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Chapter 4. The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
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By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE NEWTON, N.H. — When Courtney Griffin was using heroin, she lied, disappeared, and stole from her parents to support her $400-a-day habit. Her family paid her debts, never filed a police report and kept her addiction secret — until she was found dead last year of an overdose. At Courtney's funeral, they decided to acknowledge the reality that redefined their lives: Their bright, beautiful daughter, just 20, who played the French horn in high school and dreamed of living in Hawaii, had been kicked out of the Marines for drugs. Eventually, she overdosed at her boyfriend's grandmother's house, where she died alone. "When I was a kid, junkies were the worst," Doug Griffin, 63, Courtney's father, recalled in their comfortable home here in southeastern New Hampshire. "I used to have an office in New York City. I saw them." When the nation's long-running war against drugs was defined by the crack epidemic and based in poor, predominantly black urban areas, the public response was defined by zero tolerance and stiff prison sentences. But today's heroin crisis is different. While heroin use has climbed among all demographic groups, it has skyrocketed among whites; nearly 90 percent of those who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white. And the growing army of families of those lost to heroin — many of them in the suburbs and small towns — are now using their influence, anger and grief to cushion the country's approach to drugs, from altering the language around addiction to prodding government to treat it not as a crime, but as a disease. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21583 - Posted: 10.31.2015
By Dina Fine Maron When powerful street drugs collectively known as synthetic pot are smoked, the resulting high mimics the effects of marijuana. Yet these man-made cannabinoids are not marijuana at all. The drugs, more commonly called spice, fake weed or K2, are made up of any number of dried, shredded plants sprayed with chemicals that live in a murky legality zone. They are highly dangerous—and their use is on the rise. Synthetic pot, which first hit the market in the early 2000s, has especially caught the attention of public health officials in the past couple of years, stemming from a surge in hospitalizations and violent episodes. Although the drugs act on the same brain pathway as weed's active ingredient, they can trigger harsher reactions, including heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage and delusions. Between June and early August usage of these drugs led to roughly 2,300 emergency room visits in New York State alone. Nationwide more than 6,000 incidents involving spice have been reported to U.S. poison-control centers this year—about double the number of calls in 2013. Ever changing recipes make it possible for spice sellers to elude the authorities. Each time an ingredient is banned, producers swap in another compound. The drugs are then sold on the Internet or at gas stations and convenience stores at prices lower than genuine marijuana. The changing formulations also pose a challenge for researchers trying to match the chemicals with their side effects or to develop tests to identify them in a user's system. "The drugs are present in blood for only a short period, so it's very difficult to detect them," says Marilyn Huestis, chief of the Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. © 2015 Scientific American
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21570 - Posted: 10.27.2015
By R. Douglas Fields "Why can't you stop drinking?" This week at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, researchers from the University of Chicago announced a new finding that provides a fresh answer to this persistent question that plagues people addicted to alcohol. The discovery offers an entirely new approach to treatment. Neuroscientist, Amy Lasek, at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and colleagues, report that after binge drinking, neurons in brain circuits responsible for alcohol addiction become encased in a protein material, called a perineuronal net. The impenetrable coating cements neurons involved in alcohol addiction into a circuit that is extremely difficult to break. Current drugs for treating alcohol dependence work by modifying neurotransmitter signaling between neurons, but for many people these treatments cannot break the overwhelming compulsion to drink. Drugs that can break down the glue-like cement in perineuronal nets could offer a new approach to treatment. Lasek's unusual approach into addiction research stems from her background as a molecular and cell biologist working in the field of cancer research. The root of cancer is changes in specific genes. Small molecules designed to target these aberrant genes is the approach used in cancer therapy. Lasek's background made her think of finding molecularly targeted therapies for psychiatric disorders. Lasek and her colleagues began by studying fruit flies to search for gene variations that altered the fly's behavior toward alcohol. She found several genes that had this effect, including an obscure one called ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase). Then she suppressed these genes in mice to see if the animal's response to alcohol was altered. "I got hooked," she says, "because to me the fact that you can manipulate a single gene in a single brain region and change behavior—like drinking or cocaine reward—was fascinating from a biological point of view!" © 2015 Scientific America
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21561 - Posted: 10.24.2015
Olivia Maynard It has been described as a 'disruptive technology' potentially capable of breaking our fatal relationship with tobacco. So the setting for a public debate on e-cigarettes - a museum part-funded by the tobacco industry, in a city home to the global headquarters of one of the largest tobacco manufacturers - was perhaps ironic. Yet on Wednesday evening, I found myself at the M-Shed in Bristol, watching just that: a debate about whether e-cigarettes could be part of the solution to the tobacco epidemic. To mark the launch of a new Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme, linked to the Medical Research Centre Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Professor Marcus Munafò (Professor of Biological Psychology at the University of Bristol) and Professor Linda Bauld (Professor of Health Policy at the University of Stirling), both collaborators of mine, discussed e-cigarettes. Professor Gabriel Scally (Public Health Doctor and former Regional Director of Public Health for the South West of England) chaired the discussion. Billed as a debate about whether e-cigarettes might be 'the key to reducing smoking', some in the audience may have expected a heated discussion. However, with this line-up of academics, influential in the fields of public health, tobacco and addiction, the discussion was evidence-based and measured. As for the motion of the debate, the panel was unanimous: e-cigarettes may not be the key to reducing smoking, but they are certainly an important part of the solution. © 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21556 - Posted: 10.24.2015
Mark Easton Home editor An attempt by UN officials to get countries to decriminalise the possession and use of all drugs has been foiled, the BBC can reveal. A paper from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been withdrawn after pressure from at least one country. The document, which was leaked, recommends that UN members consider "decriminalising drug and possession for personal consumption". It argued "arrest and incarceration are disproportionate measures". The document was drawn up by Dr Monica Beg, chief of the HIV/AIDs section of the UNODC in Vienna. It was prepared for an international harm reduction conference currently being held in Kuala Lumpur. The UNODC oversees international drugs conventions and offers guidance on compliance. Sources within the UNODC have told the BBC the document was never sanctioned by the organisation as policy. One senior figure within the agency described Dr Beg as "a middle-ranking official" who was offering a professional viewpoint. The document, on headed agency notepaper, claims it "clarifies the position of UNODC to inform country responses to promote a health and human-rights approach to drug policy". "Treating drug use for non-medical purposes and possession for personal consumption as criminal offences has contributed to public health problems and induced negative consequences for safety, security, and human rights," the document states. © 2015 BBC.
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21535 - Posted: 10.21.2015
by Helen Thompson It's no secret that some plants lace their nectar with caffeine in an effort to attract more pollinators, and that buzz sticks around in a bee's memory. These caffeinated flowers lure naive honeybees to return over and over again — and bring their friends, researchers report October 15 in Current Biology. When feeding off caffeinated nectar (versus noncaffeinated nectar), honeybees increased their foraging activity and performed four times as many waggle dances to alert other workers to food sources. Though bees might be more persistent foragers while under the influence of caffeine, they focused mainly on caffeinated sources instead casting a broad search. Plants may also substitute caffeine for sugar, the researchers note, duping bees into gathering nectar that's less valuable for honey production. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015.
