text:
Lord Justice General
Lord Emslie
Lord Marnoch
Appeal No: XC117/10
delivered by THE LORD JUSTICE GENERAL
DUNCAN McLEAN
Appellant: Shead, MacDonald; Drummond Miller
Respondent: Bain, Q.C., A.D.; Crown Agent
8 July 2011
The procedural history
[1] On 21 July 2008 a motor vehicle being kept at Muir Garage, Edzell was deliberately set on fire. The vehicle was destroyed. Within two days James MacKinnon, who had suffered facial burns as a result of this event, was identified as the person who had set the fire. Having been cautioned he was detained in terms of section 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. In the course of a journey by police car to Arbroath Police Station MacKinnon volunteered that the appellant had paid him £100 to set the vehicle alight.
[2] In the early hours of 23 July 2008 the appellant was detained under section 14 of the Act and interviewed under caution. In the course of that interview he made certain self-incriminating remarks.
[3] The police also gathered certain further evidence incriminating the appellant. That comprised text messages, recorded on MacKinnon's mobile phone, passing between the appellant and MacKinnon preliminary to access being gained by the latter to the garage. These messages pointed clearly to the appellant's involvement in the criminal enterprise. The police also obtained a statement from Sarah MacKinnon, a sister of MacKinnon, to the effect that the appellant was to provide another (stolen) vehicle to MacKinnon as consideration for his assistance in the fire-raising. That statement was consistent with the content of the text messages.
[4] MacKinnon was indicted on a charge of wilful fire-raising which "destroyed a motor vehicle, garage equipment and damage to garage premises". On 12 February 2009 he pled guilty pursuant to a section 76 indictment libelling that charge. The appellant was subsequently indicted on charges of (1) theft (of the vehicle to provide the consideration) and (2) wilful fire-raising in the same terms as that to which MacKinnon had pled guilty. MacKinnon and his sister appeared in the list of Crown witnesses scheduled to that indictment. A first diet was fixed for 17 March 2009, continued to 24 March 2009 and further continued to 9 April 2009.
[5] On 27 March 2009 the appellant's solicitor lodged a devolution minute in which he contended that the leading of evidence in relation to the police interview (which had taken place without the appellant having the benefit of legal advice) would be contrary to his rights under article 6(3)(c) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Having heard parties in debate on 6 April, the sheriff decided to refer the devolution minute, as adjusted, to the High Court for determination. That reference was finally heard by a bench of seven judges of that court on 20 and 21 October 2009. On the latter date the court announced that it would direct the sheriff to refuse the devolution minute, holding in effect that the content of the interview was not inadmissible on Convention grounds. The court stated that it would give its written reasons for that decision in due course. Before the court adjourned counsel for the minuter (the present appellant) sought leave to appeal that decision to the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Counsel recognised, however, that that application might be premature since the full reasons for the court's decision were not yet available. The court continued the application for leave to appeal. It remitted the case to the sheriff court for trial.
[6] Before the court's reasons were issued (and before the application for leave to appeal had been disposed of) the case called in the sheriff court on 7 December 2009. The appellant's solicitor formally moved the devolution minute but, having regard to the decision of the High Court, the sheriff refused it. Thereafter the appellant, being personally present and having the services of a solicitor, immediately offered to plead guilty in restricted terms to the indictment. The restrictions were the acceptance by the Crown of a plea of not guilty to charge (1) (the theft charge) and the restriction of charge (2) by deletion of the references to destruction of garage equipment and damage to the garage premises (so limiting the consequences of the fire-raising to the destruction of the motor vehicle). The procurator fiscal accepted that restricted plea, which was duly recorded. The case was continued for the preparation of reports. On 14 January 2010 the procurator fiscal presented to the sheriff a narrative of the circumstances of the offence. There was a challenge to one aspect of that narrative but that issue was subsequently resolved. On 29 January the sheriff had before him a social enquiry report which included the statement: "Mr McLean takes full responsibility for his behaviour in relation to the index offence ...". On that date the sheriff sentenced the appellant to twelve months' imprisonment, discounted by reason of his plea of guilty.
[7] Thereafter in February 2010 the appellant, notwithstanding his plea of guilty, lodged a note of appeal against both conviction and sentence. Leave to appeal against sentence was refused. After the decision of the Supreme Court in Cadder v HM Advocate 2010 SCCR 951 was issued, leave to appeal against conviction was granted. After sundry procedure the appeal called before us for hearing. The court had at no stage been asked to determine the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court its decision intimated on 22 October 2009, notwithstanding that its reasons were issued on 15 December of that year.
The submissions of parties
[8] In his note of appeal the appellant contends that the Lord Advocate, acting through the procurator fiscal, in two respects acted ultra vires: (1) in raising the indictment against the appellant and (2) in accepting his restricted plea of guilty. He also contends that, in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Cadder, the decision of the sheriff to refuse the devolution minute was wrong in law. In these circumstances it is said that there has been a miscarriage of justice.
[9] Mr Shead submitted that in indicting the appellant and in subsequently accepting his plea of guilty in restricted terms, the procurator fiscal had relied to a material extent on the appellant's responses at police interview. These responses had been obtained in contravention of the appellant's Convention rights (Cadder). Accordingly, at each stage the Lord Advocate, through the procurator fiscal, had acted beyond her powers. There was no question of the appellant having waived any right. When he had pled guilty, the ruling authority was the decision of the High Court in McLean v HM Advocate 2010 SCCR; at that stage he had no appreciation of any right to object to the use of the police interview. A waiver of a right must not only be voluntary but must also "constitute a knowing and intelligent relinquishment of a right" (Pishchalnikov v Russia [2009] ECHR 1357, at para 77). Reference was also made to Millar v Dickson 2001 SCCR 74, especially per Lord Bingham of Cornhill at para [27]. It was sufficient that the tainted evidence had been used by the prosecutor (Pishchalnikov, at para 90). If, contrary to the appellant's primary contention, it was necessary for him to rely on domestic jurisprudence, reliance was placed on Pickett v HM Advocate 2007 SCCR 389 for the circumstances in which, notwithstanding a plea of guilty had been tendered and accepted, a miscarriage of justice might have occurred. The plea had been tendered on the erroneous basis that the decision in McLean was good law. The appellant had been uninformed as to his true right, namely, to challenge the use against him of the police interview. The circumstances were "clearly prejudicial" to him (Healy v HM Advocate 1990 SCCR 110).
[10] The Advocate depute accepted that, in light of the subsequent decision of the Supreme Court in Cadder, the responses elicited from the appellant at the police interview were susceptible to challenge as inadmissible evidence against him. But it was not ultra vires for the Lord Advocate to indict an accused person on the basis of evidence which might in the course of the proceedings be held, if challenged, to be inadmissible. This was not a case in which the whole of the evidence available to the Crown was challengeable on Convention grounds or otherwise. Leaving aside the responses at police interview, the other evidence was sufficient in law to base a conviction. Quite apart from MacKinnon, McKinnon's sister and the text messages, there was other circumstantial evidence available to the Crown. It was clear that the appellant had, in pleading guilty, had the benefit of legal advice. There was no suggestion that that advice had been negligent. By tendering the plea the appellant accepted responsibility for his conduct. It was open to the Crown to accept that plea even if the evidence which it would or might have relied on at any trial was challengeable on Convention or on other grounds. A plea of guilty could be accepted by the Crown even if it had (for example, at a first appearance on petition) only a single source of incriminatory evidence against the accused. If the evidence was challenged, or perceived to be susceptible to challenge, the Crown could always re-group and rely on other evidence. In this case the appellant had, in his plea in mitigation, relied on his responses at police interview as an early admission of guilt and so obtained the benefit of a discount in sentence. A plea of guilty was quite different in character from the waiver of any right. Millar v Dickson was distinguishable. There was no justification for quashing this guilty plea.
[11] At the stage of drawing an indictment a number of sources of evidence may be available to the prosecutor. One or more of these sources may be potentially open to challenge, but under our procedures any such challenge will fall to be resolved by Crown concession or, failing that, by a formal court ruling in due course. A decision to indict is not at common law invalid because one of the sources of evidence on the basis of which the decision was taken is later withdrawn or turns out to be inadmissible. Nor, in our view, is such a decision ultra vires because, as the law turns out, one of the sources of evidence is inadmissible against the accused on Convention grounds.
[12] In the present case the prosecutor had available to him a number of other sources of evidence quite independent of the appellant's responses at police interview. These other sources on their own were sufficient in law to justify the instruction of proceedings. If the decision in Cadder had been issued between the date of the service of the indictment on the appellant and the date of any contested trial, the procurator fiscal would have been in a position to discard the responses at police interview and rely at trial solely on the other sources of evidence. His decision to indict was not rendered ultra vires simply because, at the time that he took it, he believed that he had available to him admissible evidence from the interview and took that material into account in deciding to indict.
[13] Pishchalnikov v Russia was concerned with the admission by the court of flawed evidence at trial and the decisive reliance by the court on that evidence to convict. The same is true of Salduz v Turkey (2009) 49 EHRR 19 and of Cadder, in each of which the flawed evidence was admitted and relied on to secure a conviction. That stage was never reached in the present case. It is the use of flawed evidence to secure a conviction which renders a trial unfair.
[14] Perhaps the greatest problem facing the appellant in this case is that his conviction followed upon a formal plea of guilty. In Reedie v HM Advocate 2005 SCCR 407 Lord Justice Clerk Gill (delivering the Opinion of the Court) said at para [11]:
"A plea of guilty is a full admission of the libel in all its particulars. ... It is not a conditional admission that is subject to reconsideration in the light of a subsequent decision of the court ... In view of the conclusive nature of such a plea, it can be withdrawn only in exceptional circumstances. ...".
[15] The appellant pled guilty to the libel as restricted and by so doing, combined with his early admissions to the police (upon which he relied), obtained a discount on sentence. He was personally present and had had the advice of his solicitor. There is no suggestion that he did not have the opportunity to give full consideration to that advice before instructing the plea. That formal plea amounted to acceptance by him before the court of full responsibility for the conduct averred in the restricted charge. Unless the procurator fiscal had reason to believe that the proffered charge was false - and there is no suggestion that that was the case - he was entitled to accept that plea. At that stage sufficiency of evidence, including any question of a challenge to the admissibility of any element of it, was not a live issue. The appellant simply chose to confess his guilt. There was no reason why the prosecutor should not have accepted his plea. We can see no basis on which his act in accepting it was ultra vires.
[16] As confirmed in Reedie, a plea of guilty is not subject to reconsideration in the light of a subsequent decision of the court. Thus, the circumstance that the Supreme Court subsequently ruled that evidence elicited at a police interview without legal advice was not Convention-compliant and therefore inadmissible against an accused is no basis for holding that the plea or the conviction which proceeded from it was vitiated. Mr Shead, however, sought to rely to some extent on the nature of the advice which, he said, had been given to the appellant before he instructed his plea of guilty. No prior notice of this line had been given in the note of appeal or in the appellant's case and argument. No evidence was proffered in support of it. The Advocate depute, having been given no notice of this line, was not prepared to accept without proof the accuracy of the account. The account as articulated was imprecise. It amounted to the suggestion that in the course of advising the appellant his solicitor had stated, not merely that the tendering of the plea at this stage would attract a discount on sentence, but also that it "would not necessarily prejudice the prospect of an appeal to the Supreme Court" (against the High Court's ruling in October). It will be recalled that the appellant's counsel had sought leave to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court and that that application had been continued. At the time when this advice is said to have been given the application had not been disposed of. We would find it very surprising if a solicitor practising in Scotland would tender any such advice. Whatever the practice may be elsewhere, there is no practice in this jurisdiction under which an accused person, having tendered a plea of guilty following a judicial ruling, can have his conviction set aside if that ruling is subsequently overturned. In any event, the advice was not that his guilty plea would be reconsidered in the event of a successful appeal to the Supreme Court but that that plea would "not necessarily prejudice" the prospect of an appeal. That clearly recognised the prospect that the appellant's plea would, for the purposes of the proceedings against him, be conclusive. The plea was ultimately tendered in that knowledge.
[17] It is clear from the passage cited from Reedie that the circumstances in which a plea of guilty will be set aside as constituting a miscarriage of justice are very limited. The cited passage continues:
"There is little scope, if any, for the withdrawal of a plea that has been tendered on legal advice and with the admitted authority of the accused."
The case of Rimmer, Petitioner 2002 SCCR 1 is there cited. Passages in the Opinions of Lord Cameron of Lochbroom at para [16] and Lord Marnoch at page 15 may have been in the court's mind.
[18] In Pickett v HM Advocate the court also cited a passage from the Opinion of Lord Justice Clerk Ross in Healy v HM Advocate in which his Lordship indicated that before the court would grant a remedy in relation to a plea of guilty which had been wrongly tendered:
"the court would require to be satisfied that there were exceptional circumstances justifying such a course. As the advocate-depute put it, it would have to be shown that the pleas had been tendered under some real error or misconception or in circumstances which were clearly prejudicial to the appellant. We are satisfied that that is the approach which must be made because it is a recognised principle of the law that there must be some finality in litigation and it would not be in the interests of justice if individuals after they had been sentenced were permitted lightly or easily to withdraw pleas of guilty which had been tendered merely by asserting that on their part there had never been any real willingness to make the plea."
The expression "circumstances which were clearly prejudicial to the appellant" is somewhat imprecise. But we are quite satisfied that the Lord Justice Clerk did not have in mind circumstances such as the present. Likewise we are satisfied that the plea, which was a restricted plea tendered on advice, did not involve any "real error or misconception".
[19] In all the circumstances we are not persuaded that this is a case in which the guilty plea should be set aside. The appeal is refused.


