to request materials in alternative formats or advise users to contact their local office. The remaining 35 states do not mention alternative formats on their homepage or within one click from their homepage. Ten state homepages (CT, DE, HI, KS, LA, MS, NH, NY, TN, and VA) allow users to increase or decrease the font size of text on the webpage. Connecticut and Louisiana are the only two states that allows users to change the homepage to a high contrast mode to improve readability for users. Making information and applications available in multiple formats is an important means of increasing access for people with disabilities. People with disabilities may access information in different ways, depending on their type of disability and type of assistive technology they use.

State homepages and online application landing pages were evaluated using WAVE, a suite of automated web accessibility measurement tools that includes 110 elements that assess potential accessibility errors for people who are blind or have low vision. WAVE is developed and made available as a free community service by WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) at Utah State University. WAVE assesses web accessibility, including compatibility with screen reader software, which can be used by people who are blind to convert web content to synthesized speech, and screen magnifiers or zoom, which can be used by people with low vision. Because WAVE is automated, it does not assess all aspects of accessibility that may be encountered by website users. However, WAVE does identify the accessibility errors that are most frequently encountered and that tend to have the greatest impact on users who are blind or have low vision. Additionally, errors identified by WAVE have been found to correlate with the existence of other accessibility issues that WAVE does not detect but which can be encountered by a website user. The WAVE analysis was applied to a total of 101 webpages, including the homepages for all 50 states and DC and the online application landing pages for 49 states and DC.

The most common accessibility issue detected by WAVE is very low contrast text, with 67% of the assessed webpages (in 47 states) showing at least one incidence of this error (Appendix Table 3 and Figure 5). Overall, WAVE detected an average of seven instances of very low contrast text errors per page across the 101 webpages assessed. Low contrast text refers to the difference in brightness between text or a graphic and its background colors and is difficult for people with color blindness or low vision to read. Other commonly detected accessibility issues include missing labels to describe the various fields of content in a form (27% of pages, 24 states) and images missing alternative text (25% of pages, 23 states) (Appendix Table 3). Alternative text is used to describe the content of an image. Images that lack alternative text and forms without text labels cannot be properly identified by screen readers, making this content very difficult to access for people who rely on that technology.

The average number of accessibility errors detected by WAVE across the 101 assessed state homepages and online application landing pages is substantially lower than the average number of errors found on webpages in general. Specifically, WAVE detected an average of 11.4 errors per page across the 101 webpages assessed, compared to the average of 50.8 errors per page found on the top one million web homepages generally. The number of web accessibility errors detected on the assessed webpages varies widely across states (Appendix Table 3). Over half of the states have 15 or fewer errors across their homepages and online application pages and in seven states, there are less than five errors (Figure 5). These findings suggest that states have given notable attention to ensuring accessibility on these pages overall, although some pages may have errors that could pose difficulty for users with disabilities.

Thirty-two states list a TTY call center number directly on their homepage or within one click from the homepage (Appendix Table 4 and Figure 6). Eight of these states require users to click on a contact us tab to find a TTY number, while 13 states require users to click on a different link to a nondiscrimination or access for users with special needs webpage to find a TTY number. TTY numbers allow individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate by sending typed messages over the phone line. If states communicate with applicants or the public by phone, they also must handle calls via TTY or similar technology. North Carolina is the only state to list a Spanish language TTY (Relay Service) on its homepage. Similarly, Utah is the only state to list a Spanish Relay number for individuals with speech and/or hearing impairment on their PDF application.

Twenty-two states provide information about how to request an ASL interpreter on their website (Appendix Table 4 and Figure 6). One of these states (WA) directly lists this information on their homepage, while the other 21 states require users to click on another link such as a nondiscrimination webpage to find information about how to request an ASL interpreter. Both TTY numbers and ASL interpreters can help promote effective communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing that could be essential for someone to understand how to enroll in or retain Medicaid coverage.

The large majority (49 of 51) of call centers answer with an automated phone tree and only 12 of the automated phone trees include an option to speak to a live person in the first set of menu options (Appendix Table 4 and Figure 6). Two call centers (DC, SD) answer with a live person instead of an automated phone tree. Access to a live person can improve accessibility for people with LEP and/or intellectual or developmental disabilities and people with mental health disabilities. As of the time of our data collection, the call center wait time to speak with a live person was less than 15 minutes in 34 states, while in six states, the wait time was more than 15 minutes. In the remaining seven states, we were unable to reach a live person. The end of the COVID-19 PHE may increase these wait times, as states resume processing redeterminations and renewals.

As the COVID-19 PHE ends and states resume regularly scheduled Medicaid redeterminations and renewals, people with LEP and/or disabilities may face increased challenges to maintaining coverage despite remaining eligible due to barriers in accessing eligibility and enrollment information. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and the Rehabilitation Act, state Medicaid agency program information must be accessible to people with LEP and people with disabilities. The Biden Administration has issued a proposed rule revising implementing regulation for Section 1557, taking steps to reverse Trump Administration policy and regulations that significantly narrowed the implementation and administrative enforcement of the regulations. The proposed rule reinstates the requirement that Medicaid agencies provide notice of the availability of language assistance services and auxiliary aids and services in both physical locations and on their websites. Additionally, the rule, for the first time, requires state Medicaid agencies to give staff clear guidance and training on the provision of language assistance services, and effective communication and reasonable modifications to policies and procedures for people with disabilities, in order to improve compliance. Regardless of the status of the regulations, the underlying statutory protections of Section 1557, which require meaningful access to federal programs for people with LEP and/or disabilities, remain as well as protections under other federal laws and federal Medicaid regulations that require public programs be accessible to people with LEP and/or disabilities.

As states prepare to resume Medicaid redeterminations and renewals, they can take steps to prevent and minimize potential administrative barriers to maintaining coverage, particularly for people who have LEP and/or disabilities. CMS guidance outlines specific steps states can take, including ensuring accessibility of forms and notices for people with LEP and people with disabilities and reviewing communications strategies to ensure accessibility of information. Increasing access to a live person through call centers and/or providing a dedicated call center line for people with LEP may also help improve accessibility for people with LEP and people with disabilities. Ensuring accessibility of information, forms, and assistance will be key for preventing coverage losses and gaps among these individuals.

KFF appreciates the assistance of Jared Smith, program manager at Utah State University Institute for Disability Research, Policy and Practice, with analyzing and interpreting the WAVE results.

More:
A 50-State Review of Access to State Medicaid Program Information for People with Limited English Proficiency and/or Disabilities Ahead of the PHE...

iHealthScreen Inc. completed a prospective study for early diagnosis of AMD in primary care settings. The initial clinical trial results show adequate accuracy for FDA clearance. The study was funded by NIH SBIR grants and completed with the collaboration of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary at Mount Sinai.

AMD, with no early signs or symptoms, is a leading cause of adult blindness in the developed world. Early detection can enable preventative measures in time to reduce the incidence of AMD. Currently, AMD diagnosis has been limited to retinal examination by an ophthalmologist. AMD cases in the U.S. are expected to grow from 2.1 million to 5.4 million in the next ten years, and there is an increasing need for large-scale screening and identification of individuals who are at risk of developing late AMD. iHealthScreens AI-based tool can facilitate this screening and help prevention of late AMD, i.e., blindness.

In an interview, Dr. Bhuiyan spoke about the study and the findings: We are encouraged by the results and believe that the new AI-based technology can diagnose early AMD in primary care settings, which enables the timely preventative measures by ophthalmologists and prevent this deterioration of vision. We want to express our sincerest thanks to the participants and professional staff who were involved in this clinical trial and gathered the data.

