An official website of the United States government The .gov means it’s official.Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil make sure you’re on a federal government site The site is secure.The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely If you are giving a presentation about an environmental health topic or just looking for general information about environmental health research or the institute and teachers to find fun and educational materials related to health NIEHS has a goal to ensure job opportunities and career enhancements programs for both our work force and our community NIEHS sponsors and co-sponsors scientific meetings These meetings are listed in the NIEHS Events Calendar and are open to the general public Download or play NIEHS Health Chat's with a wide range of experts and topics The 2025-2029 NIEHS Strategic Plan has been removed provides individuals with a right to access records in the possession of the Federal government The government may withhold information pursuant to the nine exemptions and three exclusions contained in the Act The theme of this year’s North Carolina Global Health Alliance Conference was “Bridging North Carolina with the World.” (Photo courtesy of North Carolina Global Health Alliance) The 11th Annual North Carolina Global Health Alliance Conference encouraged domestic and global leaders and students to explore how global health findings can be adapted to and from local North Carolina settings It was hosted by the North Carolina Global Health Alliance (NCGHA) and sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and advocate for global health in North Carolina and abroad The conference theme was “Bridging North Carolina with the World,” and according to conference attendee Lisa Marie Adiaba discussion focused on best practices for exchanging knowledge with domestic health experts in North Carolina and applying that knowledge to work in global health Adiaba also emphasized the recurring theme of funding NCGHA Executive Director Brianna Clarke-Schwelm provided opening remarks at the conference (Photo courtesy of Cammel’s Photography and Brianna Clarke-Schwelm) “Public health is being asked to do more with less in this post-COVID world,” Adiaba stated public health organizations need adequate funding in order to effectively serve their communities.” and students had the opportunity to share their expertise through keynote addresses breakout sessions were designed to cover many topics for all kinds of learners According to NCGHA Executive Director Brianna Clarke-Schwelm including healthcare during crisis and resettlement in North Carolina and health priorities that are high-need both globally and in the state,” Clarke-Schwelm said despite the challenges of siloes and differences in regulations and funding opportunities there are also countless opportunities for bridging the divide between global health and domestic public health “Communities everywhere can benefit from more cross-collaboration and learning between the people who seek to improve health and well-being everywhere,” she noted The NIEHS identifies Global Environmental Health (GEH) as a part of its strategic themes recognizing that because environmental health problems cross national boundaries conducting studies around the world benefits not just those in areas being studied but all people who suffer from the same or related environmental health problems Public health experts are warning that thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic impact in North Carolina are on the line, as President Donald Trump continues a stop work order and funding freeze at the U.S. Agency for International Development The agency is responsible for distributing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid around the world each year North Carolina organizations alone receive nearly $1 billion Trump and Elon Musk have argued that spending is often both wasteful and filled with fraud Musk called the agency “a criminal organization.”  NCGOP spokesperson Matt Mercer wrote “the stunning abuse of taxpayer dollars by USAID must end.”  public health experts like Brianna Clarke-Schwelm are pushing back “I know that the people here in North Carolina in the humanitarian aid sector are really committed to working on behalf of the American people,” Clarke-Shwelm said Clarke-Schwelm is executive director of the NC Global Health Alliance which represents humanitarian groups and universities in North Carolina and resources to low and middle income countries around the world,” Clarke-Schwelm said Among the top recipients of USAID dollars in North Carolina are the state’s universities NC State received $2.2 million from USAID last fiscal year that money went towards a laundry list of programs including tools to track the spread of tuberculosis and research to ensure that USAID investments are effective and efficient,” among other things UNC confirmed nine of those programs have now received stop work orders It’s not clear how long the funding freeze and stop work orders will be in place but Clarke-Schwelm argued the longer the order lasts the more likely there will be consequences for the 120,000 people working in the state’s global health sector “We are seeing furloughs and layoffs across the country And we expect that to continue and intensify here in North Carolina itself,” Clarke-Schwelm said Brianna Clarke-Schwelm '11 detailed her experiences working to improve health care access and the social status of women in a TEDx talk on women's rights in Spring 2020 Discovering how I would do that while studying abroad was the biggest gift Bucknell gave me Arriving at Bucknell, Brianna Clarke-Schwelm '11 knew one thing for certain: she wanted to change the world. And it wasn't long before a pivotal study-abroad experience gave the religious studies major her first chance to make a global impact For three months on Rusinga Island in Western Kenya during her junior year Clarke-Schwelm helped local leaders secure funding for a health clinic to battle the HIV epidemic Not only did she observe the social stigma against HIV-positive people that disproportionately disadvantaged women but she also saw the impact that strong community leaders can have on addressing inequities Clarke-Schwelm went to work empowering communities across the globe to improve health care access with a keen interest in elevating the social status of women Serving in public-health clinics in Honduras "really amplified those intrinsic links between education "Women can't get jobs, run for office or be leaders in their communities if they're sick or caring for people who are sick," explains Clarke-Schwelm, who detailed her experiences in a TEDx talk on women's rights in spring 2020 "We have to address public health if we want the most marginalized people on this planet to have a shot at not only gaining equality but also pursuing the lives they want to live." After earning a master of public health degree from Harvard in 2017 the North Carolina native began working to prevent interpersonal violence in the United States As the director of prevention for InterAct a domestic and sexual violence service organization in her home state Clarke-Schwelm provides tools for children and adults to model healthy relationships in their lives and families Her current work is infused with the same spirit of empowerment that she discovered on Rusinga Island where community leaders continue to launch women's rights and public-health projects with Clarke-Schwelm continuing to consult with them remotely UPPER PROVIDENCE — Penncrest’s Ruby Schwelm and Haverford High’s Ethan Fingerhut were destined to be runners became an accomplished distance runner after playing soccer in college at Franklin & Marshall and is the co-owner of the Bryn Mawr Running Club my own coach,” Ruby Schwelm said of her father ran track in high school and his older brother was a two-time All-Delco selection in cross country for the Fords who now runs track and cross country at Washington & Lee University in Virginia “They’ve been running my whole life,” Ethan Fingerhut said earning medals at the PIAA Class 3A cross country championships and being named Runners of the Year to highlight the 2021 Daily Times All-Delco Cross Country team Joining Schwelm and Fingerhut on the All-Delco team are: Rowe Crawford Hannah Prokup and Gwyneth Stach from Strath Haven Therese Trainer of Notre Dame and Kathryn Lynn from Episcopal Academy for the girls; Haverford High’s Patrick Lawson and Quentin Ryan Gavin Mogck of Penncrest and Strath Haven’s Benjamin Ent for the boys The team was selected by the Daily Times sports staff after consultation with county coaches Crawford and Trainer are the only repeat selections from 2019 Prokup and Rodden are sophomores and McGeehan is a freshman Schwelm is the first freshman to earn Runner of the Year honors since Sacred Heart’s Emma Seifried in 2014 and the first female from Penncrest to receive the honor since Chrissy Boyd went back-to-back in 1998 and 1999 Fingerhut is the third Haverford athlete to earn Runner of the Year honors on the boys side joining Mike Donnelly (2018) and Ed Donnelly (2009) As a freshman running varsity for the first time Schwelm said she didn’t have high expectations yet she went out and won the first three races of her career She won the Northampton Invitational and took first in the only two Central League dual meets she ran in “I just wanted to see how things went,” Schwelm said “I ended up doing better than expected.” Schwelm went on to