text:
Spider-Man? Check. X-Men? Check. Daredevil? Check. Marvel's pantheon of comic characters is being rapidly exhausted by ravenous filmmakers, hungry to find that summer blockbuster. Next in line for the Hollywood treatment is the green goliath himself, The Hulk and true to form the game is just as big.
For those of you who have lived in a cave for the past thirty years, The (Incredible) Hulk is the story of Dr. Bruce Banner, a scientist irradiated by Gamma radiation in a freak accident. Whenever Banner gets angry, the Gamma radiation causes him to transform into a huge, green, muscle-bound monster capable of super-human feats of strength. Bruce fight is to rid himself of the creature within.
Like the Spider-Man game-of-the-film from Activision, the PS2 iteration of The Hulk takes the action of the movie and goes beyond, offering new opponents, challenges and locations not featured in the film. This third-person action adventure has a split personality of its own, featuring two differing styles of gameplay for both Dr Banner and his Hulk persona.
The Banner levels require stealth and guile as you use your grey matter to overcome the challenges between you and a cure. But get angry and the Hulk comes out to play. As you'd expect, these levels revolve more around you fists and ability to throw large objects at small people. The fully destructive and interactive environments can be damaged, bits can be ripped from the walls and used as weapons and anything lying around can be picked up and thrown at Hulk's enemies. In fact, the Hulk can crush puny bad-guys using over 45 devastating attacks throughout the game's 25 levels.
Visually, the game draws its inspiration from both the live action movie and the comics featuring a unique realistic cel-shading not seen before. With the pedigree of Ang Lee's film behind it and even more rippling Hulk action taken from the comic universe the Hulk is one HUGE game. The question is, can you handle the power?
1 Players
1 Player Types
See it in action


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Babolat Junior Tennis Shoes
Babolat Junior Tennis Shoes Are On Top Of Their Game
Founded in Lyon, France in 1875, Babolat is the oldest company specializing in professional racquet sports equipment and gear, including Babolat junior tennis shoes.
Babolat junior tennis shoes are designed to favor the specific movements of junior players. Tennis players make constant sideways and diagonal movements, with most of the pressure being in the forefoot. Babolat tennis shoes guarantee supreme foot support and durability for junior and adult players alike.
Junior players require ultimate support of their feet, both on and off the court. When selecting Babolat junior tennis shoes, there are two main factors to consider to enhance court movement, safety, and maximize a player's performance: playing style and foot type.
Playing Style
Different styles of play call for different types of movements. To ensure foot safety, choose a tennis shoe based on a junior's style of play.
Baseline Player
A baseline player plays along the back line of the court, requiring constant sideways motion. Select a shoe with strong lateral support.
Serve-and-Volley Player
A serve-and-volley player frequently charges the net, which slides their back foot back and forth. Select tennis shoes with arch support, durable toecap, and reinforced toe.
Foot Type
There are three basic foot types: overpronator, neutral, and underpronator. To determine a junior's foot type, perform a wet test: have the junior get his or her foot wet and step on a solid surface, such as concrete. The imprints will determine the type of foot they have.
Feet are overpronated if a complete impression of the foot can be seen. Overpronators tend to roll their foot inward during play. Select a shoe that offers great stability with little flexibility.
Feet are neutral if a moderate space is visible in the arch area. Select a shoe that provides both stability and flexibility.
Feet are underpronated if there's an open area on the imprint where the arch of the foot didn't touch the ground. Underpronators tend to roll their foot outward during play. Select a shoe that offers great flexibility for sharp, lateral movements.
Want to know more about new tennis shoes? We've got answers! Call us at (866) 900-3648. Do It Tennis also offers Match Point Club, where you can earn reward points on your purchases and become eligible to receive FREE tennis gear, as well as free shipping on qualifying orders.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There's an error - it says "Yes it's cheaper" . It isn't.
So much been said over the years about desktop virtualisation, so many claims, so much noise, so much clutter. Let us to bring some clarity to the proceeding with a cunning diagram that demonstrates the familiar options, the uptake, some of the challenges - and we've even sprinkled it with some top drawer advice from our …
Please don't do any more.
The marketing world is awash with them, Twitter loves the damn things and The Guardian's doing its very best to pretend that infographics are journalism. They're never, ever useful. If you want to communicate a small amount of information, more slowly than you could by just writing in an article the old fashioned way, then infographics are the way to go.
The Register is a refuge of (usually) well thought out and well written articles; please don't follow the herd. I'm genuinely a little bit sad to find one here.
But I'd stand by the argument that infographics aren't useful.
Most infographics aren't single tables or pictures - which can communicate data and ideas very quickly - they're almost always several different graphs, tables and pictures mashed together in one poster sized image with a background, so that you have to work to find out what they've got to tell you.
Eventually you work out that what they've got to tell you, is something you could have written in a couple of paragraphs or less. I'd stick to inserting clean, simple graphs in the articles - it's much clearer.
Ow ow ow. This made my head hurt. Is there a Recommended Booze Level to attain whereupon it all makes sense?
Thank you very much for giving something new a whirl, but this is a little too densely packed. Adding in large graphical links to, what, seven more articles and two videos is a little OTT.
I'd be interested in seeing what the infographic looks like when only portraying the relevant statistics, and not all the other hoo-ha.
That must be the new definition of "let's throw together a bunch of stuff, make it look professional and pass it off as information".
Looking over this marketing ploy, I was confirmed in my opinion by words such as "Moving to Windows 7", "personal cloud", "hypervisors you can trust" and, my favorite, "Changing user expectations".
This thing is just a bunch of PR hogwash to impress gullible managers and rake in the dough.
Desktop virtualization is end-user freedom ? Excuse me, but in what world do Fortune 500 IT departments WANT end-user freedom ? In which bank is that even a discussion point (please tell me so that I can make sure my money isn't there) ?
I wonder if anyone in the group that put this together have noticed that more and more IT administrative tools have been (over the years since Windows NT) created and put in place to ensure that the end-user is only capable of doing _exactly_ what his central profile allows him to do and nothing more (like surfing the web, or non-company-approved sites).
Because large organizations want their employees to effing work, not prance through grassy knolls blissfully enjoying freedom. Then again, those employees who do want freedom are usually graciously encouraged with a slip in a beautifully-colored pink , so maybe there is some truth in that notion.
I don't agree with Neil Charles that all infographics are bad. It's just that a large proportion of them choose styling over data communication. Unfortunately, you seem to have fallen into the same trap.
As it stands, the cars don't add any information (and it took me a while to work out what the connecion was between virtualisation and cars). Distorting the text with perspective just makes it hard to read. Finally, it's difficult to quickly compare which benefits apply to which types without reading each list and performing a mental setdiff.
This data would be more clearly communicated as a table. Virtualisation type in columns, potential benefits in row, and a checkmark where each combination applies.
In future, when creating infographics, first think about what questions the readers might want to answer from your data, then think about the way to present that data most clearly, and only then think about ways to stylise it.
Seriously, though... infographics? I'd rather have them than videos, which I almost never watch, though I might well have read the transcribed interview.
I do wonder why the Reg is so obsessed with virtualisation --- especially as, when I /do/ read one of the articles, it tends to be of the "yes, but we're not there yet" flavour. True, I might have picked the wrong articles.
i'm only a dog, but this infographic looks pretty good to me. The question i would have, though, is how the list of "hurdles" was created. In His company (my owner's that is), provision of applications directly to the end user via virtualization has been impeded by poor performance of the virtualized applications, especially in IO, and has been abandoned. However, virtualization of back-end services has been successful. It seems strange that the above hurdle was not presented as an option to the respondents.
Two main things wrong with this.
Firstly the graphic is far too complicated, and its structure doesn't really have much to do with the information it is trying (and largely failing) to convey. It looks like this was lead by the art and graphic design rather than the info. Visualisation is supposed to be about the info primarily, and about making it clearer. This is neither.
Secondly, the info itself seems, shall we say, a tad biased? Things are stated as facts which are actually very much in question or just plain false. We abandoned a trial-scale look at VDI, because it became clear very early on that it didn't make any sense on cost grounds, greener computing grounds, manageability, resilience or user experience, compared to a well managed estate of modern PCs.
On first reading, I didn't realise that there was more than the picure in the article. Having now seen the full graphic, it's clear that there are more (fixable) problems.
It isn't obvious which order to look at things. An infographic this complex needs to guide the readers, in order to tell a story with the data. I started at the top and clicked one of the bubbles, which took me away from the graphic to an article about Windows 7. Since linking to other documents isn't data-related and is easy enough in a regular article, you can probably remove this from the graphic. At the very least, change the behaviour so it forces the document opening in a new tab.
The same issue applies to the signpost links below the bubbles.
The barcharts are cleanly drawn (not much chartjunk) which is a good sign. It would be better to reorder the categories from largest bar down to smallest, to make it easy to see which categories are most important. Also, there are small gaps between the two colours of bars, whose meaning is unclear. I presume that they shouldn't be there.
I don't understand what the desktop virtualisation model roundabout is trying to tell me. Maybe some contextual text would help; otherwise, cut it.
With the barchart at the bottom, again, the categories should be sorted largest to smallest for ease of comparison. I found the road underneath the bars distracting, especially since the road lines were at a different angle to the bars.
I couldn't get the videos to play.
Well done for linking to the data sources.
Hope the feedback is constructive and useful.
Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2020


