BC HEALTH
Saved by @Alex1Powell

a little thread of stuff that has inspired my thinking this year. 1/

 This paper by Abenavoli was actually pub. in 2019, but I didn’t see it til Jan. My view is that improving outcomes for #devlangdis #DLD requires improved early years provision. However, even for the best programmes, positive effects fade out over time.
https://t.co/w3LClAhU9h
The paper provides a useful summary of why that might be and what we can do to address this – hint: we can’t just focus on early intervention, but need to know what comes next. 3/
This paper was written by some of my favourite people and SCALES collaborators. I like it because it is a rare paper that attempts to understand how differences in school placement might affect outcomes. https://t.co/qq1cWHwDA4 4/
I often get asked about this WRT #DLD, but it is hard to say b/c school places are not randomly allocated – they are influenced by child and family characteristics. Th paper by Simonoff et al. gives me some ideas of how we might approach similar questions in SCALES. 5/
This paper by the FAB @mcgregor_karla is a ‘call to arms’ about how we as professionals can work to raise awareness of DLD. Consistency in terminology and diagnosis is critical as is supporting parents and young people in advocacy. https://t.co/qFozhs3mSz
When I look at what @RADLDcam has achieved I’m immensely proud of how much progress we’ve made in raising awareness. My recent experiences with funders and journals tell me that we still have a long way to go! 7/
I could offer anything by the fab @lervag, but I chose this one b/c we often assume improving lang through intervention will have positive effects on other areas of develop, but few explicitly test this. This paper does so with interesting results 8/ https://t.co/9d6kYpVlde
the good news is that learned skills can transfer to unfamiliar items, but this appears to be fairly limited to similar items within the same domain. And reiterates just how hard it is to affect change in comprehension. Def one to ponder over a minced pie... 9/
Many people see language screening as an unmitigated force for good in tackling #devlangdis. Rarely do we consider or discuss potential neg consequences & it is important to do so, esp given the poor accuracy of currently avail measures. 10/
This paper by @mgtmccartney is not about #DLD, but does raise critical issues re: screening & case finding that are applicable. At the very least, investment in screening should be accompanied by increased investment in clinical & education services 11/
https://t.co/TXkepMesrF
Sometimes a paper doesn’t present new information but packages what we know in such a clear way that it is both a pleasure to read and a useful resource for parents and allied professionals. Few people do this better than @PamelaSnow2 12/
Her paper on the science of language and reading is a joy. The Language House is a smart infographic that I now regularly use in teaching and I’m sure will resonate with many. 13/
https://t.co/ahsq7YWpoW
One challenge for #DLD is the persistent public (& often gen academic) view that lang deficits are caused by ‘environmental influences,’ esp diffs in quantity & quality of parent talk. For sure parent talk assocs w/ child lang, but causal connects btwn them are very complex. 14/
This is eloquently explained by @saraannhart @drElsje & ends w/ a call to take nature more seriously in dev research. I can see import imps for understanding response to treatment & adapting our approach to the needs of parents, as much as the child. 15/
https://t.co/QlJhyVfeWg
A great intervention trial here. The participants are dual language learners, but the prog could be readily adapted for monolinguals with #DLD. 16/
https://t.co/oRadEelHQ2
I really like that it focuses on both language structure, AND broader perspective taking, to enhance social/emotional competence. And uses shared book reading to bridge home and classroom learning. Nicely designed and clearly reported. We need more this. 17/
The next paper has only just come out but many of the thoughts within it have been rattling around my head for some time. I’m hugely interested in whether or not the timing of intervention matters for long term language growth... 18/
...here @rogierK eloquently explains not only why it should, but how one could test this statistically. We are currently looking at our longitudinal data through this theoretical lens and finally submitting this work will be a joyous start to 2021.
https://t.co/YspH80QEbA
apart from @josaul14 becoming DR Jo Saul, the best thing out of the @PALS_SCALES lab this year was this video, co-designed by SCALES participants & featuring insights & words from @julietwri, a young person with lived-experience of #DLD. 20/ https://t.co/qtcXyfYPVA
it is based on papers led by @SarahGriff90 & Dr Shaun Goh & has been viewed 8600 times since Feb. demonstrating importance to young people & families affected by #DLD. It saddens me that funders, editors & policy makers don’t seem to be listening, but we will keep trying! 21/
Finally, I'm not all work & no play - . I love to spend time in the kitchen and I’ve been doing much more of that since lockdown in March. 22/
It was a tough choice, but my fav cookbook of the year is this one. It has it all – bread, cake, mains, salads -all delicious, and the chocolate, banana and date loaf is esp good for fuelling those long cycle rides. 23/ https://t.co/lKGfUTkeCP
So thank you all for feeding my brain & for taking time to cheer me up along the way (I'm looking at you @ReadOxford @Kathy_Rastle @mggaskell & @L_M_Henderson) and huge thanks to my fabulous @PALS_SCALES team - what a year! Enjoy the holidays! END/

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APL Apollo conducted their earnings con-call today at 2:00 pm

"Vision of capacity of 4 Million Tone till 2025"

@hiddengemsindia @gvkreddi

Here are the key highlights 😀👇

Business Updates:

• Net Working Capital Remains under 10 days which is best in the building material
• Continue expanding rural region.
• Added 15 new distributors.
• Value added products contributed 50-60% of the topline.

