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International Journal of Nephrology
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 939613, 8 pages
Association of Serum Phosphate and Related Factors in ESRD-Related Vascular Calcification
1Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 235, Taiwan
2Department of Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei 231, Taiwan
3Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
4Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Received 11 March 2011; Accepted 12 March 2011
Academic Editor: Biagio Raffaele Di Iorio
Copyright © 2011 Cai-Mei Zheng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Vascular calcification is common in ESRD patients and is important in increasing mortality from cardiovascular complications in these patients. Hyperphosphatemia related to chronic kidney disease is increasingly known as major stimulus for vascular calcification. Hyperphosphatemia and vascular calcification become popular discussion among nephrologist environment more than five decades, and many researches have been evolved. Risk factors for calcification are nowadays focused for the therapeutic prevention of vascular calcification with the hope of reducing cardiovascular complications.
1. Introduction
Vascular calcification is a kind of extraosseous calcification and is associated with aging physiologically, and a number of disorders including ESRD, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease pathologically. Multifactorial processes contribute to VC in which derangements in calcium and phosphorus homeostasis plays an important role and becomes popular therapeutic target nowadays. In ESRD patients with vascular calcification, a mixture of intimal and medial calcification has been observed in the effected vessels with dominant medial involvement. The risk of CVD mortality in ESRD patients with vascular calcification is 20 to 30 times higher than that of the general population [1–5].
Although phosphate is important for diverse cellular and physiological functions, impaired renal function with resultant phosphate accumulation with consequent bone and mineral disorders and vascular calcification are major problems among nephrologists. The increased risk of CVD mortality by hyperphosphatemia was partially explained by the predisposition of this population to vascular calcification [6–8]. (Figure 1) Even in early stage CKD, serum phosphorus level disturbances are proved to promote vascular calcification, hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy, and heart failure [9–11]. Current understanding of relationship between phosphorus and those disorders becomes popular in medical field, with the hope of halting or retarding the vascular calcification from the very early status in those patients.
2. Traditional Concepts in ESRD Patients with Vascular Calcification
2.1. Vascular Calcification in ESRD Patients
Vascular calcification (VC), an extra osseous calcification of arteries, is strongly associated with CKD patients with or without hemodialysis. Two types of VC include neointimal calcification, which occurs in large and medium-sized arteries, and medial calcification, which occurs in arteries of any size, including arterioles. VC is an important indicator of atherosclerosis, and its occurance directly predict prognosis of atherosclerotic disease [12]. Uremic atherosclerotic plaques are more calcified and fibroatheromatous than those in aging, with similar cellular infiltrates [13] and more of tunica media involvement [14, 15]. VC in ESRD patients, those especially found in the tunica media of large arteries, may lead to increased stiffening and decreased compliance of these vessels. Consequent increased arterial pulse wave velocity, pulse pressure, and impair arterial dispensability result in increase afterload and left ventricular hypertrophy, which finally compromise coronary perfusion with development of congestive heart failure [7, 10, 16–19].
2.2. Risk Factors of Vascular Calcification in ESRD Patients
Risk factors for premature VC in ESRD patients are different from the traditional atherogenic risk factors. Hyperparathyroidism and alteration in Ca-P mineral metabolism, especially hyperphosphatemia, modulate renal osteodystrophy and vascular medial calcification [20, 21]. Microinflammation with chronically elevated acute phase protein CRP relates with intimal calcification and predicts the CV mortality. The presence of C. pneumoniae in arterial walls and atherosclerotic lesions also related this persistant infection with atherosclerotic vascular lesions in CKD with or without dialysis patients [13, 19]. Longer hemodialysis duration is also found to be significantly relate with severe vascular calcification [4, 5, 21, 22]. Furthermore, hyperglycemia and hyperphosphatemia are two most significant factors to be considered in ESRD patients with and without diabetes mellitus, respectively [23].
2.3. Role of Phosphate in ESRD with Vascular Calcification
Serum phosphate concentration is usually maintained within 2.5 to 4.5 mg/dL by a variety of mechanisms until renal disease has progressed to approximately CKD stage 5 or ESRD [24, 25]. Adaptation of nephrons in attempt to preserve phosphate homeostasis in ESRD patients plays an important role for VC. Hyperphosphatemia result in secondary hyperparathyroidism, calcium and vitamin D derangements, vascular calcification, and mineral bone disorders. Additionally, hyperparathyroid state and altered vitamin D status in ESRD patients also play a major role in extraosseous calcifications [1, 26–28]. Higher serum phosphorus levels may increase serum PTH levels even in healthy individuals [29]. Our previous study revealed serum PTH levels may stimulate inflammatory marker IL-6 production in HD patients [30, 31]. Higher levels of serum IL-6 and hsCRP also associated with increased VC and CVD risk. Higher serum phosphorus levels also inhibit 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D synthesis [32, 33]. Lower 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D status was associated with myocardial dysfunction [27, 34] and increased coronary vascular calcification [26, 27, 35]. The effects of vitamin D on vascular calcification are biphasic pattern with both excess, and deficiency may promote its development [17].
2.4. Mechanism of Vascular Calcification
Vascular calcification involves two distinct events, smooth muscle cell transformation and mineralization. Normally, blood vessels express inhibitors of mineralization, like pyrophosphate, matrix Gla protein, fetuin A, and loss of these inhibitors may result in spontaneous vascular calcification. Fetuin A also plays a role in inhibition of CaxP precipitation [36].
The presence of bone-like tissue including osteoblast-like cells and hematopoietic elements within atherosclerotic plaque suggest VC as osteogenic differentiation of vessel wall cells [37–40]. A signal from AS plaque induces expression of potent osteogenic differentiation factor BMP-2a, with bone matrix and calcium hydroxyapatite crystals deposition in the arterial wall cells [41, 42]. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) [43, 44] inactivates the osteoclasts by blocking RANK activation. In dialysis patients, serum OPG levels are associated and predict progressive vascular calcification especially when CRP level is increased. Unregulated, degenerative calcification process within advanced AS plaque is progressive and severe in ESRD patients.
Hyperphosphatemia plays a very important role in ESRD related arteropathy [6, 7, 45]. In hyperphosphatemic environment ( mM), the vascular smooth muscle cell culture systems revealed both osteochondrogenic phenotypic change and mineralization through sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter, Pit-1 [39, 46, 47]. There was loss of smooth muscle-specific gene expression and upregulartion of bone differentiation genes that translate into differential factors (Osteocalcin, osteopontin and Runx2, etc.), with the resultant osteogenic differentiation. Calcium deposition also occurs in prolonged hypercalcemic (>2.6 mM) environment. Calcium increases Pit-1 mRNA levels, increases smooth muscle cell sensitization to phosphorus, and results in osteoblastic differentiation. Elevated serum calcium was also associated with elevated CaxP product, altered alkaline phosphatase, and decreased marix Gla protein, which together play a role in VC [48].
