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Q In older patients with chronic insomnia who have been taking a benzodiazepine nightly for ⩾3 months, is cognitive behavioural therapy plus tapering (CBTT) more effective than tapering alone (TA) for inducing benzodiazepine discontinuation?
randomised controlled trial.
not concealed.
Follow up period:
12 months.
a university hospital in Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada.
65 patients ⩾50 years of age (mean age 67 y, 58% women) with chronic insomnia (⩾6 months); impaired daytime functioning or mood disturbances; nightly benzodiazepine use for ⩾3 months; and inability to refrain from taking a hypnotic for fear of poor sleep or reported <80% sleep efficiency (total sleep time/time in bed × 100) over a 2 week period. Exclusion criteria included cognitive impairment, severe psychiatric or physical problems, daytime benzodiazepine use, and consumption of >3 alcoholic beverages per day.
8 weeks of CBTT (n = 35) or TA (n = 30). Tapering in both groups was supervised by a physician who met weekly with each patient and aimed for dosage reduction of benzodiazepines by 25% at 1 or 2 week intervals. Cognitive behavioural therapy comprised 8 weekly small group sessions of 90 minutes provided by a psychologist and an optional booster session at 1 month post-treatment; the aim was to reinforce the bed as a cue for sleep, regularise sleep rhythm, enhance sleep efficiency, deal with thoughts that could exacerbate the sleep disorder, and educate about sleep and benzodiazepines.
benzodiazepine discontinuation, confirmed by blood screening assessed immediately after completion of treatment and at 3 and 12 months.
Patient follow up:
Analysis was by intention to treat. More patients in CBTT group than in the TA group reported complete benzodiazepine discontinuation throughout follow up (table⇓).
In older patients with chronic insomnia who had been taking a benzodiazepine every night for ⩾3 months, cognitive behavioural therapy plus tapering was more effective than tapering alone for inducing benzodiazepine discontinuation.
Although other studies have explored the effects of CBTT in benzodiazepine withdrawal1, the study by Baillargeon et al is important because it is one of few studies that have targeted patients with chronic insomnia.
The findings support the conclusion that CBTT is superior to standard TA for discontinuation of benzodiazepines in older patients with chronic insomnia and that this benefit is sustained over time. The sample is representative of the chronicity of hypnotic use seen in clinical settings. The unblinded design is not ideal, but this weakness is somewhat offset by the large effect observed, statistical adjustment for baseline differences, audiotape monitoring of consultations, and blood screening to confirm self reported benzodiazepine use. Despite the collection of sleep diaries, the effect of treatment on sleep was not reported even though this is an important factor in the assessment of the effectiveness of hypnotic withdrawal regimens. The study findings are relevant to nurses working with older patients with chronic insomnia who take benzodiazepines, although they are not generalisable to poorly motivated and mentally or physically impaired older adults.
Although promising, it is premature to recommend widespread adoption of intensive CBTT for hypnotic withdrawal without first comparing it with less costly strategies or a placebo control condition. For example, in a study of general practice patients, 21% reported stopping chronic benzodiazepine use after receiving only a letter advising its discontinuation.1 Furthermore, regimens that first replace benzodiazepines with non-benzodiazepine hypnotics (eg, zopiclone) have received some attention, although research support is scant. These new hypnotics are easily substituted and have few withdrawal and tolerance effects.2 The most cost-effective of these withdrawal regimens still needs to be determined.
For correspondence: Dr L Baillargeon, Laval University, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada. lucie.baillargeoncrchul.ulaval.ca
Source of funding: National Health Research and Development Program, Health Canada.
A modified version of this abstract appears in ACP Journal Club.


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X REVOLVE Sandra Skirt
House of Harlow 1960
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subset: commoncrawl


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Last time SE decided to release a console Final Fantasy game, Dynamis was a mess. Not many people showed up, and most those that did were clearly distracted by playing in the background. The run was pretty...fail. In an effort not to make this mistake again, I am considering canceling Wednesday's run so as to save the leadership some grief and to give those who will be getting FFXIII a chance to enjoy their new game without causing everyone to wipe in the process.
Vote on the poll above. If Wednesday's Bastok run is canceled, I will replace 31 March's Buburimu run with Bastok instead. As we ran Buburimu just last Wednesday, there will not be any significant loss with the zone swap.
And in case it occurs to anyone, no, I am not considering canceling runs for future release days/weeks of other console games names not starting with "Final Fantasy."


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Written by William Lee
Here is my preview for the Knicks' Christmas day game. DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME! I cannot emphasis this enough! We (Yes I am a delusional Knicks' fan, that thinks he is a part of the team and say things like we, us, etc.) are going to get completely destroyed by the Thunders. It will be a complete waste of your time, do not throw away two and a half hours. Do not watch a J.R. Smith led Knicks team (Carmelo Anthony a game time decision due to his sprained ankle) who STILL thinks it is Santa Con. Check this video out, trust me, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Please instead, spend the time enjoying with your family and friends. Or instead spend the time with your new gifts, which hopefully isn't anything Knicks related. If you do not live in New York, YOU WILL BE RIDICULED for sporting any Knicks gear, as well you should be… WE SUCK! You know if you MUST get your Knicks basketball fix, and I guess you must be glutton for punishment. I recommend watching when the Knicks did anything good….sooo over 40 year ago vintage footage is what I recommend. Get yourself some NBA Dynasty Series – New York Knicks – The Complete History, or here is something more recent.
So again to recap my preview of the Knicks' Christmas day game, DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME! DO YOURSELF THE FAVOR!
Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays from The New York Knicks Podcast.


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Bush Joins LBJ as a Non-Person at the National Convention
Written by Gary North on July 23, 2012
Lyndon Johnson was so hated by a majority of Democratic Party activists in 1968 that he failed to appear at the national convention held in Chicago. There was no photograph of him anywhere. He became a non-person. Yet he was the President of the United States. George W. Bush has achieved the same unique status. […]Continue reading →