These results speak to the feasibility of this approach, said Theodore Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Trials Principal-investigator and Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. I believe that the ease of use of iHealthScreens AI tool will contribute to its adoption in the wider primary care community.

iHealthScreen is in the final stage of submitting the results to FDA for 510K clearance.

About iHealthScreen

iHealthScreen is a private, clinical-stage, medical diagnostic/device company. iHealthScreen has developed iPredict, an AI and telemedicine-based HIPAA compliant platform for automated screening and prediction of individuals at risk of developing late age-related AMD, diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, cardiovascular heart disease, and stroke.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220808005447/en/

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iHealthScreen Completed Prospective Trial of AI-Based Tool for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Screening and Submitting the Results to FDA for...

Tuna and various other seafood are rich in Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is one of the less talked about vitamins. Unlike vitamin C and other vitamins, we often neglect the significance and need for vitamin B12. In this article, we discuss why you need to add vitamin B12 to your diet. We also list foods that are rich in vitamin B12 and can improve your consumption.

Why do we need Vitamin B12?

Our bodies rely on our food to stay alive. Being a complex mechanism, there are numerous nutrients our bodies needs and various ways in which these nutrients influence our health. Vitamin B12 improves and facilitates many functions in our bodies.

Here's why you must add sufficient vitamin B12 to your diet:

1. Protect eye health

Eating sufficient vitamin B12 lowers your risk of developing macular degeneration. This eye condition can cause blindness. Macular degeneration is common in older adults. However, not consuming enough vitamin B12 might increase your risks.

2. Prevent and treat depression

Serotonin is one of the happy hormones. Meaning, that it promotes better moods and improves mental health. Vitamin B12 plays an integral role in the production of serotonin. Studies show that people with vitamin B12 are at almost double the risk of developing depression.

3. Improve brain health

Vitamin B12 not only improves but is responsible for facilitating various functions in the brain and the nervous system. Lack of enough vitamin B12 might cause brain atrophy. Brain atrophy means a loss of neurons. This loss of neurons in the brain may also result in dementia and memory loss.

Besides these functions, vitamin B12 also facilitates energy production, aids our ability to think, and maintains the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system. Hence, vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient and necessary for survival.

What foods provide Vitamin B12?

Here are 7 foods that are rich in vitamin B12 and can significantly improve your intake:

1. Organ meats

Organ meats especially livers and kidneys are often the most abundant in various nutrients including vitamin B12. These foods may be ideal if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency or any other nutrient deficiency.

2. Dairy products

Dairy products are a great source of vitamin B12 for vegetarians. You can also incorporate them into your daily routine as they are extremely versatile and of many varieties. Try consuming milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. daily.

3. Eggs

Eggs are another more commonly consumed food that is rich in Vitamin B12. Similar to other foods, eggs are also abundant in various other foods that are beneficial to our bodies.

4. Fish

Fish is easily available seafood that is rich in vitamin B12 and many other nutrients. In fact, fish like tuna and salmon may also provide other nutrients such as protein, selenium, phosphorous, vitamin B3, vitamin A, etc.

5. Fortified cereal

Fortified cereals are a great source of vitamin B12 and many other nutrients for vegans and vegetarians. Fortification refers to adding nutrients to food that does not naturally have them. It may be beneficial but you are always encouraged to eat foods that are naturally rich in nutrients.

In conclusion, it is important for you to ensure you consume all the nutrients you require. Having a well-balanced diet can help you achieve your daily nutrient requirements. Although the most amount of vitamin B12 is often sourced from meats, vegans and vegetarians can still manage to consume the right amounts of B12.

If you think you might have a B12 deficiency, it is ideal to see a doctor. If yes, your doctor might prescribe supplements that are the best way to maintain the right intake. Make sure to only consume vitamin B12 supplements if prescribed as they can clash with other medications.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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Vitamin B12: Why You Need It & Foods To Increase Your Vitamin B12 Intake - NDTV

Potion of Blindness

Potion ID

15

Effect

Blindness

Ingredients

Nether Wart, Ink Sac, Golden Carrot, Fermented Spider Eye

First Appearance

N/A

Type

Potion

Idea Designer

TheDevinGreat

Potion of Blindness is a potion that will create a thick block void-like fog around the player. It can be brewed by adding a Fermented Spider Eye to a Night Vision potion, or adding Ink Sac to an Akward Potion. And can be used as defense against hostile mobs, since they will be unable to find the player or what's ahead of them when a splash potion. But don't thow it too close or you will experience Blindness the same as that mob. It can be cured by drinking milk, or waiting the time that the effect lasts.

It can be brewed in 2 ways. (Not really in Minecraft.)

Akward Potion - Golden Carrot - Fermented Spider Eye

Akward Potion - Ink Sac

Read the original post:
Potion of Blindness | Minecraft Ideas Wiki | Fandom

Jack Levine| Guest columnist

My dad was 60 when I was born. Not only was he the oldest dad on the block, he was older than all of my friends' grandfathers. He was alsoblind, having lost his sight in his early 50s. He suddenly wentblind in the 1940s, after having a few days of blurry vision. The doctors guessed it was vascular, perhaps an aneurysm on the optic nerve.

It's said that when one sense goes the others perk up a bit. Well, eight years after my dad went blind, I came along; some things in life don't require good sight!

Growing up with a blind dad wasn't easy. Sometimes his blindness frightened me. On occasion I would play blind, walking through a room with my eyes tightly shut, feeling my way with outstretched arms and walking in a halting gait, wondering how my dad managed to move around with such effortless grace.

Beginning at age nine it was my responsibility to read for my dad mostly newspaper columns and editorials focused on civil rights reform.

He listened patiently as I struggled through the tough words andhad to spell out a few. But I'll never forget the light that would shine from his blind eyes when I learned anew fact or a fresh angle on an issue of concern. When that light went on, I knew I was doing a good job. He couldn't see my smile but I knew he sensed it.

My dad never went to school a single day in his life. He was an immigrant who came to this country at the turn of the century to escape the tyranny of forced "conscription" in the Imperial Russian Army. The teenage boys gathered from the shtetls were not formallyrecruited or given uniforms. They were forced to run through the woods, used as human target practice, to hone the skills of Cossack sharpshooters.

Those who survived feigned death and crawled back to the village to warn the others (like my father) to run away and escape to the West.

He and a friend, Benny, left their families at age 14, working their way through Poland over a three-year period to save enough to board a ship in Danzig (now Gdansk) for the New World … for survival and to be free.

My dad spoke five languages and later in life mastered Braille, but was versed in the language of politics the best. He believed it was politics that forced those young kids to run through the woods as human prey. It was also politics and policies thatinfluenced every stage of his life.

My dad never hesitated to share his personal stories and his generation's history. Most of my knowledge of the 20th century is rooted in his accounts of life's struggles, successesand failures.

On Father's Day, I think of how different my childhood would have been if I had a different father. One who was not blind, who could play catch, take me to a movie,or compliment my drawings.

Yet, I know I was enriched by being with a wise old man, helping to narrate his life's events. For as long as I can remember, I saw for two people. That was both an obligation and an opportunity.

Every memory is a subjective vision of the past. All of us recall our childhoods with a blend of joy and regret;pleasure balanced with pain.

Some of us never really knew our fathers lost to war, alcohol abuseor abandonment. Some feared their father's anger or coldness but deeply respected his hard work and dedication to family. Some men live up to what's expected of them, others stumble, yet few do not try to do their best.

It has been more than 40 years since his death, and I think of Fathers Day as a chance to cherish the gifts he gave me that had no wrapping paper. I believe his influence lives in the work I do, my appreciation of others' challengesand the relationship I have built with mytwo sons, who never got to meet the old guy with the gray beard and bright, shining eyes.