Recent study revealed that calcium phosphate deposition may trigger the osteogenic changes. Calcium phosphate deposition (CPD) occurs as a cellular independent phenomenon which depends on calcium, phosphate, and hydroxyl ions concentration, but not on CaxPi concentration products [49]. A mouse lacking the VC inhibitor matrix-Gla protein had spontaneous extensive extraosseous calcifications despite normal Ca and P concentrations [50]. Mineralization is actively inhibited and prevented in the arteries. The loss of calcification inhibitors and CPD may lead to specific osteogene expression and VSMC differentiation and finally result in vascular calcification [49].
A genetic mechanism of hyperphosphatemia on vascular calcification was cited by Wu-Wong et al. in 2007. Elevated P modulates through VDR mRNA stability and PPARγ-mediated gene expression may lead to its detrimental effects including vascular calcification [20].
The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which is expressed in vascular wall, plays key role in inhibition of vascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). After CaSR stimulation, many intracellular signaling events occur via MEK1/ERK1,2 and PLC pathways and lead to proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. CaSR-mediated PLC activation is important for SMC survival and protection against apoptosis [51, 52]. Calcimimetic agents act on CaSR increasingly known nowadays for treatment of SHPT and CKD-MBD. Calcimimetics activate vascular calcium-sensing receptor and modulate the expression of VC inhibitor proteins like matrix Gla [53]. Calcimimetics were shown to have better plasma PTH controlling than calcitriol in uremic rats [54]. It also revealed that combination of Calcimimetics with calcitriol prevents VC and reduced mortality. Apart from controlling serum PTH levels, these agents also reduce calcium (Ca), phosphate (P), and CaxP product levels, which is more beneficial than other calcium containing phosphate binders and vitamin D analogues [53, 54]. These studies revealed that those agents may even reverse some vascular abnormalities in CKD.
3. Contemporary Concepts in ESRD Patients with Vascular Calcification
3.1. Role of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
HD patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism may be under an environment of increased serum inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress [30, 55]. High PTH levels, inflammation, and oxidative stress may involve together in CKD-MBD and cardiovascular calcification in SHP patients. Our recent study showed calcitriol can effectively suppress PTH secretion and reduce inflammatory markers including CRP and IL-6 [31]. While using vitamin D analogues in CKD patients, we have to note that, on one side, with increasing survival benefit, and on the other side, with some risks of vascular calcification. Thus, vitamin D in its form of less hypercalcemic agent paricalcitol, combination therapy with calcimimetic agents is becoming popular nowadays. Zhao et al. [56] demonstrate recently that increased mitochondrial membrane potential may lead to intracellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulation, with resultant superoxide production, and increased oxidative stress. These ROS mediate p65 nuclear translocation which is found to associate with phosphate-induced VC [56]. Osteogenic differentiation factor bone morphogenic protein-2a (BMP-2a), a well-known mediator of VC, is nowadays found to be a molecular link between oxidative stress and arterial stiffness due to vascular calcification [41, 57].
3.2. FGF23-Klotho Axis
The fibroblast growth factor–23 (FGF-23) and klotho genes are growingly known to regulate phosphate homeostasis recently [58]. Fibroblast growth factor-23 inhibits proximal renal and intestinal phosphorus absorption and klotho gene express in renal distal convoluted tubules and parathyroid gland. In mice, deletions of klotho and FGF-23 genes found to result in hyperphosphaemia, vascular calcification, arteriosclerosis, elevated 1,25(OH)2D, and osteopenia.
Patients with CKD have elevated FGF-23 levels early in the course of disease before clinically significant hyperphosphatemia occurs. Increased circulating FGF-23 target the remnant nephrons, enhance phosphate excretion, and inhibit 1,25(OH)2D3 production. Thus, frank hyperphosphatemia does not develop until GFR < 30 mL/min. FGF-23 concentrations directly correlate with renal function. Higher FGF-23 levels indicate rapidly progressive CKD, and also predict mortality in HD patient, thus, FGF-23 level may become important as creatinine level in kidney function assessment in future [59]. FGF-23 in earlier CKD increase phosphate excretion and prevent the development of vascular calcification. Higher FGF-23 also lead to reduced serum levels of 1,25(OH)2D in early CKD despite high PTH. Its phosphaturic and hypovitaminosis D effects are more important than PTH in earlier stages of CKD. The resultant low serum 1,25(OH)2D and hypocalcemia enhance PTH secretion and progress to secondary hyperparathyroidism. FGF-23, together with cofactor klotho, act on FGF receptor in parathyroid gland and reduce its secretion. But, in later stages of CKD, FGF23 resistance and hyperphosphatemia lead to secondary HPTH despite high FGF23 levels. Due to progressive nephron loss, the number of nephrons responds to FGF-23 reduced and phosphate retension occurs in late stage CKD. Abnormally high FGF23 levels in later stages of CKD lead to vascular dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and early mortality. Aortic calcification can be predicted by measuring FGF-23 level in hemodialysis patients [60]. Phosphate binders or use of long-acting PTH analogs to reduce intestional phosphate reabsorption in earlier stages CKD may reduce FGF-23 production and prevent those complications. In future, FGF-23 may be an important therapeutic target in management of CKD and hyperphosphatemia.
3.3. Role of Metabolic Acidosis
Metabolic acidosis which is very common in CKD patients may lead to bone dissolution by osteoclast activation and osteoblast inhibition [61, 62]. Our studies prove that acute correction of metabolic acidosis improves osteoblast function, increases 1,25(OH)2D3 levels, and attenuates circulating PTH activity in chronic renal failure patients, and it underlines the importance of maintaining normal acid-base homeostasis in chronic renal failure [63–65]. Mendoza et al. [66] hypothesize an assumption that the response of extraosseous calcification to metabolic acidosis may be similar to that of bone, and, given that metabolic acidosis impairs bone mineralization, it is likely to attenuate the extraosseous calcification processes. They investigate the in vivo effect of metabolic acidosis on the development of vascular and other soft-tissue calcifications in a rodent model of uremia. Their results show that metabolic acidosis eventually prevents the development of calcitriol-induced extraskeletal calcifications in uremic rats, even with elevated plasma Ca and P levels. Metabolic acidosis plays a complex mechanism in VC, including stimulating of the solubility of Ca-P deposits, suppressing parathyroid secretion, inhibiting some osteogenic enzymes, blocking bone matrix formation, modulating the upregulation of Pit-1, and finally blocking phosphate uptake by the arterial smooth muscle cells [61].
3.4. Role of Adipocytokine Leptin
Increased BMI and abdominal obesity are well known to be related with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular complications. Mediators released from adipose tissue are recently shown to be playing a role in promoting CVD. It has been shown in our previous study that adipocytokine leptin level is a marker for body adiposity in hemodialysis patients [67]. Studies conducted by Zeadin et al. [68] and Martin et al. [69] showed that a positive correlation between plasma leptin levels and CAC. It has been demonstrated that leptin promote osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells and, thus, possibly lead to vascular calcification.