finish sixth at the Paul Brown Invitational with a personal best time of 18 minutes She followed that with a second-place finish at the Delco Championships a victory at the Central League Championships and a 20th-place at the District 1 Class 3A championships even though she was a bit under the weather A week later Schwelm took 19th at the state meet on the difficult course in Hershey to become the first Penncrest runner to medal at the state meet since Kim Baxter took 18th in 2000 at Bucknell “It was pretty hard,” Schwelm said of the state course “I knew it was going to be hard going into it I liked the course and I was happy with the way I ran.” Fingerhut did not have high expectations entering the season and that didn’t change after the first Central League dual meet of the season where he finished fourth behind Lower Merion’s Sarem Kahn and Simon Schmeider and Ryan but last year I had a really bad year,” Fingerhut said “I didn’t know how good I could be until this year I wasn’t expecting to win Delcos and Centrals but when it did happen I wasn’t too surprised I started to gain confidence toward the end of the year.” Fingerhut won Delcos by 18 seconds and Centrals by six seconds over Lawson and was edged by Hatboro-Horsham’s Brian DiCola by four-tenths of a second at the District 1 Class 3A championships He got his revenge a week later with a fourth-place finish at the PIAAs in Hershey It was the best finish at the state meet by a Delco boys runner since Kevin James of Cardinal O’Hara took second in 2014 It was the top performance by a Haverford boy since Josh D’Angelo was third in 1990 and only the third top-10 finish by a Ford in the last 31 years “This year I had more fun in cross country that I did in spring track mainly because I was winning and we had a really good team,” Fingerhut said The Fords won the Delco meet title and finished fifth as a team at the district and state championship meets topping league rival Lower Merion in Hershey.  Fingerhut credited the daily competition he received from his teammates for helping him have the successful year he had Pittsburgh and American as well as other schools Even if we didn’t have an organized practice we’d meet up on our own and make sure we got in a run and that helped us to be successful.” Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Liane Nugteren on December 15 Liane was born Liane Albrecht on September 22 Growing up in post-World War II Germany was difficult but it was the foundation of her grit and perseverance Her life significantly changed when she met the love of her life a dashing United States Air Force fighter pilot in Bitburg beginning a 61-year marriage of love and commitment.  navigating the challenges of military life with unwavering dedication She created a loving home wherever the Air Force took her family Liane was deeply involved in the Officers’ Wives Club and volunteered at the American Red Cross Liane was awarded the highest and most prestigious honor given by the Red Cross where Newt served as commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Liane became an avid gardener and shared her love of music travel and the natural world with everyone around her.  Cecile Nugteren Ross (Mike) and Aneli Nugteren (Steve Place); grandchildren She will be laid to rest at the Andersonville Historic National Military Cemetery next to her beloved husband.  A memorial service celebrating the life of Liane Nugteren will be held at 1:00pm on Sunday at McCullough Funeral Home in Warner Robins memorial donations may be made to the American Red Cross reflecting her commitment to helping those in need.  Friends may go to www.mcculloughfh.com to leave condolences for the family and to view a memorial tribute once it has been finalized McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of handling Liane Nugteren’s final arrangements.  Make a donation to one of the following charities in remembrance of Liane Nugteren Add to Calendar This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors PHILADELPHIA – In national-class fields an hour apart Friday night Salesianum and Padua rode the fervor of Penn Relays to break state records in the distance medley and 4x800 relays Tatnall finished second in the girls distance medley and Isabelle Walsh of Middletown and Carlita Kaliher of Tatnall produced individual finishes of historic measure With Delaware athletes competing in five of seven consecutive high school championship races here is how the 5 o'clock hour played out at Franklin Field Ethan Walther took the baton in ninth place for his 1,600-meter distance medley anchor leg Two runners passed the Salesianum junior and together they worked up to a group of a half dozen athletes in a chase pack behind the two race leaders Walther pressed the entire final lap and found an extra gear in the last 200 to pull Salesianum into fifth place with a time of 10:12.28 Jimmy Kennedy battled traffic early on the 1,200-meter leg the heat's fastest 400-meter runner with a split of 49.19 Salesianum broke the state record of 10:17.28 set by Delcastle's Cornelius Jones Gua-wan Smith and Anthony Stewart in a third-place finish at the 1989 Penn Relays no Delaware team had come within 10 seconds of the record Was breaking 10:17 the goal entering Friday who ran roughly nine seconds faster than Stewart's reported 4:19 anchor leg "Tatnall" echoed through the loud speakers as the public address announcer narrated the Hornets early lead in the girls distance medley Katie Payne mentally split the race into two 600 segments The strategy worked as the senior put Tatnall ahead from the first lap Malana Neal held a two-second cushion on the 400 leg before handing to Abby Downin only recently returned to running after breaking her toe on spring break the week after Tatnall's indoor season concluded Her training has consisted of a lot of aqua-jogging and biking Downin said her 57.53 in Thursday's Northern Delaware 4x400 left her a little sore for Friday's distance medley "She's been so dedicated," teammate Ruby Schwelm said "It's been really inspiring to see her get through this injury." Emily Bush of Saratoga Springs (New York) took the lead from Schwelm about halfway through the 1,600 fending off a couple surges attempted by Schwelm but Bush created separation with about 500 to go about four seconds faster than her indoor personal best four seconds behind Saratoga Springs and 17 seconds ahead of the third-place team It is the second-fastest time in state history behind Tatnall's winning 2012 Penn Relays team (11:28.86) An illness slowed the early part of Isabelle Walsh's outdoor season but the Middletown senior looked to be in rare form in Friday's mile championship Walsh improved on her state-leading time with a new personal best of 4:43.51 while placing third it will be second on the state's all-time performance list Tatnall's Haley Pierce ran the state record of 4:41.19 at the 2011 New Castle County Championships The race went out slower than Walsh anticipated with the first 809 meters clocked at 2:25 for the lead group of 11 There were going to be some kickers in the race." The pace quickened in the third lap and Walsh went with it She held that position with a 68.3-second final quarter Winner Dylan McElhinney of Hunter (New York) ran 4:40.82 Carlita Kaliher ran the first 400 meters of her 3,000 at a blazing 4:45 mile pace but it somehow didn't feel that way for the Tatnall senior "I do think that kind of hurt my race in the middle of it basically the whole race — that was the easiest two-mile I've ever done Kaliher closed the final 400 in 74 seconds and picked up three places to finish 10th She credited her kick to the 150s that close out many Tatnall practices the third-fastest the seldom-contested 3,000 has been run by a Delaware high school girl It's a comparable effort to the fourth-best 3,200 in state history Kelsey Wolff and Molly Flanagan hopes Friday night was just the first time they break the 4x800 state record "That was definitely a goal heading into the season," Wolff said "So having that being done the first time we did our 4x8 [this spring] just makes me happy I just know we can keep cutting [time] off and make it faster and faster." Padua ran 8:55.59 to place fourth and break the state record of 8:59.73 set by the Tatnall team of Pierce Julie Williams and Reagan Anderson at the 2012 New Castle County Championships In a win at the Millrose Games in February, Padua set an indoor state record of 8:49.86 PENN RELAYS THURSDAY: Penn Relays appearance catapults Middletown thrower into championship season Three Delaware teams competed in the first event of the day The highlight was the Caesar Rodney anchor leg run by Ian Cain Cain took the baton in third-to-last place He ran the second-fastest split of the 276 high school athletes that competed in the four sections of the 4x800: 1:53.60 Caesar Rodney finished tenth in its heat of the large schools division in 8:05.32 Saint Mark's ran a state-leading time of 8:02.93 and Sanford ran 8:08.76 With two athletes below 1:58 in the 800 and two under 4:32 in the 1,600 Sanford has one of its strongest boys distance groups in school history Friday anchor Tegan Kovacs credited the team's improvement to coach Gavin Gibson who communicates well with his runners and focuses on individual development "He's just so savvy with our training," Kovacs said Cape Henlopen's Bailey Fletcher finished tied for sixth in the pole vault Fletcher was down to his final attempt at the opening height of 14-2 It's the best mark in Delaware this