Category Archives: Life Extension

As the planet heats up, many marine plants and animals are moving locations to keep pace with their preferred temperatures. In the Southern Hemisphere, this means species are setting up home further south.

This shift alters what we see when we go snorkelling, and when and where we catch our seafood. Crucially, it also changes sensitive marine ecosystems.

But its not always easy for scientists to know exactly whats happening below the oceans surface. To help tackle this, we examined tens of thousands of photographs taken by Australian fishers and divers submitted to citizen science programs over the last decade.

They revealed climate change is already disrupting the structure and function of our marine ecosystems sometimes in ways previously unknown to marine scientists.

Warming over the Pacific Ocean has strengthened the East Australian Current over the past several decades, as the below-right animation shows. This has caused waters off Southeast Australia to warm at almost four times the global average.

There is already irrefutable evidence climate change is causing marine species to move. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for conservation, fisheries management and human health.

For example, if fish susceptible to carrying toxins start turning up where you go fishing, youd want to know. And if an endangered species moves somewhere new, we need to know so we can protect it.

But the sheer scale of the Australian coastline means scientists cant monitor changes in all areas. Thats where the public can help.

Fishers, snorkelers and divers often routinely visit the same place over time. Many develop strong knowledge of species found in a given area.

When a new or unusual species appears in their patch, these members of the public can excel at detecting it. So our project set out to tap into this invaluable community knowledge.

Read more: Climate-driven species on the move are changing (almost) everything

The Redmap citizen science project began in Tasmania in 2009 and went national in 2012. It invites the public to share sightings of marine species uncommon in their area.

Redmap stands for Range Extension Database and Mapping project. Redmap members use their local knowledge to help monitor Australias vast coastline. When something unusual for a given location is spotted, fishers and divers can upload a photo with location and size information.

The photos are then verified by a network of almost 100 marine scientists around Australia. Single observations cannot tell us much. But over time, the data can be used to map which species may be extending their range further south.

The project is supported by the University of Tasmanias Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, together with other Australian universities and a range of Commonwealth and state-government bodies.

Read more: Warming oceans are changing Australia's fishing industry

We also examined data from two other national marine citizen science programs: Reef Life Survey and iNaturalist Australasian Fishes Project. The resulting dataset encompassed ten years of photographed species observations made by almost 500 fishers, divers, snorkelers, spearfishers and beachcombers.

The citizen scientists recorded 77 species further south than where they lived a decade ago. Many were observed at their new location over multiple years and even in cooler months.

For example, spearfisher Derrick Cruz got a surprise in 2015 when he saw a coral trout swimming through a temperate kelp forest in his local waters off Sydney, much further south than hed seen before. He submitted the below photo to Redmap, which was then verified by a scientist.

Citizen scientists using Redmap were also the first to spot the gloomy octopus off Tasmania in 2012. Subsequent genetic studies confirmed the species rapid extension into Tasmanian waters.

Similarly, solo eastern rock lobsters have been turning up in Tasmania for some time. But Redmap sightings recorded dozens of individuals living together in a den, which had not been observed previously.

Other species recorded by citizen scientists moving south include the spine-cheek clownfish, Moorish idol and tiger sharks.

Using the citizen science data, we produced a report outlining the assessment methods underpinning our study. Weve also produced detailed state-based report cards for Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales, where coastal waters are warming much faster than the global average.

We also generated a map of the species shifts this revealed, and a downloadable poster summarising the findings. This allows the public including those who contributed data to see at a glance how climate change is affecting our oceans.

Citizen science has benefits beyond helping us understand changes in natural systems. Projects such as Redmap open up a community conversation about the impacts of climate change in Australias marine environment - using the publics own knowledge and photos.

Our research suggests this method engages the community and helps get people involved in documenting and understanding the problems facing our oceans and coasts.

A better understanding by both scientists and the public will help ensure healthy ecosystems, strong conservation and thriving fisheries in future.

Read more: How you can help scientists track how marine life reacts to climate change

Read more:

Thousands of photos captured by everyday Australians reveal the secrets of our marine life as oceans warm - The Conversation

ALEJANDRO VARELA is a writer based in New York. His work has appeared in The Point, Boston Review, Harpers, The Rumpus, Joyland, The Brooklyn Rail, The Offing, Blunderbuss, Southampton Review, and The New Republic, among other venues, and has received honorable mention from Glimmer Train Press. He is a 2019 Jerome Fellow in Literature, a former resident in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Councils 201718 Workspace program, and a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Nonfiction. Varela was an associate editor at Apogee Journal from 2015 to 2020. His graduate studies were in public health. His debut novel, The Town of Babylon, was published by Astra House in March 2022, and his second book, The People Who Report More Stress, is forthcoming from Astra House in 2023.

In The Town of Babylon, we meet Andrs, a public health professor who returns home to care for his ailing father. Reeling from his husbands recent infidelity and with nothing else to do, Andrs decides to attend his 20-year high school reunion. There, he is forced to confront old wounds, the harsh legacy of homophobia, and the choices hes been forced to make to secure a better life for himself. Publishers Weekly called The Town of Babylon a dazzling debut and an incandescent bildungsroman.

Varela took some time to chat with me about issues of mental health, the myth of meritocracy, and the importance of dismantling systems of oppression.

ALEJANDRO VARELA: This is a twofold answer. On the one hand, this novel came out of necessity. No one wanted my short story collection. Do you have a novel? Could you make these stories a novel? I heard this from several editors. At some point, I gave in and wrote the novel. Thats the unromantic response. The other take is that Id been wanting to write about Roseto, a town in Pennsylvania. Its a place with a storied public health history that had a tremendous impact on me in graduate school. Understanding the health of that tightly knit community and its resilience in the face of a common enemy had become almost allegorical in my understanding of how hierarchies negatively affect health. I wanted to tell a story about that, and I carried around that idea for years. The novel gave me the opportunity to write it.

Andrs, the main narrator, is incisive and unsparing about the people and places of his youth, but hes also witty and humorous. How did you go about striking such a wide tonal balance?

In part, I share the style of communication with Andrs, which is to say, I try to find the right balance between tones. Having grown up in an environment defined by its precarity, Ive learned how to read a room. I think I know when to pump the brakes and when to cut loose almost never. I learned at an early age that there must be give and take or you risk anger and retribution. I write thinking, How much can my reader stomach? How much is too much? Is this too heavy? Should I undercut with some humor?

In addition to exposing readers to a well-rounded and complex cast of characters, The Town of Babylon also features a great deal of social commentary on race, class, and homophobia, to name just a few issues. Yet this social commentary never feels forced or heavy. Can you tell us how you manage to achieve this?

I knew if I was too dogmatic, Id lose my reader. Im grateful to hear that it didnt feel forced or heavy. In fact, I think I have lost readers because of my protagonists political piousness and, at times, condescension. That was a choice on my part. I feel an urgency to tell the stories that Im telling. They are an extension of my public health work, which was primarily advocacy. I knew that Andrss internal soliloquizing might happen too frequently and would go on for too long, but I chose to write a political, public healththemed novel, and I knew I couldnt be half-assed about it. And yet, I cut plenty of commentary from the manuscript, some of which was heavy-handed even for me, but some of which my editor highlighted. You were certainly spared!

Readers and critics are often quick to draw similarities between queer POC writers and their characters. In a piece you published in Lit Hub called When People Assume Your Fiction Is About Your Life, you wrote, Maybe, then, what rubs me the wrong way isnt the assumption that I am my own protagonist, but instead its implication of artistic laziness. Why do you think this so often happens to us queer POC writers, and how can we counter this assumption?

