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You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched all over the place and just couldn't find it. What a perfect web-site.
New Videos
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November 25, 2011 BY John Kim / 9
All aboard the KD party bus! Check out Kevin Durant as he tours the city of Oklahoma City, making impromptu stops wherever a game of basketball is starting to heat up. Durant's small-town charm is what makes this superstar talent an approachable figure in the NBA, so playing alongside neighborhood kids on a barnyard basketball hoop or with a group of senior citizens isn't as off-center as you'd think. This short video, with soul-pioneer Sam Cooke and his genre-defining 'Good Times' setting the mood, shows a small sampling of Durant's unrelenting passion and tireless search for basketball; watch Durant as he 'paints the town' and some hoops with neighborhood folk in various settings – with a final one-on-one match-up with hip-hop artist J. Cole. Basketball Never Stops for Kevin Durant, and with his all-new Nike Zoom KD IV laced on his feet, his itch for the game is only growing…so where will he stop next? Take a look at the new Basketball Never Stops video with Kevin Durant below and hit up Nikestore to pre-order your pair of KD IVs now.
Filed under: Basketball Kevin Durant Upcoming Sneakers
Tags: Basketball Never Stops J. Cole Kevin Durant Nike Zoom KD IV
You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched all over the place and just couldn't find it. What a perfect web-site.
I have to say that for the last few of hours i have been hooked by the impressive articles on this blog. Keep up the great work.
I have to say that for the last few of hours i have been hooked by the impressive posts on this site. Keep up the great work.
why is KD driving a van in this video.. and does he normally drive this van This is whats most important
i love that song! that was a awesome video.
i should report your dumb ass.... The van represents humbleness, what!, would u have felt different or better if he swagged out on elderly and hard working honest citizens,who do in fact pay money to see them play.? Cmon son ppl like you are exactly why america is indebt! Own up hoe or you are gay, looking like a chick on a come up off his ride lol, Get money!
that van probably is probably slammed out anyways, google those vans
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Thurtell, Matthew J. MBBS, FRACP; Biousse, Valérie MD; Bruce, Beau B. MD; Newman, Nancy J. MD
Departments of Ophthalmology (MJT, VB, BBB, NJN), Neurology (VB, BBB, NJN), and Neurological Surgery (NJN), Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Supported in part by a departmental grant (Department of Ophthalmology) from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., New York; by core grant P30-EY06360 (Department of Ophthalmology); and by K23-EY019341 (Dr. Bruce). Dr. Newman is a recipient of the Research to Prevent Blindness Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award.
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Address correspondence to Nancy J. Newman, MD, Neuro-Ophthalmology, 3600, Emory Eye Center, 1365-B Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322; E-mail: email@example.com
Background: Several studies have suggested racial differences in the prevalence of optic nerve head drusen (ONHD). We aimed to determine the percentage of patients with ONHD who are black and to describe the clinical, ophthalmoscopic, and perimetric findings in these patients.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with ONHD seen at our institution between 1989 and 2010. Only black patients with ONHD confirmed on either funduscopy or B-scan ultrasonography were included. Demographic and clinical findings in these patients were recorded and analyzed.
Results: Of the 196 patients with confirmed ONHD, 10 (5.1%) were black. This included 7 females and 3 males with ages ranging from 8 to 61 years. Six of the 10 patients had bilateral ONHD. The ONHD were buried in 11 of 16 eyes and exposed in 5 of 16 eyes. Fifteen of 16 eyes with ONHD had small cupless optic nerve heads. Visual fields were normal in 4 of 16 eyes with ONHD. In the remainder, visual field defects included an enlarged blind spot (5 eyes), constricted field (5 eyes), nasal defect (2 eyes), central defect (1 eye), and generalized depression (1 eye). Visual field defects were present in 4 of 5 eyes (80%) with exposed ONHD and 8 of 11 eyes (72.7%) with buried ONHD. None of the patients were related, and none of their examined family members had exposed ONHD on funduscopic examination.
Conclusions: ONHD are rare in blacks, possibly due to the presence of a larger cup-to-disc ratio or a lack of predisposing genetic factors. Visual field defects are common in black patients with both exposed and buried ONHD.
Optic nerve head drusen (ONHD) are laminated acellular concretions that form within the substance of the optic nerve head (1). They often occur in small structurally congested optic nerve heads and are inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion with incomplete penetrance (2). Several studies have suggested racial differences in their prevalence (3–6), such that ONHD are said to occur almost exclusively in whites (4). The prevalence of ONHD in blacks is unknown. An autopsy series of American patients found that the prevalence of buried and exposed ONHD was approximately 2%, but the races of these patients were not specified (7). A series of American patients from Miami, where a significant proportion of the population is black, reported that only 2 of 98 patients with exposed ONHD on fundus examination were black (4). A more recent American series, including patients from Galveston (Texas) and Miami, found that 5 of 85 patients with exposed ONHD were black (5). Since equal proportions of black and white patients are seen at our institution, we performed a retrospective chart review to determine the percentage of patients with exposed or buried ONHD who were black and to describe the clinical, ophthalmoscopic, and perimetry findings in these patients.
We retrospectively reviewed the clinic charts of all patients with exposed or buried ONHD seen between 1989 and 2010 at our institution. All patients had received a standardized neuro-ophthalmic assessment, including perimetry (automated 24-2 or kinetic) and fundus photography, and their relatives were examined whenever possible. The nature of any visual field defect was determined by the clinician at the time of the patient's evaluation and by the author compiling the database (MJT), who was not blinded to the clinician's visual field interpretation. In cases where there was a discrepancy in visual field interpretation, the nature of the visual field defect was determined by consensus among the study authors. Race was determined by the clinician, based on the patient's appearance. When the clinician was not certain of the patient's race, the patient was asked to report their race. We included only black patients who had ONHD confirmed on either fundus examination or B-scan ultrasonography. We excluded nonblack patients and all patients in whom an alternative cause for optic nerve head elevation was identified. The study protocol was approved by the Emory University Institutional Review Board.
Of the 196 patients with ONHD on fundus examination or B-scan ultrasonography, 10 (5.1%) were black. There were 7 females and 3 males with ages ranging from 8 to 61 years (mean, 25 years; median, 15 years). The demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients are summarized in Table 1. No patient with ONHD was excluded from the study due to the presence of an additional cause for optic nerve head elevation. Seven of the 10 patients had no visual symptoms and had been referred for evaluation of abnormal optic nerve heads. Two of the 3 patients with visual symptoms (Cases 3 and 10; Table 1) complained of progressive visual field loss in both eyes, and the third patient (Case 6; Table 1) complained of progressive dyschromatopsia in the right eye only. Of the 10 patients, only 1 (Case 8; Table 1) had another ophthalmic disease; in this case, the patient had keratoconus in an eye without ONHD. None of the patients reported a sudden loss of vision to suggest anterior ischemic optic neuropathy or central retinal artery occlusion, and none of the patients had symptoms or signs of raised intracranial pressure. None of the patients were related, and none of their examined family members had exposed ONHD on fundus examination. Six of the 10 patients had bilateral ONHD. Visual acuity was normal in most eyes with ONHD (range, −0.1 to 0.4; mean, 0.08; median, 0.0; logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution notation). Intraocular pressures were within normal limits in all eyes with ONHD. Fifteen of 16 eyes with ONHD had small cupless optic nerve heads, 13 eyes had elevated optic nerve heads, and 5 eyes had exposed ONHD. Perimetry was normal in 4 of 16 eyes with ONHD, whereas there was an enlarged blind spot in 5 eyes, a constricted field in 5 eyes, a nasal defect in 2 eyes, a central defect in 1 eye, and generalized depression in 1 eye. Visual field defects were present in 4 of 5 eyes (80%) with exposed ONHD and 8 of 11 eyes (72.7%) with buried ONHD. No alternative cause for the visual field defects (e.g., glaucoma, papilledema, or compressive lesion) was identified in any patient.
Several prior studies have suggested racial differences in the prevalence of ONHD, but these studies have included only patients with exposed ONHD on clinical examination or fundus photographs (3–6). We included patients with exposed or buried ONHD, confirmed with either fundus examination or B-scan ultrasonography and found that only a small percentage were black, implying that there is a lower prevalence of ONHD in blacks compared to whites. Since approximately 50% of the patients examined at our institution are black, the disproportion is unlikely to be due to referral bias.
There are several possible explanations for the low prevalence of ONHD in black patients. First, racial differences in optic disc morphology may be relevant. It has been proposed that a small scleral canal size may play a role in the pathogenesis of ONHD, since ONHD usually occur in eyes with small cupless optic nerve heads (8). Indeed, almost all eyes with ONHD in our series had small cupless optic nerve heads. Several studies have demonstrated that, on average, blacks have larger optic disc areas, with larger cups and cup-to-disc ratios, compared with whites (9,10). Thus, ONHD may be less common in blacks than in whites, due to a larger average scleral canal size. Using optical coherence tomography, Floyd et al (11) found that the average scleral canal size in eyes with ONHD was not significantly smaller than in control eyes or fellow eyes without ONHD, calling into question whether scleral canal size has any role in the pathogenesis of ONHD. Although the optic nerve heads of the patients in our series appeared small and structurally congested, optical coherence tomographic measurements of scleral canal size were not available for any of the patients, and we are unable to be certain that scleral canal size was smaller than average in these patients.