year by more than a foot and places Fletcher seventh in state history Smyna's Elijah Williams stalled after clearing 6-4 and placed 12th who approached the bar but didn't jump until his last attempt at 6-6 that left leg is most responsible for launching him over the bar Williams said he feels he's close to getting back to his best The top two discus throwers in Division II competed in a field of 16 throwers Friday Tatnall's Max Martire placed 12th with a throw of 160-0 Dover's Jaheim Cole finished 11th in the long jump with a leap of 21-2 Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com PHILADELPHIA — It was an unexpectedly busy day for Penncrest’s Kelsie Robinson The trio ran a pair of relays in the span of about an hour Friday afternoon at the 126th Penn Relays Schwelm and Scholtz teamed up with Hannah Puckett for a ninth-place finish in the girls 4 x 800-meter Championship of America Scholtz and Zoe Clark were last-second replacements in the Philadelphia area 4 x 400 championship “Everyone was on the line and we asked if we were in and they said yeah,” Scholtz said The Lions ran 9:32.47 in the 4 x 800 and 4:03.41 in the 4 x 400 Scholtz and Puckett ran together in the 4 x 8 The first time came in Thursday’s qualifying round the 2021 Daily Times Runner of the Year in cross country “We definitely could have run better,” Robinson said “We were trying to break the school record (9:25.00 set in 1996).” Puckett and Scholtz will have a chance to break that mark in the coming weeks The Penn Relays are the start of the championship season followed by the Central League championships Morgan Elliott) topped a large Delco contingent in the Philadelphia area 4 x 400 That was nearly a second better than they ran in the qualifying round on Thursday A little hiccup with warmups didn’t prevent Haverford’s Gabriel Zwilling Quentin Ryan and Patrick Lawson from qualifying for the Championship of American in the boys 4 x 800-meter relay The group was warming up outside of Franklin Field but had a little trouble getting back into the stadium because they did not have the cards athletes need to get into the facility they weren’t allowed to warmup in the infield the Fords turned in the third-fastest time in the preliminary round (7:58.61) and the best of any Pennsylvania team Only Jamaica College and West Springfield (Va.) ran faster in trials “Making the Championship of America is a dream,” Zwilling said The Lions were fourth in their heat in 8:04.18 The Championship of America race is scheduled to start at 4:50 Saturday afternoon For the second time in less than a week and the third time this season Mia Garber and Saige Forbes broke the school record in the 4 x 100 The Churchwomen finished fourth in the National 4 x 100-meter final in 49.11 breaking the 49.41 set last week at the Kellerman Invitational “Running down here was such an adrenaline rush.” The girls weren’t the only EA team to break a school record Chris Purnell and Mekhi Rodgers broke the school mark in the 4 x 100 to qualify for Saturday’s Northeast final The foursome ran 42.80 to break the mark of 42.92 that the quartet set at Kellerman Michael Woolery’s goal in the boys Championship of America mile run was to go under 4:10 The Episcopal Academy sophomore didn’t hit his mark “The race went out too fast,” Woolery said the defending PIAA champ in the 1,600 and 3,200 and the state indoor champ in the mile was trying to become the first high school boy to break the four-minute mark at the relays but he did shatter the meet record with a time of 4:01.04 The previous mark was 4:04.47 by Sean McGorty of Chantilly (Va.) in 2013 “It was a fantastic field There were so many great runners here Patrick Donaher of the Haverford School was ninth in the shot put (53- ¼) It’s the sixth time Donaher has been over 53 feet this season Metrics details a major disease of Brassica oil and vegetable crops worldwide obligate biotrophic protist in the eukaryotic kingdom of Rhizaria Here we present the 25.5 Mb genome draft of P developmental stage-specific transcriptomes and a transcriptome of Spongospora subterranea the Plasmodiophorid causing powdery scab on potato Like other biotrophic pathogens both Plasmodiophorids are reduced in metabolic pathways Phytohormones contribute to the gall phenotypes of infected roots We report a protein (PbGH3) that can modify auxin and jasmonic acid Plasmodiophorids contain chitin in cell walls of the resilient resting spores chitin can trigger defense responses in plants chitin-related enzymes of Plasmodiophorids built specific families and the carbohydrate/chitin binding (CBM18) domain is enriched in the Plasmodiophorid secretome Plasmodiophorids chitin synthases belong to two families which were present before the split of the eukaryotic Stramenopiles/Alveolates/Rhizaria/Plantae and Metazoa/Fungi/Amoebozoa megagroups suggesting chitin synthesis to be an ancient feature of eukaryotes This exemplifies the importance of genomic data from unexplored eukaryotic groups to decipher evolutionary relationships and gene diversification of early eukaryotes graminis infecting sugar beets and cereals The life cycle of Plasmodiophora brassicae the secondary plasmodia develop into multinuclear plasmodia and finally into resting spores (f–i) which are released into the surrounding soil when plants decay Plasmodia provoke abnormal cell enlargement (hypertrophy) and uncontrolled cell division (hyperplasia) leading to the development of galls (Supplementary Fig. S1) that obstruct nutrient and water transport different developmental stages of the Plasmodiophorids occur simultaneously host cells containing plasmodia neighbor cells filled with resting spores The only host-free stages are the short-lived bi-flagellated zoospores and resting spores Therefore molecular and genomic data for Plasmodiophorids are rare as they only grow inside living host cells and remain uncultivable on their own for which no sexual recombination has been observed was used to avoid complication due to potential polyploidy and chromosome polymorphism We emphasized on generating transcriptomes of life-stage specific materials from P brassicae which enabled analyses of developmental stage specific gene expression brassicae was further used to identify and analyze transcript data from the related potato pathogen S We analyzed the chitin-related proteins detected in the Plasmodiophorids in more detail and also the secretome for effector candidates that could interfere with microbe-triggered host responses (a) Venn diagramm of OrthoMCL protein families predicted for P subterranea and the the non-pathogenic Rhizarian B A Rhizarian core set was defined by common familes of B subterranea predicted models were not regarded for the definition of the core set and P brassicae specific set as no complete genome information is available Numbers in the table show the number of OrthoMCL families and in brackets the number of P brassicae proteins according to KOG functional categories brassicae-specific genes are defined as in (a) It is not known if RNA-directed gene silencing occurs in Plasmodiophorids. P. brassicae and S. subterranea contain argonautes but only one gene each encoding for a protein with two RNaseIII domains and a dsRNA-binding motif (Supplementary Fig. S9) Those proteins resemble the Dicer-like protein 1 from the ciliate protozoan Tetrahymena thermophile and Drosha proteins of Drosophila melanogaster involved in miRNA processing Any predicted RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and RNA polymerase IV were not detected in P Seven putatively secreted lipases in the P brassicae genome were among the highest expressed genes in the plasmodial stage providing the pathogen with fatty acid starter molecules we detected two potential fatty acid synthase genes and no secreted lipases subterranea synthesizes fatty acids de novo trehalose in the resting spores could be important for their long-term survival as an energy resource or an osmoprotectant against the effects of desiccation brassicae was primarily expressed in spores indicating a release of glucose as an energy resource in the germination process Structure prediction and activity of the PbGH3 protein (b) Conjugation activity of PbGH3 with IAA Activity is indicated by black boxes (high activity) to white boxes (no activity) PbBSMT is one of the highest expressed genes in the Heff group likely reducing the SA content in infected host tissue The Leff candidates include CE4-domain polysaccharide acetylases proteases and protease inhibitors including Kazal-like and papain protease inhibitors and fascilin domain proteins Distribution of (a) plant cell wall degrading enzymes and (b) chitin related enzymes in Rhizarian and selected fungal and oomycete genomes The heatmap represents the abundance of CAZyme domains in each genome Clustering of gene families is based on Pearson correlation of gene numbers in each family in each species *Indicates CAZymes with a possible effect on polysaccharides contained in both chitinous and/or plant cell walls Species abbreviations: HARA = Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis The Plasmodiophorid GH18 chitinase domains grouped to cluster A and the bacterial cluster C previously not reported to contain eukaryotic members the Plasmodiophorid GH18 s formed a specific subgroup (Pd1) These Pd1-chitinase genes were mainly expressed during spore formation and germination suggesting a specific role for those proteins in resting spore cell wall modification and degradation The phylogeny also