The biggest assumption of them all is that were writing veiled autobiographies and that one experience stands in for the experience of an entire [insert oppressed group here]. This has everything to do with exposure. The average reader isnt familiar with the diversity of in this case the queer, class-jumping, Latine/x experience. Consequently, the focus turns almost exclusively to the demographic elements of the story and its protagonists and their congruity with the writer. As an example, straight, cisgender white men dont get too many How much of this is autobiographical? questions. Not as often as we do. The diversity of that particular perspective has been tread often David Copperfield, Jay Gatsby, Rabbit Angstrom, etc. The reader and reviewer can then focus on the story, the writing, the merits of the political positions, etc., instead of wondering if thats how white people are and live.

But readers havent yet seen enough of us to take our identities for granted. This is further complicated by the fact that drama sells. Im telling a story thats captivating. Its realist fiction, but it magnifies and dials up reality for the purposes of entertainment. The consequence is that our underexplored lives are now conflated with the extremes of storytelling. Certainly, discrimination and marginalization are stressful and traumatic, but life isnt a work of fiction. There is also an expectation that, when we write stories, well stay in a particular lane. Andrss politicking, for example, has been off-putting to some readers I hate to say it, but mostly white readers and editors because theyre uncomfortable with a queer mestizo reading (read: criticizing) their country and society. If Andrs were white European if he were named Andrew, lets say his dogma would be his virtue, his endearing quirk. In fact, the joy of post-publication has been to hear feedback from other POC and queer POC readers who related very strongly with Andrss political lens.

Youve published many short stories and essays. In what ways was writing a novel different? What artistic surprises did you encounter throughout the writing of The Town of Babylon?

My short stories typically live in my mind until theyre complete, at which point I race over to my laptop and type away furiously. If I am unable to complete a first draft in one sitting, I reread and edit what Ive already written before I continue writing. Thats how I wrote for several years. But the novel was different. Although I wrote quickly it took me 13 weeks: three weeks in the spring and 10 in the winter of 201920 I did it without a roadmap. I had a general idea of the story I wanted to tell, but primarily I had settings, protagonists, arcs, and themes in mind. And once I began writing, I never looked back, beginning each day exactly where Id left off the previous day. I had a lot of fun making it up as I went along. Of course, Id think about the storylines and their trajectories when I wasnt writing, but nothing was definitive until I typed it. This way of writing was simultaneously frightening What if it doesnt come together? What if I forget where I am going? and liberating I could go in any direction I want and for as long as I want. But freedom, too, came with fears What if I go too far out and cant reel the story back in?

What were some challenges you faced while writing your novel?

I didnt know if I could trust my instincts. At one point, Id written sections where the narrators (first-person Andrs and the omniscient third person) conversed with each other. It was a way for me to question the idea of a singular truth, as well as to highlight the humor of a writer who splits himself up into various points of view, all of which are ultimately him me. In the end, I cut it because I feared it was too confusing, a sentiment that my editor corroborated. Ultimately, I made the right decision, but the uncertainty was something that appeared throughout the writing process and was much more pronounced than in my short-story writing.

Another challenge while working on this novel and everything, really was writing outside of my own experience. I am largely at ease in the experience of cisgender mestizo men from working- and middle-class backgrounds, which is my experience. Im also comfortable writing from the perspective of a white man because it is the universal one of our society. I have been indoctrinated we all have. But writing any oppressed experience that isnt my own, including women, gives me a great deal of anxiety. I do a lot of gut checks and overthinking. Primarily, I fear contributing to the marginalization. I fear writing incomplete experiences that shrivel up into stereotypes or trauma porn. Id like to give myself more credit than that, but the truth is I am as much a product of our racist patriarchal society as anyone else, so I have to remain vigilant. For example, Simone is a Black woman with schizophrenia. Was it my place to explore that experience, and if it was, could I do it without reducing her to mere tropes? Could I present mental illness in a way that was just and accurate? Did I owe Simone particular care because of the ways Black women are regularly disrespected in art and society? Ive heard people argue that this degree of scrutiny can blunt creativity. I suspect this is true if these arent concerns for the writer. Overcoming the usual tribulations of this craft on top of overcoming a lack of empathy could interfere with ones creativity. In that regard, I feel lucky that empathy and solidarity are important values and ways of living for me.

You have a background in public health. How did this influence the writing of your novel?

This book is the novelization of my public health passions, primarily the research on the negative effects of hierarchy. I concocted a town based on Roseto and my own hometown, but on some level I was trying to communicate that a society without social capital that is, a sense of community and belonging for all of its members will suffer. The buffers and coping mechanisms that come from social trust and bonding are life-extending as well as lifesaving. My protagonists are victims of capitalism and the atomization of society that prioritizes competition and success over health and happiness. The town itself is a community of battalions who have mistaken differences for barriers barriers that have been erected, upheld, and manipulated by economic policies since at least World War II. What happens in that town happens all over this country, in all towns where we organize ourselves hierarchically.

What do you hope readers take away after finishing The Town of Babylon?

Very specifically:

I think our very large and varied community is in the mainstream for sure, but of course, I worry about who under our umbrella isnt getting attention and space. Our alphabet soup of identities is diverse enough to allow for the re-creation of the same systems that didnt allow us to participate openly in the first place. As a former public health researcher, Id be remiss if I didnt say that we should look at the data. Are all the letters and colors within LGBTQIA+ being represented equitably? Do we see lesbian and trans writers of color on our shelves as often as we see gay writers? What about intersex writers? Queer writers with disabilities? How about Black and Indigenous writers? They exist and some get attention, but what are the proportions? Inevitably, someone tweets a bar graph showing us that white men are far overrepresented and that weve been focusing on a few marginalized writers at the expense of the truth. Our collective advocacy should recognize these inequities and make noise until all of us are represented equally in this industry.

Id also like to draw some attention to the Q in our community. I hope the future of publishing includes radical and progressive voices from our community. There is still something subversive in presenting LGBTQIA+ lives and perspectives in literature, but its important that we use our platforms to question the oppressive systems that have kept us and our loud, proud voices out of the industry. Our future depends on whether there are editors and publishers willing to publish writers of conscience. In that regard, I was lucky to find a home with Danny Vazquez and Astra House.

Can you tell us a little about what you are working on next?

Im editing the manuscript of the story collection that comes out in spring 2023 (also from Astra House). Its called The People Who Report More Stress. If Babylon is about not being able to go home, Stress is about not being at peace wherever you land. Apart from that, Im editing a few stories that wont be included in the collection, as well as an essay about reparations that will appear soon in Reparations Daily, an essay about the gay best friends role in supporting abortion rights, and an essay recounting my fathers experience meeting Gabriel Garca Mrquez might you know of a home for it? And then I can get to work on the next novel, which is my Bernard Kincaid novel about the faux progressivism of an overly gentrified Brooklyn. No one is safe in that story.

Continue reading here:

Empathy and Solidarity: On Alejandro Varela's The Town of Babylon - lareviewofbooks

Back to Immigration statistics, year ending June 2022 content page.

Data relate to the year ending June 2022 and all comparisons are with the calendar year 2019 (unless indicated otherwise), reflecting a comparison with the period prior to the Covid-pandemic.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. A range of restrictions were implemented in many parts of the world, and the first UK lockdown measures were announced on 23 March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the UK immigration system, both in terms of restricting migrant movements to and from the UK and the impact on operational capacity.