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Pamela J. Powers, a progressive voice for Arizona
Tucson is one of the most impoverished cities in the country—for many reasons. The Arizona Legislature—driven by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and short-sighted, "small government" ideology—has routinely swept funds earmarked for counties and cities to "balance" the state's budget or fund pet projects like lower corporate taxes.
Beyond the Legislature's negative impact on Baja Arizona, the Tucson economy is not diversified enough. Manufacturing is nearly non-existent in Southern Arizona. There is an over-reliance on defense spending, University of Arizona spin-offs, tourism, low-wage service jobs, and growth/development. During the Great Recession, multiple income streams for our local economy were dramatically reduced or eliminated—resulting in the loss of hundreds, if not thousands of good-paying jobs due to budget cuts, business closures, and the housing market crash. People and jobs left the area.
In August 2013, the Arizona Daily Star ran a week-long series on multiple aspects of poverty in Southern Arizona and just this week, the Star ran a story that stated Tucson was second only to Detroit in the proliferation of crappy, low-wage jobs. In a survey of 52 metro areas with over 1 million residents, Tucson was in the top 10 for job creation; the problem is that more than half of the projected 28,000 new jobs will pay less than $13.84/hour. (If you really want to be depressed, check out the list of Tucson's fastest growing occupations here. None of these jobs requires a college education. Thanks to TREO's efforts, telemarketer is #1. Thanks to Tucson's ample supply of old folks, the next four most popular jobs are low-wage health/caregiver positions. We won't break the cycle of poverty in this city with a jobs picture like this.)
So, we know that our city has big economic challenges. Now what? As I wrote back in August, it's time for some creative economic solutions. It's time to STOP our addiction to military spending. It's time to STOP relying on temporary construction jobs and low-wage hospitality industry jobs. It's time to defund TREO and STOP chasing rainbows by competing with other metro areas for "the next IBM" or the next spring training team. It's time to STOP sending our money to Wall Street for investment. It's time to START investing in Tucson. It's time for public banking.
Public Banking as an Economic Engine
Public banks are owned by the citizens and managed by a board of directors on behalf of a governmental entity (country, state, county, city) for the benefit of the citizens and the collective good. Commercial banks are owned by investors, and their goal is to make money for those investors. As we learned during the Great Recession, "public good" has nothing to do with it. North Dakota is the only state in the US that has a state public bank; consequently, ND weathered the Great Recession without a hiccup because it manages its own wealth and relies less on Wall Street gamblers than other states, like Arizona.
State banks (like North Dakota's) or national public banks (like Costa Rica's) are economic engines because they manage the government's money and create their own credit — thus eliminating bank fees and freeing the state to fund projects for the public good, like infrastructure projects that improve the state and provide good-paying jobs. Infrastructure improvements (better roads, reliable bridges, light rail) make the state more economically efficient and a more attractive place for businesses and people. Good-paying jobs attract a better educated workforce and boost the economy because people have money in their pockets. State banks can foster local business development and help community banks by backing the community banks' loans to LOCAL small businesses, farmers, or entrepreneurs.
Buying Debt
Public banks can also help the economy by offering low-cost student loans or by buying up personal debt (ie, credit card debt, student loans, underwater mortgages) and excusing it or restructuring it. This would be similar to what the Rolling Jubilee– part of Occupy's Strike Debt group– is doing. Rolling Jubilee recently purchased $15 million in personal debt for $400,000. Focusing primarily on medical debt, Rolling Jubilee helped more than 2600 Americans in 45 states by buying their medical debt and excusing it.
How does this benefit the public good? People who are spending a significant amount of their income each month to pay off debts cannot afford to buy the things they want or need– like houses, cars, childcare, health insurance, food, etc. They are supporting the lending institutions– primarily too-big-to-fail banks– with their monthly payments, but this money is lost to the local economy. Let's assume a middle class American is paying $200 on a credit card, $100 on a student loan, and $300 on a car loan each month; that is $600 per month going to Wall Street Banks and not to the local economy. If this person is making less than $15/hour and working less than 40 hours per week at a call center that doesn't provide health insurance, they are living on the edge of catastrophe if they or a family member gets sick or has a serious accident. High debt + high interest rates + low wages = poverty, crime, drug trafficking, addiction, domestic violence, suicide. If you add a medical emergency or life-threatening diagnosis to the mix, lives can spiral out of control quickly, and people lose hope.
Public Banking Can Help the State Economy, too
By Arizona statute, all of our state's wealth is held in a big commercial bank—Bank of America, at this time. Consequently, Bank of America makes money by creating credit on our money and charges the state fees and interest. Sweet— for Bank of America– but not for the citizens of Arizona.
Establishing a public bank in Arizona could vastly improve Arizona's budget problems, according to Jim Hannley, registered investment adviser, local public banking advocate, and head of PDA Tucson's economic and social justice team. For two years, Hannley, PDA Tucson Chair and former Arizona Legislature Phil Lopes, and others in Progressive Democrats of America's (PDA) Tucson Chapter have been meeting with Arizona and Tucson politicians to encourage support for public banking. In 2013 alone, Hannley has addressed groups like Sustainable Tucson, Democrats of Greater Tucson, Drinking Liberally, and the Tear Down the Walls Conference to drum up grassroots support for public banking.
Arizona's Republican-led government parrots the same economic austerity meme as Republicans on the national level, according to Hannley. The meme goes like this:
To have a solid economy, people need purchasing power. Points 3 and 4 of the Republican austerity meme take money out of the hands of ordinary citizens, thus reducing their purchasing power and hurting the overall economy. (If you're making less than $13 an hour as a home health aide, how can you afford a $12 glass of wine at one of the gleaming new bars on Congress Street?) Continued sequestration cuts (which Congressional Republicans want to keep) and cuts to direct social programs which help millions of Americans (like Food Stamps) will worsen poverty nationwide.
So, how could establishment of a public bank help? Under the current system, Arizona has lost the ability to create credit and has transferred this power to a private company– Bank of America. Before the Wall Street crash, the too-big-to-fail banks were lending money at a rate of $30 for every $1 in their vault, charging interest on that $30, and making money on our money. Since our state's money is held by Bank of America, all of Arizona's wealth is invested on Wall Street– not in the State of Arizona. By contrast, North Dakota has had a public bank since 1919. ND is one of the few– if not the only– state in the US whose economy was not destroyed by the Wall Street meltdown and the housing crash. ND also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the US.
The Bank of North Dakota holds all of the state treasury funds and is an economic driver for the state. Each state collects taxes and receives millions of dollars in matching funds from the federal government for health care, roads, schools, and many other initiatives that promote the public good. In most states (like Arizona), those funds are held in large commercial banks– not state banks. The Bank of North Dakota holds that state's funds, manages all large transactions, invests in public works projects to create jobs and better the state, and guarantees loans to students, farmers, small business, and entrepreneurs. Arizona, by contrast, is beholden to Bank of America.
Arizona currently has a $60 million debt, which we pay interest on– thus transferring our wealth to the private companies who own the debt. To help balance the budget– after the crash– the State of Arizona sold off assets, like the State Capitol buildings; now the state must pay rent on buildings it used to own. In addition, in 2012 the Arizona state employee pension plan (which is invested on Wall Street) recognized a $524 million loss on pension fund. Contrast this bungled financial picture with North Dakota's. For fiscal years 2011-2013 ND projected $3.197 billion in revenue and $3.185 billion in total expenditures, giving it more than a $12 million budget surplus. ND has a reserve balance of $1.237 billion. These budget figures include $900 million in property and income tax relief from 2009 to 2013. The Bank of North Dakota makes money by using surplus funds to make loans to businesses and citizens. According to Hannley, the Bank of North Dakota has greater than a 13% return on equity.
In 2012, Tucsonans passed a bond initiative to fund road repairs. The voters approved a $100 million bond, which the city paid a fee of $1 million to create. With an authorized interest rate up to 8%, the city could pay as much as $8 million per year in interest over the 20-year bond. If Pima County or the State of Arizona had a public bank, the city could borrow from the public bank at a lower rate to pay for road repairs and save millions of dollars. Tucsonans would save money on the municipal bond, and the state would make money on the interest. Under the current system, municipalities like Tucson have to pay higher interest rates to Wall Street bond managers, while the State of Arizona's sits at Bank of America—making peanuts for Arizonans.
Twenty states are considering establishing a public bank, according to the Public Banking Institute's website. Arizona is listed as one of those states because in 2012 Rep. John Filmore introduced a public banking bill in the Arizona Legislature; the Apache Junction Republican and small businessman worked with PDA Tucson on the initiative. PDA Tucson continues to be committed to this cause.
"It's time to cast off our addiction to Wall Street banks," Hannley said as he ended his talk.
Facts from the Public Banking Institute
Public Banks are …
• Viable solutions to the present economic crises in US states.
• Counter-cyclical, meaning they are capable of reducing the negative impact of recessions, because they can make money available for local governments and businesses precisely when private banks decrease lending.
• Potentially available to any-sized government or community
able to meet the requirements for setting up a bank.
• Owned by the people of a state or community.
• Economically sustainable, because they operate transparently according to applicable banking regulations
• Able to offset pressures for tax increases with returned credit income to the community.
• Ready sources of affordable credit for local governments, eliminating the need for large "rainy day" funds.
• Required to promote the public interest, as defined in their
• Constitutional, as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court
… and are not
• Operated by politicians; rather, they are run by professional
• Boondoggles for bank executives; rather, their employees are
salaried public servants (paid by the state, with a transparent pay structure) who would likely not earn bonuses, commissions or fees for generating loans.
• Speculative ventures that maximize profits in the short term,
without regard to the long-term interests of the public.
Time for a referendum to change a few state laws? AZ is blessed with a tool for direct democracy on this matter. This is not a partisan matter for people who understand the issue.
Pingback: PDA January Membership Meeting– "Public Banking: Should Arizona Move Its Money?" | Arizona Public Banking Coalition
Pingback: PDA Meeting, Jan 23: Should Arizona Move It's Money? | Tucson Progressive
Pingback: Pima County Bond Issue: 'Web of Debt' or Investment for the Future? (video) | Tucson Progressive