I implore you to think of the life lessons we've learned good or bad from our fathers. Let's honor them by emulating the good, overcoming the badand sending a signal to our children (in both word and action)that they are valued.

Jack Levine, founder of the 4Generations Institute, is a Tallahassee-based family policy advocate. He may be reached at jack@4gen.org.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

More here:
Jack Levine: Remembering a dad who proved that even in blindness, there can be vision - The Florida Times-Union

Scientists in Europe have discovered a molecular zipper mechanism that can lead to cell death in the genetic disease retinitis pigmentosa. The good news is that injecting certain proteins could slow down or prevent vision impairment from the disease.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a relatively common hereditary disease that affects the photoreceptors, cells in the eye that register light. As they degenerate, patients will start to lose their night vision and peripheral vision, and over decades can become partially or completely blind. Unfortunately, there are few treatment options.

Photoreceptor cells are tiny and complicated, making it difficult to tell exactly whats going on in there as the disease progresses. So for the new study, the team used an emerging technique known as expansion microscopy to inflate cells without deforming them, allowing retinal tissue to be examined at a higher resolution than ever before.

The scientists focused on a component of the photoreceptors known as the connecting cilia, which links the outer, light-sensitive pigments of the cell to the machinery that converts that light into nerve signals. This connecting cilia has been implicated in retinitis pigmentosa, but what that role is has remained a mystery.

Using expansion microscopy, the team identified that four proteins drive a series of microtubules to stick together in a kind of zipper formation, which holds the cilia together. But when the gene that codes for one of these proteins, called FAM161A, has a particular mutation, those microtubules dont zip up as tightly. Over time, they unravel and eventually collapse, which kills off the photoreceptors, causing the vision impairment associated with retinitis pigmentosa.

While this work is mostly foundational in improving our understanding of how the disease occurs, the team says that it could also inform new potential treatments to prevent cell death and vision impairment. One idea will be evaluated in follow-up work.

By injecting the protein into patients suffering from certain types of retinitis pigmentosa, we can imagine that the molecular zipper could be restored to ensure the structural integrity of the microtubules of the connecting cilia, thus preventing the death of photoreceptor cells, said Paul Guichard, co-author of the study.

The research was published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Source: Universit de Genve

More here:
Tightening a molecular "zipper" could help prevent hereditary blindness - New Atlas

Lisa Durden, an award-winning director/producer and media personality leads the production of Blind Divas, a documentary following Krystle Allen and Naquela Wright-Prevoe, two blind, Black women entrepreneurs, determined to challenge the stigmas and stereotypes about the blindness community. This is not just a story about two determined women who are everyday champions in the blindness community, its also a story of triumph.

Durden, Allen and Wright-Prevoe joined WBGO Journal host and News Director Doug Doyle to talk about the project and what ahead.

Durden says this film will pull back the curtain of curiosity about the abilities of women with vision loss, as we document their national Finding Miss Blind Diva Tour; Hosted by Eyes Like Mine Inc. and the Greater Vision Foundation, The Miss Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant is honoring marvelous moms with disabilities. Join them for an afternoon of empowerment, entertainment, giveaways, and more.

Here are some of the upcoming events :June 25, 2022 - Community Baby Shower, Newark, NJ July 5-10, 2022 - National Federation of the Blind National Convention,New Orleans, Louisiana, LA

For her focus on this compelling story, Lisa Durden, was the WINNER of the national short documentary pitch competition, sponsored by African American Women in Cinema Film Festival (AAWIC), in collaboration with the distributor, Lightbeam TV; A streaming platform featuring stories that shine a light on inspiring people and organizations making the world a better, more hopeful place.

Lisa Durden earned her Masters In Fine Arts Degree, in Social Documentary Film, from New Yorks School Of Visual Arts. Ms. Durden took the leap and launched Lisa Durden Unlimited Productions, a Multi-Media Company, specializing in developing content for linear television, film, digital and live audiences, with a focus on telling compelling stories about underserved communities, featuring big, entertaining, characters.

Some of Ms. Durdens award-winning projects include: Director/Producer, short documentaryGirls Matter, which WON Best Animation at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival 21;Assistant Director of the VerizonCommercial,Conversations With Mom; Producer of award-winning PBS 2019 Online FestivalShortFilm,Paris Blues in Harlem; Senior Producer of ImageNations star studded Revolution Awards; Co-Producer of the provocative, award-winning, feature filmTITLE VII; Conceived & ProducedPBSMaya Angelou Films successful Live Twitter Chat, which garnered 8 Million Impressions; The former Broadcast Manager with the Black Public Media,AfroPoP Series; Associate Producer of PBS documentary, Soul Food Junkies; and Associate Producer of Peabody award-winning, Prime-Time Emmy and NAACP Image awards nominated, Sundance Channels, docu-series, Brick City 1.

You can SEE the entire interview here.

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Lisa Durden's upcoming documentary "Blind Divas" follows Krystle Allen and Naquela Wright-Prevoe, two Black women entrepreneurs, determined...

Glaucoma is a vision condition that results from damage to your optic nerve, often due to elevated pressure in the eye. Its one of the most common causes of vision loss in adults and can lead to blindness without treatment.

Eye drops and other treatments can cause dry eyes in many people with glaucoma. People who have glaucoma might already be at heightened risk for developing dry eyes because the conditions share some risk factors.

Dry eyes can be chronic and uncomfortable, interfering with daily life. Its possible to treat both glaucoma and dry eyes with a combination approach. Well overview the link between these conditions, symptoms, and available treatment options.

Its common for dry eye and glaucoma to occur together. Dry eye is a type of ocular surface disease (OSD), which also includes blepharitis (eyelid inflammation).

2020 research states the global prevalence of OSD in people with glaucoma is around 40 to 59 percent, substantially higher than the general population.

There are a few reasons for this, including:

Dry eye and glaucoma can be difficult to treat. Although dry eye is often more painful and irritating for the patient, glaucoma is a more serious condition as it can lead to blindness. Because of this, eye doctors will focus on treating glaucoma first, even if that makes relief of dry eyes more difficult.

However, your doctor will do their best to ensure both dry eye and glaucoma are treated for the best quality of life outcome.

Glaucoma is the name for a group of conditions that cause damage to the nerves in your eyes. Glaucoma results in vision loss and can lead to blindness without treatment. It can occur in one or both eyes.

Medical researchers have long thought that glaucoma only occurred when the pressure built up inside the eyes. Newer research indicates that glaucoma can develop even when the pressure inside the eyes is normal.

Glaucoma doesnt always cause symptoms early on, so people are often unaware they have it in the early stages. This is especially true if you have a type of glaucoma called open-angle glaucoma. About 90 percent of people with glaucoma have this type, and its the second leading cause of legal blindness in the U.S.

When symptoms of any type of glaucoma develop, they may include:

While its possible to slow or stop the progression of glaucoma, any vision loss caused by glaucoma is irreversible. Detecting glaucoma early and getting treatment quickly can prevent blindness. Its important to see an eye doctor as soon as possible if you have any glaucoma symptoms.

Glaucoma can be screened for and detected by a routine eye exam with your ophthalmologist. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) advises adults have a comprehensive medical eye examination at age 40 if they havent had one yet.

Dry eye is a common eye condition. It happens when your eyes cant make enough tears, or when the tears your eyes make dont keep your eyes moist enough. When your eyes arent well moisturized, they can become uncomfortable and inflamed.