Year ending comparisons that follow will include impacts resulting from the restrictions in place during this period of the pandemic. All data include dependants, unless indicated otherwise.

This section contains data on:

There were 447,259 decisions on applications to extend a persons stay in the UK (including both main applicants and dependants) in the year ending June 2022, 37% more than in the year ending June 2021, and 46% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic. This excludes extensions granted to individuals who were unable to leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation related to COVID-19 (see below).

Of the total extensions, 439,288 were grants, representing an overall grant rate of 98%.

Table 1: Grants by reason1,2,3 and refusals of extensions of temporary stay in the UK, 2019 and years ending June 2021 and June 2022

Source: Extensions Exe_D01Notes:

Work extensions increased by 78% with 240,231 extensions granted in the year ending June 2022 compared to the previous year and was the most common route in which people extended. More than two fifths (43%) of work-related extensions were to Indian nationals.

Within the work category:

There were 125,638 family-related grants of extensions in the year ending June 2022, 6% more than in the previous year and 10% more than in 2019, prior to the pandemic. In the year ending June 2022, there were 63,877 grants in the Family: Partner route, 37% (+17,114) higher than in 2019. The were 60,625 grants in the Family Life (10-year) route, 10% (or -6,372) fewer than in 2019. Pakistani, Indian and Nigerian nationals accounted for two in five (40%) family-related extensions granted, a similar proportion to recent years.

There were also 33,673 study-related extensions granted in the year ending June 2022, 26% fewer than in 2019. The nationalities most likely to extend their stay for further study in the UK are broadly consistent with the nationalities granted student visas, with Chinese nationals accounting for a quarter (26% or 8,848).

There were 39,746 extensions granted in the Other category in the year ending June 2022, 44% more than in the year ending June 2021, and 72% more than in 2019. The Other category includes:

The Other category excludes extensions granted to individuals who were unable to leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation related to COVID-19.

On the 31 March 2020, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced that NHS frontline workers visas would be extended. On 29 April 2020, it was announced that other frontline health and care workers would also receive visa extensions. Healthcare professionals whose visas were due to expire between 31 March 2020 and 1 October 2020 were given a free, year-long extension. On 20 November, it was announced that this had been extended to cover visas expiring between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021. On 09 April it was announced that this would be extended to cover visas expiring up until 30 September 2021. Home Office Management Information indicates that up to the end of March 2022, there was a total of 19,910 extensions granted to health workers and care workers and their dependants, under these policies.

There were 122,266 decisions on applications for settlement in the UK in the year ending June 2022, 13% more than in the year ending June 2021, and 29% more than 2019. Of these, 120,770 (99%) were granted.

In the latest year, there were increases in settlement grants in the asylum, family, and other categories but fewer to applicants who had been in the UK for work reasons.

There were 33,670 grants of settlement for family reasons, 27% more than in the year ending June 2021, and 31% more than 2019. Grants had previously fallen from a peak of 75,852 in the year ending March 2010 to 4,939 in the year ending September 2017, partly reflecting the change in the probationary period for settlement from 2 to 5 years, as well as falling levels of visas and extensions in previous years. The number of grants have subsequently increased as individuals on a 5-year route to settlement following the rule change are now becoming eligible to apply (further information about the rules changes are available at: Family and private life immigration rule changes 9 July 2012).

Other changes include:

Table 2: Grants by reason1,2,3 and refusals of settlement in the UK

Source: Settlement - Se_D02Notes:

Figure 1: Grants of settlement in the UK, by reason1, years ending June 2013 to June 2022

Source: Settlement - Se_D02Notes:

Figure 1 shows the number of settlement grants fell from 154,174 in the year ending June 2013 to 58,262 in the year ending June 2017 but have since risen again, reaching a total of 120,770 in the year ending June 2022.

Compared to the year ending June 2013, grants of settlement for work reasons have decreased, from 60,994 to 29,197. Grants for family reasons also fell across this period, from 60,286 to 33,670. In contrast, grants to people previously granted asylum or resettlement doubled from 20,860 to 40,759 with the largest rises in the last two years, although these partly reflect a rise in asylum grants around 2015 and 2016. Grants for other reasons (not relating to work, family or asylum) increased from 12,034 to 17,144 over the decade. Trends in numbers applying for settlement will in all cases partly reflect policies and patterns of migration some years earlier.

Since 30 March 2019, EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, and their family members, have been able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK.

The Home Office publishes monthly updates and quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) on GOV.UK.

The latest quarterly statistics show that 6.7 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme had been received up to 30 June 2022, of which 6.5 million had been concluded.

Of the 6.7 million applications made, 11% of applications were from repeat applicants (727,770). This indicates that an estimated 5.9 million people had applied to the scheme by the end of June 2022, of which 5.47 million were from EEA and Swiss nationals and approximately 436,900 from non-EEA nationals.

Further information and detailed breakdowns of EUSS applications and their conclusions can be found in the latest quarterly EUSS statistical release.

Under European (EU) law, EEA nationals and their family members did not need to obtain documentation confirming their right of residence in the UK but EEA nationals could apply for registration certificates and documents certifying permanent residence in the UK. Their non-EEA family members could apply for residence cards and permanent residence cards. These acted as confirmation of their right to stay in the UK.

Documents issued under EU law are no longer valid as evidence of a right of residence in the UK, however applications received by 31 December 2020 are still being processed. More information is available on the relevant visas and immigration pages on GOV.UK.

In the year ending June 2022, there were a total of 783 decisions on applications for EEA residence documents, only two percent of the number in the previous year. This included 679 registration certificates and registration cards issued, and 72 documents certifying permanent residence and permanent residence cards issued.

Table 3: Decisions on applications for residence documents pertaining to EEA citizens and qualifying non-EEA family members in the UK1,2, years ending June 2021 and June 2022

Source: Table EEA_01Notes:

There were 179,963 applications for British citizenship in the year ending June 2022, 3% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic.

There were 47,713 applications for citizenship by EU nationals, 4% fewer than in 2019. There were 132,250 applications for citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 6% higher than in 2019.

Figure 2 shows that the number of non-EU applications has remained at a similar level since 2014, whilst EU applications increased up to mid-2021, before seeing a decrease since then. EU nationals accounted for over a quarter (27%) of all citizenship applications in the latest year compared to 12% in 2016. Increases in citizenship applications from EU nationals since 2016 are likely to reflect people seeking to confirm their status in the UK following the EU referendum and the UKs exit from the EU.

Figure 2: Number of applications for British citizenship from EU and non-EU nationals1,2, years ending June 2013 to June 2022

Source: Citizenship detailed dataset Cit_D01Notes:

There were 194,058 grants of British citizenship in the year ending June 2022, 22% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic. This increase comes after a period of relative stability since 2014. The recent peak of 208,095 in 2013 occurred prior to a change to the English language element of the Life in the UK test.

Figure 3: Number of grants of British citizenship for EU and non-EU nationals, years ending June 2013 to June 2022

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets - Cit_D02

Around one third (31%, or 60,311) of the grants of British citizenship in the year ending June 2022 were to EU citizens, 11,844 or 24% more than in 2019. Italian nationals were the top EU nationality granted citizenship in the latest year (10,590), followed by Romanian (9,021), and Polish (8,276) nationals. These three nationalities accounted for almost half of the grants of British citizenship to EU nationals in the latest year.

There were 133,747 grants of British citizenship to former non-EU citizens in the year ending June 2022, 22,834 or 21% more than in 2019. The top non-EU nationalities granted British citizenship in the latest year were Indian (16,720), Pakistani (15,624), and Nigerian (9,445) nationals. These three nationalities accounted for almost a third (31%) of all grants to non-EU nationals in the year ending June 2022.