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This is a preview!
Analysis and historical valuations for Apple Inc are shown here for you to look at this page's features.
Apple Inc Stock Warning Signs -
GuruFocus has conducted a thorough checkup on the financials and performances of Apple Inc, and found 0 medium warning sign. These warning signs do not necessarily mean you should not invest in the stock. But you should be aware of them before you invest.
Further reading: New Feature Announcement: The Warning Signs.
3 Good Signs
Beneish M-Score : Unlikely manipulator
Operating Margin % : Expansion
Altman Z-Score : Strong
7 Medium Warning Signs
Long-Term Debt : Issuing new debt
Insider Sell : Insider Selling
PB Ratio : Close to 10-year high
Revenue per Share : Growth slows down
Price : Close to 10-year high
PS Ratio : Close to 1-year high
Dividend Yield % : Close to 1-year low


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I have never understood people who clutter /bg with chatter about anything but the battle at hand. I have to make a conscious choice to bark out orders in /bg — usually from the graveyard or while on defense — because the rest of the time I'm going all out. I don't have time to talk.
And it really irriates me when you start talking about what DK spec is best, or how to level a hunter, while I'm trying to win a freakin' match.
I've been in a few bad Wintergrasp raids lately — sorry, Durotan, I got nothing but love, but it's the truth — where I had people chattering about levelling their alts. Afterwards the raid recount was embarassing — three people did 400k or more of damage, and the rest did less than 25k each.
Yeah. We lost that battle.
My guildmates know when I'm in a bg because I shift from proper case and punctiation to very, VERY terse shorthand. Time spent talking in a battleground is time not spent fighting.
So knock that shit off. We have work to do.


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Be online ready!
Originally posted on Scaling up online learning project blog.
New resources launched On Wednesday, during our 'Creating online experiences that learners will value' session at ALT-C we launched a range of online learning resources that have been produced as part of our Scaling up online learning and Digital Student projects. Along with our report 'What makes a successful online learner?' we launched our beta online learning readiness … Read more


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So You Think You Can Dance at Level 4?
The highlight of my night at Level 4 last Friday, Aug. 15, was running into Mark Kanemura, the Hawaii contestant from "So You Think You Can Dance," pictured with me and a friend. At right, are Level 4 dancers in the middle of a choreographed dance routine.
photos: Christine Hitt
I'm so tired of clubs that double as other venues. RumFire, the W, Chai's Island Bistro, E&O Trading Company, Doraku, Skyline, and Senor Frog's are all restaurants by day and they double as a club or lounge at night. For those of us who like nightlife and dancing, we are being cheated by this Hawaii trend. Restaurants are made for dining. They can move the tables out of the way after hours but they still don't have the seating of a proper lounge, or the dance floor and lighting of a true nightclub.
So, I was counting the days till the Level 4 Nightclub & Ultra Lounge opened. It's what the Waikiki Nei multi-million dollar theater turns into after the show is over. At night, the seating supposedly retracts and creates a 4,500-square-foot dance floor, complete with dancers and aerialists swinging above your head. And, to hear that Level 4 was being put on the same level as a Las Vegas nightclub sounded like a dream come true, but dream on…
The Level 4 Ultra Lounge felt more like an industrial waiting room. You have to wait in the lounge while the theater "transforms" into a nightclub, all while looking up at the lounge's exposed piping in the ceiling and hard concrete floors below. At least put carpet in the lounge area! The three decorative bars around the room and the VIP sections against the walls seemed out of place in style next to the lounge's boring walls and windows. Many Vegas lounges are themed, and decorate using fabrics, fancy lighting and statues, which make you feel like you're in a different world, time—or, dimension. Take any Vegas nightclub—Tao, Pure, Body English, Ghost Bar, LAX—and you'll experience a night that uses all of your senses. This just made me wonder why I wasn't on level 3 of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center getting a cheap drink at Senor Frog's, while I was waiting for the main showroom to open. At least I'd know that I'd be entertained there.
When the waiting is over, Level 4 does get better. The showroom is immense with a 60-foot ceiling filled with dozens of lights beaming down and around the room through a foggy haze. Go-go dancers command the stage, dancing to hip-hop and the latest music hosted by 104.3's DJ Mike D. The dancers even do choreographed dance routines, which makes everyone else stop dancing to watch. It was disappointing to see that there was still stadium seating in the room and the dance floor felt more like I was stuck in an orchestra pit, with the wall to the stadium seating at my left and the four-foot high stage on my right. The main floor also hosts more VIP tables and the DJ booth, taking away prime dancing space.
The stage itself is off-limits to everyone, except the professional dancers. But, that's a lot of wasted space for just six dancers, so why not use it? Put the DJ booth on stage—where the DJ belongs—and strategically place the VIP tables around the room, even on that large stage, rather than crowding the floor.
The venue was obviously created primarily for Waikiki Nei and then, as a distant second, for the nightclub. So, go ahead and add Level 4 to that growing list of clubs that lead double lives.
I did find one thing that reminded me of Vegas. All seating is reserved for VIP only, so choose your shoes wisely.
Want to check out Level 4 Nightclub & Ultra Lounge? Here are the details:
HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday following the last performance of Waikiki Nei. The show ends at 7:30pm on Wed-Thurs, and at 10:00 p.m. on Fri-Sat, then it takes roughly 45 minutes for the theatre to transform. My suggestion is to go on a Friday or Saturday at around midnight, then you'll more than likely miss the line, and not have to wait for the showroom to open.
DRESS: Fashionable attire only.
LEVEL 4 Nightclub & Ultra Lounge
at the Royal Hawaiian Center, 4th floor, Building B
2233 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Have you been to Level 4? Comment and tell me your thoughts below.


