text:
Mastodon Curl Of The Burl
Curl Of The Burl
Great nice video
please click here and visit my site
Tramadol is a common pharmaceutical drug available throughout the world. Traditionally, Tramadol has been bought at the local drugstore and local pharmacies with a doctor's prescription. But as the use of online commerce grows, more and more people are turning to the internet to buy tramadol online and make other pharmaceutical purchases. This has many benefits namely significant costs savings to customers who save money on prescriptions medication combined with the ease of online ordering.
Sant Ritz comes fitted with full condo facilities that are carefully designed for everybody. Sant Ritz a city fringe living within Core Central Region.
sant ritz
Wonderful job. thanks for your nice sharing.
hermes birkin bag
Nice information, valuable and excellent design, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration, both of which I need, thanks to offer such a helpful information here.website
I heard people were extremely dissapointed with the ending and season 6 made the show stupid. Also i already know some of the secrets of the island so im already a bit spoiled on whats gonna happen. i dont wanna waste my time watching a show so tell me is it worth it? i watched the first episode and it was ok didnt like it much. btw im 14, and i watch a lot of CW shows. am i going towards dissapointment if i watch such a highly praised show? thanks
watch what you'll think you'll get into? i don't understand sorry.
and ha ha you think "you'll learn the meaning of life". that's kinda what i thought might happen.
and yeah i wanna see what the fuss is about too.
i watch all the cw shows! and they r all in a way the same
This show is amazing. It has the great effects on the introduction. It rocks my world. And i will tell the debt management about this show so they will also be amazed. :D
I will forthwith grab your feed to keep up to date with your site. Thanks so much with this fantastic new web site. I am really greatful to know that this security company is doing really well. Event Security Company London and Bodyguard Services London are two importand perspectives that cant be ignored during olympics.
Thank u, i found this for a long time. bestech park view ananda gurgaon
This video has lots of very useful information on it! Thanks for helping me.
New projects in gurgaon
Latest projects in gurgaon
Flats in gurgaon
- Now Playing: Dry Bone ValleyPop-up player
- Now Playing: Curl Of The BurlPop-up player
- Now Playing: Black TonguePop-up player
For Mastodon news that is customized to you and your hometown such as local concerts and appearances, please fill out the form. At Record Label, we are very concerned about our fans' privacy and do not share or sell your information to other third parties.
You are signed up for email and/or mobile alerts


text:
Hey there, welcome to Katyperryforum.com!If you like us, please consider donating so we can keep the Katycat love alive.
I heard somewhere that it would be a TD and CG medley!
I will love you, Unconditionally
Quote from: acott8 on February 02, 2014, 09:52:30 AMI heard somewhere that it would be a TD and CG medley!That would be amazing!!
I would pay extra money just if she would perform Dressin' Up.I am so in love with that song.
I'd love her to do TOTGA or WUIV again...
Quote from: sunnystarzx on February 05, 2014, 02:23:29 PMI'd love her to do TOTGA or WUIV again...Yes, please!
I know this would never happen... but I wish I could hear her sing I'm Still Breathing live!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Back to Normal View
Looks like others but isn't. This rake's body is curved to allow all tines to contact the ground at once with maximum "flicking power." Flat tines are more effective than thin wire or rolled tines. Useful tool for many jobs. Zinc coated to prevent rust. Handles sold separately. See "View Related Items" link above for handle and additional attachment options. Made in Germany.
(based on 2 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Stars
Reviewed by 2 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-2
Back to top
Leaf Solution
By JS Garden Spirit
from Northern Colorado
About Me Master Gardener
Best Uses
Comments about WOLF Garten 18'' Tine Rake:
Greatest Leaf clearing rake I've ever used
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
Well worth the money!
By Billyboy
from Kokomo, IN
About Me Avid Gardener
At 75 yrs old this will probably be the last rake I buy. It feels good and easily does an excellent job.


text:
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Buick LaCrosse Transmission Problems
e_net_rider Posts: 1,380We are talking about a Super. From my recollection, the Super has the NorthStar Aurora engine V-8 coupled with a 4 speed box. It might be the same tranny used in Impala SS, but definitely in a few Cadillacs.
I see the fix, replacing the valve body. Again from recollection, the valve body is in the bottom of the tranny so I would consider that a good fortune that they did not have to drop the tranny for the repair. My personal observance is the more they have to take apart the greater the chance of something going wrong resulting in later problems. A bit like Murphy's law.
Valve body, plate, and valve. The valve I mentioned in earlier post as being a known problem, that would be this valve. Certainly easier than dropping whole tranny to get at, but it requires removing the valve body to get at it.
I hope that is the end of your trouble. At least from what I've heard, they finally got a rear engine seal that holds on that engine. Third change seems to have worked and that is a blessing. No easy job to change on the Aurora engine. The engine is of a special design and to replace it, you not only had to remove transmission from it but split the block at the crankshaft holes.
Do make sure that proper oil fill is done at changes. Because of that rear seal blowing out, GM reduced the amount of oil by 1/2 qt to an even 7 qts. They did not change the dipstick, so when at proper level the stick always showed a 1/2 qt low making it easy for some to inadvertantly overfill.
I am unaware of late changes if they occurred so you might have a bit of digging to find facts. That is they may have changed the fill quantity after they found a seal that holds, or not. They may have eventually changed the dipstick to reflect accurately, or not.
My opinion of that engine, pretty high tech for its release. Also powerful for then and very smooth. Downsides seem to be that it can be finicky as many Aurora owners found. Many who used aftermarket parts developed further problems and the fix most often was to replace with OE parts. Earlier years of it required premium and to short change that often led to spark knock. The sensor system was likely not as accurate as today's system. Spark knock, very bad for engine. Also it usually led to decreased mileage which offset the price difference and it definitely hurt performance.
I was saddened slightly by Cadillac's decision to drop the engine instead of updating it for the next generation. That would be moving it from the 32 valve to VVT and changing it to DI (direct injection). At least it would have been a very interesting comparison to the Corvette Mercury Marine V-8.
Does yours have an oil cooler?
lacrosse2008 Posts: 5
moonclm Posts: 1I feel your pain. I own a 2005 Buick LaCrosse and it is now in the transmission shop for a repair on the transmission. I had it in 2008 at the dealership with the problem, they could not diagnose the problem. In fact, I had it at TWO GM dealerships and neither could find the problem. I was told by the trans shop they will not find a transmission problem because they don't do transmissions. I will never purchase another GM product. I have been buying Ford products, due to buying on the A, Z plans. I had a 1993 Mercury Sable that performed a heck of a lot better than this Buick. I have never had a vehicle where I had to have the transmission repaired. I have a cousin who bought a brand new Nissan Sentra in 2010, right after the purchase, the transmission went out. So advice to everyone, go online and get reviews before purchasing a new automobile!
deanatl Posts: 2I have a 2006 Buick Lacrosse and am get enginer light with codes 716 and 717 input senser. I have checked the wiring and connectors and it is looking like maybe need to change the input senser out. Dealer is telling me that for $600.00 is what it will cost to drop the engine out to get access to the cover to change the senser. The milage is only 40,000; does anyone have any ideas?
Thank you for taking the time to post your concerns. Can you please email me with your VIN, current mileage, and involved dealer? I look forward to hearing from you. I apologize for your inconvenience and frustrations. I look forward to working with you.
GM Customer Service
jondoe213 Posts: 1I have a 2005 Buick Lacrosse CXL with 111,000 miles on it. Like a previous poster I too bought the Brand to avoid disasters like this. Was driving on the freeway felt a (shudder) when stepping on the gas i thought i was going over rumble strips but the car wanted to stall. Managed to get it home luckily i live right behind a dealership so planned on driving it over put it in D and no go. Had to have them come pick it up which was 21/2 hours later! Thats a seperate issue but i live right behind the dealership so i'm sure i'm charged for this!! Get the call and they are saying it's $3500 to replace the transmission. NO WARNING. no lights..nothing..just dead. Emailed Buick on this I find this insane. After 150,000 sure why not but come on i expected better from this brand. I almost vomited on my screen when he told me the cost.
lacrossesoaked Posts: 80does not bode well for my '05 LaCrosse !! I will never buy another one and probably will steer clear of GM period. Your transmission repair: probably get a better deal if you take it to a dedicated/trusted transmission-repair-only shop. The dealership may just drop it and take it to a contract repair shop. Thus you get charged the dealership's middle-man fee on top of normal repair charges.
motorcity6 Posts: 427Good idea..Most GM don't get involved in the rebuilding of trannies for they can outsource the work and save money..Pocket the profit.
The plain old 3.8 V-6 is a corporate engine with the same engine and tranny shared with the Low-end Buicks as goes in the base Chevy Impala and base Grand Prix..
The longer an engine/tranny stays in production, the push by the bean-counters is to cheapen the product---save money to improve the bottom line..Back in the old days the warranty period was short, however with the Govt takeover of GM the warranty period was extended.
