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Coming off a cinematic hiatus of six years since Manhunter (1986) was released, Michael Mann returned with a vengeance with his robust, muscular take on The Last of the Mohicans (1992). On the surface, it seemed like a radical departure for a filmmaker known for urban crime dramas like Thief (1981), Miami Vice, and Crime Story but thematically it fits right in with his no-nonsense protagonists who are the best at what they do and are faced with a decision between their profession and the ones they love.
The Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757 during the third year of the war between England and France. Dialogueless footage of three men running through a lush, green forest plays during the opening credits. Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Uncas (Eric Schweig) and Chingachook (Russell Means) are hunting a large elk which Hawkeye subsequently shoots and kills with deadly accuracy. This brief sequence establishes him as a man of action and an efficient hunter. Like other Mann protagonists Hawkeye is his own man, preferring to do things on his own terms and is fiercely loyal to his family and friends.
The three men stop by a settler's cabin that night and learn that the French army with Native Indian support is encroaching on their land. Like his settler friends, Hawkeye does not seem interested in the conflict. It is not his fight. He reinforces this belief two scenes later when a British officer (Jared Harris) tries to recruit him. Hawkeye replies, "You do what you want with your own scalp and I'll be tellin' us what we ought to do with ours." This scene is significant in that we see the dynamic between Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachook. The latter is the father of the other two men and they are clearly close to each other by the way they act towards one another. This is evident in the opening scene when they worked as a team to hunt the elk and now in this social setting. This scene is also one of domestic bliss, something that is always treasured in a Mann film and one that is also fleeting. Mohicans is no different. Hawkeye and his friends laugh and talk over dinner with a warm, inviting fire in the background. It is an intimate setting, one of safety and familiarity. It will also be the last time they will all enjoy this kind of atmosphere.
Mann's trademark color palette is muted in Mohicans with green being the only one with any prominence. He uses the green of the forest, that Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and Alice Munro (Jodhi May) travel through on the way to be reunited with their father, Colonel Munro (Maurice Roeves) at Fort William Henry, to foreshadow the impending danger of the Indian sneak attack that will decimate the complement of soldiers protecting them and bring them in contact with Hawkeye for the first time.
The ambush shows the foolishness of the British military tactics. They take their time to form a line giving the attacking Indians ample time to take cover and then counter-attack. In a matter of moments almost all of the British troops have been killed until Hawkeye and his crew arrives and swiftly deals with these marauders with same kind of deadly efficiency. Hawkeye and Magua (Wes Studi) meet face to face for the first time in this scene as Magua narrowly misses Hawkeye with his rifle and then disappears into the forest before he can get a good shot at him. This almost unnatural exit sets up Magua as an unstoppable force of nature, like Hawkeye but only on the opposite end of the moral spectrum. The ambush establishes the quick, brutal nature of combat in the film as Mann moves away from the overtly stylish action in Thief and Manhunter towards a more realistic depiction with truly harrowing scenes of men getting scalped, stabbed and slashed. Every subsequent film Mann would make after Mohicans would depict violence in a jarring, realistic nature.
The character of Magua is fleshed out and given a chance to explain the motivation for his ruthless hatred of the English: his village was burned down, his children killed, he was taken as a slave and his wife thought he was dead and remarried. He delivers a powerful monologue to his French co-conspirator, "In time, Magua became blood brother to the Mohawk, to become free but always in his heart he's Huron. His heart will be whole again when the day the Gray Hair and all his seed are dead." Wes Studi delivers this speech with scary intensity that is indicative of his incredible performance throughout the film. He portrays Magua as a ferociously driven man who believes in what he is doing as much as Hawkeye does. Like Daniel Day-Lewis, Studi's performance is very physical and he commands the screen with his intense presence due in large to his piercing eyes.
Mann is clearly sympathetic to the settlers' plight and their decision to protect their homes instead of helping defend Fort Henry against the French, which falls to them anyway. However, it is the love story between Cora and Hawkeye that lies at the heart of this film. Aside from a few meaningful, longing looks at each other, their sudden consummation is not believable because no foundation for it has been properly established. Cora is another, strong female Mann character, like Jesse in Thief. She stands up for Hawkeye to her father when he is caught for helping some militia men desert so that they can go defend their homes. She argues Hawkeye's case and even speaks seditious ideas in front of him. Yet, she spends a lot of the film as a damsel in distress having to be rescued by Hawkeye on at least two occasions.
Mann only betrays the realistic battle scenes once with a stylistic indulgence. When Munro and his men are ambushed by Magua's war party. Cora is attacked and about to have her throat slashed. Hawkeye spots her and runs towards her, killing several men along the way in slow motion for what seems to take forever and reaches her long after she surely would have been actually killed. However, he gets to her just in time and dispatches her attacker. Studi remembers that during the filming of this scene there being a lot of racial tension between the actors playing the British troops and the Indian actors which also added to the intensity of the scene.
One of the most striking aspects of Mohicans is Dante Spinotti's stunning cinematography. Mann constantly punctuates scenes with picturesque shots of the countryside: early morning fog gently rolling off a mountain range, a raging waterfall and fields of tall grass. Browns and mostly greens dominate the color scheme of this film. For the look of Mohicans, the director started with 19th century landscape painters like Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, chiaroscuro lighting, and 18th century portraits. It was Bierstadt's paintings that influenced the look of the film "in terms both of compositions and of what the place looked like," Mann has said. As he progressed, however, he realized that "objective reality outstripped me, and I brought it back to a more conservative palette. If you were an American Indian and grew up in the forest, so all you saw were brown and green."
Even more so than The Keep (1983), Mohicans feels the most un-Mann-like of any of his films. His usual iconography is subdued or non-existent. Mohicans tries to counter many of the Native American stereotypes in Hollywood films. Hawkeye is completely aligned with the Native Americans while falling in love with Cora, a white woman. Initially, the racial distinction is blurred as Hawkeye is not given priority at the beginning of the film. They are all equal for a little while. Of course, being the star, Hawkeye does become the central focus of the story. This is where Mann's film stops being progressive and reverts back to the old stereotypes with good and bad Native Americans. While he does up the ante in terms of realistic battle scenes, his story is very middle of the road and one that typifies a big-budget Hollywood film.
Mann had long been fascinated by the period of history that Mohicans is set in but his interest in the project can be traced all the way back to his childhood. He saw the 1936 version starring Randolph Scott as Hawkeye when he was four or five-years-old at a church in his neighborhood that would show 16mm films in their basement. Mann remembered "the corollary tragedy of Uncas and Alice at the end, plus I remember the fearsomeness of Magua, and the uniqueness of the period."
Mann first acquired the rights to Philip Dunne's 1936 screenplay of The Last of the Mohicans and wrote a story outline based on it, the Smithsonian's 30-volume North American Indian Handbook, a diary by Bouganville, Montcalm's aide, and Simon Schama's essay The Many Deaths of General Wolfe in 1988. He walked into the offices of Joe Roth, then Chairman of 20th Century Fox, and Roger Birnbaum, then President of Worldwide Production, and pitched a realistic take on Mohicans. They liked the idea and green-lit the project. Marketing surveys for 20th Century Fox revealed that few moviegoers had read Cooper's novel but were familiar with the title.
As always, Mann did a lot of research on this period of history. He realized how "revisionist James Fenimore Cooper was in 1826 when he was revising [the perception of American Indians] into noble savages [who had] their life, their culture, their territory, their commerce, who [did not] need more sophisticated folks (like Cooper and his family), to look after their interests and their land. So, it was eye-opening to do the research on the Mohicans and get to the true dimensionality of that society." From there, Mann constructed the outer frame of the film and established "the scale of a geopolitical conflict – the ethnic and religious conflicts, the struggle of white imperialism on a grassroots level, the condition of the struggle for survival of the colonial population, and the struggle between the Euramerican and European powers and the American Indian population." Mann studied the history of the American frontier, read diaries from the time period and consulted with historians. For the director, "the details make this movie ring true. Audiences today are more visually sophisticated. They know the real deal, and they know when they've been shortchanged."
Mann was interested in developing the epic scale of the story and proceeded to juxtapose these elements with an intimate love story between Hawkeye and Cora Munro. It is this coupling that illustrates where Mann deviates from Cooper's book in specific areas. Cora was originally a mulatto and Colonel Munro wanted Heyward to marry Cora but he preferred Alice. Mann switched it so that Hawkeye and Cora fall in love and had sex. Originally, Hawkeye's name was Natty Bumppo but Mann felt that it was "kind of a silly name" and changed it to Nathaniel Poe. He also based Major Heyward on Cooper himself.