A second possibility is that the low prevalence of ONHD in black patients might be due to a lack of predisposing genetic factors. Several previous studies have demonstrated that ONHD are inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion with incomplete penetrance (2,3). Although a candidate gene has not yet been identified, genes have been identified for other autosomal dominant and recessive disorders that are associated with ONHD (12–14). None of the patients in our series had ONHD as a feature of another disorder. Furthermore, none were related, and none of their examined family members had exposed ONHD on fundus examination, suggesting that ONHD may be sporadic rather than an inherited trait in these patients. However, we examined only those relatives who accompanied the patient and we did not systematically arrange for other relatives to be examined. Given the small number of patients and incomplete pedigree information, it remains possible that ONHD might be an inherited trait in these patients.
The clinical and ophthalmoscopic findings in our patients were similar to those reported in other large series of ONHD (2–4). The percentage of our patients with exposed ONHD who had visual field defects (80%) was slightly greater than that reported in prior studies (∼70%–75%) (15–18). However, the percentage of our patients with buried ONHD who had visual field defects (72.7%) was substantially greater than that reported in prior studies (∼20%–45%) (15–18). While this could be a consequence of referral bias, it might also indicate that visual field defects are more likely to develop in black than in white patients with ONHD, possibly due to racial differences in the sensitivity of retinal ganglion cells to damage at the optic nerve head.
In summary, we have demonstrated that only a small percentage of patients with ONHD are black, suggesting that there is a low prevalence of ONHD in blacks compared with whites. Although the lower prevalence could be due to a larger average cup-to-disc ratio or a lack of predisposing genetic factors in blacks, a large population-based study, with fundus examination or photography and B-scan ultrasonography, would be required to determine the exact prevalence of ONHD in blacks.
© 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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At home, a 'share game'
(Continued from page 1) Technology has been key to driving sales and improving unit-level economics in Domino's domestic system of nearly 4,900 stores, Doyle said. An improvement in store profitability would ultimately dictate renewed net unit count growth in the United States, which has been flat for years, he said, but U.S. expansion would only be "modest" once again in 2013, with the bulk of the company's total openings happening outside the United ...
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Michael Evstafiev / AFP - Getty Images
This picture taken on August 5, 1993 shows Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, right, listening to Bosnian Serb Commander Ratko Mladic during a meeting with the press in Pale. Mladic refused to testify at the trial of his former political counterpart Karadzic on Tuesday, despite a subpoena issued by the Yugoslav war crimes court.
Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic refused to testify in support of his one-time political ally Radovan Karadzic who called him as a defense witness at his war crimes trial at The Hague on Tuesday.
Mladic denounced the U.N. war crimes tribunal as "satanic" and said he did not want to incriminate himself.
It was an unusual reunion for the two men, who have not been seen together since the 1990s Bosnia war ended.
Mladic, the former general who headed separatist Bosnian Serb forces, and Karadzic, the political leader, are both accused of responsibility for the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica near the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
Michael Kooren / AFP - Getty Images file
Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom for his appeals judgement at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, The Netherlands in a photo taken on July 11, 2013.
The two men are on trial separately, but both deny charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The former strongman Mladic, now 71, looked frail as he told the judges why he refused to testify.
"I do not recognize your court," he told presiding judge O-Gon Kwon. "It is a NATO creation. It is a satanic court."
The old political allies exchanged brief pleasantries before Mladic was led out of the courtroom.
"Thanks a lot, Radovan. I'm sorry, these idiots wouldn't let me speak. They defend NATO," he said as he passed, referring to the court. As he came down from the witness stand, Mladic smiled at the public gallery, which is separated from the high-security courtroom by a pane of bullet-proof glass.
Serge Ligtenberg / Getty Images
A career soldier, Mladic stands accused of orchestrating the siege of Sarajevo and the slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.
Reuters contributed to this report.


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Now that he's got the gig, Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo can start focusing on helping his evolving club try to get off to a good start and improve on some of the inadequacies that left the Blues with a disappointing sixth-place finish last year in the English Premier League.
Di Matteo started last season as assistant first-team coach under André Villas-Boas before replacing him on an interim basis for the final 11 weeks of the season.
Last month, the Blues and chief executive Ron Gourlay rewarded the 43-year-old Italian with the full-time manager's job by signing him to a two-year contract.
With the EPL season opener now almost a month away (Aug. 19 at Wigan Athletic), here are five areas I think Chelsea can improve on with the right direction from Di Matteo and set a positive tone for the future at Stamford Bridge.


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About IM RefereesAn Intramural Referee officiates and referees any and all team sports for the Intramural program. Games are played Monday through Thursday from 6:30 to 11:00 p.m. (or midnight for events inside the Herbert Wellness Center) and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. All games take place on the Intramural Fields or in the Herbert Wellness Center. The only experience necessary is the willingness to learn and the joy of sports. In order to become an Intramural Official, you must attend the official's training which takes place during the week at various times (check the official training dates to the right).
IM Referee Interest FormComplete the form below if you are interested in becoming an IM referee.
Referees of the MonthTBD
Referees of the WeekTBD
About IM SupervisorsAn Intramural Supervisor is also part of the Intramural program. These students work approximately 20 hours per week throughout the semester. Their requirements are to fulfill 1 hour of office hours per week, attend the weekly staff meetings, and to attend any and all officials clinics. The experience necessary is you have to have worked at least 3 out of 5 of the major team sports in the last year.
- Fall 2016 Training Dates
- Referees Request Form


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Connected Consumer and the Future of Financial Services: Audio Town Hall
Author:Town Hall On-Demand
Financial services, from banking to insurance to investments, are being rapidly transformed by consumers who are connecting to the Internet in unprecedented numbers globally. Every organization needs to understand the implications of the connected consumer, whether that means expanding its mobile strategy, determining if micro products will disrupt core processes, accelerating its social media presence, or investing in big data tools.
CSC recently released a report on these fascinating developments. In this audio Town Hall, the authors explained their findings and took your questions.
- Patrick Molineux, Chief Strategy Officer
- Rich Carreau, Global CTO
- Daisy Weaver, Global Director of Business Intelligence
- Paul Gustafson, Leading Edge Forum Director
- Erica Salinas, Strategy Consultant
- Jeff Caruso, Senior Managing Editor


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Search Results hapewels
Hapewels Games
You will have good time by playing these simple and enjoyable
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Drag the blocks to get them to move into their specified outlined spot in this physics world.
Pastoral Beauty
Super beautiful Tianyuan Chun installed, Q version of the model is very cute.
Sonic Boom Boom
Choose your favorite character and blast your opponents away, get the most space before the end of each level to win.
Red-hair Annie
Annie's skin is very white, one day her friend told her she could dye her hair red. She thought that's a good idea. ...
Mission Cosmo
Shoot Creepy Spaceship meteor along the way.
Fox' n' Roll Mobile
Solve the physics puzzles as you get the fox and ball to one another. Don't get stumped!
Dodge the car while crossing the street and hog the logs to get to the holes on the other side.
Pupu Adventure
This is a little story about a bunny that walked on two legs instead of four. The bunny wanted to know why that was and ...
Designer Leather Fashion
Leather Fashion dress is one of the great curiosities of fashion: Women want more leather dresses, and designers love to make dresses in leather. A ...
Ronaldo vs Messi Fight
All soccer fan is waiting for the selection of the best footballers of 2013 Fifa Ballon d'Or.
Eclipse Assault
Shoot cannonballs at the planes flying overhead. Upgrade between silhouette levels.
Happy Tribe Grill
The tribe's tummies are rumbling... Chop veggies and roast some meat on the spit to please these hungry villagers. Work fast and whip up ...
Bubbles The Adventures of Bob
Help Bob play in his underwater playground by swimming around popping bubbles.
Dolls At Home
Help Dolls to move into their fabulous new house! Arrange the rooms nicely with all the available items and furniture!
Clean Up My Laboratory
My classroom and I have been working in my laboratory for the whole day. Look at this huge mess. Help me to clean up my ...
Digging Diamonds
Dig through the dirt for a diamond in the rough.
Laundry Room Decoration
If you have a bland, boring laundry room, here is a great game to help even you create excitement within your room. By playing this ...
Path Finder
Path Finder is a fun chain reaction puzzle game with thirty levels of increasing difficulty. Click on the arrows to change their direction. Click on ...
Classic Mahjong solitaire with a twist. Collect extra time by pairing up the tiles with time on it. You can stop or slow down the ...
Portrait Corner
Lisa has just opened an art gallery where she sells portraits! She needs an assistant to deal with the customers! She has chosen you for ...
Razor Run
Razor Run is a super-fast 3D escape game where you need to blast your way through the small corridors. Evade the different obstacles that are ...
Find My Wedding Ring
Find My Wedding Ring is another new point and click game developed by Games2dress. The girl has lost her wedding ring. But she knew ...
