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- 4.13 / 5.00
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- Jun 19, 2009 | 7:43 PM EDT
- Category
- Illustration
- File Info
- 476 x 601 px
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- madness
- krinkels
- aggregation
- sanford
- Frontpaged September 22, 2009
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Author Comments
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Your art my eyes My desktop
This is poetry in motion , well it's not moving but you know what i mean Sanford is the best madness character there is so take that 2nd place Savior. You get a 10/10.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
It's a great picture and all, but this has always bugged me, why is it everyone and their mother seems to know the name of every madness character except me? Where does one get this information?
Krinkels mentions their names every once and a while in his blog / site.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
this art is awesome
Rated 5 / 5 stars
This picture is really cool the shades were perfect.
Well i want to know with what programm you have draw it?
Cause i could draw to when i learnt it.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Sanford FTW!!
I've always tried to figure out who these guys are; you know, Sanford and the other dude. Are they like followers of The Hank or something?
All that aside; epic drawing.


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by Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 29, 2014
India's air monitoring centre denied Wednesday that pollution in New Delhi was worse than in Beijing, following scrutiny of the Indian capital's winter smog, which shrouds the city each year.
A report in the New York Times last week and fresh research by scientists at Yale University suggested Delhi's air was more harmful than Beijing's, where concerns about the health impact of pollution are growing.
"I am amazed to read such reports because Delhi air quality, especially in winter, is very poor but certainly not as bad as in Beijing," Gufran Beig, from the state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), told AFP.
Yale's Global Environment Performance Index, a study of 178 countries released earlier this month, showed Delhi had the highest concentration of harmful small particles less than 2.5 micro meters in diameter (PM 2.5) followed by Beijing.
The New York Times meanwhile examined pollution figures collected from one monitoring centre in the first three weeks of this year, which found on average the daily peak figure over the period was 473 micrograms per cubic metre.
This was twice as high of an equivalent figure in Beijing, the newspaper said.
Beig said that a better measurement of Delhi's air would be the 24-hour average of PM2.5 pollution taken from nine air quality monitoring stations spread around the capital.
This showed that PM 2.5 never crossed 250 -- although this is still 10 times the limit proposed by the World Health Organisation.
China's capital was shrouded in thick smog between January 16-18 with the count of small particulate pollution reaching 650, more than 25 times recommended levels.
Pollution in China has been linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, and has tarnished the image of its cities including Beijing, which saw a 10 percent drop in tourist visits during the first 11 months of 2013.
Because PM2.5 particles are very small in size, they can easily enter the body and interfere with the functioning of the lungs.
They are also associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart diseases.
A World Bank report last year which surveyed 132 countries ranked India 126th for environmental performance and last for air pollution.
Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Baltimore Ravens came away with a hard fought 14-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns, but second year kicker Justin Tucker did something he had never done before in his NFL career, miss two field goals in one game. Should the Ravens be concerned about Tucker going forward?
To state the obvious answer, no the Ravens should not be concerned about Tucker after missing two field goals in yesterday's game, but if he comes out next week and misses another one, especially his first attempt, then the panic meter is permissible to go up.
Tucker missed wide right on both of his field goal attempts yesterday, one from 50 yards and the other from 44 yards. Although neither kick missed by much, both were still misses and both came in the first half. Tucker did not get another opportunity in the game to erase those from his memory, so he will have to wait six days before getting another chance.
"I'm not really worried," Tucker said. "We go to work tomorrow. We go to work Wednesday. And then it's on to the next one."
Last year, as a rookie, Tucker connected on 30 of his 33 field goal attempts in the regular season and was also a perfect 4-4 in the postseason, including the game winner in double overtime against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional round.
"The fact of the matter is that I missed two, and I missed two in a row, and that's uncharacteristic," Tucker said. "But if you play long enough you're going to experience ups like we experienced last season, and you're going to experience downs as well. At the end of the day you have to have an on-to-the-next-one' attitude to survive in this league."
Of course, the obvious coincidence of the day happened to be that Tucker missed two field goals on the same day that Billy Cundiff, who missed the possible game tying kick in the AFC Championship game two seasons ago, returned to Baltimore as a member of the Browns and connected on his two field goal attempts.
Incase you were wondering, all three of Tucker's missed field goals last season were from 40-49 yards, and was a perfect 4-4 from 50+ yards, so his missed 50 yarder yesterday was his first in his career.
Again, there should not be any concern as of yet, but if Tucker were to continue this trend, then concern would be present. Tucker has shown that he is a very good kicker and a very accurate one at that, and there is little reason to believe that he will not bounce back.
"Where I personally fell short today, the rest of our team did a great job picking up for where I was lacking in the point department," Tucker said. "I've got a lot of guys to look to as far as bouncing back, so I'm not worried about a thing."
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On-Campus Jobs
Human Resources uses an online applicant tracking system. If you are interested in working on campus you will need to complete the online non-exempt application. Once you have completed this application you will need to apply for the position "Student On Campus Summer 2011 Employment." This is a generic position that will identify you as a student looking for employment. When you apply for this position, there will be a required question, "Please list all departments that you would be willing to work in plus list all open positions for which you want to apply." All departments with open positions will be listed in the beginning of the position announcement under Position Specifications. Please enter all positions you are interested in. This will help us to get your application reviewed by the appropriate supervisor. Please use the link below to go to the CWC Employment site.
All students will receive $7.75 per hour for their first 450 hours worked. After working 450 hours in the same department, students will receive $8.25 per hour.
Many students may be eligible for Federal Work Study. This is determined by the Financial Aid Office and the money allocated to you will be used to pay your salary.
Some departments also have institutional funds available for student employment.
Please contact Lance Goede, counselor, for all off-campus employment information.


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HOUSTON (AP) — Drew Feustel and Gregory Chamitoff spent early Friday puttering around with routine chores — installing a light fixture here, covering something there, picking some stuff up. The only thing unique was the location: outside the International Space Station.
The two Endeavour astronauts started their six-and-a-half hour spacewalk at 3:10 a.m. EDT Friday and it was going without a hitch and free of drama. They have already retrieved one experiment — the space equivalent of a test of paint durability — and will pick up one more.
NASA officials said this spacewalk is supposed to be as routine as they get for what is always a risky task of strolling outside in space. In addition to retrieving the two experiments outside the station, the astronauts will install one new experiment and do some preparations for a tougher task later in the mission.
Unlike other spacewalks, when the tasks were so tough their labored breathing could be heard on the radio, Chamitoff and Feustel didn't sound like they were out of breath.
This is the first spacewalk for Chamitoff. He called it "a dream come true for me."
Endeavour's astronauts will spacewalk four times.
This is Endeavour's last flight. Endeavour's day started with a wake-up song written by two Kennedy Space Center employees, Dan Keenan and Kenny McLaughlin. The song is called "We All Do What We Can Do" and honors workers who prepare the shuttles for launch.
On Thursday, the shuttle's astronauts accomplished their main job: installing on the station a $2 billion physics experiment that looks for antimatter and dark matter. On Saturday, the two crews will get an unprecedented VIP call — Pope Benedict XVI will make the first papal call to space. Two Italians are on board.
After a planned 16-day mission, Endeavour is scheduled to land June 1. NASA is shutting down its shuttle program this summer after 30 years, to focus on interplanetary travel. One more mission remains, by shuttle Atlantis in July, to carry up one last load of supplies and equipment.
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
(This version CORRECTS Adds details and quotes. Corrects that they're retrieving two not three experiments. Adds new photos and video.)


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In a median longitudinal section of the skull the hypoglossal foramen is seen, and just in front of it a small foramen for a vein.
Some branches of the cervical plexus, and the hypoglossal nerve are also shown.
Just external to the foramen magnum is a small foramen for the exit of the hypoglossal nerve (figs. 44 and 45, XII).
The motor nerve of the tongue is the ninth pair, the hypoglossal.
The vertebral spinal part—the region of the hypoglossal nerves.
