What is NC Cooperative Extension?

We are more than cows and corn.

NC Cooperative Extension is Randolphs Countys link to the two land-grant universities in North Carolina (NC State and NC A&T). Land-grant universities have three parts to their mission: education, research and extension. NC Cooperative Extension extends research-based knowledge to all North Carolinians, helping them transform science into everyday solutions that improve their lives and grow our state.

Why Cooperative Extension?

Essential to extensions mission to grow the state is our collaboration with the US Department of Agricultures National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), NC State University, NC A&T State University and local (county) governments across the state. This strategic partnership and cooperation are why it is called Cooperative Extension.

Statewide, our funding is 14% federal, 36% state, 25% county and 25% other (grants, contracts donations etc). It is truly a cooperative effort to offer our services to North Carolina residents.

History of success: Then and now

In 1909, information was shared through a Boys Corn Club (the beginnings of 4-H) in Ashokie, NC, that adding nutrients to your cornfield by spreading manure could increase the corn yield. A young boy took that information when the average yield was 18 bushels per acre and increased his yield to 196 bushels per acre in two years. NC Cooperative Extension is still researching ways to increase farm productivity as the worlds population increases and with its demand for food.

Currently, agriculture is North Carolinas largest industry, generating $91.8 billion annually while employing roughly 17 percent of the states workforce. Ours is the third most diverse agriculture economy in the country, with more than 80 commercial crops and a large animal agriculture presence.

Another example from the early 1900s happened through Girls Canning Clubs. Young girls were taught food preservation. These girls sold their canned food in the wintertime to earn money. NC Cooperative Extension is still teaching life skills that build capacity in people. n 2019, 47,041 North Carolina consumers increased their knowledge of safe home food handling, preservation or preparation practices.

The Randolph County Center is fully staffed and offers services in all the NC Cooperative Extension program areas.

Adam Lawing is the Livestock Agent. Did you know that Randolph County has more beef cows and goats than any other county in North Carolina? Adam is a great resource for our Randolph County producers.

Blake Szilvay is the Field Crops/Forestry Agent. Blake helps producers identify pests and diseases in crops. He is a licensed drone pilot and uses that technology to help farmers. Blake has also brought forestry programming back to Randolph County to help woodland owners improve management practices. Over 50% of Randolph County is forested, and in 2016, those forested acres provided $4.6 million through harvests.

Ben Grandon is the Horticulture Agent. In 2019, Ben conducted 226 on-site consultations with homeowners. He helps with gardening questions, landscaping and lawn issues, and many more. Ben also leads the Randolph County Master Gardener Volunteer educational group. After Bens training, a Master Gardener Volunteer can provide research-based information about gardening and environmental stewardship to individuals. This years Master Gardener Training Course begins in April.

Jeannie Leonard is the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. Jeannie can teach food preservation and cooking skills. Recently, her Cooking Under Pressure (Instant Pot) classes have been popular. Her next class is on March 26. Jeannie also works with Randolph County businesses and organizations when they want to offer their employees wellness programs. Jeannie provides training on healthy recipes and cooking tips on location or here at the office.

Allison Walker is the 4-H Agent. Allison is passionate about Randolph County youth. Currently, she is working with 60+ classrooms on the Embryology Project. Allison provides 1 dozen eggs and incubators to each classroom so the teachers can teach the provided embryology curriculum. The second graders learn firsthand about chick development and get to see the chicks emerge from their shells. 4-H is a great youth development program open to all youth, not just farm kids.

Jody Terry is the 4-H Program Assistant. Jody spends many days in afterschool programming. She helps children through character education, healthy lifestyle choices or STEM education. She is gearing up for Bike Safety Week where she helps teach bike safety to the fourth graders. Jody has worked with thousands of children in Randolph County through the years and still remains committed and passionate about 4-H programming for the children.

Contact us by calling 336-318-6000 or visiting https://randolph.ces.ncsu.edu/

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Connecting with NC Cooperative Extension - Asheboro Courier Tribune

The study on Global Cryonics Technology Market, offers deep insights about the Cryonics Technology Market covering all the crucial aspects of the market. Moreover, the report provides historical information with future forecast over the forecast period. Some of the important aspects analyzed in the report includes market share, production, key regions, revenue rate as well as key players. This Cryonics Technology report also provides the readers with detailed figures at which the Cryonics Technology Market was valued in the historical year and its expected growth in upcoming years. Besides, analysis also forecasts the CAGR at which the Cryonics Technology is expected to mount and major factors driving markets growth.

Top Players Included In This Report:

The major players covered in Cryonics Technology are:PraxairCustom Biogenic SystemsCryothermCellulisThermo Fisher ScientificCryologicsAlcor Life Extension FoundationVWRKrioRusOregon CryonicsOsiris CryonicsSigma-AldrichSouthern Cryonics

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The Global Cryonics Technology Market is a highly competitive market. It has some players who have been in the business for quite some time. Subsequently there are many startups coming up to seize the huge opportunity this market offers. Some players have a presence only in a particular geography. In addition, the projections offered in this report have been derived with the help of proven research assumptions as well as methodologies. By doing so, the Cryonics Technology research study offers collection of information and analysis for each facet of the Cryonics Technology Market such as technology, regional markets, applications, and types. Likewise, the Cryonics Technology Market report offers some presentations and illustrations about the market that comprises pie charts, graphs, and charts which presents the percentage of the various strategies implemented by the service providers in the Global Cryonics Technology Market.

In addition to this, the report has been designed through the complete surveys, primary research interviews, as well as observations, and secondary research. Likewise, the Global Cryonics Technology Market report also features a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation by analyzing information collected from market experts and industry participants in the major points of the market value chain. This study offers a separate analysis of the major trends in the existing market, orders and regulations, micro & macroeconomic indicators is also comprised in this report. By doing so, the study estimated the attractiveness of every major segment during the prediction period.

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Types Covered In This Report:

By Type, Cryonics Technology market has been segmented into:Slow freezingVitrificationUltra-rapid

Applications Covered In This Report:

By Application, Cryonics Technology has been segmented into:Animal husbandryFishery scienceMedical sciencePreservation of microbiology cultureConserving plant biodiversity

The Cryonics Technology Market has its impact all over the globe. On Global level Cryonics Technology industry is segmented on the basis of product type, applications, and regions. It also focusses on market dynamics, Cryonics Technology growth drivers, developing market segments and the market growth curve is offered based on past, present and future market data. The industry plans, news, and policies are presented at a Global and regional level.

Table of Contents1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer4 Global Market Analysis by RegionsContinued

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Global Cryonics Technology Market 2020 SWOT Analysis, Drivers, Restraints, Growing Opportunities, Latest Trends, Applications and Forecast To 2025 -...

By Chris Forrester

February 14, 2020

A report from Northern Sky Research (NSR) forecasts that over $3.1 billion in cumulative revenues could be generated by 2029 for applications such as satellite life extension, relocation, de-orbiting, salvage, robotics, and space situational awareness. NSRs analysis shows progress of this much-anticipated technology and business as launches of satellite constellations continue, and there is growing concerns and opportunity to service in-orbit infrastructure to more accurately and efficiently manage orbital assets.

The in-orbit servicing (IoS) market stands ready to develop quickly, as Northrop Grummans Mission Extension Vehicle launch in late 2019 kick-starts a flurry of life extension and space tugs in-orbit service technologies. Meanwhile, increasing partnerships between players and future-proofing of satellites, such as OneWebs recent announcement to install a grappling handle on its satellites to help with future de-orbiting, are aiding the commencement of services and their sustainability, said NSR.

GEO satellites were once isolated, but missions once one and done are no longer the only available option, noted Dallas Kasaboski, NSR Senior Analyst and report lead author. Space as the next frontier is increasingly becoming a service environment where demand for greater control of orbital infrastructure, from beginning through end of life, is a reality, he adds.

NSRs analysis of the risks, challenges, players, and opportunity of IoS technology & services, finds that non-GEO satellites will drive 75 per cent of demand. However, Geostationary [demand] will control over 66 per cent of those cumulative revenues generated by 2029, due to higher complexity missions in higher orbits.

BSR said: Once in-orbit demonstration of life extension missions are successful, NSR notes that more complicated applications, such as robotic manipulation and salvage will follow. At the same time, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), newly represented and forecasted in NSRs report, is becoming even more globally recognized and supported.

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Report: Space tugs will develop rapidly | - Advanced Television

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. William Shakespeare

Life is indeed little. Englands bard must have sat beside many rivers and sacred places with wise souls to speak and write the way he did. His words emulate the teachings of my deman (grandparents) and mentors. They taught me that each time we see a falling star we know a new life is forming from an old soul, eventually returning to the sky when that life is rounded by sleep, and that all things in life are circular. I think of myself as a life extension of an old soul that has been loaned to me. I have always longed to be in the company of people older than me and wiser than me to learn, to grow and to be inspired by their lifes performance.