revealed a new oomycete-specific cluster of GH18 domains Interrelationships of eukaryotic chitin synthases (CHS) and model for CHS evolution in eukaryotes (b) A proposed model for the evolution of CHS in the eukaryotic kingdom based on current available data animal CHS regrouped with fungal CHS classes IV–VII in family 1 together with SARP CHS of Plasmodiophorids and diatoms The CHS family 2 comprised fungal classes I-III and CHS of oomycetes Family 2 was lost in the Metazoa concurrent with the divergence from Fungi in the Amorphea Family 1 was lost in the Alveolata when they diverged from Rhizaria and Stramenopiles the loss of family 2 in diatoms and family 1 in oomycetes occurred when those groups separated In the Rhizaria both families are present the Plasmodiophorids At least family 2 is also contained in Sorites The ancient origin of the CHS families suggests that synthesis of chitin or chitin-like structures has been a driving force in the evolution and diversification of early eukaryotes Similar biotrophic features of Plasmodiophorids and phylogenetically unrelated eukaryotic biotrophic plant pathogens suggest a functional converging evolution It remains challenging to elucidate the function of proteins in these uncultivatable protists We provide Plasmodiophorid effector candidates which will be in focus of future studies to battle the agricultural important diseases caused by P brassicae and other Plasmodiophorid pathogens the spores were incubated in 5 mg/ml Trichoderma lysing enzyme in 0.64 M KCl and 0.2 M CaCl2 for 12–16 h at room temperature to weaken the resting spore cell walls and grinded in liquid nitrogen using a mortar and pestle DNA was further purified using the gDNA Zymo purification kit or magnetic beads Total RNA was obtained from surface sterilized clubroots of B Life-stage specific RNA was generated from germinating resting spores subterranea RNA was extracted from potato root galls from potatoes grown for 2 months in natural infested soil All RNA extractions were performed using the Spectrum™ Plant Total RNA Kit (Sigma-Aldrich) brassicae genome was assembled by combining Roche 454 FLX and lllumina Hiseq 2100 sequencing data A standard and a mate pair library with 3 kb inserts were constructed and analyzed by Macrogen Illumina libraries used included a 5 kb mate-pair library sequenced at the Bejing Genome Institute China and a 200bp pair-end library sequenced at SciLife Laboratory Scaffolds derived from contaminating host DNA were identified by BLASTN searches and their Illumina coverage and were removed from the assembly The peak of 17-mer frequency (M) in reads is correlated with the real sequencing depth (N) their relations can be expressed in the formula: M = N * (L – K + 1)/L The total sequence length (1447 Gb) divided by the real sequencing depth estimated a total genome size of 25.47 Mb Only transcripts coding for peptides of minimal length of 100 amino acids were subsequently analyzed Gene expressions were visualized in heat maps as log10 transformed FPKM values and normalized by calculating Z-scores for each gene across all transcriptome libraries The protein models for all other compared organism were analyzed equally Accession Codes: Data retrieved in this study are deposited at European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) under the projects PRJEB8376 (Accessions CDSF01000001-CDSF01000165) for the P. brassicae genomic data and PRJEB9159 (Accession HACM01000001-HACM01012732) for the S The Plasmodiophora brassicae genome reveals insights in its life cycle and ancestry of chitin synthases The occurrence and economic impact of Plasmodiophora brassicae and clubroot disease Evolution of Rhizaria: new insights from phylogenomic analysis of uncultivated protists An alternative root for the eukaryote tree of life Cross-kingdom host shifts of phytomyxid parasites The others: our biased perspective of eukaryotic genomes Algal genomes reveal evolutionary mosaicism and the fate of nucleomorphs The genome of the foraminiferan Reticulomyxa filosa Characterization of a single-spore isolate population of Plasmodiophora brassicae resulting from a single club Chemical composition of the resting spore wall of Plasmodiophora brassicae The battle for chitin recognition in plant-microbe interactions Electrophoretic karyotype of the obligate biotrophic parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor Causes and effects of nuclear genome reduction CEGMA: a pipeline to accurately annotate core genes in eukaryotic genomes plant-infecting plasmodiophorids using in vitro dual cultures OrthoMCL: identification of ortholog groups for eukaryotic genomes Distinctive expansion of potential virulence genes in the genome of the oomycete fish pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica Genome expansion and gene loss in powdery mildew fungi reveal tradeoffs in extreme parasitism Signatures of adaptation to obligate biotrophy in the Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis genome Gene gain and loss during evolution of obligate parasitism in the white rust pathogen of Arabidopsis thaliana Reductive evolution suggested from the complete genome sequence of a plant-pathogenic phytoplasma Fatty acid synthesis by elongases in trypanosomes Induction of trehalase in Arabidopsis plants infected with the trehalose-producing pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae An NADPH-dependent genetic switch regulates plant infection by the rice blast fungus Metabolism and plant hormone action during clubroot disease Transcriptome analysis of Arabidopsis clubroots indicates a key role for cytokinins in disease development A novel methyltransferase from the intracellular pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae participates in methylation of salicylic acid Characterization of an Arabidopsis enzyme family that conjugates amino acids to indole-3-acetic acid Isopentenyltransferase-1 (IPT1) knockout in Physcomitrella together with phylogenetic analyses of IPTs provide insights into evolution of plant cytokinin biosynthesis Gall formation in clubroot infected Arabidopsis results from an increase in existing meristematic activities of the host but is not essential for the completion of the pathogen life cycle Inside plant: biotrophic strategies to modulate host immunity and metabolism Molecular interactions between sugar beet and Polymyxa betae during its life cycle delivery and function of oomycete effector proteins Ankyrin repeat proteins comprise a diverse family of bacterial type IV effectors Functional equivalence and evolutionary convergence in complex communities of microbial sponge symbionts Secretory protein with RING finger domain (SPRING) specific to Trypanosoma cruzi is directed Genome comparison of barley and maize smut fungi reveals targeted loss of RNA silencing components and species-specific presence of transposable elements Correction: comparative analysis of fungal genomes reveals different plant cell wall degrading capacity in fungi substrate specificity and subfamily classification of glycoside hydrolase family 6 (GH5) Evolution of family 18 glycoside hydrolases: diversity domain structures and phylogenetic relationships Comparative genome analysis of filamentous fungi reveals gene family expansions associated with fungal pathogenesis Characterization of the carbohydrate binding module 18 gene family in the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Evolution and phylogenetic relationships of chitin synthases from yeasts and fungi broad distribution and high diversity of animal chitin synthases The liverwort Marchantia foliacea forms a specialized symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the genus Glomus Recount: expectation maximization based error correction tool for next generation sequencing data Scaffolding pre-assembled contigs using SPACE Toward almost closed genomes with GapFiller lock-free approach for efficient parallel counting of occurrences of k-mers ConDeTri– a content dependent read trimmer for Illumina data Tophat: discovering splice junctions with RNA-seq Transcript assembly and quantification by RNA-Seq reveals unannotated transcripts and isoform switching during cell differentiation Full-length transcriptome assembly from RNA-Seq data without a reference genome The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (TPGSC) Genome sequence and analysis of the tuber crop potato a database of eukaryotic repetitive elements MAKER : An easy- to-use annotation pipeline designed for emerging model organism genomes Apollo: a community resource for genome annotation editing InterPro in 2011: new developments in the family and domain prediction database visualization and analysis in functional genomics research SignalP4.0: discriminating signal peptides from transmembrane regions Predicting transmembrane protein topology with a hidden Markov model: application to complete genomes dbCAN: a web resource for automated carbohydrate-active enzyme annotation Moss (Physcomitrella patens) GH3 proteins act in auxin homeostasis The SWISS-MODEL workspace: a web-based environment for protein structure homology modelling UCSF chimera—a visualization system for exploratory research and analysis Download references the Swedish Research Councils (Formas & VR) the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and the Korea Forest Service (KFS) The authors would like to thank Salla Marttila for SEM photos Switzerland) for additional CHS sequences data Tim Kamber for comments and support from Science for Life