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Biomarker for Hunter Disease (BioHunt)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01330277
Recruitment Status : Recruiting
First Posted : April 6, 2011
Last Update Posted : August 16, 2018
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Lysosomal Storage Diseases Hunter Disease Mucopolysaccharidoses
Hunter disease (mucopolysaccharidosis type II) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by deficiency of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulphatase. Deficiency of iduronate sulphatase enzyme causes accumulation of the products dermatan sulphate and heparan sulphate in lysosomes leading to cell death. Hunter disease can vary from mild to severe, depending on the level of enzyme deficiency. Features of the disease include dwarfism, enlarged liver and spleen, cardiovascular disorders and deafness.
Mutations in the IDS gene located at Xq28 causes loss of the iduronidate sulfatase enzyme. A pseudogene IDS2 also exists 20 kb from the active IDS gene. The pseudogene IDS2 shares homology to exon 2, intron 2, exon 3, intron 3 and intron 7 of the IDS gene.
Mutations that have been reported in the IDS gene in Hunter patients include gene rearrangements caused by recombination with the IDS2 gene (10 per cent patients), deletions of certain exons or the entire IDS gene (10 per cent patients) or small mutations including insertions, deletions and point mutations (80 per cent patients). To detect all possible types of mutations in the IDS gene causing Hunter disease, three procedures are necessary. These include Southern blot to look for gene rearrangements, multiplex dosage analysis to detect large deletions and DHPLC and sequencing to detect small mutations.
An accurate biochemical test is available for the diagnosis of Hunter disease consisting of the analysis of iduronate-2-sulfatase activity in plasma, leucocytes or cultured cells. This test should be considered before molecular analysis is undertaken. Molecular identification of the mutation in individuals with a confirmed diagnosis can be used for carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis in the family. The biochemical test is not reliable for identifying carriers.
|Study Type :
|Estimated Enrollment :
|1000 participants
|Observational Model:
|Time Perspective:
|Official Title:
|Biomarker for Hunter Disease an International, Multicenter, Epidemiological Protocol
|Actual Study Start Date :
|June 19, 2018
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|June 2021
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|June 2021
Patients from the first day of life with Hunter Disease based upon biochemical and/or genetic criteria or who are profoundly suspicious for Hunter disease
- Development of a new MS-based biomarker for the early and sensitive diagnosis of Hunter disease from plasma and saliva [ Time Frame: 36 month ]
- Testing for clinical robustness, specificity and long-term stability of the biomarker [ Time Frame: 36 month ]
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA
After inclusion into the study, blood samples will be drawn to identify a deficiency or absence of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase (I2S).
The laboratory examinations of the blood samples will be done exclusively at the Laboratory of the Albrecht-Kossel-Institute, University of Rostock. This laboratory offers an existing infrastructure, a highly standardized quality of the workflow, a short examination time of the samples and a long period of experiences in the assessment of the biological impact of mutations and polymorphism.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|Child, Adult, Older Adult
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Probability Sample
Inclusion Criteria:
- Informed consent will be obtained from the patient and their parents/legal guardians before any study related procedures.
- Patients from the first day of life
- The patient has a diagnosis of Hunter syndrome based upon biochemical and/or genetic criteria or patients who are profoundly suspicious for Hunter disease
High-grade suspicion present, if one or more criteria are valid:
- Positive family anamnesis for Hunter syndrome
- Cognitive regression, learning disability or neurocognitive involvement of unrecognized origin
- Tonic-clonic seizures without identifiable cause
- Eye symptoms without identifiable cause: corneal clouding or glaucoma
- Pulmonary symptoms without identifiable cause:
upper airway obstruction, cardiopulmonary disease
Exclusion Criteria:
- No Informed consent from the patient and their parents/legal guardians before any study related procedures.
- No diagnosis of Hunter syndrome or no valid criteria for high-grade suspicion of Hunter syndrome
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01330277
|Contact: Arndt Rolfs, MD
|+49 381 494 ext 9540
|Contact: Susanne Zielke
|+49 381 494 ext 4739
|Pediatric practice
|Oran, Algeria, 31000
|Contact: Abdelmadjid Benmansour, MD firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Abdelmadjid Benmansour, MD
|Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Servico de Genetica Medica Recruiting
|Porto Alegre, Brazil, 90035-003
|Contact: Roberto Giugliani, MD +55 51 3316 ext 8011 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Roberto Giugliani, MD
|Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre
|Porto Alegre, Brazil, 90035-903
|Contact: Roberto Giugliani, MD +55 51 3359 ext 8011 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Roberto Giugliani, MD
|University Pediatric Hospital of Sofia
|Sofia, Bulgaria, 1606
|Contact: Radka Tincheva, MD +359 889 811 ext 976 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Radka Tincheva, MD
|University of Rostck, Albrecht-Kossel-Institute for Neuroregeneration
|Rostock, Germany, 18147
|Contact: Susanne Zielke +49 381 494 ext 4739 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Arndt Rolfs, MD
|Aristotle University of Thessaloniki-Ippokration General Hospital
|Thessaloniki, Greece, 54642
|Contact: Dimitrios Zafeiriou, MD firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Dimitrios Zafeiriou, MD
|SOTE Pediatric clinic II, Semmelweis University
|Budapest, Hungary, 1094
|Contact: György Fekete, MD +36 1 218 ext 6844 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: György Fekete, MD
|NIRMAN, University of Mumbai
|Mumbai, India, 400705
|Contact: Anil Jalan, MD firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Anil Jalan, MD
|Iran, Islamic Republic of
|Research center University of Welfare Science, Medical Genetics Department Sarem Women Hospital
|Teheran, Iran, Islamic Republic of, 13969
|Contact: Yousef Shafeghati, MD +98(21) 44 633 ext 283 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Yousef Shafeghati, MD
|The Children's Memorial Health Institute, Department of Metabolic Disease
|Warsaw, Poland, 04-730
|Contact: Anna Tylki-Szymanska, MD +48 22 815 ext 7066 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Anna Tylki-Szymanska, MD
|Mother and Child Health Institute of Serbia- Dr. Vukan Cupic
|Novi-Beograd, Serbia, 11070
|Contact: Adrijan Sarajlija, MD Adrijan Sarajlija <email@example.com>
|Principal Investigator: Adrijan Sarajlija, MD
|Principal Investigator:
|Arndt Rolfs, MD
|University of Rostock, Albrecht-Kossel-Institute for Neuroregeneration
Additional Information:
|Responsible Party:
|Centogene AG Rostock
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01330277 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|April 6, 2011 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|August 16, 2018
|Last Verified:
|August 2018
|Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
|Plan to Share IPD:
|Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
|Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
Keywords provided by Centogene AG Rostock:
Metabolic Diseases
Mucopolysaccharidosis II
Lysosomal Storage Diseases
Morbus Hunter
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Lysosomal Storage Diseases
Mucopolysaccharidosis II
Carbohydrate Metabolism, Inborn Errors
Metabolism, Inborn Errors
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Connective Tissue Diseases
Metabolic Diseases
Mental Retardation, X-Linked
Intellectual Disability
Neurobehavioral Manifestations
Neurologic Manifestations
Nervous System Diseases
Genetic Diseases, X-Linked
Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System


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So we have a profile of Theresa May, Home Secretary…
Theresa May is the head girl of David Cameron's coalition. Famed for never putting a kitten-heeled foot wrong, the home secretary barely batted an eyelid this week when Ken Clarke rounded on her for claiming an illegal immigrant had avoided deportation because of his pet cat Maya.
It was a cat fight that the liberal justice secretary was doomed to lose, against a woman who has always done her homework and has the prime minister's full backing to bear down on migrant numbers. Within hours, Downing Street had rallied to her defence, delighted at her crowd-pleasing attack on perceived abuses of the Human Rights Act. Mr Clarke had the backing of the Lord Chief Justice's office, but he was still told to pipe down [my emphasis].
This spat is not interesting because two politicians had a difference of opinion, as is presented here by Elizabeth Rigby and Helen Warrell. This spat is interesting because one politician told the truth and one politicians made things up (or copied things made up by others) and the politician that made things up (or copied things made up by others) won the power struggle.
Ken Clarke was right to criticise Theresa May because she said something that was demonstrably untrue. It was, in fact, demonstrated to be untrue by her own department. The cat was "immaterial" to the reasons a certain Bolivian student was given leave to remain rather than reported.
Rigby and Warrell do not see fit to include this detail in their hagiography of Mrs May. They actually make light of the situation by closing with a pun that this is "just the sort of cat fight the party needs to keep the grassroots content."
Real journalists would have pointed out that if the grassroots need falsehoods to keep the content then something is amiss at the Tory party conference. But it seems the Financial Times has decided it doesn't need to employ real journalists anymore.