text:
Northern Quebec Canada
View Single Post
Joined: Sep 2009
Oddometer: 3
Hey guys,
Great ride report...I've been waiting for this one.
I did the Trans-Lab Hwy from Montreal last year in mid-May...I froze the whole way up and the rain didn't let up until I reached Quebec City on the way back...I actually ran into snow patches.
The Taiiga Road was definitely next on my list but I ended up heading out West to complete the Dempster Hwy as the initial leg of my PanAm Adv.
I didn't realize the Taiiga Road was that isolated. I LOVE IT!!!! I''ll head up there in the spring as I leave PanAm in Sept.
If you guys, or anyone else for that matter, are looking for another Northern Quebec Adv, I must suggest Schefferville.
I tried heading up when I was there last May but that road is where I started running into snow on the road, so I turned back... 1ft deep wet snow, heavy rain, and the halfway mark is also the halfway mark of my fuel supply (KLR).
There is a 75km section of road missing (doesn't exist) however there is a railway available. The road ends in a small summer cottage town (diserted in spring w/ no supplies) where the railway continues North until the road FROM Schefferville intersects it 75km later. Trains only run 2 days of the week and the official schedule can be obtained from the trainlines company.
This is the Northernmost Point reachable by Motorbike in Eastearn Canada.
Thanks for the report guys, Ride Long.
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by motoexpedition

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"I'm working on this real hard. And I'm getting it right this time."
Philip was not using drugs when he came to The Salvation Army. In fact, he had been clean from his methamphetamine addiction for 11 years. But he was living in an environment where drugs were prevalent. He recognized the danger and the risk of relapse, and he sought out The Salvation Army.
"When I first walked through those doors, I thought it was just a place to stay … but now I know."
What Philip found was that The Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center rehabilitates body, mind and spirit. During his meth addiction, he once went seven days without sleeping or eating. And even while he was clean, he lived in fear. But at The Salvation Army, he finally found rest and freedom. He discovered a more meaningful way to deal with his addiction, and through the program, he discovered – for the first time – that he "had a soul."
Today, Philip is reconnecting and reuniting with the children and grandchildren that meth took away from him. And although he knows that the day he leaves The Salvation Army will be a sad day, he is looking forward to moving into his own apartment and continuing to live "a free man."


text:
Only on certain product, in this case, DMs Druid Valley, I try to load the .obj right from DS3 or from the base file, and DS tells me it can't find the .obj. I do a find, and it doesn't see the files, which I know are in the base file. But I don't see it during the DS find search.
What I am wondering ... When I download anything and install it, I move and organize the individual products in a way that I can easily find them, my own system. In most case, everything works fine. But today, a couple things I want are giving me that 'find' error, even after re-install and organize. Is it because I am moving the file after install?


text:
Sequester will affect Grand Canyon visitors
PHOENIX -- The Grand Canyon National Park had almost 4.5 million visitors last year and those visitors won't have to look hard to see the impact of the sequester.
Maureen Oltrogee with the National Park Service said visitors can expect to see closed trails and dirtier bathrooms and campgrounds.
"Obviously the busier the park gets and the less staff we have, the more chances of longer lines getting into the park."
The canyon is getting into the busy season and, for now, won't be able to hire up the extra seasonal help.
"We won't have the extra staff that we need as we're gearing up at the entrance stations," said Oltrogee. "If we can't open up all of the gates and stacking lanes, that could delay people getting into the park."
Winter could add to the challenge. A major snowstorm could mean it will take longer to get the roads cleared.
A Michigan State University study said Grand Canyon visitors spent almost $500 million in 2011.


text:
Did you ever consider that what you eat for dinner could impact the worldwide food chain? You may not have, but author and acclaimed chef Barton Seaver has. He wants people to realize the environmental benefit of cooking with fish that is in season. In this edition of A Closer Look: "Seasonal Seafood," Seaver shares three delicious seafood recipes: Pink Salmon Cakes with Dill and Mustard, Pink Salmon and Basil Salad, and Fish Brine 1 for Hot Smoking.
Seasonal Seafood is available to all registered CBN Online Community members.
CBN Online Community membership is free, and you will enjoy the benefits of:
No problems printing it. Thanks!
Sue Almond Jun 15, 2011 at 8:53 pm Flag as inappropriate
got it through adobe. Thanks!
Teresa Rodgers Jun 15, 2011 at 8:32 pm Flag as inappropriate
I cannot print it either.
Barbara Petrucci Jun 14, 2011 at 9:28 pm Flag as inappropriate
I can't print it.
Angela Jun 14, 2011 at 5:17 pm Flag as inappropriate


text:
JRuby Roundup: 1.1.1 with Profiler, Startup Performance Boost, GSoC '08
The JRuby 1.1.1 release provides mostly bug fixes for JRuby 1.1, like a fix for a bug causing problems with IBM JDKs. See the release notes for a complete list of bug fixes and improvements.
One new feature is the
Continuing the JRuby performance work, JRuby's Charles Nutter discovered a way to improve JRuby's startup performance:
One new feature is the
--profile flag. This launches JRuby with JIP - The Java Interactive Profiler enabled. JIP is now part of the JRuby distribution and comes with configuration to make it work with JRuby's class loaders (JIP works using Java's instrumentation feature which allows modification of bytecodes). Note: JIP profiles the bytecode of the JRuby runtime and the bytecode generated at runtime.
Continuing the JRuby performance work, JRuby's Charles Nutter discovered a way to improve JRuby's startup performance:
I just committed a change to the JRuby startup scripts that boosts startup speed by almost 70% (for me). It loads the JRuby jars (and CLASSPATH) into bootclasspath instead of normal classpath, bypassing verification (and apparently other things, since this is way faster than -Xverify:none). It should also be a safe change; JRuby's core should have been verified a kajillion times before release, and code generated at runtime will be verified as normal.JRuby is also represented in the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2008 with a few projects:
- RMagick for JRuby by Sergio Rodriguez Arbeo, mentor JRuby's Thomas Enebo. The project aims to get support for the RMagick library, which allows access to the popular ImageMagick. As mentioned in the project summary, there is already some support for RMagick available in JRuby Extras project, which hosts various libraries for JRuby.
- Useful Rails Benchmarks and JRuby Rails Perf Analysis by Sergey Vidyuk, mentor JRuby's Charles Nutter. The project aims to improve Rails performance on JRuby.
Hello stranger!You need to Register an InfoQ account or Login or login to post comments. But there's so much more behind being registered.
Get the most out of the InfoQ experience.
Tell us what you think
Educational Content
LDAP at Lightning Speed
Howard Chu Jul 05, 2015
Product thru the Looking Glass
Chris Matts Jul 05, 2015
The Bad Idea Terminator
Melissa Perri Jul 05, 2015
Transformational Life of a True Agile Leader
Evelyn Tian Jul 05, 2015
Sponsored Links