Laboratory the National Genomics Infrastructure (NGI) the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and UPPMAX for providing assistance in DNA sequencing and computational infrastructure Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Andrej Shevchenko & Jutta Ludwig-Müller Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology prepared samples for peptide analyses and A.K performed the PbGH3 cloning and enzymatic testing performed data submission and database construction wrote the paper with substantial contributions of J.L.M. All of the other authors contributed annotation The authors declare no competing financial interests Download citation Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research I was saddened to learn of the death of one of the late 20th century’s most committed and single-minded independent car makers Although Erich Bitter never quite became a household name in the UK the achievements of this German ex-racing driver vehicle importer and maker of desirable luxury GTs deserves respect and wider awareness Bitter successfully cut his teeth racing rear-engined NSUs Ferraris and probably most famously his well-known ‘Black Widow’ Opel Rekord C in the late 1960s Bitter gained the exclusive import rights for Abarth in Germany in the 1960s He also worked with the low-volume Italian specialist sportscar maker Intermeccanica It was through his Chevrolet V8-powered Intermeccanica connections plus his late 1960s competition success on the Opel Rekord C that Bitter became familiar with the engines and workings of General Motors (GM) and its then German-based Opel brand in particular Opel ‘borrowed’ a Corvette V8 from its American cousin in 1968 for its range-topping Diplomat luxury saloon aimed directly at the jugular of its domestic Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival respected Italian design house and carrosserie Frua selected the Opel Diplomat is the basis for its exotic CD (Coupe Diplomat) concept car This exciting V8-engined Frua CD sporting GT set tongues wagging at its IAA Frankfurt Motor Show debut with strong rumours that Opel might build it in limited numbers Despite direct input from GM’s own in-house Detroit design team the exciting CD concept was not a priority for Opel’s GM masters however despite Frua creating a second Diplomat-based CD coupe with more conservative but very productionable and handsome coachwork This stylish Frua prototype caught the attention of Erich Bitter who by the early 1970s was looking to build a car under his own name having already established himself as a specialist car importer With Opel showing little intention to build the Frua CD rather than let this promising concept wither on the vine Bitter approached Opel with a proposal to build and market the car and in 1971 Erich established Bitter Automobili in his home town of Schwelm to build and sell the stylish ex-Frua Opel-based CD three-door coupe With limited financial resources and production know-how Bitter sought the assistance of long-established German coachbuilder Baur to build the CD With both Baur’s and Opel’s technical support Bitter was finally able to launch his mildly modified CD coupe at the 1973 IAA Frankfurt Show He took an encouraging 176 orders for his desirable new V8 coupe despite the 1973 fuel crisis just getting underway although that ultimately impacted on many of those initial orders on what was an expensive and thirsty luxury car as well as a handful of selected German Opel dealers There were 395 examples built up until 1979 when the fastback three-door CD Coupe was replaced by Bitter’s next new model with attractive styling inspired by Pininfarina’s Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2GT/400 but with the V8 Diplomat no longer in production the new Bitter used Opel Senator/Monza V6 power instead A 2+2 Convertible SC joined the Coupe derivative in 1981 with a stretched four-door Berlina later added to the line-up These were followed by an expensive FF four-wheel-drive option developed in the UK by Ferguson Formula Despite launching into lucrative new markets including the UK (via Ferrari and Porsche dealer Gordon Lamb of Sheffield) by the late 1980s demand for ‘mainstream’ powered sporting GTs was declining thus the SC ceased production in 1989 after almost 500 units had been made With no natural successor immediately planned more up-market Chevrolet Blazer 4x4 and niche Opel Kadett C-based targa-topped convertible Bitter ‘Aero Sport’ during the 1970s but he abandoned the luxury GT market to chase greater sales volume with a then-new Mazda MX-5 rivalling soft top sportscar It was based on the mechanicals of the ageing Opel Manta; the Rallye GT but it sadly failed to capture the imagination of buyers not helped by a hefty price tag in comparison to the new mass-produced Mazda prompting Bitter to return to the more upmarket which came in three guises: an expensive rear-wheel-drive coupe a prestige saloon and a convertible roadster It was based around the contemporary Opel Omega V6 (Vauxhall Carlton MK 2 in the UK) Despite its attractive design and capable but unexciting base the Bitter model’s price being way in excess of the Opel model despite the performance potential being very similar The disappointing failure of the Type 3 prompted Bitter to revisit his luxury roots with the 1994 introduction of the new Bitter Berlina a four-door saloon this time based on the new Opel Omega B MV6 (Vauxhall Omega MK I).  Despite a promising launch production the Berlina never really got going possibly not helped by Bitter being briefly distracted by a pipe-dream Tasco mid-engined supercar project After on-going financial problems and a few years in the automotive wilderness Erich Bitter made a surprise comeback at the 2004 Geneva Salon with a new two-door Coupe model called CD 2 based on the V8 Holden Monaro (Vauxhall Monaro in the UK) Bitter realised that the days of him being able to make a living by building bespoke GM/Opel-based cars were over Erich continued his loyalty to Opel by selling unique upmarket body styling kits and luxury appointments for existing Opel models His offerings included tailor made frontal styling for volume models such as the Insignia with a giant ‘B’ logo (his marque emblem) replacing the Opel ‘blitz’ logo on the car’s grille These were sold right up until Erich Bitter’s passing in late July The Bitter Opel modifications are seemingly still being available now through Opel’s German dealer network to one of the motor industry’s unsung heroes and one of the great tryers.    Book early bird tickets before the 30 April to save up to 10% Creekmore of Archmere and Mike Tucci of Caesar Rodney were named coaches of the year in high school cross-country at the sport’s annual awards banquet on Dec has led the Archmere girls to second place in each of the past two DIAA Division II meets The Auks had missed the top three since he graduated from Archmere in 2011 Creekmore won the Delaware Open against an all-comers field who teaches advanced algebra and dual-enrolment math led the strongest boys team in Caesar Rodney history Salesianum and Joe O’Neill invitationals and swept the Kent County and Henlopen Conference championships before finishing second in the DIAA Division I state meet Brynn Crandell of Indian River and Ethan Walther of Salesianum were named the state’s top runners INSPIRING How this blind runner made it to Delaware high school's cross-country championship meet is a four-time Henlopen Conference champion who won the Division II individual title Her time of 18:20.9 broke the Brandywine Creek State Park girls course record of Tatnall’s Haley Pierce that had stood for 13 years she finished ninth in the Nike Southeast Regionals in 17:37.4 in Cary where Tatnall won both the boys and girls team championships Crandell ran 18:01 at Franklin Park in Boston to finish eighth in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals won the Division I boys title in 16:35 after taking the Division II title last year as a sophomore at Delaware Military Academy He was joined on the boys All-State first team by Division II champion Camerin Williams of A.I Independent Conference champion Colby Twyman of Tower Hill Sussex County champion Jason Baker of Cape Henlopen Sebastian Bergstrasser of Conrad and Jackson Downin Joining Crandell on the girls first team were Division I champion Anna Bockius of Padua three-time Blue Hen Conference champion Isabelle Walsh of Middletown Henlopen Conference champion Paige Ballinger of Sussex Academy and five runners from Tatnall - Abby Downin The coaches association expanded the All-state teams from seven to 10 runners this year About 40 others joined the pair for this year's Freezin' for a Reason Polar Plunge which is now in its third year being hosted by Gosnold of Cape Cod namely building community and relationships and raising money for substance abuse prevention and education the event represents something much more personal Schwelm understands first-hand the the importance of providing safe and effective substance abuse treatment and how it can change people's lives for the better Schwelm begins each day with a sense of purpose and gratitude After being treated at Gosnold Treatment Center a nationally recognized addiction and mental health treatment organization based in Falmouth where she worked her way up from the kitchen to her current position as a recovery coach “I felt that God helped keep me alive to help others and I don’t intend to stop until there’s treatment for everyone who