subset: commoncrawl


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Inside China's Social Media Platforms
From social media to online commerce, China's digital platforms are growing. The WSJ's Mariko Sanchanta speaks to Duncan Clark, CEO of investment advisory firm BDA, about how far China can succeed in the digital space.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... he knew ... the NL with a one point three billion people has been in its own digital and you know there's ... ample wild now has been paralleled versions of popular Western websites like Facebook and Twitter ... the Wall Street Journal Many ninth and tenth that beats you don't get fired CEO at investment advisory firm BDA on just how far China can go to innovate and create in its digital stay ... once everyone knows the whole day and what's that ... but most of China doesn't ... bear the Baidu in fact I sometimes have our texts with Tencent's WeChat ... so the question are your not then Tencent oblong robot you ... what your future ... listing in China's hundreds of people receiving ... both domestically as long as one of these kinds of lists ... and ... we're all aware of difficulties and Chinese companies listed in the U S or even in all ... let's compare ... levels blocked in China so with that ideal for pots for service ... it's the fifth most popular website in the world says but in the tractor lets out ... but Google is number two ... by this first-quarter revenues with nearly one billion dollars but Goebbels was fourteen times more ... the captain of the reason I mentioned in the next year ... where is in them in the U S you have on me ... and how companies can use less likely to narrow that are not ... as big a school than Facebook button Friday ... and is this not really that mid ... cap companies here in China so much ... so that that's the question is can become more diverse fields ... how bout just make this as I got ... it's a billion users it's at the country's most popular e-commerce site ... and the world's ten most popular so that's that ... e Bay ... it was far below ... we often talk about innovation and some some Eureka moment when you find some really ... seen in the new thing ... that's pretty rare mean that you know we don't see that many Thomas Edison's or Steve jobs ... it doesn't come along here ... I'm that's ok ... a lot of innovation is actually not radical innovation is more ... incremental innovations was tweaking ninety is ... combining ideas of what I've offered someone is action and innovative company ... but it's more about combining different futures taking some of the PayPal Mall also customized to local needs ... huge absence of trust among Chinese consumers ... to putting it in place a trust mechanism so he went back and some ... to make up for the deficiencies in the bank never sector ... and Tencent is talks with the best into China ... due to ... the facts of service ... really uh hundred and seventy million users ... and rivals the Windows Messenger and ... the week's top ten seconds at three hundred million ... users ... nearly the entire US population of one of four


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Happy Hour: Mock Green Alien
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the Midori Sour that we posted the other day, and so I decided to go on a hunt for an equally odd colored non-alcoholic drink. I ended up finding one called a Green Alien that actually sounds perfect for those warm summer days (I know, it's still spring, but you can tell that summer is just around the corner). It's a nice mixture of limes and lemons and the shocking green color will delight your pals (or kids). To check out the recipe,
Mock Green Alien
From Drink Recipes UK
3 oz Lime juice
3 oz Sparkling Lemonade
Crushed Ice
Lime Slice
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great speciality drink from an easy to make recipe!
For a more unusual spin, add a few drops of green food coloring, or alternatively if you're not worried about alcohol content, add some Midori to the mix too!


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One of the primary authors of the 2008 farm bill is turning his attention to trying to find out why fertilizer prices have gone into the stratosphere in recent months.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and chairman of the Budget Committee, says fertilizer prices currently are nearly three times what they were in 2000.
Conrad, fellow North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan and North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy have written a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer asking him to find out why prices for fertilizer products such as DAP have risen from $400 to $1,000 per ton.
"This unprecedented volatility in fertilizer prices is responsible for growing uncertainty and frustration among our nation's farmers and ranchers," the three said. "Even with currently strong commodity prices, income from farming is barely keeping up with increased farm input costs and, in particular, skyrocketing fertilizer prices."
Conrad, who is credited with writing many of the changes in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act along with Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, says fertilizer prices have risen to record levels.
According to USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service, fertilizer prices in May 2008 were 69 percent higher than they were in May 2007. And the 2007 prices represented an increase in costs of 158 percent compared to May 2000.
"While some of the increase may be a result of rising petroleum costs, those factors alone do not fully explain the current escalation in fertilizer prices," said Conrad. "The congressional delegation wants an immediate investigation into the rapid increase in fertilizer prices to assure that farmers and ranchers are not being overcharged."
The North Dakota members are asking USDA to examine energy and transportation costs, availability of raw material, processing capacity, domestic and global demand factors, and industry consolidation. The delegation asked Schafer to report the USDA's findings to Congress once the investigation is complete.
"We hope this investigation will provide answers for our family farmers and ranchers who are extremely concerned and trying to understand the inexplicable run up in fertilizer prices," the letter to Schafer said.
Although grain prices have risen to extraordinarily high levels — primarily due to flooding in the Midwest and rising demand from around the world — many farmers report that high input costs are cutting into margins and putting their operations at financial risk.
Farmers report that diammonium phosphate or DAP that cost them $400 per ton last year now costs $1,000 per ton. Prices for nitrogen fertilizer and phosphates are registered similar increases and growers are paying nearly double what they were last year for glyphosate.
e-mail: email@example.com


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Audrey Hepburn-Inspired Hair Tutorial
Costume party or not, who doesn't love playing dress up? Especially when that means flaunting all your sass and class in an Audrey Hepburn-inspired get up!
Recently, MODERN Facebook fan Amy Schaming got together with a team to create this Hepburn magic.
Hair: Tyson Keanum of ULTA salon in Columbia, SC
Make-up: Amy Schaming
Photography: Klinh Evelyn Grace Photography
Model: Kyrian Poole
To begin, prep the hair with Aveda Brilliant medium hold hairspray. Curl the entire head with a 3/4-inch curling iron.
Next, spray each section lightly with Aveda Control Force. Allow curls to set and then brush hair to smooth.
Make two high small ponytails on the high apex. Braid both pony tails, then wrap braids around base. This is to establish/create height at the base.
Use Aveda Antihumectant pomade and rake through curls. Beginning at first braid, pin the loose curls into the section until the braids are covered.
Continue to build height on the top of the apex with remaining hair. Use smoothing iron to create side swoop bang, and set the entire head with Aveda Control force.
WE WANT TO SEE YOUR WORK! Want to be modernsalon.com's next featured artist? Send your work, and info on how you did it (color formulas, steps on styling or cutting method, etc) to MODERN's Alison Shipley [email protected]


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Insight: "Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." —Justice Millard Fillmore Caldwell (1897-1984)
Tag Archives: Rome
Gun Stuff….Guns…More Guns…The King, Buck Ofama is Crowned…
"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." —Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)
Hannelore Morton
Obama won every major city in the election, except for Jacksonville and Salt Lake City. And the higher the death rate, the bigger his victory. He won New Orleans by 80 to 17 where the murder rate is ten times higher than the national average. He won Detroit, where the murder rate of 53 per 100,000 people is the second highest in the country and twice as high as any country in the world, including the Congo and South Africa. He won it 73 to 26. And then he celebrated his victory in Chicago where the murder rate is three times the statewide average.
These places aren't America. They're Obamerica.
In 2006, the 54% of the population living in those 50 metro areas was responsible for 67% of armed killings nationwide. Those are disproportionate numbers especially when you consider that for the people living in most of those cities walking into a store and legally buying a gun is all but impossible.
Mayors of Obamerican cities blame guns because it's easier than blaming people and now the President of Obamerica has turned to the same shameless tactic. The NRA counters that people kill people, but that's exactly why Obamerican leaders would rather talk about the guns.
"Faith War USA"
Once again…He lied to the masses..
Buck Ofama: Messiah or Antichrist?
Well he is NOT the Messiah…so that leaves…….
Gun range prohibits police after city considers ban
In Vermont of all places?? Wow…Just wow…
Hit us with your best shot, Andy!
Well this should turn out well!!!
"I've heard from hundreds of people that they're prepared to defy the law, and that number will be magnified by the thousands, by the tens of thousands, when the registration deadline comes,'' said Brian Olesen, president of the American Shooters Supply, one of the largest gun dealers in the state.
Officials estimate at least 1 million semiautomatic rifles are owned in the state, sources said.
And come April 15, 2014 — when Cuomo is expected to be running for re-election — they all have to be registered with the State Police.
But because the rifles have been legal but unregistered until now, authorities don't know who has them or where they are located.
West Point Study: 'Far right' includes Christians, Pro-lifers, Fundamentalists; dangerous to U.S.
Report unloads on supporters of 'civil activism, individual freedoms, self-government'
A new West Point study released by the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center is linking opposition to abortion and other "fundamental" positions to terrorism, and pro-life leaders say it's just a way to paint them in a negative way.
The study, "Challenges from the Sidelines: Understanding America's Violent Far-Right," says the major far right threats are from, "a racist/white supremacy movement, an anti-federalist movement and a fundamentalist movement."
BREAKING: Black Dem Assemblyman Threatens White Speaker-elect with Loaded Gun.
A Nevada lawmaker was arrested on Saturday night for threatening to shoot a colleague, KNTV reported.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, State Assemblyman Steven Brooks was arrested with a loaded gun. He had threatened to shoot Speaker-elect Marilyn Kirkpatrick. He was apparently unhappy with his committee assignments
Coffee growers in Central America threatened by fungus outbreak
No!! Not the coffee!!!
INFORMATION ON ANTI GUN-CONTROL MARCH JANUARY 26th
Vatican Wrongly Supports Buck Ofama's Gun Grab
Piers How about some TANKS!!!
More Tanks!! From your Island!!!
Morgan your a POS!..


