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Guest Posts News and insights from special guests—from experts to enthusiasts. Some dogs seem oblivious to music, while others feel compelled to join in, singing harmony. This dog in the Ukraine clearly enjoyed accompanying a street musician as he played his clarinet. The dog's presence delighted those passing by, likely increasing the donations received by the musician. One of my dogs asked to go outside whenever I started playing piano. The others would curl up nearby and wait for the concert to end. Everyone's a critic! Do you have a musical dog? A Missoula man is living my worst nightmare. My heart goes out to him. On Sunday, November 17th, Layne Spence took his three family members – Malamutes Rex, Frank and Little Dave – out into the forest near Lolo Pass in Missoula County for some recreation. They drove to a campground that is closed for the winter. Spence was x/c skiing while his dogs did what Malamutes love to do – trot up the road just ahead of him, enjoying the snow. Because it's hunting season, Spence's dogs each wore a special collar with lights. Suddenly, without warning, their peaceful winter outing was destroyed by the sound of gunfire—as reported in the local paper—two quick, muffled shots. Horrified, Spence watched Little Dave's rear leg explode just yards ahead of him on the road. Yelling "Stop! Stop!" to alert the shooter, Spence stood helplessly on his skis as the camo-wearing hunter quickly fired four more times at Little Dave, with at least one bullet piercing the dog's neck, killing him. The hunter then came down out of the trees, saying he thought Little Dave was a wolf and asked if he could do anything. Spence did exactly what I would have done—screamed at the guy to leave. In 2005, my Malamutes Maia and Meadow and I moved to the West Central Mountains of Idaho, a rural ranching and logging area adjacent to the Payette National Forest, just outside the tourist town of McCall. Wild wolves had recently been reintroduced and were gaining a toe hold in the State, over the vocal objections of many Idahoans, including most hunters and ranchers. I had been living in the Seattle area, where strangers were always interested in meeting my girls, rarely showed fear and never thought they were wolves. In Idaho, I discovered the opposite was true: most locals assumed they were wolves, were immediately afraid of them, and only with reassurance from me that they were dogs— very friendly dogs—would they come closer to meet them. One of my new neighbor, a rancher who—like so many there—bought grazing allotments from the forest service and grazed his cattle in the Payette every summer, letting them roam freely, making them possible targets for wolves—assured me that no one would mistake my girls for a wolf, that wolves have longer legs, don't hold their tails curled up on their backs, etc. I wanted to believe him, but…I couldn't, based on the fearful reactions the girls kept eliciting. A couple years later, as I was walking my girls on leash up a country lane, this same neighbor stopped his truck beside us. Without preamble, he pointed at Maia, the one who looked most wolf-like, and said, "I shot a wolf that got into my cattle yesterday. It looked just like that one." He then drove away. I felt threatened and didn't sleep easy for weeks. During my time in Idaho—2005 through 2008—wolves were still protected as an endangered species and it was illegal to hunt them, although they could legally be shot if they "worried" livestock or threatened a pet. Despite those protections, I quickly learned that most locals would shoot any wolf they happened to see in the forest, any time of year, the Feds be damned. They bragged about it, or wanting to do it. So I made sure, any time I took my girls hiking or trail running in the forest, they stayed very close to me. During hunting season, I covered them in orange and even then—because I feared they would still be mistaken for wolves—I took them trail running in the only two nearby places where hunting was always illegal, a State park and a ski resort. I referred to their orange vests as "Do Not Hunt Me" vests. In fact, my fear was so great, I embellished the first vests I found (ironically sold by gun manufacturer Winchester to be worn by bird hunting dogs) by adding several lengths of orange flagging tape to their collars. The vests had nothing covering their chests so that head on, my girls could still be mistaken for wolves. Eventually I found bright orange vests made by VizVest that covered virtually their entire chest, backs and sides. I relaxed only slightly. By 2008, it became clear wolves would lose federal protection and hunting them would be legalized in Idaho. Despite my love of the breed and having at least one Malamute in my life since 1985, I vowed that if I continued to live in Idaho I would not get another because the stress of worrying they'd be shot was too great. When I did add another dog to my family in 2008, I got an Aussie—a ranch breed no hunter would mistake for a wolf. Trying to understand everyone's perspective, I asked lots of questions—of locals, hunters, fish and game experts. Here's my opinion, based on those conversations and living with the issue in a far-too-intimate way: Hunters out to kill wolves do so based on myth and fear. Their motivation is far different than the typical game hunter. Wolf hunters aren't hunting for food, or even a trophy (although there are some really sad people out there who consider wolves a trophy animal and pose proudly next to one they've killed). An ethical elk or deer hunter will aim carefully to take the game with one shot; they don't want the animal to suffer, nor do they want to follow a wounded animal over rough terrain to finally kill it. Many give thanks to the animal for the food it will provide. But a wolf hunter? They want wolves to suffer, they want to exterminate the species all over again. Wolf hunters seem motivated by an intense, almost irrational hatred borne of fear, believing wolf actively seek to kill humans. When I was building my house in Idaho, a concrete contractor told me with a straight face that the wolves the Feds were forcing on Idaho would come down onto school playgrounds and snatch children. (When I asked my 80-something father, who as a Kansas farm boy grew up hunting, why people were so afraid of wolves, he replied with his usual insight, "I guess they still believe in fairy tales.") Add to that fear a strong anger based on the misguided belief that wolves are decimating elk populations, making it harder for hunters to find them. (This hunter complaint is common, despite research in Yellowstone showing that reintroducing wolves improves overall herd health, and reduced elk populations allow aspen trees decimated by the elk to thrive once again, returning the entire ecosystem to balance.) Mix misinformation (myth), fear and anger and you have a combustible combination leading to rash, irresponsible shootings like the one that killed Little Dave. I moved back to western Washington in early 2009. By then, wolves were delisted and states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming were eagerly issuing hunting tags for them or planning to do so. Idaho's governor boasted he wanted the first tag. The blood lust for wolves was palpable, and for me, sickening. Locals complained how the wolves didn't belong in Idaho, saying they weren't even "native" which totally ignored their extermination decades earlier. Rumors spreading around town of the evils perpetrated by wolves grew to fantastic proportions. As one sympathetic dog-loving friend said to me, "It's like religion. They believe what they want to believe and can't be persuaded they might be wrong." It was clear to me that tragedies like that suffered by Little Dave and Layne Spence were waiting to happen in any state allowing wolf hunting. Even more tragic for Mr. Spence? There's nothing the State of Montana—the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department nor local Missoula County law enforcement—can or will do. Apparently the shooter had a tag for wolf hunting, the season in Montana for wolves in all winter long (September 15 – March 15), and the killing occurred in an area where hunting was legal. (If Montana is like Idaho, legal hunting territory is pretty much everywhere outside city limits.) However, Mr. Spence may have a civil cause of action against the hunter for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional trauma—seeing his beloved pet shot and killed on a public road—depending on Montana's statutory and common law. I hope he finds an animal law attorney and pursues it, because these sorts of cases, whether won or lost in the early rounds, can slowly change laws and people's perceptions of what's okay and what isn't. When the pets we take onto public lands with us are afforded the same protections from harm that we are, others will be more careful. There are better, safer ways to "manage" wolf populations than issuing cheap hunting tags to people whose hatred and fear turns them into vigilante exterminators, overcoming their ability to hunt safely. Read the original article in The Missoulian on November 19th, which has since posted several follow-up articles. In honor of November's National Pet Cancer Awareness Month I would like to share some "hot off the press" wonderfully optimistic news with you. Dr. Nicola Mason from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has been researching a new way to treat osteosarcoma, an aggressive and fatal form of bone cancer that has an affinity for growing within the leg bones of large and giant- breed dogs. Until now, treatment of osteosarcoma has consisted primarily of amputation (removal) of the affected leg with or without chemotherapy. In spite of such aggressive treatment, inevitably