Mann wanted acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis to play Hawkeye, which the studio was less than thrilled about. Mann remembers, "The choice I got the weirdest reaction to was when I said Daniel Day-Lewis was going to be Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans. Because American studios didn't know him. They said, 'You mean that skinny guy? That short, skinny guy in a wheelchair?' Because all he had done was My Left Foot." His co-star Madeleine Stowe remembers that prior to doing the film Day-Lewis had just played Hamlet at the National Theatre in London and ran from the stage crying, convinced that he was talking to the ghost of his own dead father. She felt a lot of uncertainty from him until he got into the physicality of his character, then he appeared to be very confident. According to Mann, physicality is one of the important ways Day-Lewis arrived at his character's emotional state. Day-Lewis is good as a no-nonsense Mann protagonist but, at times, his alpha male bravado veers dangerously close to John Wayne territory. He certainly looks the part with his impressive lean, muscular physique – a radical change from his role in My Left Foot (1989) – and is more than up to the task for film's demanding action sequences.
Stowe's agent got her to read the script for Mohicans but the actress thought that, "it was a nice action picture, I didn't feel any particular affinity for either Cora nor the story." Her initial reluctance to the material was based on her dissatisfaction with action films. "I was fed up with them and I initially thought that the script was just another action film dressed up as a period piece." Stowe's agent kept after her and she read it two more times before meeting with Mann. They talked about the film and he told her his vision of it. A week later, Stowe met with Mann again and read with Day-Lewis and Steven Waddington. That day she found out that it was Day-Lewis who had suggested to Mann that she play Cora.
Casting director Bonnie Timmerman called Russell Means and asked him if he would be interested in trying out for a major role in a major film. However, the day they wanted him to audition, he was going to a political convention in Monterrey. They worked it out so that Means could do both. However, on the day he ended up missing the audition. He got another call from Mann who asked Means to audition for a role in the film. Means remembers that Mann "had been a documentary filmmaker during the 60's and 70's and he remembered the American Indian Movement, and Dennis Banks and myself as leaders." After four auditions, Means was cast as Chingachook.
Mann brought in Colonel David Webster, who was in charge of the Many Hawks Special Operations Camp out of Fort Bragg in Columbus, Ohio, to train the cast for a month. In addition, Day-Lewis did an extraordinary amount of research and preparation for his role. Mann sent him on a six-month course of body building and weapons training at an anti-terrorist camp followed by several weeks in the wild learning how to survive with very little. He learned to track and skin animals, build canoes, fight with tomahawks, and fire and reload twelve pound flintlocks on the run. He spent five times a week for six months training to build up his stamina and upper body. Mann and Day-Lewis actually lived in the forests of North Carolina – Mann for a week, Day-Lewis for a month. The actor spent most of his time with experts on the lives and skills of American Indians.
Mohicans started with a budget of $24 million and a 250-member crew. Other articles reported that the budget was around $33 or $40 million. The principal photography was set for two-and-half months in the forests of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains during the Spring of 1991. Mohicans would continue Mann's uncompromising approach to controlling every aspect of the production. He leveled hills, cleared 38 acres of trees and hired 130 carpenters to build Fort Henry. To achieve the authenticity of the period everything had to be built from scratch, including designing and manufacturing the breechcloths of six different Indian peoples and building French and English ordinance.
The grueling grind of the production took its toll. The Unit Production Manager and the Transportation Director were fired. All the original department heads, with the exception of the head of sound, quit. In perhaps the most startling move, cinematographer Douglas Milsome was fired and Mann brought in his favorite director of photography, Dante Spinotti. According to Means, this angered people in the film industry and Mohicans paid for it at the Academy Awards. The non-Union crew wanted to be a Union one and went on strike a day before principal photography was supposed to start. The studio ultimately gave into their demands.
While filming at Lake James, all the American Indian extras organized themselves and went on strike because their living conditions were awful and, according to Stowe, were not being well fed. There was one bathroom for 400 extras. Actors Eric Schweig, Means, and Day-Lewis joined the extras on the picket line. Military advisor Dale Dye organized the men playing the Red Coats in the film with the intention of breaking through the strike line. As they approached Means punched the first Red Coat and knocked him down. The rest of them scattered. Dye was able to get them reorganized and then the producers stepped in and asked Means to mediate between the two sides. In Means' opinion, the awful living conditions for the American Indian extras were the fault of the assistant directors. "Michael Mann was so focused on his art that he didn't realize what his A.D.s were doing ... and what his A.D.s did was effectively demoralize everyone."
When asked about the film's production problems Mann said, "What I will tell you, however, is that this was a really difficult picture. You warn people ahead of time that this is going to be a tough picture to do, and people say, "That's fine, I can handle that," and sometimes they can't." The filmmaker made no apologies for his exacting attention to detail. "Everything impacts on an audience. Everything. And you can either pay attention to it or let it go and let technicians do it. To me that's wasteful." Mohicans was originally slotted for a July release but was pushed back to September to avoid stiff competition and for a better position for Academy Award nominations.
The studio marketing department promoted Mohicans as a love story in a war zone, but Mann felt that it was about human struggle, "where life is short and passion is where you can find it; you are part of a people who are disappearing and the world is changing around you." Means was not happy with how 20th Century Fox handled the film. He had two problems with the studio. Firstly, he claims that the studio forced Mann to cut down his original version that ran two hours down to 108 minutes removing "some very pertinent scenes in there, and dialogue, that would have shown the Indians in an even better light then it already does." Secondly, Means said that the studio targeted the over 35 crowd, selling it as a love story. "As you know, it was kind of gory and there was a lot of action. So, if they'd have pitched it to 20/35 crowd, as their primary audience, it not only would have made another 50 million off of that ... 20th Century Fox shot themselves in the foot over that film ... A classic like that and they messed around with it. It just goes to point up in Hollywood they don't know anything about Indians nor the audience that they purport to know everything about."
According to Stowe, the studio "had huge doubts" about the film during the editing and audience test screenings who were put off by the film's violence. She felt that Mann was under a lot of pressure from the studio to change the film. The actress saw a cut in July of 1992 and felt that the studio was wearing Mann down so she called Joe Roth and "told him how beautiful the film was, and that I was fully ready to support it, that Michael's work was wonderful and I imagined that Daniel would feel the same. he listened quietly and read between the lines." Mann met with the studio again and successfully fought for his cut of Mohicans.
The Last of the Mohicans was released on September 25, 1992 in 1,491 theaters grossing $10.9 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $75 million in North America, well over its $40 million budget. In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert felt that Mann's film was "not as authentic and uncompromised as it claims to be – more of a matinee fantasy than it wants to admit -- but it is probably more entertaining as a result." Peter Travers, in his review for Rolling Stone, praised Daniel Day-Lewis' performance: "The lithe Day-Lewis, more puckish than primitive despite the shoulder-length locks, is riveting. Luckily, he and the radiant Stowe can make the cornball credible – even a farewell scene at a waterfall where he vows to find her again, 'no matter how long it takes, no matter how far.'" David Ansen also praised Day-Lewis' performance in his review for Newsweek magazine: "This amazingly graceful actor builds his character out of body language ... He turns this 18th century action hero into a freshly imagined romantic icon ... Day-Lewis makes the most wildly heroic gesture seem natural."
In his review for the Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, "Whether there's a full-scale massacre of innocents, or a lover's kiss behind a raging waterfall, the movie is all expertly controlled sensation ... The battles are pyrotechnical displays of cannon fire and gleaming redcoats. Even the awesome landscape looks designed. Mann wasn't thinking story, he was thinking scheme. Keep the eyes and ears dazzled, he reasons, and the substance will follow." Richard Schickel, in his review for Time magazine, wrote, "Above all Mann has seen to it that something spooky, suspenseful or just plain action packed happens every five minutes. In the process, he has eliminated the last traces of Cooper's high-viscosity prose and sentiments." Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "And Mann has created a great villain in Magua, the vengeful Huron. Wes Studi, who was in Dances With Wolves, has a glowering face, all scars and furrows, that seems to be imploding with rage. At the same time, he reveals that the furious Magua is actually a thoughtful, complex man; he sees what the Europeans are doing to his people, and he despises them for it."
The success of Mohicans not only established Mann with box office clout in the eyes of Hollywood, it also proved to be a hit with audiences and critics. More importantly, it paved the way for his next and even greater film, Heat (1995), a pet project that had been gestating for years.
Here is a clip from one of the film's exciting battle scenes:


