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Artists the world over recognize La Corneille as the very best golden taklon brush in the world. The resilience, color holding capacity and super shaping abilities has made La Corneille a trusted brand for over a generation. Only the finest blend of golden taklon hair goes into La Corneille. A brush that mimmicks beautifully natural hair but at a much reduced cost. Each brush is hand made with nickle plated brass ferrules and mounted on balanced black lacquered wood handles. The perfect brush for artists using acrylics and other media.
Shipping Rates
All orders are charged actual shipping rates. Available shipping options for each order will be calculated during the checkout process based on package dimensions and destination. You will have the opportunity to review the shipping fees for your order before finalizing and submitting your order. For full shipping details and options see our shipping page at http://www.aswexpress.com/information/shipping.html.
Oversized orders
Certain items and large orders ship via LTL (less than truckload) with reduced ground rates inside the contiguous 48 states.
Turnaround times
Most orders leave our warehouse in 24-48 hours. Orders received before 9:30 AM EST on a weekday will most likely ship the same business day contingent upon warehouse volume. Our warehouse is located in Henderson, NC. Your estimated transit time will vary based on your proximity to our warehouse. Custom sectional frames are cut-to-order so please allow additional time for delivery.


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Cold soil temperatures, widespread rains, and as much as 15-18 inches of snow cover are not conducive to planting in the Corn Belt. Subsequently, only 2 percent of the US corn crop has been planted, as of April 15. That compares to 16 percent at this time in 2012, but last spring was a polar opposite of 2013.
While Texas corn growers have more than half of their crop planted, North Carolina is 28 percent planted. Tennessee is the only other state in double digits with 11 percent.
When it comes to the 12 primary Corn Belt states, tally that region at 1 percent planted. A year ago over 12 percent of the Corn Belt was planted with corn. The USDA released its first weekly Crop Progress report on April 15, and details follow.
In addition to the initial report on corn planting, the USDA provided an overview of the US winter wheat crop. Nationally, an average of 4 percent of the wheat is headed at this time, compared to 28 percent last year, and 12 percent for the five year average.
Currently, 31 percent of the crop is rated poor to very poor, with 34 percent fair and 36 percent good to excellent, with only 5 percent in the latter category.
In 2012, only 11 percent was poor to very poor and 64 percent was good to excellent. In severe condition is the South Dakota crop at 73 percent poor to very poor. In serious condition are the crops in Nebraska and Texas where 50 percent of the crop is poor to very poor condition.
Also reporting a substantial amount of wheat in poor to very poor condition are Colorado at 42 percent, Oklahoma and Ohio at 37 percent and Kansas with 33 percent of the crop in that condition. Spring wheat planting is negligible at this point, which is usually 13 percent based on the five year average. None has been planted in Minnesota or North Dakota and only 6 percent in South Dakota.
At this time last year, half to three-quarters of the spring wheat had been planted in those states.
Cool, wet weather was the main story throughout much of the state last week. With only 1.5 days suitable for fieldwork last week, not much fieldwork was completed. A few operations were able to start planting corn but most were forced out of the fields by rain early in the week. Topsoil moisture was rated at 1 percent very short, 4 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 25 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated at 4 percent very short, 17 percent short, 75 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. Cold soil temperatures are another factor delaying a strong start to corn planting.
Heavy rain showers arrived mid week which left soils too muddy for field work across most of the state. Less than one percent of the intended corn acreage has been planted at this time compared with 21 percent last year and 6 percent for the 5-year average. A few scattered fields of soybeans have been reported to be planted. 81 percent of the winter wheat is fair to good, with only 4 percent jointed. Topsoil moisture is 62 percent adequate and 34 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture is 72 percent adequate and 15 percent surplus.
For the week ending April 14, 2013, central and eastern areas of Kansas saw precipitation in the form of rain, ice, snow and isolated hail. Topsoil moisture conditions improved in areas that received the moisture; however, more is needed to have an impact on subsoil moisture supplies. Temperatures for the week were below normal with lows falling below freezing in the western half of the State. Producers were concerned about the impact of the low temperatures on their wheat crop but it is too early to determine the amount of damage. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 15 percent very short, 25 percent short, 55 percent adequate, and 5 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were rated 36 percent very short, 37 percent short, 26 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus.
One day was suitable for field work in Michigan during the week ending April 14 according to the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Region. Heavy precipitation in the form of rain or snow fell everyday last week. Snowfall accumulation totals in the northern reaches of the state ranged from 6 to 12 inches. Very little field work occurred. Water ponded in low areas of fields. Soil temperatures remained cold. Wheat in the southern part of the State has broken dormancy and began to green. Wheat in the northern part of the State remains dormant. Topsoil moisture is 29 percent adequate and 71 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture is 45 percent adequate and 45 percent surplus.
A noteworthy storm brought widespread heavy snow, rain and ice late in the week. High winds caused tree damage and power outages in southwest Minnesota. The snow covered fields in the northern parts are not showing signs of significant melting. This continues to worry farmers about the potential of flooding from rapid snow melt. The consistent rain and snow provided much needed topsoil moisture relief where the soil would allow for absorption. For the week ending April 14, 2013, only 0.1 days were rated suitable for fieldwork statewide, compared with last year's 5.0. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 5 percent very short, 17 percent short, 61 percent adequate, and 17 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were rated 23 percent very short, 43 percent short, 31 percent adequate, and 3 percent surplus.
Wet weather across the State limited tillage and planting progress. There were 1.8 days suitable for fieldwork. The northern 3 districts and the west-central district had less than 1 day suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supply was 3 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 27 percent surplus. The northeast and west-central districts were rated 45 percent or more surplus. Subsoil moisture supply was 9 percent very short, 24 percent short, 62 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Spring tillage was 33 percent, compared to 69 percent last year, and the 5 year average (normal) of 39 percent. Corn planting was 8 percent complete, 13 days behind last year and 6 days behind normal. The southeast district was 44 percent planted. Corn emerged was 1 percent. Winter wheat condition was rated 1 percent poor, 24 percent fair, 62 percent good, and 13 percent excellent. Winter wheat heading was reported in the southeast district.
For the week ending of April 14, 2013, precipitation in the form of rain, snow and hail crossed the state with many locations receiving 1 to 3 inches of moisture. This boosted topsoil moisture supplies, but shut down spring fieldwork activities. Topsoil temperatures declined and were in the low 40's in many eastern and southern counties. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 20 percent very short, 33 short, 45 adequate, and 2 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 55 percent very short, 38 short, 7 adequate, and 0 surplus. Wheat conditions rated 17 percent very poor, 33 poor, 38 fair, 12 good, and 0 excellent. Wheat jointed was 3 percent, behind last year's 34 and 10 average.
For the week ending April 14, 2013, a weekend blizzard dumped from 4 to 20 inches of heavy, wet snow across much of the state. This new snow will delay even further the start of fieldwork and may cause a higher likelihood of spring flooding. Spring planting is being delayed further by the continued winter like weather. Although moisture supplies improved, the 2013 planting progress continues to be well behind last year's early progress and also behind the 5 year average. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 4 percent very short, 10 percent short, 69 percent adequate, and 17 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 6 percent very short, 28 percent short, 60 percent adequate, and 6 percent surplus.
Three days were suitable for field work in Ohio during the week ending April 14 according to the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Region. With warmer than usual temperatures, some farmers were able to make progress on field work early in the week. Heavy precipitation from Wednesday on, especially in the northern parts of the State, helped increase soil moisture but halted field activities late in the week. The warmer weather, coupled with precipitation, improved wheat condition. Topsoil moisture is 50 percent adequate and 48 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture is 63 percent adequate and 22 percent surplus. Winter wheat condition is 87 percent fair to good. One percent of the corn was planted in the past week, compared to 9 percent last year and 3 percent for the five year average.
For the week ending April 14, 2013, snow and freezing rain brought badly needed moisture to parts of the state and kept temperatures colder than normal. Average snow depth across the state was reported at 6.6 inches. Producers anticipate a late planting season for most crops. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 17 percent very short, 27 percent short, 52 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 39 percent very short, 44 percent short, 16 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus. Winter wheat condition rated 30 percent very poor, 43 percent poor, 22 percent fair, 5 percent good, and 0 percent excellent. Six percent of spring wheat has been seeded, compared to 79 percent last year and 26 percent average.
Wet and chilly weather kept farmers out of fields this week. A series of storms brought heavy rain across southern Wisconsin and snow, sleet and freezing rain to the north. Water was reportedly standing in fields where soils are highly saturated or still frozen. Rivers and streams were reportedly at or near flood stage in some areas. Topsoil moisture was 32 percent surplus statewide. Temperatures remained below average and growing degree days were well below normal at all reporting stations. There were 0.0 days suitable for fieldwork this week. Statewide, spring tillage had not yet begun. Winter wheat was also greening up in some areas, though low temperatures and snowfall kept growth minimal. "Winter does not want to go away"
As the crop reporter in Wisconsin put it, "winter does not want to go away." That is true throughout much of the Corn Belt, where cold soil temperatures and fields that were either ponded or snow-covered prevented much field activity. The market is beginning to take notice of the field conditions and the potential for another 10-days to two weeks before soils will be ready for cultivation and planting. At this point corn planting is well behind the pace of 2012, and somewhat behind the five-year average pace. Wheat crops in the Plains states are in sad shape with an abundance of acreage reported poor to very poor.