text:
SE and East Anglia general weather discussion 03/03/2018 onwards
Recommended Posts
Latest Weather News
A quiet weekend, milder from the south but with air quality issues
Fog and frost for England and Wales today. Risk for northern Britain on Saturday morning as milder air nudges up from the south this weekend. Steady weather but that brings air pollution concerns Read the full update hereNetweather forecasts |
Latest weather updates from Netweather
Haloes, Sun Dogs and other optical phenomena
Photos of circles or rings around the sun have been appearing today, these are Haloes. Either side you can spot mock Suns or Sun Dogs Read more here
Mist and Fog - Clouds on the ground
It's that time of year, nippy nights, clear skies and light winds results in foggy mornings. Poor visibility on the roads and at the airports, but is it fog or mist? Read more here
Our picks
The Big Freeze of ten years ago...
mushymanrob posted a topic in Weather Discussion - Autumn,It'll soon be ten years since we experienced the coldest December on record.
- 52 replies
Unexpected Snow
cheeky_monkey posted a topic in Historic Weather,We have a thread for snow storms that never were..but what about unexpected snow events that were not forecast?
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Hurricane Iota
matty40s posted a topic in Hurricanes, Cyclones and Extreme weather worldwide,Hurricane Iota is a Cat5 and is set to make landfall over Nicaragua.
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Memorable Foggy Spells
Summer18 posted a topic in Historic Weather,It's currently been foggy for the past few days here, it's got me thinking about previous foggy periods. Can anybody else remember any other memorable foggy spells?
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Arctic Refreeze Season: 2020/21
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text:
CHESTER - Investigators are looking into a possible link between a shooting early Wednesday that sent five people, including two teens to the hospital, and a shooting Friday that left one man dead and wounded two women.
'We are looking to see if the shooting incidents are connected,' Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said Wednesday night.
Investigations are ongoing by the Chester Police Department and the county's Criminal Investigation Division.
Previously, Whelan said 'turf issues' involving the Ruth L. Bennett Homes was a possible motive in the June 27 shooting, where as many as 37 rounds were sprayed outside the Platinum Harambee Cafe at Seventh and Lloyd streets at about midnight. Verlondon Gary, 32, of Chester, was dead at the scene; two city women were wounded, one critically.
According to city authorities, the recent incident unfolded shortly after midnight as a group of people, including a boy and girl both 14 years old, were outside in the 1400 block of West Congress Street. Some residents were standing around talking, while others were in the middle of a pickup game of basketball.
Then, at 12:09 a.m., gunfire erupted, sending people on Congress Street scurrying. The five victims, including the teens, were caught in apparent crossfire.
When police arrived on the scene, they found five people had been injured; a 14-year-old girl shot in the foot and a 14-year-old boy shot in the right leg were among them. Two adult males, ages, 20 and 31, suffered leg wounds while a third man, 35, was struck in his back and right thigh.
All five victims were taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition on Wednesday. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, according to authorities.
According to police, whoever pulled the trigger did from a distance away in the 800 block of Tilghman Street, about a block from where the victims were found. Shell casings found at the scene indicate that at least two weapons were fired. Investigators are trying to determine if the shooters were firing at each other or at someone else.
Of the 25 homicides in Delaware County this year, 16 have occurred in Chester. All but one of the cases involved a firearm.
Four people have been fatally shot since the anti-crime initiative 'Operation City Surge' was launched in May. The effort includes unannounced patrols by state police, as well as added assistance by other agencies including SEPTA Transit Police.
Repeated attempts to reach Chester Police Commissioner Joe Bail concerning the latest shooting were unsuccessful.
Wednesday night, Mayor John Linder said any shooting is tragic.
'What I can do to protect my young citizens is bring them indoor after hours,' he said.
But he warned that a solution is not solely a police matter.
'Others can help us as much as they can (by reporting those) who are continually committing crimes in this city,' Linder said. 'We've had great cooperation from our community, and it's getting better.'
The mayor added that since the launch of the anti-crime push police response time has been quicker thanks to the state police and other agencies who are working with city police.
Anyone with information is asked to contact city detectives at 610-447-8433 or county detectives at 610-891-4700.


text:
The ancient Mayan city of clay bricks and oyster and seashell mortar
Capture it
Discover it
All the information you can't miss about the land
It is located 56 kilometers from the city of Villahermosa and 2 kilometers from the city of Comalcalco, Tabasco
Monday through Sunday from 8:00 to 16:00
46 pesos
Get located
Find it on the map along with other useful resources
When the traveler arrives at Comalcalco, the easternmost site of Mayan culture, they have the impression of being able to hold the pyramids in their hands. Thanks to recently deciphered hieroglyphs, it is now known that the city's original name was "Joy Chan" or "Hoi Chan", which means "Cloudy sky".
Comalcalco's present name comes from the amazement of the Náhuatl, who arrived at the area when it was uninhabited and found structures built with clay bricks, a material unknown to them, so they decided to give it a descriptive name close to something they knew, the comal, naming it "Comalli-Calli-Co", which means "House of the Comal".
Dating back to the end of the late Classic period (700-900 A.D.), the architecture of Comalcalco is quite original, as it is not made from stone, but brick, bound together by an elaborate mortar made from seashell and oysters. On the bricks you can often see figurative carvings and glyphs drawn while they were still wet, with various anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, epigraphic, symbolic, geometric, or architectural themes.
The settlement occupies a surface of 7 square kilometers and has numerous architectural groups which were decorated with embossing and stucco figures painted in bright colors (red, blue, green, yellow, and black).
The Comalcalco site was discovered by the French explorer Desiré Charnay towards the end of the 19th Century and, although it has been described since then, it was not until 1956 that it was systematically excavated by Mexican and North-American archaeologists Gordon Ekholm, Román Piña Chan, George Andrews, and José Erosa Peniche. Thanks to them we now know that this pre-Hispanic settlement was built and inhabited by the Chontal Mayans and had its peak between 800 and 1000 A.D., in other words, at the end of the Classic period (200-850 A.D.) and in the beginning of the Postclassic period (850-1521 A.D.).
Comalcalco was an important and strategic trading spot. Its geographical situation, in the Chontalpa region, next to the margin of the Mezcalapa River, also known as Dos Bocas (known today as Río Seco), provided a privileged position for interregional traffic of merchandise between the Gulf coast and the Yucatán Peninsula, from the central high plateau and the northern end of the Gulf of México.
Three architectural groups can be distinguished in the monumental area: The North Plaza, the Great Acropolis, and the East Acropolis.
The Great Plaza consists of various temples, although only three of them have been excavated, numbered from I to III, the latter of which has five structures.
The Great Acropolis is the most interesting. It is an architectural complex that groups, all under one base, a series of civilian and religious buildings constructed in different levels. Named by the archaeologist Ekholm, the most interesting buildings are The Palace, the Sunken Patio, The Stucco Tomb or Tomb of the Nine Lords of the Night, Temple VI or Temple of the Mask, and Temple VII or Temple of the Seated Chieftains.
Some temples have a vaulted chamber inside the foundation on which they are built, serving a double function as temple and tomb.
Near the base of the Great Acropolis, there is a well-preserved stucco sculpture called Mask of the Sun God.
The East Acropolis has an interesting cemetery, where 66 bodies were found, deposited in funeral urns, with cranial deformities, jade filings and incrustations in dental pieces, displaying the high lineage of those buried.
Comalcalco has a nice site museum, redesigned for 2012, with an excellent collection of bricks "carved" by Mayan artisans, who reproduced countless figures.
Take comfortable footwear, preferably something sporty, that allows you to walk and access the different areas of the archaeological site.
Prior to arrival, check weather conditions and choose the right time click here.
Remember the importance of respecting the place you are visiting and keeping it clean.
How to arrive
From the city of Villahermosa, the archaeological zone of Comalcalco can be reached by highway 180...
From the city of Villahermosa, the archaeological zone of Comalcalco can be reached by highway 180 to the city of Cárdenas, from there take highway 187 to the north to the city of Comalcalco. Continue driving for 2 kilometers until reaching the sign on the left that indicates the entrance to the archaeological zone.
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Find the 10 hotels and 10 restaurants closest to the archeological site so you can have everything
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Find where you are on the map and locate the closest points of interest


text:
Our Environmental Policy Our Environmental Policy
For more than eight decades now, we have been reputed for dependable first-class products that are human-compatible and environment-considerate.
Blaser Swisslube takes environmental protection extremely seriously while conducting its day-to-day business. We realise that our activities have an impact on our environment. It is therefore our duty to minimise that impact in keeping with our financial and technical means and with the help of carefully planned and efficient resource-saving processes. Our responsibility in dealing with the environment and resources requires us to determine and evaluate the environmental aspects concerned and to meet the identified environmental targets and programmes, as well as to check them using measurable criteria.
In light of our shared responsibility towards people and the environment, we strive to improve our environmental performance and to reduce our impact on the environment accordingly. Environmental impacts should be avoided or reduced where economically viable and whenever possible from a technical and an organisational standpoint.
In the process, we will naturally meet the applicable legal, ethical and statutory provisions as well as comply with or even exceed our own environmental criteria.
We provide information and organise trainings to promote environmental awareness among our employees inside and outside of our company.
Continually improving our environmental performance is a prerequisite over the medium and long term for effectively reducing costs and making a significant contribution to protecting the environment.


text:
Winnebago County Sheriff's Office
News Media Release
News Release Number
Information: Restrictions for the ROCK RIVER for Friday, July 4th, 2014
Date: July 4th, 2014
Time: Various
Page 1 of 1
Narrative: Sheriff Richard A. Meyers announces the following restrictions for the Rock River on Friday, July 4, 2014:
Effective at 6:00 PM Friday, July 4th, there will be a "NO WAKE ZONE" in effect from the Whitman Street Bridge south to the Fordam Dam until Midnight.
From 6:00 PM Friday, July 4th, there will be a "NO WAKE ZONE" in effect at Shorewood Park for a Ski Broncs Show until 9:00 PM.
Effective from 9:00 PM until the completion of the fireworks display, the Rock River will be "CLOSED" south of the Chestnut Street Bridge to the Fordam Dam and from the Morgan Street Bridge north to the Fordam Dam.
There will be a "NO WAKE ZONE" in effect from 9:00 PM until midnight for the entire Rock River in Winnebago County north of the Whitman Street Bridge.
The Sheriff's Department would like to remind all boaters to operate in a safe manner over the holiday. The Sheriff's Department will have a patrol presence on the river and anyone with questions can contact a Sheriff's Department boat by calling (815)262-1510. Calls for service should be directed through the 911 Communication Center at (815)282-2600 and emergencies should be reported by dialing 911.
As always, caution should be exercised in all areas when using the river.
For current river conditions, and any further updates, contact the Sheriff's Office at (815)319-6300, or the Rock River information telephone line at (815)316-8888.