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Light and Compact Dust Shoe for CNC3040T-DQ
- Details
- Category: CNC
- Published: Wednesday, 04 December 2013 20:44
- Written by Justblair
I treated myself to a Chinese Import CNC Printer a couple of months ago, these machines fall at the affordable end of the CNC market. It will not be a surprise then that they arrive with very few frills included. You get an aluminium constructed machine, a control box with some cheap and not always cheerful controlling electronics. and a box of starter mill ends and bed clamps. Once I had my machine up and running, it became obvious that controlling dust was going to take priority.
Today I 3D printed my (alpha version) dust shoe for the CNC3040.
I decided that in order to make the dust shoe easily printable I would make it in two parts. I also wanted this to be a lightweight device as the CNC3040T router is not especially powerful. The thickest part is the main body of the dust shoe (The first picture above) which provides the strength of the part. The smaller of the two holes on it clamp the motor on the CNC3040T. This spindle is the 52mm diameter model, though the part of it that I am clamping to is 26mm in diameter. The Larger hole is designed to hold a Dyson DC04 hose.
The walls of the top of the dust shoe I printed at 0.5mm (well 0.6 is what comes out my printer). This is obviously very thin and flexible under normal circumstances and fragile to boot. However when the lid is bonded in place, the thin and puny walls become strong, much like a cardboard box gains it's strength when it is finally taped shut. The benefit to this thin walled design weight and compactness.
In order to bond the two pieces together I used a glue made by dissolving scrap ABS with Acetone. This stuff is easy to make and useful whenever you need to bond ABS parts together (also very good for preparing a print bed for a difficult ABS print) I smeared this on liberally and pushed the lid over the top part. The lid has a small rim that the top of the Dust Shoe.
I messed around a bit with this piece. First I tried brushing on the ABS glue to strengthen the sides. It came out strong enough, but the finish was a bit lumpy. To smooth things I then tried vapour smoothing the assembled part. This smoothed things out a little, but some of the lumps and bumps remain. I am not too concerned as this is going on a tool so does not have to be beautiful. As my MKI part, I also reckon it has a limited lifespan.
Fitting wise the part worked out very well. I have a very well worn Dyson DC04 in the garage working as my workshop vacuum and the hose accessory is a perfect fit. I designed the part so that the moving part of the spindle would be exposed for easy tool changes. The Dust Shoe certainly does not cause any problems here. My design is compact and unobtrusive.
As far as efficiency goes, it certainly seems to do a job. The hole where spindle protrudes is also the hole where the dust is sucked in by the vacuum. Because the inlet is a reasonable distance from the piece it is not especially concentrated where it would need to be to pick up everything, but it does seem to be effective in picking up most stuff that is either very fine (The stuff I especially want rid of) or is heavier but kicked up by the end mill. Some of the heavier shavings get blown away by the cooling fan that is part of the spindle. If you watch the video footage you can see some of the material vortex into the dust shoe.
Other dust shoes that I have seen have either a flexible plastic curtain or bristles around the shoe to create a tent around the piece. I will be looking out for something of this nature to see if I can improve on the efficiency of my design.
The files should you wish to make your own dust shoe are available on my Github pages. The part was made in OpenScad and is parametric to a degree. It should not be too difficult to adjust this design to fit other vacuum hoses and/or spindles.