comes to get help,” she said Schwelm helps recovering addicts with everything from writing a resume and applying to scheduling therapy and making it to meetings The work begins the day they enter treatment and recovery “The continuum works to transition those in recovery back into mainstream life,” Schwelm said With three and a half years of sobriety under her belt after 20 years of battling addiction alcohol she’s driven in her work toward getting individuals struggling with substance abuse not only into detox But getting people to willingly accept the help is often times hard She notes that seeking recovery has become an almost taboo subject but that the experience is often positive for those who are able to come for help Treatment is important not only for the individuals who need it themselves Schwelm has seen for herself what she calls the “trickle effect" of addiction “Addiction affects everyone in the family,” Schwelm said “Drugs and alcohol were calling the shots for me at a very young age.” when she fell in with the wrong group of friends She recalls being sexually assault when she was 12 which she said led her to using cocaine and attempting suicide “I had a very ‘You can’t tell me what to do’ attitude from what I’d been through,” she said called her parents "the best." She recalls growing up with a “supermom” who took care of all the kids in her neighborhood But even though she had everything she could have asked for it wasn’t enough to steer her away from addiction Various attempts at drug rehabilitation as a teenager including time spent in wilderness therapy in Idaho and at a lockdown facility in Utah she fell back in with her old crowd and began dating a drug dealer She managed to “manipulate and lie” her way through school missing around 80 days in her senior year while still maintaining good grades and holding down a job She spent a year at Northeastern University but struggled academically and dropped out before returning home to liver with her family “ I was just going through the motions of life," she said anything to get me out of myself," she added It was when she discovered she was pregnant that Schwelm refocused her energy on seeking treatment which she said prompted her to enter Gosnold he was going to have a tough life," Schwelm said He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” Now in addition to her work as a recovery coach Schwelm is also on track to get her Bachelors degree from Northeastern in human services and rehabilitation studies this May She's also applying to get her masters in social work Her hope is to use her education to give everyone suffering a fighting chance at recovery "We’re losing a generation of such talented people," she said "I hear of someone passing away almost everyday and it makes me want to do more to fight.” There are 24 million people in the United States who suffer from substance abuse and only approximately 11 to 12 percent who have access to treatment More also needs to be done to better prepare recovering addicts for life after treatment It is common for recovering addicts to relapse and overdose after leaving detox while others resort to suicide due to their struggles to deal with staying sober or losing someone they loved to the disease Schwelm is quick to note that within the last year she knows more than 100 people that lost their lives to the disease “God’s grace let them go home,” Schwelm said Having seen her way through addiction to helping others with their own struggles she has met an incredible cross section of people is the elements of compassion she sees daily but we all understand each other,” Schwelm said “It takes a village to raise and heal an addict Mutual respect and compassion goes a long way.” That camaraderie led Schwelm to pitch the idea for the Freezin’ for a Reason event which this year helped raise almost $15,000 in donations for Gosnold well beyond the organization's $5,000 goal and it brings people together,” Schwelm said “It starts a conversation out in the world about participating.” Schwelm is a firm believer in educating people about the dangers and pitfalls of alcohol and drugs early and often I could be one of those really cool people that never tried drugs or alcohol.” A talented group of harriers expects to follow up on what was a banner year for Delaware high school girls distance running over the 2023-2024 academic year They'll likely be in contention at the top of Division II with teammate Ruby Schwelm and Leah Horgan of St who won the Division II title and was Delaware's fastest runner in each of the past three seasons will be running at the University of Delaware Since winning the Division I title as a sophomore last fall, Padua's Anna Bockius has been on teams that ran the state's fastest-ever times indoors and outdoors in the 4x400 She is among the early favorites in Division I and will lead a Padua team that returns three runners from their 11th straight state championship team The Pandas will also benefit from the addition of Paige Ballinger the top eighth grader in the state last year while at Sussex Academy Our list of the top 40 cross-country runners entering the 2024 season includes athletes from 18 schools It is based on performances in last year's championship races and the Joe O'Neill Invitational with consideration given to season-best times it is only a projection — cross-country races are settled in the most objective manner possible Tatnall leads the way with five runners on our list Rising sophomore Addison Schwelm and rising freshman Krissa Woods join Downin returns four runners from their state championship varsity squad Ella Taggart and Molly Felice all made our list along with Tower Hill transfer Tsion Mideksa The DIAA Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com U.S. President Joe Biden wasn't the only target of viral rumors about bodily functions in 2021 Manatees were at the center of an Instagram post that accurately claimed they can control their buoyancy underwater by passing gas, and an Iowa-based meteorologist went viral for saying that icicles contain bird poop Some such rumors didn't quite pass the sniff test [See also: 2021 Snopes Fact Checks: Alleged Presidential Faux Pas.] Below, Snopes staff members compiled a selection of 2021 pieces about feces or farts (yes, you read that right) as part of their annual review of Snopes' content You can read all of our "Staff Picks & Standouts" for a variety of content categories here The world record was supposedly set at a bowling alley [caption id="attachment_386759" align="aligncenter" width="504"]  Lexington Humane Society's Instagram.[/caption] Manatees appear to have harnessed the energy-saving power of their manatoots [caption id="attachment_386766" align="aligncenter" width="733"] A public service announcement warned viewers to avoid eating icicles in winter 2021 [caption id="attachment_386771" align="aligncenter" width="733"] Let's get one thing out of the way — tobacco enemas were totally a thing [caption id="attachment_386772" align="aligncenter" width="733"] it may eventually be considered an interesting "fact." [caption id="attachment_386777" align="aligncenter" width="1039"] Want something fact checked in 2022? Submit your misinformation leads and questions to Snopes, subscribe to our newsletters, and support us financially by becoming a member or making a direct contribution Jessica Lee is Snopes' Senior Assignments Editor with expertise in investigative storytelling media literacy advocacy and digital audience engagement This material may not be reproduced without permission Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com Be one of the first to try our new activity feed How a few tough men—and one woman—have run a marathon under 3 hours in every decade since the '70s Not all great accomplishments are official records Last year Eliud Kipchoge ran under 2 hours in an exhibition marathon breaking a barrier once thought unreachable This year a dozen or so hardy marathon runners will also aim for new territory—a sixth consecutive decade of sub-3-hour marathon finishes If achieved, this won’t count as a new world record (neither did Kipchoge’s 1:59:40) But it will be noted and appreciated by all who honor high-level marathon performance through the decades “My hat’s off to all of them,” says marathon legend Bill Rodgers four-time winner of both Boston and New York City “I know how hard it is to keep training for and racing marathons The chatter over what was then 5DS3 began in early 2010 when Maine marathon stalwart Gary Allen told me that he was hoping for a fifth decade of sub-3-marathons at Boston that April (He succeeded.) So did a handful of other consistent marathoners whom Allen and I quickly located you had to have run a sub-3 in each of five consecutive calendar decades—1970s Over the next few years, the Association of Road Race Statisticians recognized the accomplishment, and the 5DS3 list grew to 41 runners and now these guys—and one special woman—face a new and much-tougher challenge: 6DS3 I spent the last few months contacting all I could find Most ran their first sub-3 marathon in 1978 or 1979 and running fast isn’t as easy as it used to be But I was impressed by the number taking dead aim on 6DS3 and how they’ve maintained their high-fit longevity Here are a few of the many who may have a chance at joining the highly exclusive 6DS3 group: Samuelson mentioned her goal of another S3 in 2020 so there’s no doubt she’s quietly running and skiing her way to peak condition this winter She’s