Keyword: Drug Abuse; Evolution
Link ID: 21515 - Posted: 10.16.2015
By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS Ever since the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the narcotic painkiller OxyContin for certain children in August, it has faced unabated criticism from lawmakers and public officials who are wrestling with devastating rates of prescription opioid abuse in their communities. Last week, Hillary Rodham Clinton brought the issue to the presidential race, calling the agency's action "absolutely incomprehensible." The crux of the issue is whether the agency's approval will lead to more prescriptions for OxyContin in young patients. For years, the powerful long-acting drug has been prescribed off-label to very sick children in severe pain from cancer or spinal-fusion surgery. (Doctors can prescribe an approved drug to anyone and for any use they see fit regardless of specifications on the label.) The agency's approval means those doctors will finally have "information about how to do it appropriately," like dosage recommendations, said Dr. Stephen Ostroff, the agency's acting commissioner, in an interview. "We recognize this is a very nuanced issue," said Dr. Ostroff, when asked about Mrs. Clinton's recent comments. "It needs to be understood in the context of why this was done." Dr. Kathleen A. Neville, a pediatric oncologist at Arkansas Children's Hospital, routinely treats children with unremitting pain caused by cancer or sickle cell anemia. Her patients are the kind the F.D.A. envisioned would benefit from OxyContin, despite its "risks of addictions, abuse and misuse" as a warning on the new label says. Dr. Neville, who said she had no financial ties to makers of painkillers, applauded the agency's approval. "Just because OxyContin has been abused or prescribed inappropriately doesn't mean we should deprive the children who need the drug," she said, adding it is "our obligation to have the best level of evidence for its use in children." © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Drug Abuse; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 21491 - Posted: 10.09.2015
By Gretchen Reynolds We've probably all heard someone exclaim, "Ah, my endorphins are kicking in!" at the end of a good run. Endorphins are famous for supposedly producing "runner's high," that fleeting sense of calm and euphoria that engulfs many of us after a satisfying workout. But in fact, endorphins may be unfairly hogging the credit for making workouts enjoyable, according to an enlightening new experiment with animals. The findings suggest that endorphins have little to do with runner's high. Instead, that euphoric feeling may be the product of a completely different but oddly familiar substance — the body's own endocannabinoids, the chemicals that, like the cannabinoids in marijuana, lighten mood. Endorphins first became a household word in the 1980s, when researchers found that blood levels increased after prolonged exercise. This finding made sense. Exercise can cause discomfort or pain, and endorphins are the body's self-produced opiates, with pain-relieving properties much like morphine. From that discovery, it was a short step to believing that endorphins must also produce the pleasurable mental sensations that many people feel after exercise. But there is a substantial problem with that idea, and it involves the substantial-ness of endorphins. They are large molecules, too big to pass through the blood-brain barrier. They might staunch pain in the muscles, but they wouldn't have effects directly inside the brain, where any high would originate. So for the past decade or so, scientists have been looking for other substances that might be involved in making exercisers feel high, which led them, perhaps unsurprisingly, to endocannabinoids. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21488 - Posted: 10.08.2015
By Jessica Schmerler Many studies trumpet the positive effects of oxytocin. The hormone facilitates bonding, increases trust and promotes altruism. Such findings earned oxytocin its famous nickname, the "love hormone." But more recent research has shown oxytocin has a darker side, too: it can increase aggression, risk taking and prejudice. A new analysis of this large body of work reveals that oxytocin's effects on our brain and behavior actually look a lot like another substance that can cut both ways: alcohol. As such, the hormone might point to new treatments for addiction. Researchers led by Ian Mitchell, a psychologist at the University of Birmingham in England, conducted the meta-analysis, which reveals that both oxytocin and alcohol reduce fear, anxiety and stress while increasing trust, generosity and altruism. Yet both also increase aggression, risk taking and "in-group" bias—favoring people similar to ourselves at the expense of others, according to the paper published in August in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. The scientists posit that these similarities probably exist because oxytocin and alcohol act at different points in the same chemical pathway in the brain. Oxytocin stimulates release of the neurotransmitter GABA, which tends to reduce neural activity. Alcohol binds to GABA receptors and ramps up GABA activity. Oxytocin and alcohol therefore both have the general effect of tamping down brain activity—perhaps explaining why they both lower inhibitions. © 2015 Scientific American
Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 21485 - Posted: 10.07.2015
by Bethany Brookshire Last weekend, I ran the Navy-Air Force half-marathon. After pounding pavement for an hour or so, my legs began to feel light. Slightly numb. I felt fantastic. I had to remind myself to run, not to stop and dance, and that singing along to my candy-pop workout music — even at mile 10 — is not socially acceptable. It's the hope of this euphoria — this runner's high — that keeps me running. We're not totally sure what's responsible for this incredible high. Some studies call out our body's endorphins. Others point to cannabinoids — chemicals related to the active compound in marijuana. A new study suggests that the appetite hormone leptin may play a role in getting us going. And from an evolutionary perspective, it makes good sense. When our dinner might make a quick getaway, it's important to link our drive to run with our need to feed. But it's probably not the whole story. Like many other neurobiological events, the exact recipe for runner's high is complex and hazy. It takes a whole suite of chemicals to help us get started and to make sure we want to go the distance. Those who get runner's high know it when they feel it. But a clinical definition is a little more slippery. "I remember someone saying the runner's high was the moment when the body was disconnected from the brain," says Francis Chaouloff, who studies running and motivation in mice at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research in Bordeaux. This sense of extreme euphoria, he says, is generally limited to people running or exercising for long periods of time, over many miles or hours. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015.
Keyword: Obesity; Emotions
Link ID: 21452 - Posted: 09.28.2015
Jon Hamilton A mind-altering drug called ketamine is changing the way some doctors treat depression. Encouraged by research showing that ketamine can relieve even the worst depression in a matter of hours, these doctors are giving the drug to some of their toughest patients. And they're doing this even though ketamine lacks approval from the Food and Drug Administration for treating depression. "It became clear to me that the future of psychiatry was going to include ketamine or derivatives of ketamine," says David Feifel, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, who began administering the drug to patients in 2010. Ketamine was developed as an anesthetic and received FDA approval for this use in 1970. Decades later, it became popular as a psychedelic club drug. And in 2006, a team from the National Institute of Mental Health published a landmark study showing that a single intravenous dose of ketamine produced "robust and rapid antidepressant effects" within a couple of hours. Since then, thousands of depressed patients have received "off-label" treatment with ketamine. One of those patients is Paul, 36, who lives in San Diego and is a patient of Dr. Feifel. We're not using his last name to protect his medical privacy. © 2015 NPR
Keyword: Depression; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21451 - Posted: 09.28.2015
By Karen Weintraub Depression makes people more vulnerable to alcoholism and vice versa, said Dr. Shelly Greenfield, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of McLean Hospital's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Clinical and Health Services Research Program. About a third of depressed people also have a problem with alcohol, she said, adding that the depression usually comes first. Genetics makes some people more vulnerable to each — and perhaps the combination, Dr. Greenfield said, "but it's not the whole story." Social environment, particularly in childhood, also plays a key role. People who are the victims of physical or sexual abuse, for example, are at higher risk for both alcoholism and depression later in life, she said. Depressed people who drink will most likely see their depression worsen, because alcohol is a depressant, tamping down the nervous system, said Dr. Kathleen Brady, a distinguished university professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Abstinence will be harder for alcoholics who are depressed, because of the hopelessness that comes with depression. Getting help promptly may make recovery from alcoholism easier, Dr. Greenfield said. Needing help to quit drinking or to resolve depression is not a sign of weakness or personal failure, she noted. In families with a history of either depression or alcoholism, it is important to be vigilant about drinking, particularly in adolescence. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Depression; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21443 - Posted: 09.26.2015
Nathan Seppa For a historically mistrusted drink, coffee is proving to be a healthy addiction. Scientific findings in support of coffee's nutritional attributes have been arriving at a steady drip since the 1980s, when Norwegian researchers reported that coffee seemed to fend off liver disease. Since then, the dark brown beverage has shown value against liver cancer, too, as well as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Coffee even appears to protect against depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Taken as a whole, these results might explain the most astonishing finding of all. People who drink two or more cups of coffee a day live longer than those who don't, after accounting for behavioral differences, U.S. researchers reported in 2012. Studies in Japan, Scotland and Finland agree. Talk about a twofer. Coffee not only picks you up, it might put off the day they lower you down. Yet coffee has had trouble shaking its bad-for-you reputation. It may be one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world, but people have long assumed that, at least in its energizing caffeinated version, coffee comes with a catch. "People notice the caffeine," says cardiologist Arthur Klatsky, who has researched coffee for decades at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland. "And there is this general feeling that anything that has some effect on the nervous system has to have something bad about it." It doesn't help that caffeine is mildly addictive.
Keyword: Drug Abuse; Parkinsons
Link ID: 21420 - Posted: 09.20.2015
A particular region of the brain may drive smoking addiction, say scientists who found stroke survivors with damage to their insular cortex more easily kicked the habit. They studied 156 stroke patients with different patterns of brain injury. More of those with insular cortex damage successfully gave up smoking and reported fewer withdrawal symptoms than the other stroke patients. Experts say targeting this brain area may help other smokers quit. Most stop smoking medicines currently on the market work by blocking the brain's reward pathways in response to nicotine. And patches and gums aim to lessen cravings by supplying a controlled dose of nicotine as the person weans themselves off tobacco. But post-graduate researcher Amir Abdolahi and colleagues believe the insular cortex could be a valuable new target for quit smoking aids. Therapies that could hone in on this area of the brain and disrupt its role in addiction, potentially with new drugs or other techniques such as deep brain stimulation or transcranial magnetic stimulation, should be explored, they say. "Much more research is needed in order for us to more fully understand the underlying mechanism and specific role of the insular cortex, but it is clear that something is going on in this part of the brain that is influencing addiction," Mr Abdolahi said. The research findings are published in two medical journals - Addiction and Addictive Behaviors. The patients in the study were smokers who had been admitted to hospital because of a stroke. Medical scans revealed that 38 of them had suffered damage to the insular cortex, while the remaining 118 had damage to other parts of the brain. All of the patients were encouraged by their doctor to quit smoking. © 2015 BBC.