tiny clusters of cancer cells eventually grow into metastatic tumors that ultimately become life-ending. Approximately 60% of dogs die within one year of the diagnosis. A new approach Dr. Mason's innovative approach to treating dogs with osteosarcoma involves "cancer immunotherapy" in which the patient's own immune system is triggered to target and kill tumor cells. In order to use a dog's immune system to treat osteosarcoma Dr. Mason devised a vaccine consisting of bacteria that have been modified to express a protein called Her2/neu. This protein is known as a "growth factor receptor" and is found on a variety of different cancer cells, including some canine osteosarcoma cells. You may have heard of Her2/neu before because it is commonly associated with breast cancer cells in women. The concept behind the vaccine is as follows: The bacteria stimulates the dog's "immune system soldiers" to seek out and destroy the bacteria along with cells that express Her2/neu (osteosarcoma cells). Outcomes to date Thus far, Dr. Mason has treated 12 dogs with osteosarcoma following amputation and chemotherapy. The dogs received the vaccine once weekly for three weeks. Side effects of the vaccine were minimal. All that was observed was a mild, brief fever following vaccine administration. The preliminary results have been immensely encouraging. The first vaccinated dog, Sasha has a survival time of 570 days thus far. Two other dogs vaccinated at the beginning of the study are alive and cancer free more than 500 days post diagnosis. Other dogs who were vaccinated more recently are still doing well. These are truly fantastic results. What comes next? Some dogs with osteosarcoma are not good candidates for amputation primarily because of neurological or musculoskeletal issues in their other limbs. Treatment options for these dogs are aimed at reducing the pain associated with the tumor. Dr. Mason plans to begin including some of these nonsurgical candidates in her osteosarcoma vaccine study. Additionally, Dr. Mason is contemplating learning if what she has developed would be an effective means for prevention of osteosarcoma. Certain breeds (Rottweilers, Irish Wolfhounds, Great Danes, Saint Bernards, Doberman Pinschers, and Greyhounds, to name a few) are particularly predisposed to osteosarcoma. It will be fascinating to learn if the osteosarcoma vaccine will effectively prevent this horrific disease in high-risk individuals. The research results gathered thus far represent a monumental success in cancer treatment and provide significant hope for a disease previously associated with a grim prognosis. Kudos to Dr. Mason for her stunning work! If your dog has osteosarcoma and you are interested in participating in Dr. Mason's studies, contact her at 215-898-3996 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com. If you would like to respond publicly, please visit Speaking for Spot. Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Please visit http://www.speakingforspot.com to read excerpts from Speaking for Spot and Your Dog's Best Health. There you will also find "Advocacy Aids"- helpful health forms you can download and use for your own dog, and a collection of published articles on advocating for your pet's health. Speaking for Spot and Your Dog's Best Health are available at www.speakingforspot.com, Amazon.com, local bookstores, and your favorite online book seller. An autistic boy has been without his pup for over a week Update: Echo was returned home safely on Friday, 11/15, read more here. A very special dog is missing in my neck of the woods. Echo, a Black Labrador, has been gone from her Rye, N.Y. home since last Wednesday, leaving 5-year old Mark Fontana without his service dog. Two years ago Mark was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and as a result, does not speak. He is prone to running away from home or darting into the street or pools, although he can't swim. Echo was donated to the Fontana family by Guiding Eyes for the Blind and has been invaluable for keeping Mark safe. The 5-year old Lab is trained to automatically brace Mark when he tries to run. Echo is between 50 and 55 pounds and is wearing a red collar with tags. There was a possible sighting yesterday in New Rochelle, N.Y. Officials ask that anyone who finds Echo bring her to a vet or animal shelter where they can read her microchip and get in contact with the Fontanta family. Follow the search for Echo on the Guiding Eyes for the Blind web site. They also have fliers that you can print and post if you live in Westchester County. Hopefully Echo and Mark will be reunited soon! Ellie is now nearly eleven years old. She still loves going to work every day and has no plans to retire. "She loves coming to work with me, and just seems to be getting better and better at her job," says Page Ulrey, a King County Deputy Prosecutor and Ellie's handler. Ellie is the first facility dog who was trained specifically for use by a prosecuting attorney's office, to assist victims of crime during witness interviews and courtroom testimony. I first wrote about Ellie, and Jeeter—the facility dog who helped get the idea going in Seattle, Wash.—in 2007. While Page prosecutes cases involving elder and vulnerable adult abuse, Ellie continues to help with a wide variety of cases within the office. Ellie has been working almost nine years now, and in that time has attended a trial every few months, perhaps as many as forty total. She's had a huge, beneficial impact on how many victims of crime experience the legal system. Ellie—and other courthouse dogs like her—had to do some convincing along the way. As in other states where facility dogs have been introduced into criminal courtroom proceedings, defense counsel and/or judges in counties across Washington State have often objected when a facility dog accompanies a victim or witness to the stand for testimony. This is especially true the first few times a facility dog is used. Some cases, after a conviction at the trial court level, are appealed in part on the basis that the dog created a bias in favor of the prosecutor's witness and case, interfering with the defendant's right to due process. In Washington, most of those cases ended in the state's appellate level courts with convictions affirmed and the use of the facility dog approved. Now, however, the Washington State Supreme Court has weighed in. After an appellate court affirmed a conviction and the use of Ellie to comfort a victim while testifying, the case was appealed again to the state's highest court. The Washington State Supreme Court issued a decision September 26, 2013—State v. Dye— making it clear that the use of facility dogs in the courtroom should be allowed so long as certain facts are established and precautions are followed. What makes State v. Dye an especially strong case for the use of facility dogs is that the defendant's counsel made several common objections to the use of Ellie at trial—preserving the issues for appeal—so that the Supreme Court could address them in detail. The victim in the case, though 56 years old, was a developmentally delayed man who functioned at a mental age of six to twelve years. When interviewed by defense counsel prior to trial, Ellie comforted him. Page, as prosecutor at trial, laid the foundation for using Ellie to assist the victim because he felt anxious about testifying, much like any child would. Ellie accompanied the victim to the witness stand. Not only did defense counsel object to Ellie, saying her presence with the victim was extremely prejudicial to the defendant, but also because the prosecutor on the case was Page—Ellie's handler—who could possibly signal Ellie in some way. And finally, defense counsel objected on the basis that the defendant and even defense counsel might have allergies to dogs, or be intimidated by the dog. The Supreme Court said that trial judges may exercise their discretion in allowing a special measure such as a facility dog to accompany vulnerable witnesses. The analysis is the same in situations when child witnesses are allowed to take a doll or teddy bear with them to the witness stand. There should be a showing by the prosecutor that the witness would have difficulty testifying without the special measure. The trial judge can then determine whether the special measure would unduly prejudice the defendant. The Supreme Court noted that Ellie's behavior in the courtroom was never disruptive; she never left the witness's side; and she never made any gesture (growling, lunging) toward the defendant that would cause a jury to consider him dangerous or untrustworthy. And finally, the trial judge instructed the jury to not make any assumptions based on Ellie's presence. The allergy objection has been a common one in the early stages of using facility dogs like Ellie in courtrooms. In the Dye case, the judge offered to allow the defendant to prove such an allergy with a note from his doctor, and if proven, make accommodations for him. The defendant never produced such a note and the objection was overruled. The Supreme Court approved this approach. Both the Washington Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court upheld the trial judge's decision to allow Ellie to assist the victim while testifying. A concurring opinion to the Supreme Court decision did voice some concerns, however. Justice McCloud felt that because Ellie was such a powerful symbol in the courtroom— "…her mere presence conveyed a deeply reassuring, yet silent, message of comfort, security and support"—that in the interest of fairness to the defendant, the trial judge might consider additional steps, for example allowing a facility dog to accompany the defendant's key witness to the stand, to balance things out. Defense counsel didn't seek such balancing steps, so no error occurred at the