subset: commoncrawl


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To the editor:
Aug. 10 was a wonderful start to another great school year in Levy County. The sun was shining, students were excited and teachers were prepared to open the school house doors to 5,500 students.
By Ray Sparrow
Guest Columist
I looked up the definition of "PARADOX" and it was something that is seemingly senseless, illogical and self contradictory. A picture on the internet shows two girls, side by side. One is dressed in full camouflage, holding a Christian bible in one hand, an AR-15 in the other hand. The other girl is decked out in typical Muslim garb holding a Quran in one hand, an AK-47 in the other, indicating that they are ready to engage in violent acts with guns in defense of their religious ideology. Now that screams paradox.
A political race is gaining momentum that is very close to my heart. Running for Superintendent of Levy County Schools are Assistant Superintendent of Administration Jeff Edison, who has served under Superintendent Robert O. Hastings and the previous superintendent, and Jerry Lawrence – a veteran educator of 26 years and school administrator who understands the heartbeat of our teachers, students, and parents.
We want to express our sincere appreciation for the outpouring of love and support given us during the loss of our mother and grandmother, Helen Hiers Usher. We have wonderful memories and even better friends to sustain us during this time. Thank you for sharing so many of your memories and stories of and about her with us. They truly warm our hearts.
Ken, Lynetta & John Korey Griner
Karen & Luke White
Last week Levy County lost a remarkable lady, Helen Usher.
I was honored and privileged to have her in my life as a teacher, mentor, family friend and lifetime acquaintance.
Mrs. Usher was a Bronson High alumni, in class with my Uncle Jr. Jerrels, my eighth grade math teacher who prepared me in later life, when starting my studies in engineering. Her extra help and attention, were largely responsible for me being able to obtain many of my goals.
Saving babies saves Social Security
It is reported that in 2033 Social Security will be bankrupt. It takes 16 working people to keep one person's checks coming. Guess where 300,000 a year of that workforce goes? Aborted by Planned Parenthood so the parts can be sold. That is viewing the carnage from the financial point.
Every year the Women of the Moose Chapter 494 put together 12 dinner boxes for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, for delivery, via the Sheriff's Office, to families in need in the Tri County area.
The turkeys were donated by the men of Suwannee River Moose 325. The canned goods were donated by members Kenny and Jane Grawcock and the Women of the Moose Chapter 494 donated the fresh produce.
The boxes were filled on the 24th of November by members Art and Ginny Perricone, Recorder Kathy Anderson and Senior Regent Jane Duehring.
It takes a lot of hard work to make a town's Christmas Festival all come together. The Greater Chiefland Area Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all those who worked with us to pull off our 12th Annual Christmas Festival this year!
The Chiefland Citizen
City of Chiefland Management and Staff
Chiefland Fire Department
Chiefland Police Department
Levy County Fire Rescue
Citizen of the Year Captain Ray Tremblay
A joint resolution (HJR 767 and SJR 942) has been filed to restore the Commissioner of Education to an elected position. Since 2003, the top education official in the state has been appointed by the State Board of Education which is appointed by the governor rather than elected by the people.
If adopted by the Legislature, this Constitutional Amendment would be placed on the November 2016 General Election ballot and would need at least 60 percent voter approval to take effect.
Regarding the recreational RV resort on the property owned by Lois Livingston, I would like to mention some reasons for approval that I would like you to consider before judging this project.
I do not live in the City of Chiefland, but for the past 21 years I have lived on Camp Azalea Road. I have watched many problems occur in the City of Chiefland over these many years. The project will be a most welcomed asset to all of us in this area.
Copyright © 2017
The Chiefland Citizen is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Chiefland Florida, and the surrounding area.


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Topic: Still cancer-free
Today marks the one year anniversary of my liver resection. This time last year, I was on the operating table. My latest CAT scan (yesterday) was clear and all of the numbers on my labs are normal. I am thankful and lucky to be alive and well. I will have to continue on several medications and return in April for my next CAT scan.


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According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fairfax Financial Holdings recently bought another 2.1 million shares of Resolute Forest Products (RFP). Fairfax's 13F filing for the end of September had the holding company owning 19 million shares of the $1.2 billion market cap paper company. After its most recent purchase, the position is approaching 26 million shares. Resolute shares are down 20%, year-to-date. The stock reached its current market price in May, and has been quite volatile since then. Fairfax is managed by Prem Watsa, who has been called "the Warren Buffett of Canada" for his approach to investing.
In the third quarter of the year, Resolute's revenue declined compared to a year ago but its cost of sales increased. Operating income was down significantly and the company could not attribute this to high closure costs, as it did in the first half of 2012. A notable improvement in operating income occurred in newsprint -- still the company's largest source of revenue -- which was offset by weaker numbers in segments such as pulp and coated papers. However, earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.32, which is quite strong for where the stock is trading. Annualizing the figure for last quarter generates a P/E multiple of 9. Of course, there is no guarantee that Resolute will be able to continue performing that well, but it's a plus to see that the company only has to maintain its financials rather than grow. The third quarter was responsible for essentially all of the company's earnings for the first nine months of the year. However, in previous quarters, Resolute had recorded special charges.
Wall Street analysts predict that Resolute will earn just over $1 per share in 2013, placing the stock at 12x their forward estimates. Given the company's performance last quarter, that figure is quite plausible. We're pessimistic about the newsprint business and doubt that the company can increase sales in that area. But even with a 14% decline in newsprint revenue from a year ago Resolute managed to grow its operating income for the segment. Sell-side expectations for a moderate decrease in EPS next year sound fair. While we would hesitate to invest in a shrinking company whose stock is trading at 12x earnings, if Resolute manages to outperform expectations -- which would only require holding net income steady -- it would prove undervalued at the current price.
Domtar (UFS) looks to be Resolute's closest peer. Its earnings multiples are quite comparable, though Domtar doesn't seem to have had as poor results in the first half of 2012: The stock's $2.8 billion market cap places it at trailing and forward P/Es of 14 and 11, respectively. Its revenue was down 2% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, and earnings fell dramatically. We would note that the gap between the trailing and forward multiples seems to suggest that Wall Street analysts expect an improvement at the company next year. That's opposed to what appears to be a weakening performance at Resolute (the trailing P/E at that company is 42, but that seems to be due to closure and impairment charges (which are now insignificant ) impacting earnings in the first half of this year. At first glance, that seems to be an odd reading of the industry -- if Domtar improves on the bottom line, we would expect Resolute to do so as well and vice versa.
As a result, unless Domtar's business significantly underperforms Resolute, it seems like it could be a better buy. But it may be a good idea to watch the stock to see how well it does in the current quarter.


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"He's a darn good football coach," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of Jones. "Obviously he's shown that in the way that he has taken Central Michigan and Cincinnati to great heights."
Multiple reports indicated that Jones was on the campus of Purdue on Sunday to speak with Boilermaker athletic director Morgan Burke and get a look at the Boilermaker facilities, and many of those same reports stated that Jones would do the same in Colorado today.
He served just one season under Kelly when the Fighting Irish coach led the Central Michigan program, but he replaced Kelly both at Central Michigan, as well as Cincinnati.
"He's somebody that I think is going to be successful as any coach where ever he is," Kelly said.
Jones' salary with the Bearcats tops $1.6 million, and with the Big East crumbling, thus getting easier to win each year, maybe the Michigan native wouldn't be so quick to leave.
Jones was reportedly a candidate at Illinois, North Carolina and UCLA last year, but ultimately signed a three-year contract extension in Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported recently that the Bearcat administration was willing to rework the deal again in order to secure Jones for the long term.
"I know he loves it (in Cincinnati)," Kelly said. "His family loves it there."
Jones led the Bearcats to a 9-3 mark this season and is 50-27 throughout his career. With the win over the Huskies, Cincinnati will face Duke in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 27.
"It doesn't surprise me that his name is out there," Kelly explained, "because great coaches are going to be talked about right now."