There are so many stories that need to be told and remembered. We all want to go forward. We need to respect the elements. Roma Yibiyung Winmar

We Noongar of the south-west of Western Australia constitute one of Australias largest Aboriginal cultural blocs, both in terms of population and a vast estate of lands and waters which includes Perth, Albany and Esperance. We share a common ancestral language with various regional dialects. As the first Aboriginal group in Western Australia to experience sustained foreign contact and British invasion, Noongar bore the brunt of land theft, frontier violence, and the dislocation from homelands and family resulting from successive government policies of segregation and assimilation.

Despite staggering odds, we Noongar find ways to continue to sing and speak the way our ancestors did. Noongar language is all around us in the names of local towns, suburbs, flora and fauna. Over 30,000 people identify as Noongar, and while Australian census data suggests that less than 2% of them speak the language at home, this number has grown exponentially in every census since 1996 as a result of continued efforts since the 1980s.

One of the most fulfilling things I have ever done in my life was sit with my grandmothers to learn our ancient Noongar language. The time spent with them and my everlasting connection with language is dear to my heart. Nine years ago, my cousin and modern theatre visionary Kyle J Morrison revealed his dream idea to develop a full Shakespeare work in Noongar language. Although initially surprised by the audacity of the idea, I jumped at the chance to collaborate and pay homage to the survival of our language.

We held a series of sporadic workshops over six years in which Noongar actors could reclaim the sounds of their mother tongue together in a safe, trusting and empowering environment. This process led to the formation of an ensemble of nine actors who have performed a 90-minute adaptation of Shakespeares Macbeth, titled Hecate, in this years Perth festival. I ended up with the responsibility to adapt and direct Hecate, co-translating it with my husband. The production is receiving critical acclaim, standing ovations and full houses. Still, the real achievement is supporting the emergence of more than nine Noongar people who can speak Noongar language now and into the future.

Hecate is indebted to broader longstanding efforts in our community to share, revitalise and maintain our language. Under the guidance of our editor, Roma Yibiyung Winmar, and with the encouragement of other senior language speakers, we have worked together to craft Hecate with the utmost care and attention to detail. Noongar words and philosophy are the true hero in Hecate the way we communicate, signal, celebrate, sing and cry our language has always been, and will always be, powerful. Why? Because we value truth in storytelling. Noongar people have always had the heart and organic ability to hold an audience captivated on story alone. Hecate celebrates the true strength of Noongar language expression, away from societys stereotypes, tropes and confinements of us. In this production, we have not eased into simply fulfilling the ways theatre audiences expect us to look and sound as Aboriginal performers. Hecate pays tribute to boodjar (mother earth) and all her wonders including us!

The courageous Noongar actors who bring these words to life on stage are truly inspirational and pave the way for a stronger Noongar speaking community.

Twelve Noongar words spoken in Hecate:

Kylie Bracknell [Kaarljilba Kaardn] is an actress, voice-over artist, television presenter, writer, dramaturg and theatre director from the south west of Western Australia, the Noongar nation

Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing

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Noongar words and philosophy are the true hero in our Macbeth adaptation Hecate - The Guardian

WASHINGTON The U.S. Army released its top 10 programs it intends to cancel or reduce in fiscal 2021 on Feb. 13, which accounts for $1.13 billion of the $2.4 billion the service plans to shift to higher priority modernization efforts.

Through a second round of night court an effort to find and shift funding from programs that dont align with the Armys modernization priorities or the National Defense Strategy the Army plans to eliminate 41 programs and reduce or delay another 39 programs across the five-year budget plan from FY21 through FY25, according to FY21 budget documents released Feb. 10.

That would allow $13.5 billion in funds to be moved toward the Armys top six modernization priorities.

During a budget briefing with the Pentagon press on Feb. 11, the Army said it would produce its list of the top 10 cuts and reductions. But when asked for more details, the service could not explain why it was unable to produce the entire list to the media, but noted it was provided to Congress.

In addition to a few programs the Army already revealed when asked specifically on Feb. 10 such as its plan to cancel the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and a delayed Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) buy the service is also cutting from missile, vehicle, communications and electronic warfare programs.

The Army revealed in the list that its cancellation of the APKWS program frees up $122 million in FY21.

The service also plans to cancel an FY20 new start program in FY21 the Mobile Intermediate Range Missile, or MIRM, which will save $90 million.

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The Army had planned over the next five budget cycles in FY20 to spend nearly $1 billion on MIRM, which is essentially a land-based cruise missile eyed for operations in the Indo-Pacific region to address the medium-range (1,000-kilometer) gap in capability there.

The service was going to move into a technology-maturation and risk-reduction phase in FY21 for the effort.

Plans to fund a service life extension program for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System are also canceled, according to the list, and will save the Army $42.5 million.

The Army is also canceling the Explosive Hazard Roller, Vehicle Optics Sensor System, freeing up $21.6 million as well as the High Mobility Engineer Excavator program worth $16.4 million in FY21.

The cancellation of a Heavy Equipment Transporter variant dubbed EHET in the list frees up another $7.8 million to be used for higher priority programs.

An electronic warfare system called the DOD Manager Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare system is also being canceled valued at $4.3 million.

The service is also eliminating the Route Clearance Interrogation System ($3.5 million), the Light Engineer Utility Trailer ($3.3 million), and the Tactical Electronic Power research and development program ($3.2 million).

Overall, the top 10 canceled programs amount to $314.8 million.

The Army will reduce Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle modifications further after cutting future upgrades beyond its A4 variant in FY20. The service is working to replace the Bradley down the road with an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program, which is currently fraught with uncertainty.

The reduction amounts to $222.2 million in FY21 to cover other modernization efforts. The Army intended to spend $715.3 million in FY21, according to the FY20 budget justification documents.

The Army will now spend $493.1 million which supports procurement of multiple modifications to the Bradley vehicles including the following: procurement and installation of the Track and Suspension [engineering change proposal], procurement and fielding of M2A4 vehicles, upgrades to the Bradley Fire Support Team vehicle, procurement of training devices and procurement of safety upgrades, according to FY21 budget documents.

The service notes that current projects indicate the Bradley and its fire support vehicle will remain in armored brigade combat team formations until the 2050s.

Some of the funding reduction comes from the elimination of production and fielding of an active protection system, according to the budget books. The Army is still working toward an APS for the vehicle but has run into a few issues that must be worked through, including changes to the APS itself. And the service needs the Bradley A4 to properly run the system, as A3 power capabilities cant support it.

The Army is freeing up $201.6 million by delaying procurement of the JLTV by three years, but that wont affect the services overall procurement objective. According to Pentagon budget documents, the Army is requesting $894.4 million in FY21 for 1,920 JLTVs of various configurations as well as 1,334 JLTV-T companion trailers.

If funding levels remain consistent with the [FY21] funding profile, the Army anticipates reaching the [acquisition program objective] in FY41, the service said in a statement providing clarity to the newly released budget documents.

The Joint Assault Bridge is also taking a $126.2 million hit. The JAB program is delayed a year due to difficulty with the hydraulics system, which has since been fixed. The program will go for another initial operational test this year after struggling through its first attempt in April 2019.

According to FY20 budget documents, the Army planned to spend $164.3 million in FY21, but will now only spend $72.2 million on the program in that fiscal year.

The Army is also reducing its Close Terrain Shaping Obstacle program, which are munitions used to create obstacles on the battlefield, by $92.9 million. It will also cut $36.6 million out of its Lightweight Laser Designated Rangefinder program.

As the service prepares to procure a new precision strike missile, or PrSM, it has reduced its plans to conduct a service life extension program for the Army Tactical Missile, or ATACMS, which PrSM will ultimately replace. The Army will save $35.6 million in FY21 for that decision.

Additionally, while the service had funded the ATACMS service life extension program across the five-year defense plan in its FY20 budget documents, the FY21 documents show no funding in its five-year plan past FY21.

The Army is also reducing funding for the Distributed Common Ground System-Army, a data analytics capability for intelligence analysis, by $30.6 million due to savings, the list indicates.

And the service is cutting out $25.5 million from PROPHET, a signals intelligence program.

While the Army did not specify what mortars will be cut, it plans to reduce mortar procurement by $22.7 million, and the service will cut from its Total Army Munitions Requirement by $21.9 million.

Through all of the top 10 reductions, the Army will move $815.8 million into priority programs.

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Here's the US Army's top 10 canceled and reduced programs in FY21 - DefenseNews.com

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Is the Trump administration interested in authorizing the development of a new nuclear warhead? The U.S. Department of Energys fiscal year 2021 budget request, revealed on Monday, outlines, among other things, a new warhead program known as the W93.

As part of the budget request highlights published by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is the U.S. Department of Energy agency charged with maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal, the W93 warhead program is identified alongside four other older programs as part of the weapons activities budget request. The total budget request for this category of NNSA activities for fiscal year 2021 is $15.6 billion, a 25.2 percent increase over the fiscal year 2020 amount.

