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del Pilar Huby, Maria; Cardenas, Jessica C.; Baer, Lisa A.; Pawelczyk, Nick S.; Salsbury, John R.; Wang, Yao-Wei W.; Matijevic, Nena; Holcomb, John B.; Wade, Charles E.
Department of Surgery and Center for Translational Injury Research, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
Received 27 Nov 2013; first review completed 16 Dec 2013; accepted in final form 26 Feb 2014
Address reprint requests to Charles E. Wade, PhD, 6431 Fannin St, MSB 5.204, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: email@example.com.
The authors declare no relevant conflicts of interest.
Funding for this study was provided by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston';s Center for Translational Injury Research.
ABSTRACT: Rodent models of hemorrhagic shock are paramount to our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease, the effects on coagulation and in exploring the utility of resuscitative methods for managing patients in shock. These models usually require serial blood sampling during experimentation. The lack of standardized practices for these experimental models has resulted in technical variability, discordance in the literature, and incomparable results on blood coagulation analysis between researchers, hindering substantial progress in the field of hemorrhagic shock. The aim of this study was to define the effects of cardiac puncture versus arterial catheterization on coagulation in a rat model to provide data supporting standardization of one practice over another. Blood was collected from anesthetized rats via cardiac puncture or femoral artery catheterization and hemostatic potential analyzed by thrombelastography and calibrated automated thrombography. Our data show that blood collected via cardiac puncture demonstrated hypercoagulability as indicated by faster rates of clot formation and thrombin generation, increased overall clot strength, and a greater thrombin-generating capacity when compared with blood collected via femoral artery catheter. We conclude that blood collection methods have a profound effect on hemostatic potential, and standardization of these practices is necessary to define the effects of shock on coagulation in rodents.
There has been increased interest in the use of whole-blood assays of viscoelasticity, such as thrombelastography (TEG) and thromboelastometry (TEM), in the clinical diagnosis and study of the coagulation system (1–5). These assays have been suggested to replace standard clinical laboratory tests to evaluate coagulation because they provide more detailed information and faster results at a similar cost (6). Also, several groups have advocated using TEG to both predict and guide transfusion requirements during resuscitation to control hemorrhagic shock (6–10). In addition to the TEG and TEM, evidence has shown that thrombin generation patterns in patients with coagulation disorders are directly correlated with bleeding or thrombosis (11, 12). Therefore, measuring thrombin generation via calibrated automated thrombography (CAT) has been suggested as an effective method for monitoring prophylactic anticoagulation as well as factor replacement therapy in hemophilic patients (13, 14).
Interest in these assays has also carried over to the experimental laboratory where they have been used to define experimental models of altered coagulation in a variety of species. Recently, the Silliman Laboratory put forth a standardized technique for performing TEG in rodents and provided reference ranges for native TEG after femoral artery blood draw (15). However, its subsequent publications have demonstrated changes in coagulation parameters before and after induction of hemorrhagic shock using kaolin-activated TEG (16, 17). Importantly, the source of blood collected at baseline was from cardiac puncture, whereas postshock samples were collected from a femoral artery line. This discrepancy in the model potentially compromises any relevant conclusions that could otherwise be deduced from the effects of hemorrhagic shock on coagulation status had the samples been collected from the same source.
Experimental studies of coagulation in rodents, especially in studies of shock, are usually initiated after placement of catheters for vascular access (18). Admittedly, this surgical manipulation itself could alter the "baseline" coagulation status of the animal and confound experimental results, as reported previously (19, 20). Technical issues such as these combined with inconsistencies in the current literature highlight the need for standardizing methods for serial blood collection in rodent models of hemorrhagic shock. The aim of this study was to define the effects of cardiac puncture versus arterial catheterization on coagulation in a rat model to better interpret studies of shock.
All experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, and animals were maintained in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (Harlan Laboratories, Indianapolis, Ind) weighing between 325 and 350 g were acclimatized for at least 3 days and housed in an accredited animal facility. Food and water were available ad libitum. Both body weight and health were monitored daily. Rats were divided into two groups by the method of blood collection: cardiac puncture ([CP] n = 10) and catheterized femoral artery ([CFA] n = 25).
Rats were anesthetized under 2% to 3% isoflurane in 100% O2 (Isol Vedcro Inc, St. Joseph, Mo) and placed in supine position on a heating pad (TCAT-2LV controller Thermocoupler; Physitemp, Clifton, NJ) to maintain a stable body temperature. After a 15-min stabilization period under anesthesia, 10.8 mL of blood was collected from cardiac puncture using a 20-gauge needle and a 12 cc/mL syringe prefilled with 1.2 mL of 3.2% sodium citrate (1:10 dilution). Blood was transferred back to two 4.5-mL and one 1.8-mL vacutainers containing no anticoagulant (BD Vacutainer, Franklin Lakes, NJ), gently inverted five times and placed in a vertical position for 30 min to ensure adequate anticoagulation.
Rats were anesthetized as described earlier. With no response to stimuli, the femoral superficial artery was isolated and catheterized with a 3F polyurethane catheter (Access Technologies, Skokie, Ill) and kept patent using an overnight heparin solution wash of 15 UI/mL (Heparin 1,000 UI/mL; Hospira, Lake Forest, Ill), which was flushed with saline before the experiment. After a 15-min stabilization period from the time the arterial line was placed, a 2.0-mL blood sample was obtained using a heparin-coated syringe. From the syringe, 1.8 mL of blood was transferred to a vacutainer containing 200 μL of 3.2% sodium citrate (1:10 dilution) and gently inverted five times and placed in a vertical position for 30 min to ensure adequate anticoagulation.
For both sampling methods, blood was either used fresh (TEG) or centrifuged at 3,200 RPM for 15 min at 21°C, aliquoted, and frozen at -80°C.
Thrombelastography was performed using the Thrombelastograph Hemostasis Analyzer 5000 series (Haemoscope Corporation, Niles, Ill) to measure the initiation, formation, strength, and stability of whole-blood clots. Blood samples used for this assay were run immediately after the 30-min anticoagulation period.
From the CP group (n = 10), 1.0 mL of citrated blood from the 1.8-mL vacutainer was pipetted into a kaolin vial (Haemoscope Corporation) and gently inverted five times. From the vial, 340 μL of blood was pipetted into a plastic cup with 20 μL of 0.2 M calcium chloride (Haemoscope Corporation).
From the CFA group (n = 25), 1.0 mL of citrated blood from the 1.8-mL vacutainer was pipetted into a kaolin vial (Haemoscope Corporation) and gently inverted five times. From the vial, 340 μL of blood was pipetted into a plastic heparinase cup (Haemoscope Corporation) to eliminate any heparin contaminating the sample from the washed catheter, with 20 μL of 0.2 M calcium chloride. Control experiments were performed to evaluate potential effects of residual heparin or the presence of heparinase on TEG results. These data showed negligible changes and thus confirmed both adequate flushing of heparin and that heparinase did not confound our interpretation of observations made between sampling techniques (data not shown).
Parameters recorded were split point ([SP] in minutes), reaction time ([R] in minutes), clotting time ([K] in minutes), angle ([α] in degrees), maximum amplitude ([MA] in millimeters), clot strength ([G] in dyne square centimeter), clot lysis at 30 min ([LY30] in percent), delta (Δ), the greatest clot growth secondary to thrombin generation (R-SP).
Thrombin generation was performed using CAT to measure hemostatic potential (Thrombinoscope BV, Maastricht, the Netherlands), as developed by Hemker et al. (13). Frozen plasma samples from the CP (n = 10) and CFA (n = 32) groups were thawed in 37°C water baths.. Thrombin generation was measured using a plate reader equipped with both 390/460-nm fluorescent filter and dispenser (Thermolab Systems OY, Helsinki, Finland). As recommended by Stago, only half of a 96-well plate (Immulon 2HB; Thermo Scientific, Rochester, NY) was used because animal plasmas tend to have short lag times and rapid thrombin generation (21). Samples were run in duplicate, with two wells of 20 μL of PPP-low trigger solution (1 pM tissue factor [TF] and 4 μmol/L phospholipids) and two wells of 20 μL of calibrator solution (Diagnostica Stago, NJ). Before addition of plasma to wells, 360 μL of plasma from both CP and CFA groups was treated by pipetting up and down three times into a heparinase cup (to eliminate the heparin effect) (Haemoscope Corporation). Immediately after mixing the plasma in a heparinase cup, 80 μL was pipetted into each well. The plate containing plasma and CAT reagent or calibrator was placed into a fluorometer to warm to 37°C. Thrombin generation was initiated by autodispensing 20 μL of FluCa solution containing the fluorogenic substrate and calcium (Diagnostica Stago) to each well. Thrombin generation was monitored at 37°C for 60 min at 20-s intervals. Thrombinoscope software (Thrombinoscope BV) was used to compare the thrombin to calibrator activity, thus calculating thrombin generation over time. Parameters recorded were lag time (in minutes), endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), peak height (in nanomolar), time to peak ([ttpeak] in minutes), and start of tail (in minutes).