Tori Energy Factory
Help Tori, the battery robot, keep TacTox City charged with the energy of Centos. Just be careful to not overload when colliding with Duzens! You ...
Aries House
The Sun entered the sign Aries so it's a great time for Aries women to redecorate their houses for a fresh start! Are you ...
Paris Hilton Scary
Today Sara will be teach you how to make delicious Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups. At every step you will be provided with hints, on how ...
Cartoon Heroes
And here we introduce you a jigsaw game that will make you plunge into a pleasant mood, especially after a day full of duties. Rest ...
My Dolphin Show 4
t's time to take Vegas by storm, but are you and your dolphin ready for the big time?
Harvest Dash
The orphans from Motherheart Orphanage wanted to go to the Safari Park. You wanted to help them by raising some funds to buy a vehicle ...
Knights And Brides
knights and princesses, feel the magic in your own fantasy tale!
His & Hers 4
Girls, you remember our lovely couple right? They love looking like a couple so they always wear similar clothes! Well, this time they are going ...
Clear each level of gold before the time runs out!
SEO Act 1: China
You have to help Miko and Mika to find their crystal balls in order to save their world. You will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong ...
Magnetic Football
Click the player who has the ball to control him. Move the mouse to rotate the player to aim in any direction. Drag the mouse ...
Dolly Dressup
This little girl needs a dress and hair makeover. Help her choose the right dress for her.
Judge or Jump!
How about a little "Judging"? with thousands of unique characters! this is a two button score based arcade game where you must act ...
Beach Restaurant Serving
Everybody love this season, the summer is the most exciting period of the year. You are now at the sea, trying to manage your restaurant ...
Naruto Bomb 3
A cool Naruto theme Bomberman game.
Lego: Creator Islands
Creator Islands is another awesome part of Lego games. The game offers great gaming experience full of create of new things. When you came there, ...
Robo Racing 2
You're Agent Strong and you're and your task is to annihilate all the robots that reigned the world for so many years! Destroy ...
Heavily Armed
An action platform game taking place in a post-apocalyptic flying world.
MC2-Burning Skies
Fly your jet as you blast enemy fighters, and choppers. Quickly take out powerfully huge tanks
NBA ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Look! Who are doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Wow,they are NBA stars! They are Dwyane Tyrone Wade, LeBron Raymone James, Shaquille O'Neal, ...
angry birds twins
Match birds of the same colour as quick as possible.Angry Birds can be matched only if they can be connected with a line which ...
Foghorn Leghorn Dress Up
Dress up Foghorn Leghorn from the Looney Tunes Show with amazing clothes, hats, gloves and other accessories.
Zamba World
Connect sets of three or more faces to score! How many sets can you complete before time runs out?
Retro Fashion Korean
Flapper Fashion, 1920 women's style, combined with modern style into the current retro fashion.
Spiderman Lizard Clone
The Lizard has find the way to clone himself. Only Spiderman can stop him. Move around the town in 3D where you have find and ...
Ben10 Alien force: Alien X-master of the Universe
Alien X is the most powerful alien, super strong, super fast, he can destroy all the monster in the air with his laser beam, or ...
Christmas 2011 Hidden Objects 2
It's the time to use your observing skills to discover the hidden objects in the pictures of the Christmas 2011.
Sleeping Princess
Use your fashion talent to style up this lovely princess so that she can dazzle away the Prince Charming coming to her rescue to wake ...
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Canal boat tour
During your visit to Amsterdam you really should include a canal boat tour in order to really see the splendour of the 17th century houses. You will discover that the overall view on the historical Amsterdam buildings seen from the water is much better. The 17th century canal belt of Amsterdam (in Dutch: 'Grachtengordel'), was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010. Close to Hotel Cordial and Hotel Armada you will find canal boat companies which take you through the city. More information you will find at the reception desk in the hotels.
One of the most famous districts in Amsterdam is the Jordaan district. Here you will find many well-known tourist attractions like the Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht canal. Rembrandt spent the last years of his life in the Jordaan, on the Rozengracht canal. He was buried in the Westerkerk church, at the corner of Rozengracht and Prinsengracht, just beyond the Jordaan. The Jordaan is home to many art galleries. In addition this area is also dotted with small shops and restaurants and on a regular basis markets are held at Noordermarkt, the Westerstraat (the Lapjesmarkt textile market) and at the Lindengracht.
Another place of interest is the Museum Square, where you can find the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum and the already mentioned Diamond Museum. In addition the Museum Square is the place where the world famous Royal Concert Hall is located. In terms of nightlife you will discover Amsterdam is a lively city and depending upon your interests and needs the city offers a varied type of nightlife. If you are looking for pubs, cafes and or coffee shops; you can basically find them across the city centre but if you are looking for large numbers, check out the central station area and the Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein area. Restaurants can be found all over Amsterdam; the different types of restaurants are unlimited; if it's Chinese you are looking for: try the Zeedijk in the Red Light district. If you fancy a more quiet and exclusive restaurant, check out the Amsterdam Zuid district where you will plenty of fine dining options. For more information on dinner options, ask your receptionist of Hotel Savoy, Hotel Cordial or Hotel Armada.


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Obama names ex-Ohio congresswoman as administrator for St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
The Columbus Dispatch - July 24, 2013 05:58 PM
President Barack Obama today named former Democratic congresswoman Betty Sutton of Copley Township as administrator for the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., a federal coproration that maintains and operates the seaway between Lake Erie and the Port of Montreal. Sutton lost her bid for re-election last year when her district was merged with the district held by Republican Jim Renacci of Wadsworth.
An attorney with a law degree from the University of Akron, Sutton had served in the Ohio House Representatives from 1993 to 2000 before winning election in 2000 to the U.S. House.
Rep Tim Ryan, D-Niles, said in a statement that "it is great to have an Ohioan administering the Seaway, an important transportation system that enhances trade and provides economic development for much of the region. After serving with Betty for four years in Congress, I believe she is an excellent choice and will help keep commerce moving on the Great Lakes."


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"One of the most damning indictments of the media profession is that reporters provide the ink and others provide the blood,"
Related quotes
"No other profession is subject to the public contempt and derision that sometimes befalls lawyers. the bitter fruit of public incomprehension of the law itself and its dynamics."
"No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation"
"I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it."
"We were just not surprised. Because, sadly the number one profession that hits on our underage profiles happens to be teachers."
"As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may seem, am satisfied that it does not agree with my constitution."
"We're one of the most reviled subsets of one of the most reviled professions. We're going to lose the battle every time."


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Chasing Papi
Release Date: April 16th, 2003
PG|1 hr. 20 min.
Plot Summary
Playboy Thomas Fuentes (Eduardo Verastegui) has so far been able to skate by in life on good looks and charm alone. But when his duplicitous relationships with three women -- impassioned waitress Cici (Sofía Vergara), meticulous lawyer Lorena (Roselyn Sánchez) and bored socialite Patricia (Jaci Velasquez) -- spiral out of control, he suffers a mental breakdown. His doctor recommends that he choose just one girlfriend -- but can he choose in time before they discover his deception?
Cast: Roselyn Sánchez, Sofía Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, Eduardo Verastegui, Lisa Vidal, Freddy Rodriguez, D.L. Hughley, Maria Conchita Alonso
Director: Linda Mendoza
Genres: Romantic comedy
Distributor: 20th Century Fox


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Call Start: 08:03
Call End: 09:01
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE:YGE)
Q1 2012 Earnings Results Conference
May 30, 2012 08:00 am ET
Miao Liansheng - Chairman & CEO
Zongwei (Bryan) Li - Executive Director & CFO
Darren Thompson - Managing Director, Yingli Green Energy, Europe
Robert Petrina - Managing Director, Yingli Green Energy Americas
Zhuo Arthur Chen - Director, Legal Affairs
Yiyu Wang - Chief Strategy Officer
Miao Qing - Director, Investor Relations
Susie Min - Deutsche Bank
Satya Kumar - Credit Suisse
Timothy Arcuri - Citigroup
Noah Kaye - ThinkEquity
Richard Grasfeder - RBC Capital Markets
Jesse Pichel - Jefferies & Company, Inc
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
Mark Bachman - Avian Securities, LLC
Pranab Sarmah - Daiwa Capital Markets
Kelly Dougherty - Macquarie Research Equities
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is Susan. I will be the operator for this conference call. I would like to welcome everyone to Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited First Quarter 2012 Financial Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After today's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. Please follow the instructions given at that time if you'd like to ask a question.
Now I'd like to transfer the call to the host for today's call, Arthur Chen, Director of Legal Affairs of Yingli Green Energy. Arthur please proceed.
Arthur Chen
Thank you, operator and thank you everyone for joining us today for Yingli's first quarter 2012 financial results conference call. The first quarter 2012 earnings release was issued earlier today and available on the Company's website at www.yinglisolar.com. We have already provided a supplemental presentation for today's earnings call, which can also be found on our IR website. I hope you all had a chance to review it by now.
On the call today from Yingli Green Energy are Mr. Miao Liansheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Bryan Li, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Wang Yiyu, Chief Strategy Officer; Ms. Miao Qing, Director of Investor Relations; Mr. Darren Thompson, Managing Director of Yingli Green Energy, Europe; Mr. Robert Petrina, Managing Director of Yingli Green Energy Americas.