3.5. Role of Salivary Phosphate
In uremic patients, hyperphosphatemia is found to be poorly controlled even with the use of phosphate binders and dietary phosphate limitation in addition to dialysis. Savica et al. [70] found the role of salivary phosphate in worsening hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients. The salivary phosphorus ratio in dialysis patients was more than two times compared with healthy controls, and salivary phosphorus was five times higher than serum phosphorus in those patients. Thus, salivary phosphate binders could be an efficient approach in treating hyperphosphatemia in those patients.
3.6. Role of Pyrophosphate
Recent data suggest that deficient in pyrophosphate (PPi), a potent inhibitor of vascular calcification, may increase the medial vascular calcification in advanced kidney disease [71]. Levels of PPi are reduced in hemodialysis patients [72]. Hydrolysis of PPi is increased in aortas from uremic rats because of upregulation of alkaline phosphatase, providing a mechanism for vascular deficiency of PPi. Therefore, the data suggest that exogenous PPi may be useful in treating or preventing uremic vascular calcification. O'Neill and colleagues [73] show in uremic rats that systemic administration of pyrophosphate prevents or reduces uremia-related vascular calcification, without overt negative consequences for bone and without calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease. These findings prompt further research into the potential of pyrophosphate as treatment for vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease patients.
3.7. New Concept on Measures to Halt Phosphorus-Related Vascular Calcification
Factors that relate with vascular calcification process in CKD patients include phosphorus activation of the Pit-1 receptor, bone morphogenic proteins 2 and 4, leptin, endogenous 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D, vascular calcification activating factor, and measures of oxidative stress. These entities may become future targets for diagnosis and treatment since standard hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors have been shown to be failing to attenuate the progressive VC in those patients.
Dietary and therapeutic phosphorus control stands out as an important and basic step of preventing progressive VC in CKD patients. Dietary phosphorus control plays an important regulatory role in mineral homeostasis. Phosphorus is absorbed throughout the intestines and via 2 separate processes, a sodium-independent paracellular pathway and sodium-dependent carrier-mediated transcellular pathway (NaP-IIb) [74]. Low dietary phosphorus level may increase that type II b Na-P cotransporters protein expression on enterocytes with increasing P absorption. The percentage of dietary absorption varies with intake. At high levels of intake (>10 mg/kg/day), approximately 70% of the ingested P is absorbed, whereas at lower levels of intake, as much as 80%–90% may be absorbed. Net intestional P absorption may be somewhat lowered in patients with ESRD. Inorganic phosphate is an important P which is found mostly in food additives like enhanced meat products, cereal and snack bars, flavored waters, and frozen meals, with 90% to 100% absorption. Thus, the principle of Pi management in ESRD patients is to restrict dietary Pi intake to 1~1.4 g/day, usage of phosphate binders as needed, and if still noncompliant can increase the dialysis time (Nocturnal HD) and frequency (Short Daily HD) with target levels of Pi < 4.6 mg/dL in CKD stage 3,4 and 3.5–5.5 mg/dL in CKD stage 5.
With concept of insufficient phosphorus removal by conventional hemodialysis, phosphate binders are taking to reduce gastrointestional phosphate absorption by virtually all hemodialysis patients. Due to potential risk of VC with calcium overload, Calcium-based phosphate binders are nowadays replaced by non-Ca-based ones. Sevelamer HCl [75–77] and Lanthanum carbonate [78–80] are the non-Ca-based phosphate binders well known nowadays with beneficial effects on vascular calcification. Sevelamer found to exert many benefits on VC by increasing fetuin-A levels, reducing systemic inflammation and modulating lipid profiles [81–83]. Efficacy and safety of new non-calcium, iron-based phosphate binder SBR759 was studied by Block et al. in a phase I clinical trial. Risks of iron accumulation and hypocalcemia were addressed but appear to be well tolerated [84].
Pyrophosphate, serve as an endogenous inhibitor of calcification and prevent hydroxyapatite formation in the vessel walls [85–87]. Pyrophosphate stands important defense against calcification in vessels without adverse effects on bone [73]. Thus, pyrophosphate becomes recent popular medication research in progress. Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (NCBPs) (e.g., ibandronate, alendronate, risedronate, and zoledronate) may inhibit the cardiovascular calcification [88, 89]. Etidronate may also reduce chronic inflammatory response and decrease OPG concentrations with the resultant decrease in vascular calcification in dialysis patients [90].
Niacin lowers serum phosphate and increases HDL cholesterol in dialysis patients. Niaspan (prolonged-release nicotinic acid) lowers serum phosphate and increases HDL cholesterol in dialysis patients [91, 92]. Patients with ESRD often have markedly elevated salivary phosphate concentration, independent of food content. A recent study on thirteen HD patients with serum phosphate levels > 6.0 mg/dL chewed 20 mg of chitosan-loaded chewing gum twice daily for 2 wk at fast in addition to oral compound found to be a useful approach for improving treatment of hyperphosphatemia in HD patients [93]. An experiment on ammonium chloride on uremic rats having a high phosphorus diet and calcitriol treatment may prevent vascular calcification [66]. This explains that the alkaline pH environment which occurs during regular HD even for a short time may lead to vascular calcification [94]. Thiosulfate, previously taken for urolithiasis events, nowadays seem to reduce vascular calcification [95]. Additional clinical trials on Thiosulfate are still underway [96]. Vitamin K analogues serve as cofactors for gamma-carboxylation of proteins including coagulation factors and matrix gla protein (MGP). MGP regulate vascular calcification, and its deficiency may lead to severe VC and CVD [50].
4. Conclusion
Vascular calcification started with extracellular phosphate regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell osteogenic differentiation and calcium phosphate mineralization. Generalized inflammatory condition in ESRD patients also suggested playing as an important factor in VC. FGF23-Klotho axis in regulating serum P levels and their roles in CVD become uncovered recently, while newer concepts of PTH and vitamin D are still evolving. It is increasingly accepted that factors promoting VC and inhibiting VC are in balance with excess of any one may relate with adverse effects in CKD-MBD and VC. Management trends are shifting from treating VC in older days to preventing VC in the new era. For the last, but not the least, the main target for all those efforts is to improve survival and life quality of these ESRD patients.
Authors' Contributions
C.-M. Z. and K.-C. L. contributed equally to this work.
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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
LEADERS: Azerane Bam BinkyBunny JerseyGirl LBJ10 LittlePuffyTail LongEaredLions RabbitPam
Hi guys!!!! I am writing about the sweetest bunny in the world, Chewy. I currently have 3 rabbits already, and this is my fourth. I rescued this one from a neglectful family who were just about to let the little girl go in their urban "projects" area. she would have definetly been hit by a car or perhaps abused by the locals.
i took her in and that same day i ha to rush her to the animal hospital to get her nails trimmed. they were so long that her paws were bent over and she couldn't even clean her face. it took 2 days to unmatt her fur, as she was never brushed.
she also had a bad cheek absess that needed to be surgically removed right away. we also have spayed her, and she is all healed up from all of her emotional and physical wounds. from all that she has gone through, i don't know how she is so affectionate. she loves to be held (but not picked up) and LOVES to snuggle. she loves human touch more than anyone of my rabbits. we estimate that she is about 1 1/2 years old.
i love her to death, but i am afraid of being evicted with all of these rabbits. it's a possibility that a foster-home spot might open up soon, but i really don't want her have to go family to family. i am looking for an amazing forever home for her.