trial level. Justice McCloud was also concerned that a simple instruction to the jury to not draw any conclusions from Ellie's presence was insufficient, that it's well known that jurors often fail to follow a court's instructions. "[T]he presumption that jurors follow instructions is especially inapplicable where the challenged procedure—here, the presence of the adorable dog Ellie—is a procedure that works only because it provides such powerful symbolism." There is still room for novel objections to the use of facility dogs in the courtroom. Those objections will wind their way through the appeals process. It's all part of how our legal system sorts through these concerns and comes to the best possible solutions. Page isn't worried. Ellie, and facility dogs in general, have become a common sight in King County's courtrooms; most of the judges have become quite comfortable with their use. I'm sure that's the case in many other jurisdictions across the country as well, and will become more common in the future. As for defendants also having access to facility dogs in the courtroom, as suggested by Justice McCloud? "I think that's fair," said Page. "Although I don't think the prosecutor's office is under any obligation to supply defense with a dog." State v. Dye, No. 87929-0, published September 29, 2013, can be found at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.disp&filename=879290MAJ Courthouse Dogs Foundation (www.courthousedogs.com) - promoting justice with compassion through the use of professionally trained facility dogs to provide emotional support to everyone in the justice system. For the first report on courtroom dogs by Rebecca Wallick see, or for previous update . For most, car trips are the preferred method of travel with our dogs, from running errands and trips to the dog park to longer excursions to visit family/friends or enjoying a dog-friendly destination—dogs are our co-pilots. The amount of time dog owners spend in the car with their dogs is growing—not really surprising considering how much dogs have become part of our daily lives. With the increase of outwardly mobile dogs comes the responsibility to keep them (and all passengers) safe. According to the AAA/Kurgo Pet Passenger Safety Study, many drivers practice a host of behaviors prompted by their dogs — from petting to restricting a dog's movement — that expose potentially dangerous consequences. As much as we love our dogs, the excitement of a road trip and the visual and audio stimulation of a drive can produce a variety of behavior in them that is best dealt with when not behind the wheel. Distracted drivers are unsafe drivers, which can lead to accidents and serious injury. In order to ensure the safety of yourself and your charges, these basic safety tips are recommended. Leash Your Dog Before Opening the Car Door to Exit Every year hundreds of pets are lost or injured as they dart out of cars uncontrolled. Be sure to collar, id tag, and leash your dog before opening the car door to let them out. When in a strange and busy environment, pets can be frightened and run off into traffic or to places that are difficult to find. Maintain control of your dog(s) at all times. Keep Heads, Arms, & Legs Inside the Car Many dogs love to put their head out of the window or ride in the back of a truck. But if it isn't safe for children, then it isn't safe for a pet. Not only are there risks of being hit by other traffic or roadside objects, the ASPCA reports that dogs can also get debris in their eyes and lungs leading to illness. Some dogs have been known to jump out of car windows while driving or stopped, running into traffic or getting lost. Keep Pets Out of the Front Seat Increasingly, accidents are being caused by distracted driving. 30% of people admit to being distracted by their dog while driving, according to the AAA/Kurgo Study. Pets should not be in the front seat of the car while driving and never positioned on your lap. Dogs should be in the back seat or the cargo area. If you have a hard time keeping your dogs in the back seat, there are a number of products that can contain them—Backseat Barriers that fit between the two front seats are effective at keeping pets in the backseat. Innovative products, such as the Auto Grass, sit on a car console and deter Fido from taking a step forward and into the front seat. Restrain Pets for Safety Restricting your pet's movement and access to the front seat can be achieved by utilizing a crate or harness to restrain them. Many people prefer to crate their pet in the backseat or in the cargo area. Be sure that the crate is secure by using a pet carrier restraint attached to the car's seatbelt system. If your pet requires a little more freedom, you can use a dog harness and seat belt tether to give them lead to sit or lay down but still protect them in case of a crash. If your dog insists on more movement, you can also connect a dog harness to a zipline that goes the width of the backseat allowing them to walk back and forth. This is not as safe as a seat belt tether, but it will keep them out of the front seat. Hydration Make sure your pets have plenty of water to drink in the car or stop frequently to re-hydrate. A dogs' panting may increase significantly in the car making hydration even more essential. A dog travel bowl is essential gear for car trips of any length. Never Leave Your Dog Alone Hopefully, it goes without saying that dogs should never be left alone in a car regardless of the weather. The obvious danger is heat, even in moderate temperatures. On an 85-degree day, within 10 minutes the car inside temperature can rise to 120, even with the windows cracked open. The other danger is that your pet may attract thieves. These tips were provided by Kurgo, which is the leading manufacturer of pet travel safety products. With over 10 years of experience developing innovative products, Kurgo's mission is to help pets and their owners get out and enjoy the world together, safely. If you live with a dog, then you are familiar with this sound. Unlike barks, growls and howls — dog sounds that easily take center stage — a dog lapping up water is background, white noise. Dog drinking attracts little attention until you unexpectedly step in a puddle of slopped-over water while wearing socks. A closer look reveals there is nothing commonplace about how dogs drink. Instead, to ingest liquids, the tongue seems to perform almost acrobatic feats. Slow-motion footage of dogs lapping up water shows that the tongue curls backward to create a spoon shape. The below video from of The Secret Life of Dogs, a Nat Geo WILD special that premiered Sunday, August 25, hints at the intricacies of how dogs drink. From the above clip, it could appear that by curling the tongue backward and filling the spoon-shaped tongue with water, dogs drink by scooping, or spooning, liquids into their mouths. But a paper published by Crompton and Musinsky in Biology Letters in 2011, finds there is more to the story. While dog tongues do assume a spoon-shaped position while drinking, much of that liquid falls out. Using high-speed and x-ray video recordings of a dog lapping up a colored liquid, instead of clear water, the researchers could see that the tip of the dog's tongue was actually drawing a column of water up into the mouth, and this column of water is what dogs are drinking. This observation is difficult to make from slow-motion videos of dogs drinking clear liquids like water. By taking x-ray video of a dog drinking a dark liquid, in this case a mixture of milk and barium, Crompton and Musinsky could see that dogs draw up liquid by the tip of the tongue, and the tongue then traps previously lapped water onto the roof of the mouth so the dog can bring more water in without losing what it already has. Ultimately, the researchers found that dogs use the same drinking technique as cats. This might be surprising because dogs make such a mess while drinking, and cats seem to emulate the daintiness of royalty, but dog tongues dive deeper into liquids thereby giving off more spray. The researchers concluded that dogs and cats share the same basic mechanism for drinking: "adhesion of liquid to the tongue rather than 'scooping' by the tongue." I'll drink to that. Additional Reading and References Crompton and Musinsky. 2011. How Dogs Lap: Ingestion and Intraoral Transport in Canis familiaris. Biology Letters 7, 882–884. About the Author Julie Hecht, MSc, is a canine behavioral researcher and science writer in New York City. She writes a behavior column for The Bark. She would really like to meet your dog. Follow on Dog Spies at Facebook and Twitter @DogSpies | DogSpies.com This story was originally published by Scientific American. Reprinted with permission. What makes a good vet? We want to know about the veterinarian of your dreams – whether you've found him or her, or not. For an article in an upcoming issue of The Bark on how we choose a veterinarian, we'd like to know what – in your eyes -- are the most important factors. If you've found the perfect vet, just what is it that makes him or her perfect? If you're still seeking that person, just what exactly is it you're looking for.? As our dogs become more and more like family members, the choice of vet is a decision humans probably take more seriously than they did 50 years ago. Time was one's choice of veterinarian was based in large part on proximity. We're guessing that has changed. Now we seek opinions from friends, question fellow denizens of the dog park, turn to online reviews, and perhaps even make some in-office visits, all in our quest for the perfect vet. But what makes the perfect vet? Is it where he or she went to school? Is it a friendly staff, reasonable rates? Is it how quickly you can make an appointment or how long you spend in the waiting room? Is it bedside manner, empathy, or compassion? Is it how clearly that vet can communicate? Whether they honor your pet insurance? Is it how the vet connects with you, how the vet connects with your dog, or both? We want to know what is (or was) the single most important factor in your choice of veterinarian, and how you found the one (if you have) that you can't imagine ever leaving. Tell us about the veterinarian of your dreams by leaving a comment, preferably with your name attached, on The Bark's blog, or on ohmidog! All barks are not alike AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, your dog's voice is not like a Bret Michaels concert, pumping out a shower of meaningless noise. Although your dog's vocalizations might be unwelcome at times, those sounds carry way more information and meaning than any of the former frontman's power ballads can ever hope to do. Well, maybe not as much as "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." In recent years, many studies have investigated the noises made by companion dogs. Now, you (yes, YOU!) can help researchers in a new study where participants listen to and rate different vocalizations. But first, what have we learned about dog vocalizations so far? Time to Be All Ears One major finding: dogs bark differently in different contexts, and it's possible to tell the difference. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS, found that "disturbance barks" (e.g., barks in response to a stranger ringing the doorbell) sound different from "isolation barks" (when a dog is separated from an owner) as well as barks emitted during play. In each context, barks have specific acoustic parameters: where disturbance barks are "relatively low-pitched, harsh barks with little variation in pitch or loudness," isolation barks are "higher pitched, more tonal and more frequency-modulated than the disturbance barks," and play barks are "similar to the isolation barks except that they usually occurred in clusters rather than singly" (Yin, 2010 Blog Post). Instead of seeing barks as meaningless noise, pay attention. Banjo might be yipping because he's alone, or he may have noticed that someone uninvited is climbing in through your second floor window. Dog barks are full of information, but what about growls? Anna Taylor and colleagues at the University of Sussex studied growling and found that, unlike barks, many acoustic properties of growls recorded in a play and aggressive context did not differ. But aggressive growls were longer than play growls, and play growls had a shorter pause between growls. While growls are thought to be associated with aggression, remember they can also appear during play, so consider growling in a larger context. Additionally, if you come across a situation where growling could be associated with aggression, don't freak out. Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA and author of The Dog Trainer on Quick and Dirty Tips, reminds: if you punish a dog for growling, you are essentially punishing a dog for giving a warning. Growling is a form of communication related to emotional or inner states in a particular context. If you want to decrease growling, think about what's prompting the growling. The growling itself is not a problem. Many high-profile dog vocalization studies were developed by Péter Pongrácz, Csaba Molnár and Tamás Faragó of the Family Dog Project at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. In one notable study, dogs were placed in a room with a bone, and researchers played a recording of one of three growls from a different dog. Dogs responded to the "this is my food" growl by backing away from the bone, and dogs for the most part ignored the "go away stranger" and the play growl because those growls were not relevant to the bone. All growls are not the same, and dogs know it. So let's try to get on the same page as them. While we are learning about the noises coming from dogs' mouths, we still have a way to go. I recently spoke with Monique Udell, an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University and a canine researcher, for an article on dog vocalizations for The Bark magazine (view article here). As Udell pointed out, "Vocal behavior in other species has received a lot of detailed attention. In birds, we've looked down to the note sequence and explored tiny variations. Vocalizations are such a prominent feature of dogs, and there is a lot to learn." Listen! You Can Help! Now, back to what YOU can do to advance the science of vocalizations from the comfort of your couch. Tamás Faragó, now a postdoctoral researcher with the MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group in Budapest, is exploring how humans perceive emotions in vocalizations. The study asks human subjects (like you!) to listen to and rate different vocalizations on a chart based on how aroused you think the vocalization is and whether you think it's positive or negative. I promise you will not hear a single note of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Okay, only if you want to. The whole survey takes about a half hour, and as you go along, you'll you get the swing of it. Check out the details below to participate. You Can Participate in a Study of the Emotional Content of Sounds Participants: Anybody in any country Time commitment: Approximately 30 minutes Project type: Listen to and rate different sounds Project needs: Computer with headphones or decent quality speakers Survey website: http://www.inflab.bme.hu/~viktor/soundrating/index.html So don't just stand there. Listen! Additional Reading Hecht, J. Dog Speak: The Sounds of Dogs. The Bark Magazine. Nova. The Meaning of Dog Barks. Yin, S. Barking Dogs: Noise or Communication? Dr. Yin's Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog. Monday, November 15th, 2010. References Taylor et al. 2009. Context-related variation in the vocal growling behaviour of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Ethology, 115, 905–915. Faragó et al. 2010. 'The bone is mine': affective and referential aspects of dog growls. Animal Behaviour, 79, 917–925. Yin and McCowan. 2004. Barking in domestic dogs: context specificity and individual identification. Animal Behaviour, 68, 343–355. About the Author Julie Hecht, MSc, is a canine behavioral researcher and science writer in New York City. She writes a behavior column for The Bark. She would really like to meet your dog. Follow on Dog Spies at Facebook and Twitter @DogSpies | DogSpies.com This story was originally published by Scientific American. Reprinted with permission. Good things can happen when people join together and walk for a cause. Like moving towards a no-kill nation. Like educating the public about the root causes of homeless pets. Like helping fund those organizations on the frontlines of animal rescue and adoption. Last year, nearly 11,000 people nationwide took part in Best Friends Animal Society's Strut Your Mutt events. Together, these two- and four-legged walkers helped save the lives of pets in shelters all across the country, earning nearly $1.3 million for homeless pets and 180 animal welfare groups who serve them. Every day, more than 9,000 pets are killed in America's shelters simply because they don't have a home—that number should be zero, and it can be. Best Friends Animal Society and local animal rescue organizations and shelters (No More Homeless Pets Network partners) have joined together to reach that goal. The donations raised through Strut Your Mutt will be used to fund lifesaving adoption programs and spay/neuter services, which will ultimately impact the number of pets entering and leaving shelters. This year's events, expanded to include 11 cities, kicked off this past weekend in Kanab, Utah, the home base for Best Friends. We encourage everybody to join — as a participant walking with a favorite pooch or as a donor or sponsor. The bar has been set high, organizers hope to raise $2 million to assist pet shelters across the country — and help us move closer to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. Strut Your Mutt Events 2013 Kanab, UT – Aug. 31 No Strut in your area? No problem! Join Strut Across America, the virtual Strut Your Mutt open to anyone anywhere! For more information go to: strutyourmutt.org/BarkBlog
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Improve Website Traffic By Increasing Your Crawl Rate
Search engines like Google send crawl bots out to various websites in order to check for new content or material, the speed at which this is done is called a crawl rate. The thing to remember is that crawl rates can be determined by any number of mitigating factors. It's really important for you to understand all the reasons why you need Google to visit your site and visit it often. What kind of benefit does this offer? The answer is more exposure – the higher number of times Google sends it's spiders/bots to your site, the more often your pages get indexed and ranked.
When you take these steps to attract Google's spider bots you'll reap the reward in improved page rank and faster indexing of new content you've added. So in that spirit, here are numerous important points regarding Net Space Profits you may value knowing.
Be sure to add new and fresh content to your site often so that the bots have something to crawl. The more new content you add to your site on a regular basis, the more likely it is that the Google bots will keep coming back for more. Make sure that the content that you update is new and original, and is written in search engine friendly way. Embed all your important keywords into the content and see to it that you're actually providing value to both Google and as well as your visitors. In a moment, you will be able to find out something that I think can make all the difference when you are searching for Income Instruments.