In some cases, dry eye is temporary. For example, you might get a flare of dry eye from being outside on a very windy day, or from a long shift of computer work. In other cases, dry eye can be a chronic condition.

Dry eye can be very irritating and can make it difficult to complete everyday tasks. Especially when chronic, dry eye can have far-reaching impacts on your quality of life.

Symptoms of dry eye can include:

Some people with dry eyes may experience discharge from their eyes or eyelids. Discharge can also be a sign of eye infection.

Some cases of night vision can be treated with over-the-counter eye drops. However, prescription-strength treatment and lifestyle changes can help many people.

Youll likely need a combination of treatments to help both dry eye and glaucoma. You might go through several treatment options until you find the combination that is most helpful for your eyes.

According to NIH and AAO, treatment approaches include:

Your doctor might also recommend lifestyle changes, such as:

Factors that are unrelated to glaucoma can also cause dry eye. Sometimes these factors can occur alongside glaucoma and can make treating it more challenging.

Dry eye and glaucoma commonly occur together. They share risk factors such as age and having diabetes, and some glaucoma treatments can cause dry eye.

Treating both conditions together can be challenging. While dry eye may be more painful and difficult to deal with in the short term, glaucoma is more dangerous to your vision in the long term. This means glaucoma treatment will be prioritized.

However, doctors will always attempt to treat both conditions. In most cases, youll receive a combination of treatment approaches that can help preserve your vision and restore your eye comfort.

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What's the Link Between Glaucoma and Dry Eyes? - Healthline

Monday night, two neighbors and I enjoyed each others company and conversation around a backyard fire to celebrate the summer solstice.

Politics came up. One neighbor said she didnt think Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. The other said he didnt think too many people were paying much attention to the House select committees historic hearings about the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

I did not argue with my neighbors or try to persuade them to change their minds. I asked what they thought of Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Vice President Mike Pence, Republicans who refused to go along with President Donald Trumps plot to overturn results of a free and fair election.

RINOs, the one neighbor said, meaning Republicans In Name Only. Many share her view that loyalty to the GOP matters more than oaths sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

The House committee is building its case to the American people. Through witness testimony, documents, emails, text messages, video and other evidence, the committee is showing how Trump tried to stay in office despite losing the popular vote to Biden by about 7 million votes.

Trumps lust for the power drove him to convince millions of his followers that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Fox News hosts and other influential people publicly went along with the scheme. The committee has heard from former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and others, who testified they repeatedly told Trump his ploy was illegal.

If fraud had occurred, Trumps proper recourse was to plead his case in court. His supporters filed more than 60 lawsuits in state and federal courts, but no one could present any evidence of fraud, only lies and hearsay. Judges, including some appointed by Trump, dismissed the cases.

Trumps unwillingness to accept the reality of his loss may involve a concept known as willful blindness, legal analysts have written. Trump himself might have believed there was fraud, but testimony shows he refused to listen to anyone who told him the evidence said Bidens win was legitimate.

To this day, many Republican voters and elected officials refuse to publicly admit Biden won the presidency. Many believe fictional stories about mules harvesting illegal votes cast by purported dead people or immigrants. Theyve been told to believe electronic voting equipment was somehow manipulated to favor Biden.

The false narratives collectively known as Trumps big lie cast doubt on the integrity of our voting systems and democracy.

Not only is Trump willfully blind, the hearings show that millions of fellow Americans deliberately refuse to acknowledge mounting evidence that violence at the Capitol that day was no accident. Rather, it was the culmination of an illegal ploy to halt the certification of Electoral College results.

Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo/AP)

Trump embraced the plan to violently overturn the outcome, but Pence refused to go along with the scheme. There was no legal basis to a cockamamie theory that the vice president could reject the will of voters by legitimizing slates of phony electors in several swing states that Trump lost.

The plan was to kick Electoral College slates back to certain states where Republicans held legislative majorities. The scheme never made it that far. Our institutions held, but barely. You may recall 121 House Republicans and six GOP senators voted to reject results from Arizona.

Americans who ignore the truth of Jan. 6 use mental gymnastics to create an alternate reality. They deny evidence. They deflect by talking about gas prices or other concerns. They try to discredit those presenting evidence by calling the effort to seek accountability a partisan witch hunt.

The select committees important task is to show Americans that the threat to democracy is ongoing. Last week, a Republican-led county commission in New Mexico relented and voted to certify election results after initially refusing to do so. The states supreme court ordered the panel to certify results that the commission initially rejected due to unfounded conspiracy theories, Reuters reported.

Our institutions held in late 2020 and early 2021 because enough people of integrity were in positions to refuse to go along with illegal schemes to overturn election results. Now there are fewer people of integrity left in gatekeeper positions. Some left amid threats and intimidation.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., listens Tuesday as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Twice-weekly

News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday

Kinzinger on Sunday shared a letter he received at his home in Channahon. The writer threatened to execute the congressman, his wife and their 5-month-old child because of the Republicans efforts to uphold democracy.

The Darkness is spreading courtesy of cowardly leaders fearful of truth, Kinzinger wrote on Twitter. The threats Ive gotten dont scare me. They make me more determined.

Many are concerned insurrectionists will try again in 2024 to overturn election results if they disagree with the outcome. Evidence of the ongoing plot to destroy our democracy ought to strengthen the resolve of every American to vote and exercise their rights.

The battle for American democracy reminds me of The Skin of Our Teeth, a 1942 play by Thornton Wilder. We have always faced existential threats, and have barely survived many of them. Fascism, nuclear war and economic collapse, to name a few.

Somehow weve pulled through, sometimes by razor-thin margins. Whatever the future holds, I expect it will be close. A few votes here and there could make a world of difference.

Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.

tslowik@tribpub.com

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Trump election lies may fit legal concept of willful blindness - Chicago Tribune

From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja

In its global fight against poverty and avoidable blindness, an international organization, Sightsavers, has relaunced its thematic strategy to ensure that it reaches out to those affected and support their overall health system.

Speaking in Abuja, NIgeria, Country Director Sightsavers , Dr Sunday Ishiyaku stated that as part of strategies towards achieving its goals, the organization has developed capacities by making investments in growth and learning to ensure that there are adequate resources to tackling a wide range of complex diseases more innovatively and strategically premised on system strengthening to drive sustainability.

Ishiyaku noted that the strategy was conceived as a five- year framework with four major change theme such as Health, Education, Social inclusion, Community participation and development as well as eye health programmed.

He said that as an organization, it was working hard to prevent unavoidable blindness whilst also ensuring that those with disabilities participate equally in the Society.

We are a global organization working in more than 30 countries in African and Asian continents to prevent avoidable blindness whilst ensuring that those with disabilities participate equally in the society.

Sightsavers started out as an international service delivery- oriented charity and this was the case until 2009 when it transited into an international development organization requiring that it looked at tackling a wide range of complex diseases.

In the years covering the strategy (2009-2019), Sightsavers was committed to implementing its ambitious strategy that includes four major themes i.e eye health, education, social inclusion and community development and participation.

The Country Director explained that in the renewed global efforts to leave no one behind, Sightsavers also initiated the Sustainable Development Goals ( Agenda 2023), with the specific inclusion of an Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTD, target in SDG3.

Launching the Sightsavers thematic strategy virtually, Vice President, Board of Trustees, Sightsavers, Professor Uche Amazigo pointed out that its essence was to achieve the vision of a world where no one is blind from avoidable causes and where people with disabilities could participate equally in the society.

She that research has shown that there were almost 2 billion people suffering from blindness or partial impairment and Nigeria was with the highest number in this group hence the need for this alliance, adding that we should imagine a Nigeria with positive change in education, champions of Child Rights.