The funds will sustain and modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile with five weapons programs, including the B61-12 Life Extension Program, W80-4 Life Extension Program, W88 Alteration 370, W87-1 Modification Program, and the W93 warhead program, the NNSA noted.

The NNSAs budget release describe the W93 warhead program for the first time in its budget release in a single sentence: The W93 warhead program was recently endorsed by the Nuclear Weapons Council and the Deputy Secretary of Defense to support the U.S. Strategic Command-required replacement for the Navys Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Analysts like the Federation of American Scientists Hans Kristensen (disclosure: I am affiliated with FAS) have pointed out that the W93 name, which is now public, is likely a new moniker for what was previously known as the Interoperable Warhead-2 and the Next Navy Warhead in the NNSAs July 2019 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP).

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In the SSMP, the Next Navy Warhead was slated to enter the studies and engineering phase of development in fiscal year 2024. If the W93 is the same warhead that was envisioned previously, it will deploy on the U.S. Navys next-generation ballistic missile submarines, the Columbia-class, for the entirety of that platforms lifetime.

Whats unclear for now is what kind of warhead the W93 will actually end up being. The United States has not designed any warheads from scratch since the W88, which is the highest-yield option on board the U.S. Navys currently operational Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The development of the W88 was completed in 1989.

One concern with the W93 designation is that the designation itself suggests something grander than a modification, or mod, like the recently fielded W76-2, which is a primary-only, lower-yield derivative of the W76-1 warhead. Calling the new warhead the W93 may imply an all-new design.

As a corollary of developing a new design, calls to resume nuclear testing might resurface in the United States. The fiscal year 2021 budget is silent on this matter and the Trump administration has not officially suggested that any new warheads might need to be tested, but this would be a major concern.

The United States ceased nuclear testing and entered a self-imposed moratorium on September 23, 1992. The only country to have tested any nuclear weapons in the 21st century is North Korea, which has been heavily criticized by the United States and other countries for doing so.

The Trump administration published a Nuclear Posture Review in 2018 that called for two new nuclear capabilities. The first of these, the W76-2, has been developed and fielded by the U.S. Navy. The second was a sea-launched cruise missile, which has yet to enter production.

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Will the United States Develop a New Type of Nuclear Warhead? - The Diplomat

Kellstrom Defense Aerospace (KDA) has announced a partnership with Lynden Air Cargo to install the first Digital Fuel Quantity Measurement Solution (DFQMS) on 382G (L-100) aircraft.

DFQMS is KDAs latest aircraft life extension product (LEP) and a modern active capacitance system.

Under the partnership, Lynden will also complete the supplemental type certificate (STC) for the L-100 aircraft type. The modernisation solution will support legacy C-130 and L-100 aircraft.

Kellstrom Defense said in a statement: The engineered product operating segment has invested to bring in a full-scale development programme for this technology, supported by our partners at the AMETEK SFMS and PDS divisions and the system engineering team at Cascade Aerospace, a Lockheed Martin service and engineering centre.

The DFQMS system improves system reliability, lowers material cost and increases mission readiness by replacing legacy fuel quantity measurement systems and aircraft wiring harnesses.

The Lynden installation is expected to clear the way for global fleet retrofit of this technology.

Kellstrom Defense Aerospace LEP vice-president Michael Farmer said: We are excited to work closely with Lynden on their fleet of 382G (L-100) aircraft to complete STC development and ensure that this critical technology reaches maturity.

It has been a team effort with AMETEK, Cascade Aerospace, Lynden, and KDA committing investment, resources, and technical know-how to achieve this milestone.

Kellstrom Defense develops and deploys aircraft upgrades that include the SHORT-POD APU and E2H ECS upgrades for C-130 and L-100 aircraft.

In October 2018, Cascade Aerospace signed an exclusive agreement with Kellstrom Defense to support the upgrade installation for the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft.

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Kellstrom Defense and Lynden partner to install DFQMS on L-100 aircraft - Airforce Technology

WASHINGTON The Army will reduce its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) buy in the fiscal 2021 budget and cancel procurement of specific precision-guided rockets in order to fund modernization priorities, according to Maj. Gen. Paul Chamberlain, the Armys budget director.

Through a second round of night court an effort to find and shift funding from programs that dont align with the Armys modernization priorities or the National Defense Strategy the service found an additional $2.4 billion to move from lower priority programs.

And the Army found a total of $13.5 billion across the five-year budget plan in savings, with $7.2 billion of that coming from a legacy system review.

Chamberlain said the JLTV procurement would be reduced in FY21. The reductions wont affect the Armys overall procurement requirement but will extend the process to buy the vehicles out by additional years.

According to Pentagon budget documents, the Army is requesting $894.4 million in FY21 for 1,920 JLTVs of various configurations as well as 1,334 JLTV-T companion trailers.

The number of JLTVs under contract totals 10,760. The services forecasted quantities total across the five-year budget plan is 8,829 vehicles. If funding levels remain consistent with the [FY21] funding profile, the Army anticipates reaching the [Acquisition Program Objective] in FY41, the service said in a statement providing clarity to the newly released budget documents.

The Army cut its procurement of the JLTV in its FY20 budget request by 863 vehicles as well. The service procured 3,393 vehicles in FY19 in low-rate initial production, but only planned to buy 2,530 vehicles in FY20. The Army originally planned in its FY19 request to buy 3,035 vehicles in FY20.

The service also struggled to reach full-rate production due to several changes to the vehicle. The Army originally planned to make an FRP decision in December 2018 but didnt reach the milestone until May 2019.

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Defense Secretary Mark Esper, while serving as Army secretary in the spring of 2019, said that the vehicle was designed and procured in the context of Afghanistan and Iraq, and hence was just not as relevant anymore when applied to the fresh NDS guiding Army investment.

We are certainly cutting the total number," Esper said of the vehicles, at the time.

The Army is also canceling the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKS) procurement, which are guided rockets, Chamberlain said.

And the Army is also canceling the High Mobility Engineer Excavator and research and development of tactical electric power, he added.

The service is also planning to reduce the service life extension program for the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and some mortar procurement, Chamberlain said.

The Army is planning to replace ATACMS with its new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are competing to build the new missile for the Army.

As far as the bigger programs that saw reductions or cancellations last year in order to find funding for top priorities, the Army is not walking back on those decisions.

For example, the service is still continuing to upgrade Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles in advance of procuring its replacement, the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, which is currently in a tactical pause. But its not adding back cuts it made to upgrades to pay for OMFV, despite its unclear future.

And the Army is still not planning on funding any CH-47F Block II Chinook cargo helicopters for the active force, which it cut last year, despite Congress injecting funds in FY20 to jump start advanced procurement for aircraft for the active force.

Chamberlain said the service is still planning to fund the development and procurement of the Block II variant for Army Special Operations.

The Army plans to revisit its decision to cut the CH-47F Block II procurement for conventional forces in FY23, according to a service statement. The options include buying the Block II variant for the active component or recapitalizing the Block I variant, the statement details.

See the original post here:

Army sacrifices JLTV and guided rockets to pay for Army modernization in FY21 - DefenseNews.com

It wont be long until Animal Crossing: New Horizons lands in our laps, but with this new Chrome extension, you dont need to wait until then to vibe to peaceful tunes from the series.

A free Chrome extension called Animal Crossing Music brings the series real-time soundtrack to real life, letting you live like a resident of your own in-game town.

The extension takes into account data like your local time of day, day of the week, and even the weather to customize your listening experience. By default, it will play the same music at the same time as it would in-game. Currently Im enjoying the mid-morning tunes of the original Animal Crossing while writing this from the US west coast. This weekend, I may hop online just to catch the latest K.K. Slider live performance. Its a neat adaptation of the games beloved real-time gameplay mechanics.

It also features music spanning the illustrious history of the series, including Animal Crossing, Wild World, City Folk/ Lets Go to the City, New Leaf, and even Animal Forest, the series' Japan-only progenitor. You can randomize which game soundtracks you hear in your browser and even override its localized settings. If its snowing out your front door but you wish it wasnt, tell Animal Crossing Music to play the sunny day music. Maybe your schedule is off and you want the games evening vibes first thing in the morning. You can do that too. The weather data requires that you give the extension your location, so keep that in mind if youre not the type to share that info so freely.

For the most musically inclined, you can even customize your own Town Tune and have it play on the hour like the clock in the center of your quaint village. The extension is totally free and available in both Chrome Web Store and GitHub.

It looks like Animal Crossing: New Horizons will have microtransactions.

Read the original:

Let Animal Crossing be the background music to your life with this Chrome extension - GamesRadar

Magnesium is the mineral that just keeps growing. Nutritional Outlook has included magnesium in its annual Ingredients to Watch projections for a few years runningand reasons are strong for highlighting magnesium again in 2020.

First, sales: Market researcher SPINS (Chicago) reports that in the 52 weeks ending October 6, 2019, magnesium saw impressive sales growth that pushed the mineral, for the first time, to rank within the top-10 ingredients, in terms of dollar change, that SPINS tracks cross-channel (mainstream, natural, and specialty gourmet channels). Combining these channels, magnesium experienced double-digit sales growth last year of 11%, taking sales to $151 million by the periods end. (For more insights on this cross-channel growth, click here.)