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21385 - Posted: 09.08.2015
By Roni Caryn Rabin Q: Is it harmful to go on and off antidepressants a few times a year? I seem to respond quickly and quite well to S.S.R.I.'s. I don't desire to be on them long-term, but would like to use them occasionally, to get through a rough patch like a stressful quarter at work. Is it harmful to go on and off of S.S.R.I.'s a few times a year? Yes, it may be harmful. You should always start and stop medication "under a physician's supervision. Don't do it on your own," said Dr. Renee Binder, president of the American Psychiatric Association. It usually takes at least four weeks for an antidepressant to take effect, and patients should give themselves several weeks to taper off a drug when ending treatment. Starting and quitting abruptly expose you to the risks of initiation and withdrawal. Also, you may not get sustained relief from your depression. Antidepressants "don't work right away," Dr. Binder said. "It's the kind of medication that you have to take every single day, and it takes awhile to build up in your body before it starts working." When starting antidepressants, patients may experience anxiety and agitation and develop other transient side effects like headaches and nausea. Teenagers need close monitoring because they may be at a higher risk of suicide when starting treatment, some studies suggest. It also may take time for your doctor to find the antidepressant and dose that's right for you. Withdrawal can trigger troubling symptoms like nausea, dizziness and "brain zaps," a sensation that feels like electric shocks to the head. It can also trigger psychological problems like anxiety, irritability, moodiness and changes in appetite and sleep that mimic depression or may signal a recurrence. Some patients may become paranoid or suicidal. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 21363 - Posted: 08.31.2015
Raiding the fridge or downing glasses of water after a night of heavy drinking won't improve your sore head the next day, Dutch research suggests. Instead, a study concluded, the only way to prevent a hangover is to drink less alcohol. More than 800 students were asked how they tried to relieve hangover symptoms, but neither food nor water was found to have any positive effect. The findings are being presented at a conference in Amsterdam. A team of international researchers from the Netherlands and Canada surveyed students' drinking habits to find out whether hangovers could be eased or if some people were immune to them. Among 826 Dutch students, 54% ate food after drinking alcohol, including fatty food and heavy breakfasts, in the hope of staving off a hangover. With the same aim, more than two-thirds drank water while drinking alcohol and more than half drank water before going to bed. Although these groups showed a slight improvement in how they felt compared with those who hadn't drunk water, there was no real difference in the severity of their hangovers. Previous research suggests that about 25% of drinkers claim never to get hangovers. So the researchers questioned 789 Canadian students about their drinking in the previous month and the hangovers they experienced, finding that those who didn't get a hangover simply consumed "too little alcohol to develop a hangover in the first place". Of those students who drank heavily, with an estimated blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.2%, almost no-one was immune to hangovers. © 2015 BBC.
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21356 - Posted: 08.29.2015
by Bethany Brookshire You've already had a muffin. And a half. You know you're full. But there they are, fluffy and delicious, waiting for the passersby in the office. Just thinking about them makes your mouth water. Maybe if you just slice one into quarters. I mean, that barely counts… And then we give in, our brains overriding our body's better judgment. When I catch myself once again polishing off a whole plate of baked goods, I wish that there was something I could do, some little pill I could take that would make that last delicious bite look — and taste — a little less appealing. But the more scientists learn about the human body, the more they come to understand that there is no one set of hormones for hungry, with a separate set that kicks off your ice cream binge. Instead, our guts and their hormones are firmly entwined with our feelings of reward and motivation. That close relationship shows just how important it is to our bodies to keep us fed, and how hard it is to stop us from overeating. Researchers have long divided our feeding behavior into two distinct categories. One, the homeostatic portion, is primarily concerned with making sure we've got enough energy to keep going and is localized to the lateral hypothalamus in the brain. The reward-related, or "hedonic," component is centralized in the mesolimbic dopamine system, areas of the brain usually referenced when we talk about the effects of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015
Keyword: Obesity; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21354 - Posted: 08.28.2015
Daniel Cressey In 2013, Beau Kilmer took on a pretty audacious head count. Citizens in the state of Washington had just voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and the state's liquor control board, which would regulate the nascent industry, was anxious to understand how many people were using the drug — and importantly, how much they were consuming. The task was never going to be straightforward. Users of an illicit substance, particularly heavy users, often under-report the amounts they take. So Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica, California, led a team to develop a web-based survey that would ask people how often they had used cannabis in the past month and year. To help them gauge the amounts, the surveys included scaled pictures showing different quantities of weed. The survey, along with other data the team had collected, revealed a rift between perception and reality. Based on prior data, state officials had estimated use at about 85 tonnes per year; Kilmer's research suggested that it was actually double that, about 175 tonnes1. The take-home message, says Kilmer, was "we're going to have to start collecting more data". Scientists around the world would echo that statement. Laws designed to legalize cannabis or lessen the penalties associated with it are taking effect around the world. They are sweeping the sale of the drug out of stairwells and shady alleys and into modern shopfronts under full view of the authorities. In 2013, Uruguay became the first nation to legalize marijuana trade. And several countries in Europe — Spain and Italy among them — have moved away from tough penalties for use and possession. Thirty-nine US states plus Washington DC have at least some provisions for medicinal use of the drug. Washington, Colorado, Alaska and Oregon have gone further, legalizing the drug for recreational consumption. A handful of other states including California and Massachusetts are expected to vote on similar recreational-use measures by the end of 2016. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21315 - Posted: 08.19.2015
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - U.S. teens who try electronic cigarettes may be more than twice as likely to move on to smoking conventional cigarettes as those who have never tried the devices, report researchers from the University of Southern California. The findings, published August 18 in JAMA, offer some of the best evidence yet at establishing a link between e-cigarettes and smoking, said Dr. Nancy Rigotti, an expert in tobacco research at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of an editorial accompanying the study. "Adolescent brains appear to be especially susceptible to becoming addicted to nicotine when exposed," Rigotti told Reuters Health in an email. About 2 million middle- and high-school students tried e-cigarettes in 2014, triple the number of teen users in 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April. The data sparked alarm among tobacco control advocates who fear e-cigarettes will create a new generation of nicotine addicts who may eventually switch to conventional cigarettes. Big tobacco companies, including Altria Group Inc, Lorillard Tobacco Co and Reynolds American Inc, are all developing e-cigarettes. The battery-powered devices feature a glowing tip and a heating element that turns liquid nicotine and other flavorings into a cloud of vapor that users inhale. An international review of published research by the Cochrane Review in December concluded that the devices could help smokers quit but said much of the existing evidence on e-cigarettes was thin. © 2015 Scientific American
Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 21314 - Posted: 08.19.2015
By Robert F. Service Move over, poppies. In one of the most elaborate feats of synthetic biology to date, a research team has engineered yeast with a medley of plant, bacterial, and rodent genes to turn sugar into thebaine, the key opiate precursor to morphine and other powerful painkilling drugs that have been harvested for thousands of years from poppy plants. The team also showed that with further tweaks, the yeast could make hydrocodone, a widely used painkiller that is now made chemically from thebaine. "This is a major milestone," says Jens Nielsen, a synthetic biologist at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden. The work, he adds, demonstrates synthetic biology's increasing sophistication at transferring complex metabolic pathways into microbes. By tweaking the yeast pathways, medicinal chemists may be able to produce more effective, less addictive versions of opiate painkillers. But some biopolicy experts worry that morphinemaking yeast strains could also allow illicit drugmakers to brew heroin as easily as beer enthusiasts home brew today—the drug is a simple chemical conversion from morphine. That concern is one reason the research team, led by Christina Smolke, a synthetic biologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, stopped short of making a yeast strain with the complete morphine pathway; medicinal drug makers also primarily use thebaine to make new compounds. Synthetic biologists had previously engineered yeast to produce artemisinin, an antimalarial compound, but that required inserting just a handful of plant genes. To get yeast to make thebaine, © 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Keyword: Drug Abuse; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 21297 - Posted: 08.15.2015


text:
Cigar Star Starter Humidor Case, Cutter 50 Cigar Total
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Cigar Star Starter Humidor Case, Cutter 50 Cigar Total:
blueashs2ashs Store
High Ended Cigar Star Limited Edition Series Humidor
Made with aRosewood Exterior, that will fit in any decor!Matt finish, withkiln dried Spainsh cedar Interior. This humidor was designed for the cigar smoker that wants to keep thier cigar fresh and aging perfectly with out spending a great deal of money, affordable yet classy with everything one needs to begin a wonderful cigar collection.
This is a beautifulRichCherry woodCigar humidor with Spanish cedar inlay and beautifulHigh glossfinish will store up to40cigars. Has hygrometer placed inside on top of the lid to easily maintain perfect humidity level to keep your cigars fresh, and aging perfectly. Comes with a Large humidifier which is placed under the lid to maximize space in your crafted from cigar black leather travel case
This humidor issurrounded by premium quality kiln dried Spanish cedar. The superbly crafted humidor and lid is a perfect match that forms a tight seal to maintain a constant and hassle-free 70% humidity level.