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New Booking:
Sun Jan 2, 2022
Back to Upcoming
Date changed to
Checking Availability...
Thank you for your interest in touring Cody Cave.
If your preferred tour is unavailable - please call 250-359-2283 and we would be happy to assist you.
Online Booking available when reserving regular season tours from mid-May through the end of October.
If you would like to book a tour for the same day, for large groups, or during the Winter Season (November through April) please call or email the office and we will be happy to assist you.
We look forward to guiding you throughout this spectacular underworld.


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The swaps cops are back on the beat in full force.
After a six-month wait, the U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Timothy Massad to serve as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as lawmakers moved to bring the derivatives regulator to a full roster by signing off on two additional nominees.
The Senate approved Massad and J. Christopher Giancarlo, an executive at inter-dealer broker GFI Group Inc., in a series of voice votes. Sharon Y. Bowen, a lawyer at Latham & Watkins LLP, was confirmed as a commissioner in a 48-46 vote amid opposition from Republicans and a handful of Democrats.
The three new members will join a panel working to finish a job, now in its sixth year, of bringing oversight to swaps blamed for igniting the 2008 financial crisis. Started as an overseer of agricultural and commodity trading, the CFTC was empowered by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to bring a broad new set of rules to swaps that were previously largely unregulated.
"The Dodd-Frank Act greatly expanded the scope of the CFTC's authority, and there are still many important issues that need to be addressed in the implementation of that law," Walt Lukken, president and chief executive of FIA, previously known as the Futures Industry Association, said in a statement. "So it is all the more important that the CFTC have a full complement of commissioners at this critical moment in its history."
New Authority
The law, and regulations put in place under previous chairman Gary Gensler, gave the CFTC new authority over trading by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and other firms.
The new members will join current commissioners Mark P. Wetjen, who has been serving as acting chairman since January, and Scott O'Malia, a Republican who has been at the agency since October 2009.
"I look forward to working with these three new commissioners. I'm sure they are eager to get to work on the pressing issues before the commission," O'Malia said yesterday.
The three new members of the CFTC will take office as Wall Street is pressing for rollbacks of rules approved under Gensler, saying some are unworkable. Budget constraints threaten the CFTC's ability to oversee markets and have led to a restive staff taking steps to join a labor union.
Massad, 57, attended Harvard Law School and spent 25 years at the Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP law firm, where he focused on corporate finance including securities, banking and derivatives. He was tapped by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2010 to administer the Troubled Asset Relief Program that rescued Wall Street banks after the financial crisis.
Sanders's Opposition
Bowen's confirmation was opposed by 42 Republicans and four senators who caucus with the Democrats, including Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders.
"We need regulators who will have the courage to stop the largest Wall Street banks in this country from driving up oil prices in the energy futures market," Sanders said in a statement after the vote. "After reviewing her record and those of two other nominees, I am afraid that none of them will make sure that the price of gasoline and heating oil is based on supply and demand and not Wall Street greed."
Stanford Victims
Some senators, including Louisiana Republican David Vitter, opposed Bowen's confirmation because of her role overseeing the Securities Investor Protection Corp., an industry-funded panel that ruled against compensating victims of the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme.
"After Stanford victims were ripped off through that fraudulent Ponzi scheme, Sharon Bowen ripped them off again by refusing to take action at SIPC," Vitter said in a statement after Bowen's confirmation. "And today she was rewarded for that with a promotion."


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June was the best-selling month yet for recreational pot in Colorado, with $24.7 million in total sales, according to state tax collections reported Friday.
Recreational pot sales were up more than 19 percent from May sales, an increase likely attributable to more stores opening.
Since January, Colorado has reaped $29.8 million in taxes from marijuana, according to June collections reported by the state Department of Revenue. That figure includes taxes, licenses and fees from both medical and recreational pot.
Recreational pot is inching toward medical pot in total sales.
In January, Colorado's statewide sales tax on medical pot produced nearly twice the taxes produced by recreational pot.
By June, the statewide 2.9 percent sales tax from medical pot brought in less than 20 percent more than the same tax on recreational weed.
Estimates for how much tax revenue legal weed would produce varied widely, with no preceding legal pot taxes on which to guess sales.
An estimate sent to Colorado voters last year projected the annual tax collections from sales and excise taxes on recreational pot at $70 million a year. And in February, Gov. John Hickenlooper sent lawmakers a budget request that projected some $98 million in pot taxes this fiscal year, which began in July.


text: "Get Help Worldwide" located at "www.gethelpworldwide.com" - it is a Ponzi or Pyramid Scheme Phishing - Scamming - Fraud - Identity Theft Comments: 7 Views: 9,148 Save Updated: Mar. 5, 2017 2017-03-05T14:32:39 Posted: Mar. 5, 2017 2017-03-05T14:24:28 Online Threat Alerts (OTA) Get Help Worldwide, located at www.gethelpworldwide.com, which the owners claim is the #1 World's Mutual Financial Aid Community, is a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme. Online users are advised not to register with the website or become a member. And, those who are already members are asked to stop making payments to the website. www.gethelpworldwide.com - The Ponzi or Pyramid Scheme Website Get Help Worldwide (www.gethelpworldwide.com) is consider a scam because they promise members or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public, making them appealing to people who want to make some quick cash. Why is Get Help Worldwide is a Pyramid or Ponzi Scheme? Get Help Worldwide is a pyramid or Ponzi scheme because they do not do any form of investments, sell products or services to make money. Instead, they take money from new members that old members recruit, to pay the same old members. If Get Help Worldwid efails to recruit new members, they will be unable to pay old members, which will cause the scheme to crash. Once the scheme crashes, the owners will take whatever money they have collected and disappear. The owners of Get Help Worldwide just collect money from new members, and pay some out to old members and keep the rest for themselves. That is all they do. Once the pyramid scheme fails, new members will suffer the most, because they will not get back a single dime of their so-called investment. For the owners, it will be a big payday for them, because they would have already collected thousands or millions of dollars from their members or participants. What is a Pyramid or Ponzi Scheme? A pyramid or Ponzi scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products or services. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly impossible, and most members are unable to profit; as such, pyramid schemes are unsustainable and often illegal. In a pyramid scheme, an organization compels individuals to join and make a payment. In exchange, the organization promises its new members a share of the money taken from every additional member that they recruit. The directors of the organization (those at the top of the pyramid) also receive a share of these payments. For the directors, the scheme is potentially lucrative - whether or not they do any work, the organization's membership has a strong incentive to continue recruiting and funneling money to the top of the pyramid. Such organizations seldom involve sales of products or services with value. Without creating any goods or services, the only ways for a pyramid scheme to generate revenue are to recruit more members or solicit more money from current members. Eventually, recruiting is no longer possible and most members are unable to profit from the scheme. This is related to the following: Scam - WeFundAfrica Club (WEFA) Member Donation Platform is a Ponzi or Pyramid Scheme Beware of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) - it is an Old Russian Ponzi or Pyramid Scheme