I ran across a 2008 Lacrosse CXL, all options w/12k miles and only 1 yr of warranty left, probability could be bought for 13.5 cash, however after reading the Buick forums, I passed up the bidding process..
newbuickowner Posts: 1We bought a 2005 Buick LaCrosse from a man whose father bought it brand new when he was 83 years old. The father is now in assisted living and the son put the car up for sale. The car is immaculate and had only 42,000 miles on it. So my husband scoffed it up because his 2000 Chevy Impala with 320,000 miles on it was finally having too many issues. During the first long drive, he noticed a skip as he goes to accelerate. It's happened several times and as disheartened as he was he went to a Buick dealer. They put it on the computer and came up with 1811 code. They gave him an appointment for today to "look into it further". He went this morning and for $100 (I think they just put it on a computer again!) they said it's the Pressure Control Solenoid that it would take 5 1/2 hours and approx $900 to replace. I started doing research 2 weeks ago and found alot about the 2005's having this issue. I am worried that we are going to start into a long haul. Isn't there a recall or bulletin on this? I DID call the GM number 2 weeks ago when I found it on this website and spoke to someone there so it's on record that we have the skipping issue and that we had an appointment today. I think we need direction before we dump alot of money and pain and anguish. The thing that gets us is the mileage is so low. If we had bought the car new and had this same issue at this same mileage, the car would have still been under warranty because we drive more miles that the elderly man did. Because he didn't drive far, it took longer to get to this point. Thank you for any assistance.
jq2005 Posts: 1I have a 2005 lacrosse and I am having the same exact problems you are having buick 55 my wife and baby and 10yr old drive in that car, and just this morning we were turning shut off in a turn and going form a dead stop a woman can control it a man can barely control it! I have been in the car business for a while so I know diff people I've had it scanned multiple times, there are six different codes coming up for fuel, but the same exact things that happen to you happen on a regular basis with this car and NO RECALLS it's So dangerous She has broken down on 95 with my infant in the car at night! and has to wait ten to 15 minutes before she can get it started and have to two-foot it just in case especially in stop n go traffic! but no one seems to be able to find the problem, but somethings gotta give at least put out a bulletin telling consumers what might be the cause of the problem.it is absoloutely horrible the way it performs and the check engine light is on n when its off it doesn't happen nearly as much if ever so it might be good for a day or 2 at the most n it scares the life out of me for anyone to be driving it and LIKE TODAY STALL OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MUSCLE THE STEERING WHEEL TO CONTROL IT! but I'M IN FOR ANY PETITION AND SUPPORT I CAN!
Have you gotten this checked out at a dealership? If so, and they weren't able to diagnose the cause of this concern, please let us know! We can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation so far).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
tenbasst Posts: 1Has anyone seen this problem?
I have a low mileage 2006 LaCrosse CSX. The transmission coolant chamber in the radiator burst causing transmission fluid to contaminate the engine coolant system and antifreeze contaminating the transmission system. It is the shop right now; looks like a $5,000 job!
No warning until the engine started to overheat and finally the indicator light made me stop driving.
07buickowner Posts: 1It looks like we are experiencing the same problem several others have encountered.
We love our Lacrosse. It rides beautifully and runs great.
Yesterday, without warning, the car suddenly would not move forward in drive. It does move in every other gear.
We took it to the dealership and was just told tonight that they think a strap broke and now needs either a complete rebuild or a new transmission. The cost is $3600.
How does a car that moves need a new transmission? And how does a car with less than 100,000 miles just suddenly have a strap break? The dealership said it was a "wear item".
Is gm doing anything about these transmission problems?
The transmission on my 2008 LaCrosse stopped working three days after the dealer had replaced the transmission fluid as a 50,000 mile maintenance routine. The mechanic said the problem had nothing to do with the fluid. Is it possible for a mechanic to miss an obvious problem with
transmission when adding fluids?
After a year and a half, I trust the problem with your transmission has been solved. I just want to share my similar problem. I bought my 2008 LaCrosse new. I have always gone to the dealership for maintenance service. Two weeks ago, when I scheduled an oil change, I was told that 50000 miles was time for transmission fluid. Three days later, my car stopped moving and needed either a new transmission system or a rebuilt one. The mechanic told me that the breakdown had absolutely nothing to do with the fluid replacement. I am having GM check into this statement. I would think the purpose of refreshing transmission fluid is to keep the transmission in working order.
After a year and a half, I trust the problem with your transmission has been solved. I just want to share my similar problem. I bought my 2008 LaCrosse new. I have always gone to the dealership for maintenance service. Two weeks ago, when I scheduled an oil change, I was told that 50000 miles was time for transmission fluid. Three days later, my car stopped moving and needed either a new transmission system or a rebuilt one. The mechanic told me that the breakdown had absolutely nothing to do with the fluid replacement. I am having GM check into this statement. I would think the purpose of refreshing transmission fluid is to keep the transmission in working order. since your original posting indicates at least one 2008 LaCrosse had a similar issue, I am thinking there is some defect in that model.
It appears that your problems are (or were) very similar to the problems with my 2008 LaCrosse. My problem just occurred in the past couple of weeks and I too was told a strap had broken. The cost was in the same range as yours. To compound the problem, mine happened thee days after I had the transmission fluid replaced as the dealer had recommended doing at 50000 miles and did it at the time of a routine oil change. They insist the breakdown had nothing to do with the fluid. Although the car runs fine now, I contacted GM as I really want to know how this can happen so soon after preventive measures. Though they made a partial price adjustment as a loyal customer whose warranty has expired. I would have preferred answers and assurance that my new transmission is safe.
2005 Lacrosse CXL...Got on the freeway and the car would not shift out of gear at 35mpg. Just stayed locked at that speed. Got off the freeway and sputtered into a parking lot. Car was leaking trans fluid and would not move when put in "R" and "D". Had the trans service at the dealer right before 100,000. Got to 109,000 and then this happens. Never had problems with a trans. before, especially a Buick, which I bought because of supposed reliability. Thought those days were behind GM, guess not. Waiting to see what shop says.


text:
Flight Awards
Refer to the Airline Partners Award Chart to make sure the award you want is available on your chosen airline partner. Then calculate the required number of miles you need with the Flight Award Calculator.
To redeem flight awards on Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, British Airways and Qantas Airways, log on to either Cathay Pacific or Dragonair website with your membership number/username and PIN. You can check for flight availability and redeem flight awards online using their Online Booking Service. Find out more on how to book or manage your flight redemption online.
For other airlines, just submit your request by completing the Airline Award Request Form online. Our Members Service Executives will contact you to finalise your redemption request.


text:
"No doubt about that," the Heflin police officer said, surrounded by well-wishers at the Heflin Recreation Center.
Stovall, injured in a shootout in December, was presented with the 2012 Fraternal Order of Police Merrill-Bentley Memorial Lodge 79 Officer of the Year Award and a check for $10,000.
He just wished he could have gotten them without being shot.
More than 100 attendees wandered into the recreation center banquet hall decorated with blue and black balloons in honor of Stovall and his family.
Josh Horn, president of the FOP lodge, said Stovall was being awarded for his bravery.
"The vote was unanimous," he said.
In December, Stovall was struck in the groin by a round from an AK-47 rifle. That gun was wielded by Romero Roberto Moya, who police say shot his three brothers to death and wounded his young son before leading officers on the chase in which Stovall was wounded. Even after being shot, Stovall still attempted to pursue Moya, his colleagues said Friday night.
John Kelley, who has known Stovall for years, said he came to the ceremony because Stovall is like a brother.
"That's just the way it is and I'm going to support him in any way I can," he said.
Stacy Benefield and her young daughter Kadie said they came to honor Stovall for his sacrifice.
"We're here to show support to the police officer for protecting our citizens," Kadie said.
Mitchell Upchurch, an officer with the FOP lodge, said a $10,000 check would be presented to the family from donations pooled together from 38 different sponsors.
Upchurch said that since tickets to the ceremony cost $10, the Stovall family would likely receive another $1,000 by the end of the night.
Now, Stovall has another hard task at hand. He's itching to get back to work, like any passionate cop.
Stovall said he had his last in a series of surgeries June 10 and is now focusing on rehabilitation, where he will re-learn to put pressure on his leg.
"I thought the last surgery would be the easiest but it's been the hardest," Stovall said. "They told me it would make me climb up the wall and they were right."
Stovall cannot walk on his own without crutches and uses a wheelchair to get around. He said he has been discouraged with his recovery so far because he expected to be walking again by the fall. Because of nerve pain, he might have to wait until spring.
"I get frustrated but I keep telling myself we're going to make it and walk again," Stovall said.
Heflin police Chief AJ Benefield, said Stovall has to undergo five to six months of rehab before he'll be able to come back to work.
"I don't know after that," Benefield said. "The biggest struggle is trying to get back to where he was before Dec. 15."
Though one thing he cannot wait for is to get back to work, another thing he's looking forward to is the upcoming fall football season.
"My son starts football this fall at Oxford High School," he said. "I have a whole three months of football ahead of me and that helps me feel better most days."
Staff writer Madasyn Czebiniak: 256-235-3546. On Twitter @MCzebiniak_Star.


text:
Speakers from Integrating Human Rights into the Curriculum: Case Studies from Asia Workshop for Educators
Geoffrey Robinson
Director, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Professor, UCLA Department of History
Geoffrey Robinson received his BA from McGill University in Canada, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University, where he studied modern Southeast Asian history and politics. From 1989 to 1995 he was Head of Research for Island Southeast Asia at Amnesty International headquarters in London. Since leaving Amnesty International in 1995, he has continued to work on human rights and humanitarian issues, both independently and as a consultant to various international organizations. Since joining UCLA's Department of History in 1997, he has regularly taught undergraduate lecture courses on early and modern Southeast Asia, as well as a range of undergraduate and graduate seminars on Indonesia and East Timor; Political Violence and Genocide; and Human Rights in Asia.From June to November 1999, he took leave from UCLA to serve as a Political Affairs Officer with the United Nations in East Timor.
Lorna Chiu
West Coast Office
Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Lorna Chiu is Senior West Coast Officer of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Los Angeles. She works with the press to raise awareness about populations in danger and creates and manages public education events and activities to stimulate debate on critical humanitarian and medical issues. Ms. Chiu spent a month working in the MSF press office in Nairobi and southern Sudan covering the devastating famine in 1998.
Namju Cho, MPP
Advocacy Coordinator
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) Namju oversees all aspects of drafting, implementing and evaluating advocacy strategies that will increase awareness on trafficking issues and improve trafficking victims' access to services and resources. CAST's advocacy activities include training, policy advocacy, community organizing, media outreach and public education. She works on the local and national levels to mobilize the government, community organizations, the media, youth groups and the general public to have a better understanding of trafficking, its root causes and how to help. Prior to joining CAST, Namju worked at the Division for the Advancement of Women at the United Nations in New York City. She received a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University. Ms. Cho was formerly a staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal in Seoul, Korea, where she also graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Yonsei University. She speaks fluent Korean and intermediate Spanish.