text:
The US is still a dominant force in mobile app development worldwide, but that could be changing, based on the latest data from app analytics outfit Flurry – and a certain Finnish firm could be leading the way for the rest of the world.
US-based developers produced 36 per cent of all active mobile apps as of June 2013, according to the Flurry report, leaving developers in all other countries to cut up the rest of the pie. But that figure was down significantly from the previous two years, in which the US produced 45 per cent of active apps.
Even when Flurry weighted apps based on how much time users spent with them, US-made apps were less popular than they once were. Apps from non-US countries made up 30 per cent of the total, up from 24 per cent in 2012 and 25 per cent in 2011.
Users' preference for locally produced apps accounts for at least part of that picture, particularly in countries where English is not the primary language.
Chinese mobile users, for example, spent 64 per cent of their smartphone time in Chinese-made apps and just 16 per cent of their time in apps made in the US. Similarly, Brazilians used apps made in Brazil 8 per cent of the time (while the rest of the world hardly ever did), and even Brits preferred a fair share of their apps to be homegrown, choosing British apps 13 per cent of the time.
Not everyone is in love with US-made mobile apps the way Americans are
Of the four large regional markets Flurry sampled, only Americans overwhelmingly favored US-made software, spending 59 per cent of their mobile time in locally-produced apps.
Chinese-made apps have enjoyed some measure of success outside of the Middle Kingdom, having captured single-digit percentages of users' time in Brazil, the UK, and the US. Even more interesting, however, is that some of the more successful apps are emerging from unexpected regions.
When Flurry ranked countries by taking the total amount of time users spend in their apps worldwide and dividing it by the total percentage of apps they developed, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, and Slovenia each had an "impact rating" approaching that of the US.
But there was one standout winner on the impact scale, and that was Finland. The Scandinavian nation's impact rating was four times higher than that of the US, despite having 1/59 the population and a language with fewer native speakers than the population of New York City.
Nobody knows how to engage mobile users like the Finns and their fuming fowl
It's tempting to pontificate about why this might be. Finland's population is relatively tech-savvy, you might say, and Espoo, Finland–based Nokia once dominated the mobile phone industry. But no; Flurry measured none of those factors.
Based on Flurry's metric of user engagement divided by total apps produced, it seems clear that Finland's phenomenal showing in Flurry's stats comes down to the success of one company: Rovio, with its blockbuster family of Angry Birds apps. In March, Forbes reported that gamers had downloaded Angry Birds products a staggering 1.7 billion times and counting.
Flurry notes that other non-US apps have enjoyed similar success, including Russian-made Cut the Rope and Australia's Fruit Ninja.
What makes these breakout successes possible, Flurry argues, is the ease of distribution through Apple's App Store and Google Play, coupled with the exploding market for mobile devices in many parts of the world. The cost of developing mobile apps is low, particularly in developing economies, and the cost of marketing them is far lower than it has been for traditional desktop software.
But the real key to success in the future, Flurry argues, will be to create apps with global reach – by making apps that either can easily be translated into new languages, or that appeal to a wide audience, irrespective of language.
In other words, there's an Angry Birds imbalance in the global app market, and if US developers want to maintain their dominance in the area, they had better start rethinking their audience and how they build their apps. ®


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|Artist: Dawn
|Date Added: July 20, 2009
|Steps: 5
|Favorited: 1 (view)
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Description: How about another awesome tattoo design that is extremely cool and extremely sexy. I wanted to do something different because all you see nowadays are designs that look the same, and they don't change. I know that I already have a tutorial on a flaming heart, but what about a lesson on "how to draw a hot heart step by step". I am calling it a "hot heart" because the eyes are very alluring and inviting, and the lips are very sexy and kissable looking. Not only that but, the heart itself is on flames so I thought that since the heart has a pair of sexy eyes, Jolie lips, and it's engulfed in flames, the one thing to call this design is the hot heart right? That's what I thought. Anyways, this would be a cool tattoo design for a wrist, shoulder, ankle or back. I wouldn't use it on the lower back area for a tattoo design because the position of the heart is kind of slanted or tilted if you will. Either way it is a really cool, sexy looking piece of art whether it be for your body or for your wall, window or cover. All you have to do is follow all the steps to this lesson on "how to draw a hot heart" step by step. I will be back again because I still have two more tutorials to submit. Peace out and happy drawing campers!


text:
Maybe it's because I don't like change, or maybe it's because I hate it when software developers assume that everyone can figure out their cryptic icons, but I wasn't a fan of Gmail's recent makeover.
In particular, I didn't like the switch from simple, straightforward text labels for various buttons to attractive but largely incomprehensible icons.
Here's what Gmail looks like now:
And here's what it looked like before:
Do you miss "before" as much as I do? Then you'll be glad to hear that Google now gives you the option of going back in time, interface-wise.
Just open up Gmail in your browser, click the little gear icon in the upper-right corner, and then click Settings.
With the General tab selected, look for the Button Labels option and click on Text. Scroll down to the bottom, click Save Changes, and you're done!
An Easier Way to Add Files to Your Dropbox Account
For a service with the word "drop" front and center in its name, Dropbox has always been notoriously, annoyingly unsupportive of dragging and dropping to its Web client.
No more. Starting now, you can drag a file from your desktop directly to Dropbox on the Web. No more clicking the upload button, navigating your folders for the file(s) you want, and all that.
In case you've been living under a rock, Dropbox is the cloud-based storage service that easily and automatically syncs files between PCs, portable devices, and the Web. It's insanely popular, and with good reason.
You can get a 2GB Dropbox account free of charge. If you're willing to refer friends (who in turn sign up for their own Dropbox accounts), you can score as much as 16GB of bonus free storage.
This new capability isn't what I'd call major, but it's a long-overdue and welcome addition to the service.
Just sign into your Dropbox account in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are currently the only ones that support drag-and-drop), then drag one or more files or folders from your desktop to that window. Presto: They're uploaded instantly.
If you've got a hassle that needs solving, send it my way. I can't promise a response, but I'll definitely read every e-mail I get--and do my best to address at least some of them in the PCWorld Hassle-Free PC blog. My 411: firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also sign up to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter e-mailed to you each week.


text:
Add vehicles to compare. You can compare up to 3 vehicles at a time.
New and Used price is plus tax, tag/title, $184 private tag agency fee and dealer fee of $999 which includes cost and profit to the dealer for items such as inspecting, cleaning, adjusting vehicles, and preparing documents related to the sale. New price does not include destination. Used prices are plus reconditioning costs if required. All offers are mutually exclusive. All vehicles are subject to prior sale. Internet special pricing is with approved credit through a dealership provided financial source. See dealer for complete details. CONSENT TO RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES By submitting my cell phone number to the Dealership, I agree to receive text messages, and phone calls, which may be recorded and/or sent using automated dialing equipment or software from Gainesville Buick GMC and its affiliates in the future, unless I opt-out from such communications. I understand that my consent to be contacted is not a requirement to purchase any product or service and that I can opt-out at any time. I agree to pay my mobile service providers text messaging rates, if applicable.


text:
'North Pond Hermit' accused of 1,000 Maine burglaries
Christopher Knight, 47, lived alone in woods for 27 years
A Maine legend described as the "North Pond Hermit" has been arrested.
Game wardens and state police said the suspect has robbed more than a 1,000 camps in the last 27 years.
They said Christopher Knight, 47, has been living in the Maine wilderness year round, living off the items he stole.
He was arrested last week while police said he was stealing from a camp for disabled children and adults in the town of Rome.
A game warden said he found Knight breaking into a building.
"He sort of ramped it up here recently and he's been breaking in here and opening these doors," said Pine Tree Camp facilities manager Harvey Chelsey.
"The surveillance equipment let the game warden know he'd opened this door and he only lives less than a mile away so he was here in three minutes."
Chelsey said Knight broke into the camp dozens of times. The night he was caught, Knight had Chelsey's father's watch in his backpack. The backpack also belonged to the camp.
"You couldn't leave anything at camp because it was open game to him. He used us like his local Walmart," said Chelsey.
State officials said the North Pond Hermit was considered a myth because no one had ever seen him. But when Sgt. Terry Hughes arrested Knight, he said he had no idea how far or how much the hermit's crimes went.
"We stepped out around a rock and a tree and then all of a sudden we were standing in an encampment," said Hughes.
Knight told officials everything he owned was stolen, except the glasses on his face. Officials said he has stolen from camps for the last 27 years -- ever since he disappeared.
Officials said there was no missing person's report, that they know of, when Knight left the "real world" at just 19 years old.
"He just decided to take off into the woods. He's telling us there's no reason for it, just something he decided to do," said Diane Vance with Maine State Police.
Police said he would only steal at night and never in the winter because he didn't want to leave tracks in the snow.
"He knew how far he could travel in the darkness and he wouldn't go beyond that," said Hughes.
Knight appears to have phenomenal survivor skills. He never lit a fire for warmth, even during the winter, surviving with multiple sleeping bags and gaining weight in the fall. He didn't hunt or fish -- he just stole.
"He was adamant he wouldn't burglarize a home because of people. He doesn't want to be caught and he doesn't want to be around people," said Hughes.
After his arrest, Chelsey said he realized he and his wife went to high school with Knight, but neither remember him. He said he was angry until he spoke with Knight. Now he's just relieved the break-ins will stop.
"He said, 'I'm sorry for all the harm I've caused' and he said it in a monotone kind of voice, but I knew he was serious about it," said Chelsey.
Knight is being held at the Kennebec County Jail on $5,000 bond. Officials said he's only been arrested for the Pine Tree Camp burglary. They are investigating how many others he could be charged with.