Avoid blackhat SEO strategies at all costs. End of story. Shortcuts and shady dealings almost never pay off in the end – especially when it comes to trying to pull blackhat strategies over on a big name in the business like Google. The downside of a blackhat solution is that the search engines don't respond well to this type of marketing and the results it providers can never be sustained for any major length of time. You might gain temporary benefits by using blackhat methods on your site, but eventually, they won't help you build sustainable traffic. In the end, search engines tend to punish those that practice these methods with dismally slow crawl rates. Some of the common tactics that are considered blackhat include keyword stuffing, invisible text, and creating doorway pages. Instead of doing this, shift your attention to informative content that practices positive SEO and your crawl rates will increase over time.
Don't forget the basics like submitting your site's URL to the search engines. Don't waste too much time in doing so, because it only takes a few minutes to do so. Submitting your URL to multiple search engines will help you cast a wider net for exposure. A correct header response from the server is the only other thing you'll want to be sure about along this line. Ideally it is very clear that Traffic Player is something that can have quite an effect on you and others, too. Also remember that frequent updates to information and site content also give the Google spiders something to really sink their teeth into. If you're serious about getting more visits from friendly Google bots then you need to keep all these steps in mind. It isn't hard at all to follow these great tips once you get started.
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Madison Ruppert
End the Lie
As ludicrously farfetched as the headline sounds, there is in fact a new laser-based scanner built by Genia Photonics – who is currently in "a strategic partnership and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel" – which can detect traces of just about anything on your person from a stunning 50 meters, or 164 feet, away in somewhere around 1/1000000000000th of a second.
One must realize that as disturbing as this may sound, it is really not all that shocking when you consider the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Future Attribute Screening Technology or the rise and continuing growth of nearly ubiquitous use of facial recognition technology.
Genia Photonics refers to the ability of these types of picoseconds synchronized programmable lasers to be used for "standoff threat detection." Essentially, this is just a different way of saying the government will soon be able to scan your body, car or belongings for just about any molecule or substance they please without you knowing, all at unimaginable speeds.
If this is rolled out as soon as Tara O'Toole, under secretary for science and technology of the DHS, claimed it would be during her testimony on November 17, 2011, it will become just one of many parts of the American surveillance state.
O'Toole claimed that the DHS Science and Technology Directorate's first project with the U.S. intelligence community's investment arm In-Q-Tel – which includes the work with Genia Photonics – is "expected to produce transition-ready technologies in the next 12 to 24 months."
That means that as soon as 2013 we could see equipment somewhere around one million times more sensitive than what is available now. It can also scan ten million times faster than any currently available system and due to the portable nature, it can be used in airports to scan every single person.
According to Genia Photonics, their laser scanner technology can "penetrate clothing and many other organic materials and offers spectroscopic information, especially for materials that impact safety such as explosives and pharmacological substances."
One can only assume that this means that the laser scanning system could not only be remotely inspecting passengers for explosives but also drugs or any other banned goods.
The claims made by the company – which holds over 30 patents on this technology – are, to say the least, quite extraordinary.
They are "claiming incredible biomedical and industrial applications—from identifying individual cancer cells in a real-time scan of a patient, to detecting trace amounts of harmful chemicals in sensitive manufacturing processes," according to Gizmodo.
In-Q-Tel seems to be most attracted to the extreme portability and ease of use in many environments. On matters like this, all we can do is speculate, but I personally would be surprised if this wasn't used as part of the nationwide growth of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) outside of airports.
Our partnership with Genia Photonics will build on the company's success in the commercial market," said Simon Davidson, Partner on In-Q-Tel's Investments team, according to a press release. "Genia Photonics' fiber-based technology will lead to unique possibilities for our customers in the U.S. Intelligence Community."
In-Q-Tel also states, "an important benefit of Genia Photonics' implementation as compared to existing solutions is that the entire synchronized laser system is comprised in a single, robust and alignment-free unit that may be easily transported for use in many environments… This compact and robust laser has the ability to rapidly sweep wavelengths in any pattern and sequence."
This means that the DHS or any of their child agencies like the TSA could easily roll these out to the many places they now operate like major sporting events, train stations, highways and more.
If we can take the past as any indicator, we can trust that they almost certainly will end up using this technology as much as possible if it works as claimed.
This is where the lie ends. The American people are waking up to the fact that the mainstream media is controlled by a very small group of elite billionaires who decide exactly what stories to cover. We at End the Lie force politicians to address the real issues, force government to be accountable and transparent, and force real change to occur in our country. Every American needs to get informed and stand up for the principles upon which our wonderful country was founded. Do it now with End the Lie.
I'd love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at firstname.lastname@example.com
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Aveda Color Conserve Sun Protector
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LoriWisconsinHairMedium BrownFine or Thin HairGives Fine Hair Fullness!This product is excellent on really fine hair. I use this on wet hair along with the volumizing tonic and I get tones of fullness that I did not have with just the volumizing tonic. I heard it was discontinued and am very upset!!!! My hair has never looked so good and I want to order more when and if it becomes available.posted Oct 20, 2010Link to this post
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For big game fishing or casual wear, this visor brings your love of billfish to the surface. Embroidered Guy Harvey signature with artwork of a marlin's head above the water. Extra long bill with green glare-resistant underside so you don't miss any of the top-water action. 100% brushed cotton twill. Camo, Khaki, Navy, Black. One-size-fits-all with adjustable Velcro® back strap. Imported.
Product Specs
The West Advisor
The West Advisor articles have answered boaters' questions and provided solutions to boating problems for more than 20 years. West Marine has compiled one of the Web's most comprehensive collections of technical boating information articles.


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Dissertation C
The treatise gives you an opportunity to produce a written piece of research work that is supervised by an academic member of staff. The aim is for you to apply the knowledge and skills developed in your coursework to a particular topic or problem in public health. You will produce a scholarly piece of written work that is suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. As a general guide, the treatise would be completed in three months (or six months part time). Your supervisor will help you select a topic and define the research questions so that you can complete the treatise in this time.
Unit of study details
Unit of study level: Postgraduate
Credit points: 12
Commencing semesters: 1, 2
Further unit of study information
Unit of study handbook: PUBH5908
Costs and scholarships information: Costs and Scholarships
Final dates to withdraw from units of study: Census Dates
Available for study abroad and exchange: No


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Oxford North East neighbourhood
Your neighbourhood
Local priorities
The following priorities have been identified by the community and the police:
- Anti-Social Behaviour / Drugs. Youths gathering in parks and intimidating, Atkyns Road, Leiden Road, Salford Road and Marsh Lane areas. Drug dealing and people taking drugs in public places. We have arrested some people for possession of drugs but are interested in those who supply them. We ask members of the public to help us with information. Brooks University – Alcohol related ASB and litter. Also litter left in the parks overnight.
- Parking. Obstructive parking and parking on double yellow lines, especially Osler Road, Stile Road and in the Marston area
- Burglary (Brooks University). Both of halls of residence and student rented properties.
- Burglary. In the Marston area and a number of vulnerable premises have been identified in the Woodfarm area where occupiers have been spoken to with regard to how they can reduce the chances of being victims of burglary
- Cycle Thefts (Brooks University). Attempt to decrease the number of cycle thefts through education and prevention.
These are being dealt with by your neighbourhood policing team in partnership with residents and other agencies. Progress will be reported in the Neighbourhood updates.
Neighbourhood updates
Have Your Say meetings
Meet your local neighbourhood officers and have your say on policing priorities and concerns in your local area.
Find out more about Have Your Say meetings.