Other cranial nerves, particularly the oculomotor and the hypoglossal, may also be implicated.
hypoglossal hy·po·glos·sal (hī'pə-glô'səl)
Of or relating to the area under the tongue.
Of or relating to the hypoglossal nerve.


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Combat Airlifter
Contact Us
Our lottery falls short
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery matured more quickly than anyone imagined. In only its second year it has reached the point that all lotteries reach, when they must find ways to make more people gamble and gambling people gamble even more. [FULL
Cut taxes for workers
Both parties have pulled ahead and run behind in the yearlong tax-cut derby, but now it is time to end the political machinations and put the national interest first. It is, in fact, urgent. [FULL
Feds control exchanges
It's official. When the final phase of the new health-insurance law is implemented in January 2014, uninsured individuals and businesses will buy insurance through a national exchange in Washington, not one tailored for Arkansas.
Griffin bill a long shot
Every vulnerable freshman congressman—veteran ones, too—must engage in a bit of theater for the voters. You are not going to get bills passed, but you must act like a mover and shaker.
Arkansas bluesman
left mark
The great Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's longtime guitarist, died last weekend at the age of 80. He'd been in poor health for several years — he carried an oxygen tank with him during performances — but he was a down-to-earth character who grew up in east Arkansas before he headed for Chicago some 60 years ago. The Rolling Stones will pay for his funeral. [FULL
Eyewitness remembers
Pearl Harbor
(This column about the late McLyle Zumwalt first appeared here on Dec. 9, 1989, and is reprinted to mark the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He died in 2001.)
Most people think of retired Col. McLyle Zumwalt as one of the organizers of Pathfinders, which trains the developmentally and physically disabled in Jacksonville.[FULL
Vietnam vet is in military
hall of fame
Lex (Butch) Davis of Sherwood was among the first 15 inductees into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame at the Agora Center in Conway on Friday. This column appeared here in February 2007.
Butch Davis sat at a round table near the corner where the Singing Sergeants entertained in the big gym on Little Rock Air Force Base, which was honoring its top personnel at the annual awards banquet Saturday night.
Colonel won't be home for Christmas
President Obama said Friday all U.S. troops would leave Iraq at the end of the year.
Designers snub
Civil War buffs
Earlier this year, a couple of interior designers from Europe named Simon Davies and Tomas Cederlund came here for an episode of their show "Home Takeover" on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
State won't rescue cities
like schools
Cities across Arkansas are going broke in the double-dip recession. Alexander down in Saline County is questioning a former bookkeeper about shortages in two city funds.
Comparing pardons by governors
(This column won first place in the Arkansas Press Association's Better Newspaper contest. Winners were announced Saturday during the APA's convention in Hot Springs. The column was published in The Leader on Oct. 19, 2010.).
A Murdoch News Corp.
should hire
Wendi Deng Murdoch, who jumped to her husband's defense when a British comedian threw a shaving-cream pie at the mogul yesterday, is the one Murdoch who deserves to run the beleaguered media empire.
Soulful sounds still amaze
The Bo-Keys are keeping the Memphis sound alive with their brash, funky music and vocal backing from great soul singers like Otis Clay, William Bell and Percy Wiggins.
Gutsy newspaper
goes after villains
A tenacious investigative reporter, a great editor and a courageous newspaper — Nick Davies working under Alan Rusbridger at the British Guardian — helped bring down the most powerful media company in the world: Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, now exposed as a criminal enterprise, with several present and former employees facing prison sentences for hacking into cell phones and computers for more than a decade.
Sylvan Hills grad helps revive Memphis sound
Last month in Overton Park in Memphis, the young trumpet player on stage left was blasting away with the Bo-Keys, an eight-man band that has revived the soulful sounds of Memphis from the 1960s and 1970s.
High school
here ranks
with Delta
Three failing high schools down in the poverty-stricken Delta received multi-million-dollar federal grants last week. So did Jacksonville High School, the only one that's not in the Delta.
Arkansans praised
around the world
The water's receding. Most roads are open and homes are drying out. The cleanup continues as the worst flooding in decades moves south, although pockets of Arkansas remain underwater. Neighbors have helped each other cope with the disaster, although some were hurt and at least one person was killed in our area. Little Rock Air Force Base had a close brush with calamity as it survived a tornado that struck homes and several C-130s.
Sad to see old bridge torn down
Scott Fryer took his family Saturday to inspect Fryer's Ford Bridge, which had served the rural community near Solgohachia in Conway County since 1890.
Bluesmen from Delta
passing on
Joe Willie (Pinetop) Perkins, who was the oldest living bluesman and Grammy winner until he passed away Monday at 97, sat recently in a wheelchair in a little alcove just offstage at Stickys Chicken Shack in the Rivermarket District in Little Rock.
Dictator fooled
by coverage?
Did Fox News goad President Obama into taking action in Libya?
Every hour until the missiles started flying, Fox showed Obama goofing off: Doing everything except his job, but there was a reason to the March madness, and it had nothing to do with basketball.
Hate speech is protected,
court decides
(The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld the right of Westboro Baptist Church members to demonstrate at military funerals. This column about the Kansas-based group, which demonstrated in Beebe nearly five years ago, appeared on Aug. 2, 2006.)
Members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., were again busy this week picketing funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, but lawsuits filed by families who have lost their loved ones could stop the church group from taunting grieving relatives. [FULL
Ex-Stax chief still has soul
Al Bell, the former Stax Records executive, is back in the spotlight with a new Web site, All Bell Presents American Soul Music, where you can hear classic Stax artists and new soul singers who are keeping the Memphis sound alive. [FULL
Minihan: No break
for wing since 9/11
Col. Mike Minihan, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, sent off 40 airmen and a couple of C-130s into combat before the storm hit last weekend. [FULL
From this poor little girl, special request for Santa
(This is a reprint of a previous Christmas column.)
When my friend Jack Sallee was with the Jaycees in Fayetteville, they'd put an ad in the paper at Christmastime, saying that for $2 you could have Santa come to your place. [FULL
Base could depend on Snyder as real friend
Rep. Vic Snyder, a Democrat who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, is getting some heat from Republicans for wasting time on the House floor to praise this community's support of Little Rock Air Force Base. [FULL
Panama president
ex-UofA roommate
John Mason, a Jacksonville real estate broker, was in Fayetteville with his wife Ien for homecoming weekend on Oct. 30, when the Razorbacks played Vanderbilt. [FULL
Our error given wide circulation
We've received lots of calls, comments and complaints over an error in Wednesday's paper about a Christmas program in Cabot. [FULL
Comparing pardons
by governor
Did you see Gov. Beebe's latest list of pardons? Last week, he announced his intent to pardon a handful of small-time criminals, emphasis on small-time. [FULL
POWs recall their
World War ordeal
The former POWs who were shot down over Romania during the Second World War arrived at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History in their tour bus a little after 11 a.m. Thursday. [FULL
Annexation plan: Many in area say they're against it
People who live north of Jacksonville near Hwy. 67/167 met at a church Monday evening to fight the city's plan to annex the area.[FULL
Lighthouse plans to build middle and high schools
The headline in Saturday's Leader: "Cabot schools about to hit 10,000."[FULL
J'Accuse: Smearing
of general
Air Force Gen. John D. Lavelle, who died more than 30 years ago, after he was falsely accused of insubordination, is a four-star general again. [FULL
Petraeus salutes
camp liberators
It was 65 years ago Monday that Beryl Wolfson helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp in southeastern Germany.
Marker recalls fire at Twist
There's finally a marker honoring B.B. King in Twist in Cross County, where the great blues singer escaped from a fire at nightclub with his guitar and named it Lucille.
Justice Jim fought tough final battle
Arkansas bloggers were the first with the news of Justice Jim Johnson's suicide over the weekend. The local TV news on Sunday ignored his passing, probably because no one in the newsroom knew who he was. [FULL
Cabot man in raid
on POW camp in 1970
Mst. Sgt. Paul Poole, who helped to liberate Americans from a Vietnamese prison camp, died last week. [FULL
Trial could get Muhammad
his death wish
Last June, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad killed a soldier from Conway and injured another soldier from Jacksonville in front of a recruiting station in Little Rock.