As many have predicted in years past, magnesium is set to overtake calcium as the mineral markets superstar. Says Nick Dehnert, vice president of brand marketing for supplements company Nutranext, The rapid growth of the magnesium category helped it recently surpass the size of the calcium category in the natural channel of trade, and we expect magnesium to continue its healthy growth trend as consumer awareness grows.

Consumer interest in magnesium is on the rise. The Council for Responsible Nutritions (CRN; Washington, DC) latest Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, conducted on more than 2000 U.S. adults in August 2019, ranked magnesium as one of the top-10 dietary supplements U.S. consumers take. In the 2019 survey, 18% of supplement users surveyed said they take magnesium. In fact, says Andrea Wong, PhD, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for CRN, According to CRNs Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, consumer usage of magnesium supplements overall has increased over the last five years.

Andrea Rosanoff, PhD, is an expert on magnesium research. As the director of research and science information outreach for the Center for Magnesium Education & Research LLC (CMER; Pahoa, HI; http://www.magnesiumeducation.com), Rosanoff has been studying magnesium for 35 years. Until recently, she says, magnesium has been a very underevaluated and underwatched nutritional supplement. (CMER, soon to be a nonprofit organization, comprises independent scholars whose mission is to promote nutritional magnesium awareness and the peer-reviewed science behind magnesium.)

But while magnesium has been underrated in the past, she says, that is slowly changing. I would say that in the last three to five years, people have come up to me and said, Oh, I read about magnesium, and its really important, wanting to know a little bit more about it. Interestingly, Rosanoff says, the dieticians that her Center speaks to are often less aware about the research and importance of magnesiumthat, in fact, it is consumers who seem to be giving magnesium its boost. Its the consumer who seems to be interested in driving the desire for knowledge about magnesium, she says.

Chalk that up to growing research and media attention on magnesiums role in good health. Rosanoff says there is more than 50 years worth of research on magnesium by now. So, what does research show?

Studies are revealing magnesiums role in many body systems, says Vanessa Pavey, ND, who is also an education scientist for supplements brand Life Extension. Magnesium helps regulate heart muscle contraction and relaxes arterial smooth muscles to promote healthy blood flow. Magnesium aids in synaptic connections between neurons to support memory. It is also a cofactor for enzymes that regulate the neurotransmitters associated with mood. And, it is becoming common knowledge that magnesium supports more regular bowel movements.

Given these benefits, its no surprise to see, per SPINS data, that magnesium sales were up in the following health supplement categories: digestive health (mainstream channel), brain health (natural channel), heart health (natural and specialty gourmet channels), mood (natural and specialty gourmet channels), and bone health (specialty gourmet channel). Magnesium is also linked to healthy blood sugar management.

Where is the scientific evidence for magnesiums efficacy strongest?

Studies are long-reaching on magnesiums benefits for heart health, especially its benefits for those suffering from high blood pressure. Rosanoff, who in 2003 co-authored a book called The Magnesium Factor together with her mentor, the late Mildred S. Seelig, MD, MPH, says that in the cardiovascular space, the research is quite robust on magnesium. And while pharmaceuticals and antihypertensive medications have taken over as treatments prescribed for heart disease and high blood pressure, Rosanoff says she believes that the real cause of heart disease epidemic in the Western world and spreading globally is a low-magnesium diet.

The whole heart disease epidemic is the symptom[T]hey have all these treatments for it, and weve been spending all this money on it, but there seems to be a reluctance to take a look and say that the core issue is really a low magnesium intake that happens chronically, and its happening to the entire population, she adds. What we are doing is treating the symptoms of what is in fact a nutritional deficiency in most casesnot all cases. In 2016, CMER was instrumental in the submission of a qualified health claim petition to FDA linking magnesium to lowering blood pressure. The petition is still in review.

Stress management is also an evolving market for magnesium, reflecting consumers growing search for stress aids. And while the mental health research on magnesium is nowhere as robust as it is for heart health, Rosanoff says that magnesium is crucial to optimizing how you face stress. Because magnesium is involved in so many bodily reactions and even up to 80% of metabolism, if you get low in magnesium, your reactions just cant go as well as they optimally could, she says.

This is how basic magnesium is to life, she points out, and in some of these basic cellular metabolic reactions that make life run smoothly.

See original here:

Magnesium saw huge cross-channel sales growth last year. Here's what's driving the ingredient in 2020: 2020 Ingredient trends to watch for foods,...

Jean and Kevin McCabe

A Villager awarded the Purple Heart after suffering life-altering injuries in Vietnam is tearing up the driveway extensions which had been aimed at easing his mobility.

Kevin McCabe and his wife, Jean, and several of their neighbors in the Hallandale Villas were turned in nearly two years ago for unauthorized driveway extensions at their homes. The residents in the patio villa community were victims of an anonymous complaint.

The McCabes fought for and won a number of extensions from the Community Development District 8 Board of Supervisors while they pursued a discrimination case under the Fair Housing Act.

The couple recently learned that their case has been dismissed by the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which investigated the complaint on behalf of the FHA.

Based on the evidence obtained during the investigation, the FCHR has determined that reasonable cause does not exist to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred, according to a copy of the ruling obtained by Villages-News.com

McCabe served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967 and was seriously injured when he stepped on a land mine. He and other aging and physically challenged residents of the Hallandale Villas ran afoul of Community Standards after they extended their driveways without approval from the Architectural Review Committee. He had argued he needs the driveway extension because of his physical limitations.

Read the original here:

Villager awarded Purple Heart in Vietnam forced to tear out driveway extensions - Villages-News

Catherine Burns Food4Thought

Published Feb 14, 2020 at 8:00 am(Updated Feb 14, 2020 at 12:30 am)

Bedroom benefits: adequate sleep improves everything and your diet can boost your sex drive

When I was 14 years old, I was given flowers on Valentines Day and they were beautiful.

For a few days, I existed in a bit of a spin wondering who this secret admirer could be. It turned out later that the flowers were from my stepdad, a clever move designed to improve my mums Valentines Day by not having a nobody-loves-me teenager in the house. (Genius, yes?)

By the time I found out, the world had moved on and I was too busy focusing on some other drama to be devastated. Decades later, theres no doubt that the day itself can be a little crazy. Hallmark have kinda run away with the concept, after all. But if you ask me, its always fun to focus on love!

Whether its cuddles on the sofa or bedroom Olympics, it helps to be in the mood. Thing is, many of us are so busy and stressed that our libidos tend to dive-bomb. Its hard to feel sexy when you still have to load the dishwasher and take out the trash. With work e-mails constantly pinging on our phones, toddlers reappearing long after bedtime and laundry coming out of our ears, we could be forgiven for choosing comfy pants and an early night.

So how, when we know in theory we would like to spice things up, do we actually make it happen?

Of course, clearing relationship grudges and confusion is always a good place to start. But chat to your friends or a therapist about that I wont pretend its my speciality area!

Where I can help you is with some nutrition tips that are surprisingly effective. What you eat and drink, likely has much more of an impact than you think. Read on!

Its not just what you do, its what you dont do

As promising as some supplements may be, you cant out-supplement a bad diet. If your libido is on the floor and you generally consume a processed diet full of junk, then no wonder. Theres no point taking zinc and essential fats with a burger and fries! Try and commit to a few weeks of clean eating and see how you feel on the other side. You might just feel so good that it motivates you to continue. And when you make dietary changes because you want to (not because you have to), then you have hit lifestyle gold. Its so easy!

Basic essentials

I mention zinc and essential fats for a reason. Both are important for healthy hormone balance, which is the foundation for a cracking sex drive. You can find zinc in pumpkin seeds, oats, oysters, turkey and shrimp. You can find essential fats in unroasted nuts and seeds, wild salmon, oily fish and avocados. If you dont like oily fish, then try a good quality fish oil supplement such as Nordic Naturals (Peoples), Life Extension (Rock On) or Innate Choice (Inside Out Wellness). If you are on medication for epilepsy, then fish oil supplements are usually contraindicated. This may be true for other meds (especially blood thinners), so always check in with your physician.

Balance your blood sugar

Key for hormone balance and mood. Also key for preventing the cravings that lead to sugar/junk food overload, which in turn leads to feelings of shame and regret, ie not feeling sexy! Try eating little and often through the day, only picking healthy carbs (eg wholegrains, root veg, fruit or beans/lentils) and always pairing those carbs with protein. A sample day: breakfast: vegetable omelette and a bowl of berries; snack: an apple and some almonds; lunch: salad with salmon or chicken, beans and olives; snack: carrots and hummus; dinner: quinoa with fish and green vegetables. If you need a little chocolate in your life, try some dark chocolate and a handful of nuts.