apparently considering Tokyo or London this spring [Worth noting: The S3 equivalent for women should be S3:20 so if Samuelson can break 3 hours this year it’s roughly akin to a man running under 2:40 for 6 decades.] One Pennsylvania runner who could potentially go sub-2:40 for a sixth-straight decade doesn’t seem particularly intent on his times The owner of four Bryn Mawr Running Company stores in the Philadelphia suburbs started a family on a somewhat-delayed schedule and opted to spend most of the 2010s focused on family and business Schwelm increased his training mileage from 40 to 50 to 60 miles a week last fall and began including “some faster stuff.” He hasn’t picked a marathon race for 2020 but he’s well situated for a serious marathon effort since it allows me to run at any time during the day with whomever I want,” he notes “And I have access to a network of physical therapists and chiropractors to keep me healthy.” the high end of the age spectrum for runners attempting 6DS3 Reno Stirrat ran 2:19:17 in 1979 and 2:42:27 in 2010 has stayed active on the USATF masters circuit covered more than 3700 miles in training in 2019 and Stirrat has been dogged by a series of hip and glute injuries “My recent training hasn’t included as much quality as previous years,” he admits “I’m hoping to hold together enough for a sub-3 in 2020.” ran sensationally in the first half of the 2010s and won his age-group in every half marathon he entered after turning 60 misfortune struck in 2016 when he was mauled by a Great Dane while on a training run where he had emergency therapy that required months of rehab this time after removal of a calcaneal cyst on his left foot It took him most of the spring and summer to build up to 5 miles of walking “Last May I would have said a sub-3 was impossible for me in 2020,” he says “Now I’m optimistic that I can train steadily and attempt one in the second quarter of the year.” Budd Coates might need an even-longer buildup The four-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier with a best of 2:13:03 had knee surgery in 2:15 he’s been opting almost exclusively for bicycle and Zero Runner workouts he’s thinking about attempting a marathon in late 2020 “But I know I’d have to work up to a 20-mile run before entering a marathon.” never considered himself a talented runner and his marathon best of 2:39:10 from 1984 is one of the slower PRs in the group He’s not traditionally fast—just strong and tough but occasionally I think about 2021,” he says grind-em-out approach just might get me there.” Every runner seeking 6DS3 has had to do a lot of grinding for 40 years Next article in series: Meet some more 6DS3 hopefuls and learn how they have managed to stay fit and healthy through the decades Amby Burfoot won the 1968 Boston Marathon. He offers KISS Training Programs (Keep It Simple & Smart) at RunWithAmby.com The 2019 edition of AIMEX brought with it an abundance of innovative mining technology and at the forefront of interest was the Wagener Rotocut for cutting conveyor belts The product was showcased at the Nilos and Wagener-Schwelm booth and has attracted attention from the industry’s top mining players Most appealing to visitors at the show was the Rotocut’s ability to provide a safe solution to what is usually Conveyor belts cutting is often carried out by angle grinders or cut off saws which cause flying sparks and rubber debris completely avoids the creation of sparks and rubber debris while also not requiring a hot work permit Its serrated and pinion blades move slowly and within the main body of the unit avoiding potential severe lacerations often associated with angle grinders due to their open spinning blade These aspects coincide with the Rotocut exerting minimal noise and no toxic smoke protecting operators from respiratory problems and damage to their hearing it provides flexibility for easy and rapid deployment in the field while cutting tools can also be easily replaced Wagener Schwelm is a German-made company and is an expert in design development and manufacturing of portable and stationary vulcanising presses These are used for the splicing and repairing of conveyor belts as well as for cables and handrails The Wagener Schwelm and Nilos brands form part of the same company group in Germany You must be logged in to post a comment. There are a thousands of ways to catch the Norovirus, and avoiding them takes dedication, skill and a certain shamelessness There are a thousands of ways to catch the Norovirus I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Though we lived in a house in Manchester big enough for us all to enjoy a degree of privacy, we congregated in the living room. Whoever needed to make use of the bathroom or the lavatory would slip away without making reference to it, though his absence was immediately noticed. There were two sorts of contamination we feared: viral and aural. Distance and doors protected us from the latter; against the former, we waged an unending war of disinfectant and ingenious precaution. In Manchester, from where I confess we would have re-migrated to Lithuania had we seen a frog in the lavatory, this anxiety extended not only to drains and plugholes, but to everything in their vicinity. Anything on to which germs could have leapt – handles, levers, chains, plugs, shower heads, towel rails, light switches, wall sockets – we avoided naked bodily contact with like the plague because they were the plague. In the first 15 years of my life, I never once flushed a lavatory with my bare hands. To those anxious to avoid norovirus today, I recommend flushing with the ends of a scarf or a tie, also gloves, though gloves have to be thrown away once they’ve been used for this purpose, which makes them an expensive option unless you buy them from the market, but remember that means risking such market viruses as those attendant on receiving change or breathing in. As for trying on gloves that are sure to have been tried by someone before you, don’t even consider it. Man-size Kleenex doubled and fashioned into a sort of glove itself is an alternative, provided you destroy it immediately afterwards, though you can easily get trapped in that vortex of using one to flush the lavatory and then realising you have to use another to flush the first away, and so on until you have emptied the box or lost your mind. It’s important, once you are set on such a course – and as long as young men are spitting in the street to attract young women, and young women are throwing up in it to attract young men, such a course is necessary – it’s important to follow it through to the letter. There’s no point, for example, in being vigilant in the matter of what you touch around the cistern if you go insouciant in the matter of what you touch around the sink. Assume you have emptied a dispenser of soap on to your fingers and then scalded them for upwards of 45 seconds in boiling water – all this goes for nothing if you then manually turn off a tap that will previously have been touched by someone who, for all you know, is not only a constitutional bare-hand chain-puller but has dropped his iPhone into the lavatory pan and fished it out without even rolling up his sleeves. In the end, the choice is yours. You can keep your dignity or you can keep your health. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Law would make vaccination mandatory for children in schools and nurseries Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against measles in Germany could be punished with fines of up to €2,500 (£2,130) according to a draft law presented by the health minister which is set to come into effect from 1 March 2022 if it passes through parliament before the end of this year would make vaccination against measles mandatory for all children attending nurseries and schools educators and medical staff at hospitals and surgeries parents signing up their children for kindergartens or schools would need to either provide evidence that their children have been vaccinated or proof of a medical condition that prevents their offspring from getting the jab According to estimates by the health ministry the law would also affect about 361,000 non-vaccinated children already attending a school or kindergarten “All parents should be safe in the knowledge that their children cannot be infected with and endangered by measles,” Spahn said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper Governments worldwide have in recent months been forced into action by a rise in the number of measles cases and a growing trend towards “vaccination hesitancy” driven partly by anti-vaccination scare campaigns recorded 170 new cases of measles in the first two months of 2019 alone The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) is a particular focus of the “anti-vaxxer” movement. In 1998, the discredited physician Andrew Wakefield published fraudulent research in the Lancet that suggested the vaccine had a role in causing autism Measles can cause debilitating or fatal complications to which babies and young children with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable Read more“I want to wipe out measles,” said Spahn a former candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as leader of the Christian Democratic Union hailing vaccinations as “one of humanity’s greatest achievements” The minister’s initiative was praised by members of the Social Democratic party the junior coalition partner in Germany’s “grand coalition” government “Individual freedom finds its