text:
Disease Summaries
Treatment of Asthma in Children 5 Years and Under, Based on Different Global Guidelines
Posted: November 2009
Paul C. Potter, MD
Director & Head: Allergy Diagnostic & Clinical Research Unit
University of Cape Town Lung Institute, George Street, Mowbray, 7700, South Africa
Email: email@example.com
Asthma guidelines have been developed during the past 15 years to increase awareness of this disease among physicians and other healthcare professionals, to improve its management, and to evaluate published reports and promote international collaboration in asthma research. This commentary focuses on the highlights of the diagnosis and treatment recommendations included in four recent "global" guidelines published between 2007 and 2009 for children 5 years and under. These guidelines include: The Practical Allergy PRACTALL guidelines1; the European Respiratory Society Task Force (ERS) paediatric asthma guidelines2; the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) paediatric guidelines3; and the guidelines for diagnosis and management of asthma by an Expert Panel Report of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Programme (NAEPP) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services4.
The first evidence-based guidelines for asthma were published under GINA in 1995. These were revised in 2006 (www.ginasthma.org). The prevalence of asthma in children ranged between 1 and 30% globally, and symptoms of asthma were defined as wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing at night or in the morning. Risk factors, such as allergens, viral infections, exercise, and emotional and chemical irritants were identified, and guidelines were provided to diagnose and treat the disease.
While the 2006 GINA guidelines provided evidence based treatment of asthma for children over 5 years, it was felt that there was insufficient information to diagnose and manage asthma in children 5 years and under. General principles in the updated guidelines applicable to the management of asthma of all ages include the importance of a partnership for education between physicians and other healthcare professionals and the patient, and a stepwise pharmacological approach for treatment. A classification by "level of control" was proposed as being more practically relevant, bearing in mind the variability of disease. This classification was considered to be more useful than previous classifications based on "severity". In clinical practice, the "severity" of the patient's asthma changes in response to treatment. As a result, patients may present initially with severe asthma, according to a severity classification, but a good response to treatment could move them into a "moderate" or "mild" symptom category at the next visit. Thus, treatment adjustments, according to GINA guidelines, are based on the "level of control" rather than an initial severity grading.
There is an assumption in applying the 2006 GINA guidelines that the diagnosis of asthma is accurate. However, in children 5 years and younger, the diagnosis can be difficult. In some children the disease evolves from a wheezing illness to "asthma," while in other children who experience wheezing "asthma" never develops. There are also children 5 years and younger who wheeze episodically or have episodic cough and do not have asthma, but they have an alternative diagnosis such as gastroesophageal reflux, cystic fibrosis, aspiration, immune deficiency, congenital heart disease, tuberculosis or bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
The PRACTALL Guidelines
Since the updated 2006 GINA guidelines for the 5 years and younger age group were deficient in addressing the needs of children with "wheezy illnesses," pediatricians convened in Europe to prepare opinion based guidelines more applicable to young children. The PRACTALL guidelines for asthma were published under the auspices of Charite University of Berlin in 20081 by an expert team nominated by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).
In these guidelines, at least four patterns of wheezing were proposed. These include: "transient wheezing", in the first 2 years of life only; "non atopic wheezing," triggered by viral infections and remitting in later childhood; "persistent asthma" with atopy, eosinophilia, food allergy, a positive parental history and high indoor exposure to allergens; and "severe intermittent wheezing", with infrequent episodes with minimal morbidity between episodes but with atopic characteristics.
Risk factors identified in the PRACTALL guidelines for persistent asthma and exacerbations include: more severe symptoms in the first 2 years of life, high exposure to indoor allergens in infancy, human rhinovirus infections, passive tobacco smoke exposure, lack of exercise, excessive weight gain, psychological stress and food allergy, for children 4 years or older.
These guidelines recommend a step-up treatment for preventive pharmacological treatment for asthma in children older than 2 years of age. The treatment algorithm commences with an option of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP), 200µg equivalent or the leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) montelukast, 4mg for 2-4 years and 5mg for 5 years and upwards. In this guideline the term LTRA is used, but "evidence" in each case is only provided for montelukast. If control is insufficient, the ICS can be increased to BDP, 400µg equivalent or add an ICS to montelukast. Should this step not lead to control of symptoms, the ICS can be increased to BDP 800µg equivalent or montelukast can be added to the higher dose ICS. A long acting beta2-agonist also can be added to the ICS before considering other options such as theophylline, oral corticosteroids or omalizumlab.
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Task Force Paediatric Guideline
The ERS Task Force published a document later in 20082, using an "evidence based approach" in an attempt to improve guidelines for the management in children 5 years or less with wheezy illnesses2, 5. These guidelines stress that there is poor2, 5 agreement on the definitions of different phenotypes for preschool wheezing disorders, that patients may move from one phenotype to another, and that it is difficult to make a firm recommendation for asthma treatments in children under 5 years of age, using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach3, 5.
The authors therefore propose that wheeze in young children, 5 years or less in age, should be classified as "episodic" (viral) or "multiple trigger" wheeze, which are not mutually exclusive. They also draw attention to the fact that the GINA definition of asthma requires the presence of "inflammation" of the airways, and since there is very little published data on biopsy findings of the airways in young children and infants with wheezy illnesses, that the term "asthma" should probably not be used for preschool children, especially since data concerning "underlying inflammation" is lacking.
The 2008 ERS guidelines recommend that for children 5 years or less with "multiple trigger wheeze", treatment should be initiated with a trial of an ICS, up to BDP, 400µg equivalent, or fluticasone, 200µg per day for a period of about 3 months. A systematic review of randomized double-blind placebo controlled trials of ICS in preschool children with multiple-trigger wheeze has shown significant improvements in important health outcomes including symptoms, exacerbation rates, lung function and airway hyperresponsiveness4, 6. However, marked variations in responses occur between patients. Those patients with frequent symptoms aged 2 years or older and with a family history of asthma respond best to treatment with ICS. Children aged 2 years or younger without a family history of asthma and less frequent symptoms have no significant treatment effect2, 7.
If there is a good clinical response to treatment, the ICS should be withdrawn, to confirm the need for its ongoing use and to check for spontaneous remission. The rationale behind this strategy is to avoid ICS unnecessarily for extended periods when a subject only has a short wheezy illness, since prolonged use may affect the hypophyseal-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). For children who have "episodic viral wheeze", these ERS guidelines note that the use of ICS in preschool children does not reduce the risk of persistent wheeze at the age of 6 years and that symptoms return when glucocorticoid therapy is discontinued. Daily use of montelukast over a one-year period in these children reduced wheezy episodes by 32% and resulted in a 30% reduction in unscheduled health visits but had no effect on hospitalisations compared with placebo.
The 2009 GINA Paediatric Guidelines
GINA published a new guideline in 2009 specifically addressing the management of asthma in children 5 years and younger www.ginasthma.org3. This comprehensive guideline deals specifically with risk factors associated with the development, diagnosis, management, and treatment (education, control, pharmacotherapy for chronic and acute exacerbations) of asthma in young children. Table 1 demonstrates the levels of control defined in the 2009 GINA guidelines3.
TABLE 1: Levels of Asthma Control in Children 5 Years and Younger*
(All of the following)
|Partly Controlled
(Any measure present in any week)
(3 or more of features of partly controlled asthma in any week)
|Daytime symptoms: wheezing, cough, difficult breathing
(less than twice/week, typically for short periods on the order of minutes and rapidly relieved by use of a rapid acting bronchodilator)
|More than twice/week
(typically for short periods on the order of minutes and rapidly relieved by use of a rapid-acting bronchodilator)
|More than twice/week
(typically last minutes or hours or recur, but partially or fully relieved with rapid-acting bronchodilator)
|Limitations of activities
(child is fully active, plays and runs without limitations or symptoms)
(may cough, wheeze, or have difficulty breathing during exercise, vigorous play, or laughing)
(may cough, wheeze or have difficulty breathing during exercise, vigorous play, or laughing)
|Nocturnal symptoms/awakening
(including no nocturnal coughing during sleep)
(typically coughs during sleep or wakes with cough, wheezing, and/or difficult breathing)
(typically coughs during sleep or wakes with cough, wheezing, and/or difficult breathing)
|Need for reliever/rescue treatment
|≤2 days/week
|>2 days/week
|>2 days/week
The 2009 GINA guidelines rank the evidence for recommendations into four categories, A to D, in which level A is from randomized controlled trials with a rich body of data. Level B is from randomized controlled trials for which there is a limited body of data including subgroup or meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Level C evidence is from observational studies or non-randomized trials and Level D is evidence from a panel consensus based on clinical experience, where provision of some guidance was deemed valuable but the clinical literature addressing the subject was insufficient to justify placement in one of the other categories.
These guidelines indicate that for prevention or management of asthma there is mixed evidence for house dust mite avoidance measures. A Cochrane Analysis questions the effectiveness of house dust mite avoidance for the treatment of established asthma8, and there is no evidence that anti-house dust mite measures prevent the onset of asthma9. There is insufficient evidence to recommend for, or against a pet in the home, unless the child is sensitised to the pet10. There is increased evidence for sensitization to Alternaria11 and cockroach species12 as risk factors for severity, no evidence for protective effects of diet in pregnancy and lactation13, some evidence for tobacco avoidance as a risk factor for early wheezing and no evidence for probiotic administration to prevent asthma in this age group14. Maternal "distress" and caesarean section were identified as probable risk factors for asthma, and broad spectrum antibiotics should be used with circumspection in young children and only for recognised indications (Evidence D).
The newest GINA guidelines highlight the difficulties in differentiating a viral respiratory infection from asthma in children 5 years or younger in age. Factors which support a diagnosis of "asthma" include recurrent symptoms of wheeze/cough, especially during sleep and with exercise, laughing or crying, as well as an atopic family history and evidence of allergic sensitization. There is no role for pulmonary lung function tests in this age group except for research, and a chest x-ray is recommended only if the diagnosis is in doubt or a complication suspected.
These same guidelines also recognise the wheezy phenotypes described by the ERS2 Task Force as episodic wheeze or multiple trigger wheeze as well as the retrospective wheezy phenotypes reported by Martinez (1995): "transient wheeze", which stops before 3 years of age; "persistent wheeze", which continues after 3 years of age; and "late onset wheeze", which begins after 3 years.
Asthma may present with any of these wheezy patterns, but asthma occurs more rarely in the episodic wheeze and transient wheeze phenotypes compared to the other phenotypes3. Asthma predictive indices (APIs), referred to in the GINA guideline, have been published by Arshad15. For the 5 years and under age group, ICS remain the corner stone of treatment for asthma (Evidence A). Asthma management plans based on respiratory symptoms versus monitoring lung function are equally effective (Evidence B).
Defining "control", based on the 2006 GINA guidelines16 for older children and adults, is difficult for children 5 years or less in age, since measuring lung function is not possible. There are no validated measurements for children 4 years or less and "control of symptoms" is dependant upon parental observation. An asthma control test has been developed for children of ages 4 to 11 years17.
Characteristics and levels of control included in the 2009 GINA guidelines for children 5 years and younger are shown in Table 1. An increase in daytime cough, wheeze at night and night time use of a short-acting beta2 agonist is a strong predictor of exacerbation, with a positive predictive value of 70% and a low false positive rate of 14%6 in children of 2 to 5 years of age18.
The management of asthma in this age group is also challenging with respect to the delivery of medication. A pressured metered dose inhaler with a dedicated valved spacer and mouthpiece is preferable in children 4 to 5 years of age (Evidence A) and with a face mask in children under four years.
The dose response relationships for ICS are not adequately studied. The 2009 GINA Guidelines provide Evidence A for the efficacy of ICS in controlling asthma symptoms in the 5 years or less age group but no evidence that these medications induce a remission. Low dose ICS are safe (Evidence A). Low daily doses are defined for the 5 year or younger age group as BDP, 100 µg; budesonide MDI with spacer, 200 µg; budesonide nebulised, 500 µg; and fluticasone fuorate, 100 µg. Twice the recommended initial low dose of ICS results in near maximum benefit in most children and the dose can be decreased once control is achieved.
The GINA guidelines recognize that leukotriene receptor antagonists such as montelukast improve asthma outcomes in children 5 years and younger (Evidence A). Although this leukotriene modifier reduced viral induced asthma symptoms in children 2 to 5 years with a history of intermittent wheezing, it did not reduce hospitalization or use of an oral systemic glucocorticosteroid, such as prednisone. In the GINA guidelines "anti-leukotrienes" are referred to as "leukotriene modifiers", but the references provided for children with asthma or wheezy illnesses only refer to montelukast.
Long acting bronchodilators (Evidence D) and cromolyn (Evidence A) are not recommended for treatment, and allergen immunotherapy is not recommended for the prophylaxis or treatment of asthma in children 5 years or younger.
The asthma management approach recommended by the 2009 GINA paediatric guidelines, based on control for children 5 years and younger, stresses the importance of asthma education, environmental control, where appropriate and feasible, and the use of as needed short-acting beta2 agonists as a first step. A low dose ICS is recommended as the preferred initial treatment to control asthma in children 5 years and younger (Evidence A). The initial treatment should be given for at least 3 months to establish efficacy. Doubling the initial dose of ICS should be considered if the initial low dose does not control symptoms. The addition of a leukotriene modifier, such as montelukast, to the low dose ICS may also be considered although this has not been studied in this group (Evidence D). If partial control or no control occurs on low dose ICS,the child's inhalation technique and compliance with medication should be carefully assessed and monitored as these are common problems in this age group.
Children 5 years and younger with intermittent wheezing should be treated with a short-acting beta2 agonist every 4 to 6 hours for a day or more (Evidence A) until symptoms disappear. The 2009 GINA guidelines express uncertainty about the addition of other medications, especially when the nature of the episodes is unclear. If a detailed history suggests the diagnosis of asthma and wheezing episodes are frequent (e.g. three in a season) then regular ICS should be initiated (Evidence D).
The NHLBI Expert Panel Report
The 2007 Expert Panel Report 35 National Heart, Lung and Blood institution (NHLBI) USA Guidelines were published before the PRACTALL, ERS and GINA 2009 guidelines. These comprehensive guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma applicable to all age groups review a very large data base, and address complexity and broad issues relating to pathophysiology, natural history, management, education and control of environmental factors. There also is a special section on management of children, 0-4 years.
The NHLBI Expert Panel Report 3 describes the management of children 0-4 years separately from the management of children 5-11 years, providing a stepwise approach for the treatment of chronic symptoms and exacerbations for both age groups.
These guidelines stress that 50-80% of children who have asthma develop symptoms before their fifth birthday, but the disease is not often diagnosed as such. They caution about prescribing ICS to young children who may not have asthma. A therapeutic trial with asthma medications may assist to confirm the diagnosis in some cases.
Guilbert et al, 200619 found that children under 3 years of age who have more than four episodes of wheezing in the past year which affects sleep are more likely to develop persistent asthma after the age of 5, particularly if there is a parental history of asthma, evidence of food sensitisation, a greater than 4% peripheral blood eosinophilia or wheezing apart from colds. ICS should be used in these children to improve their quality-of-life.
Treatment intervention with ICS appears important in the first 3-5 years of life since most loss of lung function occurs at this time. However, although ICS control symptoms, a follow up of the Childhood Asthma Management Programme (CAMP) study indicates that a subset of participants in both treatment and placebo groups experienced progressive reductions in lung growth compared to predicted measures20. The Expert Panel Report 3 guidelines stress the importance of "reducing impairment" by decreased symptoms, maintaining normal airway function, reducing the need for short acting bronchodilators, and maintaining normal activity levels, exercise and school attendance. "Reducing risk" is an additional concept in asthma management outlined in these guidelines. The concept of "reducing risk" in these guidelines includes the "prevention of recurrent exacerbations", "preventing progressive loss of lung function", "prevention of reduced lung growth" and the prescription of pharmacotherapy with "minimal or no adverse events".
The distinction between reducing impairment and reducing risk emphasises a multifaceted approach to the treatment of childhood asthma, but aspects of risk are not yet validated in prospective clinical trials (Evidence D). Initiating long term control therapy in children 0-4 years is recommended for reducing impairment and risk of exacerbations in infants and children who have had four or more episodes of wheezing in the past year lasting more than one day, have asthma which affects their sleep and have a risk factor for asthma. These risk factors include a parental history of asthma, a physician diagnosis of atopic dermatitis or evidence of sensitisation to aeroallergens or 2 of the following: evidence of sensitization to foods, >4% peripheral eosinophilia or wheezing apart from colds (Evidence A).
Although consideration should be given to reducing risk in infants who have a second exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroids within 6 months by prescribing daily low dose ICS, the evidence is low (Evidence Level D). The report also draws attention to the fact that since there are seasonal variations among children, such as occur in seasons when there are increased upper respiratory infections, it is possible that "some of these children may only require daily treatment during previously documented periods of increased risk of exacerbations" for that individual.
The guidelines stress that if there is a clear response to therapy for at least 3 months, a step down in therapy is recommended to a dose which maintains control. Reduction should be gradual and based on clinical judgement, since guidelines for step-down therapy are not validated. Age appropriate dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D are appropriate for children who are required to receive high-dose ICS or systemic corticosteroids. This should be reviewed with the child's parents or caregivers (Evidence D) and slit lamp examination and bone densitometry periodically obtained. Alternative treatment includes montelukast (Evidence A). Theophylline is not recommended for children 5 years and younger.
These guidelines also stress the importance of appropriate delivery devices depending on the age of the child. They recommend montelukast as an add on therapy in the 0-4 year age group and also permit the use of a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) as add on treatment. There are no studies on the efficacy or safety of LABA as add on treatment in young children in the 0-4 year old group, and thus the stepwise addition of other medications to ICS lacks evidence-based medicine and is extrapolated from studies in older children (5-11 years) or adults. Thus, although the Expert Panel 3 Report provides very detailed treatment protocols and classifications of impairment, risk and severity for young children, validation of these guidelines is necessary and further studies are required to provide strong evidence for implementation of many of the specific management steps.
The treatment algorithms in these guidelines are detailed and more complex and comprehensive than others, making them a bit more difficult to follow in every day clinical practice. However, they do provide excellent details helpful for clinicians to consider when to make a therapeutic decision, particularly when a diagnosis of asthma is under question in the 5 year or younger age group. These guidelines also provide useful checklists for parents when children are discharged from the hospital, information on the practical use of spacers and inhalers, and a very comprehensive reference list for publications on the management of asthma.
In conclusion, the availability of these new guidelines has led to a better understanding of the heterogeneity of wheezy illness in the 5 year or younger age group and the availability of evidence based data for several treatment modalities. While some of the recommendations in the guidelines are evidence based, others are opinion based since published evidence is lacking for several recommendations. The decision to treat a young child with wheezy illness, in particular, with pharmacotherapy, must take into consideration the differential diagnosis of wheezing, the presence of risk factors, the evidence for efficacy and safety of prescribed therapy and the need to consistently follow the patient until the diagnosis of asthma can be confirmed.
Although there are differences in classification and treatment algorithms among the four guidelines reviewed, there is consistency for Level A evidence for the use of ICS in children 5 years and younger in whom there is good clinical evidence for asthma. Montelukast is recommended in all of the new guidelines as a possible alternative to ICS, particularly in children with a milder form of asthma, although not all children will respond to it. More studies are necessary to identify those children likely to respond to montelukast. Additional studies are also needed to provide evidence bases for the appropriate treatment of other wheezy illnesses of childhood, adjustment of therapy, and whether treatment of concurrent allergic rhinitis is beneficial in the management of asthma in young children, as illustrated in adults. Studies are also needed to assess the role for allergen immunotherapy in young children with allergen induced asthma.
Although there are differences in the approach of each of these guidelines,1,2,3,5 all contribute to a better understanding of asthma in the 5 year or younger age group and all provide useful practical information for clinicians and patients. All have identified areas for further research. Guideline implementation is a complex process influenced by the evidence-based medicine but also by the social, organizational, economic and political considerations in implementing strategies21.
It is these broader aspects which influence the prescribing of asthma medications which are partially addressed by the GRADE5 methodology for treatment recommendations now utilised by the World Health Organization for other diseases. These aspects also influence asthma management at a regional level and in some regions have necessitated the adaption of global guidelines to more applicable "regional asthma guidelines", particularly in less developed regions22.
- Bacharier LB, Boner A, Carlsen K-H et al. Diagnosis and treatment of asthma in childhood: a PRACTALL consensus report. Allergy, 2008; 63: 5-34.
- Brand PLP, Baraldi E, Bisgaard H, Boner AL et al. Definition, assessment and treatment of wheezing disorders in preschool children: an evidence-based approach. Eur Respir J, 2008: 1096-1110.
- Global strategy for the diagnosis and management of asthma in children 5 years and younger, Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2009. Available from http://www.ginasthma.org
- National Asthma Education and Prevention Programme (NAEP). Expert Panel Report 3. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2007.
- Adkins D, Best D, Briso PA et al. Grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. BMJ 2004; 328: 1490-1494.
- Kaditis AG, Winnie G, Syrogiannopoulos GA. Anti inflammatory pharmacotherapy for wheezing in preschool children. Paediatr Pulmonol 2007; 42: 407-420.
- Roorda RJ, Mezei G, Bisgaard H, Maden L. Response of preschool children with asthma symptoms to fluticasone propionate. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001; 108: 540-546.
- Gotzsche PL, Johansen HK, Hammarquist C, Burr ML. House dust mite control measures for asthma. Cochrane Database. Syst Rev 2001: CD001187.
- Corver K, Kerkoff M, Brusee JJ, Brunekeef B, Vanstrien RT. House dust mite allergen reduction and allergy at 4 years: follow up of the PIAMA study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2006; 17: 329-336.
- Bufford JD, Gern JE. Early exposure to pets: good or bad? Current Allergy Asthma Resp 2007; 7: 375-382.
- Salo PM, Arbes SJ, Sever M, Jaramillo R, Cohn RD, London SJ, Zeldin DC. Exposure to alternaria alternata in US homes is associated with asthma symptoms. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006; 118: 282-288.
- Morgan WJ, Crain EF, Gruchalla RS, O'Connor GT, Kattan M. Results of a home based environmental intervention among urban children with asthma. N Engl J Med 2004; 351: 1068-1080.
- Gdalevich M, Mimouni D, Mimouni M. Breastfeeding and the risk of bronchial asthma in childhood: a systematic review with meta analysis of prospective studies. J Paedt 2001; 139: 261-266.
- Bjorkstein B. Evidence of probiotics in the prevention of allergy and asthma. Curr Drug Targets Inflamm Allergy 2005; 4: 599-604.
- Arshad S, Kurukulaaratchy RJ, Fenn M, Matthews S. Early Life Risk Factors for Current Wheeze, Asthma, and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness at 10 Years of Age. Chest, 2005; 127: 502-508.
- Global Initiative for Asthma. Global strategy for asthma diagnosis and prevention. Global Initiative for Asthma (updated 2008). Available from www.gina.org.
- Swem AS et al. Predicting an asthma exacerbation in children 2 to 5 years of age. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2008; 101: 626-630.
- Liu AH, Zeiger R, Sorkness L, Mahr, Ostrom N, Burgess S, Rosenzweig JC, Manjunath R. Development and cross validation of the childhood asthma control test. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007; 119: 817-825.
- Guilbert TW, Morgan WJ, Zeiger RS, Manger DT, Boehmer SJ, Szefler SJ, Bacharier LB, Lemanske RF, Strink RC, Allen DB. Long term inhaled corticosteroids in preschool children at high risk for asthma. N Eng J Med 2006; 354(19): 1985-1997.
- Covar RA, Spahn JD, Murphy RJ, Szefler SJ. Childhood Asthma Management Programme Research Group. Progression of asthma measured by lung function in the childhood asthma management programme. Am J Resp Crit Med 2004; 170(3): 234-241.
- Baiardini I, Braido F, Bonini M, Compalati E and Canonica WG. Why do doctors and patients not follow guidelines? Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2009; 9: 228-233.
- Ait-Khaled N, Enarson DA, Bissell K, Billo NE. Access to inhaled corticosteroids is key to improving quality of care for asthma in developing countries. Allergy 2007; 62: 230-236.