The call today will feature a presentation from Mr. Miao, covering business and operational developments. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Petrina will talk about the developments of the European and American markets respectively. And then Mr. Li will take you through a discussion of the Company's financial performance. After that, we will open the floor to questions from the audience.
Before beginning, Yingli Green Energy's management team would like to remind the audience that this presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminologies such as will, expect, anticipate, future, intends, plans, believes, estimates, and similar phrases.
Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Yingli Green Energy's control which may cause Yingli Green Energy's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Further information regarding this and other risks, uncertainties, or factors is included in Yingli Green Energy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yingli Green Energy does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required under applicable law.
I'd now like to return the call over to Mr. Miao Liansheng. Please begin.
Miao Liansheng
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. In the first quarter as we stayed committed to existing market and expanded further its new and emerging market, our PV module shipments reached a new historical high, with a increase of 44.4% over the previous quarter.
During the first quarter, module price had continuously driving down by a series of negative factors, such as excessive module supply, subsidy adjustment in Europe and AD/CVD investigations in U.S. Despite of continuously downgrade – downward module price, we maintained overall gross margin at 7.8% by leveraging our notable cost reduction efforts in premium brand.
We experienced exceptionally strong demand in Germany and in the U.S. in the first quarter. These two countries accounted for approximately 80% of our total revenues. Our remarkable sales performance was partially benefited from our R&D and after sales service center in Madrid, Spain, which has enabled us to provide customers with more efficient and comprehensive services.
China market after the installation rush in the second half of 2011, entered an adjustment period. In earlier 2012, majority utility companies were mainly busy with connecting their completed projects to grid and planning for new projects. In recent two months we have actively involved in the bidding for mainly ground mounted projects. We expect that China – we expected the demand in China market to surge in second and third quarter as the constructions of utility scale will gradually begin in Western China.
Earlier this month the China government announced a total of 1,709 megawatts Golden Sun Program for 2012, while the number was only 689 megawatts in 2011. In addition, we expect promising demand from the public and family use-sector, especially independent off-grid systems in remote area may be also encouraged by the Chinese government.
We will fully utilize our domestic sales and service networks to bid for the projects and target to provide more customers with Yingli modules. We expect approximately 30% of our revenue to come from Chinese customers this year, by leveraging our solid customer relations and pioneer position in China.
With the rapidly declining cost of electricity from solar systems, we're more and more countries and regions to promote solar applications. In order to support our worldwide expansion we have enhanced our investment in sales network development. Recently, we established our wholly owned subsidiary in Japan. We believe our local sales and a service team will facilitate us to penetrate further in the Japanese market. We are also in process of setting up subsidiaries in Austria and Morocco for more business opportunities.
We have market of intensified competition, product differentiation is one of the key factors to attract customers in light of gradual shift of demand to roof-top segment in European markets. In 2010, we officially launched the high cell efficiency PANDA module, which has been highly recognized by our customers. We believe this new type of module will be widely used in roof-top as it's been the benefit of taking less space and high cell efficiency. Recently we have added high cell efficiency multicrystalline modules to our product portfolio. We expect the new module to gain wide recognition from our customers due to its good price and performance ratio and excellent quality.
Meanwhile we have also accept – accelerated adoption of new materials and new manufacturing techniques to further reduce our cost. Our material production lines we improved with the average cell efficiency of our multicrystalline by 0.2% to adopting new materials in printing process.
In addition, we manage to produce polysilicon ingot of 600 kilograms and 800 kilograms in our Tianjin facility. These large ingots have significantly reduced the unit energy consumption.
In early May we worked with China Development Bank and have successfully issued RMB 1.5 billion denominated medium-term notes. This successful issuance strengthened our cash position, optimized our borrowing structure, and reduced our financing cost. What's more the issuance demonstrated investors growing confidence in our long-term growth.
Now Darren Thompson and Robert Petrina will talk about the European and U.S. markets. Thanks.
Darren Thompson
Thank you, Mr. Miao. As reported in Februarys call, the uptick in demand that we experienced in Germany early Q1, supported by other European demand translated into solid quarterly performance in Q1.
Three factors driving our results was the pull forward in demand as a result of EEG uncertainty in Germany, low channel inventory levels entering into Q1, and our ability to deliver a compelling value proposition to loyal customer base. Demand momentum in Germany shows no sign of abating in Q2, given the end of June deadline on securing of a 35 megawatts supply contract project Perleberg, with one of our long-term partners, is evidence of our capability to catch an attractive share of this demand.
Uncertainty still clouds visibility for H2 in Germany, given planned EEG changes. However, the push back by the Bundesrat at announced mediation process is an encouraging signal that we could seek upward revision of EEG conditions, particularly, benefiting the commercial roof-top segments. We anticipate clarification on the EEG by the end of June.
Other European markets remained relatively slow in Q1 versus Germany, excluding Greece, where we're successful in bidding several large projects with our local partners. Uncertainty prevails in Italy with the ongoing discussions on the 5th Conto Energia, whilst in the U.K. the government has announce a package of incentives with a visibility out to 2015, which will encourage investments and create conditions for more stable market demand.
We are positioning ourselves to access new Eastern Mediterranean markets, which is Turkey, with ample solar resources, electricity demand growth and supporting government policy plus also exploring opportunities in North Africa. With the increase in sophistication of the customers revolving business models and these new market opportunities, we continue to invest in deepening and broadening our European team by recruiting specialist talent in functions such as business development and operations.
We continue to leverage our FC Bayern's sponsorship property through integration with our brand and product marketing campaigns, particularly, given the exciting close to the season of both German and European levels. The investment is paying off in terms of brand awareness, opening doors to new business opportunities, and also positively influencing point-of-sale decision making downstream.
Last but not least, speculation continues to circulate regarding a potential anti-dumping filing in Brussels. We believe that common sense will prevail given the affordability of solar, which is fundamental to the substitution of traditional carbon-intensive generation. However, in the event of any filing we are well prepared to defend ourselves and remain fully committed to Europe.
Now I will pass the call over to Robert. Thank you.
Robert Petrina
Thank you, Darren. Despite the noise and disruptions created by the beginning of this CVD/AD investigation, the U.S. market proved to be resilient enough to show substantial strength throughout the first quarter.
Our regular fulfillment run rate business grew with the acquisition of new customers and our existing customers increase in market share across both the commercial and residential market. Similar to Europe, it also benefited from lean channel inventories coming out of 2011. Overall, the U.S. market has met its expectations and appears well on its way to be among the top three global markets in 2012.
In the first quarter, we also benefited from the pull in effect associated with the expiration of the 1603 Treasury Grant Program. Building on Yingli's growing reputation for exceptional quality, trust building approach and tireless service, we were the supplier of choice for the grant portion for some of the U.S.'s most visible projects. The benefits conferred by supplying these projects are not limited to the Q1 transactions, but rather position us for significant volumes as these projects get built over the allotted timeframe.
Throughout this period, we expanded financial and human resources and tremendous human energy to defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations raised in the CVD/AD investigation. The aggregate preliminary tariffs are substantial, but we will continue to aggressively defend ourselves and remain optimistic that we will persevere in the final determination.
The overwhelming majority of the U.S. solar industry supports access to affordable solar energy and fair market trade. We're grateful to the tens of thousands of U.S. solar installers, developers, manufacturers and suppliers who share our position and seek the same goals. But as the global company reflects those supply chain we have established alternative fulfillment channels that will give our customers uninterrupted access to our high quality products.
In South America we continue to build on last year's success and recently announced our partnership with Light ESCO, EDF Consultoria, and the State of Rio de Janeiro to bring solar power to Brazil's highest-profile football stadium, Estadio do Maracana. As the global renewal energy sponsor for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Yingli is committed to helping Brazil and FIFA make it the greenest FIFA World Cup in History. This historical project will provide a roadmap for Brazil and the green world to join and leave a lasting sustainable legacy powered by solar energy.
In the middle-east our growing presence in the region has positioned us well for the recently launched program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and surrounding Gulf Coast countries. Solar PV has reached the turning point around the world and where better can solar be deployed than in areas with tremendous solar resources, quickly growing power consumption and historical bastions of power expertise.
With this, I'll pass it on to Bryan to provide the financials of the company. Thank you.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Thanks, Robert. Welcome everyone to our earning conference call today. In spite of the tough market situation and the seasonal impact, in the first quarter, our module shipment increased significantly by 44.4% from the previous quarter and reached new historical high.
Based on current market situation and the forecast of the customer demand, we expect our shipments for the second quarter of 2012 to increase by approximately 15% from last quarter. The anticipated increase will be driven mainly by the solid demand in existing markets such as Germany, quick pick up in major markets such as China and accelerated development in the new markets.
Our total net revenue increased about 22.6% to $500 million in first quarter, a result attributable to the remarkable increase in module shipments and it was partially offset by the continuants of the decline in the module ASP.