Data were analyzed using SigmaPlot version 11.0 (Systat Software Inc., Chicago, Ill). Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance using the Student-Newman-Kuels post hoc method. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05.
Thrombelastography values and calculated reference ranges for the CP and CFA groups are listed in Table 1. Significantly lower values were observed in the CFA group compared with those in the CP group for SP (4.5 [0.7] vs. 1.9 [0.6]), R (5.3 [0.8] vs. 2.2 [0.7]), α (57.8 [8.5] vs. 80.3 [1.5]), and Δ (0.82 [0.25] vs. 0.24 [0.03]). Also, the K value was significantly higher in the CFA group compared with the CP group (2.6 [0.9] vs. 0.8 [0]). A difference of 58% was observed in SP, 59% in R time, 69% in K time, and 28% in α. The clot strength was also significantly lower in the CFA group compared with the CP group (MA 58.0 [4.9] vs. 73.3 [1.7] and G 7.1 [1.5] vs. 13.8 [1.2]). A difference of 21% was seen in the MA and 49% in the G. Reference ranges were calculated as ±2 SDs of the mean values.
Calibrated automated thrombography values and calculated reference ranges for the CP and CFA groups are listed in Table 2. Excluding start of tail, values for lag time and ttPeak were significantly higher in the CFA group compared with those in the CP group (lag time, 3.4 [0.5] vs. 1.9 [0.3] and ttPeak 5.6 [0.7] vs. 3.8 [0.4]). Also, the ETP and peak height were significantly lower in the CFA group compared with those in the CP group (ETP, 227.9 [63.3] vs. 389.4 [38.3] and peak height 59.5 [23.0] vs. 120.6 [20.9]). Thus, thrombin generation was significantly prolonged and reduced in the CFA group as compared with the CP group. A difference of 44% was seen in the lag time, 42% in the ETP, 51% in peak height, and 32% in the ttPeak. There was no significant difference observed in the start of tail. Reference ranges were calculated as ±2 SDs of the mean values.
The purpose of our study was to establish proper methods and reference ranges for coagulation studies in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Previous studies used different techniques for obtaining blood for coagulation studies. Ignoring surgical manipulation or differences in hemostatic potential of blood sampling location can have dramatic effects on the data. Therefore, after sampling through either cardiac puncture or arterial catheter, viscoelastometry in whole blood via TEG and thrombin generation in plasma via CAT were measured and compared. Our study confirmed that the different blood collection methods have a profound effect on coagulation parameters in rodents. We found that blood collected via cardiac puncture demonstrated hypercoagulable properties, as indicated by faster rates of clot formation and thrombin generation, increased overall clot strength, and a greater thrombin-generating capacity when compared with blood collected via a femoral artery catheter.
These findings can mostly likely be explained by TF contamination in the cardiac puncture samples. Tissue factor is a transmembrane glycoprotein that, when bound to its cofactor FVIIa, serves as a potent initiator of the extrinsic coagulation pathway. Tissue factor is preferentially expressed at high levels in vital organs, such as the brain, lungs, uterus, and heart (22, 23). Importantly, constitutive expression of highly functional and procoagulant TF is found in cardiac muscle (24). Presumably, TF present in the pericardium will contaminate blood samples obtained from cardiac puncture, thus priming the blood for rapid and robust coagulation on replacement of calcium. Calibrated automated thrombography is sensitive to increased TF levels, producing shortened lag times and increased overall thrombin generation (peak and ETP) (25). Furthermore, TF contamination would result in activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in the kaolin TEG assay, which could explain the hypercoagulability of the cardiac puncture samples observed in this assay. Alternatively, the materials used to execute blood collection could affect its overall hemostatic potential, namely, the potential for activation of whole blood by metal needles and plastic syringes used for cardiac puncture compared with the polyurethane catheter for femoral artery blood.
Previous publications have attempted to standardize a method for performing coagulation assays in rodents. Wohlauer et al. (15) described the use of TEG to analyze rat blood collected from the femoral artery; however, these data were collected using native TEG, which simply adds back calcium to decalcified whole blood. Given that the use of an activator, such as kaolin, is more feasible and relevant clinically, subsequent publications from this group describe a rat model of hemorrhagic shock commonly used in our field of trauma research (15, 16). The first publication with this method used a model of serial blood sample collection where the baseline sample is taken via cardiac puncture and by femoral artery line thereafter (16). Data from this study demonstrated significant prolongation of the R and SP times and reduced thrombin generation in the second blood sample taken via femoral artery catheter after induction of shock. These data were attributed to impaired clotting factor function resulting from trauma/shock (16). Although this may be true, our data suggest that the differences between baseline and postshock could simply be caused by the hypercoagulable nature of cardiac puncture–derived blood samples compared with the femoral artery line. Interestingly, however, the subsequent publication from this laboratory using a model of serial sample collection via cardiac puncture showed no difference in the enzymatic phases of the TEG in preshock and postshock blood samples (17). This finding supports our suggestion that postshock hypocoagulability is not pathophysiologic but rather resulted from sample collection methods.
Other data in the literature describe findings in nonrodent models using femoral artery catheterization, followed by subsequent further vascular manipulation. King et al. (19) reported TEGs on swine and humans before and after pulmonary artery catheterization. The results indicated that pulmonary artery catheterization in both swine and humans produced a significant hypercoagulable state, according to the R and K times and α angle compared with femoral artery catheterization alone. In a similar study, Ryan et al. (20) reported TEG on swine and humans before and after central venous catheterization, also demonstrating a significant hypercoagulable state after central venous catheterization indicated by the same TEG variables compared with single catheter placement. Taken together, these studies reiterate the importance of acknowledging the potential effects of surgical and vascular manipulation when serial sampling is necessary and the need to standardize models for accurate data comparison.
Finally, our study has demonstrated the relative agreement in data trends between TEG and CAT. The observation that changes in enzymatic rates and overall clot strength in whole-blood TEG were emulated by the same directional changes on CAT lag time and thrombin generation performed in platelet-poor plasma suggests that TEG data are highly reflective of coagulation factor levels and the ability to generate thrombin. Previous data have shown that thrombin concentration directly dictates fibrin clot structure and stability (26). Given the clinical importance of producing and maintaining strong and stable clots during hemorrhage, the CAT assay could offer an important resource for defining the hemostatic potential of plasma samples in rodent hemorrhagic shock models.
A limitation in the present study is the use of heparinase to negate the effects of the heparin used to wash the femoral lines. Although the femoral catheters were flushed with saline, admittedly, some lingering effects of heparin could be present. Previous studies measuring the effects of heparinase on nonheparinized blood samples showed minimal changes in TEG parameters after heparinase treatment. Thus, although the likelihood that heparinase resulted in a significant influence to the data reported here is low (27), we cannot fully discount its contribution.
Coagulation studies in rodents, particularly those involving serial blood sampling, need to take into account the effects of surgical manipulation and blood collection methods on coagulation parameters. We have demonstrated that both TEG and CAT are sensitive to these factors and can have profound effects on data interpretation. Standardization of practices surrounding rodent models of trauma and shock are necessary to move forward with research on the effects of shock on coagulation.
Shock; rodents; coagulation; blood collection; experimental model
© 2014 by the Shock Society
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INDIANAPOLIS — Marsh Supermarkets here is expected to announce on Thursday a new program of extended everyday discounts on thousands of items at Marsh stores. Marsh's "Good 'Til" program is the first such pricing program in Indiana, and is being introduced to help Marsh improve its price image among shoppers and grow sales and market share, Joe Kelley, chief executive officer of Marsh, told SN in interview this week. "We think there is an opportunity between our everyday pricing, which ...
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The Geography Blog focusing on all things geography: human, physical, technical, space, news, and geopolitics. Also known as Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze! Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Bedbugs Map
A useful online geography tool for those afraid of the dreaded bedbugs is the Bed Bug Registry. The map is currently setup for the cities of New York, Boston, and San Francisco but user can also add reports of bedbugs anywhere in the world. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!
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06-30-2004, 11:13 PM #1Junior Guru Wannabe
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- Spring Makeup9 Things You Need to Stop Doing to Your Skin ASAP
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Flattering Makeup1 of 9
By: Zoe Schaeffer
Attempting the latest makeup trends can be intimidating, especially if you don't know how to wear them. So we asked two beauty insiders—Byron Williams, celebrity makeup artist and hair stylist, and Lucia Pieroni, Color Creator of Clé de Peau Beauté—how to make spring's gorgeous new looks work for you.
Sun Goddess2 of 9
Lucia says that the bronzing trend this season is about a sculpted face, not a rough-looking tan. "Choose colors that have a cool base, because these will flatter the facial features," she says. "Apply with a medium-sized blush brush under the cheekbones and move towards the temples of the face. This creates a soft halo of warmth to the skin that is controlled and very flattering."