text:
Music Monday is back today with a performance by Jeff Tweedy from Farm Aid 25. That year, the concert was held at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our board artists, Norah Jones, Jamey Johnson and many others played that day, but one who stood out for me was Jeff Tweedy, who is normally found as the leader of the band Wilco. Wilco's played at Farm Aid three times (here's a clip of them performing "Airline to Heaven" at Farm Aid 2005), but this time Mr. Tweedy went solo.
The video playlist below includes all five songs from Jeff's performance in 2010, including "I'm the Man Who Loves You," "Sunken Treasure," "I'll Fight," "Remember the Mountain Bed," and "You Are Not Alone":
Find more Farm Aid videos on our YouTube channel.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
IT'S a sneak peek behind the infamous "Great Firewall of China". The way China censors politically sensitive terms on social networks has been laid bare for the first time.
As expected, any criticism of the state is swiftly removed. But Beijing's censorship machine is also rather more subtle than you might think.
A team led by David Bamman at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, downloaded nearly 57 million messages from Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter. They later checked Sina Weibo's archive to see which messages had been deleted - and which terms they had in common.
The results, due to appear in the journal First Monday, show that around 53 per cent of messages from Tibet, seen as a trouble spot, were deleted compared with just 11 per cent in Shanghai.
The censors occasionally did some good, however. When a false rumour started that eating iodised salt would ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