I have a bunspace for her and I have also attached the link for the rescue we are working with. If you are interested in a sweet, litter-trained bunny, please contact Jamie at Hug-A-Bunny, she is handling all of the adoption paperwork.
take a look guys! she is very unique!!!!
awe she is so gorgeous she is a harlequin a breed by color. very nice breed too. I live in fla. sorry
Gosh she is a cutie, I'd swipe her up if I were closer! WAH!! I really hope she finds a wonderful home and let us know when she is adopted out to her forever home!
I also wanted to add a warm welcome to you! I admit I had not heard of Hug-A-Bunny but have added it to my favorites (hope you don't mind). You're more than welcome to post rabbits up for adoption here! What a great cause!
thanks. i am trying to use as many ways to find a home as possible. i have tried my local HRS groups, but it seems they are only dealing with emergencies (yah, a spoiled rabbit living with me is NOT a top priority. lol)
i have been on this board in the past, my name is Gina. I forgot my old login so I had to make a new one.
nice to meet you...
Oh good luck! You are an angel to take her in. I hope she finds a great home sooooon!

subset: commoncrawl


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The 3.44 Cubic Zirconia Cluster Wave Glam Ring is quite gorgeous. The full cut stones are brilliant. I was amazed at the price. I have been looking for this waterfall style for years. I had a smaller one, and it was stolen. This is a much better replacement. I am very pleased with this ring.
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Lots of promises will be made, but nothing will come out of it, says an animal rights activist.
PETALING JAYA: Promises of punishment and political posturing are all that will come from the government before the Petknode pet abuse fiasco is swept under the carpet.
Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan said the government does not care about animal abuse cases.
"The pet owners (affected by Petknode) can make as many police reports (against Petknode) as they want, but what is going to be done after the reports are made?" she asked.
Shenaaz was referring to the hundreds of cats left to die while in the care of pet boarding facility Petknode, while their owners were away on holiday.
She said the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) will most likely let off the company's owners with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
"They (DVS) are the enforcement agency with regard to domestic animals… (but) not much action will be taken against (Petknode).
"They (Petknode) will certainly get away with it, there will be a public outcry for a while, the company will lose their license, but (later on), they will just set up another business elsewhere," she added.
Several pet owners received their cats from the company late Saturday night. Left in a malnourished state, the owners complained on Twitter and Facebook.
This alerted other pet owners, who eventually had to break into Petknode's Damansara Damai office to get to their cats.
It was later revealed that more cats were locked away in a Saujana Utama bungalow.
The pet owners found over 300 cats without food and water for nine days. At least 13 have died from starvation.
The police had since questioned two people over the incident.
'Department utterly incompetent'
Targeting DVS, Shenaaz said she did not expect them to do anything beyond a few words of warning.
"They will come out to look like valiant protectors but they're completely and utterly incompetent. All they're good for is coming out with statements," she said.
Shenaaz said that DVS officials are not animal-friendly and lax in taking action against animal abusers.
She also criticised the Animal Act 1953 (2006 Amendment), arguing that it is not adequate to deal with animal abuse cases.
Currently, the Act states that anyone guilty of cruelty to animals would be liable to a RM200 fine or a six-month jail term or both.
Sheenaz then cited Chao Xiao Wei's case as an example. In March this year, Chao stomped on three kittens.
Her actions, captured on CCTV and spread over the Internet, led her to being slapped with a RM400 fine but no jail term.
Sheenaz also slammed the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry, which oversees the DVS, for constantly promising to raise the Act's maximum fine to RM50,000 and one year's jail.
"It's just something they like to talk about to shut people up," she said, adding that Noh Omar, the minister-in-charge, did not follow up with his promises.
Also read:
Holiday nightmare for pet owners


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Brock kicks off Little League WS
Brock kicks off Little League WS
The series will conclude with another Hall of Famer announcing the championship games as Joe Morgan joins former Major League hurler Orel Hershiser to broadcast the U.S. championship game on Saturday, Aug. 27. He returns to Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 28, to call the world championship. Morgan will be the 15th Baseball Hall of Fame member since 1964 to broadcast for ABC at the Little League Baseball World Series.
All 32 games of the 2006 World Series for 11- and 12-year-olds will be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Deportes.
On Thursday, on the eve of the series, Brock served as Grand Marshal of the annual Grand Slam Parade. Along with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, the parade drew more than 15,000 fans to Williamsport's historic downtown, and featured the players of Little League's 16-team tournament, as well as the volunteer umpires invited to officiate.
The program began in Williamsport in 1939, on a makeshift field a few hundred feet from the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna's headwaters are just down the street from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"It's like walking into the Baseball Hall of Fame; the footsteps of the past are there," Brock said.
Throughout his 19-year career, former left fielder Brock totaled a then-record 938 stolen bases and accumulated more than 3,000 hits, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to three National League pennants and two World Series championships. The Cardinals retired his No. 20, and he was inducted into Cooperstown in 1985.
Few professional ball players attend the Little League World Series until they retire, since the two seasons overlap. Brock said he and his teammates watched the Little League world championship game on ABC in the clubhouse.
"We would watch it and ask each other, 'Did we play like that at 12?' The answer is 'No.' It has become a showcase of skill," he said.
Brock is now an ordained minister and, with his wife, Jacqueline, focuses on evangelism and promoting educational opportunities for youth. In 1979, he established the Lou Brock Scholarship Foundation.
"When I was a kid, a lot of people gave unto me, particularly coming out of high school," Brock said, adding that the scholarship program is his family's way of "giving back to the community."
"Just as we were sparked as young people, my wife and I feel that we can give a small spark to youngsters," he added.
Born in 1939, the same year Little League was founded, Brock grew up on a Louisiana cotton plantation. He did not have the opportunity to play ball until high school.
A walk-on at Southern, he hit three out of five pitches over the fence during his tryout, and was offered a full baseball scholarship on the spot. He also was selected by the United States Olympic Committee to play on the USA Pan American Baseball Team and led Southern University to the NAIA World Series Championship.
Despite his career highlights and accolades, the invitation to open the Little League World Series with the first pitch was a thrill.
"I feel like a kid getting his chance in the Little League. This is exciting for us, my wife and me, to have the ultimate Little League experience," Brock said. "It's not just the game, it's the experience."
His sons also played baseball, an important -- if difficult -- step in their childhood.
"Because they had my last name, because they were Lou Brock's sons, people had higher expectations of them," he said. "They were just little kids out there trying to harness the baseball. They just wanted a chance to play.
