Indonesian human-to-human bird flu infection may be false alarm

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Indonesian human-to-human bird flu infection may be false alarm

Saturday, June 3, 2006

Human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 Avian Flu (Bird Flu) virus was earlier suspected in an Indonesian nurse currently hospitalised who was showing symptoms of the virus. However it is now being reported that tests on the woman for avian virus have been returned showing negative results, and that the samples are being sent to a World Health Organization approved laboratory in Hong Kong for further analysis and confirmation.

“Thank God, the result came back negative,” said senior official for the Indonesian Health Ministry, Hariadi Wibisono.

The nurse had been in close contact with two children, brother and sister, who have died. The sister, nine, was confirmed of having died from the virus by local lab tests. The brother was buried before any blood tests could be taken, but showed similar symptoms.

It was reported on Friday that an analysis has shown that the virus has not mutated, and the WHO has said that there was no evidence so far of human-to-human transmission.

Other members of the same family are currently ill, but all members have received the Tamiflu antiviral drug.

“I think it is a cluster. The local test from the victim in Pamulang is bird flu positive. The symptoms of the virus are very similar to previous clusters we’ve had. The parents are also suffering from flu, and we are giving them a full dose of Tamiflu now,” said Indonesia’s Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari.

“The characteristics of germ (the boy had) is very similar (to his sister’s), and now their mother and father are suffering from flu. They are all in the Pamulang district,” added Supari.

The nurse, whose initials are “C.I.,” 25, has been put in isolation at Bandung’s Hasan Sadikin Hospital, but officials say that her condition is stable and that her case may be the result of human-to-human transmission due to the fact that she has not had any contact with poultry.

“We could not confirm whether she is positive of having been infected by avian influenza virus or not, although she had earlier have contacts with siblings, 18-year old Ad and 10-year old Ai, who died of bird flu virus recently,” said Hadi Yusuf, chief of the Bird Flu team at Sadikin Hospital.

“When she arrived at this hospital last night, her body temperature was very high, namely 39.6 Celsius degrees but now it has decreased to 37 Celsius degrees. After considering her contact with dead bird flu victims, we declared her a suspected bird flu case. But she is still fully conscious, her breathing problems are not too serious and she’s not experiencing chest pain,” added Yusuf.

The names of the children and the nurse have not been released. The nurse is undergoing treatment and has been administered Tamiflu. She is expected to be released when the required amount of doses is given, which officials say could be as early as next week.

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Posted: July 26th, 2022 by Admin

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Saturn moon Enceladus may have salty ocean

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Saturn moon Enceladus may have salty ocean

Thursday, June 23, 2011

NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft has discovered evidence for a large-scale saltwater reservoir beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The data came from the spacecraft’s direct analysis of salt-rich ice grains close to the jets ejected from the moon. The study has been published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Data from Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer show the grains expelled from fissures, known as tiger stripes, are relatively small and usually low in salt far away from the moon. Closer to the moon’s surface, Cassini found that relatively large grains rich with sodium and potassium dominate the plumes. The salt-rich particles have an “ocean-like” composition and indicate that most, if not all, of the expelled ice and water vapor comes from the evaporation of liquid salt-water. When water freezes, the salt is squeezed out, leaving pure water ice behind.

Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph also recently obtained complementary results that support the presence of a subsurface ocean. A team of Cassini researchers led by Candice Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, measured gas shooting out of distinct jets originating in the moon’s south polar region at five to eight times the speed of sound, several times faster than previously measured. These observations of distinct jets, from a 2010 flyby, are consistent with results showing a difference in composition of ice grains close to the moon’s surface and those that made it out to the E ring, the outermost ring that gets its material primarily from Enceladean jets. If the plumes emanated from ice, they should have very little salt in them.

“There currently is no plausible way to produce a steady outflow of salt-rich grains from solid ice across all the tiger stripes other than salt water under Enceladus’s icy surface,” said Frank Postberg, a Cassini team scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The data suggests a layer of water between the moon’s rocky core and its icy mantle, possibly as deep as about 50 miles (80 kilometers) beneath the surface. As this water washes against the rocks, it dissolves salt compounds and rises through fractures in the overlying ice to form reserves nearer the surface. If the outermost layer cracks open, the decrease in pressure from these reserves to space causes a plume to shoot out. Roughly 400 pounds (200 kilograms) of water vapor is lost every second in the plumes, with smaller amounts being lost as ice grains. The team calculates the water reserves must have large evaporating surfaces, or they would freeze easily and stop the plumes.