text:
You are in North America
|Hallie Preskill
|FSG Social Impact Advisors
|Darlene Russ-Eft
|Oregon State University
|© 2004
|392 pages
|SAGE Publications, Inc
|Sixty Day Exam Copy
|Individual Purchasers
Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable samples
"Evaluative thinking is an acquired competence, not at all natural. This book offers the best and most comprehensive materials and exercises available for evaluation teaching and training. Students need practice to develop evaluation skills. These exercises provide opportunities to practice. Stakeholders need to learn to think evaluatively to participate meaningfully in evaluations. Every evaluation is therefore also a teaching opportunity and these materials facilitate the essential understandings needed to engage stakeholders. At the essence of all 72 activities presented by Preskill and Russ-Eft, from understanding different types of evaluation to making methods choices and analyzing data, is the challenge of thinking evaluatively. This book is a tremendous contribution to the profession."
—Michael Quinn Patton, author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation and Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods
"This book is an excellent resource for classroom and field instruction as well as professional development."
—Katherine Ryan, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
"Finally, here is a book that goes beyond the theory of evaluation, or the question of what evaluation entails. Instead, it provides hundreds of practical approaches to actually do it. Beyond being all you wanted to know but were afraid to ask, this answers questions most of us have never thought about. It is a remarkable gift to our profession."
—John H. Zenger, Managing Partner of Extraordinary Performance Group and CEO of Provant, Inc.
Building Evaluation Capacity provides 72 activities for learning how to design and conduct evaluation studies. These activities address the entire evaluation process, including:
• An understanding of what evaluation is
• The politics and ethics of evaluation
• The influence of culture on evaluation
• Various evaluation models, approaches, and designs
• Data collection and analysis methods
• Communicating and reporting progress and findings
• Building and sustaining support for evaluation
Each activity includes an overview, instructional objectives, time estimates, materials needed, handouts, and procedures for effectively using the activity, whether there are a few participants or an unlimited number in small groups. To help the reader locate specific kinds of activities, the book includes a chart that names the activity, the time needed to implement the activity, and whether background information or knowledge is required prior to implementing the activity. The book also includes several strategies for forming groups and a glossary of instructional strategies.
This book is ideal as a text for evaluation courses throughout the social sciences. Students, instructors, trainers, consultants, and managers will all find countless ideas and strategies that facilitate learning.