Stay hydrated

Its basic, but so important. The first sign of dehydration is fatigue. So if you dont have any energy, check you are drinking enough water. It also helps to prevent constipation, which can be the root cause of gas and bloating (a bit of a passion killer, lets face it).

Try collagen

Collagen is famous for improving skin health and elasticity including, (dont be shocked) the integrity of the vaginal wall! Pick a grass-fed collagen hydrolysate (eg the Great Lakes brand at Miles) and stir in 1 teaspoon at a time into tea or coffee. Goes fine in smoothies too. Its also good for phase 2 liver detox, gut health, hair growth and preventing wrinkles/cellulite. (Dont worry, the cashiers wont judge you although they might give you a wink!)

Sexy foods

Its not just oysters a good job, as I think theyre gross (each to their own!) but also bananas, watermelon, dark chocolate and high-quality protein can boost serotonin and your libido. Hooray!

Fenugreek

Often used to help improve breast milk production, fenugreek can also improve sex drive in men as it seems to regulate poor testosterone levels. Bumper breast milk supplies in women and an improved libido in men might lead to a somewhat bizarre or wet Valentines experience but . good luck! You can get fenugreek in supplement form or as a tea.

Sleep

Remember, adequate sleep improves everything. Specifically, though, men who only get four hours of sleep a night have the same testosterone level as men a decade older. Aside from that, we all need adequate rest for repair, memory, immunity and our sanity. So switch off Netflix and get into bed! In fact, try and ban all screens from the bedroom. If youre wondering how on earth you will wake up in the morning, then buy an actual alarm clock they do still exist!

I hope that helps! Looking forward to lots of November babies! Have a great weekend one and all.

Catherine Burns is a qualified nutritional therapist. For more details: natural.bm, 505-4725, Natural Nutrition Bermuda on Facebook and @naturalbda on Instagram

See the rest here:

Get in the mood for love! - Royal Gazette

Maintenance team attends to Minuteman III

A significant portion of Americas nuclear deterrent force currently relies on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that were fielded over forty years ago. This mission, which represents the bedrock of U.S. security, demands modern technology. The time for a replacement is now.

Since the dawn of the nuclear age, nuclear deterrence has been an enduring tenet of U.S. defense strategy.It is fundamental to checking threats from Russia and China who possess sufficient numbers of nuclear weapons to pose an existential threat to the U.S. The U.S. nuclear triadcomprised of air, sea, and ground launched nuclear weapons, each with unique characteristics and advantages that collectively compensate for the disadvantages of the othersremains the cornerstone of effective U.S. nuclear deterrence. Yet, over the past three decades, every leg of the U.S. triad has been allowed to age, if not atrophy.

The LGM-30 Minuteman III, is the ICBM land leg of the U.S. nuclear triadand is complemented by theTridentsubmarine-launched ballistic missile(SLBM), and nuclear weapons carried by long-range bombers. The first Minuteman was developed in the late 1950s and the current Minuteman III entered service with the Air Force in the 1970s.Originally intended for a service life of just a decade, the Air Force invested in a series of service life extension programs (SLEPs) through the 1990s and early 2000s in order to maintain the Minuteman III force through 2030. The deferment of a new ICBM system meant that any replacement would likely be fielded at thenear endof the Minutemans existing service life.

Russia and China, meanwhile, developed and deployed a wide variety of new ICBMsto include rail and road mobile variants. Russias newest ICBM, theRS-28 Sarmat, was publicly unveiled by Russian President Putinin 2018. China has developed several long-range ICBMs, most notably theDF-31and theDF-41 capable ofcarrying 10 independently targetable nuclear warheads. China has also recently tested an SLBMsignaling their intent to deploy a full-fledged triad themselves.

While the number of nuclear weapons Russia and the U.S. possesses is determined in part by arms control agreements, there are only bilateral treaties between the U.S. and Russia. China was not a party to any of the Cold War era arms control agreements and is not a party to any similar treaty today.

In 2014, the Air Force determined that a new ICBM system would be required to maintain effective U.S. nuclear deterrence and assurance beyond 2030. This was largely due to concerns about flexibility of the missile system as new threats emerged over time and ever escalating maintenance costs on the aging Minuteman III system. The Air Force then ran a series of competitions among industry leaders to design and produce this new system. In the end, after three years of competition, only one contractor submitted a bid. This fact affords the Air Force an opportunity to accelerate the new ICBM program now called the ground based strategic deterrent (GBSD). The Air Forces original acquisition schedule anticipated the need to review multiple 1000+ page proposals. Now that this is unnecessary given the single bid, the Air Force is in a position to accelerate the GBSD acquisition process because it can avoid the multitude of time-consuming elements of the source selection process required when there is more than one bidder. This acceleration would provide some slack in the program schedule and meet U.S. Strategic Commands imperative to go fast.

It is not uncommon for the Defense Department to receive only one bid on major programs: the global positioning satellite (GPS) III, Presidential helicopter, armored multi-purpose vehicle, and the optionally manned fighting vehicle are just some of the solicitations that received a single bid. There are regulations for the government to follow in these situations that yield transparency and insight into the bidders pricing.

One of the challenges of this program is the strict schedule. Through age and attrition, the size of the Minuteman III missile force will dwindle dramatically after 2030. That means the program must meet its critical milestones on timelike first flight and full functional test. Time is of the essence to design, develop, and test all the sub-systems that need to be integrated for first flight. Every month that the engineers spend focused on this program is an investment in risk reduction and schedule certainty.

While no one could have predicted the dynamics in the aerospace industry landscape when this program was first authorized, a series of unusual circumstances have gifted the Air Force the opportunity to accelerate the GBSD program. Deploying our new ICBM leg of the triad ahead of schedule and with considerable savings would be a big win for all Americans.

Read the original:

The Opportunity Exists To Move Faster On Nuclear Modernization - Forbes

Published 6 February 2020

Glasgows Govan Old Church could be adapted and extended to enable the A-listed building to be utilised as an events venue and public space.

Plans lodged by JM Architects on behalf of Govan Heritage Trust envisage the provision of office space, a toilet and a lift, which will allow the main church building to function as a venue for events such as weddings, concerts and other gatherings.

Others phases of the development include a low-lying new-build studio to the north, internal refurbishment of lower ground floor office space in the main church building, landscaping of the grounds and restoration of the main building.

A document submitted with the planning application stated: The extension to the main church building is envisioned as a cloister an enclosed space with an arcade around its perimeter, formed from hewn stone, which will be both sympathetic to the adjacent church whilst clearly distinguishing it as a modern intervention.

It said: It is intended that the office space will be future-proofed to allow for this space to become a cafe to service the main church building (which will itself eventually be realised as a visitor experience for the Govan Stones as well as a venue for events) should the business plan for the overall development require it.

As such, the proposals should be viewed as a piece of a much wider strategy which will see the area around Govan Old transformed with the extension providing flexibility to cater for the evolution of the site.

The statement added: With the construction of the pedestrian footbridge, Govan Old would lie at the end of what might be seen as a circuit of culture, extending into Glasgows West End along the Kelvin Walkway.

Along this route lie the Riverside Museum, Kelvin Hall and Kelvingrove Museum, with several of Glasgows other key cultural amenities, including the Hunterian Museum and Glasgow University, also being within walking distance.

With Glasgow City Council proposing to extend the Kelvin Walkway to the Clyde, Govan Old would also benefit from lying at the effective end of the Kelvin Walkway.

As such, the site presents the opportunity to add to and consolidate a cluster of cultural institutions whilst also providing a hub for visitors from which to explore these amenities and the wider Govan area.

The rest is here:

Extension planned to breathe new life into A-listed Govan Old Church - Scottish Construction Now

HOBOKEN Feb 9, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Anavex Life Sciences Corp earnings conference call or presentation Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 9:30:00pm GMT

* Christopher U. Missling

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Executive

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Principal Financial Officer & Treasurer

H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Associate

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Analyst & Director of Biotechnology Research

Good afternoon. My name is Anna, and I will be your conference operator today. Welcome to the Anavex Life Sciences to announce fiscal 2020 first quarter financial results conference call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Clint Tomlinson. Please go ahead.

Clint Tomlinson, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Executive [2]

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today for Anavex Life Sciences' conference call and webcast. Our agenda is to review the company's financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2020 and provide a clinical study update. A taped replay of this call will be available approximately 2 hours after the call's conclusion and will remain available for 1 month. The call will also be available for replay on Anavex's website at http://www.anavex.com.

With us today is Dr. Christopher Missling, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Sandra Boenisch, Principal Financial Officer. Dr. Missling and Ms. Boenisch will make prepared remarks, and then we will take questions from equity analysts.

Before we begin, please note that during this conference call, the company will make some projections and forward-looking statements regarding future events. We encourage you to review the company's filings with the SEC. This includes, without limitation, the company's forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify the specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. These factors may include, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital and maintenance of intellectual property rights.

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Dr. Missling.

Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [3]

Thank you. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us on today's conference call to review our first quarter financial results and share with you some clinical updates for ANAVEX 2-73 or blarcamesine.