“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” added Postberg.

The Cassini mission discovered Enceladus’ water-vapor and ice jets in 2005. In 2009, scientists working with the cosmic dust analyzer examined some sodium salts found in ice grains of Saturn’s E ring but the link to subsurface salt water was not definitive. The new paper analyzes three Enceladus flybys in 2008 and 2009 with the same instrument, focusing on the composition of freshly ejected plume grains. In 2008, Cassini discovered a high “density of volatile gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials, some 20 times denser than expected” in geysers erupting from the moon. The icy particles hit the detector target at speeds between 15,000 and 39,000 MPH (23,000 and 63,000 KPH), vaporizing instantly. Electrical fields inside the cosmic dust analyzer separated the various constituents of the impact cloud.

“Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life,” said Dennis Matson in 2008, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“This finding is a crucial new piece of evidence showing that environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life can be sustained on icy bodies orbiting gas giant planets,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the European Space Agency’s project scientist for Cassini.

“If there is water in such an unexpected place, it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe,” said Postberg.

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Posted: July 26th, 2022 by Admin

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Popular Services Provided By A Leading Lawn Service Company

byalex

It is important to find a lawn service company which provides a variety of garden care services to ensure your garden looks fresh and green all throughout years. Maintaining a yard sometimes goes beyond our capabilities. So, if you want to have a green and aerated garden, you have to seek professional assistance from a lawn service company. There are numerous garden care companies which offer a huge range of lawn maintenance services.

Before you contact a lawn service company in your region, you should prepare a list of a few yard care services which you need for your garden. There are companies which provide various lawn care services in packages to give you complete garden care services. Now let us discuss about a few popular services provided by a lawn service company.

  1. A leading yard maintenance company will ensure your garden is safe from pests and insects. Organic pesticides or insecticides are used to kill them and prevent your lawn from weeds and ticks. Soil or land plays a vital role for the grass, trees and shrubs to grow. Soil inspection and proper fertilization can help you to get good quality and fertile soil. A garden care company will always ensure good quality fertilizers are used to enhance the growth of thick green grass and other trees.
  2. Mowing, trimming and watering are needed to keep a yard evergreen and beautiful. A reputed lawn service company will ensure the grasses and high branches of trees are trimmed on a routine basis to make the place look nice and unique.
  3. A reputed yard maintenance company will make sure good quality seeds are harvested and also ensure they are not eaten up by birds or rodents. They take necessary steps to protect newly harvested seeds from all sorts of obstacles thus helping fast and easy growth of vegetation.
  4. There can be some seasonal plants in your garden. Special care needs to be taken for those plants. Leading lawn service companies provide special care treatments for such plants and help them stay fresh in odd seasons too.
  5. Last but not the least, a garden care company will ensure regular maintenance of grass turf is done with care. This will give you the opportunity to spend your summer mornings or evenings in your yard, lying down on soft green grass and cherish some great memories.

To know more about companies providing lawn service, Needham, MA, residents should browse the Internet and find information about some leading garden care companies in their region. They can also get necessary information about such yard maintenance firms from their peers and neighbors who took professional assistance of a garden care company in the recent past.

Posted: July 25th, 2022 by Admin

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New Zealander on oxygen machine dies after power disconnection

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New Zealander on oxygen machine dies after power disconnection

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

New Zealander Folole Muliaga died Tuesday morning after Mercury Energy cut off the power in her household due to $168.40 of unpaid bills. Mrs Folole Muliaga was seriously ill and dependent on an oxygen life support machine that required electricity to run.

The 44-year-old died two and a half hours after the power was cut by a contractor, working for State Owned Enterprise, Mercury Energy. A spokesperson for Mercury Energy has said that they are devastated and deeply sympathetic by the news, but state they did not know that the power was needed to run the oxygen machine. They have stated that discretion is exercised in cases of extreme hardship or when medical conditions make it appropriate and that the same contractor had done so the previous day. However, relatives claim that the contractor was told that the power was needed by family members present, was invited into the house and talked to Mrs Folole Muliaga, but showed no discretion or compassion under the circumstances.

The power was cut at about 11am. Brendan Sheehan, spokesperson for the family, said that after the power was cut, Mrs Muliaga suffered from breathing difficulties. During this time Mrs Mulianga declined an offer for an ambulance from family members. At about 1pm she informed her sons that she was feeling dizzy and asked for hymns to be sung. Her condition quickly deteriorated until she couldn’t speak. When she passed out at 1:32pm, an ambulance was called but Mrs Mulianga could not be revived when it arrived 12 minutes later.