Baby Blues3 of 9
Lucia says that the key to making blue eye shadow not look too '80s is to stay away from shimmer, because matte textures have a more modern finish and make a stronger statement. "Look for aquamarine and teal shadows, which complement almost every skin tone."
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Byron says that luckily, all skin tones look great with pink blush. "I like a natural face with the focus on a pink cheek," he says. Lucia adds that "opting for cream-based blushes will ensure that the color looks like it is coming from within as opposed to sitting on top of the skin."
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Byron says this look works best on brunettes with medium-to-light skin. "If you're too fair, it will wash you out," he warns. "It's super-pretty with only a little makeup, for a very natural look." Lucia says that to achieve a perfectly nude lip, the natural red of the lips should be toned down. "Dab concealer over the lips without blocking out the natural color completely. Then pat a creamy beige lipstick on top, making sure the lips do not look too chalky."
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"This is a very 'runway,' theatrical look," says Byron. "Truth be told, when it comes to pulling this off, it's all in the personality!" Lucia agrees that this is a daring trend. She says to stick with a matte texture because frosts will highlight fine lines. "Also, apply a white pencil inside the waterline to help keep eyes looking bright rather than bloodshot," she says.
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Byron says this looks amazing on green, hazel, golden and brown eyes and with all hair colors. "If you do a really saturated green lid, keep the lips a soft, natural pink shade."
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Lucia says that a matte magenta or a shocking orange will really brighten up the skin tone. "Those who are fair should opt for bright pinks, and those with darker, warmer tones should try oranges and coral-reds." Byron adds that the rest of the face should be kept natural. "Only a touch of mascara and you're done!"
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"Working with a palette of honey, beige and caramel will bring out the natural warmth in the skin and put equal focus on all the features," says Lucia. "Adding a different texture, such as a clear lip gloss, will break up the look and add more dimension to the face for a perfectly sculpted and strikingly finished result."


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SoulIn shamanism, soul is the life force of a person, animal, plant, or anything which exists on any plane of being. A soul may be any of the bodies or sheaths in which this life force dwells as well. Thus, the physical body may sometimes be referred to as the "animal soul". The astral, mental or spiritual bodies may also be referred to as soul in discussions and literature about shamanism. As the individual life force, soul may be lost or drained away in part or in whole. When this happens an individual is affected with some psychic or physical illness or other malady and a shaman may attempt to retrieve the lost life force. If enough of this life force is lost or stolen by another a person may experience serious and debilitating illness or even death.
The Latin word for soul, ANIMUS, may be interpreted as meaning "breath of heaven" or "breath of Spirit". This bears some similarities to many traditional shamanic views of Soul.
Soul may also be defined as the indwelling individualized spiritual essence, a divine spark, or unit of awareness.
Source:soc.religion.shamanism FAQ
by Dean Edwards


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The company provides a free week-long pre-retirement seminar for employees and their spouses. Securian offers paid time off designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay, and long-term leaves of absence without pay to allow for caregiving. In addition to six months of job-protected leave, employees are entitled to an extended-illness leave program that provides 100 percent pay for one week of each year of service, less a one-week waiting period.
The company offers the following wellness programs to full- and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health club discounts, physical activity and exercise programs, weight loss programs, stress management training, and information on pandemic flu. Sixty-one percent of Securian's employees have used at least one of its wellness benefits during the past 12 months. Securian offers on-site care for children and grandchildren and referral services to help find care for children and grandchildren and eldercare, to its full- and part-time employees.
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Age of Workforce: Twenty-two percent of Securian employees are age 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17.8 years.
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from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. An officer who presides over the academic senate of a university in certain countries.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. An officer who presides over the academic senate of a German university.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An officer in a German university who represents the rector, or who is next in authority to the directing officer.
pro- + rector (Wiktionary)
Its prorector Lykke Friis said the scientists would be presenting the latest and the clearest information, meaning political leaders would not have the excuse that they needed more research before agreeing on a deal.


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Instead of reaching for candy or chips when you start to drag mid morning or mid afternoon, grab some fruit and veggies to your kids. Many studies have shown that drinking 100 percent fruit juice doesn't affect a child's weight. However, fruit juice contains calories. Just like any other food or calorie-containing drink, too much fruit juice can contribute to weight gain. For most children of all ages between 6-12, water and milk are the best choices, so let them flow. Besides having zero calories,water is a no-sugar thirst-quencher. And 1 cup of milk has 300 milligrams of calcium, so it's a big contributor to a child's daily needs.
Since fresh juice is high in natural sugars, you won´t need to add any refined white sugar to the mix. Your homemade juice-based energy drink will give you the health-boosting nutrients your body needs to keep you focused and productive throughout the day. If you´re looking to lose weight, lower your blood sugar and blood pressure levels as well as increase your energy, juicing nutrition may be just what you´re looking for. Juicing is definitely one of the most natural and wholesome ways to improve your health and overall vitality.
read more …
For any woman in order to become pregnant or not to become pregnant, she has to understand her fertility patterns. There are various changes taking places in a woman's body each month to prepare her for a possible pregnancy. It is important to understand and start recognizing the way her menstrual cycle and her basal temperature.
A basal temperature is the lowest temperature of your body in a twenty four period. The basal thermometer is taken when you first wake up in the morning. It is very important that basal body temperature to be taken without doing any work.
read more …
The ACCPPS is a Michigan not-for-profit corporation launched as an autonomous certification board in 1987. This board was created to provide a route to certification in surgery for all podiatrists who are able to pass the ACCPPS' rigorous but fair written certification examination, and obtain favorable ACCPPS review on seventy-five diverse surgical cases of their own experience. Certification is open to all applicants who meet these and appropriate licensing criteria, without regard to their professional affiliations. Residency training is required for all applicants who earned their degrees after 1991. The ACCPPS has certified over 1000 podiatrists nationally.
The ACCPPS is committed to improving the quality and delivery of podiatric services for the betterment of the public health and welfare, to advancing art and science of podiatric medicine and surgery, to stimulate further growth of the specialty profession of podiatry, and to eliminate unnecessarily restrictive and unfair administrative obstacles to these goals. Although our credential is accepted in many hospitals and MCO's, we are aggressively campaigning for increased recognition in those institutions. Our efforts have led to changes in the certification processes of other certification boards and in the regulations of some state licensing boards.
We invite you to explore our web site to learn more about the ACCPPS and its activities.


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Channel 2 News
Israeli TV News from Israeli TV 2 – With English subtitles
The Israeli Network is proud to offer Israeli TV news from the most-popular station in the country: Israeli TV 2. Anchor Yonit Levi and many others provide viewers outside the country with the latest daily-news reports from the Middle East as well as in-depth, weekly, investigative features on the complex issues that face the Middle East and the world in general. Israeli TV 2 is the gold-standard in Israeli TV news, and now people outside of the country can watch the news to understand the Israeli point of view as well as learn more about the complicated issues that the country is confronting.
While The Israeli Network also offers many of Israel's best comedies and dramas, we know the importance that our viewers place on current events in the country. It is with this understanding that we are proud to offer an easy method for people to watch Israeli TV news directly from the source in the Holy Land. Of course, we never take official positions on the controversial topics – our goal here at The Israeli Network is to keep our viewers as informed as possible on the latest Israeli TV news via our broadcasts of Israeli TV 2. Still, if our viewers ever have feedback on our news programs or other shows, we always encourage people to contact us with their ideas!


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By Paige Williams, Financial Times
London, UK, March 13/March 14, 2004, W3
One of Samantha Power's favourite lunch spots is a place off Harvard Square
in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Casablanca. Decorated with 20ft murals of
the movie, Bogart and Bergman gaze with melancholy at diners digging into
their seared cod and mixed greens.
The theme has echoes of Hitler and of Hollywood, which resonate because
Power's seminal writings on war and human rights have made her a celebrity
favoured by the American left.
Heads turn as she strides past Bogey and Bergman and slides into a
banquette. Power seems not to notice. She is so focused that I'm a little
surprised she has not come dressed like a distracted professor (she lectures
in public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government). She
wears a stylish leather coat, black slacks and a starched, striped muslin
shirt with a silver and turquoise necklace. Long and lean, she has intense
blue eyes and voluminous auburn hair. With a fedora she might look a little
like Bergman, but with freckles.
Samantha Power, Financial Times, March 13/14, 2004(Click on image to enlarge it)
She is equally distinguished in accomplishment. Over-achievement is "de
rigueur" in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but rarely does it come so globally at
the age of 33. In her best-selling book of 2002, "A Problem from Hell:
America and the Age of Genocide," Power chronicled the role of the US in the
history of genocide. The book criticises America's record of passivity in
the face of international slaughter and has become required reading for
anyone hoping to strengthen US foreign policy on human rights.
Power pushes the issue as founding executive director of the Carr Centre for
Human Rights at Harvard, where her obsessive tendencies have not gone
unnoticed. (When she was working on the book she would crank the heat
up to 80 deg F during the day so she could stay warm while she worked
late into the night.)