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Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone name Godot, whom they only know by reputation. To occupy their time, they philosophize, sleep, argue, sing, exercise, and even consider suicide. The result is a comical wordplay of poetry, dreamscapes, and nonsense, which has been interpreted as a somber summation of mankind's inexhaustible search for meaning. The play's original premiere was in January 1953. Waiting for Godot remains Samuel Beckett's most magical and beautiful allegory.
The new Stella Adler Lab Theater combines current and former students of the Academy. Waiting for Godot features Chris Petrovski (films in the Toronto and Shanghai Film Festivals, as well as co-starring in Coldwater, winner of Grand Jury prize as Las Vegas Film Festival), Blake Lewis (Los Angeles revival of Beirut and critic's choice Machu Picchu, Texas), Alec Whaite (star of La Distancia Mas Larga, the Venezuelan entry in the Montreal Film Festival), and Akimi Jai (The Magic School Bus, Pilars of Freedom).
Waiting for Godot is presented by the Stella Adler Lab Theatre, and is produced by Rochelle Rossman. The Lab Theater is headed by Managing Director John Jack Rodgers.
Waiting for Godot finishes its extended run at the Stella Adler-Los Angeles Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, on October 18th, 19th, and 20th. Performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20.00 and are available by calling 323-455-3111 or by visiting www.plays411.com/godot


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Designer James Gross Featured in Magazineby Steve Charles • September 6, 2012 Share:
Scenic Designer and Technical Director James Gross and his work with students on last year's Wabash Theater production of Molière's The Miser are featured in a photo essay in the latest issue of Wabash Magazine.
Gross's set was practically another comic actor in last year's rollicking French farce, with bannisters dropping to the floor and mantle pieces falling apart in the actors' hands as the miser's house and plans fell through.
Wabash Communications Specialist and Photographer Kim Johnson spent hours with Gross and students Phillip Robbins '13 and Tyler Swaim '13 as they designed and built the set, her photos providing a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most creative and demanding work done at the College.
Eric Schilling '13, who tragically died in July, was also part of the team that built the set, and several photos in the album capture him at work that he loved with colleagues who loved working with him.
WM Online includes 24 additional photos of that team and Johnson's notes as she documented the building of the set over several weeks.
"I was impressed at the calm guidance James offered and his insistence that the young men do the work," Johnson recalled. "It would no doubt go faster if he just barked orders and they obeyed, but instead they talked through design, shared ideas, and worked as collaborators to get the job done."
Gross is resident designer for Indianapolis's Phoenix Theater and his work there was featured in the Indianapolis Star in 2010. An assistant professor of theater at Wabash, Gross also teaches scenography and stagecraft at the College, and students in the latter class contributed the muslin walls to The Miser set.
"Sometimes when students are writing a critique of the set for class, they'll pick up on something it that I hadn't told them; figured it out themselves," Gross said. "That's very pleasing to hear, because a goal of theater is to give you something of your own to take away—even if that something has to do with the set."
Read more at WM Online, and see Kim Johnson's photos and notes here.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (courtesy Lesley University sports information) – Lesley University (12-3-1) and Brandeis University (6-8-2) played to a scoreless tie after 110 chilly minutes on women's soccer action Tuesday night at Edward Field.
The teams combined for only 25 shots, 16 for Brandeis and nine for the Lynx, with the Judges putting nine on Lesley's Emileigh Lloyd (Middletown, Pa./Middletown). The freshman keeper, who entered the night with 13 saves on the season, was outstanding in saving all nine Brandeis shots on goal, easily a new career high as the freshman was the reason for the scoreless tie.
Lesley put six shots on goal, but a pair of Judges goalies denied all six in keeping the nation's third-leading offense silent for a full 110 minutes.
Late in the frame, a recently inserted Dani Chasin (Coral Gables, Fla/Gulliver) struck the best opportunity of a scoreless, back-and-forth first half. The Judges freshman lobbed a shot from inside the left corner of the keeper box toward the opposite post. Lloyd leaped and deflected the shot into the air and then crashing into the post, keeping the Judges off the board through halftime.
Brandeis outshot the Lynx 5-3 in the first half, with Judges starting keeper Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hills Hollows West) stopping two Lynx shots and Lloyd saving all three Brandeis attempts on goal.
Within a five-minute span late in the second half, one would-be goal for each team was erased on an offside calls. Hannah Landerholm (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale) looked to have beaten new Judges keeper Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood), but the shot was whistled dead on an offside. Moments later, at 78:05, Alyssa Fenenbock (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) had a potential goal taken away for the same reason.
The teams went to overtime with the Judges owning a 9-8 lead in shots. Alanna Torre (Weston, Fla./American Heritage) missed from 20 yards just outside the top right corner of the goal at 95:24, and Kelly Peterson's (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) try from just inside midfield was saved by Lloyd below the crossbar, sending the teams into a fourth period.
Savuto saved a shot from Lynx leading scorer Veronica Halen (San Diego, CA/Cathedral Catholic) off the opening kick, but it was the Lynx only quality chance of the period. A fatigued Lesley club playing minus All-NECC selection Jackee Sanchez held the Judges silent for a final 10 minutes in the Lynx first tie of 2011.
Lesley returns to action on Saturday, when it plays host to New England Collegiate Conference foe Newbury College on Senior Day at Edward Field. Brandeis travels to Emory on Friday night at 7:30.


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Article "Discover smart clothing industry (sensors and materials) that will reach $1.8 billion by 2021"
March 3, 2015
Flying Dresses And The Future Of Fashion
Published on Apr 4, 2014
From Lady Gaga to Azealia Banks, fashion tech lab Studio XO discuss bringing couture to life through technology, the future of digital skins and smart textiles, and bringing tech fashion to the masses.
Smart glove drone, smart clothes by TTRI
Published on Jun 8, 2016
Taiwan Textile Research Institude (TTRI ) shows their smart glove to control a drone, smart clothes wth smart textile marterials that are washable. The smart gloves is Gypro inside, with sensors in 3 fingers to control the Parrot drone to get up, turn left/right, forward/backward, and to get down again. With 70mAh removable battery. TTRI also shows the smart T-shirt with heart rate.sensor in the back, they also show smart clothes for policeman with LED lights on the surface.
Metcalf demo at Life and Robot exhibition
Published on Aug 3, 2016
TV personality Moe Yamaguchi tries on Metcalf, which is wearable robotic fashion made by designer Kyunkun, at the Life and Robot exhibition at Shinjuku Takashimaya Times Square department store. The event will run until Aug. 14, 2016.
These smart threads could save lives - Science Nation
Published on Sep 19, 2016
Tease: New biomedical textiles show potential of smart, human-centered service systems
Description: Engineers are joining forces with designers, scientists and doctors at Drexel University to produce new biomedical textiles, and the resulting smart clothes are not only fashionably functional, but could also be life savers.
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), electrical and computer engineer Kapil Dandekar, industrial and fashion designer Genevieve Dion, and OB-GYN Owen Montgomery are incorporating RFID technology into their "belly bands" for women with high-risk pregnancies. The band continuously tracks data and alerts the doctor's office via the Internet should the woman start contractions. A smaller version is being created for babies at risk for sleep apnea.
Developed at the intersection of engineering, medicine and design, these examples of new human-centered service technology show vast potential to improve healthcare.
NSF has invested approximately $34 million in such systems in the last three years, supporting innovative new partnership projects to create service systems that are smart and human-centric.
The research in this episode was supported by award #1430212, Wearable Smart Textiles Based on Programmable and Automated Knitting Technology for Biomedical and Sensor Actuation Applications, under the Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) program.
NSF Grant URL: nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1430212
Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent
Marsha Walton, Science Nation Producer
BOSON: Make A Boson Dress For Your La La Land Dance
Published on Jun 14, 2017
Get Boson Kit for an early bird price of only $39:
"DFRobot's BOSON Kit: Powerful Building Blocks For LEGO STEM" on Kickstarter
DFRobot's Boson kit is a set of modular electronic building blocks designed for young inventors, educators and tinkerers.
The Boson kit breaks down complicated circuits into simple, functional modules that are easy to understand. The kit requires no coding or soldering and is ideal as a STEM classroom teaching tool.
Boson modules have built-in magnets and can be used with screws, Velcro and even LEGO! Boson modules can be fixed on a wide variety of materials such as paper, wood, fabric, whiteboards or your own LEGO creations!
Boson modules are can be upgraded with our special Intel® Curie™ module. Use this module to give your creations machine learning and pattern matching capabilities.


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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - President Barack Obama says he understand the American public's deep skepticism about launching military action against Syria. But he says he is confident he can persuade Americans that the use of chemical weapons in Syria requires a military response.
Obama says he needs to convince the nation that his plans would be "limited and proportional" and designed to uphold international norms. Obama says a chemical attack in Syria last month was carried out by President Bashar Assad's military.
Seeking congressional authority to act, Obama says the U.S. experience with Iraq and a decade of war has made the public wary, especially within his own Democratic Party.
He says, quote, "I trust my constituents want me to offer my best judgment. That's why they elected me. That's why they re-elected me."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University (IFSA-Butler) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1988 at Butler University. Our primary goal is to provide quality study abroad opportunities, plus academic and personal support services, for qualified North American undergraduates seeking to earn academic credit through study abroad. While the Institute for Study Abroad is affiliated with Butler University, it is not a department of the university.
IFSA-Butler is organized to assist our students from the time they apply until after they return. Our staff in the U.S. prepare students for the academic and cultural changes that await them, and our offices around the world provide on-site support to help students make the most of their study abroad experiences.
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text:
Monday, 25 July 2016
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli today has said that the activities to change the government were a conspiracy against the country. Speaking in a program organized by the Pushpalal Memorial Foundation on the occasion of 38th Memorial Day of Pushpalal today in the capital, PM Oli said that the conspiracy was made by different power centers to destabilize the politics and aiming at disturbing the election process so as to make the country without representatives. He added that the opposition parties were also creating hindrances to amend the existing acts and developing new acts required for elections. PM Oli added that the Nepal communist party's founder general secretary Shrestha's thoughts were being propagated worldwide and people's leader Madan Bhandari made it time- relative propounding the doctrine of People's Multi-Party Democracy. Stating that the CPN (UML) will play effective role to institutionalize the achieved success, he said "We were entangled in a kind of labyrinth but we will get victory over it."
Guide of the month: January 2018
Traveling gives us the opportunity to disconnect from our regular life. You get to forget your problems/issues for a few weeks, it can also help you figure things out that you would not have understood without the distance traveling can give you. We all have crazy schedules, work and a family to take care of, going away alone or with some friends can give you distance and perhaps even make you realize how important these people are for you. Like the saying says: we never know what we have until we lose it.
Another great benefit is the relaxation you get to do. It's nice to live life to its fullest and enjoy a stress free time with yourself. Going on vacation lets us recharge our "batteries" by disconnecting us from our regular life. When we come back we feel invigorated and we are happy to be back in our day to day routine. It's a very good stress remover that has a lot more to give than most people are willing to accept.
Traveling increases our knowledge and widens our perspective. To view new customs, different ways of living is fantastic for the mind. It gives us a new perspective about life and especially our life, it can help us change some of our habits or even create new ones. When I travel I usually make it a point to try new food, some cultures don't have fries in their diet and they are all skinny, others use spices to give taste and not oils or fats. Discovering different values and ways to get by in life is really interesting. You also need to visit exotic new places and discover what this wonderful world has to offer.