What a little girl asked
from Santa
When my friend Jack Sallee was with the Jaycees in Fayetteville, they'd put an ad in the paper at Christmastime, saying that for $2 you could have Santa come to your place.
Tuskegee legend
at holiday reception
A tall elderly man stood in a far corner in a large banquet room at Little Rock Air Force Base on Sunday afternoon during the holiday reception hosted by the wing commanders.
Gas shut off
as hospital bills pile up
A couple in Beebe have been without heat for several months after the natural-gas company took out their meter because they were not paying their bills.
Huckabee our worst governor?
Who is Arkansas' worst governor? Is it Orval Faubus, who defied federal authorities i in 1957, when he wouldn't allow nine black students to attend Central High School in Little Rock? He brought shame and ridicule on the whole state, but at least no one was killed. Or is Mike Huckabee our worst governor ever?
For complete news coverage, buy The Leader today!
Dec. 10, 2011
Volunteerism starts at an early age
Beebe Middle School sixth-grader Luke Vandergriff rakes leaves at a home on Grand Avenue in McRae. Beebe middle schoolers volunteered their time to help folks who need a little assistance.
Arts council paints a rosy future
IN SHORT: An enthusiastic group of artists and their patrons are pushing for a local art center.
Group seeks help to spread cheer
IN SHORT: Charitable giving has been hit by the economy, and Christmas Alliance can tell.
More students qualify for free schools meals
IN SHORT: Local districts gave away plenty of free or reduced meals, but most were under the state average. [FULL TEXT]
Cabot developers will see new rules
IN SHORT: Commission considers landscaping rules, other requirements. [FULL TEXT]
Original owner back at The Hook
IN SHORT: David Bush renames his old restaurant and brings back customers. [FULL TEXT]
State Championship
Carlisle's offense huddles up for instruction from head coach Scott Waymire while practicing at War Memorial Stadium on Thursday in preparation for tonight's state championship game.
Will fifth time be the charm?
IN SHORT: Carlisle has been to title game four times, yet to bring home the hardware. [FULL TEXT]
Depth not where it should be for Devils
IN SHORT: Jacksonville coach not sure team is ready for 6A despite routing Bentonville by 21.
Panther Tourney providing good ball
IN SHORT: Cabot's Pre-Holiday Tournament provides plenty for fans throughout the week's play.
Cunningham sets commitment bar for Bison football
IN SHORT: Lacking some of the natural talent that other athletes enjoy, Carlisle senior lineman Ryleigh Cunningham worked himself into the key player he is in the state title game. [FULL TEXT]
State Championship
Carlisle's offense huddles up for instruction from head coach Scott Waymire while practicing at War Memorial Stadium on Thursday in preparation for tonight's state championship game.
Arkansas Leader
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|Rome history
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Perhaps the Romans are best known for their Amphitheatres rather than their theatres. In fact the Amphitheatre was a double theatre back to back making it into an oval "arena" such as the Colosseum.
Ancient Roman theatre was very much inherited from the Greeks when the Romans came into contact with Greek culture during their invasion of southern Italian city states. The influx of Greek slaves who might have been actors or even playwrights gradually brought an appreciation for drama to Roman culture although it could hardly beat the appeal of the Circus and Amphitheatres such as the Colosseum.
According to Greek tradition, actors on the stage would wear large masks which often had large wide-open mouths: probably to project their voices better as well as to render their character's features most easily seen.
This drawing made from a clay figurine found at Pompeii, which was historically heavily influenced by Greece, gives an idea.
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"ancient roman theater" was written by Giovanni Milani-Santarpia for www.mariamilani.com - Rome apartments


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DALLAS - A combination of youthful enthusiasm and veteran composure under pressure turned out to be a winning recipe for the Dallas Stars.
Propelled by the first NHL goals from rookies Antoine Roussel and Brenden Dillon, the Stars finished off the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 with shootout goals from veterans Jaromir Jagr and Jamie Benn on Friday night.
After netting four goals in the opener against Phoenix - another 4-3 win for Dallas - the Stars had scored only nine times in the next six games before breaking out.
"I think there's still room for improvement offensively, as far as putting more shots on net and creating more zone time," said Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan, whose club has been outshot in every game this season.
Roussel scored in his NHL debut, Dillon had his first career goal and assist, and Michael Ryder also scored as Dallas (3-4-1) snapped a four-game losing streak (0-3-1).
Phoenix trailed 2-0 and 3-2 before getting even in the third period. Radim Vrbata had the only goal for the Coyotes (2-4-2) in the shootout.
Martin Hanzal scored twice in the second period, Vrbata added a goal and an assist, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists for Phoenix.
"I thought our team hung around the game, competed really hard and gave ourselves a chance to win but in the end gave a point up," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.
With the Coyotes ahead 1-0 in the shootout and the Stars down to their final shooter, Benn beat goalie Mike Smith with a wrist shot. After Dallas' Kari Lehtonen denied Ekman-Larsson, Jagr's wrist shot hit the bottom of Smith's glove, rolled over the goalie's pad, and trickled over the line to give the Stars the win.
Up next
• What: Wild at Coyotes
• When: 7 p.m. Monday


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I don't have anything particularly exciting to report about this weekend, but just because it wasn't exciting doesn't mean it wasn't delicious.
Punkin' Pie had a sleep-over and Beanie went to play with the Bowyer boys so Mrs. B and I could have some grown-up time. We headed into Quaint Coastal City, found great parking, and went straight for O'Mama's favorite pizza place. The offerings were, as per usual, outstanding, and Mrs. B and I heartily enjoyed a great bit of yumminess for lunch.
After our nosh, we started strolling the main street of QCC. We ducked into a few shops and made a few purchases (in fact, I bought O'Mama's birthday present already – I walked into the first shop we stopped into and this thing practically SCREAMED at me. Now it's hers.. or, it WILL be at the next gift-giving occasion – and yes, O'Mama, you're going to have to wait. *I* have willpower…).
We took a bit of a detour to the bead shop, but were uninspired. I wanted to duck into a little Asian-themed shop (I'm in the market for a Tibeten singing bowl) but the place was empty and closed up and there was a "for rent" sign in the window. Sigh. No singing bowl for me just yet.
We meandered our way back through a few more shops, then stopped into another of O'Mama's (and my) favorite places for pastries and hot cocoa. This little shop puts something in their cocoa that I can't identify – it's not cardamom, and I don't think it's nutmeg, but I'm not sure. Next time I'm in there, I'm going to ask.
Cocoa consumed, we wandered through a few more shops on our way to the car. We picked a VERY talkative Beanie up and came home for a munchie dinner (we had some of the left-over pizza) and wine and an evening of toenail painting.
For all that my piggies are out on display as a consequence of my gig as a yoga instructor, I almost never paint them. Well, the girls not only convinced me to adorn my toenails, but to adorn them in the same OUT LOUD MAGENTA! that they used. Observe:
*my toes are the ones on the top left, in case you were wondering…
I even got creative and put a little decal on the big toe nail. It's a flower with a tiny sparkly in the middle, and I think it's cute.
The rest of the evening was spent chatting. It was wonderful. (Oh, and just for the record, Mrs. B thinks I AM a christian (a "little c" christian). As far as I'm able to understand, her contention is that a christian is someone who lives according to the teachings of Christ – you know, kindness, compassion, that sort of thing? – and not necessarily someone who accepts Christ as a savior or who toes a particular party line. It's an intriguing concept to me; I'm going to have to think about it a bit more…)
Today, Mrs. B gamely attended my (PACKED!) yoga class and told me that she enjoyed it a great deal – and felt completely successful. Nothing could have pleased me more. We came home, made some fantastic breakfast-for-lunch (thick-cut bacon and scrambled eggs with pancetta, cheese, and scallions. Oh, and Mrs. B's banana bread with cranberries. YUM!!). After a little bit of settling, we headed out to outlet malls in search of some specific wardrobe items, but came up empty. No matter; we enjoyed the hunt (and Bean was a TROOPER for tagging along).