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" Brand: ELC / Type: Kitchenwares "
As a mum who likes to cook and make healthy meals for my family my children often see me in the kitchen chopping and cutting lots of different vegetables. As a result of this my two little girls who are 3 and 4 often want to help me cook. Though I do let them help as much a possible some times as all busy mums I do not have the time to let them help me as it seems to take ten times longer.
I thought if I got them some play food to go with their toy kitchen they would leave me alone for 15 mins to let me get on with dinner, after looking around most of the play food on the market is either just one piece or a box/tin. Then I discovered the Early Learning Centres range of food that you can cut up and I they where just the thing I was after. The crate sells for £12
I decided to buy the Early Learning Centre Crate of Vegetables.
What do you get
A very strong green crate which holds all the vegetables I have stood on this crate many a time (not a size 0) and it has never broken, have hurt my foot a few times. I really must tidy up my kids toys more often.
You get 12 vegetables in the set a carrot, a cucumber, a cabbage, an onion, an avocado, an aubergine, a pepper, a tomato, a cauliflower, a corn on the cob and broccoli. The vegetables are very strong once again been stood on a few times and never broke. The vegetables are bright in colour and look like they should do.
With the set you get a plastic knife, which you use to cut the vegetables in to pieces. Each vegetable gets in to 2 or 3 pieces and they join back together. This is done by Velcro and the Velcro does not seem to loose it sticky ness after lots of use.
I really like this set my children play with it loads and give me the time I need to make dinner, it also teaches them hand eye co-ordination and about healthy food .
My toddler daughter loves to cook in the kitchen with me, but there are times when it is just not safe for her to be underneath my feet. Because we have an open plan living area its very difficult to keep her out without some sort of barricade, which never holds up to the might of a determined toddler. So we invested in a toy kitchen from a second hand shop and went looking for bits and pieces that we could buy to make it more interesting for her. Our first step was the Early Learning Centre and this is what we returned with.
Early Learning Centre
The ELC are one of my most trusted retailers of childrens toys. Most of their toys have identified educational value and they keep the noises and flashing lights down to the bare minimum. A trip back to the UK is never complete without a trip to an ELC store (as they dont deliver abroad-aaaarrghhh) and our car or suitcases are usually brimming by the time we get back. Their prices are very reasonable and the quality of the toys is usually superior to other brands - bits are less likely to come off after ten minutes or so!
They say that this toy helps your child enjoy their imagination, helps them learn how to make friends and develops their social skills. Quite a task for a plastic carrot!
***The crate***
The vegetables come very well packaged (a scissors job) in the green plastic crate you can see on the picture. This crate is a nice strong replica of a vegetable display crate and could be used in a play shop or supermarket as well as in the kitchen. We are not quite at that level of imaginative play so we use the crate to store magnetic letters and it works well as a shallow storage box too.
***The vegetables***
You get 12 plastic vegetables with this set, made of good quality thick plastic. Other sets of plastic fruit and vegetables are made of cheaper plastic with airholes and they bend and break under pressure. I have been responsible for the squashing of more than one plastic banana, but have bruises on my feet from accidentally standing on the potato from this set last night! The vegetables are: a floret of broccoli, a potato, a corn cob, a cauliflower, tomato, pepper, aubergine, avocado, onion, a cabbage, a cucumber and a carrot. Some of these are instantly identifiable as the intended vegetable but I have to admit to being stumped momentarily by the potato and the cabbage. They all have a lovely tactile quality to them, the outer textures have been well replicated and they have a definite pick-me-up-and-use-me quality.
Also included in the set is a chunky grey plastic kitchen knife, just the right size for little hands. As each vegetable is cut in at least two pieces (in the case of the cucumber three pieces), and joined together with strong Velcro circles, the knife is used to sever these bonds and create the impression of chopping and cutting. This has to be my favourite feature of these vegetables and my daughter loves standing at her kitchen chopping her vegetables while I chop mine in my kitchen. Some of these are difficult for little hands to do, I have to help with the broccoli and the cauliflower occasionally, but overall they are a challenge that provides a nice sense of achievement on completion for children of about 2 years old. Older children (the recommended age is 3-8 years) will find more use for these as a part of more advanced imaginative play.
***My impressions***
I really like this crate of vegetables, as it is strong and sturdy and likely to last until Olivia has grown out of this stage. It teaches her about the different types of vegetables and has lead on to discussions about healthy eating and living. As she became more comfortable and familiar with these vegetables in her kitchen, she became more likely to eat their edible versions that came out of my kitchen, expanding her palate and her vocabulary at the same time. She also likes the fact that she can create meals for us, albeit inedible plastic, which I feel is setting her up for a longterm healthy relationship with food.
Its interactive quality sets it above similar plastic vegetable sets and whilst they are not quite in proportion to each other and the real article, they are close enough to make it a more realistic experience.
I would definitely recommend these to anyone with a child between the ages of 2 and 8 (although the upper age range is dependent on the interests and character of the child) as these have been one of our best buys for Olivia.
***Price and Stockists***
The ELC are the main stockists of this product. You can buy instore or online (www.elc.co.uk) for £4.95 delivery.
This crate retails at £10.
Plastic crate with 12 cut-and-play vegetables and knife.


text: Victim advocate's sister killed by boyfriend in 2012 By Lori Kersey February 7, 2013 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Tonia Thomas has been an advocate for domestic violence victims for eight years, but never did the problem of domestic violence become so heartbreakingly clear to her as it did last June, when her sister was murdered by a live-in boyfriend.Teresa Wilson of Beckley was 48 when Arthur Agnew beat her to death. Agnew pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and recently was sentenced to 20 years in prison.Thomas, a team coordinator with the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, knew her sister's boyfriend had been abusive.Thomas and her niece had tried to strategize with Wilson to get her away from Agnew, but the man had threatened to kill Wilson if she ever went to police. In the end, he followed through with those threats, Thomas said.It would be easy for Thomas to blame herself, she said."[But] all the accountability is on Arthur Agnew," Thomas said. "Regardless of how hard we tried . . . . All of this is on Arthur Agnew."Thomas said her sister's death gave her a renewed drive to advocate against domestic violence. "It really ignited, I think, a whole new spark in me that the work we do as advocates matters," Thomas said. "It makes me want to do even more."In the days and weeks following her sister's death, Thomas turned to the help of a Beckley domestic violence victims' advocacy group."My mindset wasn't clear," she said. "[They] walked us through the system, [asked] what do you need from us? They were just great, and I would hate for other families not to have that."It's for that reason that Thomas is encouraging the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which is under consideration this week in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., was an original co-sponsor of the bill when it passed for the first time in 1994 and sponsored reauthorizations in 2000 and 2005. The act was most recently up for reauthorization in 2011. The Senate passed its version of the bill in April, but the House of Representatives did not vote on it.Rockefeller is a co-sponsor of the 2013 version of the law's reauthorization, which the Senate has been considering this week. Last year, the law gave West Virginia more than $3.9 million for the enforcement and victims' services.The law allows state and local government, colleges and nonprofits to provide services to sexual-assault victims, have arrest policies for domestic violence complaints, provide legal assistance to victims and train law enforcement and court officials to improve response to domestic violence, according to a release from Rockefeller's office."There are tragically inspiring stories of survival in West Virginia -- like the young mom who was being beaten so badly by her husband that all she could hold onto were the sounds of her son's crying," Rockefeller said recently in a prepared statement. "After suffering control and abuse for years, that was her breaking point -- and she got out. "For courageous people like her, this is one of the moments when VAWA is so important," Rockefeller said. "It supports the services that make a difference for these survivors. It should absolutely be continued, and it should be strengthened."Thomas said VAWA is the cornerstone of the programs that aid domestic violence victims in West Virginia, including the one that helped her and her family when her sister died."We have found some real success," Thomas said. "Without it, I'm not sure we would have these things in place. It really is a lifesaving program. It does save lives and proves there's more work to be done -- the critical work that advocates do across the state."In a statement released Thursday night, Rockefeller talked about the Senate's floor debate on the reauthorization from earlier in the day."Everyone deserves to be safe from abuse," Rockefeller said. "We should provide victims of domestic violence with every protection the law can provide, which is why we need to continue this debate and move it quickly toward final passage."I'm confident we'll pass a strong Senate bill, and I'm calling on the House to step up to the plate quickly, pass this bill and join us in protecting victims of domestic violence." A vote on the bill's final passage is expected Monday.Reach Lori Kersey at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-1240. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Deer in 8 WV counties found dead from EHD 2 St. Albans rallies to beat Riverside, 21-17 3 New company planning $73M synthetic fuel plant in Greenbrier County 4 Richwood mayor on leave amid investigation of purchases 5 WVU law professor announces run for Congress Oliver Luck drove media rights contract, WVU chairman says Previous Story Manhunt in Calif. mountains for ex-cop accused of killing 3 Next Story


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As farmers and ranchers look for strategies to increase production to feed a growing world population, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and Food Tank suggest the best way to nourish the world is through increased production from family farms.
FAO predicts the world population will increase by 34 percent to reach 9.1 billion by 2050. In preparation for 2014, the International Year of the Family Farming, an organization focused on finding sustainable agricultural solutions and FAO are highlighting ways to provide family farmers the tools they need to really nourish the world.
In a release by the two organizations, Food Tank co-founder Danielle Nierenberg says family farming plays an important role in improving nutrition. Family farming can enhance soil health, protect water supplies, improve nutrition, and increase incomes.
FAO and Food Tank focus on five ways to support family farming globally. Those five strategies include:
Promote sustainable agriculture methods
In an analysis of 40 projects and programs, sustainable techniques like agroforestry and soil conservation increase yields for African smallholder farmers.
Assist family farmers in adapting to climate change and short-term climate variability
In sub-Saharan Africa, Farmer Field Schools teach farmers to mitigate climate change by managing inputs such as pesticides more effectively while increasing yields and incomes.
Promote policies to provide smallholders with legal titles to their land
Landesa works with countries to implement land rights programs, and helped 100 million farmers obtain or secure ownership over their land.
Increase access to local markets
Farmers markets can provide a great venue for family farmers to sell their products directly to consumers.
Close the gender gap
Closing the gender gap in agriculture could lift 100–150 million people out of hunger.
If public and private sectors direct funding toward family farmers, smallholder agriculture can get the push it needs to nourish both people and the planet.
Barbara Gemmill-Herren, Program Officer at FAO, says the organizations' strategies will build on existing knowledge of sustainable agriculture to improve resilience in the food system.


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What the hell is a lady boner? XD
What the hell is a lady boner? XD
Now a request. Can someone change the word "Rogue" to "Hunter" so I can use this on my guild forum signature? I'm terrible with thing like photoshop and mspaint.
Omnipotent WCL || Omnipotent Site - Support our streams! || BTag:Slenderman#1355 || Temporarily retired from raiding. Soon™.
<3 Thank you.
Now another funny thing:
Omnipotent WCL || Omnipotent Site - Support our streams! || BTag:Slenderman#1355 || Temporarily retired from raiding. Soon™.
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
So I chose the path of the Ebon Blade, and not a day passes where i've regretted it.
I am eternal, I am unyielding, I am UNDYING.
I am Zethras, and my blood will be the end of you.
page 500! yay!
i5-3570K 4.2GHz :: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO :: ASRock Z75 Pro3 :: Corsair XMS3 8GB :: Crucial M4 256GB :: Radeon HD 7870 XT :: NZXT Source 210 (Black) :: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified :: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium ::
I don't think I've seen this one in the thread yet:
And this basically needs to be posted everywhere.
My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind... and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. - Tyrion Lannister
Last edited by Snowraven; 2013-01-13 at 01:47 PM.