We were pleased to announce earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has granted Fast Track designation for the ANAVEX 2-73 clinical development program for the treatment of Rett syndrome. FDA Fast Track is a program designed to facilitate and expedite the development and review of a new drug to address unmet medical need in the treatment of a serious and life-threatening condition for which it demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for such a disease or condition. The purpose of the program is to get important new therapies to the patients earlier in order to address the unmet medical need in the treatment of serious and life-threatening diseases. Our clinical Rett Syndrome Program, RS-001 and RS-002, AVATAR, are on track with continued enrollment.

We continue to strengthen our patent position as well. During the quarter, we were granted another U.S. patent to support Anavex' leading drug candidate, ANAVEX 2-73, for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, including Rett syndrome and multiple sclerosis. This patent is expected to remain enforced at least until 2037, not including any patent term extensions. It covers methods of treatment for neurodevelopmental disorders, including Rett syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, Angelman syndrome and cerebral palsy, among others, and also treatment for multiple sclerosis using ANAVEX 2-73.

Regarding the ANAVEX 2-73 Parkinson's disease dementia study, we were pleased to report that we met our enrollment target for the study, the study enrollment over 100 patients at 20 sites across Spain and 3 sites in Australia. We expect to announce top line results from this study by mid-2020.

Enrollment for the Phase IIb/III ANAVEX 2-73 Alzheimer's disease study is 50% complete. Recruitment is expected to accelerate given the anticipated international expansion of the study, which will increase the total number of sites from 15 to approximately 45 in 2020.

We are reporting advancement of another pipeline compound. We have successfully completed IND-enabling toxicology studies and drug product manufacturing for ANAVEX 3-71. ANAVEX 3-71 previously received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. FDA for frontotemporal dementia, FTD, and initiation of the first Phase I clinical trial of ANAVEX 3-71 is expected in 2020.

And now I would like to direct the call to Sandra Boenisch, Principal Financial Officer of Anavex, for a brief financial summary of the recently reported quarter.

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Sandra Boenisch, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Principal Financial Officer & Treasurer [4]

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Thank you, Christopher, and good afternoon, everyone.

We reported a net loss of $6.6 million or $0.12 per share during the quarter compared to a net loss of $6.9 million or $0.15 per share in the comparable first quarter of fiscal 2019. The decrease in reported net loss is due to increased research and development incentive income.

Research and development expenses were $6.3 million for the first quarter of 2020 as compared to $5.7 million for the comparable period in 2019. This increase was driven by increased clinical development activities related to the advancement of our pipeline.

General and administrative expenses were $1.4 million for the first quarter of 2020 as compared to $1.8 million for the comparable period in 2019. This decrease was primarily due to lower noncash stock-based compensation charges.

During the quarter, our cash position grew to $27.5 million at December 31, 2019, from $22.2 million at our year-end September 30, 2019.

Thank you. And now I will turn the call back over to Christopher. Christopher, please go ahead.

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [5]

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In summary -- thank you, Sandra. In summary, we continue to make steady progress towards reaching several important milestones, and we are poised to an exciting 2020 with multiple data readouts. We look forward to providing further updates as advancements continue.

I would now like to open the call for questions. Operator, please go ahead.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Raghuram Selvaraju from H.C. Wainwright.

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Edward Dean Marks, H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Associate [2]

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This is Edward Marks on for Ram. Quickly, on the clinical side, I'm just wondering what the gating items are before you're able to initiate the pediatric Rett syndrome trial.

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [3]

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They are -- thank you for the question. There are no gating items. We did announce that we were able to get approval for starting the study. It is really the customary requirements of site initiation visits and preparing the drug to the sites, and then we can start. So I expect this to be over shortly, and we will make that announcement public.

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Edward Dean Marks, H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Associate [4]

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Okay. Good to hear. And you mentioned the recent patent announcement, and I noticed that multiple sclerosis was mentioned multiple times in there. I'm just wondering if you intend to or if other companies have shown interest in rapidly developing blarcamesine for multiple sclerosis. And I noticed that you also mentioned autism and cerebral palsy in there that are covered by the patent. So are these also planning to be pursued in the future?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [5]

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So we did actually had encouraging data for MS from an in vitro study from several investigators, which was also presented at ACTRIMS last year or the year -- and the year before. And we have to be aware that -- or mindful that this is a very exciting indication and -- but however, still requires more preclinical work, like an animal study or other forms of validation. But I think the best way to look at this is once we get clarity on the data of Rett syndrome, we would immediately accelerate that program thereafter, and the same applies for the supranuclear palsy indication as well.

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Edward Dean Marks, H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Associate [6]

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Got it. And then my final question, I was just wondering if there's any more detail available regarding the microbial biomarker analysis for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. And when do you anticipate releasing some of this data?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [7]

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So we did get -- received an initial positive signal from the Phase IIa study in Alzheimer's disease that there was a correlation of the gut microbiota changes with drug exposure, and we added this measure into our Parkinson's disease dementia study extension. So we will be able to report this with the Parkinson's dementia study extension outcome where we will be able to see the level of changes in measures of gut microbiota before drug exposure and after as well as for patients on placebo and then on drug -- active drug. So we will have a very good ability to see if we will be able to confirm the correlation of drug effect with increase of variety of gut microbiota, which is the beneficial effect since healthy volunteers have a higher variety of gut microbiome than diseased patients.

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Operator [8]

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Our next question is from Yun Zhong from Janney.

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Yun Zhong, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Analyst & Director of Biotechnology Research [9]

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So the first question is on the status of the 2 ongoing Rett syndrome studies. I believe I heard you said that the 2 studies are still enrolling patients. And I'm wondering, did you run into any challenges in recruiting patient in addition to the fact that just being an orphan indication with the small prevalence?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [10]

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Sorry. What was the last part of the question?

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Yun Zhong, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Analyst & Director of Biotechnology Research [11]

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I understand that this is an orphan indication with a small prevalence. But did you run into any additional challenges in recruiting patients into those 2 studies?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [12]

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No, we did not. We just want to make sure that the patients are recruited in a fashion that the right patients are in the study because that study now becomes relevant given that we received Fast Track designation. And so our goal is not to rush the enrollment and make sure we get the right patients into the study. But we did not find any challenges during this -- at this point.

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Yun Zhong, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Analyst & Director of Biotechnology Research [13]

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Okay. Then about the Parkinson's disease dementia study, so I believe that primary efficacy end point is the continuity of ATTENTION. So I assume that you're reporting where you see positive data by mid-2020. Are you going to approach the FDA to discuss about the next step? And do you think the same primary end point will likely be used in the next study?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [14]

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Yes. So the second question regarding seclusion is a little bit a dialogue with the agency to see if this would be able to be confirmed. But the good news is that the measure you mentioned has been shown to be correlated with a drug, which was approved for Parkinson dementia many years ago. So that is the reason why we picked that measure. And indeed, it's correct to make that assumption. After the data is available, we would sit down with the agency and discuss next steps.

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Yun Zhong, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division - Equity Research Analyst & Director of Biotechnology Research [15]

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Okay. So then the last question about the new compound 3-71, what do you expect will be the indication that you pursue with this compound? And how do you plan to position the new compound as compared to the 2-73 -- sorry, 2-73, yes?

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Christopher U. Missling, Anavex Life Sciences Corp. - Chairman, President, CEO & Secretary [16]

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Edited Transcript of AVXL earnings conference call or presentation 6-Feb-20 9:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) will be announcing its Q4 2019 earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, February 11th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Shares of Sealed Air stock opened at $36.93 on Monday. Sealed Air has a 52-week low of $35.43 and a 52-week high of $47.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.04. The companys 50 day moving average price is $38.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.16.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SEE shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Sealed Air from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sealed Air from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Sealed Air from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird restated a buy rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Sealed Air in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sealed Air from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Sealed Air has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $44.88.

Sealed Air Company Profile

Sealed Air Corporation provides food safety and security, and product protection solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Food Care and Product Care. The Food Care segment offers integrated packaging materials and equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, and total cost optimization for perishable food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, and dairy markets under the Cryovac, Cryovac Grip & Tear, Cryovac Darfresh, Cryovac Mirabella, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.

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Sealed Air (SEE) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday - Riverton Roll

The U.S. Navy has reportedly sent an Ohio class ballistic missile submarine on patrol for the first time carrying Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles armed with the new and controversial low-yield W76-2 nuclear warhead. This news comes nearly a year after the United States announced it had produced the first of these warheads. Proponents say the warheads are necessary to give the U.S. government added flexibility to respond to certain crises, including limited nuclear strikes, but critics contend that they raise the likelihood of the United States employing nuclear weapons, to begin with.

The Federation of American Scientists first reported the deployment on Jan. 20, 2020. The Ohio class ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee left its homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia in late December 2019 for a deterrent patrol armed with an unknown number of Trident IIs carrying W76-2s.