"I call that the 'rite of passage.' You got to go through Little League Baseball to get to football, to basketball, to life. Whether they liked it or not, in the end, it was an avenue to extend their dreams," he said.
Brock is considered by many to be an ambassador, spreading goodwill and encouraging scholarship through the sport of baseball.
He also supports "Diamonds in the Rough," an annual youth essay contest sponsored by Briggs & Stratton. The grand prize winner receives a baseball (or softball) field refurbishing as well as a baseball clinic conducted by Brock and fellow Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk.
Brock compared it to Little League Baseball's Urban Initiative, which is designed to increase youth participation in baseball and softball within the inner cities. With Major League Baseball as a primary backer, Little League aids in the renovation of baseball fields, helping to revitalize communities.
"It's wonderful that people are trying to restore the game in certain areas. It restores its zest," he said. "I'm happy to see Major League Baseball promote baseball to younger people because Little League is the training ground."
Brock said he believed youth baseball is becoming popular again because the reward is defined. Children witness it on television as professional athletes receive adulation.
"It's a good thing because it shows children where they want to go," he said. "The reality of baseball is, 'I'm heading home.' Baseball is the only sport that welcomes you home. Everybody high-fives you. The third base coach gives you confirmation that you are going home when he pats you on the shoulder."
"A man reaches out for confirmation; he wants to know, 'I'm doing the right thing.' I think it should be highlighted more -- the rounding of third base, the heading home, the welcoming home. It's a message that your family wants you. I think people miss that."
Robin Van Auken is the co-author of "Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball." This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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MGT3035 W5 A2 - Resource and Time Budgets
MGT3035 W5 A2 - Resource and Time Budgets
Assignment 2: Resource and Time Budgets
Using your textbook, read the Directed Reading entitled "Three Perceptions of Project Cost."
Based on your research and reading, answer the following questions:
- What are the differences in the ways project managers, accountants, and financial comptrollers perceive the expenses of a project?
- How are indirect costs involved in the preparation of the budget for a project?
- Using the typical profit and loss statement included in the Directed Reading, does it surprise you that a $1,000,000 project will generate only the Net profit shown on the bottom line of that statement? Why or why not?
You are going to be the project manager for the construction of a large warehouse for a major international company. Of course, there are many elements involved in constructing such a large facility, but this assignment will consider only one, the laying of the facility's foundation (which is obviously preceded by site preparation and followed by the actual construction of the building).
In preparation for completing of this element of the project—laying the facility foundation—complete the following:
- Locate a source of data for the hourly wages that will need to be paid to those who will pour and finish the concrete foundation (the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States government is a good source for such information). Be sure to document the source of your hourly wage data for such concrete workers.
- Locate a source of data for the cost of a cubic yard of reinforced concrete. Be sure to document the source of your reinforced concrete cost data.
- Assuming that eight workers will be needed for the completion of the project, that they will work five days per week for 10 hours per day, and that it will take them three full weeks to complete the pouring of the foundation, what is your estimate (based on the hourly wage data that you located) of the labor expense of pouring the foundation?
- Assuming that the foundation will require 400 cubic yards of concrete, what is your estimate (based on the hourly wage data that you located) of the cost of the materials needed for pouring the foundation?
- How would "Overhead charges" (review the Budgeting chapter if you do not remember learning about this term) impact the two estimates that you have calculated?
- How would an increase in the cost of steel (one of the components of reinforced concrete) impact the budget that you had developed?
- If the construction site was impacted by a hurricane during the preparation of the foundation (meaning that work had to be temporarily stopped), how would the overall schedule of the construction project be impacted?
Please provide your answers in a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document.
Support your responses with examples.
Cite any sources in APA format.
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text:
Drakensang - The Dark Eye - Dev Diary #5 Now Available
View Single Post
March 30th, 2007, 22:12
Originally Posted by
Not official site. Fansite.
At least semi-official. Because the developers talk about these entries in the officioal forum, too. At least at their German-language counterparts, which you might regard as "not official", too, because no-one know knows only the English language understands these entries.
And by the way, the diaries call themselves "official", too.
Now who is more right, you or the ones posting the diary ?
Alrik Fassbauer
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text:
Tikkun Magazine, Winter 2011
Editor's Note: There are many ways to practice tikkun olam, and each way yields unique insights. The piece below is a response to our request for a brief statement about how the author's work fits into the broader work of tikkun olam.
The Coming of Grace
by Josephine Donovan
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Protestant theologian executed by the Nazis in 1945, speaks in his book Ethics (published posthumously in 1949) of an "obligation to prepare the way for the coming of grace." "There are," he explains, "conditions of the heart, of life and of the world which impede the reception of grace." The main impediments to what he also labels "the merciful coming of Christ" are "a depth of human bondage, of human poverty, of human ignorance."
As a nonbeliever in any formal religion, I interpret the terms "grace" and "Christ" in ways that Bonhoeffer may not have intended. I see them as referring to a renewed energy, vitality, spirit, and enlightenment coming from the earth and life itself once the impediments Bonhoeffer specifies are removed. Bondage, poverty, ignorance: our job, I believe, as thinkers and writers concerned about social justice and ecological renewal, is to do what we can to remove these obstacles to the coming of grace.
Herbert Marcuse (and other Frankfurt School theorists) advocated for "the power of negative thinking" (in One-Dimensional Man), that is, the ability to recognize and say no to the institutionalized impediments noted above. Such negative thinking is part of a dialectic, the other side of which sees and protects what is emerging once blockages are removed. I see our work as part of this dialectic: on the one hand critiquing oppressive institutions, practices, and attitudes; on the other, helping to enable the emergence of crushed and hitherto silenced voices.
Part of my work has been dedicated to retrieving lost voices of women writers. Here I follow the Brazilian theorist Paulo Freire's idea that in order to counter oppression, people must come to a consciousness of that oppression by sharing their stories with others who are similarly oppressed. Literature is one way in which that sharing, that bearing witness, that naming pain, occurs. It can be a kind of revolutionary praxis that counters the ignorance that sustains oppression (Bonhoeffer's "bondage").
Literature and literary criticism, by bringing to light lost, silenced voices, makes their existence known, thus enabling that ethical caring attention be paid to them. In recent years I have focused on retrieving the silenced existence of nonhuman animals as beings worthy of such attention. In several articles I have proposed Simone Weil's notion of "attentive love" as a redemptive practice, which means simply asking, "What are you going through?"
In retrieving what French theorist Michel Foucault termed "subjugated knowledges" -- those rendered marginal, obscure, ridiculed, and/or silent by dominant powers -- one often discovers positive alternatives to the knowledges sanctioned by the ruling corporate parties. My most recent book, European Local-Color Literature (Continuum, 2010), brings to light an "underground" repressed tradition of fiction about peasants and villagers -- "little people" -- in pre-modern Europe.
My hope is that all my work may contribute to the process of opening the world up to the reception of "grace," removing the heavy boulders that are blocking the green shoots of long repressed life from emerging. If we enable that new life to grow and flourish, the earth, the world, will heal itself.