limits where it endangers the health of others,” said the SPD leader who signalled her party’s support for the draft law “That’s why I consider it important to make vaccination against infectious diseases like measles mandatory.” Some Green party politicians have voiced reservations about the proposals arguing that mandatory vaccination would be more likely to increase distrust among sceptics “Spahn should focus on convincing people … instead of coercing them,” the Green politician Kordula Schulz-Asche told Tagesspiegel newspaper When his 50-mile ultramarathon was cancelled due to the pandemic last year decided to start planning to hike Canada’s 1,100-km Great Divide Trail for charity He only learned about the GDT when he moved to Canmore five years ago with his partner who says he has never been anything more than an average runner Cotterell had frequently gone on runs or hikes along the trail but there was so much that he hadn’t explored “One of the best feelings about trail running is being in the middle of nature with absolutely no one around you,” he said in an interview After a quick browse of the trail on fastestknowntime.com who yo-yo’d the trail in 2019 (meaning she hiked it in both directions) in 23 days and eight hours RELATED: Things trail runners don’t have to deal with Cotterell knew if he wanted to achieve his goal of covering the trail in under 23 days, he would have to hire a coach. He began reaching out to famous trail runners on Instagram for training advice. In came Joe McConaughy an ultramarathoner and ex-track runner with four FKTs to his name including the Appalachian Trail (self-supported) and the Arizona Trail (supported) “The reason I reached out to Joe was for his experience and style,” says Cotterell “His knowledge about gear and FKTs made me feel more confident going into my journey.”  McConaughy set Cotterell up with a training plan one year before the start of his journey Training for an FKT is very similar to training for an ultramarathon – McConaughy had Cotterell running six days a week “We went in with the motto that the fitter I am the easier each kilometre will feel,” said Cotterell.  Cotterell noted that the toughest part of the GDT is that it’s very remote “We had to plan out our campsite stops months and months before due to doing this FKT during peak tourist season,” he said “I would often go three to four days between resupplies as the GDT doesn’t go through many towns.” Megan and a few of his friends would meet up with him every three to four days to hike along the trail and restock him with food and gear.  RELATED: Fort McMurray woman runs 200Km through Northern Alberta “The toughest part about this journey was to keep neutral thoughts,” Cotterell said “I was 1,000 kilometres into the trail and bothered by a dime-sized blister on my foot I just had to keep telling myself that it could be worse.” Each day Cotterell covered between 55 and 60 kilometres of hiking and over 2,000 metres of climbing.  What made the journey special was the final day as Megan and a few close friends joined him for the last 30 kilometres “I honestly couldn’t have done it without my team,” he said “Just to have their support kept me balanced and motivated to keep going.” Cotterell achieved his goal and set a new Great Divide Trail FKT in 20 days During his journey, Cotterell raised $9,500 for Crossing the Divide a charity that provides opportunities for disadvantaged youth through outdoor education in Alberta Cotterell has been on the board of the charity since 2019.  You can donate towards his cause, here. Get the digital edition of Running for your chosen platform: By ALLAN HALL FOR MAILONLINE Updated: 22:29 BST This lethal collection of arms was found in the home of a 17-year-old German boy just 24 hours after another teenager in the country killed 15 people in a classroom bloodbath Police swooped on the grammar school pupil's flat after a tip-off that he had boasted of 'taking out the trash' at his school When armed officers burst into the home in Schwelm handguns and chemicals ready to be mixed to make bombs  A collection of weapons and chemicals found at the home of a 17-year-old school boy in Schwelm A police spokesman said: 'The youth had access to an arsenal of weapons that was truly frightening in its size.' The teenager's arrest came as a wave of copycat threats against schools swept across Germany following 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer's rampage in Winnenden on Wednesday a 15-year-old wrote the words 'shooting spree' in chalk in his schoolyard and a school in south-west Freiburg was evacuated after a bomb threat Victims: Chantal Schill (left) and Steffi (right) were both 16 It is believed Kretschmer deliberately targeted girls Murdered: 14-year-old Jana Schober (left) was gunned down as she attended school in Winnenden whilst a victim identified as 'Nina' is also being mourned a school was also closed yesterday after yet another online threat But the Schwelm arsenal seemed to be evidence of an impending attack Police said the 17-year-old boy attended a grammar school in the town of Ennepetal He was first brought to their attention four days ago when the mother of a fellow pupil called them expressing concern about the teenager's boasts to other children that he would kill pupils at his school Final moments: Mobile phone footage shows gunman Tim Kretschmer pacing back and forward on a garage forecourt before apparently shooting himself and then collapsing to the ground It is unclear why he was not detained until after the bloodbath in Winnenden The boy was arrested at his school at the same time as police raided his bedroom at the apartment where he lived with his parents officers found a suitcase containing the bomb-making materials The pupil was found to have accessed school computers earlier in the week seeking information about building a bomb Killing spree: Tim Kretschmer shot 16 people dead before shooting himself who had last year been sent for psychiatric counselling for assaulting a teacher was being cared for in a mental hospital last night saying instead he was just a keen 'weapons collector' The threats come as the investigation into the Kretschmer school massacre suffered a setback when it was revealed that a warning posted on an internet chatroom by the 17-year-old killer was a hoax Police and Stuttgart prosecutors said that 'in the course of the afternoon doubts arose about the veracity of the Internet chat' Emotional: Students light candles at a memorial at Albertville School today But police spokesman Klaus Hinderer said a search of Kretschmer's computer had shown no trace of his having made the chatroom posting Kretschmer was said to have posted the message on an online chatroom just hours before the massacre The note to another chatroom user with the online name Bernd is believed to have read: 'I have weapons here and I'm going to my old school The body of a victim lies on the ground outside the school 'Everybody laughs at me and nobody recognises my potential I have weapons here and I am going to my old school tomorrow.' last night doubts emerged over the veracity of the message Police spokesman Klaus Hinderer said a search of Kretschmer's computer showed no trace of the warning 'We are looking into claims that this message is not genuine,' he added 'At the moment we are not 100 per cent sure either way.' A message posted on the site  -  krautchan.net  -  also read: 'No killing spree was announced here.' the alleged message was actually a faked image that was posted on the site at 4.57pm on Wednesday Bullet holes in the window of a car dealership at the shopping centre where the gunman died in a police shoot-out have been numbered Blood is seen at the crime scene outside the car dealership in Wendlingen where a salesman and a customer died and gunned down nine pupils and three teachers After killing another three people away from the school he shot himself after a stand-off with police Police have released a photo of the 9mm Beretta gun used in the shooting spree as the first of Kretschmer's victims were named it also emerged the teenager had been treated for depression and appeared to harbour a hatred of women Investigator Siegfried Mahler said Kretschmer had visited a psychiatrist five times between April and September last year Although he was supposed to continue his treatment at another clinic it is understood that Kretschmer wrote a note to his family telling them of his unhappiness who met Kretschmer recently through a friend said: 'He wrote to his parents that he's suffering and he can't go on Reports said that he had grown frustrated in recent months at being unable to make friends A neighbour also claimed Kretschmer displayed a hatred of women He said: 'In the park when I met him he would talk about this teacher and say he was going to "put her on the trash heap" The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group Darum erinnert der Zusammenbruch von Anil Usta so fatal an den Schock der Fußball-EM mit dem Dänen Christian Eriksen Die Taubenväter geben die Losnummern bekannt die bei der Tombola während des dreitägigen Sommerfestes in Gevelsberg gewonnen haben Drei Tage wurde kräftig gefeiert, und nun liegt auch die Gewinn-Liste der Sommerfest-Tombola der Taubenväter vor. Die Preise können am 10., 17. und 24. August von 10 bis 12 Uhr bei der Gebauer GmbH, Gewerbestraße 5, in Gevelsberg abgeholt werden Diese Preise entfallen auf die folgenden Losnummern: Gutschein Expert Ellinghaus 3095.Alle weiteren Preise: Kühltasche 115