livus

livus, 1 month ago

Cool, I still have my pw but haven't been there in years. Will go and feed my immortal pets.

livus, 1 month ago

In reality, using academic paper writing services is a type of cheating known as academic dishonesty.

Passing off someone else's writing as your own is also a form of plagiarism. It can cause you to fail your course or even  get kicked out of college!

Using academic essay writing "services" is an especially bad idea at college level. Here's why:

• Writers who work for paper mills (like the one OP is shilling here) earn significantly less than college graduates who take on honest work such as writing copy, articles, or other content, or even editing work.

• This means the people who write for them tend to be less skilled and less intelligent, so the work often isn't very good.

• Being caught cheating can cast a dark cloud over your future. It is not worth it. Professors will not give you good letters of recommendation if they even suspect you of cheating.

livus, 1 month ago

From the article:

Since 2010, Africa, which sees the highest burden of meningitis infection in the world, has been fighting outbreaks using the MenAfriVac vaccine. Although it has successfully eradicated about 80% of meningitis infections across the continent, the vaccine only protects against a single strain of the meningococcal bacteria, serogroup A.

That means Africans haven't had protection against the four other strains of the bacteria (C, W, Y and X), all of which cause the disease. Cases of meningitis have continued to rise in meningitis-prone areas, and have been attributed to the C, W, Y, and X strains, but not the A strain.

Last year, reported meningitis cases jumped 50% across Africa, according to the WHO. "According to any standards, it's unbearable to keep this disease burden," Marie-Pierre Preziosi, an expert on meningitis at the WHO, told DW. Between October 2023 and mid-March of this year, Nigeria experienced an outbreak of the C strain, which led to around 1,700 suspected meningitis cases and some 150 deaths across the country, the WHO reports. The vaccine was rolled out to address that epidemic. Other countries, such as Togo, have seen similar outbreaks in past years.

Meningitis belt

Africans located in the 26 countries considered part of the continent's meningitis belt are more susceptible than anyone in the world to meningitis. Preziosi said that is because of the area's climate.

At any given time, around 10% of the global population is carrying the bacteria that causes meningitis in the back of their throat or nose. The bacteria normally sits in mucus membranes, which protects against the spread of bacterial infection. Trouble only comes when the membrane is breached, allowing the bacteria to enter the bloodstream......

Even with early diagnosis and antibiotics, meningitis is deadly in about 10% of cases, and about 20% of those infected experience long-term health issues. "For those who survive, one-in-five can develop long-lasting disabilities — that can be neurological disabilities, loss of hearing, deafness, also losing limbs," said Preziosi. “So it's quite dramatic, and it can drive a whole community into poverty.” Meningitis is most commonly spread through droplets from coughing, sneezing or kissing. The incubation period is generally between three and four days.

Initial symptoms are usually non-specific and can look like the flu. If untreated, the carrier can develop high fever, light sensitivity, neck stiffness, bleeding in the skin and, in the worst cases, blood poisoning that can lead to sepsis. Infection leads to the inflammation of membranes surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord.

By protecting people from all five strains of meningitis, experts hope the new Men5CV vaccine will prevent the burden of the disease initially in the African meningitis belt, but eventually in other meningitis-prone regions.
Men5CV vaccine rollout

The Men5CV vaccine rolled out in Nigeria has been in the works for 13 years,, and uses the same infection fighting mechanism as the MenAfriVac....

livus, 1 month ago

From the article:

"We must clear the island because we anticipate there could be more eruptions. No activity is allowed within four kilometres from the crater," she said.

Footage seen by Reuters showed flows of red lava streaming down the mountain, reflected in the waters below, and billowing clouds of grey ash above its crater.

Ruang island is home to about 838 residents, most of whom have now been evacuated to the nearest island Tagulandang, said Heruningtyas.

Indonesia straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire," an area of high seismic activity that rests atop multiple tectonic plates.

Forgot #ringoffire

livus, 1 month ago

That's pretty interesting!

I have to admit I refuse to own anything past the first one.

When I was in the middle of watching the third one, the power cut out and I was conscious of a feeling of relief. That's as far as I got.

livus, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

Harry Belafonte's exuberent cover of "Day O (Banana Boat Song)" which was a hit in its time and re-popularized by the dinner scene in Beetlejuice.

The original is Jamaican folk/traditional and the first recording of it Eric Connor - Day O has a totally different tone to it. In the original, labouring on a banana plantation is as tiring and depressing as you'd think.

livus, 1 month ago

Banks says the ringing in her ears did not completely disappear, but now it's barely noticeable on most days.

"It's kind of like if I lived near a waterfall and the waterfall was constantly going," she says. Over time, the waterfall sound fades out of consciousness.

livus, 1 month ago

That single bed is giving hospital bed vibes.

livus, 1 month ago

Yeah, I'm on broadly the same page as you. Human rights aren't dependent on being a likeable person or even on lack of criminality.

I also think bad, reckless and immoral journalists are still journalists.

livus, 1 month ago

Nice to see it quantified!

I know everyone on the fediverse has been getting annoyed by all the passive voice headlines about how Palestinians magically "died" or "were killed".

livus, 1 month ago

There's probably fancy metal hairdressing combs that would do it, but the "prow" of a normal comb is too blunt to separate the hair perfectly. You end up with strands from the left on the right etc.

The old DIY trick is to turn a sharp-pointed knife upside down so that the blade doesn't face the scalp, and then use the point to gently part the hair. That's how you get a perfect straight parting.

livus, 1 month ago

It could get bad if you sliced your scalp!