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Judge Slaps Down Apple For Its Bogus Non-Apology Apology
from the try-again dept
At a hearing in the court in London on Thursday morning, the judge told Apple that it had to change the wording of the statement within 48 hours, carry it on its home page, and use at least 11-point font.The full quote from the judge was, apparently:
Apple tried to argue that it would take at least 14 days to put a corrective statement on the site – a claim that one judge said he "cannot believe".
"I would like to see the head of Apple make an affidavit setting out the technical difficulties which means Apple can't put this on. I just can't believe the instructions you've been given. This is Apple. They cannot put something on their website?"Another report shows that the judge reviewing this made his views of Apple's notice abundantly clear:
"I'm at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this," Judge Robin Jacob said today. "That is a plain breach of the order."Apparently, the London appeals courts have some sort of antidote to the standard Apple reality distortion field.


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Yes, Of Course The NSA Pays Tech Companies For Surveillance Efforts
from the taxpayer-money dept
Either way, while many of the Snowden leaks have been a pretty big deal, this one seems like nothing new. It's never been a secret that tech companies were required to reveal certain information under court orders, or that the government pays the companies for the cost. The only thing here is that the companies had to change their systems to make sure that the NSA's collection effort was "in line" with what the FISA Court deemed to be Constitutional. If anything, that makes a lot of sense, as we should want the government to have to cover the costs of making sure that their surveillance efforts are Constitutional. Many of the leaks so far have been a big deal, but this one doesn't seem all that interesting.


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Solar Covers And Reels
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Swimming pools that are covered when not in use return many advantages. Solar covers not only capture heat from the sun, but also retain heat overnight and during cloudy days. Furthermore, solar blankets can reduce evaporative water loss by up to 95%, so important in drought stricken areas. And although not a safety cover, solar covers can discourage unauthorized pool use, and they also assist in keeping your pool clean. Solar covers are made from LDPE #4 plastic, and can be recycled when they reach the end of their useful life.
Use a solar cover reel for one person removal and replacement, and to safely store the solar cover when it's not being used. If that's too much trouble, consider solar rings or solar squares, which connect to each other with magnets, and are easily removed and stacked in a shady poolside area. If that's too much trouble, give liquid solar blanket a try. Added to the pool, it produces an invisible and micro-thin monolayer on the water surface, to reduce heat loss.


text: Hi, I use nginx for statics and apache for php. Nginx is on port 80 and apache 82. In system/server IP. I put 82,443 for http ports. However, every time I change any options for my websites, ispconfig resets the port on 80 in my apache .vhost file. Which file/class should I edit to fix it ? Thanks


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Tony Abbott has promised to be fair and equitable when meting out some of the tougher measures in the May budget.
However, the prime minister has refused to comment on reports he is considering a debt levy to tackle the deficit.
Mr Abbott said the government wouldn't "squib the challenge" of fixing the budget, when asked if the coalition would soon introduce what Labor has dubbed a "deceit tax".
Based on the Queensland flood levy, News Corporation on Sunday said a "one off" impost on high income earners would be a feature of Treasurer Joe Hockey's May budget.
Mr Abbott repeated his well-worn mantra that he would not rule anything in or out of the May 13 budget when asked about the latest speculation.
But he said the coalition had committed to fixing the "fiscal disaster" left by the Labor government.
"Now we are going to do it in ways which are faithful to the commitments that we made to the Australian people," the prime minister said on Sunday.
"We will do it in ways which are fair, which are equitable, and which I believe will be seen to be fair by the Australian people."
Labor says the levy would breach a pre-election pledge not to impose new taxes on the Australian public.
"Make no mistake, this will be the biggest broken promise of all," shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said.
"Tony Abbott told the Australian people he would cut taxes and he specifically said he would introduce no new taxes."
Mr Bowen accused Mr Hockey of creating a "conflated budget emergency".
"But that doesn't justify a tax on Australian families who would pay the cost for this breach of promise from Tony Abbott," he said.
But Mr Abbott said the government would keep its election commitments.
"A very important commitment was to get the budget back on track to a sustainable surplus, but we will do that in ways which keep faith with our commitments to the Australian people in the election campaign," he said.
The levy is the latest unpopular measure mooted to be in Mr Hockey's first budget.
Since the beginning of the year the government has been forced to fend off concerns it may introduce a GP co-payment.
Last week the treasurer said an increase in the pension age was an "inevitability", but stopped short of confirming the budget will lift it to 70.
Clive Palmer on Sunday said he wouldn't support lifting the pension age, when the Palmer United Party along with other crossbenchers hold the balance of power in the Senate.
"I just couldn't employ Joe Hockey or Tony Abbott at 69, no matter how competent they are," Mr Palmer told ABC Television.


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Editor's Note
Tuesday, 26 April 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Hello, readers... I wanted to let everyone know why news reports are more sporadic the past week: I'm currently finishing up the last few chapters of Part One of my book, Back To The Vortex: The Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who 2005 (coming in August 2005 from Telos Publishing), and because of some rather tight editorial deadlines, it's crunch time. (Part one, incidentally, is the narrative section; part two, which is being written concurrently, details each episode... but of course, there are still eight weeks of episodes to go, so that's less critical on timing right now.) Once that's finished, regular updates should proceed again, so thanks for bearing with me!