No meetings are currently scheduled
Neighbourhood officers
Inspector Graham Hadley
Sergeant Natasha Park
Acting Sergeant Matt Welsh
PC Karen Zoldan
PC Kelly Love
PC Sandra Timms
PCSO Lucy Watts
PCSO Jason Martin
PCSO Darran Phillips (Warneford Hospital PCSO)
PCSO David Atkinson
PCSO Paul Timms
PCSO Frauke Eicker (Brookes University PCSO )
PCSO Rachel Cooper (Warneford Hospital PCSO)
PCSO Casie Parry
PCSO Mathew Berry
PCSO Rebecca Freeman (Brookes University PCSO)
PCSO Joanne Garden
PCSO Leighton Jones


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Central Market enlightens the epicurean masters of tomorrow with instruction from the gourmet gurus of today, having previously hosted guest professors such as the renowned Cat Cora and Mario Batali. Meal mentors post classes in Houston every four to six weeks, usually providing 26–30 options per month. Whether it's your first time holding a skillet or you're looking to polish your sushi skills after finally discovering how to uncook fish, Central Market provides coaching for every experience level. Curious foodies can peruse an array of informative options, including sharpening knife skills ($60), making indulgent desserts ($50), creating Italian favorites ($55), and fine-tuning a soufflé filled with an event horizon. Running roughly 2.5 hours each, sessions are offered most days of the week. Most hands-on classes can accommodate about 18, while demonstration classes can accommodate up to 48, depending on location. See Central Market's frequently asked questions pages for more information.
Tucked away under a flight of stairs lies a family-owned eatery where meaty sandwiches and wraps reign supreme. Yorktown Deli's chefs layer grilled chicken, fresh avocado, lettuce, tomato, and pesto in the italian chicken sandwich, which arrives fresh from the kitchen in the shape of Italy. Other sandwiches include tuna melts and the Avocado Heaven, a colorful portrait of avocado, lettuce, tomato, red pepper, and cheese. To create each of the deli's eight wraps, chefs roll meats such as grilled chicken, turkey, and salami with veggies, condiments, and cheese, and diners can wash down meals with iced coffee, lattes, and espresso.
Ali Bahramian wanted to combine the casual atmosphere and quick service of a coffee shop, a diner, and a fast-food eatery, so he decided to start his own from scratch. He developed his own menu built on sandwich, salad, and soup recipes he created himself, enlisted the help of his architect wife Mariam to design a space, and selected soothing jazz and blues music as a backdrop for his eatery.
Within the fully realized Orange Lunch Box, Ali and his staff bake fresh sandwich bread in-house each day and chocolate-chip cookies each hour to pair with cups of coffee. The culinary crew serves salads and sandwiches topped with a range of meats and cheeses, Italian-inspired spreads, and local produce. Orange Lunch Box's interior eschews the presence of television and instead captures diners' attention with a color palette of warm orange, cool green, and room-temperature purple.
Chocolate Pizazz's mod cube-shelves bustle with boxes and ribbon-festooned bags of treats dipped by hand in smooth Swiss chocolate. Vibrant M&Ms dapple milk-chocolate-coated popcorn ($7.95/5 oz. bag), and cocoa-ensconced Valentine's Day cookies ($17.95 for six) show affection without the interviews with roses necessary to complete a love poem. Skewers garnished with gauzy bows bear dipped moon pies ($5), Twinkies ($5), or trios of jumbo marshmallows crowned with chocolate and toffee, peanut-butter candy, or butterscotch ($5). Chocolate Pizazz also accommodates special requests, such as rendering a classic confection in dark chocolate or crafting forests of pretzel rods to boost the self-esteem of glum lumberjacks.
Lisa Patel was at a crossroads; she knew she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare, but she didn't know which one. After getting into a car wreck that injured her back, she discovered the benefits of chiropractic medicine and, ultimately, the solution to her dilemma. She went on to pursue a doctorate from Texas Chiropractic College and today treats all manner of pain and ailments with spinal adjustments, acupuncture, and rehabilitation techniques at Precision Chiropractic. She works alongside a team of massage therapists, who strive to complement her practice with a variety of bodywork techniques designed to recalibrate the muscles of semiprofessional athletes, marathon runners, and chauffeurs who have to pack up their car and take it home in their backpack after every shift.


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It's graduation week in our area high schools. By this evening 301 seniors, up from 274 last year, will have gotten their diplomas in the New Albany and Union County schools.
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Adam Rifkin
Change this image
I'm always looking for memorable images.
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Just Shaq holding a panda. : WTF
Best Photographs of Volcanos
California Soul - Juicey Culture
feeling of light
A new day begins
Rainbow 180
Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams
River of fog fills the Grand Canyon in ONCE IN A DECADE weather phenomenon
These Are The Most Amazing Images Of Exploding Cars You'll Ever See
A rare image of a flying peacock
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Every death in the Game of Thrones series, tabbed.
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Stunning Photographs of the World's Last Indigenous Tribes | Brain Pickings
Angry Jim Harbaugh in High Resolution
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National Geographic Photo Contest 2013
Cats Out Modeling Male Models
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This Is Mars: Mesmerizing Ultra-High-Resolution NASA Photos at the Intersection of Art and Science
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Young Martha Stewart photo gallery
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Henry takes photos of areas in environmental crisis around the world, to show how industry and the consumer affect the planet.
5 of the Best Lego Projects Ever Built
Golden Wiener
17 Bizarre Crazy Russian Foods Every Russian Grew Up With
Photos of giant collections of animals
baby piglet with ice cream cone
Walrus spectacle: 10,000 come ashore near Alaskan village
Mustang Wanted Just Hanging Out Skywalker meme = Malfunctioning Survival Instinct
Panda reading Give and Take
A Trip to the Galapagos Islands - In Focus - The Atlantic
25 Photographs Of The World's Most Famous Gardens
14 New Panda Babies in Chengdu 2013
Jana Romanova photographs sleeping pregnant couples in her series, "Waiting."
GTA V new characters and memes
South Korea Invisible Infinity Tower
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Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things
My picture of the Patagonian mountains was rudely interrupted.
This Internet hero made tiny paper hats for his 3-legged cat
Grumpy Cat Tard and Lil Bub at International Cat Festival 2013
The Hike Down
Cat on Beach walking away from Explosion


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Activity and Annual Reports
Annual Report
The annual report is intended to share with Center stakeholders and the broader Saint Louis University community our work and accomplishments over the past year and to serve as a means of accountability for us. Additionally, the annual report also describes important changes within the Center, as well as the scholarly and service contributions of Center staff members. Finally, it provides a means for acknowledging the contributions of the Center's Faculty Fellows, Advisory Board members, workshop facilitators, Certificate recipients, and other important stakeholders. This most recent report provides an in-depth view of the Center's work during the 2012-2013 academic year, which includes progress toward our current Strategic Plan. (Note: we consider that the academic year begins on July 1, since most of the work we do in July typically is preparation for the upcoming year.)
Click here to download the 2012-2013 Annual Report
Activity Reports
2013 - 2014
As usual, July and August found Reinert Center staff gearing up for a new academic year. In July, we welcomed Erin Solomon (Psychology) back for her second year as a Graduate Assistant, and we welcomed new GAs, Elisabeth Hedrick-Moser (English) and Jacob Van Sickle (Theological Studies). In August, we were invited to facilitate several workshops at campus-wide orientation events for new faculty and new teaching assistants. Throughout the summer, Reinert Center staff also were invited to facilitate several college-level retreats on topics like developing online degree programs and fostering deeper student and faculty engagement in the classroom. During this period, we also finalized the revisions to the Certificate Program, offered the Online Teaching and Learning Institute, and participated in Walk to Madrid for the third year in a row.