Revenue breakup


• EBIDTA Margin Improvement: This was mainly because of cost structarize and better operational

• Working Capital Cycle as per mgmt should remain sustainable

• Blue Ocean: Company owns 100% subsidiary which contributes nothing but own property where corporate office is there

Improvement in Net Selling Realization:
• With expanding capacities at 2.6Million Tones and utlization of 75%, scalability has been affected.
• While the prices of steel has gone by by around 35%, due to shortage of steel.

• Apl Apollo being the dominant player past connection with steel companies worked well.
• Steel tubes supply from China is shrinking.
• Hence the discounting factor while selling the products has went away.
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Robin Monotti
Robin Monotti
@robinmonotti
Can any MP ask the government why early treatment kits to stop viral replication & infection are not made available cheaply & prescription free in pharmacies as they are in India? Is it lives we want to save or is it Big Pharma profits? Because the two are mutually exclusive.


There could even be competing kits, & the decision which to take could be left to doctors & patients, as happens with most medicines. The problem is that there is not one of these kits available cheaply & prescription free anywhere in the West.

Doxycycline, Ivermectin, Azithromycin, Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, omega-3s, all approved as safe drugs decades ago. This is clearly not an issue of safety. It should be left to a doctor's experience & judgement whether they are effective or not, not academia.

A GP could simply state on his website: of all the kits I recommend Kit Z, then Kit Y etc. No need to wait hours for consultations, as soon as the symptoms are clear the self administered treatment begins, and thousands of lives are saved, as well as hospitals remain underwhelmed

There is no need to go to ER or ICU if people can buy early treatment kits from pharmacies. There is no need for any hospital to be overwhelmed. This problem could be resolved in days. There is simply no political will to save lives as it means to go against Big Pharma profits.
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shira has OCD and ADHD
shira has OCD and ADHD
@shiraisinspired
So many people don’t realize that they have OCD because actual obsessive compulsive disorder is rarely talked about openly. So here are the basics: 🧵(thread)

I think that a lot of people forget that OCD is a mental illness, emphasis on the MENTAL. When it’s portrayed on TV, it’s always shown as a very behavioral disorder. And while it’s true that overt behavioral compulsions are part of OCD, they don’t begin to tell the whole story

OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder. That’s obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The OCD cycle is the cycle of obsessions that lead to compulsions that lead to more obsessions that lead to more compulsions etc etc etc.

People with OCD experience intrusive thoughts (which become obsessions.) Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and invasive, and they’re generally REALLY disturbing. It’s a common misconception that people with OCD are exclusively concerned with tidiness and cleanliness. This is false

TW/ OCD subtypes

Intrusive thoughts can be about anything, but there are a few common “subtypes” of obsessions. These include harm OCD, self harm OCD, sexual OCD, pedophelia OCD, relationship OCD, contamination OCD, religious OCD, moral OCD, health OCD and “just right”
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matthew remski
matthew remski
@matthewremski
A staple of anti-lockdown conspiracism in yoga/wellness is that public health measures are oppressive, authoritarian, and stifling what it means to be human. Masks suppress identity and speech. Vaccines assault the sovereign body. Influencers must rise up against tyranny! /1

Ironically, pandemic management in economies where yoga/wellness is lucrative has been a neoliberal, choose-your-own-adventure mess in which centre-right governments barter with public health to enact a patchwork of half-measures that punish the poor and marginalized. /2

The goal is not universal health rights, or protecting medical systems, or saving as many lives as possible. The goal is to return to business-as-usual, using public health as a pit stop on a productivity race off a cliff. The ice caps aren’t melting fast enough, I guess. /3

Right-leaning governments, like influencers, have assessed the COVID threat with the magical bias of limitless optimism. Then they work to normalize COVID casualties as a new cost of doing business. *This* is what alt-healthers and Qamoms call “socialist”, or “communist”. /4

Centre-right governments and wellness influencers share a goal: get back to the optimism of making productivity heroic and consumption virtuous, without any reflection on structural issues of injustice, or what universal health care funding and standards would look like. /5
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InspiredTeenTherapy
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@SashaLPC
Thrd: Menstruation/Dysphoria

1/ Difficult periods are sometimes the first catalyst for young women becoming alienated from their bodies.

Some have given congratulatory speeches about the vague accomplishment of "becoming a woman."