Yet lately, to her dismay, she has been at risk of being interpreted as a
bit more hawk than dove - of being appropriated to justify President George
W. Bush's war in Iraq. She cringes at the idea.
"But, wait - food," Power says. "Let's get that out of the way."
She opens the menu. She is fond of the bluefish, but what she calls the
"chicken roll" suddenly looks good: grilled, lemon-marinated chicken on a
homemade pitta roll with feta. It comes with mixed greens in lemon
vinaigrette. The bluefish cake, on the other hand, is made with shallots,
creamy mustard and parsley.
"What do you think?" Power, ever the reporter, asks the server - who says
she would go for the bluefish, but it doesn't come with mixed greens.
Power orders the chicken and hands over the menu.
"No wait," she says. "You know what? I'll have the bluefish and the mixed
greens." No appetiser? No wine?
"Diet Coke," Power says, yawning. "Wine would put me right to sleep. I was
up until 3am." This makes her smile, almost shyly, and Power is not a shy
Upon graduating from Yale University she went as a freelance reporter to
cover the war in Bosnia. When her articles for The Boston Globe and The
Washington Post failed to prompt a satisfactory US response, she decided to
obtain a law degree in the hope of answering a question: why does the US
consistently do so little to prevent genocide (Bosnia, Iraq, Cambodia, the
Holocaust, Armenia)? After graduating from Harvard Law School she decided
to answer the question and went into a mode that friends describe as "all
genocide, all the time".
She spent six years researching and writing the book, which was rejected by
almost every leading publishing house in Manhattan, before becoming the
first acquisition of Basic Books editor Vanessa Mobley. This publishing
upstart pushed it into print and on to win several of the biggest prizes in
US literature, including the Pulitzer.
As Power takes a fork to her mixed greens, she says she has just agreed a
new two-book deal with Mobley and Henry Holt and Company of New York.
One book involves the lessons of German philosopher Hannah Arendt, the other
the consequences of amnesia in US foreign policy. Neither is likely to
trigger the rightwing appropriation that Power is experiencing with the
book, which will probably be a relief.
"It causes me great discomfort when my book is read in its most narrow
sense, which is that, 'The United States should intervene militarily when it
feels like it'," she says. She puts down her fork. "I mean, the book is the
furthest thing from a plea for American military intervention, and certainly
for unilateral military intervention on a whim or on a subjective set of
excuses and justifications. It's not even about genocide. It's about are we
injecting concern for foreign life, for human life, into our foreign policy
as a matter of course and not as a fluke matter of convergence with national
interests? And the answer remains no." Up comes the fork again.
Power has a husky voice that every now and then reveals a flicker of her
native Dublin. She moved to the US when she was nine and credits her mother
and stepfather (her father died when she was very young) with an
intellectually supportive and stimulating childhood.
"My mother is epic," she says. "She played at Wimbledon, she has a PhD in
biochemistry, she's a kidney transplant doctor, and she's hilarious - she's
taking film classes and patching people up and running the New York
marathon. Epic, truly. And also a great friend."
Power is hyper-articulate, and unhesitant in her delivery, which gives me a
chance to work on the grilled pear salad. She is also fiercely accommodating
of the tape recorder under her nose and doesn't knock it over once, even
though she speaks with her hands: twisting and turning as though wringing
out a point, this one being that the US should have intervened in Iraq not
last year but in 1987-88, when Saddam Hussein's regime was exterminating an
estimated 100,000 Kurds.
"I think the narrow read on my book is, 'Intervene when there is badness on
the face of the earth, and if you can't get (UN) Security Council support,
well, so what?'
"Having experienced a little of war in Bosnia, it is so awful that it really
is something one should employ as an absolute last resort, and my criteria
for military intervention - with a strong preference for multilateral
intervention - is an immediate threat of large-scale loss of life. That's a
standard that would have been met in Iraq in 1988, but wasn't in 2003."
The grilled bluefish came on hot oval plates with squiggled ribbons of fried
onion. "Oh, could we have some bread, too, please?" Power asks. "Some of
that good sesame bread? But wait, there was one other point I wanted to
"The war in Iraq very plainly was not about Saddam's genocide against the
Kurds and human rights. It was about a perception of Saddam as a threat to
very traditional American security interests. Now the so-called [WMD]
security threat has been exposed as exaggerated, at best, and concocted, at
worst, the only argument this administration has left for having gone to war
is the human rights-democratisation-genocide argument. So they have an awful
lot invested in trying to make Iraq a more humane place."
The fork comes up and starts taking apart the bluefish. The sesame bread
arrives, but Power ignores it. In fact, lunch seems incidental to her.
"A paradox is that I would hope I was a poster child for the integration of
consideration of human rights into American foreign policy, and for the
recognition that American interests will best be advanced if we do this,"
she says.
Other than her close friend Doris Kearns Goodwin, the historian, Power is
the only person I've met who can speak at such length while barely coming up
for air.
She says it's critical for the US to win back some credibility, "and not be
the bull in the china shop".
"Can this administration restore America's credibility?" I ask.
"No," Power says. "I don't think so."
The dessert menu arrives, but she decides not to open it. She doesn't even
care for a coffee. "We're still going to have special interests no matter
who's the president," she says. "We're still going to have a reluctance to
subject ourselves to international law that we feel we're above. The
unfortunate part of the relationship about human rights and security is that
now we view the welfare of foreign citizens as valuable and relevant only in
so far as it advances our security."
Power is sliding out of the banquette and into her leather coat. She has a
student's paper to read before their 2.30 pm meeting, which was two minutes
Later, long after Casablanca has closed, I stop by the Nieman Foundation for
Journalism at Harvard and run into someone who says of Power, "She's
brilliant, just brilliant. But it's such a lost cause."
"How's that?" I ask.
"Surely she doesn't think it will ever end: man's inhumanity to man."
Probably not. But unlike most of us, that is unlikely to stop Power trying.


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Port View Seafood Village Sdn. Bhd @ Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
>> Jul 14, 2010
I was in Kota Kinabalu for the weekend (or rather 38 hours). Due to my extremely short time spent here, I was unable to sample any of their local specialties (fish noodles, roti kahwin, ikan bakar[grilled fish] etc). However, I did manage to eat a good deal of seafood on my first night there. Contrary to people's believe, the seafood there wasn't cheap (I'm talking about their higher end seafood restaurants in town). Eg: Ocean Restaurant, Port View Restaurant and Grand Port View Restaurant.
Anyway, I have to say that we made a wrong choice choosing to go the Port View Seafood Village. Initially I chose Ocean Restaurant, however as it was raining, we decided to not inconvenient ourselves and go to Port View which is opposite Le Meridien.
Don't be fooled by the picture. It was a Friday night and most of their so called 'sought after' seafood were out of stock. The bigger king lobsters and some of their prawns were out of stock. To make matters worst, the service was utter rubbish. I had to wait 15 minutes before I could even begin picking my seafood.
The food didn't take long to come. However, they kept putting more dishes on the table even though we were not done with the previous dish yet. I had that 'rushed' feeling as I was afraid the next dish would get cold.
As for the food, we had to order 2 smaller king lobsters as they were out of bigger lobsters. This was rather disappointing as most of a lobster's weight are in its shell. Hence the bigger the lobster, the higher the meat to shell ratio in a lobster. It would certainly had made a nicer presentation as well. On the bright side, a bigger lobster 'might' have a slightly firmer/tougher meat. The so called 'king lobster' is known as Sabah lobster back here in Kuala Lumpur.
Check out my post about the various types of lobsters.
Unlike KL, the lobster sashimi was only served with wasabi and Japanese Soy Sauce. It didn't come along with that herbal broth for people who don't fancy eating the lobster raw. The Sabah lobster had a crunchier texture compared to the Australian Lobster. However, I felt that the extremely spicy wasabi didn't do justice to the lobster. I would suggest they provide milder wasabi for patrons to actually savour the delicate lobster flesh rather the taste of the wasabi. The lobsters were priced at RM260 per kilo. I'm not telling you how heavy the 2 lobster above were.
As one of our guest was a top surgeon in the states, he carefully dissected the fish into nice big portions for everyone. The fish was fried until crispy and the coated with a thai chilli sauce which was not exceedingly sweet nor spicy (This sauce certainly tasted much better than its bottle counterpart found in most hypermarkets). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this dish very much. The grouper was RM80/kg. That fish was about 1.8kg if my memory serves me right. Anyway, to digress a little, I once caught a grouper that was 5 kilos.
As we were afraid of food poisoning, I opted for the oysters to be cooked with cheese. The other option was to have it with a good squeeze of lemon (and tobasco) or cooked with garlic. The cheese oysters were nothing great. I've tasted better. The oysters were RM9 each (cooking it with cheese cost RM2 more).
Next we had a kilo of soft shell crabs cooked with salt and pepper.
As they were out of most of their prawns, we had to go for 'medium' sized tiger prawns. The medium is about 100grams each (100grams is very heavy for a prawn, try weighing your prawns bought at the market). The large was almost double the size of the medium (the large cost RM40 a prawn). The medium cost RM170 per kilo.