2012 - 2013
2011 - 2012


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WebMD Physician Directory
Top Specialties
Specialist Glossary- Allergist
- Anesthesiologist
- Cardiologist
- Chiropractor
- Dermatologist
- Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor
- Emergency Medicine
- Endocrinologist
- Family Physician
- Gastroenterologist
- General Practicioner
Dr. Jasleen Kukreja, MD
UCSF Cardio Thoracic Surgery
500 Parnassus Ave Fl 4mu405
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 353-1606
Email a Friend
Gender: Female
Years in Practice:19 Years
Languages Spoken:English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian
Education & Training
Medical School:University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
Graduation Date:1994
Specialties & Hospital Affiliations
Specialties:Thoracic Surgery
Hospital Affiliations:UCSF Medical Center Mount Zion, UCSF Medical Center Parnassus
Office Information
*This physician has multiple office locations. See Appointments for details.
Other Physicians in Practice
- Chloe E. Atreya, MD, Medical Oncology
- Emily K. Bergsland, MD, Medical Oncology
- J Michael Berry, MD, Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology, Medical Oncology
- Rebecca A. Brooks, MD, Gynecologic Oncology
- Michael Buljan
- Kathleen A. Cavanaugh, Medical Oncology
- John K. Chan, MD, Gynecologic Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Gynecology
- Lee-May Chen, MD, Gynecologic Oncology
- Pelin Cinar, MD, Hematology/Oncology
- Carlos U. Corvera, MD, General Surgery, Gastroenterology
- Teresa M. Darragh, MD, Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology
- Adil Daud, MD, Medical Oncology
- Cheryl A. Ewing, MD, General Surgery, Surgical Oncology
- Andrei Goga, MD, Medical Oncology
- Evelyn N. Hanson, Medical Oncology, Gynecology
- David M. Jablons, MD, Thoracic Surgery
- Thierry M. Jahan, MD, Medical Oncology
- Naomi Jay, Medical Oncology
- Robin K. Kelley, MD, Hematology/Oncology
- Andrew H. Ko, MD, Medical Oncology
- W Michael Korn, MD, Medical Oncology
- Lorriana E. Leard, MD, Pulmonary Disease, Medical Oncology
- Michael J. Mann, MD, Thoracic Surgery, Congenital Cardiac Surgery (Thoracic Surgery)
- Scot Merrick, MD, Congenital Cardiac Surgery (Thoracic Surgery)
- Pamela N. Munster, MD, Medical Oncology
- Eric K. Nakakura, MD, General Surgery
- Robert L. Nussbaum, MD, Genetics, Medical
- Richard J. O'donnell, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery
- Joel M. Palefsky, MD, Medical Oncology
- John W. Park, MD, Medical Oncology
- Jean Perry, Medical Oncology
- Patricia C. Rodgers, Orthopedic Musculo Oncology
- Mary M. Rubin, Medical Oncology
- Hope S. Rugo, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Medical Oncology
- Karen K. Smith-Mccune, MD, Reproductive Endocrinology
- Margaret A. Tempero, MD, Medical Oncology
- Pierre R. Theodore, MD, Thoracic Surgery
- Elaine E. Tseng, MD, Thoracic Surgery
- Katherine J. Van Loon, MD, Internal Medicine
- Alan P. Venook, MD, Medical Oncology
- Tom E. Weber, Medical Oncology
- Lisa M. Yee, Medical Oncology
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Every year in late August, I receive phone calls from readers who want to know about a large brown baby bird that is being fed by a much smaller parent. This is usually a chipping sparrow or a gray-headed junco locally, but it may be almost any smaller bird. Brown-headed cowbirds arrive in the spring about March 1 and are the only bird in America that does not build its own nest. They come to feeders regularly because they prefer millet to all other grain. They watch the other birds to see where they are building nests, and when the rightful owner of the nest is away, they deposit an egg.
On Friday evening, Aug.14, the Weed Awareness Committee met for its last summer weed pulling at Evergreen Lake.
The lake is calm and peaceful this morning. Some 37 Canada geese are resting on the sandbar. Among them, a few double-crested cormorants jostle for room. A light breeze is rippling the surface of the lake, and the path of Bear Creek can be seen by the dark streak running across the ripples like a smooth black ribbon.
August is usually a rainy month. I had thought that it might be drier this year due to all the rain we have had in June and July, but the rain seems to be continuing into August.
July has been a great month. Most of the days have been blue and sunny, with cool mornings and warm afternoons with scattered showers. The summers of 1965 and 1969 were much like this, and I had very little need to water to have a bountiful garden. It seemed like we had moved to Camelot.
There has been a great deal of excitement in Our Evergreen World this week, all due to a big concentration of ladybird beetles in Genesee Park.
If you have not taken a drive to see the wildflowers this year, now is the time to do it, for they will soon fade. Shrine Pass is always a delightful trip for wildflowers, and many can be seen without a great deal of walking. Arapaho Pass (west of Boulder) is also excellent but takes a bit longer and involves a bit more hiking. The unusual amount of moisture this year has made the wildflowers exceptional. Just last week friends of mine drove me to Bailey for dinner one evening, and the flowers along U.S. 285 were prolific, and the back roads were spectacular.
Summer is here, along with the Denver International Airport weather station registering the first 90-degree temperature for the year on July 1. Along with the warm weather, afternoon thunderstorms continue to rumble across the mountains, bringing storms and tornadoes to the plains. There have been a few interesting bird records, but the spring migration has just about come to a standstill.
The wildflowers have been spectacular this year. I can't quite get used to the peak bloom being in June, for I am accustomed to the peak of spring bloom being in May, for that is when the broad-leafed deciduous forests of western New York are carpeted in bloom. I had forgotten that the peak of bloom is in June in Colorado. What a glorious month it has been. Not only is it green from all the rain we now have had, but now all that verdant green is splattered with the color of various wildflowers.
About five years ago I was reading about the thousands of migrating birds killed every year by flying into windows. I had been concerned about the many birds that hit my big picture windows every year and decided I should do something about it. The article I read also told about a college student who was doing research on the problem and mentioned that a black-plastic anti-deer fabric had the best results in his tests.


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The Cellaxess® ACE adherent cell electroporation system allows for in situ transfection of any adherent cell type. The platform enables transfection and delivery of nongenetic material at any developmental stage. It enables in situ primary and iPSC-derived cell types directly in 96- and 384-well microplates and cell culture dishes with good viability and retained cellular morphology. Cellaxess ACE is available as a complete system, but can also be integrated with third-party pulse generators.
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A proposal to expand a major local pipeline could bring cheap, plentiful supplies of natural gas to New England from Northeast shale formations, but it also thrusts the region into a raging debate that pits economics against environment, industry against community, and sometimes neighbor against neighbor. The focus is often on a controversial technique, known as fracking, that pumps chemical-laced, pressurized water deep into the earth. The technology has helped bring jobs, businesses, and money, but also been blamed for polluting air and water.
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Hey guys its been a while since i have been on the boards lost my original information and life got in the way. Anyways i though i would harken my return with my WIP of Mass Effect True 20. Please let me know what you think.
So far i have all the player races ready to go still working out the roles, biotic and tech powers (tech might be feat based) and some new feats.
So here is what i got so far.
The asari were the first species to discover the Citadel. When the salarians arrived, it was the asari who proposed the establishment of the Citadel Council to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. Since then, the asari have served as the mediators and centrists of the councils.
An all-female race, the asari reproduce through a form of parthenogenesis. Each asari can attune her nervous system to a that of another individual of any gender, and of any species, to reproduce. This capability has led to unseemly and inaccurate rumors about asari promiscuity.
Asari can live for over 1000 years, passing through three stages of life. In the Maiden stage, they wander restlessly, seeking new knowledge and experience. When the Matron stage begins, they 'meld' with interesting partners to produce their offspring. This ends when they reach the Matriarch stage, where they assume the roles of leaders and councilors.