"We estimate that one or two of the 20 [Trident II] missiles on the USS Tennessee and subsequent subs will be armed with the W76-2, either singly or carrying multiple warheads. Each W76-2 is estimated to have an explosive yield of about five kilotons," according to the Federation of American Scientists. "The remaining 18 missiles on each submarine like the Tennessee carry either the 90-kiloton W76-1 or the 455-kiloton W88. Each missile can carry up to eight warheads under current loading configurations."

So, the W76-2, with its estimated yield of five kilotons, has a yield 18 times smaller than the existing W76-1 and is more than 90 times smaller than the W88. NUKEMAP, a map tool that nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein, presently a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, first put online in 2012, estimates that a W76-2 that detonates on the ground would create a fireball just over 490 feet wide, wherein anything would be incinerated, and cause varying levels of damage to anything within a circle around ground zero just under one and a half miles in diameter. By comparison, the W88's fireball would be just under 2,330 feet wide and there would be degrees of damage across an area around 18 miles in diameter. The spread of deadly radiation and fallout would also be factors within these areas, as well as beyond, depending on prevailing weather patterns.

President Donald Trump's Administration codified plans to develop a low-yield warhead for the Trident II missile in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the division of the Department of Energy directly responsible for overseeing America's nuclear stockpile, announced it had built the first W76-2 at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas in February 2019. At that time it said that it planned to deliver the first of these warheads to the Navy by the end of the fiscal year, which wrapped up on Sept. 30, 2019.

The exact configuration of the W76-2 is classified, but it is known to be a derivative of the W76-1, which was itself a product of a life-extension program for the original W76 warheads that NNSA also completed last year. The W76 and W76-1 are understood to be two-stage thermonuclear weapons and previous reports have posited that the new W76-2 may simply eliminate the second stage to produce a significantly lower yield. This would also help explain the speed at which NNSA could develop and field the warhead.

"We estimate approximately 50 W76-2 warheads were produced, a low-cost add-on to improved W76 Mod 1 strategic Trident warheads which had just finished their own production run," the Federation of American Scientists said in their report. At present, the Navy plans to eventually deploy Trident II missiles armed with the new warheads on its future Columbia class ballistic missile submarines, which are scheduled to begin sailing deterrent patrols in 2031.

The Trump Administration and other proponents of the low-yield warhead have argued that there is a need for a more "flexible" deterrent option to respond to more limited nuclear strikes, including those involving an opponent employing tactical nuclear weapons in a battlefield context. The concern is that the U.S. government could be too worried about employing larger yield nuclear weapons to respond in kind to these strikes, creating a deterrence "gap" that opponents might be able to exploit.

This development was driven in no small part by Russia's purported "escalate-to-deescalate" doctrine. Experts continue to disagree over whether or not this policy actually exists.

Concerns about advanced and novel Russian strategic weapons developments, as well as those in China, have prompted steady increases in U.S. government spending on modernizing deterrent capabilities in recent years, in general. On Jan. 28, 2020, Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and the present the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the Trump Administration plans to seek another $20 billion for such efforts in the 2021 Fiscal Year, a 20 percent increase over the previous fiscal year's budget, according to Defense News. Existing modernization plans related to America's nuclear arsenal are already slated to cost at least $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years, spending that The War Zone has previously pointed out is very likely unsustainable over that period.

On the other side, critics of the lower-yield W76-2 warn that it is inherently more "usable" and risks lowering the threshold for deciding to employ nuclear weapons. They also point out that the U.S. military already has various nuclear weapons with so-called "dial-a-yield" capabilities that allow for lower yields and the force does not need a new warhead to meet these requirements.

Beyond that, there is no indication that America's potential opponents would be able to discriminate between the launch of a Trident II missile armed with W76-2 warheads and one with larger yield W76-1s or W88s. With just minutes to decide how to react, those adversaries could feel forced to respond as if they were under imminent threat of a full-scale nuclear strike from the United States, rather than a limited one, for fear of losing the ability to retaliate.

A recent push by some members of Congress to cancel or curtail the W76-2 program as part of negotiations over the annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act, for the 2021 Fiscal Year, ultimately collapsed. Opposition to the low-yield warhead remains and there may be additional legislative efforts aimed at removing it from America's nuclear arsenal in the future.

In the meantime, however, the Navy's Ohio class ballistic missile submarines look set to sail their routine deterrent patrols carrying Trident II missiles carrying the new, lower-yield warheads.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

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Navy Missile Sub Has Begun Its First Patrol Armed With Controversial Low Yield Nukes - The Drive

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For most of my life, I have held a decidedly who cares attitude toward extension cords. I appreciated their utility, but my feelings stopped there. An extension cord was an extension cord, and when I didnt inherit them from roommates, I bought them at 99-cent stores. I certainly never researched or compared brands. And it showed: In every apartment I have ever lived in, these cords were a necessary eyesore, creating squiggly (and dusty) lines along my baseboards and behind my furniture. But recently, while visiting my soon-to-be sister-in-law in L.A., I discovered an extension cord that changed my mind. I liked using it so much that I ordered the exact same one before flying back home.

What makes the Famatel Roller extension cord different is that it comes rolled up inside a compact, bagel-shaped, silicon spindle. The lime-green halves of the bagel are flexible and can be turned inside out for quick winding and flipped back down to keep any unused cord neat and tidy. When fully extended, the cord measures six feet long, making it great for working in coffee shops or connecting to the awkward outlets behind my couch. (Famatel also makes one with USB ports that would be perfect for overnight phone charging beside my bed.)

Famatel Roller Extension Cord

But any cord can do that. What those other cords cant do is look this great. My Famatel Roller is almost a decorative item, one that I dont mind people seeing. Also, it makes me happy. Because of its cute shape and color, I have a hard time not anthropomorphizing it, and I cant help but smile when I see it. Immediately I start imagining my future team of little green pucks that unfurl like octopus arms on command anytime I need to plug in my laptop or set up a video projector for movie night. In another first for my relationship with extension cords, I carry this one with me. At under ten ounces, its easy to toss in a tote or my backpack.

Famatel Extension Cord with Dual USB Charger Port

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This $14 Extension Cord Is So Attractive I Actually Want People to See It - New York Magazine

You can't have life without death. You can't have light without the dark.

No matter what you believe about how the world began, the most fundamental truth about the world is that light exists because of darkness. No matter what you believe about how human beings came to be, the most fundamental truth about human beings is that life exists because of death. That's what it says in Genesis 1, and it's what Kobe Bryant shared in 2016.

This is the great irreconcilable tension that Bryant -- and his closest contemporary icon, Tiger Woods -- personified. Said differently through the prism of their respective professions: You can't be the greatest unless everyone else is not the greatest.

The similarities between the two are almost eerie. They both turned pro in 1996. We realized their dynastic ceilings in the early 2000s. They exposed themselves to the public with salacious scandals at impossibly tender ages. Bryant climbed the mountain in his sport five times. Woods, you could argue, did the same with five green jackets. The latter part of their careers was both haunted and defined by injuries.

They're both mononymous, known by one name not only the sports world but the broader culture. Hell, they're both nicknamed after lethal animals. And somehow, despite impossible expectations from ridiculous ages, they've both exceeded everything they were supposed to accomplish. Because they came of age at a time when extreme wealth and fame became synonymous with success, their adulthood was stolen from them.

We lived their lives for them. It's the price we charged for that adulation.

As they entered their early 40s, Kobe and Tiger started to grow up.

It's most evident in their public affection for their children. The clips of Bryant lighting up when someone mentions one of his kids have resonated. It's a good way to be remembered. Woods shares it. It's a great irony that a relationship with a 7-year-old or 11-year-old is the thing that helps one mature into adulthood. It also seems to be true for both men.

Bryant was an alpha, of course. This is why we group him and Woods together beyond their similar career arcs. Tiger is the most terrifying alpha in golf history. Kobe nicknamed himself Black Mamba, referencing an extremely venomous snake. Talk to either at your own risk. Talk at them ... and say goodnight to your sweet career.

The seminal moment for many with Kobe came at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was in college when the United States-Spain game was played. My friends and I stayed up all night watching it. The rivalry was a real thing back then, but the Americans had the horses. Spain had some but not nearly enough. Still, playing on a global stage against a team as tight as Spain had to feel different. It was not dissimilar to what we've seen between the U.S. and Europe at Ryder Cups over the past two decades.

Team USA's stars were young, too. LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh were all 24 or younger. Dwyane Wade was 26. Bryant was the second-oldest guy on the team. He'd accomplished everything already, reached the top of the mountain. So when the air started getting a little thin deep into the early morning here stateside, as fans started getting wild-eyed at the thought of wearing silver, Kobe took over.

Think about that. A roster full of guys who had always been the very best at every single level, and Bryant was the one who said, "I got this."

He loved it, too. That's what I'll remember.

The immense affection for Kobe (and by extension, Tiger, because they are inextricably linked) has been atop my mind for the last 24 hours. Why has our emotion, my emotion been so intense?Why am I feeling the things I'm feeling about someone I never even came close to meeting, someone whose sport I've never even covered?