Taste wise, it was decent. This style of cooking isn't found in KL. However, it didn't do justice to the prawns. The waitress told me this style goes very well with the prawns. Unfortunately, I think she was wrong. I still preferred my prawns to be steamed with egg white and Chinese wine. Cooking prawns with minimal seasoning brings out the natural flavour of the prawns.
We also had their restaurant specialty tofu and the famous Sabah 'chai' (vegetables in Hokkien).
The tofu was surprisingly good.
I shall not comment on this dish as I didn't get to try this dish. Its not that I don't eat vegetables, it was all gone before I could get a chance to try it. Anyway, I shall not complain. I had more of the other good stuff (haha).
The remaining bits of the lobster shell from our previous dish was cooked with noodles. The noodles were decent but nothing to shout about. Sabah's version of lobster noodles varies a little from the KL version.
All in all, the food was decent (not exceptional). The prices were just a tad bit cheaper than KL's (they cook it better over here though).
The next morning, we were told that another group of people went over to Ocean Restaurant to eat. They told us that they really enjoyed their food and unlike us, didn't encounter any 'out of stock' signs pasted beside the various aquariums.
Anyway, it was a pretty short trip to KK. Apart from Port View Restaurant, the only other place I went was the Fillipino Market next door. I was too caught up with some last minute changes in my presentation. I certainly would like to sample more of KK's food places. I might even plan a diving trip to Sipadan while I'm at it.
Note: I bought a 2.7kg Deep Sea Chicken aka Hoi Tai Kai / ikan ayam back from Sabah. Can't wait to eat it this weekend.
*Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience
Pricing: About RM100 per person (more depending on the seafood ordered)
Map to Port View Seafood Village Sdn. Bhd @ Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Port View Restaurant,
Lot 18, Ground Floor,
Anjung Samudra (The Water Front),
Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens,
88000 Kota Kinabalu,
Telephone number: 088 221753
Website: www.portview.com.my (there's nothing much there actually)
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Opening hours:
11am-11pm daily


text:
Dynamic Model of a
Horse Gallop in 2D
Eddy Boxerman
Motivation and Related Work
Dimensions and Inertial Properties of Model
Gait Poses
Simulation Parameters
Pose Control
Search Algorithm
Conclusion and Future Work
I did this project for Michiel van de Panne's animation course at UBC in the term of Winter 2002.
The goal of the project was to model the dynamics (forces, torques) of a horse gallop on computer, and to determine a stable control strategy for a sustained gallop. The scope of the simulation was restricted to 2D, although in principle the method expands naturally to 3D.
An animation is worth a thousand words. The following two animations demonstrate the results of the project.
Note: although all renderings are of simple skeleton models, more complex inertial body properties were used in the simulation.
Motivation and Related Work
Much can be learned from studying the graceful motion of animals. The topic of animal motion control touches upon such disciplines as control theory, biomechanics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer animation. A good overview of the problem, from a computer science perspective, can be found in [6].
Traditionally, computer animation relies on techniques such as key framing and motion capture. However, the former can be tedious and time consuming while the latter is difficult to generalize to differing models, motions and environments. Dynamic simulation has the potential to produce realistic animations in a more automated fashion.
Dynamic simulations of animals gaits (including horses) such as walking and trotting have been done [7]. In fact, as an intermediate step in this project, I simulated a horse trot. However, the trot is a simpler (symmetric along the sagittal plane) and more stable gait than the gallop. To the best of my knowledge, a dynamic simulation of a horse gallop had not yet been accomplished.
This section describes the data and tools used for the simulation.
The horse was modeled using a 2D articulated figure.
Muscle actions are simply modeled as joint torques over time. Model dimensions, inertial properties, and target motion data were gathered from various sources. The model was then simulated on computer in an attempt to achieve a stable control strategy for a sustained gallop.
Dimensions and Inertial Properties of Model
Inertial properties of the various body segments were extracted from [1]. Slight modifications were made to conform to the model being used. The following table contains the inertial parameters that were used in the simulations.
Note: Center of gravity is the distance of a segment's COG (along its axis) as measured from its parent link. The Trunk segment's COG is directly at its midpoint.
Gait Poses
The first successful sequential photographs of rapidly moving objects were taken by Muybridge [2]. A main focus of his work was horse gaits. A twelve frame sequence of a horse gallop (Plate 67) was used to define the target poses of the simulation.
Body segment lengths and joint angles were extracted directly from the photographs with a trusty ruler and protractor. While this does not yield precise values, it suffices for this purpose. In fact, since a reasonably stable gallop was produced, it demonstrates the technique's power to overcome relatively poor initial data.
The following animation displays a rendering of the extracted data. Note that this is not the result of a physical simulation, but merely a projection of the poses against a ground plane (notice how the torso remains perfectly horizontal).
The measured joint angles can also be found in the following (tab delimited text) file.
Dynamics Simulator
To simulate the system dynamics, I employed Michiel van de Panne's 2D dynamics simulator. First a "dynamics compiler" - given a description of a 2D articulated figure - produces a symbolic description of the equations of motion in the form of a 'C' procedure. The procedure is then linked with a dynamics engine which, when executed, calculates the system state (forces, torques, rectilinear and angular positions and velocities) over time. The engine simulates ground reaction forces using a penalty based method.
For the purposes of this project, I expanded the simulator to accept additional simulation parameters such as: target poses for the articulated figure, joint stiffnesses, etc. For the purposes of running test suites as well as monitoring and organizing results, I wrote several perl scripts. I also wrote a C++/OpenGL utility for rendering and capturing the animations.
In the context of this project, modeling a stable gallop consists of finding the correct combination of parameters for the simulation. The problem then becomes one of searching for a solution in some high dimensional space. To this end many simulations were executed with varying parameters, guided by an optimization scheme and rejection criteria.
Simulation Parameters
The following parameters are used in the horse simulation. The Min and Max columns identify the ranges of values that are legal (may be attempted) for each parameter.
This gives a total of 311 parameters, a high dimensional space to search. In order to reduce this number, I made the following assumptions and adjustments:
Thus for the initial phases of the search, the number of parameters in the search space is reduced to 15. In addition, some of these values have limited ranges (or are held fixed). This greatly reduces the size of the search space. Eventually, the number of parameters is increased to 249.
Another question is how to choose the Min and Max values for each parameter. This was done by spending some time (under an hour) experimenting and witnessing what values were clearly unreasonable. For instance, choosing a DTpose value of 0.01 caused the horse model to flail manically; and a value of 0.5 allowed the horse to fall before it barely moved. To be safe, the ranges chosen were even larger than what seemed reasonable after experimentation. Automating this process may not be entirely possible, since some minimum and maximum (or mean and standard deviation) values must always be chosen for the ranges.
Pose Control
How are the measured poses (joint angles) used to achieve the gallop motion? Essentially, the poses are used as control targets for the joint angles of the articulated figure at any given point in time.
The 12 poses of the gait are cyclical in nature and the poses are separated by a time interval defined by DTpose. At time = 0, the target angles are exactly those defined by pose 1; at time = DTpose, the angles are defined by the values at pose 2; and so on. When in between two poses (at time = 0.3 * DTpose for instance), linear interpolation between the two poses is done to calculate the target angles.
Once the target joint angles are known for the current simulation time, basic PD control is used to "force" the horse model through the desired configurations. For a given time step in the simulation:
Control Torque = KS * (joint_target - joint_position) + KD * joint_velocity
Spring and damping constants for each joint are defined by the Joint KS and Joint KD parameters. Shortest paths are always used between target and current joint positions (so for example 1.9*PI and 0.1*PI are only 0.2*PI radians apart). Also, since target joint velocities are not known, the damping component of the control serves merely to dampen the system; this is needed for stability. Note that although this is considered closed-loop control from a robotics perspective, in this context (animation) we refer to it as open-loop control. Here the distinction is that, although the horse model "knows" and reacts to its current internal state (joint angles, etc.), it uses no information about its environment. For example, the horse continues to cycle through its gallop motions even if it falls on its back in the simulation - thus it is not closed-loop.
Search Algorithm
The search algorithm used is similar in nature to that found in [6] with a few adaptations to the problem at hand. It begins with a global search of the parameter space, followed by local searches of promising regions that were discovered by the global search. It is arguably related to such algorithms as simulated annealing and greedy optimization. The pseudo code is as follows:
A few terms and details require explanation:
Overall, the results obtained from the approach described were good. Some animations are provided.
Over several runs of the search algorithm, the most successful gallop found was stable for 22.77 seconds of simulation time, or for approximately 86 gait cycles. The parameter set for this simulation can be found in the following file. For convenience, some interesting values are presented in the following table:
In general, production of stable gaits lasting up to 10 seconds was quite common. No indefinitely stable gait was found. The question remains open as to whether an indefinitely stable, open-loop gallop exists.