subset: commoncrawl


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January, 2010
By using computers to compare thousands of genomes, scientists are identifying genes that occur more frequently among people with multiple sclerosis. This new knowledge about the genetic underpinnings of the disease supports the hypothesis that malfunctions of the immune system drive the disease, and suggests more effective strategies for treating it.
At present, almost all treatment options involve suppressing the most conspicuous consequence of the disease—the inflammation that damages myelin, the fatty white coating that insulates the slender fibers known as axons that transmit electrochemical signals away from a neuron's cell body.
The multiple layers of myelin wrapped tightly around an axon enable signals to travel rapidly, producing movement, sensation, perception and thought. When damaged by inflammation, the myelin sheath develops a lesion or scar that disrupts those signals. Since the myelin of any axon in the brain and the spinal cord is vulnerable to attack, people with MS can develop a wide array of symptoms, among them numbness and tingling, vision loss, weakness, paralysis, tremors, poor balance, bladder and bowel problems and cognitive changes such as memory loss, poor concentration or difficulty in planning tasks.
The disease also varies greatly in severity. Some people have mild symptoms that occur rarely, and may cease altogether, while others progress to profound disability that prevents them from walking, feeding themselves and performing other routine tasks. New genetic insights that reveal what makes some people more vulnerable to MS will undoubtedly help scientists treat the inflammation of the myelin that causes symptoms, and may also help them interrupt the disease before the inflammation causes problems.
Axons in the brain and spinal cord, which constitute the central nervous system, or CNS, are protected by the blood-brain barrier, a tight layer of cells within blood vessels that prevents many substances from passing into the CNS from the blood, while allowing oxygen, glucose, other nutrients and a limited number of other substances to pass freely. Certain immune cells (T cells), which recognize and attack non-body molecules, are also blocked. In MS patients, however, these cells somehow get through the blood-brain barrier and attack the myelin as though it were a foreign substance. This attack triggers the inflammation that damages the myelin sheath. Cells known as oligodendrocytes produce new myelin and wrap it around the newly denuded portions of axons, but this process is imperfect, and signals have difficulty crossing the patched areas. Eventually, the inflammation and residual demyelination and axonal damage results in cumulative and debilitating deficits.
About half a million people in the United States have MS, which usually appears in young adulthood as the relapsing-remitting form of the disease. During a relapse or exacerbation, the patient develops a symptom—numbness and tingling in an arm, perhaps, or loss of vision, or vertigo—which usually improves gradually, with or without treatment.
About 10 to 20 percent of MS patients, however, begin with primary-progressive MS, which involves a continuous, gradual decline in physical abilities.
About half of the patients who begin with relapsing-remitting MS progress within ten years to secondary-progressive MS, characterized by frequent exacerbations that produce severe symptoms resulting in permanent disability.
And a few patients—less than 5 percent—display a combination of the relapsing-remitting and primary-progressive forms of MS. They experience a continuous gradual decline punctuated by severe exacerbations that accelerate disability.
Four patterns seen in the development of multiple sclerosis.(Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License)
Circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that genes confer susceptibility to MS: The disease is most common among people of Northern European ancestry, while other groups, including European Gypsies, Eskimos and African Bantu, rarely get MS. Also, if one identical twin gets MS, the other has a 30 percent chance of getting it too, whereas the fraternal twin of an MS patient acquires the disease only 4 percent of the time. MS occurs more frequently among family members of people who have it, and women get MS three times as often as men. All these statistics make a persuasive case for a genetic model of illness.
However, an environmental trigger such as a virus is believed to initiate the disease in people who are genetically susceptible to it.
Most existing treatments for MS attempt to adjust the immune system in some way so it won't attack myelin, but insight into the genetic underpinnings of the disease may lead to methods of preventing immune cells from getting into the CNS in the first place—a treatment that would effectively halt the disease process.
The mapping of the human genome, combined with the massive computer power needed to analyze the DNA of vast numbers of people, is revealing subtle genetic differences among people with MS.
One ongoing study, for example, involves comparing the genomes of 22,000 people to find genes that occur more frequently in people with MS.1
So far only a few genes have been found that appear to make people more susceptible to MS, with each gene contributing slightly to overall susceptibility. This evidence makes scientists suspect that MS, like diabetes, autism and other genetically complex diseases, involves many genes working together. "There will certainly be a hundred genes, maybe more, that are serious players," said Stephen L. Hauser of the University of California, San Francisco, who has created a DNA bank containing samples from MS patients and their relatives.
No single gene is likely to emerge as a major culprit, he added. "But I'm confident that genetic variants will lead us to novel pathways that will simplify our understanding of the disease and make a critical connection with environmental risk."
The genetic findings so far support the prevailing theory that MS results when the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin around axons.
"We now have about a dozen genes that have been implicated in MS, and they're all immune genes," said David A. Hafler of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "All are involved in dictating the immune response, and they all have incredible similarities genetically. Right now the genetics are explaining only a small part of the risk, and there are probably hundreds of variants working together, as in all complex genetic diseases, but we're in the early stages. I think this is a very exciting time."2
Hafler expects a better genetic understanding of the disease to explain the wide variability in the severity of symptoms that MS patients experience. This also will allow for customized treatments that consider each patient's unique genetic endowment.
"Now patients undergo a process of trial and error to find the treatment that works best for them," he said.
Still, the genetic evidence so far fails to settle a fundamental debate regarding the cause of MS: Is the immune system attack on the myelin the cause of the disease or the result of another form of dysfunction elsewhere in the brain and spinal cord?
Richard A. Rudick, director of the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research, leads investigations into the root causes of the disease.(Courtesy of Richard A. Rudick / Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research)
"We don't know the cause of MS—that's the bottom line," said Richard A. Rudick, director of the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research. "And I think the two ideas about the disease are somewhat irreconcilable."
The leading hypothesis maintains that an environmental trigger such as a virus causes the immune system to overreact and mistakenly initiate a persistent attack on myelin. (The Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis, is a leading contender.3) The resulting scar or lesion in the myelin disrupts the transmission of signals and eventually damages the neuron, producing the degeneration and permanent disability that appear in later stages of the disease.
The competing hypothesis asserts that the immune attack may be an appropriate response to defective myelin that is deteriorating for some reason and must be broken down and removed. In this model, the damage to the myelin results from an abnormality in the oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin, or from dysfunction in the body of the neurons themselves, which supply the neurotransmitters that travel to the end of the axon and enable signals to jump from one neuron to the next.4
"In this hypothesis the immune system is responding to an abnormality, but also contributing to tissue injury," said Rudick. "In this scenario, interrupting the inflammatory process might be partially effective, but it wouldn't stop the underlying degenerative process."
An Australian group led by John Prineas provided support for this idea with a 2004 paper that described the death of oligodendrocytes in MS lesions prior to any evidence of inflammation.5 Prineas argued that oligodendrocytes become sick before damage to the myelin appears.
While this idea has started to lose ground in the face of new genetic evidence that implicates immune dysfunction, MS clearly begins long before inflammation of myelin starts to cause symptoms. The widespread use of magnetic resonance imaging in recent years has found people who have "silent" MS lesions—damage that has never caused symptoms—and studies have confirmed that the loss of brain tissue in MS patients starts early in the disease process, even though neurological deficits don't start to appear until years later.
"It seems as if patients compensate for considerable amounts of brain injury, but only up to a point," Rudick said. "When they get past that point they start to deteriorate, and the disease looks more like a classic progressive neurodegenerative process. So there's some evidence that the process underlying the disease changes from mostly inflammatory in the early stages to mostly degenerative in later stages of the disease."
Even if the inflammation of myelin—the hallmark of MS—turns out to be a consequence of dysfunction in neurons or oligodendrocytes, suppressing the inflammation clearly helps control symptoms, and that's what existing treatments as well as most new medications in the pipeline attempt to do.
Drugs such as interferon beta-1b (Betaseron), interferon beta-1a (Avonex, Rebif), along with glatiramer acetate, a synthetic product sold as Copaxone, interfere with the inflammatory hormones called interferons, substances produced by cells in response to viral infections. Known as immunomodulators, these drugs are believed to discourage T cells in the immune system from attacking myelin. They reduce relapses or exacerbations, as well as new lesions in the myelin, by up to one third, and their long history of use has shown them to be very safe. Patients may respond better to one drug than to others because of their unique genetic makeup, "but thus far we don't have a way to individualize treatment," said Rudick.
Several oral medications now in the pipeline are expected to be approved shortly, including cladribine (Leustatin), fingolimod, teriflunomide and laquinimod. Like drugs given to transplant patients to prevent rejection, these drugs suppress the immune system and thereby weaken its ability to attack the myelin of MS patients. While these drugs work primarily by destroying immune cells, fingolimod, also known as FTY-720, suppresses the immune system by confining lymphocytes to lymph nodes, thereby muting their ability to trigger inflammation.
Another drug recently approved by the FDA, natalizumab, is a highly specific type of antibody known as a monoclonal antibody. Administered every twenty-eight days, natalizumab acts on the walls of the blood-brain barrier to block inflammatory cells in the immune system from crossing into the central nervous system. It is also used to treat Crohn's disease, a severe immune-mediated inflammation of the lining of the intestines.
Sold under the brand name Tysabri, natalizumab aroused high hopes when it was approved by the FDA in 2004 because it appeared to work nearly twice as well as existing drugs in preventing relapses and new lesions in MS patients. However, it was temporarily withdrawn from the market when three people taking it developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, a disease much like MS that causes inflammation in the myelin of the brain. Normally seen only in people with weakened immune systems, such as AIDS patients or those taking immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ, PML usually causes death. After a study, the FDA allowed natalizumab to return to the market in 2006. Since then about ten patients out of more than 40,000 who have taken it have developed PML, but none have died.
"The good news is that neurologists can recognize PML early," said Peter Calabresi, director of the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center. "You can wash the Tysabri [natalizumab] out with leukopheresis and most patients do not die from PML. Even if we must use non-specific immunosuppressive drugs [on MS patients], the drugs that are reversible are much more appealing than ones that have sustained effects."
But PML is not the only serious complication of natalizumab, according to Joseph Berger, chairman of the department of neurology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
"For instance, there's also an increased risk of herpes infections," said Berger, who addressed the May 2009 convention of the Consortium of MS Centers on the risk/benefit considerations of MS therapies. "What we typically see are recrudescences [revivals] of latent infections. Eighty percent of us carry JC virus, the cause of PML, yet PML is a vanishingly rare disease in the absence of an immunosuppressive condition or the administration of an immunosuppressant drug. The risk for developing infectious complications will likely be increased with many of these drugs being developed for MS besides natalizumab. As the efficacy of a therapy improves, the risks associated with it will increase as well."
Nevertheless, by preventing immune cells from crossing the bloodbrain barrier, natalizumab could conceivably slow or even halt the progression of symptoms if it is administered early in the course of the disease. However, because of the heavy side effects, neurologists tend to reserve the drug for those patients with the most severe disease, who have failed to respond well to all other treatments.
"If you put patients from the beginning of the disease on Tysabri and stop inflammatory lesions, do you stop the disease?" said Bruce D. Trapp, chairman of the department of neurosciences at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. "That is an experiment I would like to see. It could determine if the inflammation is primary or secondary."
Trapp was the lead author of a 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine that transformed thinking about MS, which up to that time was thought to affect only myelin. He showed that MS also damages the nerve fibers themselves, which probably accounts for the severe long-term disability that afflicts some patients.
This conception of MS suggests that discovering how to protect the delicate nerve fibers and promote the body's own efforts to repair myelin might be an effective way to stave off or even halt the degeneration that produces disability in MS patients. However, the development of such therapies is hindered by the lack of a technique to detect myelin non-invasively and thereby determine the effectiveness of such treatments.
"The best MS imaging labs in the world are working on this," Trapp said, "but as of now we have no way of measuring an effective repair."
Bruce D. Trapp changed the way researchers view MS by showing that not only myelin, but the nerve fibers themselves, are damaged in the course of the disease. (Courtesy of Bruce D. Trapp / Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute).
In a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2009, however, Trapp and his colleagues reported the existence of a previously unidentified type of cell in the brain that gives rise to oligodendrocytes, which restore myelin that has been damaged by inflammation.6
"We developed a method to purify this cell, and we showed in a mouse model that fails to make myelin that it has a significant ability to generate oligodendrocytes," Trapp said. "If we transplant the same number of these cells as we transplant progenitor cells, we get more myelination, suggesting that the repair capacity of this cell may be greater than that of an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell."
A team at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, led by Dr. Richard Burt, has been "resetting" the immune system of MS patients by transplanting their own immune stem cells.7
In one study, eighteen of twenty-one MS patients with the relapsing-remitting form of the disease improved significantly for twenty-four months after the stem cell transplant, and none got worse. Most patients with relapsing-remitting MS get progressively worse as irreversible damage to their neurons accumulates.
The procedure involves harvesting immune stem cells from the patient's bone marrow, and then destroying the immune component of the bone marrow with chemotherapy. When the stem cells are transplanted, the patient develops a new immune system apparently free of disease.
"The stem cells are not immune cells," Burt said. "They have to be educated. They have to differentiate and grow into immune cells. The reset [after transplantation] results in an immune system like a newborn child's."
Burt has applied this technique to other diseases, including type 1 diabetes,8,9 lupus,10 scleroderma, Crohn's, and a form of vision loss known as autoimmune-related retinopathy and optic neuropathy syndrome, or ARRON.11
What will the treatment of MS look like in the years ahead?
A deeper understanding of MS will almost certainly lead to the creation of a subspecialty within neurology dedicated to the treatment of the disease. "Management of patients with MS will become increasingly complex in the next five to ten years," said Berger. "While neurologists will always make the diagnosis of MS, the treatment may become sufficiently complex that the average neurologist will defer to a specialist or a specialty group for the management of the MS patient. That's where I see it going with the panoply of drugs likely to make it to market. I would also predict that genetic analysis of these individuals will enable us to predict who is going to respond to those therapies that are less aggressive."
And if the past decade is any indication, the years ahead will bring much more effective treatments, according to Trapp.
"I don't see a cure until we know the cause, and we don't know the cause," he said. "But we are making strides. What we've accomplished in the last ten years has been remarkable. The existing therapies, while not perfect, make a real difference in quality of life of MS patients."
Get the latest neuroscience news delivered to your inbox.


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Then I guess someone thought of gluing something cute on top.
- Put glue on plugs
- Stick to bead
- Let dry
Choose which way you want your beads to lay.
- cell phone strap (bought mine from Michaels)
- plugs
- charms/beads
- headpins
Before finishing your loop, attach it to the jumpring from the strap.
Thanks for reading!