Saman Zia-Zarifi
Deputy Director, Asia Division
Human Rights Watch
Saman Zia-Zarifi is the Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division. Previously, he directed the Academic Freedom Program at Human Rights Watch. While at HRW, he has participated in emergency missions investigating conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Prior to joining HRW, he was Senior Research Fellow at the Department of International Law at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where he conducted a special project on multinational corporations. He has written widely on the impact of multinational corporations and economic globalization on human rights, including Liability of Multinational Corporations for Violating International Law (co-edited with Menno Kamminga) (Kluwer 2000). He was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University (1990), his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School (1993) and an LL.M. in International Law from New York University School of Law (1997). He practiced for several years as a corporate litigator in Los Angeles.
Anne Parris
Amnesty International
Human Rights Education
Anne Parris has taught English and, more recently Film, at Castro Valley High School for the past twenty years. Currently the chair of Amnesty International USA's Western Region Human Rights Educators Steering Commitee, she has given workshops on human rights education, literacy skills and media education throughout the US.
Todd Jennings
Amnesty International
Human Rights Education
Dr. Todd Jennings is a developmental and educational psychologist who teaches in the College of Education at California State University, San Bernardino. His teaching, writing, and research focus on the nature of human rights education and the development of social consciousness leading to human rights advocacy. In addition, Dr. Jennings works with Amnesty International serving primarily in their efforts to promote human right education in schools and communities.
Published: Monday, August 16, 2004
© 2014. The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use / Privacy Policy


text: Cal Poly's unbeaten football team, ranked No. 11 in the human polls (Sports Network media and FCS Coaches) this week, is faring much better in the computer polls. Coach Tim Walsh's Mustangs, 7-0 on the year and 5-0 in Big Sky Conference games, are ranked No. 4 in the Grid Power Index poll compiled by College Sporting News.


text:
Kicking the Coal Habit
America may be coming to grips with the dark side of our cheapest, most abundant energy source, but a plan to unload it on Asia threatens to poison our planet.
What is the future of coal-fired power? Is it a "dead man walking," as defined by Kevin Parker, Deutsche Bank's global head of asset management, who notes that banks won't finance it, insurance companies won't insure it, and the EPA is after it? Or is it an economic elixir that will rouse comatose Americans from the canvas like Rocky Balboa and "together . . . power the next great comeback [with] clean coal," as depicted in the TV ads of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity?
Probably neither.
But we already have that in "clean coal," right?
Not hardly. "Clean coal" is a term concocted for the industry by R&R Partners, the ad agency that, by hatching the equally brazen untruth "What happens here stays here," helped Sin City seduce gullible tourists into gambling away their money and marriages. The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition's Vivian Stockman provides "clean coal's" best definition: "the mother of all oxymorons."
Among the costs of mining, processing, and burning coal are mountains, prairies, rivers, lakes, fish, wildlife, livestock, people, and climate. And while pollution-control technology captures some of the poisons and carcinogens that mix with air and water, calling treated coal waste "clean" is the equivalent of settling out solids from municipal sewage, piping what's left into public reservoirs, and labeling it "sanitized effluent."
America is moving away from coal. Three years ago plans were under way for at least 150 new coal plants, but not one has broken ground since--largely because natural gas is cheaper and cleaner. Our existing coal plants tend to be old and decrepit, and expensive and difficult to retrofit with required pollution-control technology. In fact the Associated Press reports that this will cause the inevitable shutdown of 32 facilities (mostly coal-fired) and the possible shutdown of 36 others.
Still, the world's largest private-sector coal producer, Peabody Energy, may be right when it proclaims that "coal's best days are ahead." This is because it and other companies plan to sell strip-mined coal to Asia. They propose to move it by train to ports in Washington and Oregon from the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana--an area the size of West Virginia. Most of the basin's springs and shallow aquifers are in coal seams, and are poisoned and desiccated by strip mining. As a result, much of the cost of vastly expanded strip mining for the Asian market would be borne by wildlife, farmers, and ranchers.
Peabody Energy is the main player in a plan to annually extract an additional 50 million tons of Powder River Basin coal for sale to Asia. The company claims that port expansion near Bellingham, Washington (at Cherry Point), and construction of new rail lines would create "8,400 direct, indirect, and induced jobs" and inject $900 million into the economy. Similar though smaller projects are planned at Longview and Grays Harbor in Washington and Coos Bay, Port St. Helens, and near Boardman in Oregon.
China, where most of the coal would go, is building the equivalent of two 500-megawatt coal-fired plants each week. Although it produces twice as much coal as the United States, it has gone from a net coal exporter in 2008 to a net importer today.
Writing in Yale Environment 360, an online magazine, Jonathan Thompson draws an apt comparison between exporting coal and exporting tobacco, calling coal "the cigarette of our new age." A quarter-century ago the tobacco industry was also comatose on the canvas. Medical evidence had given the lie to its mantra that smoking and cancer weren't linked; no longer could it advertise on television or radio; and on its very packaging it had to warn customers against using its product.Then it found a market in Asia (mostly China) so lucrative as to "confound the imagination," as a Philip Morris vice president effused. Tobacco companies sponsor at least 100 elementary schools in China, where 16 million kids under 15 smoke. "Talent comes from hard work--tobacco helps you become talented," reads foot-high, gilt lettering on the side of China's Sichuan Tobacco Hope Elementary.
Coal isn't far behind firearm homicides or drunk driving in killing people, annually causing 24,000 heart attacks, 217,600 asthma attacks, and dispatching 13,200 Americans, according to the Clean Air Task Force. And the toll is undoubtedly higher in China, where citizens are demonstrating against coal power by the tens of thousands.


text:
I am a female AML FLT3+ patient in my mid-twenties, and am seeking opinions on potential treatment options because my leukemia was found to have relapsed at my six-month post-BMT biopsy.
I was diagnosed with AML, FLT3+ in August 2011. My induction chemo achieved a remission. I underwent a fully ablative bone marrow transplant in October 2011. The transplant team where I am being treated (a Top 5 center in the U.S.) selected my mother -- a half-match -- to be my donor. (The team elected not to even check the national registry, and although my brother was also a half-match, the team went with my mother, who is nearly 70 years old, has had three children, and has had polio.)
I have never shown signs of GVHD. After the transplant, my 90-day biopsy was fine. However, at my six-month biopsy on April 16, 2012, I was found to be only 80% donor marrow, and there were 15-50% blasts in the marrow.
At this time, in order to get to remission, I have begun a clinical trial that adds a study drug to the chemo in order to raise counts and bring the leukemic cells out of the marrow and instigate tumorlysis. I will be admitted on May 8 to begin chemotherapy.
I am seeking opinions regarding the best course of action after remission is achieved (if at all). The team here is pressing for a DLI from my mother. I wonder, however, if a BMT from a matched unrelated donor -- or anything else -- would be preferable.
Earlier this week, a search of the bone marrow registry was initiated, and seven potential donors were found to have at least a 90% chance of fully matching were found, but the team here halted the secondary screening process when they decided on the DLI. Additionally, this team has made no mention of any other therapies, such as vaccines, or other drugs, such as Sorafenib, that are sometimes utilized in cases like mine.
I would truly appreciate any thoughts or recommendations that you may have. Thank you so much for reading my summary of my situation.
I should add that I spoke on the phone with an oncologist at one comparable hospital, and emailed with two oncologists at a second comparable hospital, and none have concurred that the DLI is the best (or even a good) route. I understand that the hospital where I am currently being treated is supposed to be one of the best, but the opinions I've obtained are at odds with the opinions of the team treating me.
So I am posting in hopes of finding out what other survivors in similar situations have done.
Thank you so much for reading!! Much love.
First thing I'd recommend is that you find the transplantation forum and post there. Not that many folks here have been through transplant and you'll find a lot more input there.
Would you mind naming the center you're at? To decide on a haplo without even consulting the registry sounds pretty strange. I guess one of the top centers would be the first to know and switch protocols if haplos worked better with your particular form of the disease and your cytogenics. It does seem strange to go with the 70 year-old mother but I would assume they have their reasons.
That said, without a better understanding of what the docs are thinking, I'd be reticent to try to advise you. To reach a chimerism of 80% is good but you would want to get higher over time. If you just had your myeloblative haplo in October (?) I can understand why they might prefer to go with a DLI over a second transplant. It would be kind of soon to put you back through the conditioning protocol.
I think I'd want a second opinion from another top provider but with active AML, there's not always time. Still, right now your job is to get back into remission. That should give you time to set up some other consultations, at least by phone.
DLIs do work. Since your mom's cells didn't produce GVH and it sounds like they want you to have some, I'd want to know why they think this procedure would improve things, first.
I don't know. I wish I had some better insights for you. Maybe you'll find them on the transplant forum.
Hi Tex,
Thanks very much for your feedback!
I'll definitely search out the BMT forum for some additional input.
A quick note regarding the chimerism... it had been 100% donor marrow for 6 months, and then dropped to 80% with the relapse, so it certainly won't be climbing back up on its own. The question is whether to opt for a DLI or a mini BMT from another donor entirely...
I am really hopeful about getting into a trial in Seattle. My doctors actually prefer it over their pet favorite, the DLI. It would combine a mini BMT with FLT3 suppressor AC220. Fabulous. Assuming a donor works out. But if I do not get into that trial, the original question will bound right back.
Will keep y'all posted!
I had my transplant in Seattle. I guess you're talking about Fred Hutchinson and SCCA. They are the best there is IMO. If they're working on a trial, well, they don't always work...they're human. But they have some incredible researchers going on and they are really detailed.
All I'm saying is, if you get into the trial, you'll be treated by top-notch professionals in every aspect.
It does seem like it might be a bit soon for you to undergo the conditioning for another transplant using a different donor, and we've had some folks here who have had a DLI turn things around for them. I would want to know why they are not considering Nexavar (sorafenib) in your case. I hate to say it, but it almost sounds as if they are more interested in their trials than in your welfare. Remember that they work for you. Push for whatever is going to give you the best chance.