Josephine Donovan, professor emerita of English at the University of Maine, is the author of Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions, a fourth edition of which is forthcoming, and coeditor of The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics.
Source Citation: Donovan, Josephine. 2011. The Coming of Grace.Tikkun 26(1): online exclusive.
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text: The FAU Academy for Community Inclusion is a college program for high school graduates who have been diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program allows students to earn certificates in supported employment, supported community access, and supported community living. These certificates are offered in an inclusive college environment on the FAU Jupiter campus. The program allows students to participate in college activities, clubs, organizations, that are available to all FAU students.


text:
A Will County judge has, for the second time, dropped the gun charges against former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson.
Judge Richard Schoenstedt said prosecutors failed to convince him that Peterson shouldn't be allowed to own the AR-15 rifle that was taken from him three years ago.
"Under different circumstances, the officers of the Bolingbrook Police Department would have been able to possess and conceal carry this very weapon," Schoenstedt wrote.
"It was absolutely the correct decision to make," said Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He said the law allows police officers to "carry almost any type of weapon."
The charges were dropped a little more than a year ago by the same judge after prosecutors refused to surrender requested documents. Peterson's attorneys had argued the gun charges amounted to vindictive and selective prosecution.
That July 2009 decision moved Peterson to kiss his Brodsky on the side of the head as they left the courthouse.
But the Illinois Third District Appellate Court six months later said Schoenstedt erred and reversed his decision.
The weapon in question is an assault-style rifle. Peterson gave it to his son, Stephen, for safe-keeping, but authorities confiscated it three years ago during the investigation of the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. .
Prosecutors said Peterson had illegally modified the weapon by shortening its barrel and charged him with unlawful use of a weapon.
Friday's ruling won't have any affect on Peterson's living arrangements. He continues to be held on $20 million bond in the Joliet County Jail on charges he drowned his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Peterson has not been charged with Stacy Peterson's disappearance, but many suspect he had something to do with it. Stacy Peterson was last seen Oct. 28, 2007.


text:
Candy canes yay or nay
Posted by + Show Post
Candy canes yay or nay
Replies (11-20):
I love them but we can only have the little ones. Ds3 is allergic to sugar so he can't really have them unless we take it away somewhere else. :(
yes i put them on our christmas tree...but they slowly start to disappear....son and hubby eat them
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text:
Sony Gamers Day 2003: Jak II
September 16, 2003 - Two weeks ago, Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin and Lead Game Designer Evan Wells came by to show us the latest build of Jak II. We wrote a huge hands-on piece, and have since posted numerous movies, screens, and a video interview
Jak II Video Interview
September 15, 2003 - Jak II may sound a bit simpler with concern to its name when compared to its predecessor, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, but names are often misleading. In actuality, Jak II is a much bigger, much larger and potentially an even better game than its mama, and that's really saying something. Evan Wells, the game director behind the, err, game, recently paid a visit to the IGN crib and had a chat with IGNPS2's EIC Douglass C. Perry. The two discussed topics ranging from technical improvements over Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy to Daxter's more risqu¿ (and playable) presence. The first 5,725,863 people who download the video interview will also get new footage within said interview. So call now! Operators are standing by!
GC 2003: Inside Sony's Booth
August 21, 2003 - Sony is serious about online gaming. That's the message Sony of Europe's sizable expo booth tried to drive home with the thousands of German PlayStation fans who visited the Games Convention in Leipzig today. Set up over two floors, the laboratory-themed display drew crowds of gamers, eager to get their first go at upcoming games like Gran Turismo 4, Hardware: Online Arena, Destruction Derby, and also many of the other multiplayer online games not yet released in Europe, like SOCOM, Twisted Metal Black Online, and Everquest Online Adventures.
Jak II
August 15, 2003 - Naughty Dog hasn't sat down on the job. Releasing a slightly upgraded sequel to Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy with a new storyline would have been an easy task and probably raked in enough dough to make everyone happy. But that's not the case. As it turns out, Jak II looks to be well beyond what anyone could have hoped for in the sequel. Plenty of things excite us in ways that make us giddy, like the darker and broodier attitude shift for Jak. But one thing's for sure, and that's how great this game looks. If you thought the first game looked good, wait until you see Jak II. Is this the best looking PS2 game yet? Decide for yourself by checking out the following high-res clips.
Jak II: Hands-on
August 15, 2003 - Funny thing happened this week. Jason Rubin and Evan Wells of Naughty Dog came by to show us the latest build of its upcoming game, Jak II. I had it for a few days but before I even touched it, and if you can believe this, I had to play through Silent Hill 3 again. I was hooked on Konami's survival horror title and had to unlock some weapons, shirts and the like. You could call it a weird priority to hold off Jak II to play through Silent Hill 3 again, and now that I think about it, it's pretty messed up. But see, I have come to. Last night, I stayed up 'til 1 am playing Jak II. This game, it's f*cking awesome.
Sony Sponsors the Big X
August 12, 2003 - Sony Computer Entertainment made the announcement today that it would be sponsoring the ninth annual popular alternative sport event known as the ESPN X Games. A showcase for more than 300 athletes, the X Games offers competition in a myriad of different sports; including aggressive inline skating, bike stunts, downhill BMX, skateboarding, surfing, and wakeboarding.
Jak II
May 28, 2003 - Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy sold well enough that it's now a Greatest Hits title, and for good reason. The game closed in on platformer perfection with dead-on controls, feature-film animation and a scenic graphics engine behind it. Jak II takes the storyline in a seemingly darker direction, which definately piques our interest, as it should yours. Check the following high-res clips and get a glimpse at the new Jak.
Jak II Demo: Hands-on
May 28, 2003 - If E3 is good for at least one thing, it's schwag. Schwag in every shape and form, be it t-shirts, baseball caps, pins, stickers, and hey I even got a Dr. Seuss mouse. One of the schwag items handed out in full force at Sony Computer Entertainment America's monstrous booth was a Jak II demo disc. So, naturally, we had to play it and give you the latest update on Naughty Dog's gun-wielding new platformer.
E3 2003: Jak II Progress Report
May 14, 2003 - Naughty Dog presented Jak II to the E3-going public today in a well-constructed and beautiful set of levels, giving people other than the press a chance to jump, smack and shoot their way across the City and outer-lying environments.
Jak II Pictorial
April 3, 2003 - Looking through the year 2003, it's crystal clear that if for no other reason, owning a PlayStation 2 is a very smart move. Among other things, Naughty Dog's upcoming platformer, Jak II is coming, and it's worth the price of admission all on its own.