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|View Poll Results: Kanon 2006 Total Series Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 449. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2007-03-19, 10:20
|Link #1
Just call me Ojisan
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: U.K. Hampshire
Kanon - 2006 - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating
This thread is to be used for discussing the entire 24 episodes of Kanon (2006) ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, speculation on the possible DVD only bonus episodes, etc., etc…
A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:
The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:
Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Adaptation from Game: 1-10
Editing: 1-10
Average = Total Series Rating
Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.
|2007-03-19, 10:48
|Link #2
Nitro+ fan
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Hyogo
Gave it a very subjective 9 based on how I personally came to feel about it. If I were rating it against other shows or trying to measure its value in the pantheon of anime, the rating would be much lower--but that's not the point of this thread, is it?
My primary complaint is that it is not at all friendly to first-time viewers. I had even been spoiled for key aspects of the end story, and I still felt this way. Instead of grabbing you from the start, the show eases its way in. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it works better for those who are aware of the foreshadowing that's being laid down--those who understand the characters' roles--than people who are fresh to the series.
Initially I was resigned to accept Kanon as a string of decent to excellent character arcs. Only by the very end did the overarching themes come together in a cohesive way. Only then did I realize how much more coherent and smooth the show would seem upon a rewatch. Only then did I recognize that I had gone into it with completely the wrong expectations. "Sad girls in snow" is a misnomer; that's not what Kanon is about. I thought I was watching a tragedy like AIR when I was really watching a story about miracles. When this clicked, I was able to accept everything in the last episode, because it make perfect emotional and thematic sense.
My only complaint about art/animation is that there were some episodes in which chibi Yuuichi and Ayu's eyes were much larger than they should have been. Perhaps this will be evened out for the DVD release.
|2007-03-19, 10:50
|Link #3
Senior Member
I have to give this series a 10. It had some of the highest animation I'd ever seen for a series of this genre/nature. The snow, the water at the fountain, the marble, the tear Ayu cried when she kissed Yuuichi... All of it was simply breath taking.
Voice actors too were spot on for me. Sugita(sp?) had some of his best work yet here. The guy really is a genius at this. When he woke up from the dream in 22, and remembered everything about Ayu finally, I honestly thought he was having an asthma attack.
Script, I'd rate as a high 9, so for rounding off sake, I'll make it a 10. In no way was I confused about anything I'd seen, I thought fair time was made for all the girls, and a story that is suppose to have 5 completely seperate routes, was weaved together beautifully. Especially compared to the poor job done on Shuffle. This is how a game to anime, SHOULD be done.
Adaptation from the game? It was obvious they would have to make some changes to make the weaving work, but those changes didn't detract from the overall feel of the experience, and the girls' stories. Nayuki still had some things to resolve, but alas, since it was obvious she wasn't a love interest to Yuuichi in the series, I could understand why things were done the way they were done. I still felt an impact on her story though and could feel pity for her.
And my final short statement. This journey was very very enjoyable. Between the sad moments, the happy moments, and the laughing moments, I loved it from start to finish. I will be watching the series again straight through next weekend to savor this work, as it has moved into my top 10 list. The music score was outstanding, the animation was outstanding, the voices were outstanding, and my heart was touched by every girl's story. And FINALLY a male lead I could route for! I'm so sick and tired of the Keitaro's that I've been having to suffer through in so many anime over the last 20 years. I can't relate to them at all!
So yes with the ending wrapping everything up for me, a 10 is the least I could give it.
|2007-03-19, 11:10
|Link #4
Lost in my dreams...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Age: 32
For overall rating i would give it somewhere between 8.5/10 and 9/10. (thus - voting 9)
Animation part does not need any comments - it was top grade stuff. Overkill CG marble any one ? Snow and water was beyond excellent as well.
Now, pacing in some episodes is something i am going to complain about... and all of them are Ayu centric The first half of the last ep felt especially "jumpy" I also didn't like how they "wrote out" characters once their respective arcs were over. Although they tried to justify it, it still didn't sit well with me. I mean...how believable is the fact that Yuuichi never tried to visit Shiori after she ran off ? How come he never visited Sayuri and Mai in hospital, bare the first time right after they were hospitalized ?
I was not exactly pleased that they seemed to forget Mishio's existence altogether once she had served her role in Makoto's arc. Speaking about Makoto's arc... that thing should have been shorter imo, making way for more time to blow on the ending, and making it feel less rushed.
I am not sure i am too happy about the Ayu Deus-ex machine they pulled in the end, but since it fits in with the overall theme of Kanon i am not going to complain much about it. The last episode gave the feeling of an epilogue... except it wasn't one
Overall it was highly enjoyable and high quality experience. Even though i felt it was a tad lacking at several points, it is still lightyears better than a lot of anime out there.
Rewatch is in order.
EDIT: Oh, and about the remark that this Kanon is not newbie-friendly: I wholeheartedly disagree. I am a first time viewer of Kanon, and i can not, for the life of me, figure out why that would be true. I didn't feel like i was missing anything.
Last edited by Skyfall; 2007-03-19 at 11:46.
|2007-03-19, 11:24
|Link #6
Dead Sexy
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NSW, Australia
I had to shell out a 9 here, because as beautiful as Kanon was, the few flaws remained, and as such it isn't quite "perfect". Still, overall this was a very enjoyable and addictive series.
Being a KyoAni series, it's all but unimportant that a suitably high quality animation be sustained. To be honest, some scenes could have been portrayed better. The eyeshadows from episode 18 were a good case of this - there's better ways to set up the required mood for that episode, such as covering their faces with hair, which they've done before in this series.
For voice acting, there was one scene in Shiori's arc (by, ironically, Kaori's seiyuu) which I didn't feel quite came across like I'd expected. After the conclusion to her arc, however, I realised this was probably intentional. The performance by each and every seiyuu has been simply breathtaking - from the energetic Ayu, to the remorseful Shiori, to the taciturn Mai, and so on - every character was portrayed accurately and beautifully.
My main gripe is with the pacing of this entire series. It's like a rollercoaster: For the first 10 episodes, we're going up the ramp. Then Mai's comes, and we plummet to doom. Shiori's story is another uphill rollercoaster ride, followed by the not-so-epic final sector with Ayu and Nayuki. At this point the 'coaster starts speeding beyond safety limits, and unharmonically slides off the tracks. That's by no means a representation of my thoughts about each arc; just how quickly it flashed by.
Everything about the series was beautiful, but the nature of the plot definitely detracts from the overall experience. At Makoto's arc, I was bawling my eyes out. With Mai, it was down to normal crying. Shiori had to make do with sniffles, and by Ayu's turn, I didn't have any emotions left. Even the events of episodes 22-23 didn't manage to do much more than make me think, "Oh, so that's what happened..."
Overall, the series would have been perfect if not for the sloopy pacing and deviant-based plot. Still, it was a very enjoyable experience, and it's successfully left me hanging for more. Bring on Clannad!
|2007-03-19, 12:08
|Link #7
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 27
9/10 from me.
Kanon was undoubtedly one of the most expected anime of fall. The very first episode was boring as hell, but as I kept watching, I became so immersed in the story. I believe that the arc that was done the best was Makoto's. I cried a river...
My only complaint would have to be the way high-school girls were portrayed. I don't know if high-school girls in Japan are like Nayuki or Sayuri, but I do know that the girl who seemed to be closer to the high school reality I'm used to is Kaori. However, this has nothing to do with the anime, as they adapted already existing material.
Now, I'll need to play the game to fully understand Kanon...
|2007-03-19, 12:27
|Link #8
Anime Snark
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 36
It will be interesting to see how the overall score tallies with the average of the episode threads( I got all the data in MExcel). I didn't expect this thread to be formed this early though. Looks like I need to finish up my write-up sooner than expected. Oh noes! I still got so much to write!
|2007-03-19, 15:06
|Link #9
Version 3.0
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hawaii
Age: 31
overall i gave Kanon a 10/10!!
As a first time viewer, i really did enjoy this series...although i have to admit the first two episodes were kinda slow for me...but soon went up to speed as soon as Makoto's story started to take place!!
animation, of course its Kyoto animations, so i have no complaints about that...they did great animations for Full Metal Panic! TSR and Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu...and did the same for Kanon...so no complaints!!
for story....it was all good...except i kinda felt that towards the ending...Shiori, Nayuki, and Ayu's stories were kinda short...or somewhat rushed??!
but either way, i still enjoyed their stories in the Kanon series!!
now only in time until some English Licensing company might consider to pick up the license for this show....
|2007-03-19, 15:07
|Link #10
Dansa med oss
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Near Cincinnati, OH, but actually in Kentucky
Age: 30
A nine. While it may be a bit early to start calling this a new classic, I don't think it's a stretch. I think this will be the romance/harem (yes, I used the h-word) anime by which all others shall be judged in the years to come for many reasons, most of which are very obvious or I've already explained elsewhere.
So, if it's so great, why a nine?
Something weird happened to the animation in the last episode. Even if it was just a funky raw file and no fault of KyoAni, though, other complaints are too heavy to bump it up.
The ending felt like a cut-and-paste jub done in a rush. I'm a huge fan of the "beautiful mess" element (Firefly, Don Quixote, Simoun), and much of Kanon's messes are quite wonderful, but the ending was definitely one of the least beautiful of them. It's a bit hard to point out this flaw fairly, as KyoAni had to pretty much write their own ending because of the format, but the problem exists regardless. Ayu's "macro wish" felt a bit too convenient, but I think people are blowing it out of proportion, as it really only benefitted Shiori and Akiko.
Something that I didn't notice until just now: everyone complains that Makoto's arch was way too long. However, how long was her arch, really? Most of what has been considered as her arch still contains a lot of focus on all the other characters as well, and it really doesn't become Makoto-exclusive until around episode seven, which would put her focus over four episodes; not much of a stretch, in my opinion. I think that rather the introduction was much too slow, although it did end up fooling us into a false sense of security
|2007-03-19, 15:17
|Link #11
To the guy who asked about a new ending, I don't think the series is actually over and done with. I think somewhere it was mentioned that there were going to be 2 extra episodes on the DVD's. Whether that amounts to something like Shakugan No Shana-Tan or 2 actualy full length episodes I don't know.
|2007-03-19, 15:17
|Link #12
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
I'll give a "9" purely because I'd like to give it a "9.something". I won't waste time on all the superlatives and glowy feelings the show gave me. The minor problems that kept it from my "10" book were:
1) minor pacing and transition issues... towards the climax and ending, it felt rushed. Having an anime series go from "too plodding" to "omigodwe'reoutoftime" is endemic to the industry but KyoAni comes closest to avoiding the problem, but personally, I saw two episodes worth of material crammed into the last one. There was one transition issue that jarred me a bit (post-Makoto normalcy). And sometimes the ED really jarred after a poignant end scene. I might have used another version of "Last Regrets" in some episodes.
2) no one died ... this is a mixed issue for me. I would have been fine with one or more mysteries ending in death (even my beautiful Mai) because the air of tragedy throughout the series demanded sacrifice. There is victory in death (see AIR) expecially when reincarnation from the Shinto/Buddhist perspective is considered. On the other hand, Kanon is about miracles so Ayu executing a "gaming exploit" to macro-wish the end (Yuuichi==happy) was just clever Ayu and completely acceptable to me.
3) ... ... ... there were other minor bits but now they escape me. Things like Akiko knowing As Much as she did without being a bit more confused. What is she, some bodisvhatta?? (well, yes actually) or the lack of blood with Mai.
Our "Nayuki confession" was time-inverted (when they were young) so that we saw the after-Nayuki as she came to terms with that. Fascinating way to sidestep possible problems yet give fans of Nayuki as much as they did.