After we picked Punkin' up from her sleep-over, we headed back to Chez Chili and Mrs. B packed up her stuff and headed back home. It was wonderful to get to spend time with my friend, and we've promised each other that we're going to schedule another play-date sometime very, very soon.


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Anyone interested in learning how to turn a small urban space into a garden is invited to attend a seminar Thursday at El Camino College titled "Grow Your Own Food ... In Small Spaces."
The noon event will feature guest speaker Mike Lieberman, a Los Angeles-based urban organic gardener and the creator of UrbanOrganicGardener.com. Lieberman has taught hundreds of people to use their small urban spaces to grow successful crops with environmentally friendly practices. He is an active speaker and motivator, and has been featured on HGTV, The Huffington Post and "Mother Earth News."
Thursday's seminar is the first of a series that will take place in the Distance Education Conference Room in Room 166 of the campus library. Participants are asked to bring a bag lunch.
The seminars are organized by the student government's sustainability committee, called the Green Team. The Green Team is a group of students, faculty and staff working to promote the El Camino College sustainability initiative.
Additional El Camino College green bag events this spring include: "Ocean Eddies, the Marine Environment, and Climate Change," presented by ECC oceanography instructor Changming Charles Dong on April 19, and "Rideshare/Bike to ECC," led by ECC police Officer Erick Mendoza and Institutional Research Director Irene Graff on May 10.
- Rob Kuznia


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By John Marshall, AP Sports Writer
MANHATTAN, Kan. Anthony Jones missed a short jumper, then Patrick Hardy couldn't get the tip to fall in a seemingly innocuous start to the second half.
But the misses kept coming.
Shot after shot clanged off the rim, passes sailed to the wrong team and led to easy baskets at the other end, and fans started yelling "mercy bucket!" in hopes the Tigers could find some way to get the ball into the basket at least once.
Finally, one did, though it wasn't enough to avoid the record books.
Kansas State set two NCAA records and tied another Monday night by holding Savannah State to one field goal and four points in the second half of an 85-25 rout.
"I've never seen that. That was crazy," said Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds. "That just was not good."
Kansas State (10-4) hounded the Tigers on the perimeter and pushed them away from the basket from the opening tip, holding them without a field goal during a seven-minute span of the first half to build a 16-point lead.
But that was nothing.
Savannah State (8-13) missed its first 15 shots of the second half, falling behind 72-22 as Kansas State opened with a 35-1 run. Joseph Flegler finally ended the drought with 5:48 left, hitting a 3-pointer from the wing, and the Tigers figured to at least get a couple more baskets.
Nothing else fell.
The Tigers finished the second half 1-for-23 (4.3 percent) breaking the NCAA record for worst shooting percentage and fewest points in a half since the shot clock was introduced in 1986. The one field goal also tied the mark for fewest in a half.
The previous records were set just last week, when Pennsylvania went 1-for-17 (5.9 percent) and scored six points in the first half of a 60-30 loss to Florida Gulf Coast. Savannah State shot 15.5 percent overall, making just nine field goals - four from 3-point range.
Savannah State coach Horace Broadnax, a guard for Georgetown's 1984 national championship team, has seen his share of defensive dominance. But even he had to just throw his hands up after this one.
"It was good - I was hoping that we'd set a record," Broadnax said sarcastically. "Hey, what can I do? The guys were playing hard, they weren't making shots. I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning, if I'm fortunate, and I'm going to move on. And I expect them to move on. "
Kansas State coach Frank Martin plays a deep bench, so even the reserves didn't give Savannah State much of chance, leading one fan to yell: "I'm not even going to make fun of you anymore!" late in the game. Kansas State had five players outscore Savannah State in the second half, including low-scoring center Luis Colon, who finished with five points after getting 14 combined in the first 10 games.
The Wildcats set school records for lowest shooting percentage by an opponent and fewest points allowed at Bramlage Coliseum - one short of the school record - and missed the record for largest margin of victory by one point.
It was even tough to watch for the opposing coach.
"As well as we defended and rebounded in the second half, it was not something I was comfortable with," said Martin, who is friends with Broadnax and Tigers assistant Jay Gibbons.
The defensive show overshadowed an impressive performance by Beasley, who leads the nation in rebounding and ranks in the top five in scoring. But after 12 straight double-doubles, the burly freshman had a letdown against Xavier in his last game, shooting just 1-of-6 and scoring five points, never a factor from the opening tip.
Beasley was back to being his dominating self against Savannah State, hitting an array of midrange jumpers, bulling his way to the basket for layups and three-point plays. He shot 9-of-11 and made all seven of his free throws, helping the Wildcats close out their nonconference schedule with an easy win.
"He is a man," Broadnax said. "You look at LeBron James when he came out of high school, he was a man and Beasley is a man."
Bill Walker and Dominique Sutton added 12 points each for Kansas State.
Flegler had eight points to lead Savannah State.
The Associated Press


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Stainless Steel #4 Carabiner
Carabiner: an oblong metal ring with a spring clip or locking devise; used in mountaineering to attach a rope to a piton or to connect two ropes. Strong and dependable for climbing it will also work well for diving. Gauges, computers, game bags, dive lights, cameras, slates, you name it a diver wants to secure it to their BCD or Weight Belt. This need is fulfilled by the use of Clips and Webbing. This #4 Stainless Steel Carabiner can meet that need made of Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steel has a Locking Gate for Positive Retention. These Carabiner Easily-Attach to a BCD D-Ring or will Slips-Over Harness Webbing. Carabiner makes a great Save-a-Dive Kit Item.


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Lauren's List: How To Save Money On GasWith the summer driving season about to kick off, prices at the pump are poised to climb.
EPA To Keep Strict Gas Mileage Standards In Place Despite protests from automakers, the Obama administration has decided not to change fuel economy requirements for cars and light trucks.
Obama Admin Changes Coal Royalties To Boost RevenueThe Obama administration is changing the way it values coal mined from public lands in order to curb companies from shortchanging taxpayers on sales to other markets.
Lower Gas Prices May Lead To More Driving Memorial Day WeekendMemorial Day weekend is right around the corner and that means many drivers are going to be hitting the roads.
Dade Residents Concern Over Remnants Of Erika FizzlingAs Erika dissipated Saturday morning, concerns over its remnants are fizzling.
Water, Gas Hot Commodities As Dade Residents Prep For TS ErikaWater is the hot item at Miami-Dade grocery stores – flying off the shelves as quickly as workers can stock it – as residents prepare for a possible tango with Tropical Storm Erika.
Rising Gas Prices Not Putting The Brakes On Holiday TravelAAA predicts about 33 million Americans will drive more than 50 miles during this Memorial Day weekend which is the most in ten years. But there is good and bad news about gas prices.
Survey: US Gas Prices Fall 27 Cents Per GallonNow is the time to fill up at the tank. The average price of regular gasoline nationwide is $2.20 – that's a 27-cent drop per gallon over the last three weeks.
Ford's New F-150 To Get 26 Mpg, Tops Among PickupsFord said Friday that its new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup will get up to 26 mpg on the highway, making it the most fuel efficient gas-powered full-size pickup.
Falling Gas Prices Fueling Delight For DriversHave you filled up your gas tank lately? You've probably noticed that prices at the pump are falling and that's great news for your budget.
Pump Prices Falling With the end of the summer road trip season, we're seeing cheaper prices at the pump. Throughout September, Florida gas prices averaged $3.32, which was 14 cents cheaper than last year, and 46 cents less expensive than 2012, according to AAA.
Report: Florida Among Best Bridges And Roads In NationFlorida is getting props for having above par roads and bridges.