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One of the big keys in ball golf is your setup, your body position at address. We don't really get that in disc golf since our lead-in to the throw is a run-up. So the run-up itself becomes our address position. I would say that footwork and balance before the throw are a big separator between good players and beginners. Good players have a defined X-step with good balance and not a lot of lateral pressure on their feet. The best players throw nearly as well on a wet teepad as they do on a dry one, and that's because they are balanced and light on their feet into the throw.
1. Controlled and balanced X-step approach
2. Throwing motion on plane with intended flight path
3. Weight forward
4. Wrist snap
5. Nose control
In order of occurence, not necessarily importance. The big mistakes I see beginners make are:
1. Poor footwork, leading to falling-over, off balance throws
2. Throws that start low and end high at release, air bouncing the disc
3. Weight back
4. No snap at all, just arm movement
5. No nose angle control, usually nose up


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Adding a splash of color to the streets of Louisville, Kentucky, this Lincoln is turning heads and dropping jaws. It's true that this car has been around the block-that's what cruisers are for. But that doesn't take away from the strong bond between the owner and this ride built on the family, friendships, support and memories required to complete a lowrider.
Since Shaun "Cheeks" Harrison was a kid, his father, David, and Uncle Ricky were busy buying old cars and fixing them up. This passion for cars runs in the family and instilled a desire in this lowrider to complete his own automotive projects. This love was only made stronger in high school as lowriders were the ride of choice among his circle of friends.
Now that his father and grandfather are gone, Shaun carries on in the automotive tradition sharing the ideas, memories and especially the work involved with friends and family. With two children and one on the way, Shaun looks forward to sharing the passion for the culture with his kids. Although the lack of safety belts keeps Alexus and Josh from cruising the streets with their father, it doesn't stop them from admiring the ride with him while parked during the week.
Look but don't touch. The vibrant candy magenta paint with lace patterns is complemented by white vinyl seating with pink piping. A three-pump CCE Competition setup and six batteries powers the suspension, while the hard-lines by Jason Caranto make the trunk something to stare at.
All of the work on this one comes together nicely to paint a picture of the beauty that results from hard work and strong relationships. Shaun would like to send a special thanks to his father for everything, especially the inspiration.
Jaw Dropper
Owner: Shaun "Cheeks" Harrison
Vehicle: '94 Lincoln Town Car
City/State: Louisville, Kentucky
Club: No affiliation
Engine/Drivetrain: The stock 4.6-liter engine was left alone, other than given a Magnaflow exhaust.
Body/Paint: Body modifications include two sunroofs, three-way trunk and Continental kit. Justin McCoy at Custom Touch in Milton, Kentucky, handled the body work and candy magenta (over a silver basecoat) finish. Kirby and "Pinhead Red" of Louisville put down the pinstriping. The chrome plating (such as on the undercarriage) was left to Larry at Blakely's in Dayton, Ohio.
Interior: Justin McCoy of Custom Touch and Jimmy Parks of Louisville both worked on the white vinyl (with pink piping) interior, Interior mods include fiberglass door panels, dash and rear deck.
Sound System: Derrick at Cool Cars did the honors using a Clarion head unit and 4×6 speakers.
Setup: This Kentucky cruiser was juiced (where else?) at Cool Cars in Louisville, where Trad and Brandon installed a three-pump CCE Competition setup with Delta dumps, 8-inch (front) and 10-inch (rear) cylinders, six batteries and two switches. Jason Caranto hard-lined the hydros.
Tires: P155/80-R13 Gillette
Wheels: 13×7 powdercoated Dayton


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Mail: Southern statutes symbolize suppession
Mail: Thanks for helping Aiden
More opinion
Fall: Good time to spray musk thistle in rosette stage
Robertson and Delsing re-elected chair, vice chair of NWB
More Ag News
Wonder breads and Twinkies could be a thing of the past, after the Hostess Brands company announced Friday morning that it will close.
The company has struggled financially for nearly a decade, undergoing two bankruptcy-driven reorganizations. After a year-and-half period of negotiations with workers to reduce their pay, management recently said it had to cut pay by 8 percent and reduce benefits.
Wonder bread and Twinkies are noted for their unnaturally long shelf life. As a test, the Bulletin staff bought Wonder bread three years ago and left it atop a shelf in the back office. It did not develop a speck of mold.
Rather than accept the pay cuts, workers went out on strikes on Nov. 9. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said the contract would also cut benefits by 27-32 percent, in addition to the 8-percent pay cut.
The company ordered the workers to return to work by Thursday, and when they didnt, owners announced the company is closing.
The company also offered to give Hostess Brands 12 unions a 25 percent ownership stake in the company, representation on its board of directors and $100 million in reorganized Hostess Brands debt, the company said.
Wonder bread and other Hostess snacks might survive under new owners. Rayburn said the brands and assets would be auctioned to other companies.
Hostess snack brands include: Hostess®, Drakes® and Dolly Madison®, which make iconic cake products such as Twinkies®, CupCakes, Ding Dongs®, Ho Hos®, Sno Balls® and Donettes®. Breads include Wonder®, Natures Pride ®, Merita®, Home Pride®, Butternut®, and Beefsteak® among others, the company said.
Flatrock Publishing, Inc.
1300 E 4th St., Suite F
North Platte, NE 69101


text: "TransNational offers a full slate of payment products for non-petroleum merchants combined with a level of support Clark is pleased to recommend," said Clark Brands president. Clark Brands LLC has selected TransNational Processing Inc. as a referral partner to provide credit and payments services to non-petroleum customers. Under the terms of an agreement signed in


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Topic: mum starting gemzar an xeloda.... anyone any info on what to expect
my mum was diagnosed with cc at the end of june. She had a resection but doc did his best to get it all. unfortunately she had positive margins, some lymph nodes were affected and there was evidence of secondary tumours developing in the margins also. she has opted to start chemo this week. does anyone know what to expect from this combination? many thanks, this site has been a god send!