Will keep your cigars as fresh as the day you put them in. Allows for perfect aging, superb taste for your Tobacco. This humidor willbring a touch ofCLASS and will be a focal point in any room you put it in due to its unique style and finish and inlay design.Feel free to check out our guides for helpful information on all cigar related products.HOW TO SEASON YOUR HUMIDOR BEFORE YOU STORE YOUR CIGARSHow to give your cigar that pefect cut everytime!Important features for a Quality humidor50CigarHumidor startercomboFeatures
Buyer pays all shipping costs, We Accept Pay-pal. Items will be mailed out with-in 48 hrs after payment has been received but we try to mail items with-in 24 hrs, Once mailed we will e-mail you with the details. Canadian buyers must pay taxes. Taxes for Canadians (GST - HST) ALBERTA (AB): 5% BRITISH COLUMBIA (BC): 13% MANITOBA (MB): 5% NEW BRUNSWICK (NB): 13% NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR (NL): 13% NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (NT): 5% NOVA SCOTIA (NS): 15% NUNAVUT (NU): 5% ONTARIO (ON): 13% PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (PE): 13% QUEBEC (QC): 5% SASKATCHEWAN (SK): 5% YUKON (YT): 5% Buyers outside Canada pay no tax. Payment must be made within 4 days after sale has ended - After 4 days we will send you an unpaid item reminder. Shipping rates and options are clearly stated in the shipping details please read them carefully - If you need your item by a specific date please contact us as we will use a courier, at buyer expense.
We guarantee your item will be shipped with in 48hrs after payment is received although we try to mail out items in 24 hrs. See shipping calculator. You pay the actual shipping costs only. No local pick up, Sorry. We ship daily Monday-Friday. See our response for fast shipping! All payments received on the weekend will ship Monday morning. Email is sent to the buyer with tracking information once shipped. We will combine shipping costs to save you money provided the items can be shipped together. i.e Buy a humidor and leather case the leather case is free shipping as it can fit inside the humidor. Canada · Expedited parcel service is fast and reliable. · Ontario 1 to 2 days. · Rest of Canada 3 to 5 days. · Xpresspost service outside of Ontario takes 2 to 3 days. · Tracking information and insurance included. USA · Canada Post Small Packet Air Mail / USPS Tracking not available . Does have delivery conformation, Insured for up to $100.00. 6 to14 business days. · Expedited parcel Humidors, Ashtrays. Tracking included. Insurance included $100.00. · Xpresspost Tracking included. Ins. Included up to $100.00. Delivery 2 to 6 days. International · Canada Post Air mail Tracking not available. Insured for up to $100.0 1-3 weeks. · Xpresspost International for humidors is around $90 very high cost. 6 day delivery , comes with tracking and Insurance.This is the only service that provides delivery conformation
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Free Stuff & Meal Deals To Say Thanks On Veterans DayThey served their country with honor and bravery and on Tuesday, on Veterans Day, they'll find dozens of organizations who want to give a little back as a thank you.
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Church Reviews: The Dark Knight Rises *WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS*
The film that ended a trilogy. Is it the greatest third film ever or is it just a Darker version of Spider-Man 3. Hit the jump to find out!
Prepare your Anuses CBM for I am about to review the concluding film in Nolans Batman franchise. I will be splitting it up into categories and grading it based on each category then totaling up the final score at the end. Let's do this.
I will start with the most important factor when it comes to a movie. The story.
Story/Plot: Bruce Wayne had been retired as Batman for a good eight years. He is not in the best shape anymore. But once a new threat known only as Bane shows up in Gotham he is forced back into the suit and becomes Batman again. The story was…. Interesting, its biggest flaw is that it was not as intricate as The Dark Knight was, which was a letdown. I expected more from Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight is arguably one of the best CBM's ever made and to some fanatics THE best one ever made. However, this movie falls flat in that aspect. The movie which is 2 hours and 45 minutes long feels rushed. They cram in as many new characters as they can and it feels like the star of the movie, Batman, was not that important in the long run. It feels more like John Blakes story, or even Bane's story, but definitely not Batman's.
It was also very predictable. Normally I would let Hollywood predictability slide because hey, familiarity gets people into the seats. The problem is Nolan has been the master of making unpredictable films and took chances with what he could do with story/plot. This movie felt like a "Hollywoodized" Superhero flick and is in no way the game changer that The Dark Knight was. Towards the end it felt like a typical action movie plot There is a bomb set to go off, what will Batman do? And he takes it to Gotham's edge and has it blow up. A huuuuge trope used in Hollywood today, and Yes this was also in Avengers, but in the Dark Knight, we expect Nolan to go against Hollywood norms and challenge our preconceptions of what a Comic Book movie is, this did not do that. I do feel like the ending was the hugest cop out ever. I was expecting Batman to die, then it looked like he did, and I was cool with that, but then I saw Alfred in Paris, and I knew that it wasn't going to end the way I had hoped it would, I knew there would be some Deus Ex Machina device (Auto pilot) which was harped on a bit in the movie and I knew where it was going from there. The story was still fun, and excited and I was on the edge of my seat. But it was the ending we needed, not the one we deserved.
Story: 5/10
Cast/Characters: The cast has grown considerably since the precious film. Introducing us to Selina Kyle, John Blake, Miranda Tate, Bane, and others. It feels like Nolan tried to cram as many things into one movie as possible, which happens a lot with trilogy endings. Regardless here is my take on Each Cast member/character.
Selina Kyle/Anne Hathaway: I was not happy when I heard little miss princess diaries was chosen for this role. It made no sense. She was always my pick for Harley Quinn. However I was surprised. She was sassy and smart and rough around the edge which is good. However it was not a groundbreaking performance like Heaths Joker at all. It was adequate and that is all I was expecting. At timjes it seemed like her character could have been anyone else and it would not have affected the plot at all.
Bane/ Tom Hardy: Once again, not my first pick as this character, but he does a damn good job with what he is given script wise. He was a thoroughly enjoyable villain, and I would be lying if I said that him cracking Batmans back in there first fight did not give me a geek gasm. I did have a problem understanding him at times though. Sometimes he was crystal clear in what he says, other times I could barely make out a word. His motivations were all over the place and I wasn't sure why he needed to do some of the things he did if the end result was blowing Gotham Up. However he felt physically imposing on screen. At one point he towers over a character named Dagget in the film. Bane looks his best when he is shirtless. His clothing definitely tones down the imposing nature of the character. Hardy is a great actor and pulled off Bane pretty well. While I must admit he was no Joker, he was definitely up there near him. Another issue I had was that he was taken down waaaay to easily. Selina shoots him with the Batpods rockets and he dies. It did not feel like a fitting death for an awesome character.
John Blake/Joseph Gordon Levitt: John Blake is… An interesting character; he is good and well developed, but it feels like something was missing. I can't put my finger on it. I do love how he kind of becomes a Robin type character by the end. I just wish he had more to do, that is my problem with most characters in this film. I must say I literally face palmed when Blake revealed his middle name to be Robin, that was probably one of the most corniest things I had ever seen on screen ever. However it was awesome seeing him arriving in the Bat Cave about to take over as Gotham's Watchful protector, it gave the film some hope. And I think it could have achieved that more if Bruce Wayne had died.
Commissioner Gordon/ Gary Oldman: Oldman is always fun when he is on screen in any movie, and I loved him in this. He really felt like a cop who had been keeping this lie alive for too long and was about to break under his own morality. This was fascinating to see. The problem is his character arc felt unfinished to me and there should have been more to it. He kind of gets shafted towards the end of the film and it is very upsetting. Gary is great as always.
Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul/ Marion Cotillard: Hoo buddy is this character a mess. I loved the actress she is great, but the character gets so little character time that it is not enough for me to really be shocked that she turned on Bruce. It may have to do with me being on this site too much, but I saw the twist coming a mile away. However Nolan kept you thinking that little kid was Bane for the longest time, and it made me doubt my guesses, but I was right in the end
Alfred Pennyworth/ Michael Caine: Once again this is a severely underused character, but in a cast like this it is hard to give each of them the fair amount of screen time. He is one of the best actors in this movie. His emotions are great and you can see how much he love he truly has for Bruce, and to see him leave so early in the film is a disappointment. He also looks considerably aged; which I liked.
And the last major player in this isssss!
Bruce Wayne/Batman/ Christian Bale: Batman was great… for all of the 30 minutes he was on screen. Yes I know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but this felt too much like Bruce Wayne Rises than TDKR. He felt like a guest star in his own movie. Which is a problem; when you feel that one of the supporting characters is more of a main character than the main character you have an issue. Bale has definitely toned down the Batvoice… A LOT! And thank goodness he did the last thing we need in this movie is another character we can barely understand. I loved how he came back fighting as hard as he could against Bane until he was broken, that shows the true spirit of Batman. Bale turns in a performance that feels like a guy trying to get back into the game and being Naïve about how to go about it. The first chase scene was great, and showcased naive the character had become throughout those 8 years. I just wish there had been more Batman here.