Cost reduction continued to be one of our priorities and has enabled us to stay competitive. Net off provisions, our overall mono & multi polysilicon cost per watt declined from US$0.33 in the previous quarter to US$0.26 due to the availability of the low cost polysilicon on the spot markets and our continuous efforts our renegotiation with the contract price with our existing suppliers.
More notably our overall mono & multi non-polysilicon cost per watt was further reduced from US$0.64 in fourth quarter of 2011 to US$0.57 in first quarter of 2012. The catalysts for non-polysilicon cost reduction are the continuously declined auxiliary material price and to a larger extent for the improvement of sale efficiencies from the adoption of new materials and new manufacturing techniques.
We expect our non-polysilicon cost per watt to further decline to $0.55 in second quarter and continue to come down to $0.50 when we exit this year. Despite of the intensified market competition and the negative impacts from the preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duties or AD/CVD tariffs imposed by the U.S. government we successfully leveraged our competitive cost structure to generate gross profits of $38.9 million representing an overall gross margin of 7.8%.
Excluding the provision recognized our first quarter overall gross margin – gross profit was US$56 million and our gross margin of PV modules would be 11.5%. Provisions that recognize in the first quarter included a non-cash inventory provision of US$3.4 million and a provision of preliminary AD/CVD duties of US$13.7 million.
For second quarter we expect our overall gross margin to be mid-to-high single-digit percentage.
Walking through the bottom line, our operating expenses declined to US$60.3 million in the first quarter of 2012 from US$73.3 million excluded non-cash charges in the previous quarters. The 17.7% decrease in operating expenses was primarily attributable to our stringent cost control efforts.
Operating loss was US$21.4 million and operating margin was negative 4.3%, materially improved from a negative operating margin of 15% in the previous quarters, primarily because we recognized the reduced level of capitalized interest expense as that related to construction in progress was transferred into fixed asset in the first quarter. Our interest expense increased by 11% to US$32.1 million in the first quarter.
To a larger extent, the slightly expanded borrowings also accounted for the increase of interest expenses. On the other hand, the weighted average interest rate decreased from 6.77% to 6.23% in the first quarter mainly attributable to a larger scale of utilization of pre-finance. Given a net euro asset position in the end of the first quarter the appreciation of euro against the RMB resulted in a foreign currency exchange gain of US$4.2 million.
Our first quarter net loss was US$45 million, which included US$13.7 million AD/CVD duties provision and loss per ordinary share was US$0.29. On an adjusted non-GAAP basis, if we add back the non-cash items including these quarters, including share based composition of US$1.5 million, amortization of intangible assets of US$1.9 million and inventory provision of US$3.4 million and a non-cash interest expense of [US$200,000], our net loss will be US$38 million and the loss per ordinary share and per ADS will be US$0.24.
Now let's turn on to our balance sheet. Our cash, cash equivalent and restricted cash decreased to US$674.7 million as of March 31, 2012 from US$891.9 million as of December 31, 2011. While working capital was improved from negative US$33.6 million to negative US$14.5 million.
As a result of our record high shipment volumes, in the first quarter our accounts receivable increased to US$531.7 million as of March 31, 2012 from US$383.2 million as of December 31, 2011 representing 22.6% increase of sales and an extension of days our sales outstanding to 96 days from 85 days in the previous quarter.
Accounts payable rose to US$629.3 million as of March 31, 2012 from US$473 million as of December 31, 2011. This payable outstanding increased to 123 days from 108 days in previous quarter. As of today, we have approximately US$789.8 million being utilized as short-term lines of credit and US$593.9 million committed as long-term facilities that can be brought down in the future. In order to optimize our debt structure, in the first quarter we increased our long-term borrowings by US$123.1 million and reduced our short-term borrowings by US$41.9 million.
In early May, we successfully issued RMB 1.5 billion denominated medium term notes among the RMB 1.5 billion RMB 300 million there a term of five years at a fixed interest rate of 5.78% while the remaining RMB 1.2 billion bare a term of a year at a fixed interest rate of 6.01%. We believe that successful notes issuance will further optimize our debt structure, reduce our financing cost and expansion in our cash position.
In summary we are confident to achieve a steady and healthy growth through being committed to cost control, optimizing our balance sheet and balancing market share and profitability.
Now I'd like to open the call to the questions. Operator?
Question-and-Answer Session
The question-and-answer session will begin now. (Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Vishal Shah with Deutsche Bank.
Susie Min - Deutsche Bank
Hi. This is Susie Min calling on behalf of Vishal Shah. Thanks for taking my question. What kind of pricing premiums are you seeing for your PANDA modules and how do you plan to continue selling these high efficiency products in the U.S. if you have to buy the cells from Taiwan that has different cost structures compared to yours?
Qing Miao
Okay. Let me take up two minutes to translate your question. [Foreign Language] and Robert can you take the second part of the question. Thank you.
Robert Petrina
Yeah, I'll take the second part of the question; this is Robert, I mean, this is unfortunately the side effects of the AD/CVD investigation that it will make them difficult in terms of the introduction of PANDA due to the fact the cell manufacturers in China but as I mentioned in my opening remarks we're working on having alternative solution for that as well, it just that the immediate result of that, those products can only come in under the current preliminary duties.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
For the PANDA price we can charge around at least 10% price premium compared to the standard multi products.
Susie Min - Deutsche Bank
Okay, great. Thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of Satya Kumar with Credit Suisse.
Satya Kumar - Credit Suisse
I was wondering how we should think about stabilization of the gross margins, obviously shipments are up 44% in Q1 and up another 15%, but you're sort of guiding gross margins down in Q2. Could you talk a little bit about the moving parts between the ASP changes you expect for Q2 to the silicon and non-silicon cost reductions in Q2?
Robert Petrina
Yeah, sure. And based on our current expectation and we expect for the non-polysilicon processing cost and we will be able to drive that cost down to somewhere close to $0.50 by the end of this year and then that would make the [add in] cost for module production to somewhere as close or slightly above US$0.60 per watt. So considering the pricing, the pricing potential at the end of this year, so we will be expecting the gross margin well actually this year it should be spending above 10% to 15%.
Satya Kumar - Credit Suisse
So for Q2 could you give any color on how much change you expect in pricing?
Robert Petrina
Yeah, we currently see close to 15% decline on the ASP from the first quarter to second quarter, well we also see slightly above 15% cost reduction we can make from the first quarter to second quarter.
Satya Kumar - Credit Suisse
Got it. And China you mentioned would be 30% of your shipment goal, it seems like that's unchanged from your previous outlook, is that correct? And what type of linearity and pricing do you expect in the China market? Thanks.
Miao Liansheng
(Interpreted) The Chinese market and it has slight change on our will and compared to the last year and we think that it might be – that the revenue from the Chinese market might be increased a little bit, will be roughly 20% to 30% of this year and as we said in – in my previous speech and the Chinese market, the PV module selling will be 10% lower than the international price. Thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of Timothy Arcuri with Citi.
Timothy Arcuri - Citigroup
Hi, thanks. Can you talk about the U.S. market, we heard that some developers in the U.S. have stopped project development for a couple of months through the end of December having the – tending, getting cheaper cells from Taiwan. So can you talk about the trajectory of the U.S. market and weather or not we see a pause in that market during the third quarter? Thanks.
Robert Petrina
Hi Tim, this is Robert. I don't think we see a pause, I don't think there is a process that can be start or stop in such a way nor do our customers really believe that the expectations on pricing are such that there'll be a dramatic change, I think its pretty clear where we're now and where the settling points will be. So I think we communicate consistently and we see that there's trend demand building in the U.S. market is quite resilient. I mean, this has been a hiccup that we're dealing with and ultimately I think business goes forward as usual and I think that's the most important thing and everybody is working together to that end which is also very key.
Your next question comes from the line of Colin Rusch with ThinkEquity.
Noah Kaye - ThinkEquity
Good morning. It's Noah Kaye in for Colin. Just following up on your comment before; you said you were looking at a couple of different options for bringing PANDA to the U.S. Would one of those options possibly be a joint venture. And an unrelated question, can you talk a little bit about the demand that you're seeing in Central and South America? Thanks so much.
Robert Petrina
Yeah, I think we won't elaborate too much on what we're doing on that front for competitive reasons, but our goal is to be able to have our best products and the most innovative products in the market that we serve and that's our goal.
In terms of the demand we're seeing in South America, its been a very sustained and increased growth and increase over the past year and half and we're seeing significant activity in places like Mexico, certainly in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico place where we have the actual largest power plant in the region and we're seeing a lot of activity in Brazil and Peru and Chile and as the new economics filter through and people begin to realize the fact that in many of these regions we've reached grid parity and certainly in all occasions where we're competing with diesel, its becoming a very compelling option.
So it's still certainly not the size of the projects we're doing in Europe or the U.S. or in China, but very quickly coming up that curve, so we're quite pleased with how things are going. So we can go more into that later.
Noah Kaye - ThinkEquity
Thank you so much.
Your next question comes from the line of Mahesh Sanganeria with RBC Capital Markets.