That same evening remaining family members claim they had to grieve in the dark, power was only reconnected after the outstanding amount of $168.40 was paid to Mercury Energy. Mercury Energy claim that the were initially only made aware that a funeral was going to take place and attempted to reconnect the supply at midnight once the full circumstances were made clear but were unable to contact the family. They state the supply was eventually reconnected before 8am the next day. Evidence has been provided by family members to show that they had made two payments to Mercury Energy in the same month trying to clear their outstanding bill, $61.90 on 1 May 2007, and $45 on 17 May 2007.

Trevor Mallard, minister of State Owned Enterprises, said, “I do think it is important that the facts are established before people rush to judgement.”

Both the New Zealand Police and Mercury Energy, the retail operating division of Mighty River Power, are conducting investigations into the events.

The mother-of-four school teacher lived in Mangere, South Auckland and had been suffering from a heart and lung condition, according to relatives of Mrs Muliaga, since February.

Hospital doctors have expressed surprise at the short length of time between when the supply was cut and the death occurred. They have also explained that relatives are trained what to do if the supply is lost, including to call for an ambulance if severe symptoms develop.

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Posted: July 25th, 2022 by Admin

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Oil falls $1.19 on news of al-Zarqawi death

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Oil falls $1.19 on news of al-Zarqawi death

Thursday, June 8, 2006

The price for a barrel of oil dropped after news broke that Al Qaeda‘s leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been killed in a US airstrike Thursday. The death of al-Zarqawi seems to have been interpreted by the market as good news for the future supply of oil from the region.

This is against the backdrop in 2006 when the price of oil had reached a record high of $70 a barrel.

Today on the New York Mercantile Exchange light crude futures for July dropped from over $70 a barrel to a low of $69.54 before rising to $69.63 for a $1.19 loss. “There’s less of a terror threat in Iraq now,” said Naohiro Niimura, vice president of energy derivatives at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, in Tokyo, who gave his reason for the fall.

Iraq lies over one-third of known oil reserves but since the Iraq war in 2003 has been unable to pump more than 2 million barrels a day – 1 million less than prior to the coalition invasion. In May exports were said to be 1.5 million bpd.

The line on a graph that plotted oil price had done a steady incline over recent years, though many factors are involved in the price of a barrel of oil so it is almost impossible to say how much the troubles in Iraq contributed to this rise.

Iraq’s exports make up the largest proportion of its Gross Domestic Product and a significant proportion of world supply. Investors were said to have been worried about developing in the country citing lack of security and legal protection.

Al-Zarqawi, known for videotaped beheadings, suicide bombing campaigns against coalition forces and civilians and reportedly some attacks on oil infrastructure inside Iraq, had claimed responsibility for bombing three hotels in Amman, Jordan. It was hoped the death of Osama bin Laden’s operative in Iraq would remove a man who had opposed the US-backed Shiite-led state and western influence in the wider-region.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s recent appointment of new security and home affairs ministers also may have affected the oil market. Director general of marketing and economics at the Iraqi oil ministry said both pieces of news together were “a positive indicator for security,” said Shamkhi Faraj.

Other voices sounded a note of caution against the optimism: “The situation in Iraq has now become so chaotic, that it transcends the death of one man, influential as al-Zarqawi was,” said Edward Meir.

The analyst at Man Financial believes the threat to the Iraqi oil industry is political as well as physical.

“Yes, al Qaeda attacked oil installations but they were not the only actors and they were not the main actors,” he said. “There is also a new factor — political parties that are using threats against oil to gain leverage.”

In an announcement about oil, Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih of the Iraqi government said it hoped to produce 4.3 million bpd in four years.

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Posted: July 24th, 2022 by Admin

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University of Chicago’s Mansueto Library suffers power outage

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University of Chicago’s Mansueto Library suffers power outage

Monday, May 30, 2011

The University of Chicago’s Joe and Rika Mansueto Library was shut down by a power outage for a short time on Saturday, preventing library personnel from providing full services to its patrons.

The US$81 million library, which opened May 16, includes a 180-seat reading room under a 691-panel glass dome. Five stories underground, a system of five cranes retrieves books sorted into bins, carrying a maximum of about 3.5 million volumes. As of 3:50 p.m. CDT, the automated storage and retrieval system, along with staff computers at the circulation desk, were shut down, preventing patrons from retrieving materials stored underground.