Same with Mai... we got more Mai than I'd hoped for. We got delightful moments with Shiori (see my sig)... there were SO MANY moments of humor to balance the blackness. The other uptics other posters have pointe out.
Definitely worthy and one of the better examples of what anime can accomplish with the drama format.
|2007-03-19, 15:28
|Link #13
I desire Tomorrow!
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: As far away from reality as possible
Age: 36
Ok let's see.
I believe I am known for criticizing Kanon for a number of things. After finishing this one, I'll sum up what I thought about the whole thing.
First the Good part.
1. Animation. The animation was excellent as always, I don't think I need to say anything more regarding the issue. This affects the moeness of the girls obviously, and seeing well drawn cuties in each episode is good for the brain.
2. Ending. In this section is the good bit of the ending. It covered all bases, let all characters participate and was generally well received, almost conclusive, although my personal preference would wish for something more extended. It IS better than Toei's however, which I've seen, so it was more easily acceptable.
3. Makoto's arc. For me, Makoto is still the character who shines the most throughout Kanon and her story is what I believe should have been the overall theme of Kanon regarding miracles. And it was during her arc that I felt Yuuichi was the best he could be. Nothing felt forced, the tragedy, Makoto's miracle and the sacrifices that sometimes have to be made were illustrated very well.
4. Sayuri's story. This has to be the most excellent addition to this version. For me it rivals Makoto's arc in both meaning and effect, and gives a good deal of depth to a somewhat secondary character.
5. Yuuichi's revelations. Yay, finally, mistakes! What do you know, he is human after all! Well yes, you can't fix everything. His revelation that he chose an illusion over reality was well placed, as he can know acknowledge a number of errors along the way (although Nayuki's case was perhaps the most obvious and the one that wasn't really resolved, and was the only one he directly caused).
6. Stuff of preference. Nayuki is my favorite girl, so seeing her on screen was bliss. Her arc was painful to watch as it was simple, human, and lacked special miracle powers, which made it all the more interesting to watch. That and I found Ayu's long hair version to actually be very moe. And the same can be said about the real Makoto, although I always liked kitsune-Makoto anyway.
7. Comedy. The comedy was one of the best aspects of this version. Yuuichi's antics and funny interactions with other characters are memorable.
Ok, here's what I didn't like.
1. Ayu happy ending... Bleh... Every possible miracle occuring... Overabundance of miracles. A supreme Deus ex machina, where everyone is happy and all is well... Ok... Cute, but disappointing. While miracles can happen, miracle cataclysm with no ill effect on anyone isn't my idea of expanding on the miracle theme. The ending was nice fanservice, but as far as I am concerned, lacked depth in the miracle area. They should have followed Makoto's miracle notion. Add to that the miracle of the headband discovery, just lying around, perfectly fine after 7 years... Let's be a little more real, please, even children's fairytales are more down to earth than this one.
2. Nayuki... Why does Nayuki always have to get the short end of the deal...? Her reconciliation with Yuuichi was cute, for a lack of a better word, but I thought they wanted to somehow get her out of the way, again. Not to mention that, for all his supposed guilt, Yuuichi was quick to discard Nayuki's situation, a situation which he was directly responsible for. And for seven years of pilling up depression, having your letters go unanswered, fearing the guy you love hates you, not being loved back while he casually dates girls he didn't know before (Shiori), she sure forgave him easily. It could happen of course, I mean he did apologize for the bunny.. But the whole thing felt like they got over Nayuki pretty quickly, with the emphasis being placed, again, on Ayu. Add to them not explaining Nayuki's sleep pattern, and yes... I believe she got the short end. Her arc could have been much more developed, but she got shafted for the "true" Ayu ending, again.
3. Ayu's romance. Where was that love again, which appeared suddenly on ep 19? From what I recall, Yuuichi remembered Ayu long before ep 19, so, if there was a childhood love somewhere, where was it shown before ep 19? There was no buildup whatsoever. I'd consider Yuuichi running to visit Shiori and confess to her much more plausible.
4. Supporting characters. That was apparent in Mai's and Shiori's arc where Yuuichi practically did everything with little help. Both Sayuri and Kaori were more or less eliminated from playing any essential role during Mai's and Shiori's arc, when, at least certainly for Shiori, her sister was the most important person. Makoto's arc can be excused since she really had no one else.
5. Characters disappear. Ok, the episode count isn't infinite, but some secondary characters could have been used a bit more. Then again, even main characters almost fade from existence once their arc resolves. I share the concern of those who were puzzled with Yuuichi not visiting either Mai or Shiori. I mean, ok, Mai will apparently get well, but for all Yuuichi knows, Shiori can die any day, yet he doesn't pay even one visit?
There is one thing that I found neither good or bad but kind of uninteresting and that's the music. For me, music in a medium (movie or otherwise) is serious business. Yet, I didn't find the OP and ED captivating, and, beside the well-known classical Canon masterpiece, the rest of the BGM was either too subtle to notice or totally forgettable. While the music wasn't bad, it wasn't anything interesting for me either and that's not a good thing for my enjoyment of a series.
Overall... Well, I must admit that I rate it higher than Toei's version. Then again, Toei had to stick the same material in 13 episodes, so I'm not sure if comparison is appropriate. But for me, it gets a 6. It had some nice elements, but they were counterbalanced by things I didn't like or found disappointing. What I believe to be Kanon's main flaw is the miracle theme and how that miracle theme is resolved in the ending. I'll probably watch Makoto's arc alone if I am going to rewatch anything of this. But ok, it wasn't a total waste of time. And I got tons of moe girl goodness, so I can live with it. But there are much better series out there for both drama and good storytelling IMO.
Last edited by npal; 2007-03-20 at 18:30. Reason: minor typo. oops, that should have been "say". Syntax, grammar.. bleh...
|2007-03-19, 15:39
|Link #14
Bemused Scholar
Join Date: Jan 2007
Age: 30
I'm one of those people who do not believe in decimals when giving scores because I simply don't see how .1 of a score could really mean any difference, when my own margin of error is already at least +-.5 points.
Anyway, I chose to give it 9/10 because I cannot call this show perfect really, but there was definitely an enormous wealth of good stuff in its favor. This may sound silly, but I approach judging anime in a style similar to courtroom law. To score 9/10 or above, it must reach "beyond a reasonable doubt" level. A 6/10 would be "preponderance of evidence", a 3/10 would be "probable cause", and a 2/10 would be "reasonable suspicion", etc. Then, like in a court of law, I simply weigh positive and negative arguments against each other. Quantity of such arguments is not what's important; what's important is how compelling each argument is. For example, reusing the snow bunny flashback 3 times in episode 22 was annoying for me, but it's not compelling because it did serve a purpose and only took up a few seconds anyway. A more compelling negative argument would be not explaining the reason behind Nayuki's sleepiness, which I thought was rather important to fleshing out her story.
A 10/10 would be incredibly hard to reach, just like how rare it is in law. While 9/10 would be removal of reasonable doubt (i.e. somewhat compelling evidence against), 10/10 is more like removing all doubt, which is pretty much impossible unless the defense attorney doesn't have a pulse or something.
I felt like the prosecution put up a remarkably strong case, starting out slow but then bringing up some incredibly heavy-hitting witnesses that gripped the courtroom with their testamonies. The closing statement meandered a little at first, but tied it up nicely with excellent use of metaphors to sum up the entire case satisfactorily. The defense has been able to poke a few holes in the case, primarily through throwing off the prosecution's pacing and nitpicking with details, but were unable to come up with enough substantial evidence to stop them from matching their burden of proof.
As the judge, I find the show excellent as charged. ^_^
|2007-03-19, 15:39
|Link #15
Getting down to it I'm giving the series a tenative 7 where I am just so I'm not completely barging in and off topic because I'm impressed with the presentation barring Sugita Tomakazu's voice acting Pretty much locking that into an 8/10
and I know the plot will pick up as well likely going from 0 to a 3/5. However, the characters will start vanishing from the scene without notice once things get going, detracting from the character side of the equation bringing it from 4 down to a 3. This would of course total 14/20 and thus 7/10 and I know enough about the series without actually seeing every single second of it from reading threads, episode summaries and plot summaries to be all but certain of this. Of course my vote isn't going into the system until I've seen every episode. And OH MY GOD I Won't Be the lowest vote by at least two people. What the hey then? I've spoiled it all for myself anyway so I really don't need to see it all play out in animated form since I'd give it a 5/5 in that category anyway and I'm 99.99999999999999999% certain that will be my final score, so I'll put it in there. Now I've just become a Gamespot reviewer.
Last edited by Kaioshin Sama; 2007-03-19 at 15:49.
|2007-03-19, 16:23
|Link #16
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
Hmmm, npal's "didn't like" category actually matches my nits on a 1:1 basis so thanks to him for defogging my thoughts.
I still think the way it was handled and portrayed, one might have thought Yuuichi would end up with Mai or Shiori as a "mate" and just deep friends with Ayu (same "ending" just different romantic angle). Outside of that 360 degree kiss, one would think they're just good buddies, whereas Yuuichi was clearly romantic towards the end of the threads of Mai and Shiori. Darn that kiss because otherwise I could easily mentally roam into fanfic visions for Mai and Shiori while he stayed good friends with Ayu.
Nayuki still got shafted for all the importance her character has... as a director, I'd have probably spent more upfront time at least setting up Nayuki's thread (at least make it clearer that Ayu and Nayuki are friends and yet competitors for attention). Of course, as I said before: the gods of tragedy demand sacrifice... but those are my mutterings as a backseat director... I suspect they were terrified that if they only took down one or two characters there would be a lynching... so it was either going to be carnage or happiness.
|2007-03-19, 16:23
|Link #17
~ You're dead ^__^* ~
Graphic Designer
hmm lets see...personally i would give this series somewhere between 8.5 and 9 so i might as well round it up...
while i loved most of the drama and comedy the thing that troubles me was the pace of the series...
at times it seemed like an arc is dragging on eternally *cough*makoto*cough* while others seemed to go by in a flash ~ poor nayuki >.<
what this did was lower the overall emotional impact which i was expecting...tbh it would have been better if the writers hit the audience fast and hard ~ as i would put it...take no prisoners!
the atmosphere was there but it wasnt realized to its full potential which was a shame...
the arcs was pretty jumpy ~ as we saw one girls arc ended...another's will start...man talk about a stressful life for yuuichi
but still i thought that the focus on the girls was spread out pretty unevenly...
makoto obviously took a lot of the attention...then comes mai...which shiori and finally nayuki was somewat lacking...but i guess this cannot be avoided given the time constrants but it is still a flaw...
the end was almost too happy for my tastes...i was expecting a second AIR experience but it didnt turn out that way...all that was left for a happy end was makoto to come back (thank god that didnt happen )
overall it was enjoyable but the lack of crying scenes gives it 1 mark off perfect ~ and the fact that im still pissed that the ruined shiori >.<
|2007-03-19, 17:09
|Link #18
Seishu's Ace
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
I gave this a ten - basically, because I think it's unrealistic to expect any 24-episode series to literally be perfect. You have to, in other words, grade on something of a curve. And by those standards, Kanon gets a 10. It featured several of the most memorable characters in recent memory, wove together a moving story in generally coherent yet obscure ways, and was one of the most beautifully animated series in years (as you would expect). For me, that makes a ten.
|2007-03-19, 18:57
|Link #20
"Show it to me"
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: In solitude, where we are least alone
I gave it a 10/10.
Story: I like how it's divided to 5 girls (well, 2 girls [Ayu and Nayuki] somehow overlap to each other). Like someone already said, the story might be unrealistic but it was in a good way. I like how reality and fantasy mixed together.
Characters: Well, characters are very memorable. All of them were pretty cute. It's definitely a great improvement from the original one (maybe because KyoAni did this one). The BG story for each is superb. Plenty of memorable moments for each and I've heard two catch phrases: "Uguu!" and "Auu!" Oh! let's not forget Yuuichi's sarcastic comments
Designs: Well, the scenery is definitely maginificent. Nothing much to add it on.
Overall: It's definitely one of my favorite animes. I'm glad that KyoAni made remake for this one. It really made quite in an impact. Now, I know it's hard but it's over . Oh well, all things must come to an end.
--> Now, I need to wait for CLANNAD.
|Thread Tools