As for simulation performance, it runs in approximately real-time. ie. it requires about 10 seconds to execute a simulation that models 10 seconds of simulation time. Typically, gaits that were stable for 2-3 seconds could be found within a few minutes of searching; and gaits that were stable for 10 seconds required about 1-2 hours of searching.
Encouragingly, various properties of the simulated gallop that were not explicitly controlled were found to conform quite closely with a real gallop:
An additional metric which would prove useful for analysis is foot-fall timing of the simulated gaits; which could provide quantitative evidence that the simulated gallop has the same phase characteristics as a real gallop. Unfortunately time did not permit this.
An aspect that should be reconsidered is that all initial angular joint velocities were set to zero for the simulations. However, the initial state of the system should in fact represent a point in the steady state of a horse galloping. In retrospect, appropriate initial velocity ranges should have been chosen and these parameters should have been randomized as well. While this would have increased the number of search parameters by 18, perhaps these too could have been postponed until later phases of the search (as the poses themselves were).
Conclusion and Future Work
The results of this project are encouraging and lay a solid foundation to work from. The technique in theory could be applied to any creature-gait combination that is symmetric in the sagittal plane. Other interesting animal subjects in Muybridge's book include baboons, gazelles, dogs, kangaroos and ostriches!
The technique applied here should generalize naturally to three dimensions. This entails more complicated simulation techniques and higher dimensional spaces, but the approach and algorithm should remain essentially the same.
As already mentioned, initial angular joint velocities should not be assumed to equal zero. This in itself may be causing the initially successful gaits not to converge to stable long-term gaits.
Currently, the optimization criteria used to judge the success of a gait - and to choose a parameter set to locally search - is based on distance traveled. Another alternative is to consider energy expenditure; or distance traveled. per energy expended. This may prove useful since it is generally accepted that animal gaits use energy efficiently.
Of course, closing the loop could provide an indefinitely stable gait. Various techniques that decouple or linearize the complexity of this problem can be found in [3] and [4]. The work here involves finding a few key simulation states to monitor and a few control parameters that could be adjusted "in-simulation" to compensate for the state divergence. A good candidate for states to monitor may be foot-fall timings, which could be compared to actual gallop timings. Indirect control over the timings may be achieved via modifying the model's compliance (Joint KS parameters) temporarily, or by adjusting the interpolation parameter accordingly (ie. if the target pose is in a post foot-fall condition, but the foot-fall in the simulation has not yet occurred, the interpolating parameter could be "slowed down" to wait for the foot-fall to occur).
Fleshing out of the skeleton-rendering would yield more attractive results of course.
I'd like to thank Michiel van de Panne for his help and suggestions during this project; as well as for allowing me to use his simulator.
[1] Buchner, H.H.F., Savelberg, H.H.C.M., Schamhardt, H.C. and Barneveld A. (1997) Inertial Properties of Dutch Warmblood Horses. JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS 30(6) pp 653-658
[2] Muybridge, E.J. (1887). Animal Locomotion.
[3] Laszlo, J. F., van de Panne, M., Fiume, E. (1996) Limit Cycle Control and its Application to the Animation of Balancing and Walking, SIGGRAPH 96 Conference Proceedings (ACM Computer Graphics), 155-162.
[4] Playter, R. (2000) Physics-based simulations of running using motion capture. SIGGRAPH 2000 Course Notes, Course #33
[5] van de Panne, M. Lamouret, A. (1995) Guided Optimization for Balanced Locomotion. Computer Animation and Simulation '95 -- Proceedings of the 6th Eurographics Workshop on Simulation and Animation, Springer Verlag. Maastricht, Netherlands, 165-177.
[6] van de Panne, M. (2000) Control for Simulated Human and Animal Motion. IFAC Annual Reviews in Control 2000, 24(1), Elsevier Science Ltd., 189-199.
[7] Villanova, J., Guinot, J-C., Neveu, P., Gasc, J-P. (2000) Quadrupedal Mammal Locomotion Dynamics 2D Model. Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.


text:
ISO-8859-1 Character issues
Hi fellow devs!
(Though, I guess it's just pretty much jbob, bret and me left here...)
Today during a 2h train ride I scripted something which I call "Easy Clock". I encountered an issue though, as I try to use the characters Å, Ä and Ö. As previously described in this thread those are either not displayed at all, or Ö is displayed as a Kanji sign.
Did anyone ever figure out a fix for this? I couldn't dig anything up by searching the forums.
I will test if the player can handle those characters in 1 easy line of code.
The player does in-fact know that character, it has a byte value of 197 so try using text.draw("Font test: " .. string.char(197))
Its the character: Å
After further testing, the font does not have that character, if you would like to help me, then we can make a custom font engine. I just need a program that will give me the offsets, width, and height of letters. Though it will not support font size.
I can try to help, but tomorrow evening when I have more time. What exactly is it you'd need help with? I didn't quite follow you with that sparse specification.
the player is UTF-8
and it's happy about what.
for the rest of the world...well...
Sorry about that, I need a file like this:
times new roman.font
char(157);offset(5,3);rect(157,93,20,20);advance(7 );image("numbers.png");
char: the byte number ( use string.byte("some character") to get the number) of a character
offset: the number of pixel you have to add to the glyph coordinates so that the glyph properly aligns with the rest of the characters
(empty space isn't present in the glyphs, thus offset is needed)
rect: is the position of the glyph in the image
advance: the number of pixel to move forward for the next char
image: the image which the character is located on, there will have to be several since there is a height limit of images, or we can use one long image with only one row of characters
I will also need a transparent image of all of the characters that the .font file will refer to.
If you would like some help, refer to the original Pingus, they use a similar setup in fonts ( I just copied most of the explanation on the line with a few edits from a conversation about fonts with one of the original developers of Pingus)
Here is a link to a newer version of Pingus with source, (they state somewhere what tool they use for the font):
Here is the proper link:
view the readme to get a link to the tools used.
Hm okay.. I think I get it, only the offset(5,3) I'm not quite grasping what it represents. Problem is I had intended to make this translated into as many languages as I could, meaning lots of custom font things. And also needing to have them at different size, since you said that engine of yours didn't support font sizes.
Sorry if I seem slow to understand right now, but I got some personal issues, which are also the reason for me needing to develop this app, so my mind is kind of elsewhere at the moment.
EDIT: Also, I can't open the .png's to get a look on what they look like. Windows photo viewer claim corrupt files, and photoshop also complained about something... And YIKES, that's a lot of rows in the .font file... That'd take some time to type up.
Hmm, ok. I can simplify all of this for you, all i need is a picture of those characters in the player's font, and they can even be in a row: ie: fonts 1-25 of Å in one image.
If you can do that, then the lua code should not take to long.
As for the offset, let me explain. When you type two Å ie: Å Å, I need to know how far away to space them apart to represent a space between characters. So it should really be offset(3) for 3 pixels.
Also, sorry if my thoughts seemed mixed up and misleading, I am concentrating mostly on Pingus. The lua code is so close to completion, and only has a few things left. As you can imagine, this is quite exciting; finishing a project that I started over a year ago, and it was thought to be impossible, even by myself at times.
But placed so that they are directly adjacent? And the rectangle in the .font file should specify exactly a square around the corresponding character?
X = "å"-Bytecode
char(X);offset(3);rect(0,15,10,10);advance(10);ima ge("font.png"); --Size 10 "å"
char(X);offset(3);rect(10,10,15,15);advance(15);im age("font.png"); --Size 15 "å"
I'm not entirely sure how that "advance" one specifies either. If you have a char in the specified rect, then why do you need to know how far to the next one? Doesn't the rect already specify the character's width?
And do you happen to know which font is used by default? Or do I have to try and match them up? From memory I believe it looks like Arial though...
I am not sure which font it is, so I would suggest:
As for the .font file, just include the byte code, the rect value, and a new value called size ie: size(12) referring to the font size.
And that is the correct layout for the png you provided.
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text:
I am supposed to prove this:
Show that span{v1, v2, ..,vr} = span{w1, w2, ...,wk} if and only if each vi is a linear combination of the wj and conversely.
Can someone provide any pointers on how to tackle this one please??
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The Mafia
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August 31st, 2012 (4:13 PM). Edited November 18th, 2012 by Zaicon.
Gameplay Expert
Join Date:
Aug 2011
After a quick search, it seems like there haven't been many successful Mafia games on this forum. Well, I'm going to try my hand at it.
There are two sides to this game: the Mafia and the Civilians. For the Mafia, the goal is to outnumber the civilians, which will prevent the civilians from winning. for the Civilians, the goal is to eliminate all of the Mafia. The Civilians can eliminate one player per round by voting.
There are two phases: Day and Night. During the Day Phase, players may discuss anything they wish to discuss (game-related). This is also the period where the civilians will take a vote - they are voting for whoever they believe is a Mafia member. Whoever has a majority vote (or whoever has the most votes once everyone has voted) will be killed by the civilians. If there is a tie, the soul of the first player killed will be summoned to be a tiebreaker.
During the Night Phase, all of the players with specific character roles will do whatever it is they are supposed to do. See the Roles section for more details.