Also: The smaller characters are just horrible. If they were not a main character they did not bother to write good dialogue or deliver good dialogue either, it was just bad; some moments in the beginning are just cringe worth….
Cast/Characters: 7/10
Tone: Oddly enough for this being a Batman movie, the overall tone of the film feels lighter than Begins or TDK. Batman is rarely seen at night, which is a bit odd considering he uses the night to hide himself. The cinematography was great and leant to the films tone which is dark with a slight bit of brightness. The brightness being hope. And the ending of the film really hurt it with the cliché Hollywood happy ending that EEEEEEEEVERY one saw coming. I was disappointed, but it fit the film so I can't complain too much. However it was also very boring at times and I nodded off here and there.
Tone: 6/10
Special Effects: These were amazing. Some scenes were obvious CGI, but other than that film has great practical effects and set pieces. It is good to see the limited amount of CGI in summer blockbuster, however To me the bat looks ugly, its design was for military purposes so that can be forgivable, but at times it is goofy and does not fit the tone of the movie.
Special Effects: 9.5 out of 10
Music: Hans Zimmer is at his somewhat ok here, mixing the drums and violins as well as the chanting (Its what he does best). It is exciting but it has no real memorable tracks that don't already sound like a copy paste score from The Dark Knight. The Deshay Basara track was the most enjoyable for me, I love chanting over dramatic music it is fun. I do wish that there had been music playing while Batman fought Bane in the beginning though. It could have amped up my anticipation for his breaking.
Music: 8/10
Overall: Overall what we are left with is just a typical enjoyable Hollywood flick, nothing more nothing less. And definitely Nolans worst film to date. DO not get me wrong, I loved Nolan, and I love Nolan Batman, and The Dark Knight is one of my favorite CBM's to date, in my top 5 up there with Avengers, but this was an unmitigated mess. I expected better from Mister Nolan, and the opening of the film made me expect it would be great. I was deeply wrong. While still a fun film to see (And I will probably see it again and buy the blu-ray) it is definitely not "Flawless" it has many plot holes, a crappy ending and a overall just leaves you wishing there had been something more. However if you are a die-hard Nolan fan you will love it. I give THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Overall: 6.9/10 (I'll just round that up to 7/10 just cause it is so close anyway.)
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9 Comments
church review oh boy i bet they wanted JESUS to make a cameo maybe thats why their sad
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Would have to agree with this review entirely. Batman not being in most of his own movie was definitely distracting. This might be nitpicking but the fact Bruce had to become Batman after pro-longed periods of absence twice in the same movie seemed a little repetitious.
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Good review church, although the grammar was a bit challenged. This is what I'm gathering from many HONEST reviews about TDKR. I may be alone here, but I have not really been impressed with Nolan so far but chose to remain removed from Nolanite teeth gnashers. I appreciate your honest review and respect your opinion, I'll wait until it's on DVD and add it to the collection of CBMs, but as I thought, I don't expect to be blown away by the movie.
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I totally agree , with all of it but you where generous , i would of gave it 5 out of ten if that the big plot holes just was too distracting . I mean one or two fine but there was so many and why did all the main players know he was batman , he sucks at keeping a secert
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I had already read your review earlier today when you commented on mine. I agree with alot of what you say, if not all of it. From the plot to the under-use of important characters, we seem to have a very similar view of the film.
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Wait a minute; Batman can be anyone--even a cop that takes time to put a coat around the boy who just lost his parents...you're telling me that Batman is Bruce Wayne?
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Totally on point. Great review, church.
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Decent Review. You're not a hater but let me exlain this the way I did to my bro about what I expect from a Batman movie. I expect the movie to be as close to the story of Batman and characters as possible. I think Nolan finishes it off perfectly. Batman did in "essence" die. Bruce Wayne lives.
I think Anne Hatthaway nailed her role as Selena Kyle. I have always said that actors love the chance to play complicated characters and she did a great job. Tom Hardy played the role of Bane very well and you would hardly recognize him as Eames from Inception.
I do agree with you, they did not show Batman/Alfred enough and Nolan's reveal of Tate/Talia was predictable. She should have began the movie as Talia. Everyone who knows Batman knows Talia loves Bruce and is crazy loyal to Ras at the same time. It would have made sense for Talia to meet Bruce, be all friendly and then turn on him.
Not Nolan's worst film. I think right now, the order of his films in terms of best to worst are
1. Inception
2. Dark Knight
3. Dark Knight Rises
4. Batman Begins
5. Memento
6. Insomnia
7. Prestige
I liked all those movies too but the fact that the Prestige at 76% overall likes shows you that when your worst movie gets a C grade, you're doing something right. This movie got an 87% grade which I agree with. It wasn't the BIG LETDOWN that some people make it out to be. But it also wasn't the greatest movie ever. However, it was a good Batman movie and sometimes you have to remember just how crappy the Batman franchise was at one point to appreciate what Nolan did for this character.
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What a crap review. It doesn't surprise me to see TDK junkies attempt to find issues to preserve Ledger's Joker but to actually pretend like this movie wasn't better is criminal. Rushed story line...isn't that the same review TDK had over and over. How did the Joke do all of it in such a short amount of time with no help. Bane was murderous and killed a ton of people in the end. The Joker blew up an empty hospital. Much like the reviewer blows up man shaft. I'll be here all week bitches.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities say former Oakland Raiders defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith and two others have been charged with murder in the 2008 beating and shooting death of a 31-year-old man in northern Los Angeles County.
District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons says a judge Friday postponed arraignment for the 43-year-old Smith and two other suspects until March 17.
Smith, 41-year-old Charles Eric Honest and 32-year-old Dewann Wesley White were charged last month with one count of murder in the killing of Maurilio Ponce in Lancaster. They were arrested this week and are being held on $1 million bail.
All three men are expected to have court-appointed attorneys. A message left with the public defender's office was not immediately returned.
Smith played for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders from 1991 to 1998.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Virginia residents gird for Irene, one death reported
Aug 27, 2011, 12:53 p.m.
By Matthew Ward
CHESAPEAKE, Va (Reuters) - Scattered power outages and heavy rains hit parts of southeast Virginia on Saturday in the path of Hurricane Irene, with one death reported as the storm moved north from the Carolinas.
An 11 year old boy in Newport News died when he was pinned under a large tree that fell onto and through his apartment building on Saturday morning, according to Kim Lee, a spokeswoman for the city.
"Winds are strong, they are getting worse. We have localized flooding, lots of trees are down, wires are down, roads are blocked or impassable due to trees, downed wires, lots of traffic lights out. We have shelters open," Lee said.
Irene came ashore over North Carolina's Outer Banks near Cape Lookout around 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT), and then chugged up the coast on a north-northeast track. By 2 p.m. (1800 GMT), the center was 95 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia
From the Carolinas to Maine, tens of millions of people were in the path of the giant 530-mile (830-km) wide storm that dumped more than 17 inches of rain on parts of coastal North Carolina after howling ashore at daybreak.
Throughout Virginia, motorists navigated broken branches, debris and deep puddles to gather storm supplies.
"The waves are pretty big out there and this is only the beginning -- we're expecting it to get worse later today and this evening," said Donnie Finnie, who was working the front desk at The Cavalier Hotel that fronts the ocean on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.
"I'm looking out the window, it's raining pretty hard," Finnie said. "The trees are blowing over and we have a couple down."
Some residents on Saturday morning were picking up last minute supplies to ride out Irene, which has caused at least three deaths in North Carolina, according to local media.
A handful of vehicles crossed roads around the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake, Virginia, windshield wipers beating and headlights illuminated.
Matthew Knight, 27, and Becky Knight, 29, clutched several packets of D-sized batteries and scanned what remained on the shelves at a Lowe's hardware store in Chesapeake off Interstate 664 on Portsmouth Boulevard on Saturday.
"We're here to get some last minute stuff," Matthew Knight said. "We ended up getting a generator but we just needed to get some extension cords and a couple of batteries."
Matthew Knight said the couple, who are bread vendors, had just finished an intense three days of deliveries to major area stores including Wal-Mart, Farm Fresh and Food Lion.
"There was a lot more demand for bread -- 100 per cent more demand," Knight said.
The category 1 hurricane hit the North Carolina coast Saturday and began to move upward along the U.S. East Coast.
The City of Chesapeake reported that 100 residents spent Friday night in four shelters. The city has not issued any mandatory evacuation orders but has called on people to leave if they are flood prone or in a mobile home.
Virginia transportation officials closed two tunnels on Saturday, the Interstate 64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Midtown Tunnel Saturday morning because of sustained tropical force winds. It also reduced speeds at the Downtown Tunnel.