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Total Protein of different Tissues of Different Species. Click on Ecah Image for Enlargment
Zyagen offers high quality ready to use total protein of pig tissues. Tissues are freshly dissected and homogenized in protein lysis buffer supplemented with a cocktail of 7 mamalian protease inhibitors to minimize proteolysis. The extracted proteins are precisely quantified, and packed in 1.5-ml tubes at a concentration of 5mg/ml. Protein is stable for one year if stored properly at -80oC.
The quality of protein as indicated by the absence of smear (no degradation) and sharpness and resolution of the protein bands is verified by denatured SDS-PAGE with Coomassie blue staining. The integrity of protein is tested by immunoblotting using specific beta-actin antibody.
The extracted protein is provided in vials at a concentration of 5mg/ml and and ready for immediate use in reporter assays (e.g., luciferase, beta-galactosidase, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase), protein kinase assays (e.g., PKA, PKC, tyrosine kinase), immunoassays (e.g., Western blots, ELISAs, RIAs) and/or protein purification procedures, immunoprecipitation, SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing gels and SDS-capillary electrophoresis, enzymatic activity analysis, gel shifting assay, and protein-protein interaction. Protein can also be provided in denatured SDS Sample buffer for only Western blotting use. Protein can also be provided in denatured SDS Sample buffer for Western blotting.
Custom Services: Zyagen also offers custom services for isolation of total protein of any tissue not listed below or of any other species. Contact Zyagen technical support for more information at firstname.lastname@example.com or at 858 546 0720.


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Welcome to our online store. We know you are concerned about your privacy and to comply with our customers, we are providing this Privacy Policy to let you know what kind of information we collect and how it is used, and how some of the data that you have provided us access.
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We collect personal information from you when you include this information voluntarily send to our website, this information can be your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, gender, date of birth and other payment data, including the website cookies.
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To better serve you, we may combine information you online with us. We use this information to enhance your shopping experience. The information we collect enables us to keep you informed of our new products and special events. It also helps us to improve our services, content and advertising. If you do not want to be on our mailing list, you can choose at any time by updating your preferences. We may use the information for internal purposes such as monitoring, use data analysis and research to improve our products, services and customer communication.
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Ohio Northern survived an upset bid by Otterbein, setting up an interesting conundrum for the people who like to play comparative scores.
Ohio Northern athletics photo
If you like playing the comparative scores game, you know, where X beat Y by 3 and Y beat Z by 3, therefore X would beat Z. But just try to wrap your mind around the direct correlation between Ohio Northern and Gallaudet, each of whom played Otterbein at home and went to overtime. Or figure out what to make of Hardin-Simmons … beating Willamette … which lost a close game to UW-Stevens Point … which got shut down by UW-Platteville … etc.
It gets even more complicated. Thankfully Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman can make at least some sense of it in this week's Around the Nation Podcast.
You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast
Plus, thanks for helping grow our D3reports. These will also appear on the front page on Monday afternoon.


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Russian striker Alexander Shlemenko (39-7 MMA, 4-1 BFC) will welcome Croatian banger Zelg Galesic (10-5 MMA, 0-0 BFC) to the Bellator Fighting Championships cage.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that Shlemenko and Galesic have verbally agreed to meet at Bellator 50. Bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.
Although Bellator officials have yet to announce any contests for the event, Bellator 50 takes place Sept. 17 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The night's main card airs on MTV2. Galesic vs. Shlemenko is expected to feature on the broadcast.
Galesic recently snapped a two-fight losing streak with a first-round knockout win over Lee Chadwick following a 16-month layoff while recovering from injury. Galesic had previously dropped back-to-back fights to Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba and current Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.
In 15 career fights, Galesic has fought out of the first round just once and has never had a bout go to a decision.
Meanwhile, Shlemenko has proven victorious in nine of his past 10 outings. "Storm" debuted for the promotion in April 2010 and promptly dispatched of Bryan Baker, Jared Hess and Matt Major to claim Bellator's season-two tournament crown. Shlemenko then came up short in a hard-fought, 25-minute decision loss to Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard.
At just 27 years old, Shlemenko is nearing 50 fights in his career, and he's already claimed 24 career knockout victories.
For more on Bellator 50, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Zelg Galesic)


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SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
versión On-line ISSN 2078-5135
versión impresa ISSN 0256-9574
SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. vol.98 no.4 Pretoria abr. 2008
What did it cost to get you here?
J V Larsen
181Amberfield Private Bag X010 Howick 3290 firstname.lastname@example.com
To the Editor: J is a 29-year-old rural Zulu man, tall and muscular, intelligent and stoical. In July 2007, he developed difficulty in walking, which progressed over the next few weeks. His family gathered the funds to pay for him to go to the nearest district hospital in Pietermaritzburg, where he was found to have a neurological defect in his legs, and to be HIV-positive. An appointment was made for an MRI scan in the nearby tertiary unit, and he was also given an appointment to return to the hospital with the result. He was sent home because of the pressure on beds.
He kept his MRI scan appointment, but the family had used up all their money by then, partly because his sister had stopped work to nurse him (she was the main breadwinner), so he could not keep his follow-up appointment. They managed to gather the funds together by the end of November. J now had a flaccid paraplegia with no sensation below his T6 dermatome, large pressure sores, and clinical signs of pulmonary tuberculosis. When his MRI scan was retrieved, it showed multiple subdural abscesses and a psoas abscess. His paraplegia is now probably irreversible.
Were J and his family stupid? It is true that he did not properly understand the explanation of his probable pathology given at his first visit, but he was willing to co-operate nonetheless. I submit that it was not J who was stupid, but carers and a system of care that does not listen to patients and has never taken the trouble to find out what it means to be poor and sick in a rural environment. No one asked him: 'How far away do you live? What did it cost to get you here?' - not at the first visit, or when the scan showed pathology requiring urgent intervention. Assumptions were made based on the conveniences of city life. So a management plan that would have been acceptable in a city failed utterly.
Rural poor often live with such limited resources that carers are given just one opportunity to hit the target. Miss that at the first visit through a failure to listen and empathise, and the result can be catastrophic; which, as in this case, can pull a whole family yet deeper into poverty.


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Click the map and join a local coalition or start one!
NMG Among Signatories to Letter Opposing CIA Provision in IAA
A provision in the Senate version of the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) would enhance secrecy of CIA actions, making oversight, whistleblowing, and journalist reporting even more difficult. No More Guantanamos is among the signatories to a letter drafted by Open the Government to remove the provision, which is not within the House bill.
Long-awaited Report by North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture Released
6000 Days of Guantanamo Prison
June 15, 2018, marks 6,000 days of unjust imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay Prison.
Human Rights Coalition Blasts CIA Torturer as Trump's Pick for CIA Head
Read the March 15, 2018, statement by rights groups, including No More Guantanamos, condemning the appointment of Gina Haskel to head the CIA, due to her involvement in torture and destroying torture evidence while heading the CIA's "black site" in Thailand.
Support the Report of NC Commission of Inquiry on Torture
Over two days, the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry heard from 19 witnesses. Watch video of the proceedings here. NCCIT needs financial support to compile the testimony into a report documenting CIA torture. They welcome your gift of any size. Read more here.
Forever Human Beings
Join Witness Against Torture in its new campaign to close Guantanamo, where 40 men, including men who have been cleared for release, are being held indefinitely.
Witness to Guantanamo
This new website features interviews with former prisoners now living in 20 countries. It is the work of Peter Jan Honigsberg of the University of San Francisco Law School. Read about the project in this article.
The Miami Herald's Guantánamo Periodic Review Guide provides an updated list of the men and their current status. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, author of Guantanamo Diary, returned to his native Mauritania on October 17, 2016.
Expose Guantanamo through Public Readings of Guantánamo Diary
Put on a local public reading of excerpts from Mohamedou Ould Slahi's Guantánamo Diary. Find scripts and suggestions for your local reading here.
The Senate CIA Torture Report is here.
It's time for the American people to stop believing false claims that 'torture works'. And besides, even if it did work, that does not justify using it.
The situation
The Bush administration created the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, a prison at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, and other offshore prisons as "law-free zones" that it believed were exempt from U.S. and international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the nearly 800-year-old writ of habeas corpus. The U.S. Supreme Court disagrees.
Be part of the solution
- Engage the public in a fact-based dialogue about the planned closure of Guantánamo Bay prison and U.S. detainee policy
- Transform prisoners' images in the U.S. from faceless, nameless "terrorists" to human beings who deserve human rights and a presumption of innocence until proven guilty
- Use prisoners' stories to overcome unfounded fears of prisoners in your community
- New videos include a March 30 conversation on U.S. detention policies featuring Pardiss Kebriaei of the Center for Constitutional Rights and Michael Sullivan of Ashcroft Sullivan, and weekly vigils of the Des Moines Anti-Torture Collective.
- Show the remaining prisoners that the world has not forgotten them. Write a letter or send a card today.
- Updated toolkit to support grassroots public education about the planned closure of Guantánamo Bay prison, using prisoners' stories to overcome musunderstandings about the prisoners.
- Bagram Prison annotated list of prisoners compiled by Andy Worthington.
There are 40 detainees still at Guantánamo Bay prison; about half were cleared of any connection to terrorism years ago.
The prison at Bagram air force base in Afghanistan currently holds more than 1,500 detainees.