Jak II: Hands-On
March 18, 2003 - When Sony Computer Entertainment American invited me to Naughty Dog's Santa Monica, Ca. studio, I was more than just glad. I was relieved. Having been through the massive body count of games that flung themselves at retailer shelves in 2001 hoping to stick, I knew I was in for a treat. For one, I knew the code I was about to see would dust 95% of the software I had seen in the last nine months -- because I had just popped Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy into my PS2 and instantly remarked on how clean, sturdy and burly the game still looked, more than one year after its release. Second, despite their comfortable position underneath Sony's wing as a first-party developer, I had a feeling that co-founders Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin weren't going to sit on their laurels and crank out another 3D platformer like before. Or, at least, I sincerely hoped not. Third, Jak and Daxter sold less favorably than expected (until it reached Greatest Hits status, that is), and so I was desperately curious to see what lessons Jason and Andy had learned from the mixed critical acclaim they received from Jak and Daxter. Were they going to ignore the critics and just do more of the same? Or use the criticisms to better their game?
SCEA Announces Jak II
March 18, 2003 - With a slated fall release, Sony Computer Entertainment America today officially announced development of Naughty Dog's next big thing, Jak II. The sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursory Legacy, Jak II is a story-driven platformer that puts guns in Jak's hands, and follows him through a massive world or dread, misery and revenge.
DICE 2003: Ins and Outs of Sequels
March 3, 2003 - This session with Jason Rubin (Naughty Dog), Ted Price (Insomniac), Cliff Bleszinski (Epic), and Christopher Cross (EA Games) focused on the pros and cons of designing sequel titles. Being the creators of Crash, Spyro, Unreal, and Medal of Honor respectively, there was much the experienced creators could yield to the audience in this roundtable discussion on the topic of crafting a sequel. As D.I.C.E. is geared more towards the developer, the creators debated a large number of topics based around past performance.
DICE 2003: Jak and Daxter 2
February 28, 2003 - During the Ins and Outs of Sequels session at D.I.C.E. 2003, Naughty Dog founder and co-president suggested that a sequel to their recent hit platformer Jak & Daxter is in the works. Full details here.


text:
|16 Dec 2009
LAN gaming between 7 and xp
I've searched and searched the internet and can't find a solution to my problem.
My brothers and I enjoy playing LAN games together on our local network. We've got a 'Netgear Super Wireless ADSL Router DG834GT' (includes modem) two desktops running XP and my laptop which I just installed 7 on. The two desktops play multiplayer together fine, either one hosting or joining, but my laptop is the problem. The results depend on the game, though I've only tried three so far.
BG2: Throne of Bhaal - Either desktop hosting I can get to the password page, but can't connect after that. With me hosting, the desktops can't get anywhere.
SW: Galactic Battlegrounds - Desktop hosting I can see the game but can't connect. When I'm hosting neither desktop can see.
SW Battlefront 2 - Desktop's hosting, I can connect and play fine. When I'm hosting the desktops can't see again.
I've tried disabling all firewalls, followed the instructions here and am able to share files any which way I want, but just can't seem to play games. It's like my laptop's not sending the required information. We're all on the same workgroup, I've disabled UAC, I've checked the registry entries for restrictanonymous, disabled IPv6 on my laptop, but I can't work the problem out.
Btw, I previously had Vista and had similar problems but I could usually get it working by playing around with the settings mentioned above.
Any advice would be much appreciated. I've uploaded the saved info from running DxDiag if you need to refer to it.
|My System Specs
|23 Dec 2009
Ok, so I don't like doing this, but I'm going to bump this topic, cause I can't be the only one experiencing this problem and I still need some help fixing it. Again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated; I'll try just about anything at this point.
|My System Specs
|24 Dec 2009
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
To me this sounds like the issue is on the XP machine with the firewall on the desktop.
I would make sure that the game you are hosting on the desktop is allowed to go threw the firewall. You can test by disabling the firewall on the desk top and host a game and see if the Win 7 connects.
When hosting anygame 70% of the problem is a software firewall.
|My System Specs
|24 Dec 2009
Like I mentioned, I've already tried to host and connect to a game with the firewalls on both computers disabled so I'm fairly certain it's not a firewall problem. I know my router has an inbuilt firewall, but I'm pretty sure that only effects traffic entering or leaving the LAN, not within the LAN.
|My System Specs
|26 Dec 2010
Windows 7 home premium X64
And a year later....
Here am I with the same problem.
Got several computers in a network, and i can play C&C Tiberium wars between all XP computers, but Win7 Can't see anybody, and nobody can see the Win7 computer..
Anybody that has a solution to this?
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text:
The 2006 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art, directed by composer Douglas Geers and held at the University of Minnesota School of Music, was hardly your typical academic electronic music festival. Composer J. Anthony Allen, the festival's assistant director, believes, "You can go to plenty of electronic music festivals in the United States, some very good ones. What we want to do is engage all aspects of digital art that we can get our hands on." This year's event offered not only diversity within electronic music, but also varieties of multimedia collaboration. Headlined by Scanner (a.k.a. Robin Rimbaud) and Alvin Lucier, as well as violinist Maja Cerar and saxophonist Brian Sacawa, Spark's five-day program was filled with exposure to the work of visual artists, musicians, composers, scholars, and dancers.
The festival opened with Scanner's keynote lecture and performance. The Londoner surveyed his work over the last two decades, from his early days of "telephone terrorism"—recording, mixing, and releasing of cell phone conversations—to more recent "responsible" projects, such as composing a new anthem for the European Union, Europa25. Scanner's performance was to bring musicians half a country apart into the same musical environment. The transmission arts group free103point9 was supposed to provide a live internet feed of audio and video originating in Brooklyn, which Scanner would manipulate in real time. Something failed, though, and all that came through was a 110 bpm click track, so the small audience was treated to a solo performance. Scanner's set oscillated between ambient and more beat-driven textures and was sprinkled throughout with sound samples that spanned from Vietnam to a snatch of banal conversation between a woman and her personal trainer.
Brian Sacawa, widely acclaimed in new music circles for his innovative explorations of the saxophone, performed on three Spark concerts. The first concert featured works by the Dal Niente Composers Group, a collective formed in 2001. Highlighting Sacawa's embrace of the laptop as a parallel compositional voice, many of these pieces were constructed around the saxophone triggering electronic counterpoints, from the metallic blizzard of Per Bloland's Quintet to an IDM-like barrage of synthetic pulses near the end of Zac Crockett's Flight to Flow Between.
In his other concerts, Sacawa explored an expanded electro-acoustic sonic palette. Lei Liang's Memories of Xiaoxiang transformed Sacawa's saxophone into a medium for the wails of a grieving wife, her husband killed by an official during the Cultural Revolution. The piece concludes with unsettling vocal samples as both the wife and the official lose their sanity. Not everything Sacawa played was as violent as Memories, however. The Capgras' Patience Wanes, written by Christopher Biggs, was a musical representation of mental illness that nervously bordered on the cartoonish. With all of his performances, however, Sacawa deftly blurred the line between a performer's acoustic and electronic sounds.
Maja Cerar renewed her association with Douglas Geers in her Spark performances. The two performed Autopoiesis (literally meaning "self-production") and Enkidu. For Autopoiesis, Cerar donned luminescent tubing, which a camera and computer subsequently captured and processed before projecting them onto a large screen as the violinist's ghostly double. At points it visually evoked a digital-era The Sorcerer's Apprentice, with Cerar's ghostly imprint dashing behind her. Able to control the elements of the performance through Max/MSP and Jitter, Autopoiesis was one of the best realizations I've witnessed of the multimedia possibilities that new technologies have offered to composers and performers.