The number of grants of citizenship for the registration of children of former EU citizens rose by 52% to 14,752 compared with 2019. For former non-EU citizens there were 30,566 grants in the year ending June 2022, 20% higher than 2019.

Table 4: Grants by reason1 and refusals of citizenship applications, 2019 and year ending June 2022

Source: Citizenship detailed datasets Cit_D02 and underlying data

Notes:1. Other includes Entitlement and Discretionary registration as an adult, Entitlement and Discretionary registration on other grounds, and registration under Section 5 of the British Nationality Act 1981. See the user guide for more details.

The statistics in this section refer to individuals who have leave to remain in the UK who wish to extend, or make permanent, their right to remain in the UK.

Before 2021, due to the application to the UK of European Union (EU) free movement law, the majority of UK immigration control related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, unless otherwise stated, data in this release relate to both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

Data in this section should be viewed in the context of wider policy and legislative changes, which can impact the number of applications and decisions. They should also consider the availability and allocation of resources within the Home Office, which can affect the number of decisions made in a given period. For example, fewer citizenship decisions were made in 2015 when UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) resources were used to assist HM Passport Office.

The statistics should not be used to make inferences about the size of the non-British population in the UK. The data do not show whether, or for how long, an individual remains in the UK once their right to remain has been extended or made permanent. Statistics on resident foreign populations in the UK are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Extensions of temporary stay in the UK relate to individuals inside the UK extending or changing the status of their right to stay in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay in the UK expires.

The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals in a given year on applications for extension of temporary stay in the UK. One individual may have made multiple applications for an extension, so may account for multiple decisions in a given period. Data in this section include dependants and take account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

The statistics do not show the number of people applying to extend their temporary stay in the UK, nor do they show how long an individual stayed in the UK following their extension.

The statistics in the previous immigration category of students granted an extension were estimated for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Data for 2017 are unaffected.

Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the extension section of the user guide.

Settlement can be granted to individuals subject to immigration control to allow them to work, study and travel into and out of the UK without restriction. To be granted settlement, individuals generally must have lived in the UK for a certain length of time in a qualifying category. Those granted settlement can access state benefits and register their UK-born children as British citizens. It does not entitle the individual to a British passport (which requires British citizenship) or to vote in a general election (which requires British, Commonwealth, or Irish Republic citizenship).

The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals in a given year on applications for settlement in the UK. They take account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals.

The data on settlement refusals relate to cases where settlement was refused and no other form of leave was granted. Cases where settlement was refused but an extension was granted instead (for example where an individual has not met the qualifying period for settlement) will not be included in the refusal figure.

Individuals who leave the UK for more than 2 years may have their settlement status revoked, except in exceptional circumstances. The statistics do not differentiate between those granted settlement for the first time and those granted settlement multiple times.

Documents issued under EU law are no longer valid as evidence of a right of residence in the UK. Applications received by 31 December 2020 and the outcomes of appeals are still being processed.

The EU Settlement Scheme enables EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, and their family members, to obtain a UK immigration status. Further information about the EU Settlement Scheme can be found at Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status). The scheme is a simple digital system which enables applicants to obtain, free of charge, settled status or pre-settled status in the UK. Find out more about what settled and pre-settled status mean.

The statistics in this section show the number of registration certificates and registration cards issued, and the number of documents certifying permanent residence and permanent residence cards issued in relation to applications made by 31 December 2020.

After 12 November 2015, a person applying for citizenship who was relying on permanent residence as an EEA national, or as the family member of an EEA national, was required to provide a permanent residence card or a document certifying permanent residence as evidence that they met the requirement to be free of immigration time restrictions. This change, along with EEA nationals response to perceived uncertainty following the 2016 EU referendum, is likely to have contributed to the steep increase in demand for EEA residence documentation during 2016 and 2017.

Variations in numbers of decisions can be affected by changes in resources and the mix of cases, as well as policy changes and application levels in earlier periods.

More information about applying for residence documentation and how the status of EU citizens in the UK will be secured now the UK has left the EU is available on the GOV.UK website at Browse: Visas and immigration

Figures on applications received and cases currently outstanding in the European casework route (along with other information such as percentage processed within service standards) can be found in In-country migration data on GOV.UK.

British citizens can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls. They can apply for a British passport, register to vote in all forms of election and referenda, and share in all the other rights and responsibilities of their status.

Dual citizenship (also known as dual nationality) is allowed in the UK. This means people can be a British citizen and a citizen of other countries.

If someone is not already a British citizen based on where and when they were born, or their parents circumstances, they can apply to become one.

The statistics in this section show the number of applications for British citizenship. Data on the number of grants of citizenship are available in the associated data tables.

In May 2022, the Home Office published the Migrant journey: 2021 report, which explores changes in non-EEA migrants visa and leave status as they journey through the UKs immigration system.

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

We welcome your feedback

If you have any comments or suggestions for the development of this report, please provide feedback by emailing MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words PUBLICATION FEEDBACK in the subject of your email.

Were always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems or have any feedback relating to accessibility, please email us.

See section 7 of the About this release section for more details.

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How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently? - GOV.UK

The world of science and anti-aging continues to align with the world of bodybuilding and overall fitness, a reality that will be on full display during a unique scheduling phenomenon this December in Las Vegas.

The people and companies that make up the world of bodybuilding have a mission to help build a better body and improve the quality of life for those that support it. The anti-aging movement has committed decades to helping folks maximize the quality and quantity of life by providing solutions and strategies to slow down the aging process so people live better, longer.

When Joe and Ben Weider began their fitness crusade in the 1940s, they werent only thinking about building muscles and being strong in their 20s and 30s, they were working to create a movement that could serve people and help them enhance their fitness and wellness as they aged. It wasnt only looking better; it was about living a better and longer life well into the later years.

Joining them for a long portion of this movement is a man that has worked to carry it forward well into the 21st century. Dr. Robert Goldman is known within fitness circles for several reasons. Hes a sixth-degree black belt, set over 20 world records for various physical feats of endurance and strength listed numerous times in the Guinness Book of World Records, hes worked alongside the IFBB & NPC as the Chief Medical Advisor and Chairman of the IFBB/NPC Medical Committee overseeing the over 190 nations of the federation, he created the first personal trainer certification through founding the National Academy of Sports Medicina (NASM), and hes the founder of the International Sports Hall of Fame. Goldman can also be considered the godfather of the anti-aging movement. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a time that the phrase anti-aging was used as a marketing tool to promote cosmetic products, Goldman was laying the groundwork for change. Part of that groundwork included developing the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) Conference World Congresses as well as the website worldhealth.net, the second medical website in existence and the go-to source for anti-aging and life extension information.

The American Medical Association beat us online by 30 days, Goldman said. We have decades and tens of thousands of medical articles and even videos by Nobel laureates whom have lectured over the past 30 years. Many of them have since died, and that massive archive of information for consumption. People can self-educate, print these articles, then go to their doctors about whatever their concern is.

Many people in the anti-aging community look at Goldman the same way that many longtime bodybuilding fans see Joe Weider. In what is the first of several common threads between the two industries, Goldman credits that success to his background working under the tutelage of the Weiders.

Bodybuilding actually had a part in that because it came from me serving under Ben and Joe. I got introduced to many Ministers of Health and Ministers of Sport in numerous countries. Bodybuilding gave me the wherewithal to form national and international governing bodies. So, what they were doing for bodybuilding, I was doing by setting up anti-aging conferences around the world.