text:
Noy Thrupkaew is a Prospect senior correspondent.
A new movie about domestic workers in the Jim Crow South tugs at heartstrings, but it avoids political questions still relevant to today.
Dissident filmmakers debate: Should they stay or should they go?
It's difficult to conceive of cooking being a calling if you have
to do it every day on a budget.
In his new film, The Girlfriend Experience, Steven Soderbergh turns to his obsession with the metaphor of economics as prostitution.
Puncturing an iconic image of a revolutionary, Steven Soderbergh's Che operates as a meditation on political power in the everyday.


text:
LONDON - Harrods' opulent Meat Hall is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach, but it is probably not the place to go in London for a long, leisurely meal.
Diners sit on simple stools at feeding stations situated throughout the room as shoppers stream through continuously from other parts of the iconic Brompton Road department store.
The atmosphere is a mashup: think unrelaxing mall food court combined with sophisticated bistro.
Tossed into the mix is the stunning Edwardian-era decor, considered one of England's best Arts and Crafts style interiors. Royal Doulton ceramic tile peacocks populate the walls, fantasy medieval landscapes adorn the ceiling, and a pair of voluptuous mermaid sculptures (added in the 1990s) writhe near the Sea Grill.
The visual assault can be somewhat unbalancing. Crab salad for 26 pounds (C$40) Sure, why not. Lobster thermidor for 60 pounds (C$93) Let's go for it!
I wander in at 7 p.m. from luxury handbags, the adjacent room, and take in the culinary offerings.
"Diners have to be out the door by 8 o'clock when the store closes," a server warns me.
One corner is red meat: you choose the cut you want and watch as it's carved and then handed to a chef. In the centre of the room, a swish rectangular bar dishes out caviar and smoked Scottish salmon.
I opt for a multi-course itinerary: start at the Oyster Bar, move to the Sea Grill for chowder and wind up at the Rotisserie for roasted half duck. Ambitious, given the time constraint, but hard to resist. Can it be done?
7:05 — Order six rock oysters and a glass of Muscadet. While waiting, observe the smartly dressed clientele seated nearby. Russian oligarchs? Qatari royals (owners of Harrods since 2010)? Other journalists posing as the well-heeled?
7:15 — Molluscs arrive with assorted condiments and are quickly slurped down. Relax for a moment to sip wine, then realize the clock is ticking and request bill: 30.50 pounds. No time to digest that (it shows up later on my credit card statement as C$50.02).
7:25 — Head to Sea Grill in the corner diagonally opposite, a waiter carrying my wine. Too late! The kitchen closed a moment ago. Chowderless, I dash to the Rotisserie across the room where orders are still being taken.
7:28 — Grab a stool at the counter just in time (the couple right behind me are turned away). But the duck — in fact, most of the menu — is no longer available. I order "baby chicken" (18.50 pounds, C$30.50), feeling lucky to be served anything at all.
7:41 — Main course arrives — a bit of an anti-climax. It's one small chicken cut in halves, served with a few slices of tomato. Very tender, having been marinated in yogurt, lime juice, garlic and herbs, but I am concentrating less on the taste than on not being able to finish by closing time. Leaving costly morsels on my plate while being ushered out of the building is an unwelcome prospect.
7:54 — Done! I drain the wine glass that has circled the room, pay the bill and rush to the exit where a security guard is allowing stragglers to leave. Out the door at 8:04.
Harrods has over two dozen restaurants, bars and cafes scattered throughout seven floors, ranging from a family diner selling burgers and shakes to the elegant Georgian, an airy expanse of white tablecloths and pink upholstered chairs. In total, 30,000 diners are served each week on average, said Harrods spokesperson Victoria Marston.
In addition to the famous Meat Hall, created in 1902, there are food halls selling tea, coffee, chocolate, charcuterie, cheese and "every gastronomic indulgence imaginable," Marston said in an email.
"Harrods started as a grocery shop in 1849 and food remains at its heart," she said.
For a Harrods dining experience that does not involve speed-eating, I try lunch the following day at the Galvin Demoiselle, which focuses on French cuisine. Opened in March by a pair of chefs who have earned Michelin stars for other London eateries, the Galvin occupies an attractive balcony space with banquettes overlooking a ground-floor food hall filled with candies, fruits and vegetables.
The soup de jour — an agreeable green concoction with pesto sauce, chopped vegetables and angel hair pasta — along with bread and butter and a small bottle of mineral water costs 17 pounds (C$26).
"I don't think we would eat a meal here," says Simon Miller, 43, underwhelmed by the Galvin's menu offerings but enjoying its ambience.
He and his wife, Julie, on a getaway from their home near Leeds, dropped in for white wine and "nibbles" — olives and such — after visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum nearby.
"It's a nice atmosphere, isn't it, very British," Julie says of the Harrods lunchtime scene. "We've just come for the experience, really."
If you go ...
Harrods' regular hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Location: Steps from the Knightsbridge tube station on the Piccadilly line.
Store dress code: Clothing that portrays "offensive pictures or writing" is not allowed. Full guidelines are posted at http://bit.ly/MF03ro.


text:
Brogan Explores Ancient Lives of the Sensesby Steve Charles • October 23, 2013 Share:
The year is 1510 B.C. and you are squatting in a small house in the village of Papadiokampos on the island of Crete, sampling the steaming soup of crab, limpets, and top shells simmering in a tripod cooking pot heated by a nearly smokeless fire fueled by olive oil paste.
Or you could be a perfume maker in the nearby town of Mochlos, crushing pinkish-purple cistus flowers with a heavy stone tool and combining them with a blend of olive oil and coriander, inhaling the surprising aroma of cinnamon.
Or you might be a child in the artisan's quarters on the Cretan island of Chryssa, holding your nose to the noxious odor of purple murex shells as your father crushes them to be cooked into dye for the vivid purple colored cloth your family exports across the Aegean Sea.
Thanks to newer recovery methods archaeologists are using to excavate ancient sites, scholars can imagine with unprecedented detail the ways people lived thousands of years ago. On Monday, Tom Brogan '88 returned to campus to describe those methods and to share the ancient "lives of the senses" he's discovering with them.
Professor Emeritus of Classics Leslie Day introduced her former student, now the director of the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Student Center for East Crete (INSTEP). She recalled some of the lighter moments of taking Brogan on his first archaeological dig at Kavousi, Crete. In fact, of all the Wabash Classics professors of Brogan's student days attended Monday's talk, "Flavors, Aromas, and Bright Colors: Making 'Sense' of New Discoveries in Late Bronze Age Levels on Crete."
"It's an honor to have all those who taught me in Classics at Wabash in the same room here tonight," Brogan said before describing the recent developments in archaeological methods that have fueled his and colleagues' recent discoveries.
"The new recovery methods really drive the show," Brogan said. "In the last 25 years we have been introducing more science, drawing from a wider range of disciplines, been more rigorous, theoretical, even experimental as we try to test our data assumptions."
Brogan and his colleagues employ ground penetrating radar, extensive soil sampling, and even organic chemistry in their scientific approach to "household archaeology at ancients sites on Crete.
"It's a type of theoretical modeling that adapts well to the sites where we've been digging, and it begins to put people back in the sites we're looking—we're spending more time and effort thinking about the people who once lived inside these sites."
Brogan described the process used to excavate Papadiokampos, discovered in 2004. Brogan joined the excavation team in 2007.
"In addition to hand collection of bones, small tools, vases, and all the environmental material, we also collected 400 soil samples from 10 rooms," Brogan explained. "The samples were then floated to look for small organic remains, and that allowed us to pinpoint the data we found—to better imagine what things were going on where in the room.
"We're also using organic chemistry to look for organic residue, and we collected samples from 600 vases inside this house at Papadiokampos."
Brogan acknowledged that the latter method is controversial, noting that even one of its proponents had recommended such results be considered "not with a grain of salt, but with a boulder of salt."
"Still, this has the potential to be a major game changer," Brogan said.
So, what have these recent techniques revealed?
Among many other discoveries at Papadiokampos, Brogan and his colleagues found in one room a large cook pot with residue from an uneaten meal, a "Cretan seafood soup—limpets, top shells, crabs, and a lobster."
A team of experimental archaeologists used that information to "make the pots, cook the meals, and to learn how they taste."
"That's the archaeology of the senses in a nutshell.
"Our potter makes the pots, then it takes three to four hours to cook these meals. We also have a Jordanian chef who helps us work on the recipes, combining environmental data collected in the room plus the things we know were available on Crete at that time in history."
In the nearby town of Mochlos, Brogan learned "what people of this time were doing to harness some of the islands more attractive smells."
The team excavated what Brogan believes to be a workshop for making perfume. In "a sort of interurban manufacturing center," the team found olive oil residue mixed with coriander.
"We know from tablets of the period 150 years after this building was abandoned that coriander was an essential ingredient that made oil more receptive to fragrance," Brogan said.
In one vat archaeologists found residue of all the ingredients needed for perfume.
"Among the aromatics found there were compounds connected with linden and cistus flowers, and cistus is used in Cretan rock rose, which Crete is still famous for today. It gives off a cinnamon smell."
The final location Brogan described Monday—the island of Chryssa—he called "my favorite excavation site.
"There was unheard of preservation there—we found 1,000 intact pots, still standing up, all organic information still in the pots."
They also found loom weights and other evidence of textile production, and thousands of murex shells used in the creation of purple dye.
"It looks as though Cretans in about 1850 BC began exploiting this resource on a massive scale. Like the perfume in Mochlos, this colored cloth was an export."
Excavating "a purple dye workshop," the team found bronze knives, crushed murex shells, and a thick layer of black debris which, soil samples suggested, was composed of crushed olives and almonds used for a fire to make the dyes. In another room were loom weights, further evidence of textile making.
"We have Roman prints that describe the process, and it seems to fit what we can imagine was being done here," Brogan said.
With the new methods being employed by archaeologists like Brogan, we are able to imagine not only what was being done there, but also the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of—and perhaps even what it felt like to live in—ancient times.