The high point of the festival, however, was Alvin Lucier's involvement. The 75-year-old composer's keynote lecture was refreshingly nonchalant and lacked pretension; he mainly talked about his Sonic Arts Union colleagues Gordon Mumma, Robert Ashley, and David Behrman. At the concerts, the pieces performed were mainly for acoustic instruments and wave oscillators. Cerar and Sacawa performed Violynn and Spira Mirabilis, respectively. Heather Barringer performed Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra, which consisted of the Zeitgeist percussionist exploring the acoustic possibilities of folded metal. Liz Draper performed A Tribute to James Tenney, for double bass and two pure wave oscillators. Draper's high harmonics intertwined with sine tones a major second apart, but the steadiness of the oscillators was complicated by a clear D from the Southern Theater's HVAC system. It's hard to imagine, though, Lucier not enjoying this sonic monkey wrench generated by the acoustics of the performance space.
The most poetic moment came with the performance of Lucier's Nothing is Real, in which pianist Matthew McCright recorded the melody lines of "Strawberry Fields Forever" onto a miniature tape machine located inside a teapot. After he was finished playing, McCright opened and closed the teapot as the melody played back. Sounding more like a simulacrum than a faithful reproduction, it seemed to memorialize a by-gone era. The simplicity of construction in Nothing is Real and Lucier's other pieces reveal and revel in an astonishing level of acoustic enchantment, exploring the sonic possibilities of electronic music performances and the spaces in which they are performed.
There were many other excellent pieces performed at this year's festival, including a digital version of Jonathan Kramer's Renascence and Kaija Saariaho's Petals. They were part of the Spark Festival's attempts to bridge both academic and popular electronic composition—represented not only in the pieces presented during the festival, but also in the Spark Night Life parties where people from all stripes of electronic music could get together and dance.
These groups are increasingly coming together, according to Allen. "Its like two communities trying to shake hands," he explains, "but not being able to reach far enough. Spark serves as an intervention. We try to get them all in one place at one time and have a celebration."
Justin Schell lives in Minneapolis. He is a first-year graduate student in the Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where his main research interests are the study of contemporary musical cultures, the relationship between music criticism and notions of historical value, and the myriad ways that music does cultural work throughout the globe. He previously lived and worked in Milwaukee, where he completed a Bachelor's degree in Music History and Philosophy. And he unwaveringly agrees with Frank Zappa that The Shaggs are better than the Beatles.


text:
Last week proved to be an exciting one for Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola defensive back Chad Peppars. First, the talented athlete picked up his first scholarship offer from one of the top programs in the Pac 10. Then on Saturday, Peppars and his Cub teammates defeated Esperanza, Anaheim 49-42 in the CIF Div I final in what was one of the best games of the year.
Peppars, a 5-11, 170 pound athlete plays both running back and defensive back and is getting looks on both sides of the ball. He was one of the top cover corners at the Nike camp in Oregon where he clocked a 4.58 in the 40 3.90 in the shuttle and jumped 35 inches in the vertical.
He has rushed for over 1,000 yards this past season and is a talented running back but projects even better as a cornerback in college in our eyes. He's a tough, physical player who can play or the run equally well.
Article Continues Below
We reported a couple of weeks ago that schools were starting to show a lot more attention in Peppars and now he has his first offer on the table.
"Last Tuesday, Coach Neil at Oregon came over for a home visit and offered a scholarship," Peppars said. "I'm going to visit there (Jan. 13) and I'm really excited about Oregon right now. They have a strong program and I've always wanted to play in the Pac 10.
"I also had a home visit with Boise State but they haven't offered me yet. Right now, I would like to let my recruitment play out a little more and see what other schools show some interest. I'm hoping to take more than just the one visit but I have no problem committing early to Oregon if it looks like they're the school that wants me the most. It's a great school and I like them a lot."
As for the Cubs CIF title, Peppars said he's still on a high from the game although finals this week has caused him to move his attention back to schoolwork pretty quickly.
"It was a great game to be a part of that's for sure," Peppars said. "At halftime, we were up pretty big and I thought we might run away with it but they came back on us. Those guys can really run the football and once they got it going, it was hard to stop them. When the game was over, I was so relieved and excited, what a great way to go out as a senior."


text:
Welcome to the review of the weakest position in the Pac-10. And that was going to be the case even before Washington gave Kavario Middleton the boot.
Middleton, by the way, was named preseason first-team All-Pac-10 by Phil Steele, even though he only caught 26 passes last year and was being challenged for the starting job by Chris Izbicki.
Only four teams welcome back their starting tight end, and only one -- California's Anthony Miller -- even earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
Why is the position down? Attrition after an "up" season. Consider the departed: Arizona's Rob Gronkowski, Oregon's Ed Dickson, Stanford's Jim Dray, UCLA's Logan Paulsen and Ryan Moya and USC's Anthony McCoy. Those guys are now stocking NFL rosters.
So where do things stand? Well, you might say we graded the position on a curve, though there is plenty of potential here.
Great shape
California: Miller was the Bears' third-leading receiver last year. Six-foot-7 sophomore backup Spencer Ladner saw action in seven games.
Good shape
UCLA: While the Bruins lost their top two TEs, they look solid here with Cory Harkey, Notre Dame transfer Joseph Fauria and hybrid TE-WR Morrell Presley.
Stanford: Even though the Cardinal lost Dray, Coby Fleener was their top pass-catcher at the position, and the depth is good with Konrad Reuland, Zach Ertz and 6-foot-8 Levine Toilolo.
Oregon State: The Beavers get credit here for H-back Joe Halahuni, who caught 35 passes for 486 yards and three TDs in 2009. Senior Brady Camp is a good blocker with 18 career starts.
Oregon: The Ducks lose Dickson, but David Paulson saw extensive action in 2009 and JC transfer Brandon Williams was impressive this spring.
Arizona: Gronkowski's back injury made A.J. Simmons the season-long starter, so the Wildcats are at least experienced. Redshirt freshman Jack Baucus is the backup.
Washington State: The Cougars' depth chart lists five TEs, with Skylar Stormo and Zach Tatman offering experience at the top.
We'll see
USC: Attrition and injuries make this a questionable position for the Trojans. If Blake Ayles and Rhett Ellison stay healthy, things should be OK. The incoming freshman class is strong, starting with Xavier Grimble, who ranked No. 1 at the position, according to ESPN Recruiting.
Washington: With Middleton, the Huskies would have been in great shape. Izbicki had a good spring, but he only caught three passes for 7 yards in 2009 and the depth is questionable.
Arizona State: Jovon Williams is gone and Dan Knapp is a tackle, but the Sun Devils could move up here just because the position figures to be more involved in the offense in 2010. Trevor Kohl and Christopher Coyle top the depth chart.