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BioMed Research International
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 904247, 7 pages
Targeting the Immunogenetic Diseases with the Appropriate HLA Molecular Typing: Critical Appraisal on 2666 Patients Typed in One Single Centre
1Laboratorio di Immunogenetica, Servizio di Immunoematologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy
2Unità di Biometria, Direzione Scientifica, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy
3Clinica Reumatologica, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
4Clinica Medica I, Centro per lo Studio e la Cura delle Malattie Infiammatorie Croniche Intestinali, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
5Clinica Pediatrica, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
6Clinica Oculistica, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
7Servizio di Immunoematologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Received 26 October 2012; Accepted 20 December 2012
Academic Editor: Ozgur Cogulu
Copyright © 2013 M. Guarene et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
We compared the immunogenetic data from 2666 patients affected by HLA-related autoimmune diseases with those from 4389 ethnically matched controls (3157 cord blood donors CBD, 1232 adult bone marrow donors BMD), to verify the appropriateness of HLA typing requests received in the past decade. The frequency of HLA-B*27 phenotype was 10.50% in 724 ankylosing spondylitis, 16.80% in 125 uveitis (3.41% BMD, 4.24% CBD, ); HLA-B*51 allele was 15.57% in 212 Behçet's disease (12.91% BMD, 9.88% CBD, ); the HLA-DRB1-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) shared epitope was 13.72% in 554 RA (10.85% BMD, 13.48% CBD, ); the carriers of almost one of HLA-DQB1 susceptibility alleles were 84.91% in 795 celiac disease (CD) and 59.37% in 256 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) (46.06% in 875 CBD, 42.75% in 662 BMD ). Overall, our results show that the HLA marker frequencies were higher in patients than controls, but lower than expected from the literature data (excluding CD and IDDM) and demonstrate that, in complex immunogenetic conditions, a substantial number of genetic analyses are redundant and inappropriate, burdening to the public health costs. For this reason, we suggest the Italian Scientific Society of Immunogenetics to establish guidelines to improve the appropriateness of typing requests.
1. Introduction
An autoimmune disease arises when the immune system looses the ability to distinguish body's own cells from foreign cells (nonself), thus eliciting the attack of self-tissues [1]. From a genetic point of view, an autoimmune condition is the result of a tight interaction between environmental factors and specific predisposing genes. The first autoimmune disease found to be associated with an HLA-B marker was ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic and progressive inflammation of the spine articulations, and less frequently the peripheral joints, leading to a forward-stooped posture which causes rigidity and severe pain [2, 3]. After almost four decades, AS is still tightly associated with HLA-B*27 with a phenotype frequency of 90% [4].
From then onwards, the susceptibility to develop autoimmune diseases has been found to be conditioned by several HLA molecules (Table 1). In ocular autoimmune conditions, diseases of the uvea show the strongest correlation with HLA markers. Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea that destroys eye tissues, causes light sensitivity, and decreases visual acuity [5, 6]. Acute anterior uveitis is described as strictly associated to HLA-B*27 (phenotypic frequency 50%) [7]. Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic vasculitis characterized by aphthosis, uveitis, and skin lesions, and sometimes affecting also the musculoskeletal, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems [8]. In Southern Europe, the HLA-B*51 allele accounts for a 30–50% of the genetic risk for BD development and is carried by one- to two-thirds of patients all over the world (Caucasian phenotypic frequency 60–70%) [9]. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disease affecting the joints, and gradually leading to their destruction [10–12]. Since the Seventies, the RA risk has been associated to specific HLA-DRB1 molecules (HLA-DRB1*01, *04, *10) and, more recently, to few variants sharing an amino acid sequence (position 70–74) in the third hypervariable region of HLA-DR chain known as Shared Epitope (SE) (Table 1) [13]. Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic enteropathy caused by gluten intake in people carrying the HLA predisposing variants coding for the DQ2 (HLA-DQB1*02:01 and HLA-DQB1*02:02) and DQ8 (HLA-DQB1*03:02) molecules [14–16]. The phenotype frequency of DQ2/8 is 20% in healthy people and more than 90% in CD patients [17]. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks and destroys the beta-cells of pancreas, leading to insulin dependence [18]. The HLA markers of IDDM are HLA-DQB1*02:01 (part of the DR3 haplotype: DRB1*03-DQB1*02:01) and HLA-DQB1*03:02 (part of the DR4 haplotype: DRB1*04-DQB1*03:02) [19]. About 40–60% of patients with IDDM carry the DR3/4-DQ2/8 genotypes [20].
Since 1989, the Immunogenetics Laboratory of the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia (Italy) is involved in the HLA molecular typing of hematopoietic stem cell donors and patients affected by autoimmune diseases. In particular, the HLA typing requests for autoimmune diseases come from both medical specialists (inside and outside the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo) and general practitioners, to support their clinical diagnosis. The collaboration between the physicians and the immunogenetists is fundamental to reach the most appropriate typing request. In fact, thanks to the tight correlation between specific HLA markers and the predisposition to certain autoimmune diseases, the HLA analysis has become a sensitive genetic tool to identify those individuals at high risk to develop these conditions [21].
A recent survey, performed by the Italian Society of Immunogenetics (AIBT), has shown that the HLA analyses, requested for disease association studies, are plethoric and often inappropriate (unpublished data). Moreover, HLA typing technologies adopted in the immunogenetics laboratories throughout Italy are heterogeneous. Trying to overcome the waste of economic resources for useless investigations, in 2010 the AIBT has proposed a long-distance course addressed to Italian operators in the immunogenetics field.
Taking into account these premises, we have retrospectively analyzed the HLA typing data of 2666 patients referred to our hospital for different autoimmune pathologies, and addressed to our Immunogenetics Laboratory in the last decade (2002–2011), to verify the appropriateness of the typing requests, comparing the frequency of HLA variants with those of 4389 ethnically matched controls typed in the same period with the same molecular techniques.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Patients
The Immunogenetics Laboratory of the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia) is accredited by the EFI (European Federation of Immunogenetics) since 1998 for stem cell transplantation and HLA disease association studies and daily receives HLA typing requests from physicians to support the suspected diagnosis. The well-recognized HLA susceptibility markers of ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, uveitis, Behçet's disease, celiac disease, and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus are listed in Table 1.
HLA typing requests also come from the other hospitals of Pavia and Province as well as from general practitioners. Thus, we could not verify the compliance of the classification criteria conventionally recognized for the diagnosis of the six autoimmune pathologies considered in the study (Table 1) [22–27]. In detail, Table 2 shows the percentage of HLA typing requests coming from medical specialists (inside and outside the Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia) and general practitioners.
We considered 724 HLA typing data for patients affected by ankylosing spondylitis (mean age 44.3 years, female/male rate 1.5), 554 with rheumatoid arthritis (mean age 52.2 years, female/male rate 2.8), 125 with uveitis (mean age 41.9 years, female/male rate 0.9), 212 with Behçet's disease (mean age 41.7 years, female/male rate 2.1), 795 affected by celiac disease (mean age 20.5 years, female/male rate 1.5), and 256 with type I diabetes (mean age 10.3 years, female/male rate 1.0). All these immunogenetic data were collected from 2002 to 2011.
2.2. Control Subjects
Two control groups were considered: 3157 cord blood (CB) donors belonging to the Pavia CB Bank (IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy) and 1232 adult hematopoietic stem cell donors belonging to the PV01 Registry (Italian Bone Marrow Registry, IBMDR, Genoa, Italy). All the individuals were of Caucasian ancestry. The mothers of each CB donor signed an informed consent to participate in the CB banking program for unrelated stem cell transplantation. Following the international protocols, the physicians obtained a complete medical history of the newborn's family (mother, father, siblings, and grandparents). An exhaustive obstetric history (i.e., of previous pregnancies) was also obtained, so that we could exclude women with recurrent spontaneous abortions from donation. Furthermore, during each pregnancy, the health of both mother and fetus was carefully monitored, in order to exclude from donation any CB unit derived from pathological pregnancies, including preterm ones (<37 gestational weeks). All the adult hematopoietic stem cell donors signed an informed consent to be enrolled in the Italian Bone Marrow Registry. The IBMDR criteria exclude from donation individuals affected by genetic, cardiovascular, hematologic, autoimmune and psychiatric conditions, malignancies, and infectious diseases.