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Sightsavers relaunches its thematic strategy The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun

The World Health Organization (WHO) today welcomed the announcement by Pfizer Inc. that it will extend its donation of the antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin) for trachoma elimination until 2030, building on the companys 23-year commitment to fight the worlds leading infectious cause of blindness.

Caused by repeated bacterial infection of the eyes, trachoma blinds the poorest people in the world. WHO recommends a four-part strategy to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. This strategy takes the acronym SAFE, representing: surgery for advanced disease, antibiotics to clear infection, and facial cleanliness and environmental improvement (particularly increased access to water and sanitation) to reduce transmission. Pfizers Zithromax donation is a critical part of SAFE, and is managed by the International Trachoma Initiative at the Task Force for Global Health, Decatur (GA), USA, an organization in official relations with WHO.

Continuing the donation programme will bring relief to millions of people around the world who are affected by this preventable neglected tropical disease, said Dr Ren Minghui, WHOs Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases. WHO is very grateful for Pfizers ongoing commitment to helping prevent trachomatous blindness.

Caroline Roan, Senior Vice-President Global Health & Patient Impact, Pfizer Inc., commented, Trachoma is a debilitating disease that should no longer wreak havoc on peoples lives and livelihoods. We are proud to support our longstanding trachoma partners working tirelessly towards elimination and improving lives worldwide.

Between 2002 and 2021, due to a combination of SAFE strategy implementation, improved living conditions and better data, the estimated number of people living in trachoma-endemic areas worldwide fell 91% from 1517 million to 136 million. But over the past 2 years, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has limited the activity of programmes against neglected tropical diseases in many countries. Community-based work, such as antibiotic mass drug administration for trachoma, has been particularly adversely affected.

In the road map for neglected tropical diseases 20212030, endorsed by the World Health Assembly in November 2020, trachoma is targeted for global elimination as a public health problem by 2030. To date, 13 countries (Cambodia, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, the Gambia, Ghana, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Togo) have been validated as having achieved this milestone.

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Trachoma elimination: millions more to benefit from donated azithromycin - World Health Organization

A new strain of super gonorrhoea has been reported after an Austrian man had unprotected sex with a Cambodian sex worker.

What makes this strain so worrying is that it is resistant to most antibiotics commonly used to treat the infection, scientists have warned.

Adding to this risk, experts have cited that if multidrug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea keep spreading, many cases of the STD might become untreatable.

This was highlighted in a study published recently in the medical journal Eurosurveillance, part of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The disease is caused by the bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The infection is spread by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex.

Lead author of the report, Dr Sonja Pleininger of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, said such a strain poses a major global public health threat.

If such strains manage to establish a sustained transmission, many gonorrhoea cases might become untreatable, she added.

The unidentified Austrian man in his 50s complained of unusual symptoms five days after his sexual encounter.

His symptoms reported included pain while peeing and a discharge coming out of his penis.

The man was initially treated with azithromycin and ceftriaxone.

Two weeks later, his symptoms resolved, but a penile swab showed he still had gonorrhoea.

Tests showed his "super" bug was still immune to treatment.

Typical symptoms of gonorrhoea include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when peeing and, in women, bleeding between periods, warns the NHS.

The national health body added: But around one in 10 infected men and almost half of infected women do not experience any symptoms.

The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea are mainly found in discharge from the penis and in vaginal fluid.

In women, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which could cause problems with fertility and future pregnancy.

It may also increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy, a medical emergency.

Gonorrhoea can also increase the risk of transmitting or acquiring HIV.

According to Dr Teodara Wi, World Health Organisations (WHO) medical officer specialising in STIs, other serious risks of super gonorrhoea include:

See the rest here:
Dangers of super gonorrhoea from infertility to blindness as global warning issued - Daily Star

How the illusion of a post-queer society let actor Rebel Wilson down.

Its been nearly two weeks since we heard the Sydney Morning Herald had a hand in making the actor Rebel Wilson reveal she was dating another woman.But as the news cycle swiftly barrels on, there are questions that continue to linger.

Namely, how could reporter Andrew Hornery and editor Bevan Shields who are both gay not understand that threatening to reveal a celebritys first same-sex relationship is an inherently harmful idea? How could they have been so blind?

Thats the theme that kept sticking out to me: sustained, wilful blindness. Blindness to the fact that we continue to inhabit a culture where queer people are marginalised, regardless of how many legal gains may have been made.

As both Hornery and Shields pushed out their articles over the weekend, at first furiously agreeing with each other before conceding that some harm may have been done, there was a common through-line: Both went out of their way to use non-gendered language. Rebel was simply in a new relationship; Ramona Agruma was her new partner, they were simply trying to break the news of this celebrity romance.

Both men seemed desperate to ignore the elephant in the room Rebel Wilson, an actress who most people know as straight, was in a same-sex relationship. And Hornerys email, regardless of what he intended, threatened to out her.

I couldnt help but be reminded of the problem of colour-blindness; the people who insist they dont see race, a narrative captured in the platitude, theres only one race, the human race. Its this same spirit that permeated the Sydney Morning Heralds recent festival of cluelessness, but this time, it wasnt colour blindness, but its LGBTIQ analogue: queer blindfolding.

In the way that colour-blindness perpetuates racism by denying the existence of white privilege, queer blindfolding is the process of perpetuating homophobia by not acknowledging it exists. The concept was coined by US researchers Richard Shin and Lance Smith, who define it as well-intentioned heterosexual identifying individuals that results in the disappearing of queer identities. And while straight people probably thinks that theyre doing a good thing by ignoring a persons sexuality were all just people, are we not? the narrative comes with pernicious consequences.

Namely, adopting the ideology of queer blindfolding can result in minimising or even denying the marginalisation that is experienced by those who identify as queer. And in my opinion, it is this wilfully blind way of looking at the world that has contributed to the Sydney Morning Heraldunknowingly threatening Wilson with an ultimatum.

Both Andrew Hornery and Bevan Shields used language that indicated that they were fans of this school of thought. Consider the following turns of phrase: [We] asked Wilson if she wished to comment about her new partner, wrote Bevan Shields in his initial supportive response to Andrew Hornerys first article. We would have asked the same questions had Wilsons new partner been a man.

Similarly, in Hornerys (now deleted) initial article, he was at a loss as to why a woman who previously used to brag about her handsome ex-boyfriend wouldnt do the same with her same girlfriend. Of course, who anyone dates is their business, but Wilson happily fed such prurient interest when she had a hunky boyfriend on her arm, he adds.

Here, both Shields and Hornery are taking the bizarre stance that when youre a woman, having a girlfriend is equally as socially acceptable as having a boyfriend.

And that, in a nutshell, is clear blindfolding: wilfully ignoring the heterosexism that we swim in every day.

While Shin and Smith point out that heterosexual attitudes toward LGBTIQ folks are generally improving, were not exactly in some post-gay utopia. Heterosexuality is obviously the dominant sexual orientation in our culture. Take, for example, the fact that most love stories in our culture involve cis-gendered men and cis-gendered women; the fact that we assume people are straight by default; and that a fear of abuse still means that many queer people hide their sexuality at work.

Or the teacher who was sacked because of their sexuality in 2021, or the constant targeting of trans peopleduring the lead-up to the federal election. Or the current horrendous discourse around trans participation in elite swimming. Just the simple fact that straight people dont need to come out tells you that straight people and queer people are obviously not on a level playing field.

And yet, we get Hornery coming out with the astonishing take that thanks to decades of battling for equality sexual orientation is no longer something to be hidden, even in Hollywood, adding that same-sex marriage is legal in many parts of the world, as though Wilson, by not publicly coming out to the entire world right away, is being overly dramatic or creating a problem that isnt there.