We made them them talk about everything because there is order in the authority that comes with hierarchical power, but you always got the feeling that Kobe just wanted to talk basketball in the same way that Tiger just wants to talk golf.

Try to get Woods going on legacies and the future or politics and music, and he'll respond with the fervor of a stray bunker rake. But wind him up on the proper strategy for the newly-redesigned 5th hole at Augusta National or why he likes his driver at its current loft, and he'll make Barack Obama's first election night speech in Chicago seem tepid.

Kobe was more willing to go other places, but fundamentally, he most wanted to break down how to solve Tony Allen or lead bigs off a bounce pass on a fastbreak. Nerds, I guess you could call them. But man, it doesn't feel geeky when they talk.

"He paid attention to the details, the little things. The amount of hours that he spent in the gym in the offseason and during the summers to work on shots and do all the different things, it looked like it came natural to him on the court during game time, but he spent more hours looking at film and trying to figure out what's the best way to become better," explained Woods on Sunday after learning of Bryant's death.

"That's where he and I really connected, because we're very similar. We both came in the league -- well, he came in the league and I turned pro -- right around the same time, and we had our 20-year run together. It's shocking."

This is the beauty of their maturation. They thought all along that they were accumulating knowledge and refining skills to better themselves, to become all-time greats. What they didn't realize along the way -- but were both just starting to figure out -- is that the real joy comes in being able to hand that aggregation of wisdom to someone else, namely their children and a younger generation of players who worshipped them.

Kobe was just starting to figure out that life is not really about us. You saw Tiger experience that same emotion when he won the 2019 Masters and captained his team in the 2019 Presidents Cup. This despite everything in both of their worlds always appearing to say it was about them first.

Not to go full Clint Eastwood here, but they don't make psychopaths like they used to. This might not be the most desirable quality in a human being, but the reason you hear everyone in these spheres speak reverentially about both men is because they had it all -- every material thing you could ever want -- yet both punched the clock as if the scaffolding wasn't going to construct itself.

This is becoming far less common. You might get one or the other, but to find elite athletes who submerge themselves in both is a rarity. For example, Brooks Koepka is a great champion and a hard worker -- the No. 1 player in the world -- but he doesn't love his sport like those two. Few do.

This is why Justin Thomas and Woods are so close, and it's one of the reasons you hear folks in the golf world talk about Rory McIlroy the way they do. That's another story for another time.

These two qualities -- a deep and abiding love of craft and a willingness to submit to the punishment necessary to be truly and uniquely great at it -- are why Kobe and Tiger are so respected.

There is nothing relatable about them except those two traits. You, a sports fan, feel drawn to it because you love basketball or golf nearly as much as they do. You, a non-multimillionaire, non-star athlete who has not been in the public eye since you were a teenager, feel drawn to both because you understand what hard work looks like and what it takes out of you.

Except now, something else is relatable when it comes to Kobe: death. We will all die. Birth and death are the only two life experiences everyone in the world shares. It is the great leveler when it comes to status, money and influence. It often passes by like a mist.

The vast majority of deaths are neither notable nor memorable. This one was like none other for a celebrity in my adult lifetime. I was rattled into the afternoon and evening on Sunday as I thought about Kobe's existence. Forty-one years is nothing. It's 20 Ryder Cups, 10 Olympics.

Then it's over. And when it's over, it's over. From dust to dust.

Was it a life well lived?

Only a limited sphere of people can answer that. What it can be is a reminder to live life well. A reminder that love of craft and unadulterated focus are admirable qualities but that the best outcome of all is that you get to share them both with those in your community of people. This is the opportunity that Tiger still faces, and it's one he seems to have already started taking on.

If this is true -- and I believe it is -- then it means the opposite of what Kobe said four years ago is also true (and staggering given the events of the last day).

You can't have death without life. You can't have dark without the light.

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The Kobe Bryant-Tiger Woods parallels extend beyond their ferocious love of competition - CBS Sports

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Zack Kassian earned his four-year extension in Edmonton and would have received similar payment on the open market, but it eats up cap space the Oilers should have used to get the pieces they need the most.

On a night when the spotlight was supposed to be on Zack Kassian for all reasons pugilistic he did exact a measure of revenge on Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk by way of some first-period fisticuffs it turned out the biggest moment Wednesday night for the Edmonton Oilers winger was when he used his paws not for pummelling an opponent but instead for putting pen to paper on a four-year, $12.8-million contract extension.

Kassians new pact, of course, wasnt some out-of-left-field signing. Rather, its one that has been expected for some time, particularly with the Oilers in the thick of the Western Conference wild-card race and in the hunt for a Pacific Division playoff berth. A pending unrestricted free agent in the midst of the best offensive campaign of his career, Kassian was among Oilers GM Ken Hollands top priorities with the trade deadline in the offing, and Edmonton was able to get the deal done by handing Kassian a sizeable $1.25-million raise from the $1.95-million hes earned annually across his current three-year pact.

For Kassian, the new contract says a few things. It says the Oilers have faith that his 22-goal, 48-point pace this campaign isnt some one-off, flash-in-the-pan output, that Edmonton believes he can continue to put up 15-plus goals and in the neighborhood of 35 points for the next few campaigns. It says that the Oilers see him as part of the solution, that he can be a fixture of the lineup as the franchise attempts to rise from Western Conference also-ran to powerhouse. But most importantly, it says Kassians journey back from a turbulent period in his career is all but complete. It was less than five years ago Kassian entered a substance abuse program after an off-season car crash in Montreal. He has gotten his life and career back on track.

But as far as the Oilers are concerned, theres a million-dollar question or the $3.2-million question, in this instance associated with the signing: is the money spent on Kassian money that could have been better allocated elsewhere?

Though its not the concern at the moment with the playoff dream still alive, Edmonton now projects to have in the neighborhood of $19-million in cap space come the off-season. True as it may be that its enough for the Oilers to take care of their most pressing cap concerns, which are new pacts for restricted free agent defensemen Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear, the money spent on Kassian does limit what Edmonton will have available when it comes time to explore the open market. And rest assured that the Oilers do have some work to do when it comes to adding elsewhere.

As of this writing, with Kassian locked in, the Oilers have eight of their current NHL forwards signed to deals for next season, and the six roster players who arent under contract arent under team control for the 2020-21 campaign at this point, either. That means there are plenty of holes to fill in the summer, some of which will surely be plugged by players on entry-level deals or league-minimum contracts.

But what Edmonton needs as much as anything isnt cheap, hole-plugging players. They need offensive drivers who can take some of the onus off of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who have shouldered the scoring load largely by themselves for the past two seasons. As much as Edmonton might believe Kassian can be one of those players, or even a complementary piece, the truth is that theres little evidence he is. In fact, almost all of his production this season has been the direct result of playing alongside McDavid and/or Draisaitl. Case in point, Kassian has been on the ice for 47 Oilers goals. Only five of those markers have come away from McDavid, and the Oilers superstar has directly factored in on 17 of Kassians 29 points. Additionally, only four of Kassians points have come on scoring plays that didnt include either McDavid or Draisaitl.

And the problem there is that the $3.2 million spent on Kassian who, again, can be useful but doesnt by himself drive offense is that it adds to an already hefty spend on players of a similar offensive value. Combined with James Neal and Alex Chiasson, the Oilers presently have $10.1 million tied up in 30-point producers for next season. Even saving a fraction of that to use on a summer spend for a player with greater offensive upside would have made sense. And make no mistake, those players exist. Brett Connolly and Joonas Donskoi are among those who signed similar deals this past off-season and are putting up totals in line with Kassians current production and doing so alongside centers who are not McDavid. Theres an upcoming crop who could have similar upside, too, including Tyler Toffoli, Josh Leivo and Erik Haula.

None of this is to mention, either, that ensuring theres additional money available to make a big spend or two could go a long way. The Oilers will need to address their goaltending situation this summer and find a capable second-stringer. Edmontons blueline concerns persist, and adding a middle-pairing piece could go a long way. And if the Oilers wanted to make a splash up front, Mike Hoffman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau remain unsigned for next season. Both could be impact pieces in the middle of the lineup in Edmonton, which is exactly what the Oilers lack.

Rest assured, Kassian likely would have been able to get the same kind of money and the same kind of term had he punted negotiations with the Oilers and eschewed signing in Edmonton for a shot at the open market. Hes established himself as a rough-and-tumble middle-six player and its not as though the price tag or term is exorbitant. Its commensurate with what other players of his type hitting the open market have received. But that doesnt mean it was the right signing at the right time for an Edmonton team that has an unquestionable need for better pieces, not the same pieces they already have.

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Jared Clinton

Jared Clinton is a writer and web editor with The Hockey News. He's been with the team since 2014. He was born, raised and resides in Winnipeg, where he can be found missing the net on outdoor rinks all over town.

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Four-year, $12.8-million extension is great for Kassian, but misguided spending by the Oilers - The Hockey News