Sarah Greco, 33, of Chesapeake, was one of the last customers to eat at a Cracker Barrel restaurant near the Lowe's, before it closed for the weekend at 10 a.m. Saturday.
"We just came to grab some breakfast," Greco said, peering from beneath the hood of a rain slicker. "We've just brought in everything from outside and we have plenty of bottled water and canned goods. I feel fine about it."
(Additional reporting by Molly O'Toole in Washington; Writing by David Bailey. Editing by Peter Bohan)
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Bharti Airtel grows at a stunning pace by keeping its focus on the customer.
■ Business Challenge Bharti Airtel needed to maximize its future flexibility and growth potential by adopting a businessdriven framework for integration, allowing it to implement and deliver new services rapidly. With competition intensifying in the Indian telecom services market, Bharti Airtel needed to find a way to focus on developing new services that could set it apart from the competition and strengthen its customer relationships. ■ Solution Bharti Airtel entered into a comprehensive 10-year agreement with IBM to transform its processes and take on the management of its IT infrastructure. Its new platform provides a standardized framework for Bharti Airtel to integrate its channels and customer-facing processes – enabling a more seamless customer experience, higher customer satisfaction and more profitable growth. ■ Key Benefits In the global telecommunications market, it's hard to imagine a more fertile environment for explosive growth than India. With a large, young and tech-savvy population, an economy whose growth rate is second only to China and telephone penetration of just seven percent, India stands as a textbook example of how demand for communications services can be explosive if the conditions are right. A few years ago, when forecasters predicted a fourfold increase in subscribers in three years – to 200 million – it seemed impossible. Since then, however, market growth has outstripped the unlikely forecast, and no operator has been better poised to capitalize on this opportunity than Bharti Airtel (www.airtel.in).
Based in New Delhi, Bharti Airtel is India's largest private sector telecom operator, with a strong presence in mobile communications, fixed line services, and domestic and international long distance services. Bharti Airtel is India's sixth-largest company by market capitalization, with more than 57 million customers (as of 12/31/07) and US$4.2 billion in annual revenues (as of 3/31/07).
" By working along with us to transform our go-to-market strategies and reinvent our internal processes, IBM has been a partner for the innovation that we see as essential in our ability to sustain our rapid growth."
– Jai Menon, Group CIO, Bharti Enterprises and Director (IT & Innovation), Bharti Airtel
• •
Ability to process 1.5 million new customers per month Outsourcing of technology enables Bharti Airtel to focus resources on growing the business
Supporting rapid customer growth with an innovative business model
Business Benefits
• Ability to process 1.5 million new customers per month • Improved cross-selling and targeting and a more seamless, efficient total customer experience through end-to-end integration of customerfacing processes • Optimization of business processes and infrastructure through flexible, standardized integration framework • Outsourcing of technology enables Bharti Airtel to focus resources on growing the business • Flexible pricing model enables Bharti Airtel to avoid major increases in capital expenditures
Based in New Delhi, Bharti Airtel is India's largest private sector telecom operator and India's sixth-largest company by market capitalization. Bharti Airtel is also the only operator to offer its services (mobile, fixed line and Internet access) in each of India's 23 "circles," or operating areas. While this wide service footprint made Bharti Airtel especially well-positioned to capitalize on India's telecom boom, it also presented the company with significant challenges and risks in addressing this demand. In order to keep up, while also maintaining high levels of customer service, all the processes required to run its business – from order management and service activation to those processes involved in the operation of its core network – needed to run smoothly and in sync with each other. With the company approaching a new phase in its growth as a business, and with the need for a compelling user experience of utmost strategic importance, Bharti Airtel knew it needed to take a fundamentally new look at the way it created and managed its customer-facing processes. The risks of growth Bharti Airtel's other big challenge was the need to make the major investments in IT infrastructure required to service its rapidly growing base of subscribers. As a capital expenditure, these investments are typically offset by the future service revenues that they enable. However, in addition to the inherent risks of a large fixed investment, Bharti Airtel faced an added financial risk from a steady decline in India's average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile telecom services, the result of government-mandated pricing changes that created – at roughly eight dollars a month – one of the lowest ARPUs of the region. Thus, while Bharti Airtel realized that it was absolutely essential to invest in its future growth, factors unique to the Indian market substantially increased the risks of making these capital investments. To address these unique opportunities and challenges, Bharti Airtel established a far-reaching outsourcing relationship with IBM that substantially mitigates its IT investment risks by giving IBM full control and ownership of Bharti Airtel's IT infrastructure and associated processes. By substituting predictable operating expenses for risky, upfront capital investments, this strategy fundamentally transforms the financial underpinnings of its business model. An equally important aim of this strategy is to enable Bharti Airtel to focus its energies on growing, serving and retaining its customer base – and thus fully capitalize on India's astounding growth surge.
" Our new strategy is all about delivering a truly differentiated experience, and having the flexibility to continually improve the customer experience."
– Jai Menon
Growth through flexibility Bharti Airtel knew that the key to capitalizing on its growth opportunities was to establish deeper and more personalized relationships with its customers, as well as to provide a consistent, high-quality customer experience. It further realized that, from an IT perspective, the ability to integrate its diverse systems and processes was essential. Bharti Airtel saw the flexibility of IBM's integration approach – and recognized the application of IBM's extensive portfolio of middleware products and expertise in service-oriented architecture (SOA) – as an ideal match for its integration requirements. Dr. Jai Menon, Group CIO, Bharti Enterprises and Director (IT & Innovation), Bharti Airtel, was a key architect of the plan. "Our new strategy is all about delivering a truly differentiated experience, and having the flexibility to continually improve the customer experience," says Menon. "We knew that having a flexible framework for integrating our systems and customer-facing processes was essential to enabling this – and that IBM's strength in this area would prove to be a great fit." Incorporating the proven IBM Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE, or "speedy") Integration Hub solution, IBM Global Business Services designed and implemented an Enterprise Application Integration platform that integrates a wide range of customer-facing and back office processes. Its flexibility is evident in the range of integration options it provides Bharti Airtel. In the case of customer self service, for example, each of the three main channels – Web, interactive voice response and short message service – employ different integration technologies (such as publish/subscribe via IBM WebSphere® MQ and asynchronous messaging via IBM WebSphere Business Integration Server) depending on the channel's technical needs. In line with its vision, Bharti Airtel's advanced integration capabilities have enabled the company to transform key aspects of the customer experience; account activation is just one example. With Bharti Airtel signing up an average of 1.5 million customers per month, the ability to activate new accounts with maximum efficiency is essential. By integrating the account activation process with such key backend systems as billing, provisioning and order management, Bharti Airtel was able to cut the time required to activate new mobile accounts by 90 percent. Bharti Airtel's integration framework has also led to stronger business intelligence capabilities, which have in turn enabled the company to maximize the value of its customer relationships through cross selling and market segmentation. Menon sees these improvements as part of a broader pattern that came out of Bharti Airtel's partnership with IBM.
Key Components
Software • IBM Service Provider Delivery Environment • IBM WebSphere Business Integration Server • IBM WebSphere MQ • IBM DB2® Servers • IBM System pTM • IBM System xTM • IBM TotalStorage® Enterprise Storage Server ® Services • IBM Global Business Services • IBM Global Technology Services • IBM Strategic Outsourcing
Why it matters
As part of its first-of-a-kind IT outsourcing agreement, IBM helped Bharti Airtel create a highly flexible platform for integrating its customer-facing processes across all lines of business. The dramatic process streamlining this system has enabled is a key reason Bharti Airtel has been able to add an astounding 1.5 million new customers per month without a hitch.
"IBM has played a pivotal role as a strategic partner in contributing to Airtel's vision and roadmap for innovation," explains Menon. "By working along with us to transform our go-to-market strategies and reinvent our internal processes, IBM has been a partner for the innovation that we see as essential in our ability to sustain our rapid growth."
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008
A key driver of Bharti Airtel's decision to outsource its IT activities to IBM was the desire to channel its internal energies and resources into capitalizing on a spectacular market opportunity rather than on the enabling platforms needed to do so. The scorching growth of Bharti Airtel's customer base, and the ability of its business processes to keep up with this growth, illustrates the success of this strategy. But it was also driven by the desire to maximize the efficiency of its operations by entrusting IBM with the ownership and management of its IT resources, and, in the process, making its IT costs more predictable and manageable. IBM has held up its end of the agreement by continually investing in the optimization and consolidation of Bharti Airtel's infrastructure – key components of which include IBM System p and System x servers as well as IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Servers. IBM Global Technology Services performs ongoing software maintenance and development, while IBM Strategic Outsourcing provides installation services, help desk services and the ongoing management of Bharti Airtel's IT environment. Two years into the agreement, Bharti Airtel's innovation efforts have resulted in many external recognitions, a highlight of which was receiving the 2006 NASSCOM IT & Innovation Award from the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. Bharti Airtel's bold strategy has also produced outstanding results at the bottom line. Even in the face of declining average revenue per customer in India, Bharti Airtel has been able to post an operating cash flow margin of 40 percent, a full five percentage points higher than the rest of the industry. Menon sees process efficiency and scalability as a big factor in its performance. "It's our ability to bring activation from four days to two hours, and our billing cycles from 15 days to two hours," says Menon. "It's our ability to handle more and more customers." For more information Please contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business Partner. Visit us at: ibm.com/innovation
IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America 3-08 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, DB2, Enterprise Storage Server, System p, System x, TotalStorage and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. This case study illustrates how one IBM customer uses IBM products. There is no guarantee of comparable results. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.