text:
As with most other kinds photography, I see the creation of good landscape and travel images as a three stage process, with each stage involving a series of individual steps. This is my approach:
When I see a situation I feel has the potential for a good picture, I have a very quick conversation with myself - it goes something like this:
Having already previsualised how I'd like the image to look, the technical decisions about how best to capture the image are made so much easier.
I've already decided what I want to photograph, where I want to photograph it from, which Lens (focal length) would be best and whether a small, medium or large aperture would achieve the look I want for the background.
If the ideal lens is not already on my camera, I'll quickly change to the right one - Quickly, because situations and opportunities can and do change very quickly.
Most of the time I leave the mode set to Av, (meaning "aperture value") When I'm using this mode it's the combined effect of my selected aperture, ISO setting and the light intensity that determines my shutter speed.
The actual speed is rarely critical, so long as it's fast enough to overcome any camera shake and arrest any subject movement. If I'm shooting fast action I'll sometimes switch the mode to Tv, (meaning "time value"). In this mode it's the combined effect of the shutter speed, ISO and light intensity that determines my aperture. In action situations the aperture settings tend to be of less importance. To my mind it's more about arresting the action of the subject itself and less about how much else is in sharp focus.
If the light is sufficiently bright and my subject isn't moving too much I prefer to leave my ISO (light sensitivity) on its lowest setting, (on my camera that's 100). You get the best image quality your camera can deliver when it's set at its lowest ISO. Higher settings progressively introduce digital noise. However, there are lots of situations where you have no choice but to use a higher ISO.
If I'm shooting a scene in low light and I want good depth of field, a longer than normal shutter speed is often needed. Typically I'd use a tripod, but if I don't have one with me, or it's not convenient or legal to use one, I have no choice but to set a high ISO. The image will be noticeably grainer (noisier) than if I'd used a tripod and a lower ISO, but at least I'd have a picture.
Sports photographers shooting fast moving action have to use high ISOs, especially in low light. When press photographers are barred from using flash, high ISOs are their only option.
Composition, more than any other thing is what makes images stand out from the crowd. Here are some of the things I think about while I'm looking through the viewfinder before I press the shutter.
When our subject is one specific thing, like a person, the answer is simple - "on their eyes". The sharpness of the rest of the face is important, but less so. But if our subject is a scene we are usually dealing with depth, as in front to back depth, and need to consider our "depth of field" (or "depth of focus") ... i.e., how far in front and behind the point we focus on is to rendered sharply.
This in turn is controlled by our choice of aperture, the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth - also where in the scene we choose for precise focus.
In most cases I'm not looking to stop action, but when I'm hand holding my camera, which is most often the case, I need a shutter speed that's fast enough to overcome the effect of any camera shake. The longer the lens, the faster my shutter speed needs to be.
There's an old rule of thumb that says: When you're hand holding the camera your shutter speed needs to be at least equal to the focal length of the lens you're using. For example: If you're shooting with a 100mm lens, your shutter speed should not less than 1/100th of a second.
The advent of image stabilization has made it easier to shoot at slower speeds, typically at half or even a quarter of the focal length, without degrading the sharpness due to camera shake. However, we also need to be mindful of subject movement, a problem that even clever technology cannot fix.
Am I 100% happy with composition as it currently appears in the viewfinder?
Have I overlooked some small annoying element near the edge of the frame?
Should I change my composition slightly to eliminate it, or will I live with i\any small problems for now and clone them out once I get it into Photoshop?


text:
Leicester-based promoters Pineapster have taken another step towards securing regular gigs for unsigned bands in the East Midlands. Thanks to local charity organisation Charnwood Arts, Pineapster have been provided the funding to create their own website (www.pineapster.co.uk) which will greatly assist them in promoting the East Midlands music scene.
In order to commemorate this, a regular, monthly non-profit showcase of local music will take place, known as Communion, starting this Friday (3rd December) with the Xmas Communion at The Sumo in Leicester, which features The Enchantment Under The Sea Dance and live sets from The Works, Kinago and Quartershade (formerly Atticus). Admission is £3 with all proceeds going to Charnwood Arts and the British Heart Foundation in memory of John Peel.
Further Pineapster augmented events to look forward to include:
Monday 6th December: Story One, Call Me Jack + Lois @ The Social, Nottingham. Admission £1
Tuesday 7th December: Satan's Little Heartbreakers, The Authentics, Ruby Gunslinger + Firebrand @ The Charlotte, Leicester.
Friday 10th December: 3 Ring Circus, The Fever, Computerman + The Tommies @ The Boat Club, Nottingham.
Monday 13th December: The Vapours, Eustacia Vye + Sudonim @ The Social, Nottingham. Admission £1
Thursday 27th January: 'Communion' featuring House Of The Famous Poets, Lo-Ego + The Displacements @ The Attik, Leicester. Admission £3


text:
The Global FlyFisher - The Largest and Best Place to go for Online Fly Fishing and Fly Tying
Nice cast! Camera: Minolta Dimage Z1 photographer: Nan Austin
Wedellsborg, Denmark
Submitted by: Nan Austin
Viewed 4630 times.
Comment this picture
More pictures of Casting and fishing GFF Summit
Rated Rated Above average (3.6) with 9 votes.
|EXIF picture information
|Camera manufacturer
|Minolta Co., Ltd.
|Camera model
|DiMAGE Z1
|Exposure time
|1/400 s
|Lens focal length
|52 mm (~340 mm on 35 mm film)
|Lens aperture
|f 4.5
|Date and time of original
|2006-09-16 08:49
|Software used
|Ver. 1.00
From: Jari Wiklund · jari.wiklund·at·gmail.com Link
Submitted October 8th 2006
I wonder if I'm trying to cast to a bird on this picture, or if its the "backcast" on a reversed cast, in any case that leader is coming from somwhere pretty low :-(


text: A unique camouflage bedding collection in colors of gray and brown, the Victor Mill XD3 Camo bedding will camouflage your bedroom with receding dark tones highlighted with brown leaves. The bark and leaf print lends a realistic and picturesque image of the great outdoors. The available coverlet mirrors the comforters camouflage image of bark, leaves and limbs in brown and is available in Twin, Full-Queen and King sizes.


text:
Yellow Bus Service
Yellow bus service for field trips is provided to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Service for
pre-kindergarten students is available from January to the second week of June of each school year.
Students must be 4 years of age or older at the time of the trip.
The buses used for field trips are the same buses that are used to bring studentsents
to and from school for their regular academic program. As a result, trips will not
be scheduled on dates when the NYC public schools are closed (generally all
federal holidays) or on the dates shown above when the public schools have
half-day sessions.
Charter Bus
How to charter a coach-style or yellow bus.


text:
Police said the vehicle carrying the 45-year-old former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock cast member and six others was involved in a six-vehicle accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, near Cranbury Township, at about 1am.
A spokesman at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Centre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said he is in a critical condition.
Police said one person riding in the vehicle with Morgan was killed.
Two tractor-trailers, a sports utility vehicle and two cars, along with Morgan's limo bus, were involved in the accident.
The 45-year-old joined Saturday Night Live in 1996 and was on the sketch-comedy programme for seven years before leaving to star in The Tracy Morgan Show in 2003.
That show lasted just one season. In 2006, Morgan found a long-running role in NBC's hit show 30 Rock, which was created by Tina Fey.


text:
Date published: February 1, 2010
HCP progressive pathway
We are looking to set out clear guidelines for health visiting teams on the content of what this pathway would look like and how to build on our current core health visiting programme. We have already developed standard operating procedures for the universal Healthy Child programme (HCP) and now want to progress in developing the same for the progressive pathway. We would be interested to hear from anyone that has been involved in developing their own guidance or is currently working in an area that has this in place.
Any advice or information welcome and we will look forward to hearing from you.
Jo Chessman
E email@example.com
Sharon Gregory
E firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Andreas Haider-Maurer – Sergei Bubka 2
Haider-Maurer has played two matches on hard court since January, and he has lost them both. He comes here with four defeats in a row, while Bubka has been playing on hard surfaces since June and he has gone through three qualifiers to be here.
Donald Young – Lukas Lacko 1
It is the sixth time that Lacko turns up in New York, and he has yet to see the second round, and he should not even be in the first round this year after he lost the last qualifier match and only got into the tournament as "lucky loser ". Young is playing at home and has played perhaps his best year so far on the ATP Tour.
Marinko Matošević – Juan Ignacio Chela 2
They also met at Wimbledon this year, where Chela won in 4 sets, and grass is not exactly his favorite surface. On the other hand he rarely has anything against the hard courts, in 2007 he reached the quarterfinals here. He won't win any Grand Slam tournaments, but can usually be relied upon to make a decent effort, unlike so many others.
Pere Riba-Madrid – Carlos Berlocq 2
Riba-Madrid has played 4 matches on hard court in the U.S. and lost them all. Apart from two matches on grass, both lost, he has not played on anything other than clay since March. Berlocq has played two matches on hard court leading up to the U.S. Open, and should simply be better on this surface.


text:
Study shows pattern of denials by insurance industry
Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday | Listen to this entire show:
Two years after Hurricane Katrina decimated the homes of thousands of Gulf Coast residents, the American Association for Justice (AAJ) today released a report exposing how insurance companies systematically denied paying policyholders fair and just claims following this and other natural disasters.
Gary Farmer Jr is a partner with the firm of Freedland, Farmer, Russo Behren & Sheller. He spoke to WMNF today about the new report.
AAJ released its report on the insurance industry on the second anniversary of Katrina. The report is titled *Pattern of Greed:2007."
For more information, visit Justice.org.comments powered by Disqus


text:
Brazil, long viewed as one of the most promising emerging markets, has seen its crown slip slightly in recent months. The country has been enshrined as Latin America's economic powerhouse for more than a decade, fuelled by vast resource wealth and investment from China.
Yet its dominance is under threat as other emerging markets compete fiercely on cost.
"The last decade was very good for Brazil," James Lockhart Smith, head of Latin America, Maplecroft, told CNBC.
"Now, Brazil is having to compete with a lot of other countries and it has an Achilles heel in the cost of doing business, so it's much more complicated to generate growth."
After roaring to growth of 7.5 percent in 2010, gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.2 percent in 2013 by the Banco Central do Brasil, the country's central bank. Of course, these figures are still much higher than the slow or negative growth forecast in the U.S. and Europe.
Brazil's stock market has also been moribund. The benchmark index, Bovespa is up just 4 percent over the past year and only $7.6 billion was raised by companies listing in Sao Paulo last year, compared to almost $50 billion in 2010, a record year.
(Read More: Why Brazil Must Embrace a Strong Currency )