Please keep us posted.
Hi Willowbayfarm,
Thanks so much for your response. At this point (relapsed and about to undergo chemo) Sorafenib/Nexavar wouldn't be appropriate, as it would quiet down the very thing the chemo is supposed to kill. But I'm less worried that they're prioritizing their trials, and more worried that they've forgotten about me in general, since there was a post-transplant trial that used Sorafenib and they didn't even ask me about it. I found out about it from a fellow patient, and at that point it was too late to join.
As for the conditioning regimen, it would be a very different one entirely... We humans can withstand only one myeloablative prep regimen at all, I'm told, so a second BMT would be a "mini".
It's great to hear that DLIs have helped some folks on here.
It looks like I may transfer to Seattle after this chemo (which hopefully will put me into remission). In Seattle, they're running a trial that combines AC220 with mini-BMT from unrelated donor.
If for some reason I don't make it into that trial, I guess I'll stay where I am, give the DLI a shot, and beg for Sorafenib.
I'll keep y'all posted!! Thank you again!
From your description of the proposed plan, it sounds like your docs might be intending to use Plerixafor to drive the blasts out of the marrow. There's an article on it at http://universitycity.patch.com/articles/drug-makes-leukemia-more-vulnerable-to-chemo
There's another new drug called Vorinostat that appears to have promise (85 percent remission rate). See the article at http://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/news-releases/2011/aml-patients-have-high-response-rate-with-vorinostat-added-to-treatment.html
Nexavar helped me get my peripheral blasts down to near zero (from 20) in about a month's time. I had it with chemo and have been taking it at home for the past month. Had a biopsy ten days ago and results are still pending. I'm also pending the results of a PCR test for FLT3. Because of those uncertainties, it would be premature for me to start cheerleading for Nexavar at this time. There's a Nexavar thread here on the LLS AML page...I'll be likely to post the results there when they come in.
Stay involved in your care, keep a smile on your face and keep fighting.
Hi Bob,
Thank you so much for your response!
The drug they're testing is not the one you linked to, but similar... It doesn't have a name yet, but it targets the CXCR4 geneand apparently I'll be the 12th human on which it has been used... so that's cool (HA, not really). Vorinostat will be part of the MEC chemo regimen that targets the study drug.
I'll beg for Sorafenib following whatever treatment we go for after this chemo (DLI or mini BMT). Looking forward to hearing about your pending results, and praying that they are good.
One quick comment to pass along. I had the MEC chemo regimen in my 3rd induction. Apparently it's an old standby, as I've Googled it and found it's been around for at least 20 years. By itself, it was just as ineffective as the first two inductions with cytarabine and idarubicin/donarubicin had been. My blast counts were still in the 10-20% range. It wasn't until they added Sorafenib to the (high-dose) cytarabine and idarubicin in the 4th induction that we saw positive results.
Hi Bob,
Interesting!! If you are willing to share where you're being treated, would you please let me know where they are doing that? I am at Hopkins, where they insist that Sorafenib shouldn't be combined with chemo (they use it afterward, to maintain remission) on the logic that it would quiet down the blasts, making them less receptive to chemo. I am intriigued by the stories of Sorafenib's uses and effectiveness on these boards. The Hopkins view of Sorafenib seems quite negative and I'm having trouble understanding why.
Thanks for letting me know!
I'm being treated at the Salt Lake City VA, whose medical staff also work at the University of Utah Medical Center and the Huntsman Cancer Center. They initially gave me the Sorafenib for 7 days, in conjunction with 3+3 of the IV drugs, based on what they read from the MD Anderson clinical trials.
Oops. False. I learned on the first day of induction that Vorinostat is NOT part of the chemo cocktail I'm currently receiving. I think I'll send that article to my oncologist, though!
Hi everyone!
It has been a long time since I posted, but I wanted to wait until I had results from my first round of treatment (to address the relapse), an established plan for the next round, and more info on my planned transplant. So here I am! And I even have a couple of fun anecdotes. So here we go.
In April, I relapsed at the six-month mark after my haplo transplant from my mother. After really pushing for a DLI, my doctors at Hopkins identified a trial available in Seattle that would involve a second transplant, this time from an unrelated donor, with AC220 to follow the transplant. AC220 is the best known flt3 inhibitor, so I was really excited about this opportunity. More about the transplant + AC220 trial here: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01468467?term=ac220&rank=5. But first, we had to address the relapse. More about AC220 here: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/114/14/2984.full
In May, I had a five-day round of MEC chemo (Mitozantrone, Etoposide, Cyterabine) combined with a study drug called MDX that inhibits the CXCR4 chromosome. This was a clinical trial protocol, and you can read about it here if interested: http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT01120457. I'm amazed to report that I had absolutely no side effects to the chemo (other than partial hair loss) and felt great the entire time.
Going into the trial, I had 90% blasts in my marrow (none had reached my peripheral blood yet). Around Day 28, when counts were beginning to come back, I had a bone marrow biopsy that was pretty hypocellular, so I had another one on Day 35. It showed 10% blasts in the marrow. (Here's a fun anecdote: I had a biopsy at Hopkins on a Monday, then flew to Seattle, then had another one there the next day. OUCH.)
Throughout the last two weeks, the Seattle docs (who are providing input because I'll ultimately be going out there for my transplant) and my current Hopkins docs have been exchanging ideas on how to get me down to a stable CR (0% blasts, with full count recovery) so as to get to transplant. Ideas tossed around included:
- Sorafenib alone
- Repeating the MEC + MDX protocol
- MEC + Sorafenib
- AC220 alone (here is the info on that clinical trial: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01390337). We decided against this one because having taken AC220 would render me ineligible to receive AC220 after my transplant... which is when the AC220 would be of most use to me.
- Repeating the MEC + MDX protocol, but taking Sorafenib secretly -- a violation of the protocol that one doctor felt would actually be in my best interest. Another fun anecdote: I was all in favor of this approach, but the doctors decided against it because they (in addition to being shocked at the ethical consequences of violating protocol) were concerned about the potential of toxicity.
So after a LOT of hemming and hawing, we settled on MEC + Sorafenib. Five days of MEC begins today, then on Day 4 of the MEC, I'll begin a 7-day course of Sorafenib. (They don't administer Sorafenib before chemo or on the first three days of it, because Sorafenib is a cell cycle arresting agent, and if they stop or slow the cell cycle, the chemo will be significantly less effective.) While counts are depleted, nothing will be administered. Then, if and when counts begin to recover, we'll resume Sorafenib alone, and HOPEFULLY be able to rely on that alone until transplant.
The doctors are concerned about increased toxicity with the Sorafenib + MEC combination. Specifically, they're concerned about GI tract and liver toxicity. But we'll wait and see, I guess. They are also concerned that my counts just won't recover due to the Sorafenib addition. My counts have consistently bounced back by around Day 28, and the doctors are warning me that I should expect such a robust count return this time. But we'll wait and see about that, too.
Let me know if you have any questions, etc... or suggestions!!! Those are ALWAYS welcome.
That's a lot of info to absorb. No recommendations, as I don't know wtf all that will do to you or what you'll need to get by. I don't really have any questions as it seems pretty straight forward. Just one. How are you feeling about all this?
Well... I'm feeling like I finally know what a "Hail Mary pass" is. I researched a hospice in my area last week, and doing so actually brought me a bit of comfort. I am still really curious as to what the dying experience is like in the leukemia context -- I hesitate to search for details on it, though, as the superstitious person in me fears that that will solidify a negative outcome. I was pretty upbeat throughout my induction and transplant, and even in the first course of treatment for my relapse, but I've fallen off somewhat.
I'm much more interested in the dying experience of a 99 year-old man having a heart attack while having sex with a 19 year-old girl (providing my wife pre-deceases me, of course). I'm trying to qualify for that one.
I know it's got to be a tough place to be in. Try to keep your focus and stay determined as much as you can.
Oh my lord. I am laughing for the second time today! The first time was at a cat video on Youtube. Cats are funny, and what you just said is hilarious. Thanks, Tex.
Always leave 'em laughing
I could tell you were being treated at Hopkins, my husband has had most of his treatment there as well (AML FLT3+ mid twenties also) and so much of what you were describing resonates with our issues. You are correct in that they view sorafenib negatively and I don't know why either, for my husband it was a miracle drug and saved his life. He went out to Seattle for his transplant since he could not get into remission at Hopkins and they have a lot of novel trials in Seattle (I could write a book about my love of the Hutch). He did relapse shy of day 100 and the Hutch folks applied for sorafenib for him as compassionate use three years ago and paired that with a DLI (he didn't have any additional chemo) and that put him into remission. Seattle told him to take the drug forever if he could tolerate it. He had an inpatient stinit last summer at Hopkins and one of the inpatient docs was baffled and almost rude as to why he would still be on it if he had chronic gVH, said there is no need, and took him off of it. I know Seattle does TONS of research and is on the forefront of therapies and I trust their opinions wholeheartedly. Now I see the signs you see along the halls, that Hopkins is #1 in the country, and I feel your frustration on their decisions at times. I don't get why they seem to disregard sorafenib, they seem to have a different agenda with this medication than other places. It sounds like you've been doing you research and making the right contacts, go with your gut on this one and be persistent. It is easy to feel forgotten and perhaps get forgotten with as big as that hospital is.
Hi Jam11,
Thank you so much for your kind, thoughtful response. It is a relief to know that others have made the Hopkins-to-Seattle jump and have met with success. Although the prospect of heading out there is extremely daunting, I'm comforted by your words and your confidence in their opinions.
What is "compassionate use"? I haven't come across that term and am curious, especially since - being at Hopkins at the moment - it's impossible to learn anything from the team here about Sorafenib. Did your husband experience any negative effects from being taken off Sorafenib?