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Andrew Russell Forsyth by Leonard Roth
An extract from the paper : L Roth, Amer. Math. Monthly (1971)
This extraordinary man, whom I had the privilege to know in his capacity of Professor Emeritus at the Imperial College of Science, died in extreme old in 1942; but his fame lives on. Everybody knows him as the author of the age in most successful book on differential equations that has ever appeared in any language; although it was first published as long ago as 1885, it is still being reprinted. I would venture the opinion that this work has done more than anything else to retard the true development of the subject; for over two generations it has continued to put wrong ideas into people's heads concerning the nature and scope of the theory and, thanks to the author's forceful and authoritative style, in this it has been overwhelmingly successful.
The truth is that Forsyth had the misfortune to be born a hundred years too late; in his mathematical outlook and technique, he was a man of the eighteenth century. His major work on the theory of differential equations, a colossal achievement in six volumes, is still today the only treatise in its class which in by a single hand; but a mere glance at the list of contents suffices to reveal that, on the whole, Forsyth looks backward to Lagrange rather than forward to Cauchy. However, some knowledge of the rudiments of analysis was essential to an understanding of the work; and as the Cambridge men of his generation had none, the author, who had now succeeded to Cayley's chair, set himself the task of educating them. ...
In 1893 there appeared the first edition of Forsyth's Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable: another production which cannot be described as anything less than colossal - even a German professor might have quailed before such a project. The book includes fairly complete accounts of the relevant work of Cauchy, Abel, Riemann, Weierstrass, Appell, and carries on the survey right up to the then contemporary researches of Klein and Poincaré. The style of the book is magisterial, Johnsonian; the author's powers of assimilation are well-nigh incredible and yet, strange to say despite his intentions and his absorption of the material, he never comes within reach of comprehending what modern analysis is really about: indeed whole tracts of the book read as though they had been written by Euler.
Nevertheless, for all its shortcomings, this was the work which brought modern pure mathematics into Cambridge. The young men at once began to imbibe it; and not the young men alone. My own copy of the book once belonged to R R Webb, the coach whom I have mentioned above and from his pencilled notes in the margins it seems pretty clear that he was learning his function theory the hard way, much as any beginner would. The very fact that the book was written in the wrong spirit probably contributed to its great initial success. As Littlewood once put it, "Forsyth was not very good at delta and epsilon"; but neither was the public for whom he wrote: so author and readers met on common ground. In any case, it served as a stepping-stone to the real thing, which at that date was to be found only in French or German. Hardy has recorded that he himself first saw the light when he read the volumes of Jordan's Cours d'Analyse; and many other young men of his generation must have done likewise.
Within the space of ten years, Forsyth's treatise had achieved its aim. But it also accomplished something which its author had certainly never intended. For Cambridge now found itself equipped with a corps of modern pure mathematicians whose nominal leader was a living fossil firmly fixed in the Sadlerian chair. This grotesque situation seemed to all intents and purposes a permanent one: Forsyth's international reputation was enormous and in any case there was no possibility of removing him; it appeared as though he were there for life. But now fate took a hand in the game. In the year 1909 Forsyth in the company of other scientists and their families, was travelling to a meeting of the British Association to be held in Canada. Among the party were the eminent physicist C V Boys and his wife Marion. Forsyth was then an apparently confirmed bachelor of 51; but he and Marion Boys fell in love with one another. The end of it was that she decided to leave her husband; and this meant that Forsyth was compelled to resign his professorship, for in the Cambridge of those days there was no place for even the suggestion of divorce. It is pleasant to add that everyone concerned in this affair lived happily ever after; for it was generally conceded by all his acquaintances that the bereaved husband bore his loss with remarkable fortitude. (The former Mrs Boys was a powerful personality.)
Forsyth survived his wife by many years; in fact he contrived to outlive everything-that was his tragedy. He had to retire from his chair at the Imperial College because he had reached the extreme age limit, although he commanded enough energy to have carried on for at least another five years. He set himself to learn Arabic and Persian; he wrote several enormous volumes on what were ostensibly branches of modern mathematics all treated from the eighteenth century point of view; the Cambridge University Press, which made a fortune out of his earlier publications must have lost a good deal of it on these. And all the time he was filling reams of paper with formulae and calculations; I happen to possess some manuscripts of his Cambridge lectures and also of sonic work on which he was engaged a year or two before his death. The differences between them, from the standpoint of calligraphy, are almost negligible.
I am pleased to relate that I have been able to pay one small tribute to this remarkable son of Cambridge. Some years ago, when I was asked to rewrite the article on Cayley for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, I took the opportunity to slip him in; and there, for some time to come, I hope he will stay.
... Although it almost goes without saying that Forsyth had himself been a Senior Wrangler (he had studied with Routh and Webb) and, moreover, was temperamentally inclined towards the Tripos kind of mathematics, yet he was one of the chief promoters of Tripos reform.
Last Updated October 2003


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Feels like forever and I honestly wonder what I have left to say. It's taking pretty much all my gumption to sit down and write even for five minutes right now. My creativity feels anemic–unless of course you're talking about coming up with creative ways to use every household nick-nack or tool as a safe and entertaining toy for a one year old.
But I have five minutes and I'm desperate to revive what I feel may die if I don't use it. A few thoughts from my Scripture reading today.
In Genesis 27, sneaky Jacob and his mother conspired to steal Esau's blessing from their dying father, Isaac. I've often wondered why Isaac didn't simply unsay what he'd said. I'm mean, couldn't he just say, "Oops, I made a mistake. That's not what I meant to do. Let me retract those words!" We do it all the time in our modern world: "I didn't mean to say that!"
But words have power. Words stick. First words, last words, unintentional words–they all have power. Isaac told Easu, "That blessing must stand."
What I say today stands. I cannot take it back, unsay something or cover it up with an, "I didn't mean that." I can speak life and blessing and hope into my husband and daughter and those I meet, or I can damage their hearts with unkindness.
Father, give me words of life. Put a guard over my mouth and let me speak only those things which you would say.


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The JibJab office has been going through a bit of a 2012 makeover. The company originally was divided in four separate rooms in our building. We wanted to feel more togetherness in one LARGE continuous room so walls needed to come down, desks needed to be moved and spring-cleaning started early. Check out the photos below of some before, during and after demolition photos.
We let the team get artsy on some walls before we tore them down.
We broke down some walls…
Then we broke down some more…
We now have one large creative workspace with the team together!
And though we sit so close to one another we still use instant messenger.
What do you think of our new space? We really enjoy it & are continuing to create more fun, new Starring You videos, kids books for the iPad & work on other new projects for you in the year ahead. Stay tuned!