Racial Abilities: +1 Cha +1 Wis -1 Str -1 Con
Bonus Feats: Attractive, Talented (Bluff, Sense Motive)
Bonus Power: Mind Touch
Favored Power: Mind Touch (Treat total level as adept level for this power)
The krogan evolved in a hostile and vicious environment. Until the invention of gunpowder weapon, 'eaten by predators' was still the number one cause of krogan fatalities. Afterwards, it was 'death by gunshot'.
When the salarians discovered them, the krogan were a brutal, primitive species struggling to survive a self-inflicted nuclear winter. The salarians culturally uplifted them, teaching them to use and build modern technology so they could serve as soldiers in the Rachni War.
Liberated from the harsh conditions from their homeworld, the quick-breeding krogan experienced an
unprecedented population explosion. They began to colonize nearby worlds, even though these worlds were already inhabited. The Krogan Rebellions lasted nearly a century, only ending when the turians unleashed the genophage, a salarian-developed bioweapon that crushed all krogan resistance.
The genophage makes only one in 1000 pregnancies viable, and today the krogan are a slowly dying breed. Understandably, the krogan harbor a grudge against all other species, specially the turians.
Racial Abilities: +1 Con +1 Str -1 Cha -1Int
Bonus Feats: Endurance, Tough,
Favored Feats : All Out Attack, Rage
Driven from their home system by the geth nearly three centuries ago, most quarians now live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a flotilla of fifty thousand vessels ranging in size from passenger shuttles to mobile space stations.
Home to 17 million quarians, the flotilla understandably has scarce resources. Because of this, each quarian must go on a rite of passage known as the Pilgrimage when they come of age. They leave the fleet and only return once they have found something of value they can bring back to their people.
Other species often tend to look down on the quarians for creating the geth and for the negative impact their fleet has when it enters a system. This has led to may myths and rumors about the quarians, including the belief that under their cloths and breathing masks, they are actually cybernetic creatures: a combination of organic and synthetic parts.
Racial Abilities: +1 Int -1 Con
Eviro-Suit Dependent: Quarians require an environmental suit to survive outside the Migrant Fleet. A Quarian Environmental Suit is the equivilent of a Light Combat Hard-Suit. They receive this free at 1st level.
Bonus Feat: Armor Training, Talented (Craft, Kn: Technology)
Favored Feats: Jack of all Trades, Improvised Tools
The second species to join the Citadel, the salarians are warm-blooded amphibians with a hyperactive metabolism. Salarians think fast, talk fast, and move fast. To salarians, other species seem sluggish and dullwitted. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan, salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.
The salarians were responsible for advancing the development of the primitive krogan species to use as soldiers during the Rachni Wars. They were also behind the creation of the genophage bioweapon the turians used to quell the Krogan Rebellions several centuries later.
Salarians are known for their observational capability and non-linear thinking. This manifests as an aptitude for research and espionage. They are constantly
experimenting and inventing, and it is generally accepted that they always know more then they let on.
Racial Abilities: +1 Dex +1 Int -1 Con -1 Str
Bonus Feats : Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Any Technical)
Favored Feats: Assesment, Skill Mastery
Roughly 1200 years ago, the turians were invited to join the Citadel Council to fulfill the role of galactic peacekeeper. The turians have the largest fleet in Citadel space, and they make up the single largest portion of the Council's military forces.
As their territory and influence has spread, the turians have come to rely on the salarians for military intelligence and the asari for diplomacy. Despite a somewhat colonia lattitude towards the rest of the galaxy, the ruling Hierarchy understands they would lose more than they would gain if the other two races were ever removed.
Turians come from an autocratic society that values discipline and possesses a strong sense of
personal and collective honor. There is lingering animosity between turians and humans over the First Contact War of 2157, which is known as the "Relay 314 Incident" to the turians. Officially, however, the two species are allies and they enjoy civil, if cool, diplomatic relations.
Racial Abilities: +1 Wis -1Cha
Bonus Feats: Dedicated, Iron Will
Bonus Skill: any
Drell are omnivorous reptile-like humanoids with an average lifespan of 85 galactic standard years. Drell appearance is very similar to asari and humans, but their muscle tissue is slightly denser, giving them a wiry strength. Many of their more reptilian features are concealed, however one unique characteristic is the hyoid bone in their throats, which allows them to inflate their throats and produce vocal sounds outside of the human range. They also have two sets of eyelids, like crocodiles. Drell possess the ability to shed tears.
Because the drell ancestors emerged from arid, rocky deserts, the humid, ocean-covered hanar homeworld of Kahje proved tolerable only when the drell stayed inside a climate-controlled dome city. The leading cause of death for drell on Kahje is Kepral's Syndrome, caused by cumulative long-term exposure to a humid climate. This syndrome erodes the ability of drell lungs to take in oxygen, and eventually spreads out to other organs. It is noncommunicable, and there is currently no known cure, though leading hanar scientific authorities are working on creating a genetic adaptation.
The drell possess eidetic memory, an adaptation to a world where they must remember the location of every necessary resource (vegetation, drinkable water and prey migration paths) across vast distances. The memories are so strong that an external stimulus can trigger a powerful memory recall. These recalls are so vivid and detailed that some drell may mistake it for reality. Thane Krios, for example, remembers every assassination he has ever performed and can describe them in flawless detail, and says he prefers to spend a lonely night with the perfect memory of another. This process can be involuntary.
Racial Abilities: +1 dex -1 Int -1 Con (In humid environments)
Bonus Feats: Eidetic Memory, Dedicated
Bonus Skills: Acrobatics, Survival


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Labour poll setback for Miliband
23:05, Aug 19 2013
One in three Labour voters thinks Ed Miliband should not lead the party into the next general election, according to a new poll.
The survey also found that only two out of every 10 voters are satisfied with the Labour leader's performance.
Some 34% of people who voted for the Labour Party in 2010 say he should not lead the party into the 2015 general election, while just 46% say he should, according to the ICM poll carried out for the Daily Mirror.
While 21% of voters said they are satisfied with the way he is leading the party, double the number (42%) said they are dissatisfied. Among Labour voters, 45% said they were satisfied and 31% dissatisfied.
Mr Miliband will find it harder to dismiss criticism of his management style following publication of the poll by the left-leaning tabloid, which has traditionally backed his party.
Story continues
His summer leadership crisis has not been helped by criticism from within his own ranks that the Opposition has failed to stop the Conservative Party from dominating the news agenda.
Mr Miliband's approval rating is particularly low among older and male voters. Of those polled, 61% of pensioners said they are unhappy with his leadership, while 48% of men say he is not up to the job, compared with 37% of women.
However, the poll offers Mr Miliband a few glimmers of hope.
Given a choice of eight Labour MPs, Ed Miliband came out on top with 16% when asked who would be the best person to lead the party. Among Labour voters, this figure was 28%, 10% ahead of his brother David Miliband.
Mr Miliband also comes out on top when voters are asked about which of the party leaders are more likely to be in touch with the rest of society, help the poor and be honest.
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Posted: Jan 21, 2013 1:42 PM by Adam Bell
Updated: Jan 21, 2013 2:05 PM
The Bridger Bowl Board of Directors recently approved a $4.1 million project to construct two new lifts by the 2013-2014 season.
According to a press release from Bridger Bowl, it has decided to replace the current Alpine Lift. The new Alpine Lift #1 will end below the north end of the north bowl. The Alpine Lift #2 will end at the top of Montagne's Meadow. See image for further details.
The chairs do not have official names yet. Those will be released this spring. Work will begin on the two new lifts and will start as soon as conditions permit with planned opening for the fall of this year.