I assume you're back at Hopkins from time to time because the location is more convenient for you... that's how it will be for us, following (hopefully!) my time out in Seattle. If this is the case, has your experience with Hopkins for follow-up appointments after treatment in Seattle been okay?
I've learned in the past two days that I will definitely be able to transfer out to Seattle for the trial I described IF this induction chemo gets me into remission. So I'm hoping it does! I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise out there.
Hey, one the fellows I had assigned to me at the Hutch was fro Hopkins. Just feeling left out.
Compassionate use generally means that the med is sent to the patient who doesn't qualify for a trial because nothing else is working. That probably needs some fine tuning but should get you by until someone can offer a better explanation.
Congrats on the trial. Now kick those damned blasts out of your system and get on with things.
No kidding!!
Thanks for the explanation re: compassionate use.
I will probably be off of the boards for a few days while I try to muster some positive energy and let this induction round do its thing. In the meantime, I hope that when I return to the boards, there will be some (or at least one) story of ANYONE who was "cured" by a second BMT after relapsing in the wake of a failed first BMT. The Hutch wants to try it, and I want to go, but I still haven't come across anyone for whom a second BMT was the golden ticket.
Take care and I'll keep y'all posted!
There have been people cured by a second transplant. The thing to be aware of is that not many people have to go through a second and therefore there might not be anyone posting at the moment who has. There are so many people that with my chemo brain, I really can't remember what everyone had and where they are in their recovery.
But people have been helped by the second transplant. This seems to be something that does happen a lot with related donors, though you're the first I can think of from a haplo. Don't worry about that. Get yourself determined to kick this thing's butt and go from there.
MJax, i am so sorry you are going through this, any of it. My son was diagnosed with aml at 18, relapsed at 20 and had a double u cord transplant. It is such a difficult road, physically and psychologically.
Just to elaborate on what tex said, and maybe a little different perspective, this is a very difficult forum for people to stay attached to. Most survivors or family members, after such difficult journeys, move on with their lives, realizing aml or whatever disease that has brought them to transplant has taken enough from them.
With that being said, second transplants certainly aren't as common but there are quite a few here that i have seen over my five years that have endured 2nd transplants.(PJ, Anne, Sandra's Hamish to name a few) Tex, i forgot the one young woman, her mother occasionally posted, relapsed about the same time as Hamish and had a 2nd transplant. Was it marie?? Anyways, they were later relapses and all had 2nd transplants and we do hear from them time to time.
We have had a few that were early relapses and had 2nd transplants, Artmark, if i remember correctly, comes to my mind. He has also posted a while back, and Cathy's husband Owen (she posted under name secondtimearound) was FLT3 positive, and on sorafenib, didnt he have a second??.
So there are folks. Your journey will be your journey but you are young, strong, determined, and you can do this. And you have a wonderful hospital in the hutch that believes you can.
Rest your mind, let the chemo do its job, shouting a little prayer up there for a little help along the way. (((Hugs)))
I see Diane (MW) checked in and she remembered all the double-transplant folks I remembered. peejay, Secondtimeround, Reese (daughter is Marie), Chocccrackles (her son Hamish was the patient). As far as I know, all are doing well. We haven't heard from Reese in a long time, and it's been awhile since Cathy (Secondtimeround) checked in. Here's a link to her thread, which you will probably find relevant since Owen also had the FLT3+ issue.
You can search the other threads using the user name, assuming you have the energy (I am hoping you have the time because things are going boringly).
At any rate, it's been done and we have folks around here who have managed it. Stay determined to kick this thing's butt.
Hi WBF and WarriorMama!
Thank you for the reading references!! While all of our situations are nuanced and different, it is so helpful to learn of similarities where they exist and positive experiences that others have had. I really appreciate the time you took to pull some for me.
Take care,
First time posting here. I sound like I am in a very similar position to you. I am 27, had my BMT about 5 months ago and am also flt3+ and relapsed. My transplant was from my brother. I am being treated at City of Hope and after discovery of relapse started Sorafenib and 3 sessions of outpatient. chemo (decitabine). Just finishing my last session right now. After the first round of decitabine and sorafenib I am in remission again and plan on having a second transplant from an unrelated donor in a month or so. Also curious about second transplants because they don't seem that common. I've met a couple patients in the clinic who have had them. Anyways, not sure how helpful this is but let me know if you want to talk.
Take care,
Howdy, Carinny,
Let me start by wishing you the best. Yes, it's a tough fix we got ourselves into, one in which science is almost the 'luck' part of the deal.
Secondly, thank you for letting me know about the decitabine and sorafenib. Was that part of a clinical trial, or just a regular therapy option? I'm curious because the clinical trial options available to me are slim and might involve negotiating red tape concerning authorizations and protocols. I don't have a lot of time to slog through the paperwork jungles. (That's one area where I've always felt the sword is mightier than the pen.)
Let me close by again wishing you the best. Keep your spirits up, and remain engaged in your treatment decisions. There's a way through this, and hopefully the good people here in the LLS community will help us find it.
Thanks Bob! I am not participating in a clinical trial, I guess this is "regular" therapy. Although, don't think too many other patients there are undergoing the same protocol. I do know its kind of considered an off label usage of sorafenib and I was only able to get the medicine through a specialty pharmacy. Thanks again for yor support.
Hi Carinny,
I wanted to share with you my daughter's, Michelle, journey thus far. She was diagnosed in March 2011 with AML FLT3. I'm going to skip the info on all of the rounds of chemo. She had her BMT in Sept. 2011. My younger daughter and I were a half match but they chose my younger daughter because her and Michelle have the same blood type (different from mine). They believe she got a small amount of GVHD but they weren't really sure. Afterwards they believe she didn't because after the transplant they did a bone marrow biopsy and she was 100% DNA of her sister but here's the kicker, the Leukemia blasts came back after 6 months. She had to go back into the hospital for a 5 day round of chemo. The also performed a Lymphocyte Infusion (also taken from my younger daughter) in April. After her discharge this time they prescribed Michelle the oral chemo, Sorafenib. She was told she would be on this for a few years. This past weekend we had Michelle's one year birthday (since her BMT). It was great! So we take it one day at time and always, always pray.
Hi Carinny,
You're right: it does sound like we're in very similar situations, and I'd love to talk with you! I'll send you a message with my e-mail address, etc.
I'm so glad to hear that your post-relapse protocol was successful! I have never done outpatient chemo -- have you been feeling okay throughout your rounds of it?
Will City of Hope be doing your transplant as well? Seattle (Fred Hutchinson Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance) will be doing mine... if I get to remission, that is! My bone marrow biopsy today will let me know!
From your timeline, it sounds like they have a donor lined up, which is fantastic! Seattle's search is in progress for me, and to my understanding, there are several potentials. Fingers crossed!
Hope you are feeling well and staying confident. Talk to you soon!
You may want to check out a post in the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia board about Genome Research about the flt3 gene. Very Interesting. They used the drug Sunitinib which targets the flt3 gene. Here is the link I copied from the post.
I found the doctor's email and phone # if you search the University he is with.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your response! One of my doctors here at Hopkins, Mark Levis, was influential in testing Sunitinib. Fortunately for folks with CML and ALL (like the man in the article, who has ALL), the flt3 gene in ALL responds quite well to Sunitinib. Unfortunately for AML folks like me, the flt3 gene in AML responds poorly to Sunitinib, and responds much better to Sorafenib, and best of all to AC220.
But the process they went through to target the flt3 gene for him, and to treat it, is remarkable and can help us all!!
Best regards,
Just wanted to post an update... I've been out in Seattle for two weeks now doing the pre-transplant workup of tests, tests, and more tests. So far, the only drama has been that, despite my two rounds of MEC (April and June) and continued Sorafenib (July until now), my most recent bone marrow biopsy showed 0.39% blasts in the marrow (flow cytometry).
Despite my asking why on earth they didn't want to do anything to try to reduce that to ZERO before my transplant, they're not changing my pre-transplant protocol at all. If all goes well, I'll still be doing the targeted radiation study (http://www.seattlecca.org/clinical-trials/leukemia-NCT00988715.cfm)... and they hope that the radioisotope takes care of the minimal residual disease. I just HATE the statistic that folks going into transplant with minimal residual disease don't fare as well, because I already have several poor prognostic indicators (flt3+, Trisomy 8, relapsed, and refractory)!!! I don't need another!!!
The targeted radiation study wouldn't begin until September 24, so I just have to sit and hope that the disease doesn't flare over the next month, and that the Sorafenib keeps it away. Also, there are several points at which I could wash out of the targeted radiation study (e.g. if my bloodwork shows that I have certain antibodies), so that's not a guarantee. If I did wash out of it, I'd get some additional chemo and stronger TBI as my pre-transplant conditioning. NOT IDEAL.
Transplant is scheduled for October 9, if all goes as planned. Of course, we all know that "if all goes as planned" can amount to a hill of beans.
The thing I really, really wanted was the post-transplant AC220 trial (http://www.seattlecca.org/clinical-trials/leukemia-NCT01468467.cfm). The doctors here warn me, however, that I might not qualify for it following the transplant, for reasons none of us can control. The criteria include engraftment (over 1K neutrophils, over 50K platelets, and I forget the chimerism but it's on the link), morphologic remission at the Day +28 bone marrow biopsy (less than 5% blasts), and no significant GVH (must be below Grade 2).
So, yeah. That's how I'm doing. Hope you all are doing well!!! Best wishes to everyone!!
Just to be sure, did you mean to type that the blasts were at 39%? I know they wouldn't have been concerned about 0.39% (0.0039) when I was there. They just wanted me under the 5%. And, as I was at 30% when I reported, they went ahead and put me through another induction.
I washed out of the isotope trial before I began because I was too old (over 40 at the time). I had a room next to the hot rooms and that was a whole different world in there for those folks. I'm guessing they did well if the Hutch is still working with it. So, good luck with that.
If I understood what they're trying to do with the isotopes and remember correctly now, chasing down extra leukemic cells might not be necessary because, as I remember it, the isotopes are supposed to attract something to attack every cell. Then again, the doc I talked with had a heavy accent and I'm hard of hearing. He might've been reciting a salad recipe for all I know.