Richard Grasfeder - RBC Capital Markets
Yeah, it's Richard Grasfeder in for Mahesh. Can you guys go over some of the puts and takes to exceeding your guidance, module shipment guidance for the year, you know you got off the year with a strong start, you only need 10% growth quarter-over-quarter in Q3 and Q4. What to get to the high-end of your guidance, how much of this is just being conservative and can you talk a little bit about the puts and takes of that?
Qing Miao
Sorry, is that your question over module shipment outlook in the second half of this year?
Richard Grasfeder - RBC Capital Markets
Well, I am just trying to understand the puts and takes to what your shipments are going to be in the second half to get to your full-year guidance the high-end the 2.5 gigawatts you only need 10% quarter-over-quarter growth in September and December. I am just trying to understand how much of maintaining your guidance is just being conservative and what's going to impact that going forward?
Qing Miao
Okay and I think Darren and Robert can you each give us slightly kind of – can you each just talk about of your own market and then Bryan will give the summary. Thank you.
Darren Thompson
Hi. It's Darren. Thanks. So, basically in terms of Europe in terms of the second half of the year there's obviously uncertainty surrounding the EEG in Germany. So we've been pretty prudent that focusing on the existing announced EEG relatively that tends to upside there. There's obviously a lot of appetite for inventory in Europe moving into Q3 as well given the additional uncertainty for example in Italy.
And of course we've had significant go forward into Q1 and Q2 because of the EEG uncertainty, and that's been balanced by new markets like the U.K. where there seems to be sustainability on the recent announcement roughly a 1 gigawatt corridor for 2015 annually plus any watt business, new business opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. The emergence of PPA business models in Europe and existing markets and of course continuous rising electricity prices.
So we're balancing some of the retarders of growth with the drivers for growth and that's where we're in terms of our guidance moving forward.
Robert Petrina
And just to complement that from the Americas perspective, as we look every year and plan for the year, we look at the segments that we serve from large scale utility projects to the commercial institutional ones as well as the residential distribution channels and make sure that the targets we set are straight goals but certainly achievable and we're on our way to do that certainly over the course of 2012 we expect Yingli Americas to be somewhere around 15% with the overall business as we look at it, so …
Richard Grasfeder - RBC Capital Markets
Thank you.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Yeah, in summary we currently expect the – we want to reaffirm our annual guidance issued previously of 2.4 gigawatts to 2.5 gigawatts. We have been more than 1.1 gigawatts in the first half and then in the second half we will expect it to shift 1.3 gigawatts to 1.4 gigawatts and we are confident in delivering the targets we have been given to the markets and we're also aiming the high-end of the range. Thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of Jesse Pichel with Jefferies.
Jesse Pichel - Jefferies & Company, Inc
Hi, good evening everyone the whole Yingli team. Two part question, first for Bryan. Bryan, following up on Satya's question, what gross margins do you target for the second quarter and does that include CVD/AD duties.
And my second part of the question is for the chairman, chairman Miao overall will China let some of the insolvent solar company's sale or will it take customers to realize that the warrantees on these products mean nothing, and will it take customers switching to companies like you and some of your better balancing peers to win share? Thank you.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Well, thank you Jesse, and let me take the first part of the questions, and we currently expect and for ASP and cost, cost on production in the second quarter we will be able to down mid-teen percentage from the first quarter's level and we currently expect mid-tier high-single digit percentage for gross margins from the – in the second quarter. And now I would like to have Mr. Miao to take the second question.
Miao Liansheng
We think that those Chinese companies – those Chinese projects and especially those investors will take these factors as a big concern and will take into serious consideration. But during the past two months and we have bidded over 200 megawatts of projects and we're gaining more and more market share from Chinese market. Last year it was only 20% of – in our total sales and this year it will be increased to 25% to 30%. But all I can say is just wait, we will guarantee and a promise the warranty with delivery will be true warranty and will not be the company some other company situation. Thank you.
Jesse Pichel - Jefferies & Company, Inc
Bryan as a follow-up that mid to high single-digit gross margin does that include dumping duties?
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
No, it won't. We don't expect that we will be charged AD/CVD for the U.S. market share in the second quarter.
Jesse Pichel - Jefferies & Company, Inc
That's great. Thank you very much, team.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Thank you.
Miao Qing
Thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of Amy Song with Goldman Sachs.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
Hi. I just have a follow-up question on the previous comments of second quarter gross margin. If you don't take any consideration on the AD/CVD duty what that mean as you probably import a cell from somewhere else. So what that means in terms of incremental cost structure to you? Does that include in a $0.50 or $0.55 for the second quarter or just something else you haven't had on top of it?
Zhuo Arthur Chen
This is Zhuo, I think you are right, we can find a sale supply source outside China, which can be subject to three or say no impact from the current CVD and the AD issue. But for the pricing I think given outside China there is still enough cell supply resources much larger than expect the U.S. market of what you see, so I think the pricing will be at a very reasonable range, could be very slightly higher than our internal cost, which we will still bring very reasonable margin for our sales in U.S. for the second half of this year.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
Okay. Thank you. So, what will be the blended and non-silicon cost for that array? Can you give us a numerical figure?
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Yeah, we – for the second quarter we will – I will expect the blended array of polysilicon slightly above 30, considering all the opening inventory effect.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
So for other non-cash inventory provision, are you expecting more going forward or that's it?
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
No, I don't expect the provision will recur in the second quarter and also for the non-polysilicon, I'm expecting the cost down to US$0.50 when we exit this year. For the blended array of polysilicon, when we exit this year should be somewhere sub 30 per kilogram. Thank you.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
30? Okay.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Yeah, 30.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
Thank you.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Sub 30.
Amy Song - The Goldman Sachs group Inc
Okay, sub 30.
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Yeah, 30.
Your next question comes from the line of Mark Bachman with Avian Securities.
Mark Bachman - Avian Securities, LLC
Thanks all for taking my question. I would like to hear from both Darren and Rob on this. When you're talking about penetrating new markets, are either of you seeing any success in unsubsidized markets? In other words, can either of you document any markets that are actually going through set use of mandates to implement solar solutions rather than trying to grow through the use of subsidies?
Yiyu Wang
Hi. This is Yiyu. I think currently – yeah, sorry this is Yiyu. I think you're right. Currently what we've been seeing more and more downstream developers and the investors are seeking a kind of feed-in tariff in this market because likely in those Mediterranean countries with good sunshine and also South America actually a pipeline we see now is very large announced for some South European country given the current retail utility price versus the feed-in tariff.
The government announced has created a enough premium to allow more and more investor to selling the electricity in Europe through kind of direct PPA business model with utility company or a bit – in direct investors. Also we see more and more chance for self-use consumption business model in families in Europe and given the retail utility price for residential market is even much higher than the average utilities price. So, as utilities kind of business model has already started and we're now in a negotiation with several existing partners looking for these kinds of projects, the most quick can happen is through the Q3, Q4 this year.
Mark Bachman - Avian Securities, LLC
So Rob and Darren I was hoping for more specific kind of types of examples here. There hasn't been a demand curve that haven't been drawn in the past five years. There hasn't been vertical when so-called module prices reach US$1 ASP and we're well below that now. So, where are these markets that you think that you can penetrate or that you're penetrating right now without the use of subsidies anymore, and whether or not if people are just adopting solar solutions or whether not if there are just mandates out there pushing it, where are specific examples of where you're growing without the use of subsidies?
Robert Petrina
So, I mean, I'll give you a couple of different answers on this Mark. So, we're seeing significant activity in places like Mexico, like Brazil, like Chile, like Peru places where you've seen both projects that are the larger central station utilities project as well as distributor generation projects as well. And in places like Brazil, where you have actually significantly higher energy prices and most people think at the retail level solar that works.
The bottlenecks are getting the investment community, the folks that make these projects happen comfortable, and that's what I think is the delay between our expectations of the sort of hockey stick growth once we reach the proverbial grid parity and that is happening as we speak, I mean, look, you go to conferences in these different regions and nobody talks about incentives or feed in tariffs. They talk about policy frameworks that can enable the point of solar in a way that's efficient with not significant cost – soft cost incurred, but in terms of concrete projects, I think we will be able to provide some details on that at a subsequent call that, that we can go through the details. They are small projects, but there are some very substantial ones in the queue so.
Mark Bachman - Avian Securities, LLC
And Darren is there anything from you in either, the European, African, Middle East, anything out that way?
Qing Miao
I'm sorry, we do have a lot of analyst in the queue – in the question queue, so can we turn to the next question. Thank you.
Your next question comes from the line of Pranab Sarmah with Daiwa Capital.
Pranab Sarmah - Daiwa Capital Markets
Hi there. Thank you for taking my question. My first question is on what would be your operating expenses on second quarter and going forward for 3Q and 4Q of this year? And secondly could you give little bit of update on the solar farm project, how much project you have on your hand and in U.S. and China what will be our exit strategy from those solar farm project whenever you're completing those projects?
Zongwei (Bryan) Li
Let me take the first questions regarding the OpEx. We have been successfully reduced 17% for the OpEx from the first quarter to the second quarters – from Q4 to Q1. And then for the second quarter, we see for the G&A expenses and R&D expenses as a combination and we will continue to maintain the similar level or slightly below the first quarter's level.