The glass ceiling normally allows enough natural light to pass, but rain clouds in the area darkened the room. Patrons began to flip light switches in front of their seats, but to no avail, and a circulation clerk announced that there had been a power outage. Some patrons then moved to the adjacent Regenstein Library, which still had power. Power was still running along the corridor linking Mansueto and Regenstein Libraries, along with the nearby restrooms and Special Collections Research Center.

An electrician arrived at the building at around 3:50 p.m., and power had been restored by 5:45 p.m.

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Posted: July 24th, 2022 by Admin

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Reduced Interest In Studies Of Students

It is seen that in the previous times students used to be very dedicated towards students and used to spend increased time working towards their assignments and exams and used to pass with flying colours. But now things have transformed and the reduced concentration of students for the studies can be seen. There are various reasons which can be accredited for this change of interest from the students towards the studies and some of these reasons are discussed below.

Increased need for part time jobs

In the previous times family system was different and increased students used to get financial support from their families. Their parents used to pay for their studies and therefore they didn’t have to do any part time job to support themselves. But in the recent ears this has greatly transformed and now increased students are dependent upon themselves to manage their tuition fee and other finances. Now parents have many other financial responsibilities to manage and they not always pay the fees for their kids. Due to this many students are now forced to opt for part time jobs unlike the past. these students have no choice but to have a part time job that would help them manage the finances.

When students are dedicated towards working, they are not able to pay the same concentration to their studies and therefore their interest has greatly reduced. This is one of the main reasons that students now are not interested in studies and they are increased concentrationed towards earning money.

Transformed family system

In the previous times in majority of the cases, one parent used to be home while the other one used to work. This has transformed now as both he parents are now working unlike the past. As both parents are working, they are able to pay attention to their kids and check over their studies. Due to the lack of attention from the parent, kids these days are not as interested in the studies as they used to be because they do not have anyone to check over them and instead they are left to manage many things on their own. This transformed of family system has greatly impacted the concentration on studies for the students.

Increased distraction

In the previous times in the past there used to be less distractions for the kids. Kids were more focused on studies as they didn’t have anything much to do. This has transformed now, as many other distractions are available which weren’t there before. Some of these common distractions are Netflix to watch all the time along with many other such channels which keep the people busy. Furthermore, now sports activities have increased and kids spend a lot of time watching various sports events and so they do not pay attention to their studies.

Also these days video games are gaining popularity and increased students are spending a large portion of their time to play these games. This is negatively affecting the interest of the students in the studies as they invest a large amount of their time to play games and therefore they do not get enough time to study and they end up losing concentration in studies.

Increased outdoor activities

These days, students are involved into outdoor activities much increased than they were in the past. as students spent a lot of time outdoor, they don’t get the chance to concentration on their studies. This is because they spent a lot of time outdoor and so their concentration is more into outdoor activities instead of studies. In all this, the studies go neglected and the results of the student is ultimately affected. With increased concentration on outdoor activities, less students are interested in studies.

Another reason which is leading to this is that now the concentration on workout has increased. Due to this the students are increased into outdoor activities as they workout outdoor. This has drastically reduced their concentration in studies as compared to the past.

Busier studies and increased burden

With time, the burden on the students for studies have increased drastically. As the burden on the students is increasing time to time, the students are becoming frustrated and they are ending up losing the concentration in the studies.

As the burden has increased, students are losing the concentration in studies instead of improving it with time. Burdening students has caused negative effects and less students are now interested in studies.

It can be seen that in the UK, with time increased students are losing the interest in the studies. This is highly different to the past as in the past students used to be increased interested. The actual purpose of education is to guarantee that the students properly learn an impression and is able to implement it in the long term. However, when a student is troubled with a lot of things at once, the actual purpose of education fails. The student isn’t able to learn but he has to finish increased in less time. In order for the education and learning to take place properly, we need to give enough time to the students that would permit them to learn increased while concentrating on what they are learning.

It is essential that the education system is made in a way that increased students tend to concentration on studies and take interest in it. If the students end up losing the interest, then the entire purpose of the education system will fail. In order to develop increased interest in the students was studies, there are a number of things which have to be taken care of. If we are successful in doing so, we can ensure that increased students will have interest in studies and we would have students who are increased dedication.

Posted: July 23rd, 2022 by Admin

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New Zealand pilot selling uniform online

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New Zealand pilot selling uniform online

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

“Jeremy”, an airplane pilot in Nelson, has put his uniform on sale for NZ$1.00 at New Zealand auction site TradeMe. The pilot had lost his job when Origin Pacific Airways fired 230 staff because of financial difficulties and is now trying to “make ends meet this week,” the pilot said. The auction has already reached 31 bids and reached $101 as of 7.30 a.m. August 15.