1) Once you have died, you may NOT post in this thread. In addition, if a game is in progress and you are not in the game, you may also not post in this thread.
2) You may not communicate with anyone outside of this thread. That means NO PM's. The only exception to this is the Mafia members, who may communicate via a QuickTopic thread.
3) You may change your vote at any time, unless a majority is reached, in which case the votes are locked into place and the person with the most votes will be killed.
4) You may make a "no vote" if you don't feel like you have enough information to vote for someone.
5) Although you may claim (reveal) your role in the thread, you may not quote or rewrite any PMs you receive from me. You may paraphrase the PM, though.
This color is my color.
As Gamemaster of this Mafia game, I claim the right to enforce any of the rules of this game. I do not claim to have any other administrative power for this forum.
7) Play to win, although try to have fun while doing so. If you cannot be fairly active in this game, this isn't the game for you.
8) If someone is inactive in this game, I will replace them with another player. If I cannot find a player to replace them, they will simply be Modkilled.
In addition, all PokeCommunity forum rules and Other Trivia forum rules apply.
1) Mafia Goon: You are a member of the Mafia. As a team, during the Night Phase, you may PM me the name of one player you wish to be killed. At any time, you may also send me a message that you wish to be anonymously posted (it will be identified only as from the Mafia).
2) Mafia Role Cop: You are a member of the Mafia. During the Night Phase, in addition to the normal Mafia power, you have the ability to discover the role of one person of your choice (via PM).
3) Civilian Cop: You are a civilian. Each Night Phase, you may ask me via PM for the alignment of one other player, which is guaranteed to be accurate.
4) Civilian Jailkeeper: You are a civilian. Each Night Phase, you can Jail one person. This person will be unable to use their Night ability (if applicable), but no one else will be able to use their ability on this person, either.
5, 6, 7, 8, 9) "Vanilla" Civilian: You are a civilian. You have no extra abilities.
All roles have the ability to vote during the day.
I have tried to explain all of the details here, but if you still don't understand anything, please let me know.
Who would like to participate in this game?
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Welcome to the official website of the Pleasant Hill Bassmasters. Thank you for visiting our bass club's site and please feel free to explore.
The Pleasant Hill Bassmasters was established in 1991. We are affiliated with the Missouri B.A.S.S. Federation Nation and the B.A.S.S Federation Nation. The Pleasant Hill Bassmasters has members from the greater Kansas City Metro area and we fish lakes all over the state of Missouri.
Our meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month from January through November at the Independence, Missouri Bass Pro Shop's Conservation Room. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM.
Annual membership dues are $80 per year. The entry fee for each tournament is $50. For membership information, please click here.
If you would like to join a supreme bass club, stop by one of our meetings or send the club an email. We would enjoy the opportunity to meet you at our next bass club meeting.


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Wolters Kluwer Health may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed
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Madigan, Theresa MD; Banerjee, Ritu MD, PhD
From the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Accepted for publication November 19, 2012.
This work was supported by Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic. The authors have no other funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's website (www.pidj.com).
Address for correspondence: Theresa Madigan, MD, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street, SW, Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail: email@example.com.
Background: Use of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in pediatrics is widespread and may be increasing. Recent data quantifying use and characteristics of pediatric OPAT are lacking.
Methods: To evaluate the number of children receiving OPAT each year and their associated characteristics and outcomes, we conducted a retrospective review of all patients discharged with OPAT from the Mayo Clinic Children's Hospital between August 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011.
Results: During the study period, there were 126 pediatric hospital discharges with OPAT (2.5% of all discharges). OPAT was used most commonly to treat bone and joint (21%), bloodstream (15%), intra-abdominal (13%) and soft tissue (9%) infections. A positive culture or serology result was found in 86 (68%) OPAT courses. The most frequently used antibiotics were ceftriaxone (17%), cefazolin (16%) and cefepime (13%). The median duration of OPAT was 12 days. Thirty-six courses (29%) resulted in catheter- or antibiotic-associated complications. Weekly laboratory monitoring was more common when OPAT was managed by the infectious disease service (88%) versus other services (20%). Among 123 courses with follow-up, 109 (89%) resulted in cure, and 13 (11%) were treatment failures.
Conclusion: At our children's hospital, 2.5% of hospitalized patients were discharged with OPAT. In one-third of OPAT courses children developed catheter- or antibiotic-associated complications. Opportunities to increase the role of pediatric infectious disease in OPAT initiation and management should be explored.
Since it was first described in 1974 in children with cystic fibrosis,1 use of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) has been shown to be safe, efficacious and cost effective.2–6 The benefits of receiving intravenous (IV) antimicrobial therapy at home or other ambulatory settings include improving quality of life while reducing length of hospitalization, healthcare costs and exposure to nosocomial pathogens. OPAT guidelines have been developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)7 and the Good Practice Recommendations (GPR) Working Group.8 While it is estimated that >1 in 1000 American adults receive OPAT annually,7 it is not known how many children receive OPAT each year.
There are few studies on pediatric OPAT, and they may not be generalizable to current practice for a variety of reasons. Two of the largest studies were conducted over 10 years ago at a single center, before the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and before widespread use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) for OPAT administration.2,9 Indeed, more than half the patients in these earlier series received OPAT through central venous catheters.2,9 More recent studies about pediatric OPAT had small numbers of patients,10 or limited their analysis to patients with osteoarticular infections.11
Catheter- or antibiotic-associated complications are well described in children receiving OPAT,2,3,9–15 but interventions to improve the safety of pediatric OPAT have not been evaluated. Data from adults suggests that OPAT oversight by antimicrobial stewardship programs can reduce OPAT overuse and costs and improve patient safety and outcomes.16–18 To quantify the number of children receiving OPAT each year, evaluate associated clinical characteristics and outcomes and identify opportunities to improve the safety of pediatric OPAT, we reviewed all patients discharged with OPAT from our institution over a 17-month period.
We conducted a retrospective review of OPAT use at our institution between August 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011. Patients were included in the study if they were discharged from Mayo Clinic Children's Hospital in Rochester, MN with IV antimicrobial therapy and received a minimum of 1 day of parenteral therapy as an outpatient. Study patients were identified using records of the pediatric discharge planning nurse specialist (who records patients discharged with all home healthcare needs, including OPAT). All pediatric hospitalists and consultants caring for children hospitalized at our institution are faculty at our medical school.
The decision to use OPAT was made by the primary attending physician and did not require pediatric infectious disease (ID) approval. Providers, together with nurses and pediatric discharge planning specialists, assessed stability of the home environment and ability of parents or guardians to administer medications before discharge with OPAT. If there were any concerns regarding patient compliance or suitability of the home environment for OPAT, OPAT was generally not used. The home healthcare nurse provided teaching of parents or guardians before hospital discharge or at the first home visit that generally occurred on the day of discharge. Catheter flushing instructions were dependent on home healthcare agency and catheter type. PICC lines were generally flushed with 10 mL of saline and 3 units of heparin after each infusion. Agents were usually infused through pushes, 24-hour pumps, or Intermate infusion systems. Catheter dressing changes were performed once weekly by the home healthcare nurse. Patients followed by the ID service were seen for follow-up in the outpatient pediatric ID clinic where potential for transition to oral agents was assessed. Primary care physicians were generally not involved in OPAT management. On rare occasions, if patients lived far from our center, primary care physicians might monitor weekly laboratories.
Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were abstracted by chart review. All patients were followed for a minimum of 3 months after discharge. Treatment failure was defined as failure to clear the infection while receiving OPAT, recurrence of infection with the same organism or clinical relapse within 3 months of discharge. Neutropenia was defined as absolute neutrophil count below or equal to 1.0 × 109/L. Leukopenia was defined as peripheral white blood count below 4.0 × 109/L. Eosinophilia was defined as eosinophil count above 0.5 × 109/L. Renal insufficiency was defined as ≥2-fold rise in baseline serum creatinine level attributed to the antimicrobial agent. Hepatitis was defined as any clinically significant rise in transaminases attributed to the antimicrobial agent. Differences between categorical variables were analyzed using Fisher exact test. This study was approved by our institutional review board.
During the study period, there were 126 pediatric hospital discharges with OPAT, corresponding to 2.5% of all pediatric hospital discharges. One hundred nine unique patients received OPAT; among these, 13 (12%) patients received 2 or more OPAT courses. The mean patient age was 8.8 years (range: 1 month–20 years), and there was an equal distribution of males (n = 63, 50%) and females (n = 63, 50%).
OPAT was used to treat a variety of diagnoses, most commonly bone and joint infections (Table 1). Primary services most often discharging patients with OPAT were: General Pediatrics (n = 49, 38.9%), Orthopedic Surgery (n = 25, 19.8%) and Hematology/Oncology (n = 14, 11.1%). The pediatric ID service was consulted before discharge in 114 of 126 courses (90.5%) to help with coordinating OPAT administration, home healthcare, laboratory monitoring and follow-up. ID consultation was not mandatory before discharge with OPAT.