Thanks for checking in. I hope everything goes the way you want it to. And do keep us informed.
Hey Tex,
Yep, it's actually 0.39% -- less than 1%, wasn't even detected by the human pathologist looking at the slide -- but it showed up on the flow cytometry (I'm not super knowledgeable about how the flow cytometry is done, other than it is done by a computerized system and takes several more days to come back with results). I'm considered, as a result, to be in "morphologic remission," but if we're being honest with ourselves, the blasts -- albeit a tiny percentage -- are there. So I'm considered to be going into transplant with MRD: minimal residual disease. And I'm pretty bummed about it because, statistically, the transplants performed on patients with MRD don't last as well. But I know the refrain: I am not necessarily a statistic. And besides, hopefully I make it through these next two weeks of test dosing for the radioisotope trial and the pre-transplant protocol wipes out any blasts that may remain at the end of September.
Thanks so much for reading, take care, and I'll keep y'all posted!
Or rather, my husband will be the one keeping y'all posted... I can't seem to keep from wandering into forums that aren't very good for my confidence... I tend to feel very, very down when I do much (okay, any) reading about strong, fighting folks who didn't make it.
I didn't come onto these forums until six months after my SCT. I was concerned I'd have the same reaction as you and thirty success stories would be challenged by one that didn't work out so well. I stayed off the 'net until I was ready. So, I'll look forward to meeting your husband and getting to know him as we cheer you on.
I don't know what they've found out in the past eight years but when I went through my relapse/SCT, they told me that the stats were better if they could get my blasts under 5%. They did that and here I am eight years later. I can't believe that 0.39% is a concern for them. The conditioning chemo is supposed to kill off anything that's left. And, again, they just wanted me <5%.
I know we can find reasons to be worried. I don't think this is a major concern for you. Your new immune system won't have much -- if anything at all -- to kill off. And after conditioning, I'll bet you're at 0.
If your docs are focusing on this, they're just playing CYA so ya'll can't sue. But you can, if there's a reason.
I know it's difficult but try to just blow that off.
I'm checking in on you to see how you are doing? If you're up to it could you please give us an update.
Hi all,
Several key changes since last I wrote in.
I was able to go with the radioisotope trial (link provided in one of my posts above) which was an effort to ablate the bone marrow prior to the stem cell transplant.
Unfortunately, at my Day 28 post-transplant marrow, it was found that I still had minimal residual disease (MRD) remaining in the amount of 0.67% in the marrow, by flow cytometry. Yes, this is less than five percent, but it is bad because after a transplant, you DO NOT WANT ANY TRACES OF LEUKEMIA. NONE.
As outlined in previous posts, I'm being treated at the Fred Hutchinson Center - Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. I was referred here by Johns Hopkins, who refused to perform the transplant from an unrelated donor. The post-transplant plan here was to put me into the AC220 trial. The window for that trial is for people between 30 and 60 days out from their transplants, as long as they do not have major GVHD (I don't) and are in morphologic remission (i.e. fewer than 5% blasts) (I am).
Unfortunately, at my 30-day consultation, the providers at SCCA told a tall one about the status of the trial. They claimed that it had closed to new recruits, and was not expected to reopen until 2013 (i.e. my window would be long closed). Hopeless, and without any other recourse, having taken their word for the status of the trial, I agreed to begin a drug called Vidaza (also known as Azacytadine). It is NOT curative, and is intended to just keep the leukemia at bay until... well, for me, until nothing.
YESTERDAY, however (Day 53 for me), I decided to do a little sleuthing. It turns out that the AC220 trial was NOT closed, it IS accepting new patients, and I DO qualify. I informed my attending (they rotate, here -- we do not have one single attending who follows us from start to finish) of what I had found, and it wasn't pleasant, to say the least.
I'm waiting now to find out whether they're going to petition the drug company (Astellas) to see if I can join. If they refuse, I don't know what I'll do.
I'm young and otherwise healthy and not ready to die... It's really baffling to me as to why they wouldn't want to get me into the ONE potentially curative therapy for which I qualify.
Wish I had better news.
I've got to believe the doc had bad information about the trial. Not only are the folks there top notch, but there's absolutely nothing for anyone to gain by lying to you about it. Not like the company is paying doc to keep patients away from the trial.
I hope you get in. If not, there's got to be a way to try to stare this sucker down, including inducing GVH. I'm surprised they haven't reduced your immune suppression, if not pull you off of it all together. There are usually a number of ways to go after MRD. It might be a weird situation where you don't qualify for any of those treatments but I've not heard of that before.
You might ask your doc to comment on what I've just written. If I'm off base, I do apologize in advance.
Bad information indeed. With the Hutch being only one of four centers with this trial (AC220, post-transplant, 30-60 days out) open, I cannot adequately express my anger at the fact that they managed not to know the status of the trial in time for me to get into it. That trial is the whole reason I came out here from the other side of the country!!
So, they told me it was closed. As a result, to deal with the MRD, I ended up starting a chemo called Vidaza, but that felt so stupid because Vidaza is used primarily on (1) old people and (2) people on a "bridge" to another, more effective, treatment... such as a transplant. It isn't known for bringing people into remission and then making them stay there forever. I only did four days of that, though, because THEN...
I found out an insane thing. The AC220 post-transplant trial was NOT shut down after all!!!!! The doctors here made a horrible mistake. They told me it was closed, when in fact it was not. When I found out that the trial was open, I was informed that the freaking VIDAZA made me ineligible for it!!! Vidaza that I never EVER would have taken if I had known!!!!!!! See, I'm at Day 56 post-transplant now. I only have until Day 60 before the trial window closes. To be eligible for the trial, one cannot have had chemo within 21 days of starting the trial. In short, I'm screwed.
The doctors are now trying to get AC220 for me through compassionate use. We'll see how that goes. Otherwise, I really have no options left. I'll keep you posted!!
And of course, I'll continue to press on getting my immunosuppressants phased off... But as we discussed in the other forum, the doctors here have phased me off one (mycofenilate mofetil/CellCept) and are unwilling to pull me off the other (Cyclosporine) at this time. I currently have no signs of GVHD. I am hoping for an attending physician to come on rotation in December who will be amenable to phasing me off the other immunosuppressant in order to stimulate a graft-versus-leukemia effect. However, the doctors with whom I've spoken here say that it takes a few months to see GVL.
This certainly isn't the Hutch I knew. I'm so very sorry and as I write that I realize how absolutely useless it is to say it. It doesn't fix a damned thing that I'm sorry. And this is the type of situation that needs some action.
I hope and pray you get compassionate use. I think Kelly on the transplant forum should have some guidance for you. He also went to the Hutch and he relapsed as he neared hi five year anniversary. They were going to bring him back to Seattle and do a DLI on him but they pulled his suppression beforehand or something. He never wound up needing the DLI.
I'm pretty sure he's already responded to your post over there but can't remember what he had to say. He should have better insight into the Hutch's typical view on GVL.
Thank you, Tex, for the constant hopes, prayers, and encouraging details! I'm hoping too!
Check out: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01349049?term=Plexxikon&rank=3 as a possible alternative to the Astellas trial.
This is actually really interesting. One of my doctors is listed as a Principal Investigator at his center for it... So even though there are some hiccups (must be off all immunosuppression, etc.) I will definitely be asking about this today. Thank you so much for posting this!
It's a report of a drug study for people who are FLT3+. I'm not sure how it would apply to someone who's had a transplant though, but it's something that's out there. Per the report, the drug works much better on those who are FLT3+ than on those who aren't. I'm also not sure whether it would be beneficial to someone with such MRD as you. I hope the MDs at the Hutch can manage to get you the original drug through compassionate use.
I, too, was a bit confused about your flow-cytometry report. Remission is generally considered to be when the blasts in the marrow are < 5%. I surprised that they haven't lowered your immune-supressant drugs to let GVL take effect. Consider all the people who are now getting reduced-intensity conditioning pre-transplant: most of them must have MRD, because they haven't done the radiation, and the chemo isn't of as high intensity as the normal dosage. I guess I'm just confused.
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much for the link. Yep, Quizartinib... a/k/a/ AC220... That's what I want so badly. It's SO PROMISING for flt3 folks. My MRD is still flt3+... stupid flt3. My AML always did have that, so I wasn't terribly surprised when it came back through after Transplants #1 and #2.
Regarding the immunosuppression, they have fully phased out one of my two immunosuppressants (it was called Mycophenilate Mofetil, MMF, or CellCept) and now they are in the process of phasing out the other (Cyclosporine, aka GenGraf). Because these have to be phased out slowly, my last Cyclosporine dose will be January 18 -- aka Day 100 for me. Hope that clears things up...
Yes, morphologic remission is considered to be when the blasts are lower than 5%. But when there are any blasts at all, that's Minimal Residual Disease, and those blasts can and do multiply. As of today, mine have gotten into my peripheral blood (even though they were only 1.9% in the marrow, and none in the peripheral blood, 3 weeks ago). This disease moves QUICKLY.
As for the folks getting reduced-intensity conditioning pre-transplant, my docs tell me the transplant itself usually knocks out any MRD. It didn't, in my case, and now it's growing.
Options on the table (in addition to phasing out immunosuppression) include AC220 if they can get it through compassionate use, the clinical trial that Bichette linked above, and DLI. Or a combination of these things.
Will know more after today's biopsy, but I probably won't write back in until there's a plan in place. I'm getting stressed out.
MJax wrote:
I'm getting stressed out.
Let me ask you a question you might find offensive (i hope not).
If it turns out you only have three months to live, do you want to live them stressed out, with negative emotions?
I was certainly unsuccessful a lot of the time but I did my very best to just relax and figure things are going to work out. Turns out they did. And I'm still glad for every second I spent not worrying about it.
Like I said, I didn't always pull it off but I really tried.
felursus wrote:
Remission is generally considered to be when the blasts in the marrow are < 5%.