And for the selling expenses, roughly 50% of the selling expenses are the fixed costs and the other 50% are the variable costs, which will be in relation to the volume of the shipments. So, we will expect for the fixed part we will continue to cut down the cost and as we made in the first quarter before the variable parts and that will be fluctuating with the shipment volume we're targeting in the second quarter. Thank you.
Pranab Sarmah - Daiwa Capital Markets
Thank you.
Qing Miao
We can only answer one question for every analyst. So, next question please.
Your next question comes from the line of Kelly Dougherty with Macquarie.
Kelly Dougherty - Macquarie Research Equities
Hi. I just want to follow-up on China a bit, you mentioned the 30% of your revenue this year, just wondering how that translates into a shipment perspective? How much of your shipments did you allocate to China this year and what did terms look like especially payment terms of these projects and when do you think you will be able to actually make a profit on what you sell in China?
Miao Liansheng
I think in China if you talk on megawatt percentage it will be slightly below, sorry, less than 13%. Actually in China the pricing is lower than how we're exporting outside China, but given RMB appreciation, we still have some margin on that. And regarding to the payment term, because the China projects are split between not only larger ground project bidding, but also Golden Sun and other kind of projects. Actually, (indiscernible) the risk for larger ground project could be slightly longer than the normal routine payment terms we offer to export customers, but given the credibility of those utility companies there is no risk at all. But for the Golden Sun and other project the (indiscernible) this is just as average as we sell to exports, I mean, for the – overseas customers.
Kelly Dougherty - Macquarie Research Equities
So just a quick clarification, sorry, you said that you're actually making some money on projects or modules you sell into China. Do you use significantly different materials, do you – how – some of the numbers we're hearing about Chinese ASP, just wondering how that happened and I assume you're just saying that from a gross perspective?
Miao Liansheng
I think all the products are at the same standard qualified by, certified by the TUV, we use the same material. I think in China actually we can saving some – maybe we can save slightly from the package because it's a lot to take that at least [one month through] vessel, but we can transport it through vehicles or trains which maybe can save us slight money but all immaterial and the other costs should be almost the same as we export to U.S., I mean, U.S. and Europe.
Kelly Dougherty - Macquarie Research Equities
Okay. And then can you just tell me about your poly costs in the first quarter? How much you produced internally and at what costs, and then may be for the rest of the year how we should think about that?
Qing Miao
Sorry Kelly, we have already answered two questions and probably we can have private talk afterwards and any other analysts are welcome to answer – ask this question. Thank you.
And that concludes our call today. Now I'd like to transfer the call back to Ms. Miao Qing for closing remarks.
Qing Miao
Sorry, [because] Mr. Miao and Bryan have another conference call (indiscernible) business. So we need to conclude the call earlier today and any of you want to have more questions, then you are welcome to contact Brian, myself or anyone else from Investor Relations. Thank you for joining us today. Bye, bye.
This does conclude today's conference call. You may now disconnect.
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Beware the glossy brochureOctober 28,2012
Beware the glossy brochure
I worked for 11 years designing and building water supply projects to supply drinking water to people in need. This was done mostly in many parts of Africa and parts of the Mid East and Indonesia. On my last assignment, before I moved back to my farm, I was in Uganda building water systems for the people displaced by the Lord's Resistance Army. I was neither the first nor the last environmental health expert to work there.
When I arrived in country and inspected the camps that needed an improved water supply system I found many concrete blocks with dimensions of 1 foot by 1 foot by 3.5 feet with a hollow interior and one open end. They were everywhere and mostly being used as benches or grown over with weeds. Upon further investigation I found that my predecessor had wanted to introduce a family-sized sand filter water treatment device. (S)he received this nice brochure outlining the success of this filter. (S)he applied for a grant and built 4,000 of them. Come to find out, the proper sand was hard to obtain and it was high maintenance to keep the filter operating properly. No one was found using them, the donor was upset and cut all funding.
The brochure came from the organization promoting the filter; needless to say it was glossy. My predecessor did no research before the first one was built and instead of building a few (two to five) for researching, 4,000 were built. It was a complete disaster and a waste of money.
Gov. Peter Shumlin is doing the same thing with industrial-sized wind towers. He is going all out to build as many as he can before the subsidies run out. These projects cost hundreds of millions. Much of the cost for construction comes from your tax dollars.
There are numerous objections to this size of wind project in Vermont, a few arguments are; they fragment wildlife habitat, of which we have precious little left here on the East Coast, the development of the ridge lines alters the infiltration and overland flow of hydrology of the area, and there is a growing body of evidence that they can have adverse affects on the health of the neighbors. Not to mention the energy they produce is impossible to predict and difficult for grid operators to use. And, they do very little to reduce CO2 or our dependence on fossil fuels because the original power plants still need to run to compensate for the intermittent power supply. So why won't Mr. Shumlin declare a moratorium on further construction to research the impacts? If we find out that they are cost beneficial then by all means build more.
However, the corporations building them will not disclose information on the wind velocities, the rate of energy output and other vital information needed to research and do a cost benefit analysis of these wind towers. They claim it is a corporate liability to disclose this information, information you are paying for. They tell you that the project can provide electricity for "X" number of homes. What they fail to tell you is that number is zero when the wind is not blowing sufficiently to generate electricity and they won't release the information to tell you how often that is (they say 33 percent, others say 23 percent). They also won't measure infrasound which is said to cause adverse health impacts. Also, what price do you put on damaging environmental impacts?
If Shumlin was really serious about reducing Vermont's carbon footprint he'd offer subsidies so you could buy a car that gets 60 miles per gallon, weatherize every home, fix our roads and bridges and get families to invest in solar and wind, not corporations, so that there would be no habitat destruction and the subsidies would go to you and me, not his cronies in the big corporations. The subsidies for one of the projects would be enough to cover thousands of homes, even when the wind is not blowing on a cloudy day.
Mr. Shumlin must have received a very glossy brochure of the effectiveness of these wind towers by the industry promoting them.
Bill and Lou a bigger issue
Though I appreciate differing emotions regarding Bill and Lou, the oxen at Green Mountain College, I feel frustrated that so much publicity and angst has arisen over these animals that have led productive and well-cared-for lives.
There seems a disconnect when I drive by farms with calves imprisoned in tiny spaces with hot plastic coops their only shelter. These animals suffer every day of their lives, never having lived as a calf cavorting and finding their legs under them, never eating grass their natural food. All this so we can have larger unhealthy veal.
I'd be more impressed by the demonstrators if they continued on up the road to one of these farms and then on to Montpelier to lobby for laws to prevent such cruelty to animals.
Bill and Lou never suffered like that.
PoultneyMORE IN A Look Back
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"If the left can't shut us up, the best thing they can do is intimidate us into shutting ourselves up, and I, frankly, am not interested."
"I just heard Obama say that we must ramp up responsibility. I'm sorry, folks: I have to laugh. Those who have been responsible are about to have their pockets picked in order to pay for those who have been irresponsible."
"There's Port-A-Potties everywhere: in front of the Washington Monument, along the parade route, in front of the Capitol, behind the Capitol... Hell, they may as well put a couple on the Capitol, for what's about to be going on in there."
"Obama is a profoundly arrogant man, folks. He's actually done nothing but run for office. How can he compare himself to Lincoln? He can only do so symbolically, and what is that worth? Isn't anybody offended by this?"
"You can just see the headlines tomorrow: 'Rush Limbaugh -- Lone Holdout Trying to Destroy the Celebration of a Joyous Nation as Obama Happily Paints a Wall Where Homeless Children Live'."
"If the phone is ringing and Snerdley is not answering, there's a reason why. And if he doesn't start answering it soon, I'm going to tell you why. Well, I will: It involves a woman."
"We're the only ones that have not joined the cult, the ones not heading to the Hale-Bopp comet. Because I guarantee you, if Obama tells us he's going there, the media will probably try to find the next ship on the way out."
"Depending on how much McCain can screw the Republican Party, he'll get his legacy back from the Drive-By Media."
"I think we need to pay special attention to Obama's constant attempt to persuade us that he's somebody else, that he's not who he is. It's one thing for a candidate, or a president, to draw on past great presidents to advance a point, but it's just creepy to pretend to be them."
"I doubt Sally Quinn's had an orgasm in the last eight years, but she's probably had ten of them since she read that Obama is going to start throwing parties."


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New York World's Fair Commission receipt for Court of Peace, 1939 Jun. 2
Physical Details: Receipt : 1 item ; 28 x 22 cm.
Creator: unidentified
Description: Receipt for the third and final payment, being 200 dollars (total purchase price 1,000 dollars), for the sculpture Court of Peace by Chaim Gross, to be displayed at the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940.
Forms part of: Chaim Gross papers, 1920-2001
Rights Statement: Current copyright status is undetermined
Citation: New York World's Fair Commission receipt for Court of Peace, 1939 Jun. 2. Chaim Gross papers, 1920-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Digital ID: 7674
- Art--Prices
- Gross, Chaim
- New York World's Fair (1939-1940)
View all Image and Media Gallery items from the Chaim Gross papers


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How does Banquo describe the witches appearance (1.3.45) and how does it fit with the larger themes of the play?