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With tickets already secured for the second day of Canada Reads 2018, I want to try to read as many books on the short-list as possible before March! This year's theme is: One Book to Open Eyes.
Precious Cargo is a memoir of a young man's temporary job as a bus driver for special needs kids. Davidson's book is inspirational and funny. He is honest about his initial fear at spending so much time with a bus full of students with so many physical and emotional challenges, and admits he took the job just because he needed the money. But Davidson's journey ended up being much more significant than the drive to school and back. Those kids taught him about 'self-acceptance', a lesson he needed to learn to have the courage to be a writer after all.
I applaud this story because our society needs to support those who have special needs and not to stigmatize them. So many amazing people and their families achieve great things against the odds despite a special need of some kind. And yet those kids want to be treated just like any other kid.
Although I appreciated Davidson's journey and commend his compassionate approach to his job and the entertaining way he tells us about his year on the bus, what I did find disappointing was not hearing from the kids themselves. It was a story about them, not from them. So even though I struggled a bit with the book being more Davidson's journey than the kids' journey, I'm glad those with special needs will have a voice at the Canada Reads 2018 table. Let Canada's eyes be opened to this very important topic and our behaviour as a society. Let acceptance and support be what opens our eyes!


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Yesterday, I had a chance to play a whole bunch of Kid Icarus: Uprising, the upcoming shoot-em-up for Nintendo's 3DS handheld. My impressions are here.
In this trailer, you'll get a sense of the fast-paced combat from the game, with protagonist Pit facing off against a Space-Kraken, Space-Pirates, and even the "dark" version of himself.
You'll also get a taste of the goofy, endearing/annoying banter and voice-acting that runs through the game. While this footage is in 2D, rest assured that it looks good in 3D and particularly good on the 3DS' screen.


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FERPA Online Library
|MS Word (31 KB)
August 13, 2004
Dear Parent:
This responds to your May 13, 2004 letter, and July 26, 2004, follow-up letter asking for guidance on provisions in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, that govern a parent's opportunity to seek amendment of the education records of a special education student. The Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) administers FERPA and implementing regulations found at 34 CFR Part 99. These records are also subject to the Confidentiality of Information regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) found at 34 CFR §§ 300.560-300.577. Part B of the IDEA is a Federal program administered by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This letter has been prepared in consultation with OSEP.
Question #1: Section 99.21 of the FERPA regulations, 34 CFR § 99.21, provides that an educational agency or institution must give a parent the opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of the student's education records on the grounds that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the privacy rights of the student. You asked whether the educational agency or institution can bypass this type of hearing and instead require the parent to proceed directly to a due process hearing before a state administrative law judge under state special education regulations.
Part B regulations at 34 CFR § 300.568 provide the same opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of education records as provided in § 99.21 of the FERPA regulations. 34 CFR §300.568 provides that a public agency shall, "on request, provide an opportunity for a hearing to challenge information in education records to ensure that it is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the child." 34 CFR §300.570 further provides that a hearing held under 34 CFR § 300.568 must be conducted according to the hearing procedures contained in § 99.22 of the FERPA regulations.
This right is not unlimited, however, and a school is not required by FERPA to afford a parent the right to seek to change substantive decisions made by school officials, such as grades or other evaluations, including decisions regarding special education students. The primary source of legislative history regarding this provision is contained in the "Joint Statement in Explanation of Buckley/Pell Amendment," Volume 120 of the Congressional Record, pages 39862-39866, which states that it was "not intended to overturn established standards and procedures for the challenge of substantive decisions made by an educational institution." That is, FERPA is intended to require only that educational agencies and institutions conform to fair recordkeeping practices and not to override accepted standards and procedures for making academic assessments, disciplinary rulings, placement determinations, and other evaluations. Accordingly, the right to seek amendment of education records cannot be used to challenge a grade or evaluation unless it has been inaccurately recorded.
A hearing on the amendment of records under 34 CFR §300.568 is a separate hearing procedure from the impartial due process hearing under Part B of the IDEA. Part B provides that a parent or public agency may initiate a due process hearing on matters relating to identification, evaluation, or educational placement, and provision of a free appropriate public education. 34 CFR §300.507(a). As such, if a parent requests that information in a student's records be amended and the public agency refuses to amend the information in accordance with the request, a public agency may not bypass a parent's right to a hearing under 34 CFR §300.568, which is governed by FERPA, and require the parent to request an impartial due process hearing under 34 CFR §300.507(a). Questions involving a violation of FERPA requirements regarding education records are not within the jurisdiction of a hearing officer in a due process hearing convened pursuant to 34 CFR §300.507(a) of the IDEA.
Question #2: Section 99.22(c) of the FERPA regulations, 34 CFR § 99.22(c), provides that a hearing on amendment of education records "may be conducted by any individual, including an official of the educational agency or institution, who does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing." You asked if this requirement is permissive or mandatory, and whether there are any guidelines to help ensure an unbiased and disinterested outcome. You expressed particular concern whether a hearing on amendment of education records may be conducted by the supervisor or a colleague of the school official who made the initial decision not to amend the student's records.
The requirement in section 99.22(c) is mandatory, not permissive - the hearing official may not have a "direct interest in the outcome of the hearing." While there are no specific guidelines, the legislative history regarding this provision indicates that schools and local districts should have some flexibility in conducting these hearings consistent with a rule of reason. In particular, the Joint Statement in Explanation of Buckley/Pell Amendment as recorded at page 39864 of the December 13, 1974 Congressional Record states:
The law is not specific concerning the format, procedure, or mechanism for the conduct of such a hearing at the local level. It is the intent of the sponsors of these amendments that again a rule of reason would be followed by those participants involved. Since the hearing is to be conducted at the local level, a detailed specification of procedures cannot be drawn that could possibly apply to each of the thousands of school districts and colleges across the nation.... In some cases, a school district might wish to offer the parent a hearing at the district level; in other instances, disputes about the content of records might be better handled at the local school level. It is not the intent of the amendment to burden schools with onerous hearing procedures.
We believe that section 99.22(c) does not require automatic disqualification of any employee or official of the school or agency that makes an initial decision not to amend education records. However, a rule of reason approach suggests that the deciding official in a section 99.22(c) hearing on amendment of education records must be someone who does not have a personal or professional interest that would conflict with his or her objectivity in the hearing. Reason suggests that ordinarily a school or agency would not assign as hearing officer either the individual who determined not to amend education records or someone who is in a direct reporting or close collegial relationship with that individual.
Question #3: Section 99.21(b) of the FERPA regulations provides that if an educational agency or institution decides against amending an education record as a result of a hearing, it must inform the parent of the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information or stating why the parent disagrees with the decision. You asked whether section 99.21(c) requires the agency or institution to place the parent's statements directly with each contested part of the record, or whether the statements may simply be placed together in the most recent dated folder with the understanding that the parent's statement will be made available when the contested parts of the record are reviewed.
Section 99.21(c) provides that an educational agency or institution must:
(1) Maintain the statement with the contested part of the record for as long as the record is maintained; and
(2) Disclose the statement whenever it discloses the portion of the record to which the statement relates.
The requirement is stated in plain and unambiguous language that the parent's statement must be maintained with each part of the record that is contested. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that the parent's statement is disclosed whenever a contested portion of the student's record is reviewed or disclosed. That purpose may easily be circumvented, even unintentionally, if parental statements are placed away from the contested parts of a student's records, especially when records are complex or voluminous. Therefore, it is our opinion that separate statements contesting various parts of a student's education record may not be placed together in a single location.
Question #4: You noted that section 99.60(c) of the FERPA regulations identifies the Office of Administrative Law Judges as the Review Board for enforcement purposes and asked whether this refers to the state administrative law judges that administer due process hearings.
Section 99.60(c) refers to Federal administrative law judges at the U.S. Department of Education and not state administrative law judges responsible for conducting an impartial due process hearing pursuant to 34 CFR §300.507. FPCO enforces the requirements for a hearing under section 99.21 of the FERPA regulations.
I trust that this responds to your inquiries.
LeRoy S. Rooker
Family Policy Compliance Office
cc: Stephanie Smith Lee, Director
Office of Special Education Programs


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Penny Markley has been painting for over thirty years. Her subjects are most often Maine landscapes, both coastal and inland as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She also enjoys painting subjects inspired by the trips she and her husband have taken.
Her work has been accepted by many juried shows and is in numerous private collections in Maine and out-of-state. She has most recently been painting in acrylic and oil.
Penny's work may also be seen at Art Collector Maine