And CR is when we hit <5% and our counts have returned to normal, Or so I've been told. Wth, I'm not a doc.
This whole thing about morphologic remission is a concept I've just seen a couple of times and only recently. I'm thinking it's something they've just figured out or just figured out the importance of. Like many changes I've seen over the years, it will filter through the field, be looked at some more and ultimately disappear or become a permanent fixture...at least until the next new thing comes along.
After just reading MJax's recent latest replies, maybe the whole thing is just a word I haven't noticed before. MRD has to be a concern because they're the seeds of relapse.
When the blasts are under 5%, the disease isn't considered active, thus, "remission." But they still want to get it all gone or the disease might well come back. The thing I don't understand is why they're not doing more to reduce his cyclosporine because GVH is required for GVL. They need to get his immune system cranked up so it will gobble up the remaining disease. At least, that has been the common wisdom for as long as I've been in the BMT/SCT community. It's why I'm puzzled by the response of the doctors at the Hutch who were reticent to put me back on immune suppression, even when my GVH was kicking back up at the five-year mark.
By the way, I've been in bed, actual bed, with a bad cold and fever the past few days. I think I'm writing coherently but, if I'm not, that might be the reason. That's assuming my writing is usually coherent, of course.
Re: the morphologic remission and MRD discussion, I'll write exactly what a doctor at the Hutch told me:
Re: the question on how I'd like to live my life, regardless of whether it's a day, a year, or 100 years:
Tex, I hope you've recovered from your cold and are feeling much better!!
Okay, so I've either been completely unobservant of the word "morphological," have had a rather extended chemo brain moment of late or it's a term not used around me until recently. Any of these are quite possible. When I was first told I was in remission, that's what they were talking about.
When I was first dx'd the visual count was 20% blasts but the Flow showed 43% or 48% (one of those curvy numbers). Which explains why they were using MDS and AML interchangeably. Amazing how much detail I used to know that I simply can't rely on knowing anymore.
As for the question, we can never get it out of our head completely and I'd never suggest we should. It's one of the tricks I learned to distract myself because I simply couldn't live with the stress 24/7 and had to find a way out of it sometimes.
I remain troubled by the lack of accurate information you've received. That would be bad anywhere. At the Hutch, it remains a huge problem and I'm still astounded by it.
You're here today. That gives you a more than fighting chance at tomorrow. String enough of those together and you're post-AML. So kick ass.
MJax, thinking about the immunosuppressants, are you fully engrafted??
My chimerism is 100% donor...
Sorry to have taken so long to get back on here with a response. A LOT has happened in the past six months, some good things, some bad. But I wanted to update everyone so that, hopefully, my story will help others.
I DID finally make it onto an AC220 trial in late January, 2013. It wasn't the trial that recruited people immediately post-transplant; instead, participants have to be at least 100 days out from a transplant (and/or awaiting transplant). I began on the 30mg dose of AC220 and we saw miraculous results very early on.
The results were so great that the drug company (Astellas and Ambit -- they are running the trial jointly) mandated that we decrease my dose to 20mg. Within days of doing so, I relapsed. This was late April.
As soon as we proved with a bone marrow biopsy that the leukemia was back, the company allowed for a dose increase back to 30mg. Again, we observed a fantastic response... though not AS fantastic as it originally had been. By this time, it's May.
I was then allowed to increase the dose to 60mg. Because this trial compares the 30mg dose to the 60mg dose, participants are not permitted to tweak doses between there. At 60mg, I developed a serious GI bleed after about 10 days.
Here, I should note that my counts never recovered once I started AC220. It inhibits leukemia, but for me, it is also inhibiting the development of neutrophils, red blood cells, and platelets. For the past six months, I have been receiving transfusions of red blood cells and platelets at least once per week. And for a couple of weeks before the GI bleed began, we noticed that my platelet transfusions were not making a difference at all. No bump, ever.
The GI bleed developed two weeks ago, and I nearly died. After several days in the ICU, I began retaining the red blood cells that were being transfused, but my body kept not responding to the platelets. At this point, my providers ran my HLA typing and another test called PRA (panel of reactive antibodies that shows whether a patient has developed antibodies to platelets) and these tests confirmed that I now require HLA-matched platelets in order for transfusions to actually help.
This brings us up to the past day or so. I've received three bags of HLA-matched platelets... the first two didn't yield a bump, but the third was miraculous. My platelets went from 2 (yes, 2K) to 57 from one unit alone. It will be hard to find matches all the time. Things are very dire now. And now, my hemoglobin is dropping, causing us to suspect that the GI bleed has either begun again or I'm bleeding internally elsewhere. There are no signs yet, so we wait.
Thank you all for your prayers, happy healing thoughts, positive vibes, and general support. It may take me a long time (months, even!) but as long as I'm alive, I'll eventually provide updates as I can. My family has instructions to provide an update when I die. I don't want anyone left in the dark, because I know I've used this forum to learn about trials and tactics that could work, and I know others must as well.
Until next time,
Hi, All. This is MJax's husband; she asked me to provide an update should it be necessary. I am very sad to tell you that MJax passed away at the beginning of October. As she wrote in July, she was no longer responding to platelets, matched or otherwise, so eventually the platelet transfusions were discontinued. Blood transfusions became more frequent, but with no platelets the bleeding was uncontrolled. Her counts never recovered while on the AC-220, and they ran out of ideas/options. She grew progressively weaker, but fortunately was able to be at home at the end.
Thanks to all of you for the support you provided to her throughout her time on the boards. She was truly a remarkable woman, and I was lucky to have had her in my life. I wish you and your famillies strength, courage, and all the best as you continue to face this disease. My prayers are with you.
Thank you and condolences. I am sorry to learn how the story of her disease concluded. We never know folks well on these forums but she was a true trooper and, I think, a role model in many ways.
My only regret is somehow we all missed her last post and she didn't have a response. I am so sorry for that. These forums have hiccoughs sometimes but nor usually this poorly timed. I hope she knew we cared for her all the way through and we didn't intentionally abandon her when things got tough. That's when we usually try to be there the most.
Thank you again for letting us know. I hate this disease and the destruction it wreaks. I pray for strength, comfort and peace for you and your family.
It's with sorrow that I pass along my condolences to you on the death of your wife.
I closely followed her posts from last year from when she was at Hopkins and pursued treatment at the Hutch. I was going through the heaviest part of my treatments for AML and FLT3. I thought I had done quite a bit of research about our disease and possible treatments. Your wife went much further and explained the latest diagnostics and trials to us. I especially admired her courage and outlook, as in her own words, she was on "the quest to do my best".


text:
Greetings Plumbing Guru's
Can some one help me in sizing PRV or PRV's for my house. And a quick check of my new piping concept would be great too...
I live in a 1965 home with an inlet pressure of 95+ PSI (has seen 105 PSI), and have many leaking copper joints. Due to the leaking and extensive remodeling plans, I will likely be replacing all plumbing with new L copper (Girlfriend forbids all flavors of plastic in supply lines). Currently I have a 1" M copper supply main from the outside water meter, to the inside main shutoff valve.
Based on the IRC/IPC (in force where I live), I will have 53.5 fixture units, and I will likely install an 1-1/4" valve manifold (with sub manifolds). Manifold systems (with shut offs to individual loads) are being planned due to the following:
Staged renovation
Water closets likely to use recaptured rainwater next year (my bright idea)
Girlfriend wants high quality water filter on kitchen lines (I like this)
Girlfriend wants a separate high flow medium quality filter on shower lines (I just smile at this)
Girlfriend and I hate unexpected temperature changes in shower
No supply line is greater than 20 pipe feet from manifold to fixture, except front hose bibb
I have heard from many sources that PRV's need to be sized correctly. If its undersized it will restrict flow and have unacceptable pressure drop off during higher flow rates. If its oversized it will provide ample flow but may create noise at low flow rates.
Typically its just me and her, but about 4-5 times a year we have as many as 8 total people in the house for about a week at a time.
Should I install one PRV, or two in parallel. If two, what size(s) should they be, should they be equal size/ different size, recommended initial pressure settings, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Renovation Slave
FYI I do plan to install an expansion tank


text:
The Psychology Newsletter for Spring 2013 (.PDF, 690 KB) covers updates for the Science IV and V Buildings, profiles some of our faculty and alumni (both Graduate & Undergraduate), and highlights our Honors students and awards winners from 2012.
Research is strongly emphasized. The strength of our research programs has made the Psychology Department one of the strongest and most successful departments in the University.
Students are expected to develop the ability to initiate, execute and interpret their own projects. Lecture courses provide a broad foundation in scientific principles as well as detailed knowledge of their major areas; advanced seminars and hands-on research experience bring students to the current frontiers of their specialties.
Graduate students benefit from a highly productive research atmosphere in the department. They are exposed to a wide variety of research programs by direct participation, research seminars and colloquia in which both faculty and students participate.
Last Updated: 3/22/11


text:
Map It
Map City Services
Mayor Greg Fischer
LouisvilleKY.gov Links
All shows will be taped and broadcast on the city's MetroTV channel airing on Time Warner channel 25 and also online -- see the archive of shows below.
Special thanks to The Kentucky Center, our production partner and to WFPK 91.9 and Classical 90.5, our media partners.DirectionsMetro Hall527 W. Jefferson Street (Northwest corner of 5th and Jefferson.)Learn more about historic Louisville Metro Hall, completed in 1860. Upcoming Shows


text:
The below sequence of events will be all needed to understand the problem.
I initially installed Golive 5.0 on laptop 1 (This software is still on laptop 1). I upgraded to Golive CS. (This software is also still on laptop 1). I then upgraded to DW CS3. This required the DW CS3 serial number AND the GoLive CS serial number in order to activate DW CS3.
I later installed DW CS3 on laptop 2, which again required the DW CS3 serial number and the GoLive CS serial number to activate DW CS 3.