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French Cinema's Reluctant Genius
Jean-Luc Godard makes incomprehensible films appreciated by tiny audiences, and he has no intention of changing.
(continued from page 4)
With some difficulty, I find the short, featureless apartment building where Godard lives and works. The sun has just set on his narrow street and I grope through a dark foyer to find his door. At my knock, Godard himself answers. The man many regard as the genius of twentieth century French cinema is a slightly built 66-year-old, standing about 5-foot-6 with wild gray hair thinning on top, long sideburns and a day or two's growth of beard. A tweed jacket and large, dark-rimmed glasses give him the air of a college professor. Wordlessly, he leads me up a short flight of stairs to his office and settles behind a wooden desk, bare save for an old green pencil sharpener and a rotary dial telephone.
He holds up a long, slim Cohiba and asks, "Ca vous derange?" (Would it bother you?) Assured that it wouldn't, Godard lights the cigar with a single stick match, letting the smoke rise, and intones softly, now in English, "Let's start."
Thus begins a rare, three-hour-long interview that evokes nothing so much as a Jean-Luc Godard film, with jump cuts and sharp diversions, thoughtful ruminations on life and bright insights into the state of what the French call "the cinema" and its dour future.
"I never understand why I am remembered, why I am still known," he says, reflecting on why I have come to see him. Eventually, he offers an answer of sorts. "I think only just because, at the beginning, I was doing something that people liked. I think I'm proving by my existence that I am still very alive, and that making a good picture is still possible. Maybe that's why I still have a name. But I'll always wonder why I'm known, because nobody sees my movies. Well, almost nobody."
Jean-Luc Godard is one of the best-known names in film history even though, as he correctly surmises, his audiences are small. His name is synonymous with the boldest, and most inaccessible, of French film. He still makes movies as nobody else does, and critics still enjoy dissecting them. But it isn't easy. Although a treasured French icon, he is viewed, even in France, as someone who toils just outside the bounds of conventional filmmaking. He is a relic from the days when the most popular movies made audiences do some of the work, and his films are often incomprehensible, even for his fans. For Godard, "interesting" has always been high praise.
"I'm always doing what is not done," he says. "What I never do is what everyone else is doing. I always begin with ideas and that doesn't help with the audience. But I always prefer a good audience. I'd rather feed 100 percent of 10 people. Hollywood would rather feed 1 percent of 1 million people. Commercially speaking, my way is not better."
A walk past the movie houses on the Champs-Élysées in Paris confirms that. American movies, and especially blockbusters, are the ones selling most of the tickets. Last year, the top-grossing movies in France included The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Independence Day, Mission Impossible and Seven. Diabolique, starring Sharon Stone, the American remake of a 1955 French thriller, sold 171,471 tickets in its first three weeks in 1995. That was nearly three times the box office for Godard's 1994 feature film, Hélas pour Moi (Unfortunately for Me), which had the drawing power of Gerard Depardieu in the lead role.
"It is more difficult to attract audiences today," Godard says. "Of course, it has always been difficult. The people interested in good movies are very disseminated, and it doesn't make a good audience. My audience has always been small and it's even smaller now. So to exist you have to make a fuss at festivals and things."
For the French, filmmaking remains a part of the culture, irrespective of mass appeal. Many in France blame Hollywood's skillful marketing for killing the film industry in Europe. But it remains very much alive in France, due in part to government subsidies of films, a practice that draws cries of "unfair competition" from Hollywood. But helping fund films hasn't made them more popular. In the United States, foreign movies, whether dubbed or subtitled, have an appeal limited mostly to art houses. Moviegoers in America, and elsewhere in the world, criticize French films as being difficult to follow, self-conscious and too short on action.
Godard believes that it is the world's moviegoers, and not the filmmakers, who have changed. They prefer big-budget Hollywood spectaculars and they rely on the big screen to escape, rather than to discover universal truths. "Movies are not as good as they should be," Godard says. "Actors work, but they don't know how to be better. And people don't find in the French movie the things that interest them. Even when they find them, the material is too difficult. They prefer an American movie. The world audience has become an American audience.
"These days a 'good movie' is defined as one that makes money," he adds. "In literature, never. In movies, always. Culture is business. Art is something different."
But, obviously, Godard admits, French directors are not giving people "what they need in the way they need it." And it's only because of French subsidies that the industry survives. "We're like sick people being given medicine to survive," he says. "We're surviving, but until when? Nobody knows. As long as the hospital lasts, the sick people will survive."
In a career that has spanned four decades, Godard has made more than 100 films and directed France's most celebrated actors, from Depardieu to Brigitte Bardot. But only one film, Breathless, his first feature, was a financial and critical success.
"All the other ones were not good results," Godard says. "There was a lot of praise and glory, aesthetic glory. But they weren't commercially successful."
Breathless, known in French as A Bout de Souffle, captured the world's attention when it opened in 1959, earning Godard a place in the New Wave of French directors, alongside Eric Rohmer and the late François Truffaut. The black-and-white film starred the handsome young Frenchman Jean-Paul Belmondo as a young hoodlum undone by his love for an American girl, played by the French-speaking American actress Jean Seberg. "A generation of film critics had their lives changed by that film," Variety said.
At the time, Godard was 29 years old, writing film essays for Cahiers du Cinema, the most influential film journal of its time. The New Wave filmmakers, most of whom, like Godard, had begun as film critics, expanded the bounds of film theory and proved that it was possible to make interesting pictures inexpensively.
After Breathless, Godard made such New Wave classics as Une Femme est une Femme (A Woman is a Woman), in 1961, and Pierrot le Fou (Pierrot the Fool), in 1966. Segments of his early films, from the mid-scene jump cuts in Breathless to the 10-minute tracking shot of a summer traffic jam in the 1967 film Weekend, remain an important part of modern cinematic technique.
Since 1974, Godard, working often with his companion and co-director, Anne-Marie Mieville, has broken new ground with works that fuse film and video. Once content to playfully mock Hollywood stories, he has moved into devastating critiques of politics, capitalism and image making.
Godard's films open and close in France these days with barely a whisper. One of his more recent feature films, Hélas pour Moi, starred Depardieu as a man whose body is taken over by God. The Paris daily newspaper Le Figaro reviewed it under the headline: "Hélas pour Nous" ("Unfortunately for Us"). It sold 70,000 tickets in France, a respectable run, due largely to Depardieu's following. By comparison, the top-grossing French film of all time, the 1993 comedy Les Visiteurs, has sold 13 million tickets.
Godard calls Hélas pour Moi "a complete flop." "It was 100 percent for 1,000 people, that's all." He blames that on Depardieu, who was contracted to work for six weeks and left after four, leaving most of the work to extras. "The fight was lost from the beginning. It was too hard to make," Godard says. "It could have been a good movie if Depardieu was willing to try. But he was not interested in the movie, in working to make it right. Of course, he said, 'Godard is a genius.' He was just making it for my name." But, Godard adds, without Depardieu, he couldn't have gotten the $2 million financing.
However, when Hélas pour Moi opened at a French film festival in New York in 1995, The New York Times praised both the film and Depardieu's performance. The movie "is not easy to slip into, but the rewards are profound," the review said.
Stuart Klawans, writing in The Nation, called the film, with its "delirious collage effect," "so beautiful, playful, heartbroken, hopeful, multilayered and elusive that I'd better drop it at once." Of course, that is the problem with Godard. His films can be so difficult that the audiences give up, leaving it to the critics and students of film to praise and appreciate.
An example is Godard's JLG by JLG (Jean-Luc Godard by Jean-Luc Godard), which earned good notices when it appeared in American art houses in 1995. Godard says the film is not an autobiography but a "self-portrait," showing, accurately, the director living a life of quiet anonymity. "Now, at my age, I'm finally able to make a self-portrait that is faithful to what I think," he says. The New Yorker film critic Terrence Rafferty described the action in JLG this way: "He seems to be working on a script, but if he is, the process is indistinguishable from depression. He's restless, solitary, wary; the artist at work looks like a lonely child consoling himself with imaginary friends. Even while you're being seduced by Godard's vision of himself, part of you is saying, 'Come off it.' What's wonderful about JLG is that, as it turns out, Godard is saying the same thing to himself."
Jean-Jacques Beneix, whose 1981 film Diva was one of the few French successes in U.S. release, says Godard "is like an elite. It's not cinema anymore. It's Godard. His films are part of him." Sitting in his office in Rolle, though, Godard isn't much for introspection. Asked for an assessment of his career, he says: "I won't speak of success. Sometimes I feel I'm doing well. Sometimes not."
The son of a Red Cross doctor, Jean-Luc Godard was born Dec. 3, 1930, in Paris. He attended the prestigious Lycée Buffon and studied at the Faculte des Lettres, the leading Paris arts university, though he never received a degree. At age 19, he began writing film critiques for the Gazette du Cinema and later for Cahiers du Cinema. Two years later, he left for a yearlong journey across North and South America and, returning to Europe, rejoined the staff of Cahiers du Cinema in 1956 and began directing short films. Among those early works were Tous les Garçons s'Appelent Patrick (All the Boys Are Named Patrick), with a screenplay by his friend Eric Rohmer, and Une Histoire d'Eau (A History of Water), with a screenplay by François Truffaut.
Breathless was his first feature film and it won him the best director prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 1960. France has decorated him as a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit and, in 1987, with an honorary Cesar, the French equivalent of the Oscar.
He has been married twice, to the actress Anna Karina in 1961 and to Anne Wiazemsky, the granddaughter of the French writer François Mauriac, in 1967. Both marriages ended in divorce, with no children.
Although Godard maintains an office in Paris, which he visits frequently, he prefers the solitude of Switzerland these days. "My mind is in France, even though my body is here," he says. He is a man without pretension. He toils in his second-floor office in Rolle, beneath a poster for Le Mepris (The Contempt), which starred Brigitte Bardot. He takes his meals alone or with Mieville, his longtime girlfriend, in the local hotel. In his view, when you become a media celebrity "you are destroyed."
"I'd like to have done all sorts of films, to have been in all films, to be known and unknown. To do everything," Godard says. "I'd like to be one of the filmmakers who discovered sound," he adds, veering down a new road. "But I'd also like to have known the sadness of those people who discovered sound. Now I have that feeling, too--that feeling that I'm being thrown out. Because it's Apple computers that are doing movies today. Not me."
When it comes to dealing with the public, Godard can have sharp mood swings. He will spend hours with a young film student one day, and not answer his phone the next. He didn't show up for a retrospective of his work in New York, but appeared at a roundtable discussion in France on the future of cinema.
For years, he has smoked Cohibas, which run about $20 apiece in Switzerland, though he is a languid practitioner of that art. During our interview, he had to relight his cigar a dozen times, finally finishing it after three hours. Smoking expensive Cuban cigars would seem to be his only bourgeoisie weakness, and it's not one he chooses to discuss. Asked later, by telephone, to talk about his evident love of cigars, he demurs. "I'm not in the mood to answer questions," he says. His assistant in Paris explains that Godard is depressed over his film Forever Mozart. He had waited until just before shooting to write the script, as is his custom. (He also is known for encouraging actors to ad-lib their lines.)
Forever Mozart turned out to be a devastating portrait of French intellectuals wringing their hands over the war in Bosnia but doing nothing to help end it. The movie had its world premiere during a film festival in Sarajevo last year. "Before showing my film in Strasbourg, capital of Europe, I wanted to give it to Sarajevo, capital of suffering," Godard says. "It was the people of Sarajevo who inspired this film." The reactions in Sarajevo, though, were typically mixed: some in the audience praised it as evocative and powerful, while a few people walked out, finding it too dense and bloody. Godard himself couldn't make the Sarajevo opening, having been called upon at the last minute to take over the male lead in Nous Sommes Tous Encour Ici (We Are All Still Here), a film being shot under the direction of Mieville.
Most of his movies these days are funded by Gaumont, the French cinema chain, and Canal Plus, the French cable movie channel. Although his films are not box-office hits, he completes them in six weeks and they cost less than most television movies, about $2 million each, so they usually break even. "When someone gives me 10 million francs [about $2 million] to make a movie, I never say it's not much," Godard says. "I can still spend 10 million francs and do something interesting. Then you discover that it is a lot of money. Of course, if you hire 40 people and want a helicopter in the Sahara, you can't do it."
Godard doesn't think much of actors, especially those who he says are more interested in reading lines than in creating lines. He expects his actors to be willing to collaborate with him in the pursuit of art; hence his reluctance to begin with a firm script. He is, in fact, most truly at home in the editing room, which makes him something of a dinosaur in the business. "With television and computers, the art of editing has disappeared," he says. "Now there are just lawyers and agents. It's over for me. I still have the same enthusiasm, though not the same strength. It's very physically exhausting, making movies. I'm more tired."
In 1995, France marked the 100th anniversary of the first film shown by the Lumière brothers to a paying audience. In celebration after celebration, French film industry leaders have patted themselves on the back for their rich history.
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Bench hook used in sailmaking, ca. 1900Item 14519 info
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The musical pairing of "Twilight's" Nikki Reed and "American Idol" alum Paul McDonald has prompted some to suggest the husband and wife duo could be another The Civil Wars-type group, a compliment the actress doesn't mind.
"I think that is the most flattering thing that I have ever heard," Nikki told Parade of comparisons to the famed male-female musical duo, responsible for writing, "If I Didn't Know Better," one of the breakout songs from ABC's "Nashville."
WATCH: Nikki Reed: Taylor Lautner Is Responsible For My First Meeting With Husband Paul McDonald
"We are obviously inspired by groups like The Civil Wars. In no way do we feel that we can compare ourselves to them, but it gives us something to work towards," Nikki said.
Now that she's done with "The Twilight Saga," Nikki has plenty of time to focus on making music with her husband of a little over a year.
"We sure are, we are writing this month and recording in February," she told the mag. "We hope to have something out in the beginning of next year."
WATCH: Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed Perform 'All I'm Asking'
Nikki and Paul plan to eventually expand their family and when asked if they will let their children watch "American Idol" or "Twilight" first, Paul's old stomping ground won.
"We will probably start with 'American Idol' so that they can be inspired musically, but we hope that they enjoy both," she said.