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Your curves will be their very sweetest in the Candy Lace Overlay Red Satin Underbust Corset by Burleska. This is a wonderful starter piece for anyone interested in trying a corset. Its underbust style sits beneath and supports the bust so that you can pair this item with your own bra. This style of corset is ideal if you would like a lingerie as outerwear look. Wear it under a crisp white shirt or open jacket.
A lace overlay paired with the shimmering red satin underneath is too gorgeous not to show off and creates an over the top sexy effect. Black contrast boning shows off your beautiful shape and makes this look super sexy. Steel stays and a real steel busk add structure and anchor the garment. This is a front fastening piece, using steel clips. Six garter suspender loops make this ideal for wear with thigh highs. Lace it up the back. A modesty panel is included, making the Candy Lace Overlay Red Satin Underbust Corset by Burleska one of the finest and most versatile corsets in our collection.
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Anyone who knows anything about the religion beat knows that there are stories that the pros end up writing time and time again. Holiday stories are the most obvious, but there are others -- such as all of those theodicy studies that your GetReligionistas keep pointing out year after year. Well, I've been thinking about this one for some time now and I think I am ready to make the call.
Every three to five years, mainstream journalists -- or those at The Los Angeles Times, at the very least -- will discover the amazing, shocking, unknown fact that dedicated religious believers who attend worship services approximately once a week like to go see movies just like everybody else.
In fact (gasp!) they can even be thought of as a kind of "niche" audience that deserves special attention and the occasional quality film that takes them and their concerns seriously. I realize that it's strange to pin the "niche" label on about 20 to 40 percent of the U.S. population, but there seem to be groups that Hollywood has trouble detecting in its focus groups.
Do you remember the stunned newspaper articles that created "The Passion of the Christ"? And then there was the wave of coverage that came soon after that, about the time of "The Blind Side." I was interviewed for the Los Angeles Times piece on that one and the reporter who talked to me was slightly apologetic about the fact that the newspaper's editors still thought that this old story (can you say "Chariots of Fire"?) was brand new and fresh as a daisy.
So here we go again. This time, we're watching a true mini-wave of low- to mid-budget Indie films with a "spiritual" bent, aimed at (gasp!) several different "spiritual" audiences. When you put that into a Los Angeles Times trend story, it sounds like this:
In many quarters, Hollywood has long been regarded as an essentially godless place. But judging by the offerings at the movies this season, and more in the works, Tinseltown is rediscovering religion.
My advice: Someone needs to copyright that phrase, "Tinseltown is rediscovering religion." You can make some money off it in three to five years.
But back to the story.
In the span of just a few weeks starting in late August, audiences looking for God at their local multiplex have had their choice of titles, including "Higher Ground," a chronicle of one woman's struggle with her faith; "Seven Days in Utopia," an inspirational golf drama; and "Machine Gun Preacher," about an evangelist who takes up arms in Africa. And the onslaught isn't slowing down. "Courageous," about policemen wrestling with their faith after a tragedy, opened this weekend. Emilio Estevez's "The Way," about a father on a religious pilgrimage, is set for Friday.
These films follow the success this spring of "Soul Surfer," about a Christian teen surfer's comeback after losing an arm to a shark. Released by Sony's TriStar division, the film brought in nearly $44 million at the U.S. box office.
In many cases, these movies are not filled with unknown actors; they star top performers such as Robert Duvall, Melissa Leo, Helen Hunt, Helen Mirren and Louis Gossett Jr. (all Oscar winners), plus Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen and Gerard Butler.
So why is Hollywood looking to a higher authority?
Because this is America and large parts of American are filled with ordinary Americans? Because millions of regular worshipers also like to overpay for popcorn from time to time?
Actually, this story is one of the better "hot trend" pieces that I have read on this topic. It talks about the days in the mid-20th century when religious films were normal. It discusses the low-budget trend symbolized by the "Facing the Giants" Southern Baptists down in Georgia who recently released "Courageous."
However, this story should win some kind of prize for daring to mention the following shocking facts.
Ready? Are you sitting down?
Rich Peluso, vice president of Affirm Films, the Sony Pictures division that acquires faith-based and inspirational films, said some in Hollywood still believe that the audience for religious-themed movies is limited to the Midwest and South.
"The reality is that the Christian population in Los Angeles, based on pure population size, is one of the largest populations of Christians in the country," he said. "In Seattle and Portland, we do extremely well with the faith-based populations there. And Chicago and New York. Faith-based films tend to do well where Christians are, and they tend to be everywhere."
All together now: Who are those guys?
So here is my request for GetReligion readers. Have you paid attention to these stories through the years? Please send us URLs for some of the best and worst of the "Tinseltown gets religion" coverage. Let's have 'em. And which movies should have been mentioned in this latest Times piece, but were not?


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What to Do If You Witness a Seizure
Should someone near you have a grand mal seizure (the most severe type, involving loss of consciousness or generalized jerking movements), follow these steps:
- Stay calm. Most seizures only last a few minutes.
- Prevent injury by moving any nearby objects out of the way.
- Pay attention to the length of the seizure.
- Make the person as comfortable as possible.
- Keep onlookers away.
- Do not hold the person down.
- Do not put anything in the person's mouth.
- Do not give the person water, pills, or food until the person is fully alert.
- Call 911.
- Be sensitive and supportive, and ask others to do the same.
If you have questions, contact Student Health Services - Ext. 5748
For more information contact the Office of Disability Services - Ext. 5916


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Two GMES satellites to be launched on Europe's new Vega rocket
ESA and Arianespace have signed contracts for the launches of two of ESA's Sentinel satellites. Arianespace will launch Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-3B on Europe's new Vega rocket from French Guiana.
The contracts were signed by the Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, and ESA's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, on 14 December in Evry, France.
These agreements not only mark a significant milestone for ESA's family of Sentinel satellites, but they are also Arianespace's first commercial launch contracts with ESA for Europe's new light Vega rocket.
As the Sentinels are being developed by ESA for Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme, the launches are co-funded by ESA and the EU.
Supporting European policies, GMES uses accurate and timely data to provide key information services to improve the way the environment is managed, help mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.
Since the provision of reliable data is key to the success of the GMES programme, ESA is developing five families of Sentinel satellites specifically for GMES.
The Sentinel missions are based on a constellation of two satellites to maximise coverage of Earth.
The contracts signed with Arianespace are for the second Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites, which are now scheduled for launch in 2014–15 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Sentinel-2 carries a multispectral high-resolution imager primarily to monitor the land, providing data on vegetation, soil, water cover and coastal regions.
Sentinel-3 carries several instruments to measure variables such as sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature and ocean colour.
Complementing the larger Ariane rockets, the new light Vega rocket is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations for different market opportunities.
In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites. It is compatible with payloads up to 1500 kg.
Altogether, seven ESA Member States (Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden) are contributing to the Vega programme.
The first Vega launch campaign is currently underway in French Guiana in preparation its maiden flight early next year.


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TUESDAY, Oct. 9, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- There's no evidence to support the widely held belief that sharing family meals improves children's school performance or reduces their risk of behavior problems, a new study says.
Researchers looked at more than 21,000 children, aged 5 to 15, and found no relationship between family meals and the children's academic success or behavior.
"We find no relationship between family breakfasts or family dinners and any child outcomes -- reading, math and science scores, or behavior problems," study co-author Daniel Miller, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Social Work, said in a university news release.
"That didn't change according to the age of the kids or even how we measured family meals: whether it was three meals a week, five meals a week or nine meals a week didn't seem to matter," he added.
Miller and his colleagues were surprised at the findings, which were recently published online in the journal Child Development.
"We would never suggest that families should not eat meals together. The family meal table is an important place for parents and children to interact and communicate. However, it may be that the nature and extent of the influence of family dinners and breakfasts may be different than previously understood," Miller said.
"Families that believe in the importance of eating together might also do lots of other things they feel are good for their kids, like go to the library or be more invested in picking the right schools. But if you just look at the frequency of family meals, that may seem to be causing positive results," he explained.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about family meals.


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text:
By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer
Published: Friday, Mar. 9, 2012 – 11:26 am
Last Modified: Friday, Mar. 9, 2012 – 2:46 pm
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new silicone-gel breast implant from Sientra, making it the third company to market the controversial products in the U.S.
Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Sientra won approval to market its implants for breast enhancement and reconstruction in women at least 22 years old. The company said it will offer implants in multiple shapes and sizes, in addition to the round implants currently sold by Allergan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's Mentor unit.
Last year, plastic surgeons performed more than 307,000 breast augmentation procedures in the U.S., up 3.6 percent from the previous year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The FDA has wrestled with the safety of silicone-gel implants for more than 20 years. In 1992, the agency banned the products amid fears they might cause cancer, lupus and other diseases. But when research ruled out most of the disease concern, regulators returned the implants to the market in 2006.
Since then the FDA has required manufacturers to track the health and complications of women who receive the implants. The most recent data from Allergan and J&J confirm that the devices are prone to rupture and often need to be replaced.
More than one in five women who get implants for breast enhancement will need to have them replaced within five years, accord to an FDA analysis of company data released last summer. Despite that relatively high failure rate, FDA regulators concluded that the silicone-gel implants are basically safe as long as women understand they come with complications. Some critics of the implants say the failure rate may be even higher, since many women have dropped out of the company studies.
Problems with rupturing and scar tissue are also seen with saline-filled versions of breast implants, which are less popular. Many women prefer silicone implants because they generally look and feel more like natural breast tissue.
Sientra will be subject to the same FDA-mandated requirements to track patients and report safety information back to the agency.
The privately held company, founded in 2007, specializes in plastic surgery implants, including those for the face, legs and buttocks.
"Sientra has successfully broken the existing duopoly in the U.S. by offering surgeons and patients a new choice," said CEO Hani Zeini, in a statement.
Allergan Inc. is based in Irvine, Calif., and Mentor, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, is based in Santa Barbara.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/09/4324952/fda-approves-3rd-silicone-gel.html#storylink=cpy