The first A4M conference was held in 1992 with 12 doctors getting involved a far cry from the over 100 that are expected to speak and over 6,000 expected at the 30th Annual World Congress on Antiaging & Regenerative Medicine. Goldman described the mission as teaching the teachers. The doctors and experts that come in give their lectures to the doctors that will go home and serve their patients directly with the goal of promoting natural and healthy solutions that could serve as life extension. A4M has held multiple conferences around the world every year, having trained over 150,000 doctors to better serve their patients.

Just like the Weider brothers had to face challenges throughout their journey in fitness, Goldman & his A4M CoFounder, Dr. Ronald Klatz, and their allies had to face obstacles created both outside and inside the medical community. As far as the establishment at the time was concerned, this movement should have never happened to begin with.

The goal was to destroy it, not unlike what the fitness industry went through when gyms were being told to close, and they as the old-world medical establishment were trying to stunt the growth of the sports nutrition industry, he suggested. They would rather have people taking prescription drugs instead of focusing on exercise, nutrition, and other natural solutions. The goal was to diminish and shut down natural forms of medicine such as homeopathy, wholistic nutrition, etc. They wanted to destroy that.

Goldman said that the doctors and advocates for anti-aging were fighting an uphill battle in the early years because of hypocrisy and greed and control. They would even go as far as offer support to advertisers and the media that would be considered counterproductive.

Believe it or not, the goal was to also support cigarette companies. There would even be full page ads in the medical journals like the Journal of the American Medical Association with doctors smoking cigarettes. This is similar to when research was coming out showing that a healthy diet and exercise could diminish the risk of heart disease in the 1960s. They were shutting down gyms in California, and they even went after the Weiders at that time.

Dr. Klatz was one of Goldmans allies in the beginning, and hes as involved now as hes ever been. He recalled how the movement originally started in 1991, while they were both working in sports medicine.

We had come to a barrier that was beyond elite sports nutrition, and that was long-term healthcare. It wasnt just about improving performance for your sport, but it was about improving performance in later years, and ultimately, your lifespan, he said. It required a change in the paradigm of healthcare because healthcare wasnt healthcare back then. It was disease maintenance. The established belief of medicine at the time was that aging was inevitable, and nothing can be done about it.

In spite of the challenges and struggles they faced from opposition year in and year out, the A4M and their movement has not only survived they have thrived. According to Goldman, the anti-aging industry is now a $260 billion (yes, with a b) movement, and its growing at a rapid pace. The 2022 A4M conference will be their 30th anniversary. They are now the biggest event for the healthcare, medical, and wellness professionals in the field. For the medical and anti-aging movement, A4M has become appointment traveling.

We have over 100 world-class people speaking at our conference, and these people could book their own seminars alone and people would pay to come see just one of them. Now consider that there are dozens and dozens of sessions that they can choose from every day.

Dr. Klatz agrees with Goldman, and he feels that if there was ever a year to attend a conference of this magnitude, the 2022 conference is it.

Were really living in unprecedented times with regard to Covid, even long Covid, and long-term health challenges, said Klatz. A lot of people are feeling them, and a lot more are going to be feeling them. So, the more youre involved in healthcare, and the more you focus on your metabolism and your future health, the greater chance you have of survival.

Similarly, the marquee brand for the world of bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts is the Joe Weider Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend. The movement that began with Larry Scott being crowned the first Mr. Olympia in 1965 has also become a billion-dollar movement. Olympia owner Jake Wood and president Dan Solomon will lead their team and host the Olympia in Las Vegas for the first time since 2019. Fans from across the globe gather to get a taste of the industry they love and watch the champions they admire compete for glory and legacy. Wood and Solomon are carrying the mission that the Weiders created so a whole new generation can focus on fitness and enhance their quality of life. Goldman expressed appreciation for their efforts. He hopes that the people that attend A4M will notice as well.

Under the leadership of Jake and Dan and their ancillary partners, we can open up a whole new world that would be beneficial to both communities with a more synergistic, positive outcome.

Both A4M and the Olympia have their differences, but their missions are quite similar help people live longer and better. These two powerhouse events have been making their own differences and seen tremendous success over the years. However, 2022 will mark a transformational year because it will be the first time that both the A4M and the Olympia will be held on back-to-back weekends in the same venue.

Olympia President Dan Solomon adds, The opportunity to attend the A4M Conference and the Olympia in back-to-back weekends will be a powerful experience. Those who take advantage of this opportunity will leave Las Vegas with enough inspiration and education to fuel an entire year of transformational education and inspiration.

The Olympia will be taking place in Las Vegas on the weekend of December 15th through 18th. One week before that, the A4M conference will be held from December 8th through 11th. Coincidentally, both events will even be in the same building the Venetian Resort. The A4M conference will cover over 500,000 square feet and feature world-class speakers offer their guidance that can provide value to the listeners long after they go home and a massive Expo of hundreds of medical health companies. Sports legends and Hollywood movie stars have attended A4M and express wishes to return. In Goldmans opinion, Olympia fans would be well served booking that flight and hotel one week in advance and attend A4M.

The exhibits will feature booths that focus more on anti-aging and longevity. The companies that will be there would greatly benefit fitness minded people, he shared. More importantly, there will be thousands of doctors from anywhere from 30 to 60 countries to present and learn from each other. It will be unlike any educational opportunity they have ever experienced.

This is very important because experts and insiders on both sides of the fence have expressed concerns about athletes experiencing health issues, or worse, at a young age. The people that are interested in the Olympia could benefit from learning more and applying strategies that they can hear about directly from doctors that they otherwise may not get to speak with, so they can learn and apply information they otherwise may not get. As far as Goldman is concerned, this is a great opportunity to potentially save lives.

You know the challenges weve had in bodybuilding and other communities, with athletes not faring well, health wise some even dying. So, its time for us to circle the wagons and utilize the medical technology and information that is available to protect the community.

The two events being so close together can serve as a landmark opportunity for businesses that considers health and fitness a priority as well. Doctors and trainers and gym owners can discuss how to join forces with the goal of serving clients and patients in a coordinated fashion. In Goldmans eyes, this is a rare moment that needs to be taken advantage of. It should also be a call to action.

This is a historical situation with both of these world class events being in the same city, same venue, and even the same exhibit hall, said Goldman. These are different, intertwining industries, and it is now time for them to cooperate with each other. Trainers can interface with doctors, and doctors can talk to people that run the gyms and spas, which could help improve career opportunities and create a synergy.

One of those trainers that sees the opportunity available is Rob Fletcher, founder of Americas Next Great Trainer. Fletcher and Goldman had worked together for years with hopes of having trainers and physicians work side by side.

This is a huge step for all. For years Dr, Bob and I had conversations about bringing the worlds together bodybuilding, sports, health, fitness, and anti-aging. There is tremendous value and benefits on so many levels, Fletcher said. It is the ultimate strategic partnership or marriage bringing physicians, athletes, trainers, and gym owners together to educate and raise awareness for optimal health and performance.

Because of his background in bodybuilding, Goldman and the team that run A4M understands how they can benefit from the Olympia as well. He suggested that the exhibitors that present at their conference should consider hanging around for another weekend to reach a new massive market of consumers they may not be able to reach otherwise.

If I was a doctor and I wanted to integrate sports medicine, health related patients of all ages, and not (even) only competitors but 60-70% of the people there or more dont compete. Right in front of them would be tens of thousands of potential patients at the Olympia. They will be rolling around Las Vegas that weekend like these world-class doctors will at A4M, he noted. Why not stay around an extra few days and have my services offered to a whole new consumer base?