2.3. HLA Classes I and II Genomic Typing
The entire data set of patients and controls is composed by molecular typing for both HLA class I and II genes. The PCR sequence-specific primer method (Olerup, Sweden) and/or the reverse PCR sequence specific oligonucleotide hybridization method (Innogenetics, Murex Biotech Limited, Belgium) were employed, as described elsewhere [28]. Ambiguous typing results were resolved by direct sequencing.
Patients affected by ankylosing spondylitis were typed for the presence of the HLA-B*27 allele, those affected by rheumatoid arthritis and uveitis for the HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 loci, and patients affected by Behçet's disease for the HLA-B locus. The polymorphisms at the HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 loci were defined at high resolution in individuals affected by celiac disease and type I diabetes.
According to the international policy of FACT-Netcord and Italian CB Banks, the CB units were typed for HLA-A and HLA-B polymorphisms at low-resolution level and for HLA-DRB1 at high-resolution level before banking. According to the policy of IBMDR, the adult hematopoietic stem cell donors were typed for HLA-A and HLA-B and, more recently, for HLA-C polymorphisms at low-resolution level and for HLA-DRB1 at high resolution. We analysed the HLA-B polymorphisms at low-resolution level and the HLA-DRB1 polymorphisms at high-resolution level for 3157 CB donors and 1232 adult hematopoietic stem cell donors. We analysed the HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 polymorphisms at high-resolution level for 875 CB donors and 662 adult hematopoietic stem cell donors.
2.4. Statistical Analysis
Differences between the groups were evaluated with Chi-squared statistics or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. values reported were two tailed; was considered statistically significant.
We employed the Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) statistical method to explore and visualize similarities or dissimilarities between patients and controls. PCoA starts with a similarity matrix (correlation) or dissimilarity matrix (distance matrix) and assigns for each population a location in a low-dimensional space, for example, as a 2D or a 3D graphics. PCoA involves projecting the points onto a space defined by a small number of principal axes (uncorrelated linear combinations of the variables that contain most of the variance), accounting for the greatest variability. The first axis accounts for the highest variance and the second axis for the lowest one. The samples are represented by points, and the proximity among them shows their similarity or dissimilarity [29].
3. Results and Discussion
In the past decade, our Immunogenetics Laboratory received a growing number of typing requests (500 in 2011) for patients in the setting of HLA-related autoimmune diseases. Aiming at verifying the appropriateness of all these genetic analyses in helping physicians to define the clinical diagnoses, we retrospectively analyzed the HLA typing data of 2666 autoimmune patients that we collected from 2002 to 2011, comparing the frequency of HLA markers with those of 4389 ethnically matched controls (3157 cord blood donors CBD and 1232 adult bone marrow donors BMD).
HLA-B*27 is the molecular marker of both ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and acute anterior uveitis (AAU) (Table 1). We received 724 HLA-B*27 typing requests to support the suspected diagnosis of AS based on clinical symptoms or for familial counseling. The literature reports that about 90% of truly diagnosed Caucasian AS patients carry the HLA-B*27 marker [24]. Comparing the phenotype frequency of HLA-B*27 between the patients and the two control groups, we found that 10.5% of suspected AS (sAS) patients were actually positive for HLA-B*27, whereas only 3.41% of BMD and 4.24% of CBD carried the HLA-B*27 marker (AS versus BMD , AS versus CBD ; see Figure 1).
We also considered 125 HLA-B*27 typing requests for Uveitis (U) patients, finding a higher HLA-B*27 allele frequency with respect to controls (8.40% uveitis versus 1.70% BMD and 2.15% CBD, ) (Table 3), corresponding to 16.80% uveitis versus 3.41% BMD and 4.24% CBD phenotype frequencies. According to several association studies, the phenotypic frequency of the HLA-B*27 marker in classic acute anterior uveitis patients is about 50% [7] whilst in our sample is only 16.80%. This result may be due to the heterogeneity of patients referring to our laboratory with a generic definition of uveitis, but probably affected by anterior, intermediate, posterior uveitis, and panuveitis.
We considered 212 requests of HLA-B low-resolution typing for Behçet's disease (BD) patients. The allelic frequency of HLA-B*51 was 15.57% slightly higher than in BMD (12.91%) and significantly increased with respect to CBD (9.88%, ) (Table 3). Once more, in our patients with a suspect of BD, we found an HLA-B*51 allele frequency lower than the expected, suggesting an extreme caution of our physicians in giving a fast and definite diagnosis of such a complex syndrome.
In order to visualize in a single graphic the genetic distances among groups (patients and controls), we performed the statistical test of the Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA): the closer the points, the more similar the samples. According to HLA-B typing, the BD patients were nearer the healthy controls than U patients (Figure 2), and this may be explained by the type of pathology, as uveitis is restricted to a single organ (the eye), whereas BD is a multiorgan syndrome affecting the nervous and gastrointestinal systems, the joints, the eye, and the skin. Interestingly, the phenotype frequency of HLA-B*51 carriers was 57.14% in the group of patients treated in neurological clinics, 28.77% in rheumatologic clinics, and 29.03% referring to general practitioners. Thus, the BD with a neurological component seems to be more clearly HLA targeted than the other clinical subtypes.
We reviewed 554 HLA-DRB1 typing requests asked to support the suspected diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on early clinical manifestations. The cumulative frequency of the shared epitope (SE) alleles was 13.72%, whereas in BMD it was 10.85% (RA versus BMD ) and in CBD 13.48% (Table 3). In particular, HLA-DRB1*01:01 represented the most frequent variant in RA patients (7.45%) compared to BMD (4.91%, RA versus BMD ) and CBD (6.51%). In addition, HLA-DRB1*03:01 was found to be significantly more frequent in RA patients (10.05%) than in both BMD (7.47%, RA versus BMD ) and CBD (7.71%, RA versus CBD ). This last result is in line with the literature data, as HLA-DRB1*03:01 allele is part of the HLA-A1,B8,DR3 ancestral haplotype (AH8.1), which is the most cited haplotype in the literature for its correlation to a plethora of autoimmune diseases.
In the PCoA for the HLA-DRB1 alleles, U patients were far from both controls, while RA patients were close (Figure 3). The distance between U patients and controls highlighted the involvement of specific HLA-DRB1 markers. However, in 72 U patients we did not found a higher frequency of the well-known panuveitis markers [25], but a significant increase of HLA-DRB1*16 (12.50% U versus 7.23% BMD, ; versus 6.74% CBD, ). At our knowledge, this association has never been reported so far, thus it should be confirmed in a larger sample. The proximity between RA patients and healthy controls may be explained by two causes: first, the majority of our RA patients belong to a group of "early" RA with few disease symptoms which unambiguously characterize the overt RA; second, as RA is associated to a group of HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding the same epitope in the binding cleft, this subdivides the susceptibility frequency among different variants instead of just one. Moreover, the immunogenetic proximity of RA to CBD, rather than to BMD, might be the expression of the lifespan selection. This selective force has acted more on BMD than on CBD, as the formers were enrolled in adulthood, whereas the latters at birth. As a result of this selection, CBD group shows a higher frequency of disease-correlated HLA markers and a higher genetic variability compared to BMD, and this characteristic makes the choice of a CB unit more likely than adult donors in transplantation setting [26].
Finally, we revised the HLA-DQB1 typing requested for 795 celiac disease (CD) patients and 256 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients. The frequencies of the HLA-DQB1 susceptibility alleles for CD and IDDM are listed in Table 3 for patients and controls. In CD patients the frequencies of HLA-DQB1*02:01, HLA-DQB1*02:02 susceptibility alleles were significantly higher than both control groups (), whereas the frequency of HLA-DQB1*03:02 allele was significantly higher only versus the BMD (). The frequency of HLA-DQB1*02:01 HLA-DQB1*03:02 was significantly higher in IDDM patients than both BMD and CBD ().