text: For the first cool day of fall, it was off to Nebo for a hike and hunt. ORR had a great approach to efficiently grab these caches in one day, but it happened that one can do the 11 caches in under four hours. Check out ORRs bookmark list of the Nebo caches. The first two caches are on AR 155 and quick grabs. Even if familiar with the mountain, a stop at the visitors center may be a good idea to get a map with the trailheads in the park to have an idea of where to drop down to the cache sites. One can also begin the hunt behind the center. Walk down the Nebo Steps trail to get GC16A2N, lose a little more elevation, hit the Bench trail, head east and up the Nebo Springs trail and pick up GC16FET. Once back atop the mountain stay on the Rim trail west of the center and head down the Bench trail to find GCYD2G. Back up to the Rim trail and across the park to GC16FEV and over to the vehicle at the center. Go to Sunrise Point and pick out the trail to the SW that meets the Rim trail nearby. Travel back to the east to find GCYD1K. Drive to the Gum Springs trailhead to the south. Go down this trail past/under the waterfall, hit the Bench trail (again) and walk east. In short time, one can find GCV9J6 and GCV59B. Backtrack west on the Bench trail to GCKG33, reverse course again to the east and climb to the Summit trail and find GC159FQ. Continue to the top of the mountain, go east on the Rim trail back to the vehicle. This is a fun outing with well placed caches in all areas of the park. Many thanks to those three gentlemen placing caches on Nebo. Worth all the walking.


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at knights bridge hotel (Anywhere)
Knightsbridge Hotel – Firmdale Hotels
Firmdale Hotels Is Looking For People To Join Its Team
Here at Knightsbridge Hotel, We are delighted to bring to inform the general public about the current employment vacancies in Firmdale Hotels Knightsbridge she is a 5 Star Hotel here in United Kingdom. These vacancies arise as a result of the temporary onward relocation of our foreign expatriate staffs that will go for further training, while others were sent on compulsory retirement due to there official retirement age. As result of this, the Hotel hereby wishes to fill these vacancies with suitable and qualified employees. Below are the positions available and the Monthly salaries are paid in UK local currency ( Great Britain Pounds).
If you find yourself nodding as you read our sentiments, you probably are feeling the same way. Why not join our team and lend a hand in our cause? When you have the heart for these kinds of things, you're definitely Firmdale Hotel material!
We are currently looking for:
Hotel Workers who are seriously wanting to improve and make impact in this Hotel
You must be 18 years and above * Must have basic education at least. * Must be reliable and trustworthy. * Must be law-abiding and adhere strictly to the Rules and regulations guiding the operations of the Hotel * Those seeking professional positions MUST be qualified and have at least a year work experience which may be relevant to the position applied for.
Interested applicants may send in their resumes to email@example.com
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text:
Giordano Viaggio Tandem Road Bicycle
Product Details
About this item
The Giordano Viaggio tandem bike encourages you and a friend or family member to share the thrill of cycling.
current price: $599.00
Online only
Price includes shipping
The Viaggio boasts a strong yet lightweight aluminum tandem frame, along with a Shimano 24-speed drive train that provides a gear for virtually every riding terrain. The Viaggio's Shimano STI integrated shifters provide fluid, lightning-fast shifting and braking from the same position. Responsive alloy side pull brakes stop on a dime. Other details include smooth-riding 700 x 32 tires, and sturdy resin pedals. The Viaggio Tandem is finished in a beautiful white pearl paint.
Policies & plans
- Color: pearl white
- Frame: custom-designed 7005 aluminum
- Frame size: 20" (front), 16" (rear)
- Fork: 700c CS-9217 steel painted
- Geometry: 31-inch stand over with 21-inch top tube length (front), 28-inch stand over (rear)
- Headset: VP-H692W, black
- Stem: HL alloy ext, 100mm x 7-degree alloy, silver
- Handlebars: HL-DR-8BW, 430mm, steel black
- Bar tape: CB-0108, black soft wrap
- Shifters: Shimano ST2300 STI 8 speed
- Brakes: alloy side pull
- Brake levers: Shimano STI integrated with shifters
- Front derailleur: Shimano FD M191
- Rear derailleur: Shimano RD TX51D
- Freewheel: Shimano CS HD30 11-30 8 speed
- Chain: KMC Z51
- Crank Set: A106PP40T steel black, 28/38/48 x 170mm alloy, silver crank
- Bottom bracket: VP-B33 steel
- Pedals: VP-990S resin body
- Wheels: high V profile rims, alloy 700c, brass nipples
- Tires: touring 700 x 32 black with silver line
- Saddles: Velo
- Seat post: Kalloy SP-233 300mm alloy silver
- Weight: 42.5 lbs.
Lifetime for frame / 6 months for parts
Assembled Country
Assembled Size
105 x 25 x 45
Component Country
Shipping Info
Standard - 2 to 6 business days


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Yesterday was a very exciting day for me....maybe for some others in our family too, but all I can account for on here are my emotions and those alone. We had our ultrasound yesterday and we found out (without 100% accuracy as ultrasounds don't guarantee gender) that we are having a little GIRL. Yes...a girl! A baby girl, girl, girl. I was so emotional over this exciting news, I couldn't call enough people or smile any bigger. Tears of joy ran out of the corner of my eyes as I thanked God first and foremost. And with that I have a "God story" for you....
I hear God "speaking" to me often...usually it is when I am getting ready in the mornings, in our bathroom. A couple of months ago, early on in the pregnancy, I was in the shower and God told me "I will give you a girl." He keeps His messages to me pretty short and sweet, unless that is all I am able to "hear" at this time in my life. It took me a while to process this, and as with all things in a pregnancy, everyone seems to guess what you are having and I really felt like I was having a boy...except for this one message that I "heard" the one day. I told Wes about it a few weeks later, and remember asking him...well who else would tell me this? Who else but God? Who else meets me in the morning like this, in the shower, as I sing/hum worship songs and often pray as I wash my hair? But, I kept on telling peopole that I thought this baby was a boy...because part of me didn't want to feel diappointed if it was a boy. (We already have three wonderful boys) I know how I felt when we found out that Asher was a boy, and it took me time to deal with the fact that I wasn't going to have the little girl I so longed for. I didn't want to feel sad again. I was preparing myself mentally for a boy, just in case. Then, earlier on this week, on Monday I think it was...God met me in the morning again and I heard "just trust me." Well now this really got me thinking...but I still wasn't able to 100% trust what I was "hearing" because I was scared. And now, as we found out yesterday...God was speaking to me all along...He was telling me what I longed to know, what my heart desired so deeply...that we would have a baby girl in our family.
So, now I feel a bit foolish...I was even scared to tell anyone about what I heard (except Wes) because what if what I was hearing was wrong? Did I put those little thoughts in my head? What if I was just making stuff up to make me think a certain way?? Why did I doubt the word of God? How do I not do that again? Why can't it be easier to "hear" Him? I can't put a fleece out like Gideon (Judges 6)and command God to show me certain things to prove to me that He is real, and that His word and His love are real. I need to live my faith and trust fully in His word, His plan, and His love.
Wow...isn't He amazing?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Live Your Faith
Yesterday was a very exciting day for me....maybe for some others in our family too, but all I can account for on here are my emotions and those alone. We had our ultrasound yesterday and we found out (without 100% accuracy as ultrasounds don't guarantee gender) that we are having a little GIRL. Yes...a girl! A baby girl, girl, girl. I was so emotional over this exciting news, I couldn't call enough people or smile any bigger. Tears of joy ran out of the corner of my eyes as I thanked God first and foremost. And with that I have a "God story" for you....
Posted by Shauna at 9:21 PM 4 comments
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Well here I am...at almost 20 weeks pregnant. My boys were willing to go to the tracks last night so I could take some photos of them. I asked Aidan to take a photo of me so I could remember what I looked like at 20 weeks pregnant. I have a total of about 4 pregnancy photos of me from the other boys...Wes thinks I look beautiful...he loves the whole belly thing...but I don't see myself the same way when I look in the mirror. I tend to focus on the beauty that is growing and changing each week INSIDE.
So, tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. We have our 20 weekish ultrasound. I know we saw the baby on ultrasound 3 weeks ago, but tomorrow we might be able to find out the sex of the baby. Wes has to work tomorrow so Aidan (our oldest son) is going to come with me to see the baby on the little computer screen and be one of the first ones to find out if it is a boy or girl...and he is pretty excited about it.
So, what is your vote...is it a boy or girl?
Posted by Shauna at 5:02 PM 4 comments
Monday, May 18, 2009
I arrived home yesterday after a visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia to see my BFF Ginette. She and her family moved to Shediac, New Brunswick almost a year ago. We decided to meet in Halifax this time and have a little "girls time." So, off I went on Tuesday evening (plane left at 11pm and arrived in Halifax at 6:30am NS time...something I wouldn't do again unless Westjet somehow gets beds for these flights) and came home yesterday morning. My wonderfully amazing husband was at home with the kiddies all that time...isn't he GREAT? Well I think so. So we did a bit of touring around on the first day after I had a little nap at the hotel...that was probably our busiest day there. The rest of the days were filled with shopping, visiting, scrapbooking, some driving and touring along the coast of Nova Scotia (just to Lunenberg and back to Halifax) as I couldn't seem to handle the winding roads very well, feeling nauseous and not able to even look out the side windows to "tour" the beautifully laid back side of Canada. One awesome thing that we got to do together is scrapbook, which we started up together in 1996 at a Creative Memories get together. I was able to complete 18 pages of Addison's First Year scrapbook, which would take me forever to get done at home here. Thanks my dear friend Ginette for a wonderful get-away!
Posted by Shauna at 1:31 PM 2 comments
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Baby A
Here is Baby "A" at 16 weeks gestation. It was so exciting to see the baby today. I am not sure why but I was emotional at seeing our little peach on the screen today. It was so amazing to see its little legs and arms moving. Even with the 4th baby, maybe even more special because I know this will be the last of the baby experiences I want to take them all in and not take them for granted. The sex of the baby could not be accurately determined by the technician as it is a little bit too tiny, and that is ok because I wasn't expecting to find out this ultrasound anyways. If the remainder of this pregnancy goes anything like the last pregnancy we will have more upcoming ultrasounds and be able to see his or her little "parts" then. Until then I praise God for this little one...
Posted by Shauna at 3:25 PM 3 comments