1 Answer | Add Yours
Banquo describes the witches as he says:
What are these
So wither'd, and so wild in their attire,(50)
That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
And yet are on't? Live you? or are you aught
That man may question? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her choppy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips. You should be women,(55)
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so.
This fits into the larger themes of the play because the play is about the withering of the heart and the wildness that fester in the MacBeth's psyches.
Another key theme in MacBeth is that of the questioning man. MacBeth questions the authority, questions himself, and even Lady MacBeth questions him.
The theme of disguise and loose fitting clothes seem appropriate here also. MacBeth wears the robes not meant for him, just as the beards are not really meant for women.
We've answered 318,926 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question


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Join us to discuss what laws and policies can be changed during the 2015 Legislative Session to ensure the criminal justice system works for us and not against us.
Make the system work for you. Discover ways to: promote racial equity and diversity, have a voice in legislation and in the justice system, enforce your rights, and much more!
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole's posthumous pardon today of the last of the black men wrongly convicted of the rape of two white women 82 years ago in Scottsboro, Alabama seems to write the final chapter of a sorry story that epitomizes the racial injustice and procedural unfairness that dominated the criminal justice system in the United States in the beginning of the last century. It would be difficult to concoct a process more unfair from beginning to end.
WASHINGTON – The ACLU and a coalition of civil rights and civil liberties groups sent a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in response to the Commission's briefing on "The Impact of Criminal Background Checks and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Conviction Records Policy on the Employment of Black and Latino Workers," held on December 7, 2012.
NEW YORK – Morgan Stanley discriminated against black homeowners and violated federal civil rights laws by providing strong incentives to a subprime lender to originate mortgages that were likely to be foreclosed on, according to a groundbreaking lawsuit filed Monday, Oct. 15.
At the ACLU of Nevada, our staff and board has been following all of the events of the Trayvon Martin killing and its aftermath with deep concern. We also know that these events have received substantial attention from Nevada's news media and Nevadans generally. The ACLU of Nevada supports the work of our colleagues at the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, other civil rights organizations and leaders, and the general public in responding to this event.
LAS VEGAS, NV – Statistics released on March 6, 2012, by the U.S. Department of Education, reveal that minority students in Nevada receive disproportionate disciplinary sanctions and are underrepresented in advanced math and science classes.
Today we celebrate the 83rd anniversary of the birth of one of the most prominent figures in civil rights history, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During his life, Dr. King was integral in advancing civil liberties and civil rights of African Americans and highlighting the cruelties that were pervasive in America. To this day, there has not been a more motivating or iconic symbol of civil rights than Dr. King. His dream inspired many Americans to pursue justice and equality no matter what the cost. By shedding light on the injustices occurring around him, Dr. King was able to bring about real change - a goal that is as important today as it was then.
When most people think about the history of Nevada, they think about mobsters, casinos and showgirls. Most people don't realize that Nevada has an interesting and impressive African American history. We might be familiar with some people who helped advance civil rights in Nevada, like Mable Hoggard, H.P. Fitzgerald, Ruby Duncan and Charles West. Before these leaders, however, there were others who started the fight for civil rights, including Dr. W.H.C. Stephenson, the first African American doctor on record in Nevada.
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We have great news: Two donors will support this project, which has now a name: AACT (Affirmative Action for Children Today). Thanks to all contributions, we will be able to provide music education to 60 Palestinian children aged 8-10 years, facing social and economic disadvantage in Israel.
In order to ensure continuity of the programme we launched a 'Scholarships Fund' for the benefit of those children that are keen and committed to continue their music education even after the termination of the project.
Please support a long-term improvement in the lives of 60 Palestinian children, their families and their communities in Israel today! Any contribution will be saved in the Scholarships Fund. Our campaign goal is $20,000 in one year!
The project will be carried out in local schools in Shefa-'Amr and lbillin. Teachers from Beit Al-Musica will conduct auditions in schools to identify children who show signs of musical promise. Five certified music teachers will provide each child with weekly private lessons (30 in all) in a Western or traditional Oriental musical instrument - violin, cello, oud, clarinet, viola, qanoun, and/or Arabic percussion. In addition to the lessons, the children will participate in public performances and enrichment activities. The project is expected to offer meaningful after-school activity for the children, to enhance their self esteem and foster positive integration into society.
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project.


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On short final for runway 11.
In warm Phoenix, spotting on the last day of 2015
New addition in database.
On short final for 11
From a snow storm in New England 2009. AirTran rolls out, with some decent thrust reverser action.
On flight 1806 somewhere between Haiti and Turks and Caicos Islands
Departing rwy 11
FL1821 has just took off bound for Nassau, Bahamas.
Flight FL 540 from Atlanta, GA


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Eastman, Peggy
WASHINGTON, DC—The United States spends more than $7 billion every year on clinical trials to evaluate drugs, devices, and biologics, and while randomized clinical trials are the gold standard in evaluating new therapies, they are only as good as the data gathered and analyzed. But what happens when data are missing? Do missing data lead to biased assumptions about results? Can these biases, if present, affect clinical treatment?
Those are some of the questions explored in a new report from an expert panel convened by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, started at the request of the Food and Drug Administration.
The panel was chaired by Roderick J.A. Little, PhD, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan and coauthor of a book on missing trial data, Statistical Analysis with Missing Data (2002, Wiley).
Missing data were defined in the report as outcome values considered meaningful for clinical trial analysis that were not collected. The advantages of randomization in evaluating a new therapy are jeopardized when some of a trial's outcome measures are missing.
"Missing data can arise for a variety of reasons, including the inability or unwillingness of participants to meet appointments for evaluation," stated the panel, which also noted that unfortunately in some trials, data collection stops when participants discontinue treatment. The panel strongly advised investigators to obtain information about dropouts "to the extent possible," and to anticipate and plan for missing data in trial protocols.
In fact, the bottom line of the panel is that careful trial design should be undertaken upfront to minimize data gaps, recognizing that missing trial data are all too common and that some missing data are probably inevitable.
"There is no 'foolproof' way to analyze data subject to substantial amounts of missing data; that is, no method recovers the robustness and unbiasedness of estimates derived from randomized allocation of treatments....There is no single correct method for handling missing data," the report said.
Thus to strengthen clinical trials and reduce the potential for missing data, the panel said two critical elements need to be stressed:
* Careful design and conduct to limit the amount and impact of missing data.
* Analysis that makes full use of information on all randomized participants and is based on careful attention to the assumptions about the nature of the missing data underlying estimates of treatment effects.
As an example of how clinical trial design and analysis can be crucially important when subjects drop out, the panel cited chronic pain. The "last observation carried forward" technique of trial analysis implicitly assumes that a trial participant who had good pain control in the short term and then dropped out would have had good pain control in the long term—but this assumption seems questionable in many settings, the panel concluded.
The "baseline observation carried forward" analytical technique assumes that a participant's pain control is the same as that measured at the beginning of the trial. This technique is likely to underestimate the effectiveness of any treatment, especially given the well-documented power of the placebo effect.
To minimize the unintended consequences of missing data in clinical trials, the panel made the following recommendations, among others:
* Investigators, sponsors, and regulators should design clinical trials consistent with the goal of maximizing the number of participants who are maintained on the trial protocol-specified intervention until the outcome data are collected. Techniques to accomplish that include (1) Careful choice of study sites, investigators, participants, study outcomes, time in study, and times of measurement, and the nature and frequency of follow-up to limit the amount of missing data; (2) Use of rescue therapies or alternative treatment regimens to allow analysis of subjects who discontinue the assigned treatment; (3) Limiting the burden on study participants, such as making follow-up visits easy in terms of travel and child care; (4) Providing frequent reminders of participants' study visits; (5) Training investigators about the importance of avoiding missing data; (6) Providing incentives to investigators and participants designed to limit dropouts; and (7) Monitoring of adherence and in other ways dealing with participants who cannot tolerate or do not adequately respond to treatment.
* Study sponsors should explicitly anticipate potential problems of missing data—the trial protocol should contain a section that addresses missing data issues, including the anticipated amount of missing data, and what steps will be taken to limit and monitor the amount of missing data.
* Statistical methods for handling missing data should be specified by clinical trial sponsors in study protocols, and their associated assumptions stated in a way that can be understood by clinicians.
* Single imputation methods like "last observation carried forward" and "baseline observation carried forward" should not be used as the primary approach to the treatment of missing data unless the assumptions that underlie these methods are scientifically justified.
* Sensitivity analyses should be part of the primary reporting of findings from clinical trials.
* The FDA and NIH should make use of their extensive clinical data bases to carry out a program of research, both internal and external, to identify common rates and causes of missing data in different domains, and to see how different models perform in different settings, in order to inform future clinical trial designs.
* The FDA and drug, device, and biologics companies that sponsor clinical trials should carry out continued training of their analysts to keep abreast of up-to-date techniques for missing data analysis. Similarly, FDA should continuously train its clinical reviewers in missing data methods and terminology.
* The treatment of missing data in clinical trials should have a higher priority for sponsors of statistical research such as NIH and the National Science Foundation.
© 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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