HLA-DQB1 data from CD and IDDM patients were considered in the last PCoA (Figure 4). Both CD and IDDM samples are very distant from the two healthy controls, underlying a high genetic diversity between patients and controls and highlighting the appropriateness of HLA typing requests. Carriers of almost one of the HLA-DQB1 susceptibility markers were 84.91% in our CD patients (expected 95% reported in the literature) and 59.37% in IDDM (expected 60%). In both CD and IDDM, the frequency of susceptibility HLA-DQB1 alleles was in line with the literature data, and we think that the good results obtained in the analyses of HLA-DQB1-associated autoimmune pathologies may be a consequence of the correct knowledge of the marker-disease correlation for the CD and IDDM conditions.
4. Conclusions
Our study aims at giving a critical appraisal on the usefulness and appropriateness of the HLA typing requests in the diagnosis of HLA-associated diseases, after ten years of molecular assays typing in a single Laboratory (Immunogenetics Laboratory of the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia, Italy). Nevertheless, this is not an HLA-disease association study.
In this retrospective study we found that, except for HLA-DQB1 mediated pathologies (CD and IDDM), the typing requests gave an immunogenetic result less congruent than expected by the literature data. It is evident that the policy for proper typing requests needs to be improved.
To our knowledge, this is the first survey conducted with the aim to infer the proper management of the financial resources of public health for immunogenetic testing. This is not a weird point of view if we consider two fundamental characteristics of our Hospital. First, our Immunogenetics Laboratory receives a lot of typing requests from many sources outside the Policlinico San Matteo, such as general practitioners; thus it is difficult to verify the classification criteria considered by these physicians and also their actual expertise. Secondly, our Foundation is a research hospital where patients affected by spurious syndromes or unusual cases refer to our physicians who have to deal with atypical signs and difficult diagnosis; therefore we think that the exclusion of these cases from the survey would introduce a bias in considering the total health costs for genetic testing.
In synthesis, this is an unmanipulated survey with the mere exploratory aim to improve the management of healthcare financial resources. Therefore, taking into account our data, we suggest to invest in training courses to enhance the expertise of all physicians, in particular general practitioners. To this, it is imperative to ask the Italian Society of Immunogenetics (AIBT) to set up a series of learning courses, with continuous medical education credits, to give the clinicians a precise tool to increase the appropriateness of typing requests. We believe that the interplay between clinicians and immunogenetists must be strengthened to reach a better definition of the role of HLA markers in the management of those autoimmune diseases with well-defined HLA associations.
Conflict of Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
The authors wish to thank the Working Group on HLA and Disease of the Italian Association for Immunogenetics (Associazione Italiana di Immunogenetica e Biologia dei Trapianti AIBT), in particular Dr. Luca Mascaretti, for the national survey "Italian recommendations for HLA typing and disease association studies" presented during the XXIV EFI Congress in 2010 and awarded with the Best Poster Session Prize. This work was partially financially supported by the current research projects numbers 556 and 657 of the IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia, Italy.
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February 29, 2012
The Miami Marlins score this week's Sports Illustrated cover with the headline of "Marlinsanity?"…an obvious play on the whole Jeremy Lin pun that has shaken the world over the past month. The issue should hit stores now, if not within the next few days.
CategoriesMedia WatchMiami Marlins


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Josh Bain (Dracula) and Blaine Surber (Professor Van Helsing, seated) watch as Sulphur Springs High School drama teacher Dawn Doyle arranges a miniature "unit set" of "Dracula," which they will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Civic Center and then again in UIL One-Act Play competition at Texas High School in Texarkana on Thursday, March 31. Also pictured are (center to right) Kayla Hiller, Kristin Ramsey, Lexi McCaig and Skyler Sinclair (Mina). Staff Photo by Luis Noble
Sulphur Springs High School drama teacher Dawn Doyle started thinking about next week's UIL One-Act Play contest last fall. She wanted something "sensational and more competitive."
"We've done comedy for so many years," Doyle said during an interview in her classroom earlier this week. "I wanted to do something tragic, but not Greek or Shakespeare."
So Doyle picked Tim Kelly's "Dracula: The Vampire Play," which is billed by I.E. Clark Publications as "dramatized from the Bram Stoker novel." In addition to being a classic, Doyle believes the phenomenal popularity of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series makes the play more current.
"Dracula and his wives do not win out in the end," she explained. "The cross is presented to the vampires and it drives them away because they're unholy. We're not sensationalizing the occult. We're focusing on the storyline behind all the Dracula folklore."
Doyle is relying on "beautiful costuming" by Rose Costumes of Denton, a creative stage set and excellent acting by her students to put them on the top of the UIL district competition set for Thursday, March 31, at Texarkana's Texas High.
"There are seven schools in our district," she said. "There's Texas High, Mount Pleasant, Royse City, Greenville, Dennison, Sherman and us."
Each school must present a play within strict guidelines.
"It can run no longer than 40 minutes, max," Doyle explained. "Ours runs 38:30, which is perfect. If you go overtime, you are automatically disqualified. Not only do you not advance, you're not eligible for any awards."
Honors include best actor, best actress, a technical award, eight all-star cast awards and eight for honorable mention.
"With seven schools averaging about 15 students each in a cast, that's 105 kids to share nine awards."
There are time constraints on the crew, too.
"We have seven minutes to set up and seven minutes to strike the set," she said. "It takes us five and a half minutes, so we have about one and one half minutes to kill."
When the contest manager says "You may begin," the actors have one minute to start the play.
"Two schools advance," she explained. "It's all in the hands of Royal Brantley, regents professor of theater at West Texas A&M."
There are strict rules for staging a play for UIL competition. There is a standardized set, called the "unit set," that every school in the state uses. The kit contains a specific number of ramps, pylons, platforms and flats that can be configured in numerous ways, as long as the set falls within specific guidelines.
"There is a thick rule book with things you can and cannot do," Doyle explained as she placed miniature blocks on a table. "We have a really nice set for 'Dracula.'"
In deciding which actors to use, Doyle uses a tried and true formula.
"When I get ready to cast a play, I ask, 'Who can I rely on? Who is really good? Who has the experience?'" she said. "I cast it before Christmas, but we didn't start rehearsal until after we got back from the holidays."
Once the students get down to work, they do read-throughs, focus on character development and block out the action on the stage at the Civic Center. They gave up their spring break to rehearse.
Doyle cast the two lead characters, seniors Josh Bain (Dracula) and Blaine Surber (Professor Van Helsing), because of their experience.
"These guys have grown so much," she explained. "They've been in almost every show since they were freshmen."
The students are happy to go the extra mile for Doyle.
"Her dedication is like a give and take," said Bain, the 17-year- old son of Noel and Tammy Bain. "The dedication she has makes us want to do more."
"She doesn't treat us like we're high school theater students," said Surber, the 18-year-old son of Marty and Mary Surber. "She expects a high quality."
SSHS Director of Fine Arts Charles McCauley says Doyle's expectations are an integral part of her success.
"She does expect a lot of them," he said. "I enjoy watching her teach and coach. She's outstanding at finding talent in a kid. She's tough, but she's fair."
McCauley also appreciates the dedication Doyle and her students exhibit for each production.
"They work incredibly hard," he explained. "They work long hours. Hopefully, at the end of the show, the students can discover a part of themselves they didn't know they had."
To prepare for the part of the villain, Bain dyed his hair black, but thinks his stature is also a factor in getting him into the mind of an ancient character like Dracula.
"I'm almost a foot taller than everyone else, so that helps," said Bain, who hopes to study drafting in college while continuing to act. "But, there's more to it than that. I've never really played an evil character. Take the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There's the good doctor that's the good side and there's Mr. Hyde that's the evil side. In this play, there's Mr. Hyde, the dark side, and then there's something more evil than Mr. Hyde. There's a darker side that no one really knows."
Surber, who is a bundle of kinetic energy, said he has a different approach to get into character. He is, after all, the one who is going to destroy the monster.