text:
I have an unused time card with code and wanted to join cptns club with it, but i got - 'the activation code is not suitable for the selected game'. I was trying to type it with different registr and distances>same result. In conclusion system has banned me at all for many incorrect tryings. Is this a permament ban? And can you check the code if i ll send it to you?
Login or Sign Up
- Log in with


text:
Annual "Pack the Patrol Car" Event
Davis PD is gearing up for its seventh annual "Pack the Patrol Car" fundraiser school supply drive, in which local residents are asked to donate backpacks filled with school supplies for children in need.
Beginning Monday, July 7th and continuing through Friday, August 8th, donations may be dropped off at Davis Police Department, 2600 Fifth Street, between the hours of 9:30 to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday and everyother Friday. Please drop backpacks off in the red designated collection container located just inside the Davis Police Department lobby.
"We are hoping the Davis community will come forward to help those families in need, as they have so generously done in the past." "It is such a simple gift that means so much to students of all ages, from elementary school to high school," said Petersen.
Donors are asked to purchase a backpack and fill it with the following basic supplies: One three-ring binder, one package of filler paper, one package of five-tab insert dividers, two spiral notebooks, two pocket folders, a pencil pouch, 12-pack of No. 2 pencils (mechanical or regular), 12-pack of Crayola basic colored pencils, 24 pack of Crayola basic color crayons, erasers, three-pack of glue sticks, a ruler, scissors (small or medium size), highlighters, a calculator, small pencil sharpener and one package of pens (blue or black).
Patrol officers will deliver the filled backpacks to the elementary, junior high and high schools in their beats prior to the start of the school year, Petersen said. School staff members will then determine the families most in need and present the students with their new backpacks. "The look on the children's faces when they receive their new backpack filled with supplies is priceless. They are so appreciative," said Petersen.
For more information about "Pack the Patrol Car" fundraiser call Trease Petersen, Davis Police Department Youth Intervention Specialist, at 530-747-5432 or email email@example.com.


text:
Past Events
France and the Construction of African Nation-States: Africanization and Decolonization
543 Williams Hall (Cherpack Lounge)
Hierarchies of Witnessing: The Privileging of Fiction over Survivor Testimony in 'Rwanda: écrire par devoir de mémoire.'
Cherpack Seminar Room (543 Williams Hall).
Welcome to the Africa Center at the University of Pennsylvania which is recognized as a vital and forward-looking center where researchers, students and cultural and business entities come to gain knowledge of contemporary and historical Africa. The Center coordinates a wide range of course offerings. Specialized issues are addressed through the University's research programs, professional schools, and interdisciplinary centers.
List of Penn 454 Dissertations on Africa, 1980-2014
This broad list of University of Pennsylvania doctoral dissertations, 1980-present, was assembled through searches run at intervals in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text and its predecessors, Proquest Digital Dissertations and Dissertation Abstracts International. Individual dissertation records in the search results were reviewed for relevance.
Botswana-UPenn Partnership: Telemedicine Service over TV White Spaces Network
The Botswana-UPenn Partnership (BUP) is collaborating with Microsoft, the Botswana Innovation Hub, and other global partners to launch the first telemedicine service in Africa using TV white spaces to bring internet connectivity to hospitals and clinics across rural areas of Botswana. The pilot project, called "Project Kgolagano," will provide clinical consultations and diagnoses to a patient population who would otherwise have to travel far distances to the capital city of Gaborone, Botswana, for specialized care.
An interview with Penn's latest Rhodes Scholar
In December, Rutendo Chigora C'15 from Harare, Zimbabwe, was


text:
Event Information
Minnesota State Fair1265 Snelling Ave
St Paul, MN 55108
612-285-9133 (Phone)
800-635-3037 (Toll Free)
715-635-2479 (Fax)
Region: Minneapolis / St Paul
Add to My Favorites
- Spectator admission to the competitions is included with your state fair admission. Competitors need to pre-register by calling 800-635-3037. Their $25 registration fee includes admission and shirts for two competitors (duet partner or accompanist).
- Sep 4, 2015 - Sep 5, 2015
Held at the East End Market Stage of the Minnesota State Fair, the best and brightest flatpicking guitarists and performing duos of Minnesota compete for a variety of prizes in several categories to be awarded by a panel of respected Minnesota music professionals. Duet competition on Friday and Flatpicking Championships on Saturday. $2000 in total prize money.
More Information
Other Date Information
- Friday & Saturday 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM each day, at the Heritage Stage of the Minnesota State Fair. Duet competition on Friday and Flatpicking Championships on Saturday.
Event Attributes
- Accessible to Disabled
Find Nearby
{{resultsText}}: {{resultCount}}
- {{r._source.type_fields.region_name}}
{{r._source.database_fields.city}}, {{r._source.database_fields.state}} {{r._source.database_fields.postalcode}}
Call: {{r._source.database_fields.phone1}}
Call: {{r._source.database_fields.phone2}}
{{r._source.database_fields.searchtext || r._source.database_fields.printabledescription}}
No Results
There are no nearby attractions, accommodations, restaurants, or events. Try increasing the distance of your search.
Also at this Location
Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Assoc
PO Box 16408
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Call: 612-285-9133
Toll Free: 800-635-3037
A 501c3 non-profit organization with over 1,100 members dedicated to the preservation and promotion of bluegrass and old-time stringband music in and around Minnesota. MBOTMA publishes Inside Bluegrass magazine monthly and produces four annual festivals, concerts, competitions, jam sessions, workshops, educational events, and social gatherings.


text:
Napier Gold-Tone Tapered Earrings
$11.25 Original Price $15.00
Savings: $3.75 (25%)
A polished finish brings a gleaming touch to these textured hoop earrings.
- 1-in. L
- Pierced earring
- Polished finish
- Nickel free
- Gold-tone metal
- Imported
Shipping & Returns
Shipping your purchase is easy on belk.com. Depending on the destination of your package, you can expect it to arrive within 4-7 business days. Shipping Information
Returns are easy on belk.com. Easy returns


text:
Our Privacy Policy outlines the types of personal information we collect and
receive when you use EroticMp.com.
You may also reach us by phone 1-888-894-7508,by mail at 6130 W. Flamingo Rd, 732, Las Vegas, NV 89103.
Planning a visit to Serenity Spa in Irmo ? Get information on Serenity Spa before you
go. Stop
wasting time
and money on
services you
want and read Serenity Spa reviews here.


text: For sale: Nice '49 Ford Custom 4 door.Was driven often until motor was removed for another shoe box Ford project 2 years ago. Running gears and manual tranny good,little rust, one piece front clip. Back doors have been modified as you can see, good glass, decent interior, good gas tank, not original wheel covers, clear title. $1400 cash obo. Call Kurt at 618-967-4238. Located in Murphysboro, Illinois.


text:
At Baltimore City College, Antoine D. Boykins took honors classes and went to the state championships as a star wrestler. Confident and well-spoken, he gave enough pep talks and told enough jokes to win friends inside and outside the college-prep high school.
"He was one of the nicest kids around here," said a man standing near his family's West Baltimore rowhouse yesterday.
Now, however, Boykins, 21, is sitting in the brig at Camp Lejeune, N.C., awaiting a likely court martial that could mire him in a military prison for life.


text:
Hotels in 18224 - Freeland PA
Only hotels in 18224 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Freeland, PA for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 18224 hotels and motels so you can review the Freeland hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Luzerne county and area code 570 are also listed.
18224 Hotels, Motels & Accommodations
Next: Show All Available 18224 Hotels with Pricing >


text: Cougar Ecology and Conservation This compilation of recent findings, stunning photographs, and firsthand accounts of field research unravels the mysteries of this magnificent animal and emphasizes its importance in healthy ecosystem processes and in our lives. Read More → Order Now! Cougar Management Guidelines First Edition Thirteen authors, with over 200 years of combined experience with cougars, collaborate to bring the best available science on cougar management and conservation. Read More → Order Now! On Nature's Terms People and Predators Co-existing in Harmony (DVD) A visually dramatic video promoting the protection of predators and their ecosystems. Read More → Order Now! Coyotes in Our Midst Coexisting with an Adaptable and Resilient Carnivore Practical, proven humane, and ecologically sound techniques available to ranchers and suburbanites for coexisting with coyotes. Read More → American Coyote Still Wild at Heart Compelling documentary produced and directed by San-Francisco based filmmaker, Melissa Peabody, founder of Living World Films, is a virtual case study of the coyote's natural range expansion continent-wide. Read More → Lords of Nature Tells the story of science now discovering the great carnivores as revitalizing forces of nature, and a society now learning tolerance for the beasts they had once banished. Read More →


text:
Awesome post.
Wow, fantastic blog structure! Нow lοng have
you еver ben runnijng а blog for? you made blogging glance easy.
Тhe full glance of youг website is magnificent, llet аlone the content material!
Awesome issues here. І'm very happy to see your article.
Thаnks a lot and Ӏ am having a look forward tο
touch you. Will you pleaѕe drop me а e-mail?
Нi everу оne, herе eѵery person iѕ sharing such familiarity, thuѕ it's fastidious tо read thіs webpage, аnd
I uѕеd to visit thiѕ blog everyday.