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Rx drug information, pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, news, and more
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from oral-contraceptive use. This risk increases with age and with the extent of smoking (in epidemiologic studies,15 or more cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly increased risk) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age. Women who use oral contraceptives should be strongly advised not to smoke.
The use of oral contraceptives is associated with increased risks of several serious conditions including venous and arterial thrombotic and thromboembolic events (such as myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, and stroke), hepatic neoplasia, gallbladder disease, and hypertension, although the risk of serious morbidity or mortality is very small in healthy women without underlying risk factors. The risk of morbidity and mortality increases significantly in the presence of other underlying risk factors such as certain inherited or acquired thrombophilias, hypertension, hyperlipidemias, obesity, and diabetes.
Practitioners prescribing oral contraceptives should be familiar with the following information relating to these risks.
The information contained in this package insert is based principally on studies carried out in patients who used oral contraceptives with higher formulations of estrogens and progestogens than those in common use today. The effect of long-term use of the oral contraceptives with lower formulations of both estrogens and progestogens remains to be determined.
Throughout this labeling, epidemiological studies reported are of two types: retrospective or case control studies and prospective or cohort studies. Case control studies provide a measure of the relative risk of disease, namely, a ratio of the incidence of a disease among oral-contraceptive users to that among nonusers. The relative risk does not provide information on the actual clinical occurrence of a disease. Cohort studies provide a measure of attributable risk, which is the difference in the incidence of disease between oral-contraceptive users and nonusers. The attributable risk does provide information about the actual occurrence of a disease in the population. For further information, the reader is referred to a text on epidemiological methods.
An increased risk of myocardial infarction has been attributed to oral-contraceptive use. This risk is primarily in smokers or women with other underlying risk factors for coronary-artery disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, morbid obesity, and diabetes. The relative risk of heart attack for current oral-contraceptive users has been estimated to be two to six. The risk is very low under the age of 30.
Smoking in combination with oral-contraceptive use has been shown to contribute substantially to the incidence of myocardial infarctions in women in their mid-thirties or older with smoking accounting for the majority of excess cases. Mortality rates associated with circulatory disease have been shown to increase substantially in smokers over the age of 35 and nonsmokers over the age of 40 (Table II) among women who use oral contraceptives.
Oral contraceptives may compound the effects of well-known risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemias, age, and obesity. In particular, some progestogens are known to decrease HDL cholesterol and cause glucose intolerance, while estrogens may create a state of hyperinsulinism. Oral contraceptives have been shown to increase blood pressure among users (see section 9 in Warnings). Similar effects on risk factors have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Oral contraceptives must be used with caution in women with cardiovascular disease risk factors.
An increased risk of venous thromboembolic and thrombotic disease associated with the use of oral contraceptives is well established. Case control studies have found the relative risk of users compared to nonusers to be 3 for the first episode of superficial venous thrombosis, 4 to 11 for deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, and 1.5 to 6 for women with predisposing conditions for venous thromboembolic disease. Cohort studies have shown the relative risk to be somewhat lower, about 3 for new cases and about 4.5 for new cases requiring hospitalization. The approximate incidence of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in users of low dose (<50µg ethinyl estradiol) combination oral contraceptives is up to 4 per 10,000 woman-years compared to 0.5-3 per 10,000 woman-years for non-users. However, the incidence is substantially less than that associated with pregnancy (6 per 10,000 woman-years). The risk of thromboembolic disease due to oral contraceptives is not related to length of use and disappears after pill use is stopped.
A two- to four-fold increase in relative risk of postoperative thromboembolic complications has been reported with the use of oral contraceptives. The relative risk of venous thrombosis in women who have predisposing conditions is twice that of women without such medical conditions. If feasible, oral contraceptives should be discontinued at least four weeks prior to and for two weeks after elective surgery of a type associated with an increase in risk of thromboembolism and during and following prolonged immobilization. Since the immediate postpartum period is also associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism, oral contraceptives should be started no earlier than four to six weeks after delivery in women who elect not to breast-feed, or a midtrimester pregnancy termination.
Oral contraceptives have been shown to increase both the relative and attributable risks of cerebrovascular events (thrombotic and hemorrhagic strokes), although, in general, the risk is greatest among older (>35 years), hypertensive women who also smoke. Hypertension was found to be a risk factor for both users and nonusers, for both types of strokes, while smoking interacted to increase the risk for hemorrhagic strokes.
In a large study, the relative risk of thrombotic strokes has been shown to range from 3 for normotensive users to 14 for users with severe hypertension. The relative risk of hemorrhagic stroke is reported to be 1.2 for nonsmokers who used oral contraceptives, 2.6 for smokers who did not use oral contraceptives, 7.6 for smokers who used oral contraceptives, 1.8 for normotensive users, and 25.7 for users with severe hypertension. The attributable risk is also greater in older women. Oral contraceptives also increase the risk for stroke in women with other underlying risk factors such as certain inherited or acquired thrombophilias, hyperlipidemias, and obesity. Women with migraine (particularly migraine with aura) who take combination oral contraceptives may be at an increased risk of stroke.
A positive association has been observed between the amount of estrogen and progestogen in oral contraceptives and the risk of vascular disease. A decline in serum high-density lipoproteins (HDL) has been reported with many progestational agents. A decline in serum high-density lipoproteins has been associated with an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease. Because estrogens increase HDL cholesterol, the net effect of an oral contraceptive depends on a balance achieved between doses of estrogen and progestogen and the nature and absolute amount of progestogen used in the contraceptive. The amount of both hormones should be considered in the choice of an oral contraceptive.
Minimizing exposure to estrogen and progestogen is in keeping with good principles of therapeutics. For any particular estrogen/progestogen combination, the dosage regimen prescribed should be one which contains the least amount of estrogen and progestogen that is compatible with a low failure rate and the needs of the individual patient. New acceptors of oral-contraceptive agents should be started on preparations containing less than 50 mcg of estrogen.
There are two studies which have shown persistence of risk of vascular disease for ever-users of oral contraceptives. In a study in the United States, the risk of developing myocardial infarction after discontinuing oral contraceptives persists for at least 9 years for women 40 to 49 years who had used oral contraceptives for five or more years, but this increased risk was not demonstrated in other age groups. In another study in Great Britain, the risk of developing cerebrovascular disease persisted for at least 6 years after discontinuation of oral contraceptives, although excess risk was very small. However, both studies were performed with oral-contraceptive formulations containing 50 micrograms or higher of estrogens.
One study gathered data from a variety of sources which have estimated the mortality rate associated with different methods of contraception at different ages (Table III). These estimates include the combined risk of death associated with contraceptive methods plus the risk attributable to pregnancy in the event of method failure. Each method of contraception has its specific benefits and risks. The study concluded that with the exception of oral-contraceptive users 35 and older who smoke and 40 and older who do not smoke, mortality associated with all methods of birth control is less than that associated with childbirth. The observation of a possible increase in risk of mortality with age for oral-contraceptive users is based on data gathered in the 1970sbut not reported until 1983. However, current clinical practice involves the use of lower estrogen dose formulations combined with careful restriction of oral-contraceptive use to women who do not have the various risk factors listed in this labeling.
Because of these changes in practice and, also, because of some limited new data which suggest that the risk of cardiovascular disease with the use of oral contraceptives may now be less than previously observed, the Fertility and Maternal Health Drugs Advisory Committee was asked to review the topic in 1989. The Committee concluded that although cardiovascular-disease risks may be increased with oral-contraceptive use after age 40 in healthy nonsmoking women (even with the newer low-dose formulations), there are greater potential health risks associated with pregnancy in older women and with the alternative surgical and medical procedures which may be necessary if such women do not have access to effective and acceptable means of contraception.
Therefore, the Committee recommended that the benefits of oral-contraceptive use by healthy nonsmoking women over 40 may outweigh the possible risks. Of course, older women, as all women who take oral contraceptives, should take the lowest possible dose formulation that is effective.
A meta-analysis from 54 epidemiological studies reported that there is a slightly increased relative risk (RR=1.24) of having breast cancer diagnosed in women who are currently using combination oral contraceptives compared to never-users. The increased risk gradually disappears during the course of the 10 years after cessation of combination oral contraceptive use. These studies do not provide evidence for causation. The observed pattern of increased risk of breast cancer diagnosis may be due to earlier detection of breast cancer in combination oral contraceptive users, the biological effects of combination oral contraceptives, or a combination of both. Because breast cancer is rare in women under 40 years of age, the excess number of breast cancer diagnoses in current and recent combination oral contraceptive users is small in relation to the lifetime risk of breast cancer. Breast cancers diagnosed in ever-users tend to be less advanced clinically than the cancers diagnosed in never-users.
Some studies suggest that oral-contraceptive use has been associated with an increase in the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or invasive cervical cancer in some populations of women. However, there continues to be controversy about the extent to which such findings may be due to differences in sexual behavior and other factors.
In spite of many studies of the relationship between oral-contraceptive use and breast and cervical cancers, a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established.
Benign hepatic adenomas are associated with oral-contraceptive use, although the incidence of benign tumors is rare in the United States. Indirect calculations have estimated the attributable risk to be in the range of 3.3 cases/100,000 for users, a risk that increases after four or more years of use. Rupture of rare, benign, hepatic adenomas may cause death through intra-abdominal hemorrhage.
Studies from Britain have shown an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in long-term (>8 years) oral-contraceptive users. However, these cancers are extremely rare in the U.S., and the attributable risk (the excess incidence) of liver cancers in oral-contraceptive users approaches less than one per million users.
There have been clinical case reports of retinal thrombosis associated with the use of oral contraceptives that may lead to partial or complete loss of vision. Oral contraceptives should be discontinued if there is unexplained partial or complete loss of vision; onset of proptosis or diplopia; papilledema; or retinal vascular lesions. Appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic measures should be undertaken immediately.
Extensive epidemiological studies have revealed no increased risk of birth defects in women who have used oral contraceptives prior to pregnancy. Studies also do not suggest a teratogenic effect, particularly insofar as cardiac anomalies and limb-reduction defects are concerned, when taken inadvertently during early pregnancy (see Contraindications section).
The administration of oral contraceptives to induce withdrawal bleeding should not be used as a test for pregnancy. Oral contraceptives should not be used during pregnancy to treat threatened or habitual abortion.
It is recommended that for any patient who has missed two consecutive periods, pregnancy should be ruled out before continuing oral-contraceptive use. If the patient has not adhered to the prescribed schedule, the possibility of pregnancy should be considered at the time of the first missed period. Oral-contraceptive use should be discontinued if pregnancy is confirmed.
Earlier studies have reported an increased lifetime relative risk of gallbladder surgery in users of oral contraceptives and estrogens. More recent studies, however, have shown that the relative risk of developing gallbladder disease among oral-contraceptive users may be minimal. The recent findings of minimal risk may be related to the use of oral-contraceptive formulations containing lower hormonal doses of estrogens and progestogens.
Oral contraceptives have been shown to cause glucose intolerance in a significant percentage of users. Oral contraceptives containing greater than 75 micrograms of estrogens cause hyperinsulinism, while lower doses of estrogen cause less glucose intolerance. Progestogens increase insulin secretion and create insulin resistance, this effect varying with different progestational agents. However, in the nondiabetic woman, oral contraceptives appear to have no effect on fasting blood glucose. Because of these demonstrated effects, prediabetic and diabetic women should be carefully observed while taking oral contraceptives.
A small proportion of women will have persistent hypertriglyceridemia while on the pill. As discussed earlier (see Warnings, 1a. and 1d.), changes in serum triglycerides and lipoprotein levels have been reported in oral-contraceptive users.
An increase in blood pressure has been reported in women taking oral contraceptives, and this increase is more likely in older oral-contraceptive users and with continued use. Data from the Royal College of General Practitioners and subsequent randomized trials have shown that the incidence of hypertension increases with increasing quantities of progestogens.
Women with a history of hypertension or hypertension-related diseases, or renal disease, should be encouraged to use another method of contraception. If women with hypertension elect to use oral contraceptives, they should be monitored closely, and if significant elevation of blood pressure occurs, oral contraceptives should be discontinued (see Contraindications section). For most women, elevated blood pressure will return to normal after stopping oral contraceptives, and there is no difference in the occurrence of hypertension among ever- and never-users.
The onset or exacerbation of migraine or development of headache with a new pattern that is recurrent, persistent, or severe requires discontinuation of oral contraceptives and evaluation of the cause. (See Warnings, 1c.)
Breakthrough bleeding and spotting are sometimes encountered in patients on oral contraceptives, especially during the first three months of use. The type and dose of progestogen may be important. If bleeding persists or recurs, nonhormonal causes should be considered and adequate diagnostic measures taken to rule out malignancy or pregnancy in the event of breakthrough bleeding, as in the case of any abnormal vaginal bleeding. If pathology has been excluded, time or a change to another formulation may solve the problem. In the event of amenorrhea, pregnancy should be ruled out if the oral contraceptive has not been taken according to directions prior to the first missed withdrawal bleed or if two consecutive withdrawal bleeds have been missed.
Some women may encounter post-pill amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea (possibly with anovulation), especially when such a condition was preexistent.
Patients should be counseled that this product does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.
A periodic personal and family medical history and complete physical examination are appropriate for all women, including women using oral contraceptives. The physical examination, however, may be deferred until after initiation of oral contraceptives if requested by the woman and judged appropriate by the clinician. The physical examination should include special reference to blood pressure, breasts, abdomen and pelvic organs, including cervical cytology, and relevant laboratory tests. In case of undiagnosed, persistent or recurrent abnormal vaginal bleeding, appropriate measures should be conducted to rule out malignancy. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer or who have breast nodules should be monitored with particular care.
Women who are being treated for hyperlipidemias should be followed closely if they elect to use oral contraceptives. Some progestogens may elevate LDL levels and may render the control of hyperlipidemias more difficult. (See Warnings, 1d.)
In patients with familial defects of lipoprotein metabolism receiving estrogen-containing preparations, there have been case reports of significant elevations of plasma triglycerides leading to pancreatitis.
If jaundice develops in any woman receiving such drugs, the medication should be discontinued. Steroid hormones may be poorly metabolized in patients with impaired liver function.
Oral contraceptives may cause some degree of fluid retention. They should be prescribed with caution, and only with careful monitoring, in patients with conditions which might be aggravated by fluid retention.
Patients becoming significantly depressed while taking oral contraceptives should stop the medication and use an alternate method of contraception in an attempt to determine whether the symptom is drug related. Women with a history of depression should be carefully observed and the drug discontinued if depression recurs to a serious degree.
Contact-lens wearers who develop visual changes or changes in lens tolerance should be assessed by an ophthalmologist.
Diarrhea and/or vomiting may reduce hormone absorption.
Interactions between ethinyl estradiol and other substances may lead to decreased or increased serum ethinyl estradiol concentrations. Decreased ethinyl estradiol plasma concentrations may cause an increased incidence of breakthrough bleeding and menstrual irregularities and may possibly reduce efficacy of the combination oral contraceptive.
Reduced ethinyl estradiol concentrations have been associated with concomitant use of substances that induce hepatic microsomal enzymes, such as rifampin, rifabutin, barbiturates, phenylbutazone, phenytoin sodium, griseofulvin, topiramate, some protease inhibitors, modafinil, and possibly St. Johns wort.
Substances that may decrease plasma ethinyl estradiol concentrations by other mechanisms include any substance that reduces gut transit time and certain antibiotics (e.g. ampicillin and other penicillins, tetracyclines) by a decrease of enterohepatic circulation of estrogens.
During concomitant use of ethinyl estradiol containing products and substances that may lead to decreased plasma steroid hormone concentrations, it is recommended that a nonhormonal back-up method of birth control be used in addition to the regular intake of Nordette (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets). If the use of a substance which leads to decreased ethinyl estradiol plasma concentrations is required for a prolonged period of time, combination oral contraceptives should not be considered the primary contraceptive.
After discontinuation of substances that may lead to decreased ethinyl estradiol plasma concentrations, use of a nonhormonal back-up method of birth control is recommended for 7 days. Longer use of a back-up method is advisable after discontinuation of substances that have led to induction of hepatic microsomal enzymes, resulting in decreased ethinyl estradiol concentrations. It may take several weeks until enzyme induction has completely subsided, depending on dosage, duration of use, and rate of elimination of the inducing substance.
Some substances may increase plasma ethinyl estradiol concentrations. These include:
Ethinyl estradiol may interfere with the mechanism of other drugs by inhibiting hepatic microsomal enzymes or by inducing hepatic drug conjugation, particularly glucuronidation. Accordingly, tissue concentrations may be either increased (e.g. cyclosporine, theophylline, corticosteroids) or decreased.
The prescribing information of concomitant medications should be consulted to identify potential interactions.
Certain endocrine- and liver-function tests and blood components may be affected by oral contraceptives:
See Warnings section.
Pregnancy Category X. See Contraindications and Warnings sections.
Small amounts of oral-contraceptive steroids and/or metabolites have been identified in the milk of nursing mothers, and a few adverse effects on the child have been reported, including jaundice and breast enlargement. In addition, combination oral contraceptives given in the postpartum period may interfere with lactation by decreasing the quantity and quality of breast milk. If possible, the nursing mother should be advised not to use combination oral contraceptives but to use other forms of contraception until she has completely weaned her child.
Safety and efficacy of Nordette (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets) have been established in women of reproductive age. Safety and efficacy are expected to be the same for postpubertal adolescents under the age of 16 and users 16 and older. Use of this product before menarche is not indicated.
See Patient Labeling Printed Below.
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The Sydney Private Hospital
63 Victoria Street, Ashfield, 2131, Sydney, NSW, Australia Get Directions Tel + 61 (0) 2 9797 0555
To find out if this facility is included in your cover, take a look at your plan's details by logging into your online area or contact your customer service centre using the number on your insurance card.
Our network of medical facilities offers cashless settlement for in hospital and day-case treatment. Please contact the number on your insurance card for pre-authorisation of in-patient and day-case treatment.