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"Many things that shouldn't have happened, happened because of money," says Wang Youliang.
"The situation [in Wenzhou] is a secret everybody knows, but you can't talk about it in public."
He is a young entrepreneur and shoe manufacturer working in Wenzhou, China. Among his friends, five failed factory owners fled and one killed himself.
The country that is predicted to be the next big super power on the world economic stage has its own hidden crisis.
During the 2011 credit crunch which continued through last year, about 100 managers or heads of private companies in Wenzhou declared bankruptcy, disappeared or committed suicide, leaving behind a debt of about $1.6 billion.
If it wasn't alarming enough, Professor Larry Lang of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and well-known TV host, stated during a lecture that the Chinese regime is on the brink of bankruptcy and "every province is a Greece."
While the EU struggles to hold together and the USA show hints of recovery, China is dealing with a faltering economy, failing for the first time since the late 1990's to achieve the usual 8-10% growth rate that had become the norm.
Wenzhou, a middle-size coastal Chinese city, was largely unknown to the general public. Despite being the first to set up individual and private enterprises in China, and one of the richest and most productive cities in the country, only people involved in manufacturing and the export of goods really knew it existed.
But by 2011, Wenzhou was the new symbol and epicenter of the Chinese economic crisis.
At the end of 2008, after the US crisis had exploded and spread to the EU, Beijing launched a 570 billion USD stimulus in order to keep the economy going. Authorities were deliberately pushing investments into real estate, making the speculative bubble grow quickly.
Everybody wanted to participate into the game, including small and medium entrepreneurs who couldn't find financial support from the state banks to invest.
They resolved this problem by setting up an illegal lending and borrowing system, accepting usurious interest rates from underground banks.
In 2011 the media reported from Zhejiang province, and in particular from the Wenzhou district, several cases of entrepreneurs, usually small-medium size companies' owners, who declared bankrupt, fled the country or committed suicide, leaving behind huge debts and dying businesses. Many companies closed and a lot of workers lost their jobs.
It was a disaster.
Last March, Beijing authorities resolved to try and get a hold of the situation by launching a pilot financial reform program to make Wenzhou a special economic zone. They put a particular focus on creating a legal platform to regulate transactions between private citizens.
China is still a very rich economy. But in a globalized world, its economy has become a part of the world's crisis and is decelerating.
It's too early to say whether Wenzhou's reform will be successful or not.
But the troubles of its entrepreneurs suggest there may be more hidden problems lurking below the surface for the world's up-and-coming economic powerhouse.


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The Advantages of a Free Divorce Consultation
Spouses normally file for a divorce after a serious misunderstanding. Most couples would file for a quick divorce because the process is normally emotionally stressful. If you have children is essential for you to note that the process of a divorce is most likely to leave you broke. Getting a cheap divorce helps most couples to avoid the financial strains that come with the process. Hiring a family paralegal, divorce coach or scheduling a free consultation could allow you to get a cheap divorce. It is important to link up with a divorce attorney because this would be a key preparation step in getting all answers that you need. If you get the free consultation that is offered by most divorce attorneys, it will benefit you.
Having a free consultation with a divorce lawyer is beneficial because it sets the correct path for the divorce. The divorce attorney should ensure that the client is directed in the right path, with the process. You need to consider the free consultation because it would tell you whether the divorce attorney would conduct the case well.
You can be able to judge whether services from a lawyer would be well suited for you as a client if you have a free consultation with them. It is vital to get a lawyer who is well suited for the case to avoid wasting time and resources for the case. If you take the free consultation with a lawyer, this will help you to find out about the quality services that you would receive for your case. A free divorce consultation comes with no obligation to hire a lawyer nor pay the lawyer because this is an opportunity for them to market themselves. The free consultation process would inform you that the budget derived would correspond to the services you would receive during the case.
A free consultation with an attorney would enable you to draft an overall cost of the divorce. Knowing the overall cost of the divorce would enable you to plan for a flexible budget to cover it. It is essential that the divorce process should not strain your budget.
Having a free consultation while you file for a divorce would enable you to build a platform to understand the qualities of the divorce lawyer that would reparent you. It is important for you to create a healthy relationship with your divorce lawyer. The traits of the lawyer should be good and hr. or she should be willing to represent you well in your divorce case. The free divorce consultation, therefore, allows you and the divorce lawyer to create a rapport healthy for the case. Through the free divorce consultation, you can be able to judge the reputation of the lawyer.
A free divorce consultation would be beneficial if you wish to push through with a cheap divorce.
Lessons Learned About
6 Facts About Everyone Thinks Are True


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Two reports by Jesus Esquivel from PROCESO #1960… An anonymous source in Juarez says that La Linea is still in control (or back in control) in Juarez and that professional sicarios are operating in the city to clean up the malandros–the young wannabes (los malandros que se sentían narcos)… So that the people being killed now are only those that need to be killed… and that the city will be a good place for the good people of Juarez again… as in the days before the Calderon project turned Juarez into the most violent city in the world… The police in Juarez, especially the municipal police, will be cooperating more than ever with this new/old regime to make sure that life gets better in Juarez and also ensure that the real big time drug crossing business functions properly–generating more money and less violence…
The Sinaloa Cartel people have withdrawn from Juarez and the new objective (is this new?) is to get the business done as it should be done. The real shipments to the US will continue to cross in big cargo trucks, not carried over by little guys… All those little guys trying to do business on their own (hormigas carrying loads in private cars or on foot) will be cleaned up if they haven't been already…
DEA tells Proceso that Juarez is again (was it ever not?) a major crossing point for drugs, including more meth, though the city is less violent… -Molly
En Juárez, Paz Pactada…Pero Viene Una "Limpia" (Proceso)
See Borderland Beat's translation of the story below.
Juarez Is Peaceful…But There's A Clean Up Coming (Borderland Beat)
Menos Violencia, Más Anfetaminas (Proceso)
See the Frontera List post for a Google translation of the articles.