They are. Both reporter Andrew Hornery and editor Bevan Shields identify as gay men. But while Shin and Smith say that its heterosexual identifying people who are prone to queer blindfolding, queer folks arent immune to taking on the same.

In particular, studies have found its not uncommon for gay men who are white, cis-gendered, and affluent to use queer blindfolding as a narrative strategy. Those who inhabit other marginalised identities, though queer women of colour, for example tend to consider their queerness within the context of a matrix of domination. As such, people like Shields and Hornery may not realise that queerness in other bodies unlike theirs has different implications.

Thats where the importance ofintersectionality comes in a concept that describes the way that systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class and other forms of discrimination intersect to create unique dynamics and effects. While Rebel is white, she deals with the added marginalisation of being a woman plus, shes dealt with fatphobia in the past.

The reason that Hornery and Shields went so wrong with Rebel Wilson is simple: they assumed that homophobia was an artefact of the past. In doing so, they ended up causing harm to a person who, like everyone, has a right to come out on her own terms.

Weve heard little from Rebel Wilson herself about the situation, but she wrote on Twitter that it was a very hard situation and she was trying to handle it with grace. But she never should have had to deal with this in the first place, with grace or otherwise.

Perhaps the current trend of epistemic deference has something to do with this: the idea that people who inhabit the same marginalised identities have each others back. But like white supremacy, which no longer needs white people for it to function, weve seen that homophobia, too it no longer requires straight folks to thrive.

Reena Gupta is Junkees culture writer. Follow her on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Future Publishing, Getty Images

Original post:
How The SMH Got That Rebel Wilson Story So Wrong - Junkee

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Education Amendments of 1972 into law. Title IX of those amendments, which spanned sections 1681-1688, covered key protections for students in education programs: discrimination based on sex or blindness.

Fifty years later, that protection has become popularly known as Title IX: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Its a law that youve certainly heard referenced most often when talking about womens college sports but how did it come to be? What does it actually cover? And what does its future look like? Heres what you need to know about Title IX.

Title IX was a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was enacted to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in regard to employment and public accommodation. But when it came to the college classroom, significant gaps remained.

Eight years after that landmark 1964 Act, the Title IX portion of the 1972 amendments sought to expand those protections by focusing on educational funding.

Today, I am signing into law the Education Amendments of 1972, President Nixon said. This legislation includes comprehensive higher education provisions, authority for a new effort to revitalize our educational research effort and authority to provide financial assistance to school districts to meet special problems incident to desegregation.

Before Nixon signed the 1972 amendments, the college sports landscape was dominated by men. The NCAA was founded in 1906 to govern college football before gradually growing as a discussion group and rules committee for a plethora of sports.

By 1972, 200,000 athletes were competing in college sports. Just 30,000 of them were women.

Athletic scholarships were virtually nonexistent for women and no national championships were held for womens teams. According to the History Channel, just 2 percent of college athletic budgets went toward women athletes.

Off the field, women were discriminated against in the classroom as well. Many universities barred women from attending while many others offered male-only classes, which ranged from criminal justice to wood shop.

NCAA data from 2016 shows the gender disparity in college athletes has shrunk dramatically in the 50 years since Title IXs inception. Of the 486,859 athletes who participated in college sports, 211,886 were women. Additionally, women received 45 percent of the total athletic scholarship dollars at DI schools in 2016.

The law has also done far more than increase the size of the scholarship slice. The historic 1980 Alexander v. Yale case was the first to use Title IX in charges of sexual harassment against an educational institution. Title IX has also been credited with helping increase the number of women who pursue higher education.

And from 2010 to 2016, the Obama administration expanded the protection of Title IX to protect transgender students from gender discrimination.

However, Title IX advocates argue there is still significant progress to be made. While the participation gap has narrowed, data shows the opportunity gap remains. Despite Title IXs intention for women to receive opportunities proportionate to the schools enrollment, a report from the Womens Sports Foundation found that 86 percent of colleges are offering a disproportionate number of athletic opportunities to men compared to their enrollment. They argue that this resulted in 60,000 missed opportunities for women athletes.

We should absolutely celebrate the fact that girls participation in high school sports is nearly 12 times higher than it was when Title IX was passed, but we cannot rest on it, WSF founder Billie Jean King said. The mere existence of Title IX does not ensure equal opportunities unless it is enforced for everyone, particularly among girls and women of color, those with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community where the gap is consistently the widest.

While the answer may be clear that Title IX was effective for most of its initial intentions, many have debated in recent years if our structure of collegiate athletics has outgrown the now-50-year-old law. Some have proposed that the future of college sports may need a revamped Title IX to scale with the ever-changing landscape of the industry.

One such change has been the recent opportunity for college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL). Some have argued that NIL legislation and Title IX protections are on a collision course that the 1972 law never could have imagined.

The stakes are high; the potential for making money is huge. Here is the issue: As soon as a university, its employees, or its booster clubs play any role in helping athletes earn money or make deals, the school is necessarily providing a benefit to them, attorneys Arthur Bryant and Cary Joshi wrote for Sportico. And Title IX requires that male and female athletes be treated equally. If the university arranges or offers deals for men and not women, or vice versa, it has trouble under the law.

However, while changes like NIL will continue to shift the college sports world every few years, the now-50-year-old law has proven to provide much-needed protections for who will be impacted by those changes. Regardless of what the next 50 years bring, no one can deny that Title IX has left an undeniable imprint on the college sports landscape, for the betterment of millions of women athletes.

(Top photo: Andrew Wevers / USA TODAY Sports)

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Fifty years of Title IX: What is it, what does it cover and do we still need it? - The Athletic

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes Wittes sat down on Twitter Spaces with Roger Parloff, Quinta Jurecic, and Molly Reynolds to discuss day four of the Jan. 6 committee hearings:

She alsoshared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Wittes talked with Jurecic, Parloff, and Katie Benner of the New York Times about day five of the Jan. 6 select committee hearings:

Pollard shared a livestream of day four of the Jan. 6 select committee hearings. He also shared a livestream of day five of the Jan. 6 select committee hearings.

Elena Kagan shared an episode of Lawfare No Bull which features audio from the fourth public hearing held by the Jan. 6 select committee:

Bob Bauer argued that presidents seeking reelection can pose unique challenges to democratic elections in situations in which their desire to win can lead to disastrous results.

Daniel Richman discussed the role that the doctrine of willful blindness might have in proving Trumps criminal liability if a case were brought against the former president for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

David Priess shared an episode of Chatter in which Shane Harris sat down with Tim Naftali to discuss the legacy of Watergate in light of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack:

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast from the November 2020 archives in which Evelyn Douek and Jurecic sat down with Alex Stamos to discuss the state of election security and the difficulty of countering false election claims:

Robert Chesney and Steve Vladeck shared an episode of the National Security Law Podcast in which they discussed the latest Jan. 6 conspiracy indictment, the Navarro contempt of Congress charge, the lawsuits challenging the Texas and Florida social media content-moderation laws, and more:

Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast in which he sat down with Amy Gajda to discuss her book, Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy:

Baker shared another episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast in which he sat down with Matthew Heiman, Scott Shapiro, and Nick Weaver to discuss the bipartisan effort to transform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, cryptocurrency firms on the verge of collapse, TikTok, and more:

Herb Lin discussed the functional trade-offs in baked-in cybersecurity in product management.

Susan Landau argued that the EU proposal on combating child sexual abuse material online could present national security problems and relies on technology that does not exist yet.