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These deeds were reported as recorded by the office of Marion County Register of Deeds.
Judith G. Griffith to Amy Lou Griffith, Angela Griffith Hixon, Brad Alan Sommers, and Sonja Sue Milbourn, transferrable on death warranty deed; Lots 9, 10, Block 57, North Peabody, exc. S 40' Lot 9.
Christopher A. and Melaney A. Scott to Kent A. and Michelle L. Schaede, warranty deed; Lot 8, Burr Oak Addition, Marion.
Cynthia R. and Steven D. Morton to Frank L. Lisle and Anna M. Confer, quitclaim deed; part of Block 26, Lost Springs Town Company's Plat, Lost Springs.
Melvin Levi and Dorothy Ann Thiessen to Melvin Levi and Dorothy Ann Thiessen, trustee's deed; Lots 9, 10, Block 3, Original Town, Durham.
Garry W. and Sharlyn R. Dunnegan to Robert W. Packard, trust, and Barbara J. Packard, trust, warranty deed; part of SE/4 S9-T20-R4 E/2 Lot 12, all Lots 13, 14, Schlotthauer Subdivision 3A.
Randy and Cynthia Dallke to Ronald D. and Patricia R. Traxson, warranty deed; all Block 2 and vacated alley and part of vacated streets, North Peabody Addition, Peabody; all Block 25 and vacated alley and part of vacated streets, North Peabody Addition, Peabody.
Sheriff of Marion County to Secretary of Veterans Affairs, sheriff's deed; part of NW/4 S6-T17-R4.
J. Michael and Patricia S. Kline to Harold Max and Geraldine J. Ewert, warranty deed; part of NW/4 SE/4 S5-T20-R4.
Kurtis G. and Tammy R. Shaw to Kurtis G. Shaw, warranty deed; part of S/2 NE/4 S23-T20-R2.
Jim R. Schmidt Successor, trustee to Benjamin J. Schmidt and Alexis S. Schmidt, trustee's deed; Lot 6, Block 5, Bethesda Subdivision, Goessel.
Last modified Nov. 7, 2012


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30 January 2014
The view stretches out 300 kilometres across the Himalayas. In the centre is Mount Everest (8848 metres); Lhotse (8516 metres) is to the right. MACS, the specialised apparatus developed and built by DLR, is fitted in an unpressurised instrument container mounted beneath the wing of a Stemme S10-VTX motorised glider.
Klaus Ohlmann.
The Stemme S10-VTX glider has a retractable propeller mounted on its nose. The University of Applied Sciences in Aachen contributed the aircraft for the expedition.
From left to right: René Heise, Daniel Hein, Jona Keimer, Klaus Ohlmann, Jörg Brauchle, Heiderose Häsler.
René Heise.
Soaring up towards Mount Everest (8848 metres, centre-left, rear), with Nuptse (7861 metres) in front.
A team of German pilots from the Mountain Wave Project (MWP) and researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have achieved a groundbreaking feat around the highest mountain on Earth. For the first time, they flew to the summit of Mount Everest, 8848 metres above sea level, in a motorised glider – taking with them a special 3D camera, the Modular Airborne Camera System, or MACS. This innovative camera system, developed as part of DLR's focus on technology for security, has been designed to provide the data required to produce a remarkably precise 3D model of the Nepalese Everest region with a resolution of down to 15 centimetres. These images will help improve forecasts of landslides and floods resulting from the outbursting of glacial lakes.
Record-breaking MWP pilot Klaus Ohlmann and co-pilot Jona Keimer needed one and a half hours to reach their destination. They took off from the expedition base camp at Pokhara airport in Nepal on 28 January 2014 and flew along the Himalayas en route to Mount Everest. There, they used mountain waves to gradually gain altitude: "The conditions were ideal, despite the wind speeds at the summit of Everest, which neared 100 kilometres per hour," commented Ohlmann. "The almost turbulence-free slope updrafts helped us ascend quickly." While they were focused on flying, DLR's MACS went about its scientific business from inside a pod on the underside of the starboard wing.
DLR project manager Jörg Brauchle was thrilled at the flawless performance of the 3D camera system at altitudes exceeding 8000 metres: "The pilots did a fantastic job. We were able to fly over all the planned areas in the Nepalese Everest region – including the famous escape route between Lukla and Mount Everest – in 90 minutes." Brauchle and his colleagues from the DLR Institute of Optical Sensor Systems can now, step by step, create computer models of the Khumbu Valley and the adjacent glaciers. "The Khumbu Valley is of particular scientific interest to us because this is where our international partners from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) operate their test areas and where they have been, for many years now, analysing the slopes and glaciers." They provide valuable comparative measurements for the recently acquired 3D images. Glacier researchers can now draw on the highly accurate 3D data to produce comprehensive and accurate analyses for civil protection.
Steep slopes and icy temperatures pose challenges
MACS, the specialised apparatus developed and built by DLR, is fitted in an unpressurised instrument container mounted beneath the wing of a Stemme S10-VTX motorised glider. The Faculty of Aerospace Technology at the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen supplied the research aircraft, making a substantial contribution to the expedition. Designed to withstand bitterly cold temperatures above the Himalayan summits, which dropped to below minus 35 degrees Celsius, the camera must operate without loss of functionality in extreme conditions. For this reason, this special DLR apparatus underwent a series of rigorous tests before its first deployment, including tests in a vacuum chamber, at moderate altitudes above the Alps and while subjected to unusual lighting conditions. The camera system's imaging technology has been specifically designed to handle the special challenges encountered in high mountain regions. Three camera heads, arranged facing toward each other at a lateral slant, provide a 120-degree field-of-view and permit acquisition of high-resolution images of steep slopes.
The pictures are used to create detailed computer images – in 3D and colour – of the mountainous regions the glider passes over. DLR has its own software to do this, which it also uses to evaluate data acquired with Earth observation satellites. "Steep mountain slopes pose the greatest challenge in data processing," explains Brauchle. The 3D model can be integrated into a geographic information system (GIS), opening the door to analyses and evaluations that take into consideration geological, hydrological and meteorological data with respect to the hazards posed by these steep slopes, as well the wide expanses of glaciers covering remote and inaccessible mountain regions.
Upon landing, following the successful research flight to Mount Everest, the researchers teamed up with ICIMOD to analyse the initial findings and discuss ideas for furthering this fruitful cooperation. "It might be an immense organisational and logistical challenge, but we were able to successfully complete the project within an extraordinarily tight time window," says René Heise, director of MWP. "The pilots and other equipment are safe and sound." To conduct flights in the vicinity of the world's highest peaks, a tried and tested oxygen system accompanied the pilots on board the glider.
The first 3D models of the imaged Everest region will available in the coming weeks. The researchers are keeping a blog to provide additional details of their adventurous research expedition to the Himalayas.
Last modified:31/01/2014 15:07:14