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The bell has sounded. With spring training games getting underway on Wednesday, it's time for fantasy baseball owners to shake off the winter doldrums and turn their attention to preparing for their drafts. The No. 1 tool that is being heavily searched for on the web is fantasy baseball rankings, especially by position. I last wrote about how
Mike Trout should be the No.?1 pick
in a column covering the top 10 picks and pointed readers to my blog at
for a top 250. Here we'll do the same by breaking it down by position and linking to my blog for more complete rankings and projections.
Jonathan Lucroy and Jason Castro broke out last year to strenghten the top 10 of what has become the deepest crop of catchers in recent memory. There's a slew of young backstops who can hit poised to provide even more depth for those playing in two-catcher leagues. 1. Buster Posey, Giants 2. Joe Mauer, Twins 3. Wilin Rosario, Rockies 4. Carlos Santana, Indians 5. Yadier Molina, Cardinals 6. Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers 7. Brian McCann, Yankees 8. Matt Wieters, Orioles 9. Salvador Perez, Royals 10. Jason Castro, Astros
With Miguel Cabrera moving back across the diamond, first base has its usual embarrassment of fantasy riches. Any of the top six are legitimate first-round options and the hits just keep on coming. For example, former elite slugger Ryan Howard (Phillies) comes in at No. 30 in my rankings here. 1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 2. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks 3. Joey Votto, Reds 4. Prince Fielder, Rangers 5. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays 6. Chris Davis, Orioles 7. Freddie Freeman, Braves 8. Albert Pujols, Angels 9. Eric Hosmer, Royals 10. Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers
Matt Carpenter burst upon the scene to reinforce an otherwise aging group at the top. Reinforcements are on the way in the form of a youth movement that includes potential breakouts like Anthony Rendon (Nationals), Jurickson Profar (Rangers) and Kolten Wong (Cardinals) from outside the top 10. 1. Robinson Cano, Mariners 2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox 3. Jason Kipnis, Indians 4. Ian Kinsler, Tigers 5. Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 6. Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks 7. Ben Zobrist, Rays 8. Jose Altuve, Astros 9. Chase Utley, Phillies 10. Martin Prado, Diamondbacks
Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez separate themselves from the pack, which is a six-man second tier that is followed by a lot of mediocrity. This is the thinnest position in fantasy, so you may want to look to the depth at second base fo fill a starting middle infield spot after you secure one of those top eight shortstops. 1. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies 2. Hanley Ramirez, Dodgers 3. Jose Reyes, Blue Jays 4. Jean Segura, Brewers 5. Ian Desmond, Nationals 6. Elvis Andrus, Rangers 7. Everth Cabrera, Padres 8. Ben Zobrist, Rays 9. Starlin Castro, Cubs 10. Andrelton Simmons, Braves
After consistent and durable superstars Cabrera and Adrian Beltre, injury risks and possible one-year wonders abound. Immediately behind the top 10 are a bunch more players with injury concerns, making third base a shadow of its once-stacked self. 1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 2. Adrian Beltre, Rangers 3. Evan Longoria, Rays 4. David Wright, Mets 5. Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 6. Josh Donaldson, A's 7. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals 8. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates 9. Manny Machado, Orioles 10. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays
If you play in a league where you start five outfielders, this position dries out as you try to fill out a starting lineup. There's certainly a great group at the top, but by the 20s the question marks really start piling up and in a 12-team league there would be 60 starters. A solid strategy is to fill up as many of those starting spots with top-30 outfielders, then you could wait and take some fliers from among the immense group of possible breakouts lower in the rankings. 1. Mike Trout, Angels 2. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates 3. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies 4. Ryan Braun, Brewers 5. Jacoby Ellsbury, Yankees 6. Adam Jones, Orioles 7. Bryce Harper, Nationals 8. Yasiel Puig, Dodgers 9. Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers 10. Carlos Gomez, Brewers 11. Justin Upton, Braves 12. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays 13. Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 14. Jay Bruce, Reds 15. Matt Holliday, Cardinals 16. Alex Rios, Rangers 17. Hunter Pence, Giants 18. Jason Heyward, Braves 19. Matt Kemp, Dodgers 20. Wil Myers, Rays 21. Starling Marte, Pirates 22. Alex Gordon, Royals 23. Allen Craig, Cardinals 24. Billy Hamilton, Reds 25. Jayson Werth, Nationals 26. Yoenis Cespedes, A's 27. Carlos Beltran, Yankees 28. Josh Hamilton, Angels 29. Domonic Brown, Phillies 30. Austin Jackson, Tigers
There are only three notable hitters who don't qualify at any position, so you may have to clog your utility spot. These guys tend to slip in the draft a little because owners overlook them while filling positions, making this an opportunity to score some solid value for cheap. 1. David Ortiz, Red Sox 2. Billy Butler, Royals 3. Victor Martinez, Tigers
Pitching is as deep as it's been since the dawn of fantasy baseball, as waves of ultra-talented starters backed by fireballing bullpens in the post-steroids era has scoring down and strikeouts up. There is value to be found throughout a draft with the key to finding them often tied to high strikeout and low walk rates. There will be a slew of top contributors that will go undrafted in shallow leagues, so dilligent in-season work on the waiver wire should be able to plug any holes that may develop from injuries or the occasional bust. 1. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers 2. Yu Darvish, Rangers 3. Cliff Lee, Phillies 4. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals 5. Max Scherzer, Tigers 6. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals 7. Felix Hernandez, Mariners 8. Jose Fernandez, Marlins 9. Madison Bumgarner, Giants 10. Chris Sale, White Sox 11. David Price, Rays 12. Zack Greinke, Dodgers 13. Justin Verlander, Tigers 14. Cole Hamels, Phillies 15. Homer Bailey, Reds 16. Anibal Sanchez, Tigers 17. Matt Cain, Giants 18. Mat Latos, Reds 19. Kris Medlen, Braves 20. Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees 21. James Shields, Royals 22. Gerrit Cole, Pirates 23. Mike Minor, Braves 24. Gio Gonzalez, Nationals 25. Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals 26. Jered Weaver, Angels 27. Michael Wacha, Cardinals 28. Danny Salazar, Indians 29. Francisco Liriano, Pirates 30. Julio Teheran, Braves 31. Alex Cobb, Rays 32. Johnny Cueto, Reds 33. Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners 34. Shelby Miller, Cardinals 35. Jeff Samardzija, Cubs 36. Andrew Cashner, Padres 37. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers 38. Marco Estrada, Brewers 39. Tony Cingrani, Reds 40. Doug Fister, Nationals
Teams are beginning to figure out that their top strikeout reliever can make an elite closer, even if he's been mostly serving as a set-up guy in the past. Kenley Jansen, Koji Uehara, Greg Holland and Trevor Rosenthal each emerged as tremendous saves options last year that help in the peripherals too. The tried-and-true mantra of 'Don't Pay for Saves' is coming under fire as the closer position keeps getting heavier at the top. It still holds true that there will be bargains to be had from the lowest-ranked closers though. 1. Craig Kimbrel, Braves 2. Kenley Jansen, Dodgers 3. Koji Uehara, Red Sox 4. Aroldis Chapman, Reds 5. Greg Holland, Royals 6. Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals 7. Joe Nathan, Tigers 8. Sergio Romo, Giants 9. David Robertson, Yankees 10. Jason Grilli, Pirates 11. Glen Perkins, Twins 12. Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies 13. Steve Cishek, Marlins 14. Jim Johnson, A's 15. Ernesto Frieri, Angels 16. Jim Henderson, Brewers 17. Bobby Parnell, Mets 18. Casey Janssen, Blue Jays 19. Huston Street, Padres 20. Grant Balfour, Rays