Steve Bunnell reviewed James E. Bakers The Centaurs Dilemma: National Security Law for the Coming AI Revolution (Brookings Institution, 2020).

Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which Wittes sat down with Asfandyar Mir and Daniel Byman to discuss the current position of al-Qaeda in the world:

Howell also shared an episode of Rational Security in which Alan Rozenshtein, Jurecic, and Scott R. Anderson sat down to discuss the extradition of Julian Assange, Chinese access to TikTok customer data, and Googles potentially sentient LaMDA artificial intelligence program:

Jordan Schneider shared an episode of ChinaTalk in which he sat down with Weijian Shan to discuss Shans personal story of exile during the Cultural Revolution and his view on Chinas economic transformation:

Anoush Baghdassarian analyzed recent cases from the International Court of Justice that Armenia and Azerbaijan each brought against one other for alleged violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Max Johnston and Bryce Klehm shared the final episode of Allies, which they discuss the uncertain long-term legal status of Mahnaz, a former member of the Afghan militarys Female Tactical Platoon, and other Afghans who are on parole after coming to the U.S. during the U.S.s withdrawal from Afghanistan:

Matthew Tokson discussed what a recent ruling from the First Circuit means for Fourth Amendment cases concerning the use of telephone pole cameras for surveillance purposes.

Kyleanne Hunter discussed the potential impacts that overturning Roe v. Wade would have on women in uniform.

And Hyemin Han and Katherine Pompilio shared an application for the fall 2022 Lawfare internship.

And that was the week that was.

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The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post - Lawfare - Lawfare

It's Brad Pitts world and were all just living in it!

The superstar actor and producer, 58, recently opened up about life, art and everything in between in a new interview with GQ, during which he explained how hes been pretty much hiding out in his Los Angeles home for much of the pandemic and how hes used that time to quit smoking and drinking altogether.

While chewing a nicotine mint, Pitt explained that he quit smoking cigarettes during the pandemic after realizing he didn't have it in him to simply "cut back."

I dont have that ability to do just one or two a day, he explained. Its not in my makeup. Im all in. And Im going to drive into the ground. Ive lost my privileges.

The actor went on to explain that after his ex, Angelina Jolie, filed for divorce in 2016, he got sober and spent a year and a half attending Alcoholics Anonymous though, given his star status, has had to make adjustments for the sake of maintaining his privacy.

I had a really cool mens group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe, he said. Because Id seen things of other people who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and thats just atrocious to me.

Pitt shares six kids with Jolie: Maddox, 20; Pax, 18; Zahara, 17; Shiloh, 16; and twins Vivienne, and Knox, 13. Jolie had adopted Maddox and Zahara before her relationship with Pitt (he later adopted them both as well).

Still, while he cherishes old memories of smoking a cigarette in the morning, with the coffee just delicious," he also knows his body cant handle it the same way others can, like, say, the British painter David Hockney. Hes still chaining, the hard-core English way. It looks great, Pitt says of Hockney. I dont think I have that. Im just at that age when nothing good comes from it.

The actor also spoke candidly about his struggle to remember new people and to recognize their faces, which has been a hindrance his entire adult life especially at parties.

Pitt believes he may suffer from prosopagnosia, an inability to recognize peoples faces (otherwise known as face blindness). Though he wants to remember the people he meets and hes ashamed he cant above all, he fears the condition has led people to assume hes remote or aloof or self-absorbed.

Nobody believes me! he said.

As for finding solace, the actor says he always finds it in art and music. "Im one of those creatures that speaks through art. I just want to always make. If Im not making, Im dying in some way."

Music fills me with so much joy," he continued. "I think joys been a newer discovery, later in life. I was always moving with the currents, drifting in a way, and onto the next. I think I spent years with a low-grade depression, and its not until coming to terms with that, trying to embrace all sides of self the beauty and the ugly that Ive been able to catch those moments of joy.

Continued here:
Why Brad Pitt quit smoking and drinking altogether during the pandemic - BusinessGhana

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The recent spell of rain has brought respite after months of scorching heat. But these rains bring about a rise in humidity, meaning, higher chances of eye infection.Our eyes are one of the most sensitive yet ignored parts of our body. And unfortunately, the rainy season can make us susceptible to eye infections. Explaining why, Dr Deepthi, consultant ophthalmologist and retina specialist at Care Hospitals, HITEC City, says, The moisture content in the air creates a favourable condition for bacteria, viruses and other germs to grow and multiply, especially in your eyes.

The doctor names conjunctivitis as one of the most common eye infections during the monsoon. Some of the common symptoms of conjunctivitis include redness of the eye, swelling, yellow sticky discharge from the eyes, and itching, associated with pain. Fortunately, it is an easily treatable eye problem. Proper eye care should become a priority during monsoons to help protect from infections like conjunctivitis, dry eyes and corneal ulcers which can lead to blindness. Commonly known as pink eye, the infection can be easily spread from one person to another by touch, she informs.

Other common eye infections during the monsoon include keratitis and trachoma. This infection of the cornea caused by injury to the eyes, due to routine of contact lenses. If left unattended, the infection can even lead to blindness, the Dr Deepthi warns.

Trachoma is a bacterial infection responsible for blindness in almost 1.9 million people across the globe! This irreversible blindness can be caused through direct touch or towels and flies that have come in contact with the eyes or nose of an infected person. So it calls for more care than one might think, the doctor shares.

Dr Aparna Saripalli, general physician, Ankura Hospital, Boduppal, says, Kids should avoid touching or rubbing the eyes. Infections spread faster commonly touched items.

Keep infectionsat bay:

Dr Swapna, ophthalmologist, Care Hospitals, Nampally

Read more from the original source:
Watch your eye - The New Indian Express

A Hamilton artist wants you to forget about the no touching rule. The Scales That Fall From Our Eyes at Centre [3] goes against the formalities of an art gallery and invites visitors to experience it through touch and sound.

Olivia Brouwer, 27, is a partially blind artist aiming to bring accessible art to the visually impaired community. With abstract visuals and Braille language exhibits, Brouwer addresses her disability with tactile paintings and challenges the idea that art does not need to be touched in order to be felt.

I am partially blind in one eye and so I wanted to discuss that in my work and become more confident in myself by doing that, said Brouwer.

The exhibit brings a series of conversations with Brouwers friends Tim Peters, Eric Bourgeois and Jesse Hannigan about the meaning of blindness and colour blindness in their lives while raising awareness of the inclusivity and accessibility needed for the visually impaired.

I interviewed each of them individually, questioning how they would describe their perception of the world through the lens of their experience of blindness in a positive light, but also allowing them to express challenges associated with their form of blindness, said Brouwer.

Each conversation is translated into Braille and painted on a tactile canvas with acrylic paint. Visitors can also listen to the interviews with headphones activated by touching a conduit paint on the wall.

This is the first time Im showing work that is tactile. It will be interesting to see how people respond to it just as we come out of the pandemic. People can grab some gloves available to touch the pieces if theyre not comfortable, said Brouwer.

Inspired and influenced by Christianity, The Scales That Fall From Our Eyes visuals portray Brouwers interpretation of the Biblical story of Saul. He was a Jewish leader who persecuted Christians, and became blind for three days because of that. When he realized what he was doing wrong, the blindness spell fell like scales from his eyes.

According to Brouwer, the story of Saul represents the change that takes place when prejudiced barriers are removed, contributing to justice and inclusivity for minorities.

I like this kind of metaphor for realizing whats wrong in the world and releasing those scales and bringing clarity to what we need to change. Justice needs to happen, accessibility needs to be implemented not just to art galleries, she said.