In the meantime I trashed the original GoLive CS disc with serial number, along with the original Golive 5.0 disc and serial number, thinking these would not ever be needed again.
I am now putting a new laptop into service (laptop 3). I wanted to install DW CS3 on laptop 3, so I uninstalled DW CS3 from laptop 1, as I am retiring it from service.
But the DW CS3 install on laptop 3 is now requiring my old GoLive CS serial number, which I trashed along with the disc months ago. I cannot complete the install of DW CS3 on laptop 3, I have uninstalled DW CS3 from laptop 1, and cannot reinstall it in order to deactivate it, as I did not know this was required. (De-activate, then uninstall?)
According to everything I've read, I should have a valid install left for DW CS3 onto computer #3, right? Should I not hope for some understanding and help from Adobe with this?
You have not mentioned any interaction with Adobe.
Yes, you should have a valid install left.
However if it wasn't deactivated on the initial machine it may not activate on your new install.
Your only option would be to contact Adobe Support to reset the activations. Generally this has been quite painless in the past. But since the version of Dreamweaver you are using is now soon to be 4 generations back (Go Live even further and no longer in exsistance), I am not sure even they will be able to help you.
Either way your only option is to contact Adobe Support. Or purchase the latest version in either full purchase or affordable subscription method.
Thanks, Ken,
I had two separate "chats" with Adobe support people. I cannot find any record of these now, although they both stated that they would escalate this problem and that I would receive email. Nothing received after over ten days. I also submitted a question directly to Adobe regarding my inability to retrieve my serial number. I even attached a screen shot of the existing "About" pop-up I get on the computer when clicking on the "About" under GoLive CS.
Further insight, I am using Mac OS X 10.4 on laptop 1 and Mac OS X 10.6.8 on 2 and 3.
I expected some responses from Adobe but am so far without any. Maybe I've been submitting my requests for some assistance to the wrong places... ? Thanks for any suggestions.
I have now found the support cases I submitted to Adobe on.. "My Adobe" under "Support Case History". They are all 4 annotated with either "Closed" or "Withdrawn". I never received anything from Adobe, and have never withdrawn them. It seems I am just being marked off their To-Do list. I realize this whole thing maybe be insignificant to many, but I really need this DW program on the second computer, and don't have the funds to buy new applications right now. I'm just trying to get what seems to be a fair shake.
Nothing the user forums can help you with here.
Contact Adobe Support again. Explain your situation and ask for another activation on your CS3 install.


text:
Advisory Against WiFi Drivers in Linux Staging Tree
Dan Williams, Red Hat collaborator and NetworkManager developer, might be upset but doesn't let it get to him. In the GNOME blog, he advises "just say no" to WiFi drivers in the linux-staging tree and recommends changes.
The reason for Williams's concern is that apparently none of the WiFi drivers in the linux-staging tree will detect access points with hidden SSIDs, partly because they don't set the IW_SCAN_CAPA_ESSID capability bit. Plus the popular Ralink drivers found in many netbooks don't have SSID scanning capability at all in staging.
Just a reminder: the linux-staging tree originally came into being to store drivers in the early stages of developent, whereby developers and vendors could work on them in peace. However, many distributors actually have been delivering these drivers.
Williams complains in his blog that he had added the IW_SCAN_CAPA_ESSID capability patch to wireless extensions two years ago and no one seems to have worked with the community to include the patch.
He describes the two kinds of staging drivers quite vividly: "a) old dried gum from under the cafeteria table (drivers with a future), and (b) fresh vomit from the hung-over kid in your math class (those without a future)." Drivers without a future include are the Ralink drivers rt2860, rt2870, rt3070, rt3090, wlan-ng, vt665x that are still based on forks of the old ieee80211stack.
Williams recommends working with the drivers "with a future," which use the kernel's mac80211 stack (such as the rtx00 drivers), and leave the old drivers alone. There are just too few developers, he says, and priorities must be set. In the former case developers might have to wait six months to get a decent wireless driver, but then will get great software, with power-saving, background scanning and other modern functions.
BackwardsI think you have a) and b) 's future prospects backwards.
Issue 163/2014
Buy this issue as a PDF
Digital Issue: Price $9.99
(incl. VAT)
Tag Cloud
KDE Announces Software Compilation 4.13
New release comes with better semantic search and improvements to Kontact.
Coverity: Open Source Code has Fewer Defects
Annual code quality report shows FOSS is more secure at all project size levels.
An Even Smaller Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced an even smaller version of the tiny computer that will fit into a DIMM slot.
Freaky Privilege Escalation Attack
A new class of problems lets a malicious app pre-configure an invisible privilege update.
Facebook Rolls Out New PHP-like Programming Language
New Hack language adds static typing and other conveniences.
Fedora Announces Innovative Crytography Policy System
New crypto policy system will offer easier configuration and more uniform security.
Shuttleworth Calls for Declarative Firmware
Ubuntu founder denounces insecurity in proprietary, close-source software blobs.
New TLS Attack Takes the S out of HTTPS
Vulnerability affects many Linux web servers
Munich Adopts Kolab
The Bavarian capital shuns Microsoft, Google, and other alternatives to implement an open source groupware solution.
Canonical Announces Ubuntu Smartphones
Phone vendor partnerships bring Mark Shuttleworth's dream of Ubuntu on a phone a step closer to reality.


text:
Information contained on this page is provided by an independent third-party content provider. WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you have any questions or comments about this page please contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
SOURCE Wonder Technologies, Inc.
Why Wait for a Special Occasion? Create Wonder and Give the Unexpected Gift Card When They Least Expect It
SILICON VALLEY and LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, the new Wonder app is available for consumers to give the e-gift cards their friends and family really want instantly from the convenience of their smartphone. With Wonder, finally the digital gift card experience is personal for both the gift giver and those they want to treat for big holidays or small moments.
SILICON VALLEY and LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, the new Wonder app is available for consumers to give the e-gift cards their friends and family really want instantly from the convenience of their smartphone. With Wonder, finally the digital gift card experience is personal for both the gift giver and those they want to treat for big holidays or small moments.
"We are excited to introduce Wonder as the most innovative gift card marketplace out there," said Gerry Goldstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Wonder Technologies, Inc., www.gowonder.com. "Wonder connects gift card buyers and recipients in a more thoughtful and meaningful way and offers the best redemption experience by simply swiping your credit card. Only with Wonder can consumers conveniently give e-gift cards from any merchant in the U.S., whether it's a favorite local boutique or a national brand."
Wonder gives consumers the best choice, convenience and personalization available in the gift card marketplace today. Wonder's patent-pending technology allows users to effortlessly and discreetly redeem e-gift cards at any merchant by paying as usual with their credit card while never losing or forgetting a gift card again.
Give the Gift of Wonder Throughout the Year
Whether you're traveling on your loved one's Birthday, a parent miles away from your college-age child, or you miss your "Bestie" in another city, e-gift cards on occasions throughout the year are perfect for people separated by distance to express their affection and make their thought count. In fact, 60% of consumers said they preferred gift cards to physical gifts for the holidays (National Retail Federation, 2013).
The free Wonder app, available today in the iTunes App store, is easy to use and delivers e-gifts to anyone with an email address or mobile phone number. Pick a restaurant for date night, a massage at a local spa, or a shopping spree at a favorite boutique. Then select the amount you want to give, add a personal note, and send.
With Wonder, you can be confident you are giving a great experience. The recipient receives the Wonder e-gift card instantly, and can accept the gift and send a thank you note immediately from their smartphone or computer. The Wonder e-gift card never expires. Once accepted, the recipient can redeem the gift when they want. Even if your e-gift card is sent last minute, your thoughtfulness and generosity will be appreciated long afterwards.
Wonder App Features?
Wonder gift cards are "green" so you can ditch the plastic of traditional gift cards. They get used because they can't be lost or forgotten. The Wonder e-gift card is simply linked to any credit card via the Wonder app or website so they are always present. Balances are visible on the app, and GPS reminders tell you when you're nearby the merchant for easy redemption. Browse friend's favorites, select from curated picks, or choose a local hip hangout and give gifts you know they will love. Make the gift extra special by inviting others to contribute and use Wonder's group gifting feature to easily coordinate a friend's, a teacher's or a coach's group gift.
Wonder e-gift cards are stored securely in the Cloud and linked to any credit card via the Wonder app or website.
Merchants Benefit ?
For U.S. merchants, Wonder offers a closed loop, e-gifting solution for the 21st century. Wonder provides merchants with greater consumer reach, delivers an attractive consumer demographic to the store, and requires no staff training, changes to Point of Sale (POS) software, or hardware upgrades for e-gift redemption. With its patent-pending technology, Wonder can redeem e-gifts using existing payment systems, enabling merchants of all sizes to participate and have access to advanced market data. Wonder targets brick-and-mortar businesses in the Restaurant, Health & Beauty, Activity & Events, Shopping, and Hospitality categories.
The $140 billion gift card industry isn't slowing down. E-gifting, through digital and mobile channels, has taken hold and will deliver $4 billion in spending in the U.S., a 8-fold increase over 2012 (CEB Tower Group, 2013).
About Wonder Technologies, Inc.? Based in the Silicon Valley and Laguna Beach, Wonder was founded in March 2013 by a small team of dedicated technologists and passionate "e-gifters" determined to leverage mobile and payments technology to help businesses of all sizes; and improve the e-gift card experience so it is convenient and personal for consumers. With the Wonder Gift Card App, the company's first product, Wonder created a revolutionary marketplace where consumers can discover and instantly purchase e-gift cards from national retailers and local merchants in the U.S. And merchants have the opportunity to easily broaden their consumer reach and gain valuable customer insights. Please visit www.gowonder.com for more information.
Carolyn Miller McCusker
Media Relations, Wonder Technologies, Inc.
Cell: (650) 291-0992
Multimedia Assets associated with this release:
Video: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-MM64719-20140213-1.mp4
Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140219/MM64719-a
Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140219/MM64719LOGO-b
Related Link
Launch Press Release
©2012 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.