text:
Conference realignment can be good, when done for right reasons
Conference realignment. It's become of the hottest issues in sports as teams shuffle from conference to conference, looking for the best fit.
In the world of college athletics, the issue has been prevalent in the last decade. With smaller conferences being absorbed into the larger conferences, all in the name of BCS bowl bids and conference payouts, seeing a mid-level conference go from 12 members to non-existent has become a part of the business.
But while the issue has been mostly considered a collegiate issue, conference realignment has also become a hot-button issue on the prep sports level.
Just this past week, the issue hit our local coverage areas, as the North Star League has started the process of expanding to 12 teams for the 2013-14 school year.
With the addition of former Huron Shores Conference members Whittemore-Prescott, Oscoda, Alcona and Rogers City, the conference will also have nine-team football conference.
Like with many conference realignments, football was the point of emphasis in this change.
But in the end, the process will help make things easy on the other sports in the league.
As it has already been pointed out, this move will help improve scheduling across the board.
With the proposed conference realignment, some of the schools in the conference have teams for certain sports that others do not.
But with more teams in the league, there will be more opportunities to fill schedules with conference foes, instead of scheduling trips to schools across the state just to have a wrestling meet.
With a larger pool of more local opponents in conference, teams can avoid having to travel for hours to a game, cutting costs for schools.
This recent move wasn't the only action on the conference realignment front in our coverage area, as West Branch-Rose City Area Schools explored in the fall the idea of leaving the Big North Conference, a conference the district just joined.
While plans to leave didn't materialize, that situation was another instance of how conference realignment, and athletics in general, has become a even more of a focal point for our school districts.
This issue might not be as prevalent on the high-school level as it is in the college ranks, but it's safe to say many more schools will have to start making these same kinds of decisions, for better or for worse.
Please review our community guidelines before posting
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text:
Analysis of HIV Genetic Variation in Patients Before Beginning Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00009256
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : January 26, 2001
Last Update Posted : July 2, 2017
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge about why drug therapy sometimes stops working in people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This occurs in 30 to 40% of patients treated with powerful antiretroviral drugs. The study will examine how the virus becomes resistant to drug treatment through mutations (changes) and how different mutations produce new variants that are resistant to more than one drug.
HIV-infected patients 18 years and older who have not been treated with antiretroviral medications and who have a relatively stable amount of virus in their blood (viral load) may be eligible for this study. Pregnant or breastfeeding women may not participate. Candidates will be screened with blood tests to determine viral load and to study the genetics of the virus.
Participants will be hospitalized at the NIH Clinical Center for 10 days for daily blood sampling. (In exceptional circumstances, the sampling may be done on an outpatient basis.) After discharge, patients will be followed by weekly visits for blood tests for a total of 120 days. When antiretroviral treatment begins, the patient may do one of the following:
- Continue on this study with antiretroviral treatment. Therapy will consist of D4T, 3TC, and efavirenz. Other drugs may be substituted for any of these that cannot be tolerated. HIV protease inhibitors will not be included in the regimen.
- Complete participation in this study and, if eligible, enroll in another NIH protocol (AVBIO).
- Begin standard antiretroviral therapy with a private physician.
Patients for whom treatment is not yet recommended or who choose not to be treated may continue to be monitored with blood tests for a total of 18 months. (Patients who leave the study after this time may re-join when they decide to start treatment.)
Participants may also undergo the following optional procedures to study the genetic variation of HIV: lymph node biopsy, spinal tap, and semen donation or female genital washing to collect secretion samples.
Sexual partners or needle-sharing partners of study patients are invited to enroll in this study to provide blood samples at the time the patient enrolls and at two intervals after any needle sharing or unsafe sex event they may report to NIH. Partners may also donate genital secretions or semen, and a lymph node or spinal fluid sample.
Information from this study may help in the development of new drug treatments that will be effective in controlling HIV infection when other treatments no longer work.
|Condition or disease
|HIV Infection
Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in progressive immune destruction and death. Current therapy for HIV (highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART) infection utilizes combinations of drugs that, under optimum conditions, inhibit HIV replication, halt progressive immunodeficiency, and permit a measure of immunological reconstitution. In its present form, however, HAART is inadequate. HAART does not cure HIV infection, and has significant adverse side effects, which may require drug discontinuation. One of the most challenging limitations of HAART is the development of drug resistance, which may occur in 30-40% of treated patients. The precise mechanisms responsible for drug resistance remain uncertain, but explanations include the emergence of HIV variants encoding genetic mutations that confer resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Such drug resistant mutations may occur and be present at low frequencies prior to drug therapy. Understanding how these mutations arise and remain circulating in populations of HIV is uncertain.
The purpose of the present protocol is to derive a comprehensive description of HIV population genetics in a longitudinal, observational study of HIV-infected patients prior to initiating antiretroviral therapy. We plan to utilize frequent blood sampling and an extensive sequencing strategy to investigate parameters of HIV population genetics, including: a) genotypic and phenotypic analyses of HIV drug resistance mutations, b) determinations of the rates at which mutations arise, become fixed, lost, or undergo recombination, c) linkage analyses, d) estimates of the size of the effective virus population. We plan to apply this information to develop models of HIV evolution, predict the genetic behavior of HIV populations, including the emergence of resistant genomes. We expect that information regarding HIV population genetics may assist in designing appropriate drug regimens to salvage control of HIV virus replication after initial regimens have failed.
|Study Type :
|Enrollment :
|65 participants
|Official Title:
|Analysis of HIV Genetic Variation in Patients Prior to Initiation of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
|Study Start Date :
|April 13, 2000
|Study Completion Date :
|March 3, 2009
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
HIV infection documented by ELISA/WB.
Viral load documented in our clinic as greater than or equal to 1000 copies RNA/ml plasma on one occasion.
At least 18 years of age.
For women of child-bearing potential, a negative serum pregnancy test is required within 14 days prior to enrollment.
Able to provide written informed consent.
Absence of HIV infection within 8 weeks prior to entry, documented as a negative HIV ELISA and WB within 8 weeks of screening positive ELISA and WB.
Use of immunosuppressants or cytotoxic agents, with the exception of corticosteroids.
Presence of active AIDS defining opportunistic infection or malignancy requiring cytotoxic chemotherapy. Malignancies which do not require systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy, such as low grade non-progressive KS, or skin cancer treated with excision are not exclusion criteria.
Prior antiretroviral therapy with nucleoside or non-nucleoside RT inhibitors or protease inhibitors defined as: any therapy in the last 5 years; any more than 4 days of protease inhibitors or NNRTIs ever taken; any more than 2 weeks of NRTIs ever taken.
Psychiatric illness that in the opinion of the PI might interfere with study compliance.
Active substance abuse or history of prior substance abuse that may interfere with protocol compliance or compromise patient safety.
Refusal to practice safer sex practices or use precautions to prevent pregnancy (effective barrier birth control or abstinence).
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00009256
|United States, Maryland
|National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
|Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00009256 History of Changes
|Obsolete Identifiers:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|January 26, 2001 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|July 2, 2017
|Last Verified:
|March 3, 2009
Keywords provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):
Quasispecies Variation
Antiretroviral Therapy
Drug Naive Patients
Treatment Naive
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
HIV Infections
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents


text:
WASHINGTON — The impacts of climate change driven by human activity are spreading through the United States faster than had been predicted, increasingly threatening infrastructure, water supplies, crops and shorelines, according to a federal advisory committee.
The draft Third National Climate Assessment, issued every four years, delivers a bracing picture of environmental changes and natural disasters that mounting scientific evidence indicates is fostered by climate change: heavier rains in the Northeast, Midwest and Plains that have overwhelmed storm drains and led to flooding and erosion; sea level rise that has battered coastal communities; drought that has turned much of the West into a tinderbox.
"Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present," the report says. "Americans are noticing changes all around them. Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer."
Written by 240 scientists, business leaders and other experts, the draft assessment arrives days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its annual State of the Climate Report, which noted that 2012 was the hottest year on record. Together, the two major reports and a year of drought, wildfires, floods and freak storms have created for President Obama the chance to take substantial steps on climate change, environmentalists said.