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Interstitial radiosurgery with I-125 seeds in children with low-grade glioma
Search Medline for
|May 20, 2009
Objective: The treatment of low-grade brain tumours is a considerable challenge, especially in children at eloquent sides. Since 1984 we treated 156 children and adolescents with interstitial radiosurgery (IRS) with I-125 seeds. The indications were symptomatic and/or progressive WHO grade I/II tumours with approximately spherical shape and a diameter up to 5 cm.
Methods: In a retrospective study patient files were analyzed and quantitative analysis in the CCT/MRT imaging was done. 94 patients fulfilled the inclusion criterion of a completely documented follow-up of at least 6 months (50m, 44f, median age 9 years). These were not different from the 62 excluded cases regarding all relevant disease parameters. There were 79 astrocytomas, 5 oligodendrogliomas, 4 oligoastrozytomas, 1 ependymoma and 5 other lesions located in the suprasellar/chiasmal region (44), thalamus or basal ganglia (18), hemispheres (15), midbrain/pineal region (13) and lower brainstem (3).
Results: In the initial Rankin-scale 9% of patients were free of symptoms, 49% were symptomatic but not disabled, 31% were slightly, 8% moderately and 2% severely disabled. 5 patients had died within a total observation period of 53.6 (6.8-171.0) months. The time until the indication of a renewed treatment (N=47, of these 18 repeated IRS) or to last follow-up was 38.4 (6.4-171.0) months. As a result of the first IRS 4 patients showed complete, 27 partial and 18 objective responses, 15 showed stable and 30 progressive disease. The response did not depend on age, sex, histology, tumour size, localisation and demarcation of the tumour (logistic regression). The necessity of repeated treatment was correlated to the initial size of the tumour. In the last available Rankin scale the number of symptom-free patients increased to 22%. 40% showed symptoms without functional impairment, 20% were slightly, 13% moderately and 3% severely disabled.
Conclusions: Due to its low invasiveness and the restricted radiation field IRS with I-125 is a very useful treatment in tumours with appropriate size and shape, especially in children and adolescents. In larger tumours repeated treatment also including different modalities can be necessary after 2 to 4 years. In our view I-125 IRS can be a useful contribution to the complex treatment of low-grade brain tumours.


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Network Instruments, LLC, headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is a developer
of distributed and affordable network management, analysis, and troubleshooting
In 1994 they developed the Observer, the first Windows-based protocol
analyzer, and also the first product to troubleshoot switched environments.
Since that time the Observer has grown into an entire family of network management,
analysis, and troubleshooting solutions, that include capabilities for protocol
and packet-level analysis, network design, optimization and mapping tools, and
SNMP-based enterprise management, including embedded agents and/or probes.
All of the Network Instruments products are designed utilizing its Distributed
Network Analysis (NI-DNA) architecture, meaning that all solutions are based
on a single code set. The architecture includes two key components: a probe
which collects data regarding a local or remote network's operation, and a console,
which displays the data.
Remote probes can be installed on many types of networks, including 10/100/1000
Ethernets, WANs and wireless networks, with the control and monitoring of the
probes allowed from any location, whether local or remote. Since the probe and
console are derived from the same code, they work together as a seamless, integrated
solution. This unified code set also allows an easier transition to additional
topologies, as minimal training is required as the network grows or evolves.
|Figure 1 – Click to see full-size image
The console part of the system, is called the Observer. It provides network,
application, and in-depth VoIP performance analysis, with call quality scoring
and VoIP metrics on a per-call or aggregate level. It can also reconstruct calls
for IT staff to listen to and review.
One of the big advantages of Observer is its ability to display all applications
running on the network alongside VoIP traffic, since other applications can
affect VoIP quality. Observer handles real-time performance issues with over
70 VoIP-specific metrics, plus over 50 event-based and threshold-based VoIP
Experts. The system provides in-depth problem identification and resolution,
as well as alerts to VoIP quality issues—including alarms for unacceptable
jitter level, lost packets, or alterations in the QoS stream (see Figure 1).
The console is available in three versions.
The Observer Standard can capture, view, and decode over 590
different protocols of network traffic in real time, analyze the network traffic
to diagnose critical problems, and collect long-term trending statistics for
proactive management operations.
The Observer Expert can also track the network applications, and includes
an extended level of VoIP analysis, conversation tracking, and performance
predictions. For VoIP applications, it can monitor over 70 call quality metrics.
The Observer Suite provides all of the functionality of the Observer
Standard and Observer Expert, plus SNMP device management, and remote monitoring
(RMON) management.


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Movie review: 'Kung Fu Panda 2' packs no punch
Trouble has come to bear in "Kung Fu Panda 2," the much anticipated sequel to the inexplicably popular chop-socky cartoon about an overachieving ursidae getting his kicks in the martial arts.
Po, the panda in question, apparently isn't completely happy with his newly won title of Dragon Warrior because the adopted son of a goose is troubled by existential questions about who he is and where he comes from.
I could have spared him the trouble (and, indirectly, the wasted 90 minutes of my life) by simply telling him that he comes from a team of DreamWorks animators, who, at the instruction of their bow-tied bosses, have overextended his welcome by sending him on a quest to find his real parents. Couldn't he have done this on his own time? Nevertheless, I, and anyone foolishly plucking down $10 on a ticket, get dragged along on a stupefyingly dull 3-D journey into Po's 2-D past, where a preening peacock (a less threatening villain I cannot think of) holds the key to unlocking the tear gates.
It's all very moving, or, at least that's what we're manipulated into believing once the truth comes out, but the revelation has about as much resonance as a trip to Wal-Mart. That's because director Jennifer Yuh Nelson and her pack of unbearable writers, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, have provided not a clue as to why Po's identity crisis is of any importance.
I know, I know, the point is to show the little urchins that blood has nothing to do with who your parents are; it's who raised you, provided you a home and smothered you with love. If any adopted kid doesn't know that already, they'd have to be pretty stupid. Almost as stupid as Po (again voiced by the annoying Jack Black), who is just now noticing that he was reared by a goose (as opposed to being goosed in the rear?) instead of pandas.
His journey of self-discovery proves to be the usual load of sentimental crap that studios throw at audiences in hopes of making them feel good about wasting their money on seeing an inferior copy of the original. It hits all the familiar emotional notes, too, from the dead mother to the final realization that a goose in hand is better than no parents at all.
But even that is fleshed out only marginally, leaving approximately 75 of the film's 90 minutes to fill with monotonous 3-D action sequences that all look and feel the same. Or at least the ones you can make out amid the dark and muddy nature of the underwhelming 3-D process.
It's the writers, though, who obscure the characters, few of whom are given anything to do beyond standing around or throwing the occasional foot or hand at the enemy's face. That includes Po's pals from the first film: Tigress (Angelina Jolie in yet another dull performance), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). Why some of them speak in Asian accents and others don't remains a mystery. Perhaps globalization was an unknown invention of the Ming Dynasty.
Invention, however, is not a part of the "KFP" Dynasty, which is expected to extend into at least three more films. If that's true, let's hope that future installments offer up better stories and a villain more compelling than Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), a peacock version of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatening to rule the world through his development of WMDs.
It's working, too, because it certainly destroyed many of my brain cells, as I was bombarded with bombs, kicks, socks and chops, all aimed squarely at my cheesy 3-D glasses. But it all fell on deaf ears, as I struggled to get invested in the lives of grossly uninteresting characters, including Dustin Hoffman's wise old Master Shifu and James Hong's dumpling-making, panda-raising Mr. Ping.
They all lend credence to that wise, but rarely used phrase that what happens in ancient China, should stay in ancient China.
The Patriot Ledger