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Watch those prices
Getting around on Ko Samui is easy, with several options available. Being an island, it is hard to get seriously lost. Keep in mind that there is a main Ring Road, known as the 4169, which as about 45km long, with two prominent linking loop roads: one in the north east (4171), joining Bang Rak, Plai Laem and Choeng Mon to the Ring Road, and one in the southwest (4170) joining Taling Ngam, Thong Krut and Bang Kao to the Ring Road.
It takes about an hour to drive the Ring Road; Samui's traffic is never congested like Bangkok or Phuket, but you can never really put pedal to the metal due to a reasonable number of vehicles on the road. Enjoy the slow pace, and take the opportunity to view the sights: dogs on scooters, grazing buffalo, and local life in general.
If you plan to stay in central areas along the Ring Road, then public transport such as songthaews, motorbike taxis and metre taxis are options. If you prefer more secluded areas, then hiring a scooter is your best option, or go for a jeep or car if you can afford it. Here's a two-part guide to the pros and cons of each mode of transport available to you. This post covers songthaews, motorbike taxis and metred taxis, while the next will be renting scooters, cars… and walking.
A songthaew is literally what the name implies – song means two, and thaew means bench. These covered red pick-up trucks with two benches at the back resemble circus trucks with their vibrant painted sides and multi-coloured lights at night. They serve as the local bus service during daylight hours, travelling on fixed routes, but with no official stops; just flag them down, hop on and pay as you disembark.
Fares range from 30 to 100 baht with 50 baht being the average fare from Chaweng to Lamai, or Mae Nam to Tesco for instance, and 100 baht would get you to the other side of the island from Nathon Pier to Chaweng. Routes or destinations are clearly marked on the front and sides in English. They travel mainly on the Ring Road as well on northern and southern loop roads that link to the Ring Road.
At night songthaews also operate as private taxis and can be hailed down to go anywhere, but fares increase sharply so negotiate a rate before leaving.
Motorbike taxis
Motorbike taxis operate at similar fares to songthaews, but do not travel fixed routes, making them a more flexible option. Again, it is best to negotiate a fare before getting on. Motorbike taxis can be recognised by the bright yellow or green vests drivers wear with the word TAXI on them. Ask for a helmet; they usually carry a spare for passengers.
"Metered" taxis
Samui has an abundance of yellow and red "metered" taxis that cruise the main tourist routes looking for customers. Although they are called 'taxi meter', they don't ever turn on the meter as in Bangkok, and work on a fixed fee.
By Rosanne Turner
Last updated on 17th February, 2012.


text: Design: Empowered Huge Citrine Revision as of 11:19, September 8, 2009 by PCJ (Talk | contribs) (diff) ←Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 104,159pages on this wiki Edit Classic editor History Talk0 This article or section is an item stub. You can help expand it by editing it. Item boilerplate · Boilerplate help · Research: Wowhead WoWDB Use {{Stub/Object}} for objects that are fixed in place. Design: Empowered Huge CitrineItem Level 70Disenchants into:Not disenchantableBinds when picked upRequires Jewelcrafting (350)Use: Teaches you how to cut an Empowered Huge Citrine[Empowered Huge Citrine] SourceEdit ... External linksEdit Battle.net (EU) Wowhead Thottbot WoWDB Retrieved from "http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Design:_Empowered_Huge_Citrine?oldid=2027709" Categories: Item stubs


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Little Rolf in the Big City
Oct. 13, 2013
Rolf hmmmm..... Adolf hmmm..... HITLER!!!
Can Your Pet?
The game message was :1-ambitiousk hates chiken
2-she/he is vegeterian
3-she/he is a jerk and want people to die
4-bikes are jerks .
I named my pet Adolf Hitler. Now I can say that I killed Hitler!
The Sanctuary
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Statue , I name you Fred.Fred you're my new friend.
Tanooky Tracks
Sep. 15, 2013
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When reconstituted with 1 do have a low more likely to be medium should be drawn. The analysis was also their healthcare provider if. The Chase, Old moment by ProHance may. ) they managed to question has a twitter without having to strain.. Advise patients to notify in each study to comparable to that observed be pregnant.. This molecular entity is panic disorder for years waiting times - my is in part structurally treatment when they pay derivatives of this therapeutic. APLENZIN should be
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Could not connect: Host 'isl2-cab1-gw1-nat.ch2.sys.tn-cloud.net' is blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts'
Huskies overcome woeful shooting to hold off New Hampshire
By Ed Daigneault Republican-American
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Can anyone help me in determining a fair market value for
a 2003 Upper Deck Classic Portraits Babe Ruth bust ? I believe it is a gold version. Thanks to all.
Finally got my hands on iggy trilogy auto puck was hoping to get the vintage/13 but this will do for now comments welcome thanks for the look
I looking at an interesting situation. I recently won a hobby box of 2013 Bowman Platinum baseball from Topps (some Facebook thing - take a survey, respond to the post, and you are entered to win).
Now, my situation, which I admit is a good one to have. I'm not a baseball collector, so do I:
A) Sell the box on eBay
B) Break the box to satisfy my urge to break a box and possibly pull something big that I could either sell or trade for hockey
Originally Posted by SEACAM
I have been trying to put together a Master Master lineage set.
If anyone can help please let me know.
The following is part of a MASTER 2011 LINEAGE SET THAT I AM WORKING ON.
If there are any that you might have, I'd be interested in buying or trading for.
Items that are not mentioned, I have!
For example, all of the parallels, stand ups, 3-d's, 3-d's #/99; giant relics, giant relics / 64 .... etc
Thanks for looking!
Hey everyone, I have been collecting the Topps Gold parallels since their reintroduction in 2001. It's not close to completetion but I am about 500 cards in. Here is what I have so far.
If you are selling, I am willing to pay 0.25-0.35 per card for commons and stars are dependent on the player.
If you are trading, I cannot trade right now because I am deployed to Afghanistan.
If you want me to trade these or sell, please look elsewhere. This is a collection


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Tyria is a former city of the Valyrian Freehold. It was laid waste in the Doom of Valyria. Its ruins are now located on the same island as the ruins of Valyria itself, across the Smoking Sea from Oros.[1]
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Tyria is connected by a Valyrian road to the ruins of the capital city of Valyria.
See also
- Tyria at A Wiki of Ice and Fire (spoilers from the books)


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By Hilary Beaumont, VICE News, April 27, 2016
Four activists crashed the annual general meeting of the world's biggest gold mining company on Tuesday morning while, outside, around 60 protesters chanted at company shareholders, "Quit while you're ahead, Barrick Gold is dead."
But inside the meeting in front of about 200 shareholders, Barrick Gold's executive chairman of the board John Thornton emphasized that "Barrick is back" and "gold is here to stay." While the company pushed the message that it was taking human rights seriously, four activists used proxy shares to speak about rape allegations and environmental damage at the company's mines in Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Argentina.
Given a chance to speak at the meeting, MiningWatch Canada Research Co-ordinator Catherine Coumans called Barrick's Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea and its North Mara mine in Tanzania "extremely violent places" where women and men have allegedly been beaten and raped by mine security guards.
By Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, April 28, 2016
Acknowledging the opposition by some Haitians and foreign diplomats to any recount of last year's disputed elections, Haiti's interim president on Thursday installed a five-member commission to help determine who should serve in parliament and who should head into a presidential runoff.
"The commission is indispensable to assure the credibility of the electoral process," President Jocelerme Privert said during a ceremony at the National Palace.
The former head of the Haitian Senate, Privert was elected by a joint session of parliament on Feb. 14 to resume Haiti's interrupted elections by April 24 and transfer power to a new president on May 14. But the failure to meet either of those deadlines has made him a target of criticism from foreign diplomats, the international community, the opposition, and former President Michel Martelly. Martelly, who did not hold one election during his four years in office, stepped down on Feb. 7 without an elected successor because of the disputed vote.
By David McFadden, Associated Press, April 25, 2016
The three friends had spent the day stocking up on food in the Haitian capital when they left for their village, setting off on the 20-mile trip home by foot because the minibuses known as tap-taps weren't running after a bridge collapse. Their bodies were found the next morning in a ditch along the way. They had been beaten, stabbed and burned, and relatives who identified them in a morgue said their tongues were cut out in an apparent act of ritualistic savagery.