"The others [characters] have a mindset that this is not real ... that it's a dream," Surber, who plans to major in theater, explained. "I have to convince them it's real. I'm the one who brings it [Dracula] into focus. Once I convince them that Dracula's real, then I have to kill him."
Doyle and her cast create a T-shirt for every production.
For "Dracula," the T-shirt's inscription says: The vampire's strength lies in the fact that so few believe in its existence.
Surber's character believes in Dracula, and therefore finds the confidence necessary to confront the evil.
"Yes, my character is afraid," Surber said, "but I have the power [of the cross] to destroy him."
Doyle adds, "Evil does not win in this play."
The SSHS Drama Department will present "Dracula" at the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Admission is free.
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Giuliani rules out seeking third term
NEW YORK (AP) Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday
he will not press for a third term, but he repeated his offer to stay on for
an extra three months to guide the city through the aftermath of the World Trade
Center attack.
"I'm not going to be on the ballot," Giuliani said. "I'm
available to do the transition I offered to do. If people support it, fine."
Giuliani, a Republican, is barred by the City Charter from
serving more than two terms and is scheduled to leave office on Dec. 31. However,
he has talked with legislative leaders about extending his stay in office or
lifting term limits altogether so that he could run for a third term.
The leader of New York's Conservative Party, Michael Long,
had offered Giuliani his party's line on the November ballot while the mayor
seeks repeal of the term-limits law.
But Giuliani said Wednesday: "I told him I thought it would
not be a good idea. It would lead to division and litigation and the city does
not need division and litigation at this time."
Giuliani's idea to extend his stay has gotten a chilly
reception in the Legislature from Democrat Sheldon Silver, speaker of the Assembly.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Trade Center,
Giuliani's approval ratings have soared as he sought to calm the city and bring
some order to the chaos. That led to talk that Giuliani should somehow continue
in office.
Two of the three candidates for mayor Public Advocate
Mark Green, a Democrat, and billionaire media executive Michael Bloomberg, a
Republican have endorsed Giuliani's idea for a three-month extension.
Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, a Democrat, has come out against the


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General African mythology. There is currently no distinction between tribe, culture, or country. This area features, among others, entries from Ashanti, Fon, Dinka, Yoruba, Khoikhoi, Ibo, Xhosa, Shongo, and Zulu mythologies.
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text:
A hospital thief in Uganda learned a hard lesson about karma after he stole a $23 cell phone from a dying patient.
Authorities say that the man — whose identity has not been release — became symptomatic for Ebola about two weeks after he allegedly broke into an isolation ward at Kagadi Hospital and stole a cell phone from an Ebola patient, The Daily Monitor reports.
The theft was reported by the patient, who has since died from the deadly disease. Police had been tracking the phone, however, before the culprit was apprehended, he went to the hospital for treatment.
According to reports from the hospital, the man is receiving treatment for the illness.


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Residents of Storied Bronx Complex Get Long-Term Mortgage
NEW YORK, NY – September 21, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Comptroller John C. Liu, on behalf of the New York City Employees' Retirement System and the Police Pension Fund, announced today that the two Funds have invested $19 million in order to provide a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the Jose de Diego Beekman Houses in The Bronx.
The Pension Funds' investment gives Diego Beekman permanent financing in the form of a long-term mortgage that ensures that the rents for the 1,231 apartments and 9 small businesses at Diego Beekman will remain affordable.
"The revitalization of the Diego Beekman Houses serves as a source of inspiration for all New Yorkers fighting to beat the economic odds stacked against them," said Comptroller Liu. "This mortgage is a testament to the hard work of countless families at Diego Beekman, who never took no for an answer. This investment will not only help ensure that more than a thousand Bronx families can afford to live in the City but also underscores what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work together for the greater good."
Comptroller Liu's office financed the mortgage through the Funds' Economically Targeted Investments (ETI) program, which provides financial returns to pensioners based on investments that help secure the City's future.
"This is a big relief, the new mortgage makes all the difference in the world," said tenant and board member Arline Parks. "It means the people of Diego Beekman know they will have a safe and decent community where they can raise their families for years to come. When everything was against us, the tenants never lost faith — we kept on going until we were heard."
In 2006 the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) provided $13.6 million in funding as a second mortgage through its 8A loan program to help the aging portfolio of properties finance badly needed repairs and renovations which included masonry work, roof replacement, elevator upgrades, and boilers. HPD provided an additional $600,000 in funding in 2012 from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who is a trustee of the New York City Employees' Retirement System, for the purchase of a security-camera system for the complex. In return for the low-interest financing from HPD, the apartments at Diego Beekman will remain income-restricted and affordable for the current and future residents for decades to come.
"The Pension Funds' investment is a truly outstanding plan that will help the families who live in the Diego Beekman Houses," said Borough President Diaz. "A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage means welcome relief for struggling families who are trying to keep afloat in this economy. This great investment will improve their lives and give them much needed peace of mind. I thank the City for investing in our residents and helping them build toward a brighter future."
"The preservation of our city's affordable-housing stock is paramount to ensuring that hard-working New Yorkers have safe homes they can afford, and that our neighborhoods continue to thrive and grow. To that end, we have preserved more than 95,000 units of affordable housing under Mayor Bloomberg's housing plan," said HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua. "The nearly $14 million provided by HPD has not only helped finance critical upgrades and repairs for Diego Beekman, it serves to keep the tenants' homes affordable for decades. I thank our partners the State of New York Mortgage association (SONYMA), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Borough President Diaz, Comptroller Liu, and others for aiding in our mission to create a more affordable and sustainable city for all New Yorkers."
The 38-building complex along Beekman Avenue was the focus of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revitalization efforts in the late 1960s. In later years, however, the complex deteriorated, and crime spiraled out of control as crack cocaine exploded in The Bronx. The New York Times once described Beekman Avenue "as the deadliest street in Mott Haven — in the deadliest police precinct in New York." 1
Despite the obstacles, tenants organized and "stood up to a slumlord, drug lords, predatory investors, and the federal government." 2
In 2003, HUD transferred the property to the Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association, which owns the complex and is run by a board consisting of residents and housing professionals.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided the funds for the Housing Association to acquire and renovate Diego Beekman and was instrumental in organizing the complex financing structure. To see a video on Bank of America's work with Diego Beekman click here: http://to.ly/fgr6
The Housing Association, however, was not able to secure permanent financing for the property until the Pension Funds stepped in.
"Diego Beekman Houses is an important example of the positive impact that public-private partnerships in support of affordable housing can have in even the most challenging circumstances," said Todd Gomez, Community Development Banking Executive for the Northeast Region at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "We are proud to have been a part of the team, which includes the Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, The Bronx Borough President's Office, the NYC Housing Authority, Winn Residential, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the NYC Comptroller's Office, whose commitment to stabilizing Diego has been unwavering. The permanent financing provided by the NYC Employees' Retirement Fund and Police Pension Fund is the next critical step toward long-term stability for the project and the community."
SONYMA is providing 100 percent of the mortgage insurance on the Pension Funds' investment.
The Economically Targeted Investments program targets New York City's low-, moderate-, and middle-income neighborhoods and populations. All ETI investments are designed to achieve a risk-adjusted market rate of return for the Pension Funds while providing needed capital. Since January 2010, under the ETI Program, more than $440 million have been invested in, or committed to, the development and preservation of multi-family affordable-housing units comprising more than 10,400 apartments.
New York City Comptroller John C. Liu serves as the investment advisor to, custodian and trustee of the New York City Employees' Retirement System and the New York City Police Pension Fund. In addition to Comptroller Liu, the trustees are:
New York City Employees' Retirement System: Janice Emery, Mayor's Representative (Chair); Public Advocate Bill de Blasio; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), James Molinaro (Staten Island), and Ruben Diaz, Jr. (Bronx); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; John Samuelsen, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.
New York City Police Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Finance Commissioner David Frankel; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association.
Matthew Sweeney, (212) 669-3747