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BWW Reviews: Mildred's Umbrella's KIMBERLY AKIMBO - Funny, Tragic Tale of American Family Dysfunction
The success of RABBIT HOLE, which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman, made David Lindsay-Abaire more than a blip on radars within and outside of the arts community. As a playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire is best known for writing about real people unraveling in difficult situations. His 2000 Play KIMBERLY AKIMBO, being presented by Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company lives up to this reputation, ensuring the audience laughs as much as they are devastated.
KIMBERLY AKIMBO follows a 16 year old girl suffering from a form of Progeria, a disease that causes her to age 4½ times faster than she should. When asked, "What's a couple of days," she jokingly responds, "In Kimberly time, it's about a week and a half. It's like dog years!" In addition to her bodily disease, her life is diseased as well. She lives with her mother, a pregnant hypochondriac, and her alcoholic father. Then her delusional and often homeless aunt moves into their basement and gets Kimberly and one of her school acquaintances, the ever awkward Jeff, mixed up in an illegal money scheme.
Direction by Ron Jones keeps the darkly comic play as light as possible, allowing the audience to spend much of the performance laughing. While utterly despicable, the adults in the play are genuinely realistic and ultimately likable. The family adroitly reads as white trash, and the kids come across as more level headed than the adults in their world. It is in ruminating on the themes and characters in the play that the lack of parenting, squalid living conditions, and general immaturity of the adults becomes heavy hitting and depressing. Ron Jones' direction keeps the audience masterfully engaged and leaves them longing to reflect on the play during the intermission and on the way home.
Starring as the titular character, Carolyn Houston Boone is magnificent as Kimberly Levaco. The "Akimbo" comes from an anagram of her name. She perfectly captures the youth and angst of a modern 16 year old girl. She is consistently girlish in her portrayal of Kimberly, completely impressing the audience by blushing when she shares a scene of juvenile, awkward intimacy with Ty Doran's Jeff. Carolyn Houston Boone is wholly believable as a 16 year old trapped in the fragile body of an older woman. From her opening scene, she firmly plants herself in the heart of the audience, and they love every moment of her heartrending performance.
Luke Fedell's Buddy is devastatingly realistic in portrayal. Every time he makes a misstep and hurts Kimberly's heart, he crushes the heart of the audience as well. Furthermore, Luke Fedell is powerful in his ability to command the stage, leaving his portrait of Buddy to resonate and reverberate in the heart, mind, and soul of the audience. He makes it clear how much Buddy wants to be a good father for Kimberly, but his own struggles with alcohol addiction often overpower his good intentions.
As Pattie, Jennifer Decker is hilarious and contemptible. Her ramblings into the tape recorder for her unborn child are funny and revealing, providing insight into just how deeply disturbed Pattie's mind is. She longs for a healthy baby because Kimberly was not one. Between her desires for a family that resembles perfection and her hypochondria, Jennifer Decker paints a fantastic portrait of a woman unraveled and fighting to make it through each day.
Debra, played by Kim Tobin-Lehl, is comedic and zany. Kim Tobin-Lehl plays Debra with no holds barred; she is loud, raucous and crass. Her screwball caricature is wholly enjoyable and made perfect with her use of a New Jersey accent.
As Jeff, Ty Doran is delightfully awkward. His line delivery is spot-on accurate for the nerdy 16 year he portrays.
Frankie Teuber's Set Design is wonderfully decrepit. The tacky wallpaper, which is peeling in places, and worn, dirty look of the white paint pristinely allow audiences to know just the type of family the play is about. The only misstep I feel exists in the scenic design is when the scene first shifts to the public library, it was not clear that was the location until the dialogue said it was.
Andrew Adams' Sound Design is fantastic for the space. The sound effects of wind, cars, animals, and even the muffled, muted, mechanical sound of the drive through speaker were nice additions to the performance as a whole. The selection for set change music seemed a bit awkward, but did not detract from the production. Often, it sounded happier or, at times, more mellow than one would expect to accompany this script.
Chelsea Touchet's Light Design worked well in the space and illuminated each scene wonderfully, especially when having to light small portions of the stage for scenes in the car. I was particularly fond of the green and yellow abstract shapes splashed across the set for the final scene.
Paige Wilson's Costume Design works wonderfully to convey the class of the characters presented. Also, dressing Kimberly appropriately for her age (16) was a great touch that made her character all the more believable.
When I first saw Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company put on a show, I knew that they were capable of quality work. However, the awkwardly unrealized script for LARGE ANIMAL GAMES left me befuddled and bereft, longing to see them produce a show with a script that works. My second outing to see Mildred's Umbrella in action gave me everything I wanted and then some. KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a fantastic production, where everything really seems to mesh well and work. If anything, KIMBERLY AKIMBO leaves you wanting more in a good way. With the cast and crew delivering such a quality production, it feels that the ending simply comes too soon and abruptly. I found myself enjoying the production so much that I simply wanted to know what happened next for all of the characters.
Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company's production of KIMBERLY AKIMBO runs in Studio 101 at the Spring Street Studios until December 15, 2012. For more information and tickets please visit http://mildredsumbrella.com/ or call (832) 463 – 0409.
Photos by Anthony Rathburn, courtesy of Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company.
L to R: Carolyn Houston Boone as Kimberly, Kim Tobin-Lehl as Debra, and Ty Doran as Jeff.
L to R: Ty Doran as Jeff and Kim Tobin-Lehl as Debra.
L to R: Kim Tobin-Lehl as Debra, Luke Fedell as Buddy, Jennifer Decker as Pattie, and Carolyn Houston Boone as Kimberly.
L to R: Luke Fedell as Buddy and Jennifer Decker as Pattie.
L to R: Carolyn Houston Boone as Kimberly and Ty Doran as Jeff.


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One of my favourite moments of the Perth Test, as described by the The Sydney Telegraph, involved Hashim Amla returning to a stunned and silent dressing room following the second day's play at the Waca.
The silence was only brief, mind you, but it caught even the usually unflappable Amla by surprise. Amla was not out on 99 off 84 balls and he and Graeme Smith had been the central figures in dishing out a pounding to Australia in the final session of that second day.
A total of 206 runs in 32 overs. Amla's attacking instincts rendered his teammates speechless, according to AB de Villiers.
South Africa's feats in the Test arena this year have beggared belief. Day two in Perth was phenomenal: from the bowlers smashing through Australia's batting order to Smith and Amla smashing the Australian bowlers. There have been displays of dominance all year that have been, well, very Australian.
Think back to The Oval and Amla again, twice; first in combination with Smith (again) and then Jacques Kallis, compiling back-to-back partnerships of more than 250 runs. Amla made a triple century there, which certainly ranks among the individual highlights of South African sports in 2012.
Dale Steyn backed up Amla's historic batting effort with another crushing performance with the ball as England were dismantled by an innings.
Dominating performances such as those produced at The Oval and the Waca have served to underline South Africa's status as Test cricket's best side – the challenge for them of course is to sustain that position.
Doing so involves dominating on home soil, something South Africa have failed to do in the last four years. They've won just one of their last five Test series on home soil, failing to match the consistency they've shown overseas.
It makes the upcoming home series with New Zealand and Pakistan vital. Smith spoke on Wednesday about the side having the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the rankings, which would make the two home series next summer – against Australia first and then India – even tastier affairs.
But before that, they must dominate. Big hundreds, five-fors, and batting of the kind seen from Amla this year needs to be replicated at Newlands, St George's Park and the Wanderers in the next few weeks.
That dynasty, legacy, call it what you will, can be built in the next year and then we will measure how good this team really is. – the Star