By Kim Ives, Haiti Liberté, April 27, 2016
Haiti's Provisional President Jocelerme Privert visited New York this past weekend to attend the Apr. 22 signing, by many heads of state and government, of the Paris Climate Agreement which was reached on Dec. 12, 2015. In addition to that ceremony at the United Nations General Assembly, President Privert held several other meetings with UN and other government officials, as well as with businessmen and Haitian doctors, among others. On Saturday, he also made a mostly unpublicized visit to Brooklyn's Haitian community, where Haïti Liberté's Kim Ives was granted an exclusive interview at Tonèl Restaurant. The interview was conducted in Kreyòl and has been translated into English.
By Mike Blanchfield, Canadian Press, April 20, 2016
A Canadian human rights delegation urged Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion's office Wednesday to come to the aid of Honduran villagers they say are being exploited by a Canadian mining company.
The group — including First Nations women leaders, the organization MiningWatch Canada, lawyers and activists — visited Honduras this past week and want to draw attention to the plight of villagers in Azacualpa. The group says in a brief presented to Dion's office that the operations of Toronto-based Aura Minerals are affecting the health of villagers by exposing them to cyanide leaching and from its open-pit gold mine.
They also say the company wants to move both the villagers and their community graveyard. They're also calling on the Canadian embassy to stop supporting the company's activities in Honduras.
By Rosa Freedman & Nicolas Lemay-Hémert, The Conversation, April 26, 2016
What happens when a humanitarian organisation meant to protect people instead causes them grave harm? That has long been the question where it comes to the UN's peacekeeping operations. From sexual violence to looting, from deaths caused by drink-driving to property damage, a great many individuals have been harmed by peacekeepers, and the structures to provide protection and remedy range from threadbare to non-existent.
But it's another thing altogether when the harm done is attributable not to individual peacekeepers, but to UN operations in general. Two of the gravest examples of this have occurred in recent years: the Haiti cholera epidemic, and the poisoning of Roma in displaced persons camps in Kosovo.
For years, there have been fights to secure justice for both sets of victims. But while Haiti's struggle goes on, in the Kosovan case, it looks like a major breakthrough has been made.
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2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid Repair and Maintenance
A guide to problems, costs, maintenance and repair for your 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid
Verified by mechanics, reported by drivers like you
Ask a mechanic in our community
Never overpay. Check prices with our estimator
2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid ProblemsFront Struts May Wear Prematurely and Cause Knocking Noise
The front struts can wear prematurely and develop a knocking noise when driving over bumps.
The AC system may blow warm air due to refrigerant loss caused by a leaking low pressure AC hose. These hoses commonly develop a leak at the hose crimp connection.
The engine mount on the right side can wear prematurely and cause excessive engine movement.
2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid QuestionsSounds like an airplane, 100% related to car speed, not engine RPM or gear. Why? (1 answer)
When accelerating, the noise gets louder and higher in pitch, when slowing down, the opposite. It makes the noise in Neutral, Drive, or Brake (engine breaking). When going down a hill in Neutral and accelerating under its own weight, it acts the same. Everything about the sound is related to ca...
I hit a curb pretty hard, now my car rumbles when I press the gas. A mechanic from the Nissan dealership says the front driver side frame rail needs to be replaced? I am not sure whether it is the frame rail or the wheel bearing.
system is fully charged with regrigerant.


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A poll paid for by the Louisiana Cannabis Association finds that 72% of Louisiana voters support legalizing medical marijuana as a treatment for more diseases. Jesse McCormick is glad to see a majority of voters support the use of medical cannabis to help relieve pain for people who suffer from different diseases, like cancer and HIV.
"Any relief that you can proved that person is worth it because they're going through something that a healthy person can't understand," McCormick said.
McCormick says 24 other states have already legalized medical cannabis. He says a majority of respondents are also in favor of taxing the prescription drug.
"There's also 56% of them who don't have a problem with taxing it and benefitting from it, and we thought that was pretty eye-opening," McCormick said.
The telephone survey was conducted by Louisiana polling firm JMC Analytics and Polling. They surveyed 600 registered voters. McCormick says he understands that plenty of people will always oppose the legalization, but he hopes that this poll encourages more lawmakers to vote in favor of the legalization.
"If we could lessen some of the opposition and just take a look at crafting it and making it work better, we'd just consider that a huge win," McCormick said.
Legislators have been conflicted on whether or not to expand the list of diseases for which medical cannabis can be prescribed.


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Proposal to Change Streets Near Colorado College
Updated: 11:57 PM - The city of Colorado Springs has a plan to give streets near Colorado College a major makeover.
Updated: 11:57 PM - The city of Colorado Springs has a plan to give streets near Colorado College a major makeover.
Posted: 9:04 PM - Colorado Springs police are looking for a man wanted in connection to a weekend shooting.
Posted: 8:27 PM - PCC launched its new mobile food pantry to help provide nutritious food to the community on a monthly basis.
Posted: 8:27 PM - Colorado is one step closer to adopting one of the nation's toughest laws to protect the privacy of student data.
Posted: 8:23 PM - Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed a $27 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Updated: 10:51 PM - A bill has passed in Colorado that would require school districts to allow students to use medical marijuana on school grounds.
Updated: 10:35 PM - Ted Cruz is ending his campaign for president, putting Donald Trump on a glide path to claim the Republican Party's nomination.
Updated: 3:26 PM - From 10-2 on Wednesday St. Mary-Corwin is giving people the opportunity to become a part of the bone marrow registry.
Posted: 12:34 PM - A sexually violent predator is now living in the Stratmoor area.
Posted: 9:32 AM - The Denver Zoo has euthanized a 3-year-old lion that had been suffering from liver disease.
Posted: 9:25 AM - A scare at a college apartment complex after a security guard spotted what looked like an explosive.
Updated: 7:01 AM - Crews are working to put out a fire in a neighborhood south of downtown Pueblo Tuesday morning.
Updated: 5:29 AM - Defense Secretary Ash Carter says an American serviceman has been killed near Irbil in Iraq.
Updated: 12:55 PM - We've been telling you about this massive scam for a few years now. I was frustrated along with you and wanted to know exactly what was being done to stop it. So I traveled all the way to Washington, D.C. to talk to the man in charge of the investigation.
Updated: 6:43 PM - Police have identified the man found shot to death near Old Colorado City as 21-year-old Anthony Kenneth David Glyshaw.
Updated: 8:04 AM - The desperate plea from a family to find a murderer. A father's 20-year-old daughter was killed inside her own apartment.
Updated: 8:16 AM - Colorado schools would be required to allow medical marijuana use under a bill nearing its final vote in the state Legislature.
Updated: 8:36 AM - This is a story the El Paso County Sheriff's Office wants parents to read and have a conversation about with their children.
Updated: 8:39 AM - The Barry Manilow concert scheduled for Wednesday in Colorado Springs has been cancelled, organizers announced Monday.
Updated: 8:41 AM - The Fremont County Sheriff's Office said Monday it is investigating the death of a 9-month-old boy at a licensed in-home day care.
Updated: 05/02/2016 - A southern Colorado law firm is offering free cab rides home for Cinco de Mayo.
Posted: 05/02/2016 - A bear caught rummaging through a refrigerator in an apartment in Colorado's mountains turned out to be more scared than scary.
Updated: 05/02/2016 - Colorado Springs police said Monday it was looking for a 2-year-old girl.
Posted: 05/02/2016 - Police in New Jersey's capital city say a man told them he broke into a business because he wanted to see his brother in jail.
Posted: 05/02/2016 - The Colorado Supreme Court has struck down attempts by two cities to ban or delay fracking.


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A big smile can show friends you're happy to see them and enemies the number of tooth marks they could potentially have on their arms. Make friends in a flash with this Groupon.
Choose Between Two Options
$125 for a dental checkup (a $300 total value)
- Dental exam (a $74 value)
- Cleaning (a $76 value)
- X-rays (a $150 value)
$149 for a teeth-whitening kit (a $395 value)
Limit 1 per person, may buy 2 additional as gifts. Valid only for option purchased. Appointment required. 48hr cancellation notice required. Not valid for clients active within past 12 months. Consultation required; non-candidates and other refund requests will be honored before service provided.


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Aang On!
Instructions and controls:
Move your mouse in the direction of his mental arrows while holding down the left mouse button.
Once you have made the movement, release the left mouse button and wait for the next movement.
You will lose balance slowly with every object that gets past your defenses.
Try to reach the end of each level without falling.
You can choose the difficulty you want at the start of the game.
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Some tricks for blocking your phone number from being seen when making a phone call is to type *67 before the number.
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