text:
If there is one thing President Obama doesn't lack it's confidence. While shmoozing with the one-percent last night at a swanky New York City fundraiser hosted by gay singer Ricky Martin, President Obama said he's "not worried" about being re-elected.
"Their message will be, 'You're upset, you're unsatisfied. It's Obama's fault.' But I'm not worried. The reason I'm not worried is because of you," Obama said.
Obama contrasted his vision of government's role in the economy and society in wide-ranging remarks to the audience, and continued his partisan attacks against Republicans.
And yes, he went there again:
"The ideas they're putting forward have been tried," Obama said. "We've tried them from 2000 to 2008 and it resulted in the most sluggish job growth we've ever seen."
"I'm on not worried. The reason I'm not worried is because...George Bush!"
|Katie Pavlich is the Editor at Townhall.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiepavlich. She is a New York Times Best Selling author. Her new book Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women, will be published on July 8, 2014.
"Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be brainwashed government dependents. Buy this book!" says Michelle Malkin.
"This is a thorough and gutsy book that should help set history straight." - Mark Levin
Buy Katie's book today and help us keep the pressure on the Left.
Author Photo credit: Jensen Sutta Photography


text:
Jersey Shore
Snooki Reveals Her Diet Plan and How She Lost 42 Pounds!
Snooki's life has changed a lot in the past six months — and we're not just talking about her not partying and spending time with her adorable son, Lorenzo. After giving birth, our girl slimmed down to a shocking 102 pounds and looks better than ever.
But how did she do it? Naturally, she had a big plan — or should we say a teeny tiny one? — and stuck to it.
In her Us Weekly cover story, Snooks revealed that she stuck to 1,300 calories per day through Express Home Meals delivery service, and did extensive strength training and cardio workouts four times a week! Her motivation was partially her fiancé, Jionni, but ultimately, she reveals, "I lost it for me."
The self-proclaimed "hot mom" also has her son to thank. "I lost the first 20 in two months, just from breastfeeding," she dished. "And then right when I was able to work out — after six weeks — I went to the gym with a new trainer, Anthony Michael." After resting for six months during her pregnancy, she was so ready to work out, which helped her shed the pounds fast.
Sometimes she doesn't just hit the gym, though. The new mom does Zumba at home and has an elliptical machine at her house so she can always do cardio. As we've seen, she likes to work out while watching fun, kid-friendly movies with Lorenzo — most recently The Lion King and Toy Story!
And even though she's eating healthy, that doesn't mean she can't be satisfied. With her home delivery system, she eats "things like a burger wrapped in lettuce or a salad with strawberries and chicken" so she doesn't feel like she's "depriving herself." With that said, she does splurge once and again, eating a piece of Jionni's mom's homemade pasta, "a couple Doritos," or even "a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch" — she just makes sure to work out more.
We're so proud of Snooks for shedding the pounds in a healthy way that keeps her happy. Are you surprised by how she lost so much weight? Sound off below!
Source: Us Weekly, March 18 print edition


text:
The Consolidated Plan is a five-year planning document, consisting of a five-year strategic plan and annual updates. The Consolidated Plan addresses housing, homelessness, and non-housing community development and is updated annually with input from the public. The State's Citizen Participation plan includes a series of public meetings held throughout the state, as well as a written comment period.
The following Consolidated Plans for the State of Oklahoma have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
EVENT: State FY 2015 Consolidated Plan Public Hearing
LOCATION: OKC Metro Technology Center (Springlake Campus)
1900 Springlake Dr, Oklahoma City, OK 73111
Business Conference Center, Room F
DATE & TIME: October 27, 2014, 2:00 PM
A DRAFT of the State's FY 2015 Consolidated Plan will be presented at the Public Hearing. After the Public Hearing, written comments regarding the State Consolidated Plan will accepted until December 1, 2014.
CDBG Disaster Recovery Questions can be addressed by phone or email to ODOC (email@example.com / 405-815-5268).
Final 2014 - 2018
2015 Annual Action Plan Update
A Public Housing Authority (PHA) is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to complete, sign and mail certification forms with original signatures to its local HUD office as a part of the PHA's Plan submission process. These certification forms validate the PHA's Plan to HUD.
As part of this certification process, the Certification of Consistency validates the PHA Plan's consistency with the State's Consolidated Plan.
Questions regarding the Certification of Consistency may be directed to: Steven Hoover – (405) 815-5268 or firstname.lastname@example.com
The Certification of Consistency should be completed, signed, and mailed to:
Oklahoma Department of Commerce / Community Development
Attn: Vaughn Clark, Director of Community Development
900 N. Stiles Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73104-3234


text:
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
|Display Modes
Suzuki disciple
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Houston, Texas
Oddometer: 95
Cycle Gear Bilt ADV boot vs First Gear Kathmandu boots
Not sure which thread this belongs in, but here goes.
Disclaimer: I work part time at a Cycle Gear, but I am not their marketer, nor do I propose to endorse all their products and services, but I do think it's ok for me to discuss their gear when I am so moved. I work for CG, but I have been a rider for much longer.
Last fall I saw that CG had a new line of ADV gear. Being a Strom owner, I was pretty interested in this. It's under their Bilt brand--and my findings on the Bilt gear are that some of it is cheap, entry level stuff, while some of the items are actually good quality and great value. I advise my customers what I think of it on a case by case basis. I want them to be happy with their purchases. The crappy Bilt stuff, I steer them away from it. The good stuff, I try to evaluate and learn more about.
So, when the ADV gear began arriving in the stores, I fell in love with the Adv1 helmets (which I commented on elsewhere in this forum), and I also was interested in the tall adventure boots. About the same time, I came across an ad for First Gear's Kathmandu adventure boots, which after close examination, I found to be the same boot as the Cycle Gear boot--except the FG boot uses buckles, the CG boot uses leather straps with velcro for closures.
Even though the Cycle Gear boot is a little less expensive, I wanted the FG boot cause those buckles shore look purty. I ordered a pair and they arrived last week. The fit was really good for me--I usually wear a size 10 for boots, the FG size 11 was a good fit. They seem to offer moderate protection, not as sturdy as a pair of A-Star Tech 7s, or the AStar Durban boots, but plenty for my kind of riding,
Now, other than the buckles, these boots are identical. They both are leather, with the fancy wicking liner stuff, and the soles are the same; they also both sport the same "Waterproof" tag. I will know more about how durable they are after August, cause I usually pile about 10,000 miles on my Strom during the spring and summer. I will report back, as to the waterproof aspects, and how they hold up. I am also very interested in hearing from any other riders who have used either of these boots, so I can better advise my friends and customers.
I predict: The fancy First Gear boot buckles may actually be less durable/reliable over the long term than the simpler but more ruggedly constructed Bilt straps. First Gear does warranty their boots with a 2 year limited warranty. Cycle Gear will also warranty their boots, but for 5 years against manufacturing defects (not wear and tear, of course). I love those buckles, they look cool and purposeful, but I will get a pair of the Bilt boots and store them on the shelf for the day the FG boots are worn out.
Either pair looks like a great deal (since they are essentially the same boot). If you are interested in the Bilt or FG boots, you can try these on for fit at any Cycle Gear by trying the Bilt boots. If you find the size that fits, of course the Bilt boots are there for you, and if you decided to try the FG boots, it would be nice if you would consider ordering them through the Cycle Gear Store you used to fit the Bilt boots. This really is fair, since brick and mortar businesses cannot exist for long if people don't support them. Plus, CG matches legit pricing.
Thread on Cycle Gear Bilt ADV stuff
Firstgear Kathmandu boots?
BILT Explorer Adventure Boots
Joined: Sep 2011
Location: Saint Johns, FL
Oddometer: 18
Thank you for this comparison. It's very helpful.
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Aug 2010
Location: Castro Valley, CA, USA
Oddometer: 124
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: Olympia, WA
Oddometer: 301
what's your take on the adventurer h20 coat? thought about getting one
Suzuki disciple
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Houston, Texas
Oddometer: 95
I have seen a few sold, but have not gotten any feedback on them yet from customers. It looks similar to the Bilt Typhoon jacket I have. I like my Typhoon--very warm jacket, and so far it is holding up well.
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Honolulu
Oddometer: 4
Just bought a pair of the FG Kathmandus. I start a ride in late April east from Las Vegas to Key West and then up the East Coast or the Blue Ridge and expect to run into lots of rain -- so, I was looking for a waterproof boot.
They boots just arrived today and first impression is good. I'm usually a 9.5 EEE, and I ordered the US 10 size boot, which turns out to be EU 43. They were a little stiff to put on at first, but they started to loosen up after some flexing and prodding. They are lightweight and roomy.
The boots are also fairly tall --maybe 15 inches -- but the waterproof part is shorter -- about 10 inches. The un-broken-in boots were comfortable. In Hawaii's warm April weather, they started to get warm around the calf, where I had fastened the hook & loop snug, but my feet remained cool and comfy.
I realize these are economical ($160) boots -- not true "adventure" boots -- but my plan is a six-week two-lane blacktop cruise without much off-roading -- so the "waterproof" claim is paramount.
I've used rain gaiters on my last few trips and they were both uncomfortable and a little dangerous, since they bag up and snag around the gear shift lever.
I'm looking forward to see how the Kathmandus do.
Suzuki disciple
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Houston, Texas
Oddometer: 95
Update: I have not been riding this summer as much as last year (working will do that), so I have put only about 3000 miles on these boots. They are still in very good condition, no torn seams or wear. Today was the first good rain we've had here, and I can testify that these boots are not at all waterproof. After riding in a medium shower for about an hour, my feet were wet and squishy. I was wearing rain gear so the water did not enter the boot from the top.
Nice light duty boot, but useless in wet weather. I assume the Cycle Gear version would be the same.
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


text:
A coronary artery calcium score is a special CT scan that uses a very low radiation dose (similar to a mammogram, and ten times less than a standard CT scan) to detect calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. The presence of calcium indicates underlying heart disease called atherosclerosis — a build up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances in the coronary arteries. Atherosclerosis can lead to heart attacks and damaged heart muscle.
Who might need a calcium score? Men over the age of 45 years and women over 55 years who have at least one of the following risks:
Younger individuals may be eligible if they have a strong family history of heart disease at a young age. Patients who have a prior history of heart attack, stents, or bypass surgery are not eligible.
Learn what happens (and what you need to do) before, during, and after this procedure:
Calcium score tests are performed in our Nuclear Cardiology/Cardiac PET-CT Lab. An order from your doctor is required. On the day of your procedure, you need to come to Intermountain Medical Center – Building 4 (Heart & Lung Center). Follow the signs to Patient Registration on the first floor. After you register you will go down one floor to our lobby and waiting area. When it is time for your procedure, your name will be called and you will be led to the testing area.
If you have questions please call us: 801-507-4701.