Likewise, thousands of people will gather in Las Vegas for the Olympia, and many of them may have questions about their own health and wellness situations. This has never been truer than two years after the onset of the pandemic. What better place could they learn more about what to do and how to do it than the place where the best minds in medicine will gather as well? Goldman is extending the olive branch and wants to invite his fellow fitness community members to join him.

They will learn more at this years A4M conference than if you were to go to 20 other conferences. The doctors at A4M hope they will come because they would like to meet these potential patients and offer their services.

For more information about A4M and make arrangements to attend, go to http://www.a4m.com and http://www.Worldhealth.net. For more information about the Olympia Weekend, go to http://www.mrolympia.com.

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Anti-Aging Conference and Olympia Weekend Set for Back-to-Back Weekends in Vegas - Muscle & Fitness

NEW LONDON When he was a boy, Jeffrey Glowski said he built a toy model of the ship his father sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, 76 years after the Coast Guard barque Eagle first arrived in New London, Glowski was aboard the ship he previously had never seen in person.

It was just a little sentimental, really, Glowski said of the experience. Amazing.

Glowskis father, Jerome Glowski, was a member of the original commissioning crew that pieced Eagle back together in the aftermath of World War II in Bremerhaven, Germany. Jerome had been stationed in Newfoundland for most of the war on submarine duty, Jeffrey said, but was one of the few who flew to Germany with Cmdr. Gordon McGowan to claim the USCGs war prize, named Horst Wessel at the time, while the allies divvied up the remnants of the German fleet.

Glowski, 72, said his father, a radio operator aboard Eagle, didnt tell too many stories of the maiden voyage nor of the crew pieced together of Coast Guardsmen, former German crewmen and some borrowed German ex-navy volunteers from a British minesweeping project.

He talked about the hurricane, Glowski said of his late father. That was a scary time going through that. Not much more.

McGowan and his crew were a day or so away from their destination when they found themselves in the middle of a hurricane that ripped apart Eagles sails and caused an estimated $20,000 in damages. Glowski detailed how he too had been sailing once when confronted by a storm that packed 70 knot winds with main sails in the water and the boat on its side.

That was scary, he said.

He much preferred to re-enact the other parts of his fathers tenure on Eagle, like visiting the same radio room his father had many years back.

Glowski, led by Eagles Sail Master, Chief Warrant Officer Melissa Polson, toured all 295 feet of the tall ship. While the radio control room was at the top of the list, Glowski saw it all. The tour made stops in the captains quarters, the mess deck, the sleeping quarters. From the ships bow to its stern, Glowski took every step, and a few photos for keepsakes.

I just cant imagine back then, Glowski said, looking at a photo of Coast Guardsmen resting in hammocks to accommodate the tight space.

Nowadays, for the Coast Guards training ship, there are rows of bunk beds.

While modern amenities, like electronics, cooking equipment and laundry machines, have made their way to Eagle, the majority of the ship is original. Polson explained how parts of the hull had to be replaced and the main decking was redone in the 1980s, but the majority of the hull, the fittings and structures, and the main mast, are all original.

In 2014 through 2018, Eagle underwent a Service Life Extension Project to address the ships longevity, and will do so again in 2028 to address concerns for the following 15-20 years.

This winter, the ship will dry dock for a mast overhaul, Polson said. She explained the foremast, the running rigging, the standing rigging, blocks, lines, sails and yards will all come off and be re-overhauled before she sets sail again.

Before Glowski set sail back home to Indiana, where he grew up with his two brothers, he gifted Polson a photo of his father, sitting in Germany with Eagle in the distance. It was placed in front of a photo Polson said she shows all guests, one of Eagle in its dilapidated state in Germany, nearly identical to Glowskis photo.

Across the room hung a painting of Eagle commissioned by the son of the ships original captain. Polson said Glowskis father likely sailed across the ocean with the painter aboard the ship.

Just such a unique collaboration of ... Polson said, her thoughts drifting.

...history, Glowski finished.

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A son steps aboard the Eagle and into his father's world - Journal Inquirer

MARYVILLE, Mo. Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, a program that will discuss strategies for daily management of any chronic condition, will run from Aug. 24 through Sept. 28 at the Maryville Public Library, according to a news release.

An evidence-based program, Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions consists of six, two-and-a-half hour classes that will be held on Wednesdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

The free classes are open to anyone who deals with a chronic condition or is a caregiver for someone with a chronic condition.

According to a press release, topics covered will include weekly action planning and problem solving; techniques to deal with frustration, fatigue, pain and isolation; appropriate use of medications; nutrition; appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility and endurance; communicating effectively with family, friends and health professionals; how to evaluate new treatments and more.

Each participant will receive the Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions book and a Relaxation for Body & Mind CD.

Classes will be co-taught by University of Missouri Extension Nutrition and Health Education Specialist Debbie Bennett and Vickie Kempf from Mosaic Medical Center - St. Joseph.

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Class to teach healthy living for those with chronic conditions - The Maryville Forum

PerfoTec is delighted to announce a new innovation partnership with Blue Skies to develop an new -safe and natural- application for disinfection of fresh-cut fruits by means of active oxygen (ozone) in the packaging.

Blue Skies is searching for an application to kill micro-organisms to extend the freshness of Fresh-cut Fruits in a natural and safe way, without changing the quality and appearance of packed fruit. PerfoTec and Blue Skies are joining forces to finalize the development of this technology, calledPerfoTec O3Control, to add a specific dose of ozone safely into the topseal packs to kill bacteria, yeast, and mould spores whilst optimising the protective atmosphere. Since 2004 PerfoTec has developed several practical tools to extend the freshness of Fresh Produce, and the development of this new technology fits well within PerfoTecs mission. Both PerfoTec and Blue Skies are aiming to finalize this new technology for validation and optimization in a real production environment during 2022/23.

PerfoTecs mission is to combat the waste of fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers by applying the best possible protective atmosphere inside the packaging. This Dutch-based post-harvest company is the worlds leader in this field, and works together with many companies and customers around the world to improve the freshness of their products. Together with the clients quality teams, PerfoTec creates the optimal solution for the fresh produce packaging in a natural way. When the ideal atmosphere is reached in the pack, the freshness will be extended to the maximum, both for retail and bulk packaging. PerfoTecs technology can be integrated onto every new or existing packaging line, from topseal packaging machines, vertical packaging machines to flowpack machines.

Founded in 1997, Blue Skies, is a world leader in Fresh-cut Fruits, and, unlike many other companies looks to add value at the source. This means that Blue Skies produces the finished product where the fruit is grown. The approach is simple: fruit will be harvested only when fully mature, cut when naturally ripe and delivered fresh from harvest. Blue Skies collaborate with PerfoTec in two areas: One is the extension of life for fruits that they store at their factories in Africa and the other is extension of life for finished prepared fruit products that they send to European retailers. Both of these areas are critical to reduce food waste and increase food production and distribution sustainability. Extension of the time for which Blue Skies can store fruits that they use at their factory in Ghana by clever manipulation of gas concentrations reduces the amount that they send to their compost site before processing. Additionally, this approach increases the quantities that Blue Skies can use from West African sources so that they do not need to import expensive fruits from Brazil and South Africa that take a long time to reach Ghana and have lower yield figures when processed.