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'Toy Story 4' boycotted due to lesbian parenting scene
You might have missed it, but One Million Moms (1MM) sure didn't.
The anti-LGBT+ evangelical group is boycotting the fourth instalment of the beloved Disney movie franchise, Toy Story, because of two short scenes that feature a lesbian couple dropping a child off at school and later picking the child up for a hug, Pink News reports.
In light of the "dangerous" movie scene, 1MM has started a campaign boycotting the film called "Disney Blindsides Families with Lesbian Scene in Toy Story 4."
"So many families probably plan on seeing this movie if they haven't already and will be blindsided by this subtle but obvious promotion of the LGBTQ lifestyle," Monica Cole, spokesperson for 1MM said in the campaign's statement.
The campaign includes a petition people can sign meant to demonstrate the distrust they feel towards Disney because of the scene. It currently has close to 13,000 signatures.
In explaining why the move blindsides viewers, Cole noted, "The scene is subtle in order to desensitize children. But it is obvious that the child has two mothers, and they are parenting together."
"Disney has decided once again to be politically correct versus providing family-friendly entertainment," adding "Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda and exposing children to controversial topics."
This isn't the first time 1MM has taken issue with a scene featuring a same-sex couple, as they called for Arthur, a PBS show, to be canceled after it depicted a same-sex wedding.