‘Jeremy’, the pilot, said on the auction page, that he is offering “a rare piece of Kiwi aviation history,”.

“This is an authentic Origin Pacific Jetstream pilot’s uniform lovingly drycleaned for one last time before its unfortunate retirement. It’s travelled many stormy nights and many sunrises and has seen almost 50,000 Kiwis safely to their destinations from Invercargill to the Far North. It has 778,000km on it, yet it looks as crisp today as it did when it was born,” the pilot described on TradeMe.

One bidder had offered $40 if he sold the uniform immediately but that offer was turned down in order to see the auction go until Sunday.

David Collier, Origin Pacific passenger services general manager, said “The uniform was Origin Pacific’s property and the pilot should not be selling it, but I think it’s probably one of those things you’d have to grin at and move on.”

Jay, Waitakere, asked on the auction page if the uniform came with a plane. The pilot replied “No, but if you want to start an airline I know where you can find a great bunch of people.”

The auction is closing on August 20, Sunday.

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Posted: July 22nd, 2022 by Admin

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Suspect in model Jasmine Fiore’s murder found dead

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Suspect in model Jasmine Fiore’s murder found dead

Monday, August 24, 2009

Fugitive Ryan Jenkins was found dead in a motel room in Hope, Canada, about 150 kilometers from Vancouver. Police are still trying to determine how long he was at the Thunderbird Motel before he hanged himself.

The RCMP are now looking for an unidentified woman who helped Jenkins check himself into the motel last Thursday. She is described as an attractive blonde in her early 20’s and driving a tinted Chrysler PT Cruiser with Alberta plates.

Ryan Jenkins was wanted for the brutal murdering of his ex-wife, swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore. Her badly mutilated body was discovered in a dumpster southeast of Los Angeles on August 15th. Her teeth and fingers were removed, making identification difficult. She was identified through serial numbers on her breast implants.

Jenkins’s boat was found on Wednesday, south of Vancouver, not far from the US-Canada border. Police believe he drove from California to Blaine, Washington and then took a boat to Point Roberts, Washington where he crossed the border on foot into Tsawwassen, Canada. The RCMP confirmed early Sunday that Jenkins was somewhere in Canada and he should turn himself in. He was considered armed and dangerous.

Ryan Jenkins is from Calgary and moved to Los Angeles after appearing in a reality television show on the VH1 network, “Megan Wants a Millionaire“.

There were a couple of false sightings during the manhunt. One man was stopped on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver for using an alias. Another man was taken off a Vancouver transit bus because he looked similar and was interested in the news story.

U.S. Marshals were offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

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Posted: July 21st, 2022 by Admin

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Whether Your Home Is A Cabin Or A Mansion, You’ll Be Comfortable With The Right Insulation Services!

byAlma Abell

Whether your home is a cabin in the woods or a mansion on a hill, you will want to be comfortable and cozy inside when the mercury rises on the thermometer or when old man winter is bearing down on you. In order to accomplish this, you must first ensure that cabin or mansion is properly insulated against the elements. When it comes to Insulation Services you want only the best for your personal domain.

With all of the insulating materials and new methods now available, how does one determine what type is best for their home, or even how much to install? Insulation can be blown-in or laid down as strips of fibreglass. There are terms such as R-Values, where “R” indicates resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-Value, the greater the insulating power.

Certified and experienced installers are able to insulate any part of your home, from foundation to roof, with state of the insulating techniques. The use of blown-in insulation provides the optimum insulating method by finding every gap, nook and cranny and filling it seamlessly. Not only will a well-insulated home keep you and your family more comfortable, but it also has many other benefits. It will also reduce your heating and cooling costs, add equity value to your home and provide you with peace of mind. Insulating your home reduces its environmental impact because you will be using fewer non-renewable resources each day. Another benefit of insulation is that of noise reduction. It is perfect for muffling the neighbours’ barking dog, children playing, busy street traffic or any other noises around your home.

One options is to enlist the services of Arrow Roofing &Siding Inc. This family owned and operated business has been making both families as well as businesses in the central Ohio and surrounding areas comfortable for more than 25 years. Arrow Roofing & Siding Inc. does more than simply provide a roof over your head and a beautiful exterior for your home. Their professional Insulation Services also ensure your comfort by keeping you and your family warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Posted: July 19th, 2022 by Admin

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