This new technology can become a game-changer for the fresh-cut fruit industry, initially for the UK and North America. The partnership between our two companies is an exciting opportunity and we are thrilled to be working with Blue Skies, a business closely aligned with our own ambition to provide science-led shelf-life extension solutions to the market, according to PerfoTecs Founder and CEO, Bas Groeneweg.

Blue Skies CEO, Hugh Pile, adds : Use of ozone as a sanitising agent for finished products may improve food safety and extend the time that the product remains visually acceptable to the consumer thus reducing waste at the point of sale. This has long been a holy grail in the industry and PerfoTec have developed a system that permits this use of ozone gas in a populated environment.

Once the new PerfoTec technology will be successfully operational within Blue Skies, after an initial optimization period, other customers will be welcomed so they can enjoy the benefits as well.

For more information:Bas GroenewegPerfoTecKlompenmakersweg 163449 JB Woerden+31 (0)297 25 55 54info@perfotec.comwww.perfotec.com

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New application for disinfection of fresh-cut fruits by means ozone in the packaging - hortidaily.com

Ours is the age of substitutes: instead of language, we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and, instead of genuine ideas, bright ideas. Eric Bentley

Have you noticed how many substitutes encroach on our daily lives? Long before work from home and Zoom learning won pandemic-enforced acceptance, we had fruits and vegetables delivered in pill form, tofu turkey Thanksgiving dinners and pizza-delivery traffic jams all evidence of how virtual experiences and synthetic products increasingly dominate our lives. Thiscolumn looks at the consequences of this phenomenon, and some of the new opportunities it brings.

Beyond Meat (BYND) a company that claims to produce meat made from plants has been on a roll, so to speak. Founded in 2009, it hit some inflation-related headwinds earlier this year. But in the innovative burger alternatives market, its relationship with McDonalds (MCD) has set it apart. Among other things, the two companies tested (less than successfully) a non-meat burger calledMcPlant which was served, cautious observers will note, with decidedly real condiments, including slivered onions, tangy pickles, crisp shredded lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes and a slice ofmeltyAmerican cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun.

Beyond Meat says its protein derives from peas, mung beans,favabeans and brown rice. Fat comes from cocoa butter, coconut oil and expeller-pressed canola oil. McDonalds, the company that solved a problem of earlier generations making all hamburgers the same, no more big ones, little ones, well done next to raw is now embracing fake meat, but made with real additives!

With annual revenue of about $500M, Beyond Meat has a market cap of $2 billion, nowhere near the scale of McDonalds (revenue: $23.6 billion; market cap: $190 billion) or the privately held Burger King (revenue: $2.3B). But investors should of course not see Beyond Meat as a true substitute for the burger giants. Only a vegan might make such a claim. Even so, Beyond Meats progress has been impressive and they are expanding outside the U.S. The company also deserves credit for creating a better beef alternative than beefalo or lamb burgers: Their product seems to do well in the all-important taste category. If it tastes good, who cares whats in it?

In some ways, the shift to synthetics began with peoples worries over traditional favorites anything from cigarettes to sugar that may make you sick. Corn syrup and other substitutes fill the gap left by sugar. States such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have lost the cane sugar industry. Cuba hangs on but with few buyers. And, according to lung.org, cigarette use by American adults fell from more than 40 percent in 1965 to less than 14 percent in 2018 leaving an opening for innovators.

While cigarette use has declined among American adults, the cigarette industry thrives. In addition to roaring sales outside the U.S. for Phillip Morris (PM) andAltriaGroup (MO), the industry has been leaning into synthetics. Among the most dramatic enhancements, Puff Bar (privately held), a vaping product that appeals strongly to teenagers, relies on synthetic nicotine. That highly successful product is quite interesting because synthetic nicotine, which appears to deliver a similar experience to the real thing, escapes the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This ploy lets Puff Bar grab market share, while the government scrambles to plug a loophole, and Philip Morris andAltriascratch their heads over how and whether they can profitably compete.

Investors may recall the recent federal appeals court decision grantingJuulLabs (privately held) a temporary stay from the FDAs order to pull its e-cigarettes off the market. Along with its competitors Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) andNJOYHoldings Inc. (ENJY),Juulremains under FDA jurisdiction. Heated tobacco a product believed to hold great promise likewise falls under the FDAs hostile scrutiny.

Meanwhile, vitamin pills have morphed into vegetable and fruit pills. Their big producers Nature Made (NATR), Kirkland Signature (KIRK),KleanAthlete (owned by Nestle,NESN) and Life Extension (LIFE) stay busy. And how about driving ranges or golf kits where you swing indoors as you stroll a virtual fairway? Or composite baseball bats fabricated from reinforced carbon fiber polymer and costing around $200? Heck, even dude ranches offer the semblance of cowboy life.

MichaelMcTague, Ph.D. is Executive Vice President at Able Global Partners in New York, a private equity firm.

Stock price data is provided by IEX Cloud on a 15-minute delayed basis. Chart price data is provided by TradingView on a 15-minute delayed basis.

DISCLOSURE:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer.

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Meatless Meats and Smokeless Smokes - Equities News

Fireground commanders (FGCs) must understand the importance of sizing up their contribution percentage to mitigating operational needs and that actions on the fireground are dependent on their order of arrival to the scene.

FGCs also should arrive in a properly equipped vehicle thats based on their fire department response model and organizational structurefor example, a chief who never is the first to arrive or who never must operate alone, or a chief of a county-type fire department who might be the first to arrive and must wait for the first-arriving company.

Chiefs or FGCs who arrive first are 100 percent of the staffing on scene until additional firefighters arrive. Working in a large county fire department creates a high possibility of arriving first and operating alone for a whilein other words, the only firefighter who is on scene who can do something. Theres no one to commandother than himself or herself to act and size up what one person can do to start to save lives and to reduce property loss immediately.

Taking action is even more critical in bread-and-butter operations, such as a single-family dwelling fire and an outside fire thats extending to a building.

Although national standards for equipment thats carried on fire apparatus exist, there arent any for what fire command vehicles should carryI mean more than markers and a fancy command board that has different color magnets. All command vehicles should have operational fireground equipment, including complete bunker gear, an air pack, a thermal imaging camera (TIC), a large hand light, a set of irons, a water can and extinguishers, including a CO2 extinguisher and a dry chemical extinguisher. I carry these tools and more in my battalion chief vehicle, and I have multiple fireground experiences to show why you should have them.

When an FGC/chief is 100 percent of the solution until additional firefighters arrive, the FGC/chief must evaluate getting out of the buggy and possibly getting a closer look to see whether he or she can have an immediate effect. Simply going to the front door of a private dwelling with a TIC and a set of irons can reveal critical factors to assist with the size-up and necessary resources. Its possible that the fire is within the capabilities of a water can, a garden hose or a fire extinguisher or even just shutting a door to confine the fire.

Even if no one is trapped and all reports that everyone got out seem solid, a first-due 360 is key to initial company and command success. This 360 of the building might identify the possible different options for entry and exit. In this way, the FGC can prompt the first-arriving engine on size, length, location and proper staffing thats needed to be successful with the first attack line. Getting out and getting a closer look also could indicate: where to place a second line, if needed; where to start the search; a targeted search, such as VES; and whether to use an entry point other than the front door.

It also can reveal an immediate rescue just inside of the front door. In my column in this space in the November 2021 issue, Command Post Location, I wrote about Fire Chief Adam Magers arriving first at a working fire in a two-story private dwelling, where he got out of his buggy to get a better size-up and made an immediate rescue of a trapped occupant. This is an example of going beyond the command post location and understanding tactical command. Theres a good chance that the occupant would have succumbed if Magers didnt get out of his command buggy.