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>Sometimes when the weather is especially nice here at the Carolina, James and I play hookey. Like Tom Sawyer we leave the paint brush in the paint can next to the metaphorical picket fence of housework at our Asheville North Carolina Bed and Breakfast, and head for the mountains! This past Sunday was one of those beautiful days when every flower and leaf glows in the sun and a gentle breeze blows down from the hills. So we decided to take a hike in the forest surrounding Bent Creek. We got out the trail map, stopped at GreenLife for a picnic and drove about 15 minutes from here to the place where the trail was supposed to start. I say "supposed to" because we never did find the trail and our hike turned out to be more of a walk through the woods to a picnic than a picnic but it was beautiful none the less.
The trail took us along a mountain stream replete with wild-life and flowering plants. At one point we reached a small man-made pond where people can swim. I was sort of amazed to see that people were actually swimming already–but then I am a well-known hater of cold water! Next to the pond a mother goose protected her baby goslings. She would not let me get any closer than this to take her picture. They were lovely, yellow fluffy chicks!
Further on we came to a stone bridge which crossed the stream. Even though we are grown-up, our family still likes to play "Pooh-Sticks". This is my stick which made it to the other side first.
My daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Mike were visiting us and Mike likes to spend time in the Northwoods of Minnesota. He showed us where some beavers had started to gnaw through a tree to build a dam. It's always useful to have someone along who knows something like this!
Later, we saw a group of butterflies feeding at a rock in midstream. Butterflies get minerals and salt from standing water and rocks like this. But it isn't often that one sees a whole flock of butterflies. Here they are covering the puddle they are feeding from.
This was our first choice for a picnic spot but Sarah was too likely to fall in so we continued on until we came to a safer spot!
It wasn't the energetic hike we had hoped for but almost any walk through the Pisgah National Forest will turn up something interesting


text:
Groene at the Legislature: Teacher absences, substitutes
Mail: Southern statues symbolize suppression
More opinion
Senate: Vote no on Graham-Cassidy health care plan
Fall: Good time to spray musk thistle in rosette stage
More Ag News
After falling short for three years, the Hershey girls' basketball team finally claimed the South Platte Valley Association championship Saturday in a battle of two of the finest girls teams in western Nebraska.
"It's a huge monkey off of our back," said Hershey coach Jeremy Thomas. The girls worked so hard for this and this is a big goal. The SPVA is not just a conference tournament, it's a big thing in this area. I couldn't ask for a bigger thrill."
The Lady Panthers (12-3) found themselves trailing 8-2 at the end of the first quarter. But they scored the first six of the second quarter to tie the game.
Brittany Lawrence and Shelby Allberry came back with baskets for St. Pat's (14-2). But Daynlee Miller responded by making a three-pointer and then Brooke Frederick followed with a couple of free throws to give Hershey the lead.
Maegan Hiatt scored the last basket of the half to give the Panthers a 15-12 lead at halftime.
"Offensively, I was not happy (in the first half)," Thomas said. "We were just standing around. But our defense was huge in that we held St. Pat's to only eight points in the first quarter. They we made the run in the second quarter to get the lead and we never looked back."
Hiatt scored the first six points of the second half with a three-point play and a trey to stretch the lead to nine.
The Irish didn't go away. A three by Mandy O'Malley with 2:39 left in the third quarter brought St. Pat's to within 23-20. Both teams battled for the rest of the third and the Lady Panthers held a narrow 26-24 lead going into the final period.
Maddie Seamann scored for Hershey on the first possession of the fourth and then Hiatt got a layup off of a steal to make it a six-point game. Then Tayler Baker buried a three from the left corner to make it 33-24 with 6:38 left in the game.
St. Pat's scored the next five and pulled to within four after an Allberry three. But after that, the Lady Irish went stagnant on offense and did not score for nearly five minutes.
The Panthers finished the game with seven of the last eight points scored to convincingly win the SPVA, their first conference championship since 2005.
Irish coach Nathan Stienike said that Hershey's defense definitely made it hard for his team to execute, especially down the stretch.
"You've got to credit Hershey's defense for holding us to under 30 points," he said. "We couldn't seem to score. When we got a shot off, they got the rebound."
"Our defense was huge for us," said Thomas. "I am proud of the way we played. We contested every shot."
Score by quarters
St. Pat's 8 4 12 6 - 30
Hershey 2 13 11 18 - 44
St. Pat's (30)-Mandy O'Malley 7, Samantha Byrn 6, Brook Boucher 2, Shelby Allberry 7, Brittany Lawrence 8
Hershey (44)-Taylor Mustion 2, Daynlee Miller 13, Brooke Frederick 3, Maegan Hiatt 13, Tayler Baker 5, Maddie Seamann 6
Free Throws: SP 3-10, H 13-18; Three Point Goals: SP 3 (O'Malley 2, Allberry), H 3 (Miller, Hiatt, Baker)
Flatrock Publishing, Inc.
1300 E 4th St., Suite F
North Platte, NE 69101


text:
Transplantation of Bone Marrow Stem Cells Stimulated by Proteins Scaffold to Heal Defects Articular Cartilage of the Knee
The recruitment status of this study is unknown. The completion date has passed and the status has not been verified in more than two years.
Verified January 2013 by Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Michel Assor, MD
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: July 6, 2010
Last updated: January 7, 2013
Last verified: January 2013
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of autologous transplantation, under arthroscopy, of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal stem cells, using, with a cell separator, a fresh non-culture expanded Autologous Bone Marrow derived Mesenchymal Stem, mixed and activated with proteins scaffold in patient with Knee cartilage defects and osteoarthritis. Based on extensive preclinical investigations, the technology of using freshly isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells mixed with proteins seems safe and most effective for a one-step correction of cartilage defect and restoration of the osteochondral complex, because the same mixture can generate cartilage in the vasculature-free knee joint, and bone in the environment of bone defects.
|Osteoarthritis Knee Osteoarthritis Osteochondritis Dissecans Osteonecrosis
|Procedure: Transplantation of Bone Marrow Stem Cells Activated in Knee Arthrosis
|Early Phase 1
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Pilot Study of A One-Step Procedure for the Use of Autologous Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Stimulated by Proteins Scaffold to Heal Under Arthroscopy Full-Thickness Defects Articular Cartilage and Osteoarthrosis of the Knee.
Resource links provided by NLM:
Genetics Home Reference related topics: familial osteochondritis dissecans
MedlinePlus related topics: Bone Grafts Joint Disorders OsteoarthritisU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- IKS, International Knee Score [ Time Frame: 6 months ]measure assess of the knee function
- IKS, International Knee Score [ Time Frame: 1 year ]measure assess of the knee function
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- KOOS, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [ Time Frame: 6 months ]measure assess of the knee function and quality of the new cartilage
- KOOS, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [ Time Frame: 1 year ]measure assess of the knee function and quality of the new cartilage
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|July 2010
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|December 2014
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|December 2014 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Intervention Details:Detailed Description:
Procedure: Transplantation of Bone Marrow Stem Cells Activated in Knee Arthrosis
- mesenchymal stem cells
- Knee Arthrosis
- Knee osteochondral defect
Transplantation of Activated Bone Marrow Stem Cells in Knee Arthrosis, under arthroscopy, in one-step procedure
Other Names:
Before the implantation of the mesenchymal stem cells, a knee arthroscopy procedure is made for the debridement of the meniscal and cartilage lesions, with microperforation and abrasion, preparation of the osteochondral defect to receive the transplantation, patellar lateral release if necessary.
Then, the investigators use a fresh non-culture expanded autologous bone marrow derived mesenchymal mononuclear stem cells, stimulated with a protein matrix and mixed in a collagen hydroxyapatite scaffold. This cellular paste is transplanted in the prepared defect, under arthroscopy, with injection of platelet rich plasma.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|30 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Active patients (30 to 75 years)
- A localized osteochondral defect of both condyle and/or tibia grade 4 (ICRS classification)
- with cartilage on the tibial surface no more than grade 3-4, of size < 3-4 cm2, with 3/4 of meniscus present.
- Stable knee ; previous ligament reconstruction, if stable
- A defect that is 1 - 4 cm2 or more, up to 6 cm2, located on the femoral condyle and /or less of 4 cm2 for tibial plate, and IKS score <75.
- Kissing lesions admitted
- Ability to understand and willingness to sign consent form
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients younger than 30 years and older than 75 years
- Diffuse and advanced articular cartilage degeneration of the joint
- Axial malalignment, meniscal pathology, and ligamentous instability are relative contraindications that have to be dealt with primarily either concomitantly or before the transplantation during 1 of the 2 stages of the procedure. Refusal of the patient to address these conditions in presence of a cartilage lesion is a criterion for exclusion from the study, to avoid the impact of these knee pathologies on the final results
- Existing infection in or around the joint & lesions of infectious or oncologic etiology.
- Debilitated patients.
- Immunocompromised patients.
- Patients with autoimmune disorders & systemic inflammatory disease.
- Preoperative poor neurological or vascular status of the affected limb.
- Specific contraindications include the use of tobacco and medications that may impair cell proliferation, such as NSAIDs and immunosuppressive drugs. Patients must be nicotine-free (stop smoking) prior to the procedure, as studies have shown that the oxidative effect of smoking impairs cell function and subsequent healing.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01159899
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01159899
|Contact: Michel Assor, MD
|0033611950518 / 0033609505060
|Contact: Shimon Slavin, Pr
|Knee and Lower Limb Institute, Dr Michel Assor
|Marseille, France, 13008
|Contact: Michel Assor, MD 0033491221212 / 0033609505060 email@example.com
|Contact: Michel Assor, MD 0033611950518
|Principal Investigator: Michel Assor, MD
Sponsors and Collaborators
Michel Assor, MD
|Principal Investigator:
|Michel Assor, MD
|Knee and Lower Limb Institute, Marseille, France
|Study Director:
|Shimon Slavin, MD
|The International Center for Cell Therapy & Cancer (ICTC), Tel Aviv, Israel
More Information
Additional Information:
Keywords provided by Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
Additional Information:
|Responsible Party:
|Michel Assor, MD, Sponsor-Investigator, University of Marseille
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01159899 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|July 6, 2010
|Last Updated:
|January 7, 2013
Keywords provided by Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille:
knee arthritis
Knee arthrosis
articular cartilage defects
osteochondral defects
mesenchymal stem cells
stem cells
cellules souches,
arthrose genou
PRP platelet rich plasma
thérapie cellulaire
implantation cellules souches mésenchymateuses
régénération cartilage
cicatrisation ménisque
plasma riche plaquettaire
platelet rich plasma
stem cell
regrowt cartilage
cellules souches
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Osteochondritis Dissecans
Osteoarthritis, Knee
Joint Diseases
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Rheumatic Diseases
Bone Diseases
Pathologic Processes
Cartilage Diseases
Connective Tissue Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe and Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune Win Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
By: Press Release | Harvard Kennedy School
CAMBRIDGE, MASS – The $25,000 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting has been awarded to Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe and Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy for their investigative report "Playing with Fire." The Shorenstein Center is part of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The Chicago Tribune's investigative series revealed how a deceptive campaign by the chemical and tobacco industries brought toxic flame retardants into people's homes and bodies, despite the fact that the dangerous chemicals don't work as promised. As a result of the investigation, the U.S. Senate revived toxic chemical reform legislation and California moved to revamp the rules responsible for the presence of dangerous chemicals in furniture sold nationwide.
"The judges this year were especially struck by the initiative shown in recognizing a very important policy issue embedded in something as familiar and unthreatening as a sofa," said Alex S. Jones, Director of the Shorenstein Center. "It goes to prove the importance of not just looking, but seeing and acting."
Launched in 1991, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting honors journalism which promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics by disclosing excessive secrecy, impropriety and mismanagement.
The five finalists for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting were:
Alan Judd, Heather Vogell, John Perry, M.B. Pell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for "Cheating Our Children"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's series on irregularities in standardized testing revealed that pressure for ever-higher scores led to apparent cheating by teachers and school administrators across the nation. The reporting, based on analysis of tens of thousands of test results, initiated a national conversation about the long-term effects of the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Collaboration by the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International, with additional cooperation from members of the Investigative News Network for "State Integrity Investigation"
The State Integrity Investigation created a tool that is being used by news organizations all over the nation to hold government accountable. The collaboration was a data-driven analysis of every state's laws and practices that deter corruption and promote accountability and openness, thus providing local news organizations a means of investigating what is happening in their state. The results include accelerated reform in government and an increase in disclosure requirements in many states.
Jason Felch, Kim Christensen and members of the Los Angeles Times staff, of the Los Angeles Times for "The Shame of the Boy Scouts"
The Los Angeles Times made public thousands of files documenting sexual abuse of Boy Scouts by their troop leaders, resulting in reforms that will help ensure the protection of children. The Boy Scouts of America has launched a comprehensive review of the files, with a promise to report to law enforcement any cases not previously disclosed. The Scouts also apologized to victims of abuse and offered to pay for their counseling.
Charles Duhigg, Keith Bradsher, David Barboza, David Segal and David Segal and David Kocieniewski of The New York Times for "The iEconomy"
This series revealed the harsh conditions under which Chinese workers assembling iPhones and iPads live and work; the low pay and high turnover at Apple's retail stores; and the lengths to which Apple went to reduce its tax bill. As a result of the investigation, Chinese working conditions and salaries have improved, Apple has announced it will invest money in U.S.-based manufacturing and Congress opened an investigation into technology company tactics to reduce taxes.
David Barstow of The New York Times for "Wal-Mart Abroad"
David Barstow demonstrated that Wal-Mart's conquest of Mexico was built on a foundation of corruption and revealed how top executives feared exposure and made attempts to keep their practices in the dark. As a result of this series, the Justice Department and the SEC are investigating for violations of the federal anti-bribery law. Wal-Mart has also overhauled its compliance and investigation protocols.
The Goldsmith Book Prize is awarded to the best academic and best trade books that seek to improve the quality of government or politics through an examination of press and politics in the formation of public policy.
The Goldsmith Book Prize for best academic book was awarded to:
Jonathan M. Ladd, for Why Americans Hate the Media and How It Matters.
The Goldsmith Book Prize for best trade book went to:
Rebecca MacKinnon, for Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom.
The Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism was given to Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist for The New York Times.
The Goldsmith Awards Program is funded by an annual grant from the Goldsmith Fund of the Greenfield Foundation.