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My friend Miriam Kairey can not only professionally trace your family history back at least ten generations, but she can also teach us all how to roast the perfect kosher turkey for Thanksgiving. She is a gourmet cook and is author of the cookbook Positively Passover. She makes Syrian "kaak" regularly and is committed to preserving the art of cooking Syrian Jewish Cuisine. Although Thanksgiving turkey is not exactly a Syrian main dish, Miriam has perfected her turkey roasting technique and I asked her to share it with all of us Jewish Hostesses! Thanks Miriam!!
"Thanksgiving is a big deal in the Kairey house. It is a great opportunity to invite family and friends who live too far to walk over on Jewish Holy Days. On this day we set aside the rich culinary tradition of the Syrian Jews in favor of delicious dishes that are quintessentially American. The key to capturing the essence of these flavors is to use an abundant supply of fresh herbs including parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, just like the Simon and Garfunkel song.
There is no shortage of Thanksgiving recipes on the web. Besides The Jewish Hostess, I also recommend Martha Stewart as a reliable source. Just be sure to add plenty of chopped parsley and sage leaves to your stuffing, and sprinkle rosemary leaves on top of your sweet potatoes before cooking. Reserve the stems to use when making turkey stock.
When it comes to roasting a succulent turkey, twenty years of trial and error have made me an expert. My recipe combines the flavors of garlic and thyme, but neither overwhelm the delicious taste of the bird. If you do not already have one, invest in a large roasting pan with cover (check out Granite Ware 18-Inch Covered Oval Roaster from Amazon.)
A foil roaster will deliver a turkey that takes longer to roast and is drier. Make sure you have a meat thermometer (check out Taylor Elite 602 Meat Roasting Thermometer from Amazon).
Take the turkey out of the oven the minute it is cooked, otherwise the breast dries out and shreds when you try to carve it.
If you purchase a frozen turkey, put it in the fridge to defrost on Sunday or Monday, clean and season it on Wednesday, and it will be ready to stuff and roast on Thanksgiving day.
Enjoy! Miriam."
Roast Turkey
- 12 to 16 lb turkey
- 1 ½ heads garlic cloves peeled
- 2 Tbs. Paprika
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 to 4 Tbs. Oil
- 4 Onions sliced into discs
- 7 bay leaves
- Large bunch fresh Thyme, leaves attached to stems
- You will also need:
- Roasting bag
- Roaster with cover
- Meat thermometer
- Turkey baster
The day before Thanksgiving, make a paste of garlic, paprika, salt, pepper and oil in a food processor . Rub completely over turkey inside and out. Lift the skin on the breast and rub the paste underneath the skin directly onto the breast. Tuck several bay leaves under skin as well. If turkey is not completely defrosted yet don't worry. Put turkey in an oven bag and scatter remaining bay leaves, onion and thyme (stems included) all around the bird. Close bag and refrigerate overnight.
Thanksgiving day heat oven to 325. Calculate 20 minutes per pound, and you will arrive at the approximate roasting time. Then you can decide what time you need to put the turkey in the oven. With turkey still in bag place stuffing inside the cavity of turkey. Twist bag closed put in roaster and cover. It cover does not close completely its ok, because the turkey is in a bag.
Once roasting is well under way, I remove turkey from oven every 20 minutes or so, unwrap the bag, and baste turkey. About 1 hour from finish time I cut away the bag so the turkey can get a golden brown color. Now you will want to start checking the temperature by inserting meat thermometer between the thigh and breast, but not touching the bone. When temp reaches 165, remove bird from oven. It will continue to cook even after leaving oven. Discard Thyme. Wait 20 minutes, carve and serve immediately.
Serve with fresh Cranberry Relish:
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 navel orange, peeled
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated.
Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Do not puree.


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- Apine peaks and sparkling lakes
- Elegant villas and gardens
- Lake Orta, Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, and Lake Como
- Travel by boat and cog railway
- Walk on stony mountain paths (Hiking boots are recommended).
The spectacular Italian Lakes, a long-time favorite haunt of the rich and famous, is our home for this seven-day trip. Walking alpine peaks and mountain trails, lakeside paths and flower-filled meadows, we discover a world beyond the society glamour, one filled with dainty plants, elegant Renaissance villas, marble cathedrals and vintage railways. Cruise across Lake Orta to admire San Giulio Island's Monastery. At Lake Maggiore we explore the Borromean Islands and the Palace. From Lugano we travel by private boat and cog railway to Monte Generoso, where we eat lunch in a rustic mountain hut before descending to Lake Como. This is a great escape to a peaceful and stunningly beautiful part of Italy.
Sunday Overnight: Hotel San Rocco
Monday Overnight: Hotel San Rocco
Tuesday Overnight: Hotel La Palma
Wednesday Overnight: Swiss Diamond Hotel
Thursday Overnight: Hotel Royal Victoria
Friday Overnight: Hotel Royal Victoria
(Single Supplement US $795.00)
Departure: Varenna Rail Station or Milano Malpensa Airport
Hotels - Where we stay
Hotel San Rocco
A superior First Class hotel located on the fairy-like Lake Orta, the San Rocco was converted from a 17th century convent. The interior has a charming historic atmosphere. The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool and terrace, full service spa, piano bar and award winning restaurant. All rooms have a private bathroom, refrigerator/mini-bar, hair dryer, a safe for valuables, television, phone, and an extra phone jack for Internet access.
Website: http://www.hotelsanrocco.it
Hotel La Palma
Hotel La Palma is surrounded by a large flowered garden, located in a quite and central position on 'Stresa' lakeside. Recently refurbished, all rooms have private bath with jacuzzi, shower, hair dryer, 2 telephones, radio, satellite TV, safe, mini-bar, air conditioning and terrace. Suites, Junior suites and connecting rooms available on request. The rooms, stylish restaurant, fitness room, swimming pool and private beach make this an ideal place to relax.
Website: http://www.hlapalma.it
Swiss Diamond Hotel
This exclusive hotel has a stunning position on the shore of Lake Lugano and is surrounded by majestic Alpine peaks. The hotel spa offers a wide range of relaxing treatments and facilities include a large indoor pool, sauna, solarium, Turkish Bath, hammam and outdoor pool on the lakeside. Bedrooms are elegantly furnished featuring Persian carpets, Venetian crystals and refined paintings. They have every modern comfort including LCD TV, safety box, minibar, Wi-Fi internet connection and air conditioning. The luxurious ensuite bathroom includes shower, bidet and plush bathrobes. The hotels chefs are passionate about producing the finest contemporary Italian cuisine using the freshest local ingredients.
Website: http://www.swissdiamondhotel.com
Hotel Royal Victoria
The clue to the most illustrious guest of this hotel is in the name: In 1838 Queen Victoria herself stayed here. In the heart of beautiful Varenna and on the shores of Lake Como, once a spinning mill the hotel has retained its 19th century charm while providing all the modern comforts. Manicured gardens lead to a swimming pool and sun terrace, with access to a small shingle beach. The ferry to Bellagio departs from a dock just 550 yards away. The 43 bedrooms are each decorated with care and equipped with air conditioning, telephone, satellite TV, hairdryer, private bathroom, safe and minibar. Enjoy a variety of local, national and international cuisine in either the lakeside Gourmet Restaurant with its charming terrace, or in the relaxed atmosphere of the grill restaurant, watching the bustle of the town square.
Website: http://royalvictoria.com/1/1/EN/Home_page.htm
Start planning your trip
What Is Included in the Price of My Vacation
- Full-time services of two staff - a Walk Leader and Walk Manager
- A backup vehicle for resting walkers and moving luggage
- Comprehensive Travel Information Package and Reading List
- Diverse itineraries with an emphasis on history, geography, culture, peoples, flora and fauna
- Demonstrations, wine tasting, admissions to museums and historic sites
- All ground transfers (ferries, cable cars, trains, etc.)
- Maps and unique souvenirs to commemorate your trip
- First-class accommodations with cultural and historical interest
- All meals - with choices - (Special dietary requirements? No problem!)
- Wine with dinner
- On-trail snacks and refreshments
- All gratuities at hotels and restaurants


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Trisomy Xq28
Disease definition
Distal Xq duplications refer to chromosomal disorders resulting from involvement of the long arm of the X chromosome (Xq). Clinical manifestations vary widely depending on the gender of the patient and on the gene content of the duplicated segment. The prevalence of Xq duplications remains unknown.
ORPHA:1762Classification level: Disorder
About 40 cases of Xq28 functional disomy due to cytogenetically visible rearrangements, and about 50 cases of cryptic duplications encompassing the MECP2 gene have been reported (intellectual deficit-progressive spasticity, X-linked; see this term).
Clinical description
The most frequently reported distal duplications involve the Xq28 segment and yield a recognizable phenotype including distinctive facial features (premature closure of the fontanels or a ridged metopic suture, a broad face with full cheeks, epicanthal folds, large ears, a small and open mouth, ear anomalies, a pointed nose, an abnormal palate and facial hypotonia), major axial hypotonia, severe developmental delay, severe feeding difficulties, abnormal genitalia and susceptibility to infections.
Xq duplications may be caused either by an intrachromosomal duplication or by an unbalanced X/Y or X/autosome translocation. In XY males, structural X disomy always results in functional disomy. In females, failure of X chromosome dosage compensation could result from a variety of mechanisms, including an unfavorable pattern of inactivation, a breakpoint separating an X segment from the X-inactivation centre in cis, or a small ring chromosome. The MECP2 gene in Xq28 is the most important dosage-sensitive gene responsible for the abnormal phenotype in duplications of distal Xq.
Diagnostic methods
Diagnosis is based on clinical features and is confirmed by CGH array techniques.
Differential diagnosis
Differential diagnoses include Prader-Willi syndrome and Alpha thalassaemia-mental retardation, X linked (ATR-X) syndrome (see these terms).
Antenatal diagnosis
Prenatal diagnosis is performed by cytogenetic testing including FISH and/or DNA quantification methods.
Genetic counseling
The recurrence risk is significant if a structural rearrangement is present in one of the parents, the most frequent situationbeing that of an intrachromosomal duplication inherited from the mother.
Management and treatment
Management is multidisciplinary and symptomatic only, with special attention to prevention of malnutrition and recurrent infections. Educational and rehabilitation support should be offered to all patients.
Malformations do not contribute significantly to the morbidity associated with this syndrome, but early death (before 25 years of age) has been reported in 55% of patients with a MECP2 duplication and a few cases of death during infancy due to infection have also been described.
Detailed information
Article for general public
- Summary information
- Japanese (2019, pdf)
- Greek (2009, pdf)
- Review article
- English (2009)
- Clinical practice guidelines
- Français (2019, pdf)
- Clinical genetics review
- English (2020)
Additional information