Even though she brought her Christian faith to the exhibits title and concept, there was a moment of hesitancy throughout the creation process due to fear of negative feedback.

It was a bit confusing for me, so I stepped away from it for a while. I have a hard time bringing it into my art because I didnt want it to be evangelical, Brouwer said. I think the story of Saul will come into my work in the future. Theres a lot of stories in the Bible that talk about blindness and healing, but I think its more about how everybody sees what needs to change, what accessibility there is.

In March 2020, Brouwer was selected to participate in a three month long Emerging Artist Residency at Centre [3] which has extended until this year because of the pandemic. During the residency, Brouwer started a CONTACT kit which introduces Braille decoding to sighted viewers with the goal of bringing awareness to visually impaired folks.

The kit contains a tactile painting, an embossed booklet, interactive Braille pieces to read and decode, and a Braille translation of the English text describing the instructions and meaning of the project. The idea of the kit kind of kick started the work that Im doing now. How can we give voices to these minority groups? With the pandemic, blind people are very limited to touching things.

Brouwer, a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College grew up in a creative family filled with illustrators and woodworkers who gave her space and incentive to follow a career in the arts. However, the artist struggled to understand who she was as an artist and accept her disability.

In high school, I was always self-conscious about it. In university, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to say and who I was as an artist. I think being partially blind is part of who I am. Its important for me to put that into my artwork, especially because art is mostly visual, said Brouwer.

The Scales That Fall From Our Eyes will run until July 2 at Centre [3], a not-for-profit, charitable artist-run centre on 173 James St N.

More:
Olivia Brouwer's art is for everyone to see and touch - Hamilton Spectator

The recent outbreak of monkeypox virus has called into question the capabilities of these kinds large DNA viruses to evolve, adapt and change their biology.

Compared with small RNA viruses such as coronavirus, monkeypox virus and other large DNA viruses are thought to evolve slowly. Yet theres clear evidence that this really isnt a hindrance to these viruses. In fact, they can adapt to new environments like us.

Although most infections remain mild, monkeypox can be a serious life-threatening disease, resulting in sepsis, encephalitis (brain inflammation) and blindness. The most common symptoms are rash and skin lesions, alongside flu-like symptoms and swollen lymph nodes.

Cumulative monkeypox cases in current outbreak

Monkeypox virus naturally infects wild rodents, such as squirrels and rats, in west and central Africa but it can jump species into humans and other animals. However, once it has jumped to humans, it cannot keep transmission going and eventually outbreaks die out. This is probably because monkeypox has not adapted itself to its new environment of humans, as spillback into wild rodents from infected humans is unlikely.

Monkeypox is closely related to the viruses that caused smallpox (variola viruses) and the virus that we use to vaccinate and eradicate smallpox (vaccinia virus). This group of viruses, referred to as poxviruses, are a kind of large DNA virus, meaning that their genome is composed of a chemical known as DNA, like our genome. (Coronavirus and related viruses use a cousin molecule called RNA.)

Other DNA viruses are the large DNA viruses adenoviruses and herpesviruses, but also small ones like papillomaviruses and parvoviruses. The viral genomes composed of either DNA or RNA essentially are the instructions to make new viruses, infect us and cause disease. Changes to the instructions can change virus biology.

As we have seen with SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, viruses can change how they behave with regards to spreading, disease severity and vaccine sensitivity. This is because of changes accumulating in the virus genome. Virus replication generates diversity in its genome, which can be acted on by evolutionary forces such as natural selection, to increase in frequency and maybe even out-compete older versions.

Evolutionary changes can occur when the virus encounters a new environment that it is not fully adapted to. Although all viruses can evolve rapidly due to their vast population sizes and rapid generation times, RNA viruses are thought to be masters of evolution because they have high mutation rates due to their small size, and many often lack error-correcting ability meaning more mutations occur every time they replicate.

Poxviruses have some characteristics that make them more generalist, including stable infectious particles, giving them more chances to infect. They use very common molecules on your cells to gain entry and infect, unlike SARS-CoV-2 which needs the specific ACE2 protein to gain entry to our cells.

Large DNA viruses such as monkeypox also contain lots of genes that target and manipulate different parts of the immune system.

However, theres clear evidence that improvements can be made, because, in humans, monkeypox transmission is relatively inefficient, with long incubation periods.

In general, large DNA viruses such as monkeypox are no different from other viruses, and their mutability is the basis for our ability to track and trace monkeypox outbreaks. They make mistakes and errors accumulate, which can be used as fuel for evolution and biological changes. Theres even evidence from the recent monkeypox outbreak that the host cell is directly mutating the virus genome.

Studies focusing on related poxviruses like the vaccinia virus have even uncovered new tricks they can use, which include rapidly amplifying the number of genes they use to attack our immune system. They could even borrow some of our own genes to help them infect us.

We cant predict the trajectory that monkeypox evolution will take, so we must take the threat of this virus adapting to its new hosts (humans) seriously. And we need to use all the public health tools at our disposal to halt the current outbreak in all countries including those where it is endemic.

Read the original here:
Monkeypox may not mutate as fast as coronaviruses, but that doesn't mean it can't adapt to its new hosts - The Conversation

Signature Theatre

Timothy McClimon, interim executive director for the past six months, will continue in the role permanently.

Before joining the Off-Broadway nonprofit theater, he was president of the American Express Foundation and senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at the American Express Company from 2006 until 2021.

Jason Menzo has been promoted from president and chief operating officer to CEO of the $181 million foundation. He succeeds Ben Yerxa, who has led the foundation since 2017 and will now become CEO of Opus Genetics.

In addition, Russell Kelley has been promoted to managing director of the Retinal Degeneration Fund, the foundations venture arm. Most recently he was the funds senior vice president of investments and alliances.

Gary Ginstling, executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, will start as its executive director on November 1. He will then become president and CEO of the New York performing-arts group on June 30, 2023.

Ginstling will replace Deborah Borda, who will remain with the orchestra as executive adviser to the president and Board of Directors, beginning next summer.

Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at Project HOPE, has been appointed executive director of Healthcare Ready.

Marisa Rohn will be the next president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton. Most recently she was vice president of advancement, human resources, and partnerships at Stark State College and executive director of the Stark State College Foundation.

Renee Archawski is now managing director of development at Caring for Friends. Most recently she was managing director of development and interim executive director of Teach for America Metro Atlanta, and a development coach for the education organizations national team.

Selena Deckelmann will become chief product and technology officer at the Wikimedia Foundation on August 1. She is currently senior vice president at Mozilla, where she oversees its Firefox web browser.

Paul Dien, head of strategic partnerships for Good and Upworthy, has joined the Grammy Museum as vice president of advancement and partnerships.

Anupa Fabian, evaluation manager at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, is joining the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation as its first chief evaluation and learning officer. She succeeds Daniel Frascella, who was promoted from managing director for programs and grants to chief programs and grants officer.

Anedra Kerr, a senior consulting associate at the Morten Group, will now serve as vice president of development at the Jeremiah Program.

Otis Kollie has joined the Global Fund for Children as a program specialist for Africa and Asia. Previously he was assistant project coordinator at Lifewater Liberia.

Judy Nagai has joined the University of Hawaii Foundation as senior executive director of campaign planning. She most recently worked at the University of the Pacific as associate vice president for development.

Brian Siegel, senior vice president of global arts and culture at Bank of America, has been promoted to global arts and heritage executive.

Oren Etzioni, founding CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, will step down on September 30 after leading the artificial-intelligence group for nine years. He will become technical director of the AI2 Incubator.

Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.

See original here:
Former American Express Foundation President Takes Helm of Signature Theatre - The Chronicle of Philanthropy