A TIC and a hand light are more than just search tools. FGCs should have the TIC every time that they get out of the buggy, to start sizing up the building. The hand light is equally essential, to increase visual abilities at night and in smoky environments. These tools can provide command success by enhancing images that the human eye cant see within a building or in low-light conditions and are essential for acquiring intelligence that will aid significantly in commanding the incident.

A TIC is as much an outside tool as it is an inside search tool. You must use it to its full capabilities to provide a better fire attack.

Second to using a TIC for search is using it for size-up, so you get the most realistic image of whats within and behind the smoke. It gives the FGC the advantage of reading the smoke and what its camouflaging. A TIC is a set of binoculars and a magnifying glass combined times 10. It allows you to see through todays combustion products to visualize heat buildup and fires within lightweight-constructed floors and within roof assemblies that contain massive amounts of void spaces that are subject to early collapse. With early recognition, an FGC immediately can order the ceiling or void space to be opened to cool, suppress and extinguish the fire.

A TIC can allow an FGC or other command staff to see whether water actually is going where it needs to go and whether its cooling these areas effectively. (In our modern fires, its possible for the BTUs to be beyond the gpms and for water application to be ineffective.) A TIC also can show fire extension to other areas, which can give an FGC good intelligence to order additional attack lines and open up these areas.

Knowing that I have the opportunity to arrive ahead of other responding fire companies, I carry a full complement of extinguishers, including two water cans, a large dry chemical extinguisher and a smaller CO2 extinguisher. This gives me multiple weapons to choose, each of which complements the other in its deployment, depending on whats burning if I arrive first.

On the numerous fires where I arrived first due in my chief buggy, I used one or two water cans to keep a fire from extending or to strictly hold the fire for a minute or two until a fire company arrived.

Most of us went to a fire where the police or a neighbor suppressed the fire using a garden hose before our arrival. I, too, used the typical residential garden hose to control a fire by either taking it inside or applying the stream through a window. Although utilizing the green line is unconventional to some, you should use common sense and act as though its your neighbors house thats on fire. Even a properly applied garden hose thats used from outside of the immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environment can minimize property loss significantly.

In September 2004, as a newly promoted chief, I pulled up on a burning pile of Hurricane Ivan debris that was located directly next to a large restaurant on Pensacola Beach. The burning pile already had extended to the restaurants highly combustible wood siding, which had been preheated directly from summer sunlight. Had it not been for the numerous water cans and dry chemical extinguishers that I carriedit was a few minutes before the first fire company arrivedthe restaurant would have been a multiple-alarm fire, most likely destroyed. That would have had a devastating effect on the community, because, at the time, it was the only restaurant that was providing food on the island.

The irons allow you to force entry or take a window for an immediate rescue. I arrived first many times to an occupied house fire that required me to force entry and to get a better size-up of the interior for life safety.

On one occasion, I used the set of irons from my buggy to force the front door of a private dwelling, with an unconscious civilian trapped behind the front door because of a double-sided deadbolt that kept the occupant from rapidly unlocking from the interior.

On many other occasions, I forced the front door or side door, so that step was completed before the arrival of an engine company, thereby reducing the reflex time for the engine company to get a line inside.

Across the country, we all responded to reports of fires where someone stated that everybody was out of the fire building or that the fire building was a vacant home, only to, in fact, learn that there were trapped occupants.

In January 2021, a single 9-1-1 call reported a working fire in a single-family dwelling. All the neighbors said everyone was out. Upon my arrival, the first engine stretched and operated directly on the main body of fire. Yes!

I established command at the rear of my vehicle based on arriving after a fire company. A ladder company arrived shortly after I arrived. Several other fire companies arrived within the next couple of minutes.

I assigned the ladder company to make entry opposite of the fire attack, so they wouldnt be delayed getting to the unburned side and bedroom section of the house that had survivable space. Within a minute of entry via a rear bedroom window, the ladder company radioed that an unconscious victim was located just beyond the bedroom door. This incident is an excellent example of understanding the concept of VES and when to go beyond the bedroom door.

So, when an FGC/chief arrives behind a fire company, it drastically changes the actions that are taken by the FGC/chief. Consider it this way: The FGC arrives after nine firefighters on three different fire companies arrived. The FGC/chief is 10 percent of the staffing and now must focus more on command and control, because more firefighters should arrive shortly.

Regardless of the location of command on the fireground, it must be understood that size-up and flexibility is critical to have command success on the fireground. No one fireground command style works perfectly for all incidents. A good size-up and understanding of the arrival sequence of additional firefighters and how that sequence plays into who will do the tactics to mitigate the incident in the shortest amount of time are vital.

FGCs shouldnt get locked into one mode of thinking and how they operate. Always size-up your percentage of effect before, during and after each incident, so you can continue to increase your effect on the next fire. Be the FGC who brings more than just a voice on the radio. Truly provide some command presence.

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Command & Control Success: Fireground Commander: Understanding the Impact - Firehouse

A recent survey conducted by the health company Life Extension looked at a bunch of different data to rank the Best and Worst States for Wellness in the United States. And while Maine didn't rank near the end of the list, the fact that it was only positioned in the middle-of-the-pack was almost just as equally bogus.

Jeremy Thomas

According to the Life Extension survey, three key areas were looked at went putting this list together: Physical and Mental Health, Access to National Parks and Nature, and Interest in Integrative Health Practices. And somehow, even though we crush all those categories in Maine, we still ended up buried in the middle of the survey.

And here are the five reasons we think that's absolutely bogus.

Whether it's joining a stereotypical gym, a kettlebell gym, a Crossfit gym, or a yoga and pilates studio, Mainers for sure get their physical health on. Even without a membership to some kind of exercise facility or health club, look out a window on any beautiful Maine day and you'll see parents walking their children in strollers or hand-in-hand, owners walking their dogs, and of course Mainers either going for a solo walk, jog, run, or bicycle ride.

How we hardly got any credit in the National Park access category makes absolutely zero sense. Especially whenAcadia National Park is one of the most-visited in the entire country, according to a Boston.com article, let alone the most frequented in New England itself.

You can't say that we don't absolutely dominate the "Access to National Parks and Nature" category when we have Acadia as mentioned above, but also endless hiking trails and mountains that New Englanders near and far take day trips to for healthy hikes and beautiful sights. (We're looking at you, Mount Katahdin and Appalachian Trail, for starters.)

In the survey, Life Extension mentions the use of Dietary Supplements as inclusion in the Interest in Integrative Health Practices. But is that an actual statistic you can include when ranking a state's health practices? How many reports are there mentioning dietary supplements aren't a healthy means of weight loss, etc? Vitamins are one thing, but dietary supplements? Seems like a reach to use as a statistic.

A lot of the information gathered by Life Extension for their survey relied on searching certain terms on Google Trends. And on the topic of Interest in Integrative Health Practices, one of the Trends that Maine ranked high in was "mindfulness." However, when you break it down more, the actual search term included researching mindfulness along with the Apple Watch. So, does that actually even prove anything?

Basing surveys on Google searches or Google Trends doesn't fully capture the entire essence of a place. And we damn well know that Maine is not only a special place, but reeks of all the good wellness and damn well deserves to be ranked higher on a list deep-diving into wellness amongst states across the country.

We all know Baxter State Park is picturesque, so this list looks outside of BSP.

Looking for fun thins to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 20 best attractions.

Read the rest here:

Five Ways This Survey About Maine's Wellness is Absolutely Bogus - WJBQ