text:
Redox State in the Course of Chronic Renal Insufficiency and Hemodialysis: Implications in Morbimortality
This study has been completed.
Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: May 21, 2008
Last updated: August 27, 2014
Last verified: August 2014
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The influence of hemodialysis on oxidative stress, endothelial activation, inflammation and on the redox state of lymphocytes should be clarified as well as the putative relationships between all these parameters.
|Chronic Renal Insufficiency
|Other: Sampling of blood
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
|Official Title:
|Redox State in the Course of Chronic Renal Insufficiency and Hemodialysis: Implications in Morbimortality
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: Chronic Kidney Disease DialysisU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- This study should allow to clarify the redox state some plasma by quantification of thiols membranous on the surface of lymphocytes at the hemodialysis and insufficient renal chronic not dialysed patients. [ Time Frame: 48 months ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- This study should allow to estimate in a forward-looking longitudinal plan the possible involvement of the parameters of the redox state and the morbidity and the cardiovascular and global mortality in 2 years in 2 studied populations. [ Time Frame: 48 months ]
|Study Start Date:
|June 2008
|Study Completion Date:
|April 2012
|Primary Completion Date:
|April 2012 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Volunteer healthy
Other: Sampling of blood
A sampling of blood will be made
Patient dialysis patient
Other: Sampling of blood
A sampling of bood will be made before the dialysis
Not dialysed chronic renal insufficient patient
Other: Sampling of blood
A sampling of blood will be made.
Detailed Description:
Up to now, no anti-oxydative treatment has been able to reduce the mortality of the patients with Kidney Failure. Thus it is necessary to have a better knowledge of oxydative stress mechanisms in patients with KF in order to find more efficacious treatments. The influence of hemodialysis upon oxidative stress is not well known.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- 18 and 80 years old man or woman dialysing at least 3 times a week for at least 6 months and having no residual renal function
- Rate of haemoglobin > 11 g / dl
- Clinically stable patient that is having had no considerable event (cardiovascular problem, infection, surgical operation) with the exception of angioplasty of fistula or prosthesis vascular, in the previous 3 months the entrance to the study
- Patient capable of understanding and of following the essay, in particular knowing how to read the note of information.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnant woman
- Treatment by corticoids or immunosuppresseurs
- hemopathy sly
- chronic cancer or infection in evolution
- Cardiovascular event (infarct, unstable angor, coronary bypasses, confusions of the rhythm, AVC, amputation) or infectious (blood-poisoning, pneumopathie, meningitis) or surgical operation in the previous 3 months the inclusion in the study.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00684034
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00684034
|Hopital de la Conception- Service de Néphrologie et de transplantation rénale
|Marseille, France, 13385
Sponsors and Collaborators
Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
|Principal Investigator:
|Bertrand DUSSOL, MD
|Assistance Publique des Hopitaux de Marseille
More Information
Keywords provided by Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00684034 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|May 21, 2008
|Last Updated:
|August 27, 2014
Keywords provided by Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille:
Redox state in the course of chronic renal insufficiency and hemodialysis.
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Renal Insufficiency
Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
Kidney Diseases
Urologic Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Aliy Interview In Kaltag
11 comments:
Focused and purposeful, wow!
- March 10, 2012 at 2:56 PM
- Mrs. Jaybird said...
Goooooo Aliy! Thanks for taking such awesome care of your dogs FIRST. My friends and I are cheering for you to be the second woman to win the Iditarod!
- March 10, 2012 at 2:58 PM
Woof, woof!
- March 10, 2012 at 3:11 PM
- Katerina said...
Awesome! Aliy, I wish you from the bottom of my heart to keep the lead and win this one! I have always thought and believed you can do it, have followed you, Allen and your kennel for a long time and rout for you strongly. You go girl!
- March 10, 2012 at 3:26 PM
- Susan F said...
Stay focused Aily. You can do it. You have the dogs, the experience, and the heart both inside you and at home. Allen has a solid philosophy for this race, bit by bit.
PS. Mrs. Jay bird, Aily would be he third woman to win. Libby Riddles was first, then legendary Susan Butcher.
- March 10, 2012 at 6:07 PM
finally: there is also a good interview/video on the insider.... :o)
just went to "aliy cam" on youtube & checking out the videos on portage trail ... this is a real good selection that you already have from the trails ....
thanks a lot.
- March 10, 2012 at 7:00 PM
- kellerfrau said...
Here's some Aliy footage from Kaltag:
Raw video: Aliy Zirkle in Kaltag talks dogs, strategy and falling asleep on the sled.
- March 10, 2012 at 10:09 PM
- Unknown said...
I have never really followed this race. But I am hooked. Go Aliy!
- March 11, 2012 at 12:04 AM
- Unknown said...
I have never really followed this race. But I am hooked. Go Aliy!
- March 11, 2012 at 12:09 AM
We're cheering from the mid-Atlantic coast!
Mush well and be safe. A point of clarification: Aliy would be the third, not 2nd woman to win the Iditarod after Libby Riddles and Susan Butcher.
- March 11, 2012 at 8:02 PM
- SP Kennel - KAZ said...
Not sure where the 2nd or 3rd woman comment came from but you are correct. Libby was 1st and Susan 2nd.
- March 11, 2012 at 8:15 PM