A pathogen was identified in 86 of 126 OPAT courses (68.3%; Table 2). Of the 40 courses without pathogens identified, 30 (75%) had negative cultures or serology tests and in 10 (25%) no cultures were sent. The most commonly used antimicrobial agents were ceftriaxone (n = 22, 17.5%), cefazolin (n = 20, 15.9%) and cefepime (n = 16, 12.7%), followed by vancomycin (n = 15, 11.9%), carbapenems (n = 15, 11.9%) and piperacillin/tazobactam (n = 8, 10.3%). Ten patients (7.9%) received a combination of 2 or more antimicrobial agents. Other agents were prescribed in 15 courses (11.9%) including ceftazidime (n = 3), amphotericin B (n = 3), clindamycin (n = 2), ciprofloxacin (n = 2), cefotaxime (n = 1), daptomycin (n = 1), amikacin (n = 1), ganciclovir (n = 1) and acyclovir (n = 1).
The median duration of all 126 OPAT courses was 12 days (mode: 12 days, range: 1–51 days). Among the 107 courses where OPAT was used for 7 or more days, the median duration was 14 days (mode: 12 days, range: 7–51 days). The median duration of OPAT was longest for treatment of hardware infections (38 days), endovascular infections (31 days) and bone and joint infections (20.5 days). Shorter durations were used to treat intra-abdominal infections (14 days), skin and soft tissue infections (14 days), catheter-related bloodstream infection (12 days), urinary tract infection/pyelonephritis (12 days), complicated pneumonia (11.5 days) and cystic fibrosis exacerbations (10 days).
There was variability in laboratory monitoring of drug levels, complete blood counts and renal and liver function tests. Among 107 courses with a minimum duration of 7 days of therapy, laboratory monitoring was performed at least once weekly in 87 (81.3%) and not at all in 17 (15.9%). The frequency of laboratory monitoring was unknown in 3 (2.8%) courses where patients were lost to follow-up. Patients were more likely to have laboratory monitoring if OPAT was managed by the ID service versus other services (85/97, [87.6%] versus 2/10 [20.0%]; P < 0.001). The cure rate was not significantly higher among patients followed by ID compared with those not followed by ID (88/96 [91.7%] versus 8/10 [80.0%]; P = 0.2), although this analysis was limited by the small number of patients without ID involvement.
Complications developed during OPAT therapy in 36 of 123 (29.3%) courses and 35 of 109 (32.1%) individual patients (Table 3). Catheter-associated complications were less common (10/45, 22.2%) than drug-associated complications (35/45, 77.8%; Fig., Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/INF/B421). Catheter-associated complications including infection, blockage, development of a deep venous thrombosis, dislocation and pain occurred exclusively in patients with PICC lines and those being treated for bone and joint, endovascular and skin and soft tissue infections (Table 3). Antimicrobial-associated complications occurred most frequently in patients with bone and joint infection, catheter-related bloodstream infection and intra-abdominal infections and in those receiving cefazolin, piperacillin/tazobactam and vancomycin. Among 35 patients with complications, 17 (48.6%) had 1 or more unscheduled visits to the emergency department or other healthcare providers, and 8 (22.8%) required rehospitalization.
Of 123 OPAT courses with follow-up, 109 (88.6%) resulted in cure, 13 (10.6%) were treatment failures and 1 (0.8%) resulted in OPAT discontinuation because the patient did not have an infection. Treatment failures occurred in patients with catheter-related bloodstream infections (n = 1), hardware infections (n = 2), intra-abdominal infections (n = 2), central nervous system infection (n = 1), complicated pneumonia (n = 1) and complicated pyelonephritis (n = 1).
We report one of the largest and most recent series of children receiving OPAT. At our children's hospital, 2.5% of hospitalized patients were discharged with OPAT for a variety of indications, most commonly for treatment of bone and joint infections. In one-third of OPAT courses, children developed catheter- or antibiotic-associated complications that frequently resulted in unplanned healthcare visits or readmissions.
Our overall cure rate of 89% is slightly lower than previous reported rates between 96% and 99%.2,9,15,19 These differences may be explained by the fact that our study included lengthier follow-up time than an earlier study15 and included patients with heterogeneous syndromes including difficult to eradicate hardware-associated infections, unlike earlier studies that evaluated OPAT only for osteoarticular infections.2 Last, our study was conducted in the current era of widespread community-associated drug-resistant pathogens, including MRSA, which emerged after publication of the prior studies.2,9 In 2011, MRSA accounted for 28% of all S. aureus isolates at our institution. In our cohort, 11.5% of bone and joint infections were due to MRSA.
The proportion of OPAT courses with antibiotic- or catheter-associated complications was 29% in our study, comparable with previously published rates.9,15 As in other studies,2,9,15 rash and neutropenia were the most common antibiotic-associated complications we observed, although we also noted additional complications of nephrotoxicity and Clostridium difficile-associated colitis that were not seen in prior studies.2,9,15 These additional toxicities likely reflect the current reality of increasingly drug-resistant pathogens that require use of vancomycin or broad-spectrum agents. In this series, half of children with OPAT-related complications had unplanned healthcare visits and nearly a quarter of them were readmitted. This is also in the range of what has previously been reported.9,11,13,20 Despite ample literature describing OPAT- or PICC-line–associated complications,2,3,9,10,12–15,21–23 in our experience many providers initiating and managing OPAT underestimate the associated risks. There is a need to increase provider and patient education about risks associated with OPAT in children. The complications in children receiving OPAT also raise concern about the actual cost-effectiveness and caregiver satisfaction of OPAT in children, which deserves further study.
In this study and others, catheter-related complications were generally seen in children treated for more than 2–3 weeks,9,11,20,22 suggesting that shortening the duration of OPAT and converting to oral therapy sooner might reduce OPAT complication rates.24 In certain infectious syndromes, it is not clear that prolonged OPAT is superior to oral therapy or early conversion to oral antibiotics after an initial short IV phase. Observational studies have demonstrated similar outcomes with prolonged IV therapy or early conversion to oral antibiotics after an initial short IV phase in children with osteoarticular infections25–31 or perforated appendicitis.32 Randomized controlled trials support the use of oral therapy in children with urinary tract infection33 and pyelonephritis.34 A Cochrane Collaboration Systematic Review comparing oral and parenteral antibiotics in children with severe pneumonia found that oral antibiotics are effective and safe,35 although only 3 studies met the inclusion criteria. There is a need for prospective randomized trials of OPAT versus oral therapy of complicated infections in children. In particular, studies about pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of antimicrobials in children, duration of OPAT therapy and timing of transition from IV to oral therapy could inform the development of pediatric-specific OPAT guidelines.
We found that laboratory monitoring of OPAT patients was more likely to occur once weekly, as recommended by IDSA guidelines,7 if patients were followed by the ID service, suggesting that an additional way to improve the safety of pediatric OPAT would be to increase involvement of ID or antimicrobial stewardship groups in OPAT initiation and management. Recent studies in adults demonstrate that ID oversight of OPAT increases safety and efficacy of OPAT16,18 and that mandatory ID consultation before discharge results in less unnecessary OPAT use for treatment of infections that can be effectively treated with oral antimicrobials. It is likely that pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs can also reduce unnecessary OPAT use and improve the quality of care of children receiving OPAT, but it is unclear how many pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs have the necessary resources and infrastructure to participate in OPAT oversight. Our ID service was frequently consulted to coordinate home care and follow-up of patients after decisions to use OPAT had been made. We are hoping to expand the role of the ID service to help determine whether OPAT should be initiated in the first place.
Our study has several limitations. It is a retrospective, single center study over a short time frame. There were few OPAT patients not followed by the ID service, limiting our ability to discern differences in outcomes between patients with and without ID involvement. Finally, definitions of some of our complications were somewhat subjective (eg, hepatitis), and may not have prompted all providers to make modifications to antimicrobial therapy. Despite these limitations, our study is among the first to quantify the number of children discharged with OPAT for any indication from a children's hospital and adds to the limited literature on pediatric OPAT.
In conclusion, our data suggest there has been little change over the past decade in the diagnoses and outcomes associated with pediatric OPAT. OPAT-related complication rates in children remain high, a fact that is likely underrecognized by many OPAT prescribers. Opportunities to increase involvement of pediatric ID or antimicrobial stewardship groups in OPAT initiation and management should be explored.
The authors thank Onalee Finseth, RN whose records assisted in identification of patients discharged on OPAT during the study period.
outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy; antimicrobial stewardship; pediatric infections; peripherally inserted central catheters
© 2013 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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Three Fulton County residents have been charged in an alleged scheme involving fraudulent payroll checks, according to Gloversville police. The suspects created the fraudulent checks and cashed them at local establishments. In Gloversville alone, the cashing of the checks resulted in the theft of more than $8,000, police said. Suspects arrested and the charges they face are: • Gloria A. Dillenbeck, 42, of 2813 State Highway 10, Caroga Lake -- criminal possession of a forged ...
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