2/ Others learned about periods through a mundane sex-ed lesson at school. Yet others knew very little about their periods except they are sometimes painful, can be embarrassing, and make activities they’d taken for granted,

3/ like swimming and outdoor play, all-of-a-sudden much more difficult.

When young women hate their periods, they might be told, in a matter-of-fact grumbling way, “well, nobody likes having a period, honey. It’s just a part of life.”

4/ On a personal note, till my early/mid 30s, I knew very little about the menstrual cycle. For me it had always been completely out of sight, out of mind. Once a month, I’d be reminded it exists and I’d have a kind of “oh crap!” moment.

5/ I’d complete the necessary hygiene and try to move on with my life. I was often plowing through various stages of this monthly cycle with little acknowledgement or understanding of how my entire mind, body, and mood was ebbing and flowing. Every month, for years on end.
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I doubt there are many outside of Norway that know that the Norwegian pop group A-ha was critical in the introduction of electric car incentives in Norway. I certainly didn't. Read on...


In 1989, two members of the group, Morten Harket and Magne Furuholmen were in Switzerland with environmentalist Frederic Hauge, when they came across a hobby-converted Fiat Panda. Stated range: 45 km. They snapped it up and imported it to Norway.

Photo: In Switzerland (Bellona)


On arrival in Norway, the regs didn't accommodate the registration of electric cars so it couldn't legally be driven on the road. Since it had a propane-fuelled heater, just like a motorhome, they registered it as a motorhome.

Moreover, in contrast to petrol cars, diesel cars paid registration fees based on how far they were driven, and our heroes thought this should also apply to electric cars. So the two-seater Swiss-converted Fiat Panda was registered as a diesel motorhome in Norway.

They managed (somehow) to avoid paying the one-off registration fee in 1990, and ever since then electric cars have been exempted this now-substantial fee.
Source:
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Andrew Chen
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👇 Thread. New deck getting published this week: "Consumer startups are awesome, and here's what I'm looking to invest in at Andreessen Horowitz." If you want to read it, subscribe to my newsletter here: https://t.co/262t8eh0wf


1/ A lot of new consumer technologies have been introduced to US households in the last 100 years. But it's taken many of them - like the telephone - more than 50 years to get to the majority of the US. Why is that?


2/ We had to literally teach people how to use phone. Which end goes to your mouth, which goes to your ear. Say "hello" when people call. The motivation of consumers to talk to their friends has always been there, but we had to teach the behavior


3/ If you compare phones to the latest technologies, there's been a huge shift. Things are being picked up much faster.


4/ Even while there's been all this innovation recently, physically speaking, we are still the same human beings from 100,000 years ago.
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Recently, the @CNIL issued a decision regarding the GDPR compliance of an unknown French adtech company named "Vectaury". It may seem like small fry, but the decision has potential wide-ranging impacts for Google, the IAB framework, and today's adtech. It's thread time! 👇

It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details): https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha

I've read it so you needn't!

Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.

The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.

Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.
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Anu Satheesh
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Puthucode Annapoorneshwari Temple,
Palakkad, Kerala 🚩
#keralatemples
अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे 
ज्ञानवैराग्यसिद्ध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहि च पार्वति 

Temple is also called Puthukode Bhaghavathy Kshetram
Parasurama did Prathishta of Devi here. Temple is one amoung 👇


108 Durga temples
Navarathri festival is celebrated in a grant manner here. Annadanam is done daily on these days. The Idichu pizhinja payasam/ Chathachatayam is the main nivedyam in Annapoorneswari temple during Navarathri.
In the mornings, Devi Mahatmyam and Sundarakandam are


recited here daily.
Sri Godavarma Raja gifted lots of rice fields for the maintenance of the temple.
Annapoorneshwari holds Shanku and Chakra in her hands. Puthucode Annapoorneswari Temple is managed by the Naduvil Madom Devaswom.
🙏🕉🙏
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Alex Stamos
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The entire discussion around Facebook’s disclosures of what happened in 2016 is very frustrating. No exec stopped any investigations, but there were a lot of heated discussions about what to publish and when.


In the spring and summer of 2016, as reported by the Times, activity we traced to GRU was reported to the FBI. This was the standard model of interaction companies used for nation-state attacks against likely US targeted.

In the Spring of 2017, after a deep dive into the Fake News phenomena, the security team wanted to publish an update that covered what we had learned. At this point, we didn’t have any advertising content or the big IRA cluster, but we did know about the GRU model.

This report when through dozens of edits as different equities were represented. I did not have any meetings with Sheryl on the paper, but I can’t speak to whether she was in the loop with my higher-ups.

In the end, the difficult question of attribution was settled by us pointing to the DNI report instead of saying Russia or GRU directly. In my pre-briefs with members of Congress, I made it clear that we believed this action was GRU.
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