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Hancock, NY
Hours of Operation:
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Monday - Friday
Appointments are required.
An on-call physician may be reached by calling the office telephone number. The answering service will assist you.
In Case of Emergency:
Go to the nearest hospital emergency department if you have chest pains, difficulty breathing, serious injury or bleeding, severe pain, or are pregnant and experiencing contractions.
Our Staff
Our physician is board certified and our practice is accepting new patients. Same day sick calls are available for established patients. We treat patients of all ages.
Office Telephones
Professional staff is available to take your calls during office hours. If you are expecting a return call from the office, please remove your caller ID.
Lab & X-Ray Services
Laboratory services are available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 7:30 AM and 9:00 AM. Lab services are by appointment only.
X-ray services are available daily from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
Prescription Refills
All refills must be requested 3 business days in advance. Refills will be called in to the pharmacy late in the afternoon. To get your prescription more quickly, in most cases, you can request your renewal through your pharmacist. You can also request a prescription renewal through your Primary Care Patient Portal. Don't have a Portal? Talk to your healthcare provider today about signing up.
Try not to let your medications run out. Please notify us at your office visit if your prescriptions are due to be refilled
DOT Physicals
We are pleased to be able to offer DOT exams by Certified Medical Examiners. Exams are offered on Thursdays from 9am - Noon, by appointment only.
Specialty Services
Back Manipulation
Osteopathic manipulative treatment, or OMT, or Back Manipulation involves using the hands to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. Dr Berg has the ability to move your muscles and joints using techniques including stretching, gentle pressure and resistance. The treatment can be used to ease pain, promote healing and increase overall mobility from acute and chronic pain of the neck, shoulder and back.
Urology Services
Urology appointments, consultations and follow-up care is provided right in our Hancock office. We provide treatment for all urological issues, including:
- Kidney Stones
- Frequent Urinary Tract Infections
- Bladder Cancer
- Prostate Issues
- Disorders of the Urinary System
- Incontinence
Podiatry Services
Find relief for your foot care problems and maintain healthy feet. Podiatric services being offered include:
- General foot and ankle pain
- Ingrown toenails
- Athlete's foot
- Thickened, Fungal toenails
- Heel pain
- Warts
- Diabetic foot care
- Wounds
- Flat feet
- Corns and Calluses
- Fractures
- Foot and ankle deformities
- Arthritis
- Bunions
- Hammertoes
- Bone spurs
- Neuromas (pinched nerve)
Calls to schedule appointments should be made during office hours listed above. Sick appointments fill up quickly, so you should call early in the day. Please call the office 24 hours in advance if you are unable to keep an appointment. Providers have a daily preset schedule, therefore, arriving late will delay other appointments and you may be asked to reschedule. Walk-ins are discouraged and can result in a long wait because scheduled appointments will be seen first.
What if Hospitalization is Required?
In general, the doctors admit their patients to Lourdes Hospital. If for some reason you prefer to be admitted elsewhere, discuss this with your doctor. Our physicians have admitting privileges to all hospitals in the area. If hospitalization is necessary, the decision will be mutually made between the physician and the patient as to which facility to use. Be sure to contact your insurance plan, especially if you belong to an HMO.
- Insurance cards must be presented at the time of visit.
- Co-payments are expected at the time of visit.
- Information about financial assistance is available by calling 607-798-5506 or 607-798-5229.
Insurance Referrals
Managed care insurance plans require a referral from your primary care provider for appointments with specialists, emergency room visits, out-of-network physician visits, most diagnostic testing, etc. It is your responsibility to inform this office at least 48 hours in advance for the authorization. Our office should be notified the next working day of any emergency visits.
Patient Satisfaction
As a medical group, we cannot overemphasize the importance of close communication between patient and physician. Please report to us any complaint you might have about our services or failure to meet your needs. We will do our best to correct the situation. We are here to serve you with the best medical care possible. Please let us help you!


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Hilo residents took a break from their holiday shopping today to help celebrate the grand opening of the new HMSA Center @ Hilo. The center is in Waiakea next to Walgreens in the space previously occupied by Down to Earth. Visitors can sign up for a health plan, pay their HMSA bill, learn about health care reform, and check their blood pressure, weight, and more.
"We wanted to be in a location where people can easily find us when they need us," said Senior Vice President Elisa Yadao, who was born and raised in Hilo. "They call this the Big Island, but we're a small community. Of course people can go online or pick up the phone to talk to us, but there's comfort in being able to talk face-to-face with someone when you have a problem or a question."
There was lots of face-to-face interaction today in the new center. After a blessing by Kumu Kimo Awai, visitors were treated to free massages, healthy snacks, keiki tattoos, and a balloon artist. They also got to check out the center's new state-of-the-art health screening station, a touchscreen terminal service counter, self-service kiosks, and a central area where HMSA will hold healthy living workshops, classes, and community gatherings.
The new HMSA Center @ Hilo is the third of three neighborhood centers opened this year. The HMSA Center @ Pearl City opened in November, and the HMSA Center @ Honolulu opened in October. All three centers were chosen for their locations to make HMSA more accessible. And they're all open at convenient times.
"We know a lot of people work during the day, so we're extending our hours," said Yadao. "The Hilo center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and our health plan specialists are ready to help."
About HMSA
Caring for the people of Hawaii is our promise and our privilege. Working together with employers, partners, and physicians and other health care providers, we promote wellness; develop reliable, affordable health plans; and support members with clear, thoughtful guidance.
HMSA is the most experienced health plan in the state, covering more than half of Hawaii's population. As a recognized leader, we embrace our responsibility to strengthen the health and well-being of our community.
Headquartered on Oahu with centers statewide to serve our members, HMSA is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.


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Funding Goes to Participants of the AFI DOCS 2016 Impact LabSponsored by NBCUniversal LOS ANGELES, CA, December 15, 2016 — The American Film Institute announced today that six documentary projects that screened at AFI DOCS 2016 in Washington, DC, have been selected to receive funding from the AFI DOCS/NBCUniversal Impact Grants.
Best Feature Goes to MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE Best Short Goes to SNAILS Festival Connects International Filmmakers with U.S.
Filmmakers Will Connect With Industry Professionals andNational Opinion Leaders for a Series of Professional Development EventsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — JUNE 17, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced the AFI DOCS 2016 Filmmaker Forum program and Impact Lab participants.
FESTIVAL SPONSORS INCLUDECORPORATIONS, CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS,PHILANTHROPISTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — MAY 18, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC — The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the AFI DOCS 2016 festival sponsors.
94 Films from 30 Countries Include Three World Premieres Screening June 22–26 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 9, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced the slate of films for AFI DOCS 2016, running June 22–26 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.
AFI DOCS Will Tribute Herzog's Legendary Career on June 24FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — MAY 5, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC — The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that AFI DOCS will pay tribute to renowned filmmaker Werner Herzog as the festival's 2016 Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree. The AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium honors documentary masters who have inspired audiences with their non-fiction stories of human experience. Taking place at the Newseum on June 24 at 7:00 p.m., the Symposium will include a conversation with Herzog along with clips from his amazing documentary oeuvre. Moderated by filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, the discussion will be followed by a screening of Herzog's latest documentary, LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD. Magnolia Pictures will open the film in select theaters in summer 2016."Whether exploring unseen corners of the world or contemplating technology in our lives, Werner Herzog's cinematic voice is unmistakably evocative," said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI DOCS. "He wields a world-class power, using his artistry to provoke audiences into seeing their world from the most esoteric angles. We are honored to celebrate his distinguished storytelling career."The Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker's vast documentary credits include INTO THE ABYSS (2011), CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2010), the Oscar®-nominated ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2007), GRIZZLY MAN (2005), THE WHITE DIAMOND (2004), the Emmy®-nominated LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY (1997), BELLS FROM THE DEEP (1993), FATA MORGANA (1971) and LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS (1971). Throughout his career, Herzog has received top honors from the Berlinale, the Cannes Film Festival, the Directors Guild of America and many more prestigious institutions, including the German Film Academy, which presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2009. In 2013, Herzog founded the Rogue Film School, through which he hosts a series of intimate seminars with aspiring filmmakers.Herzog joins a renowned list of Guggenheim Symposium honorees: Charles Guggenheim (2003), Barbara Kopple (2004), Martin Scorsese (2006), Jonathan Demme (2007), Spike Lee (2008), Albert Maysles (2009), Frederick Wiseman (2010), Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker (2011), Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (2012), Errol Morris (2013), Alex Gibney (2014) and Stanley Nelson (2015).AFI DOCS is proud to have AT&T return as this year's presenting sponsor.Tickets to AFI DOCS — including the Charles Guggenheim Symposium and Screening as well as the Opening Night and Closing Night Galas, will be available early to AFI members exclusively from May 9–17, and to the public on May 18. Passes for AFI DOCS 2016 are now on sale at AFI.com/afidocs. More information about AFI DOCS screenings and other special events will be announced in the coming weeks.About AFI DOCSAFI DOCS is the American Film Institute's annual documentary festival in the Washington, DC area. Presenting the year's best documentaries, AFI DOCS is the only festival in the U.S.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE OF ALEX GIBNEY'S ZERO DAYS OPENS FESTIVALNORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU CLOSES FIVE-DAY EVENT AT&T Returns as Presenting Sponsor Newseum Joins as Official Gala Screening Partner FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – APRIL 25, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC – Today, AFI DOCS, the American Film Institute's annual documentary celebration held June 22–26, 2016, in the nation's capital, announced the festival's Opening and Closing Night films.
14th Annual Documentary Festival Will Bring TogetherFilmmakers and Our Nation's LeadersJune 22–26, 2016FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 16, 2015, Los Angeles, CA — The American Film Institute's (AFI) documentary film festival, AFI DOCS 2016, will take place in the nation's capital June 22–26, 2016.