text:
Residential houses on Forest Land to be regularized by Karnataka Govt
The State Govt is contemplating to "regularize" residential houses built on forest land in the Malnad region.
In short, "encroachment shall be legalized in the forest land".
Coorg itself forms a part of the Malnad region and the catchment for River Cauvery.
It came as a surprise when the primary and secondary education minister Mr. Read More


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The Best Pizza in the Universe! (?!)
So, I've decided that for the purposes of Nommable, I have to stop just writing gushing mentions of places I eat and start actually talking about them in detail. Last night, my mother and I decided to take a little trip for dinner. It was just too hot to eat in the barn, so we got in the car, pulled up some reviews on my mother's trusty iPad, and ended up heading for a wood-fired pizza place about 30 minutes from the barn: Stanziato's Wood Fired Pizza. This was a last-minute selection because we started out by trying to visit a pub that was highly-recommended by locals, until we got there and discovered that Friday night is karaoke night. And as much as I love karaoke, I don't really equate karaoke with a nice dinner out. At least not when they happen in the same venue.
When we got to the pizzeria, we were met with this sign:
So, okay, you know, I love this sign. But I also have to take it as a challenge, because this is kind of a big claim.
A bit of a digression:
What you might not know, unless you've had the misfortune of seeing one of my internet arguments about it is that I'm kind of a pizza snob. I grew up eating my mother's pizza, which is like something out of a pizza fairy tale. I have been making pizzas since I was about six. For a brief period when I was seven, my mother had a catering business making pizzas for private parties. The first food review I ever wrote was of a new pizzeria down the block from the house where I grew up. I was impressed at eight years old because it was the first local pizzeria that actually offered a pizza bianca, and I grew up with an Italian mother for whom sauce was an option on pizza and not a forgone conclusion, and I'd never been to a restaurant that fell in line with that way of thinking before.
My standards for pizza perfection are Trattoria Dante in Florence, although I haven't been there now since 2003, so I can't speak to whether it's as good as it used to be. But I have the fondest memories of a pizza they used to do with arugula, mascarpone and speck (no longer on the menu, though there's a different arugula and speck one with scamorza) that I used to gorge myself on whenever I was in Florence. And I can summon the taste of it back any time I want, and it is glorious.
Back to last night. I saw this sign, and I was like, oh, pizza, oh, you and your wonderful audacity.
Then I walked in, and unfortunately, a lot of my photos came out kind of grainy because I was taking them on my mother's phone. I was honestly not intending to write about this place until I got there and saw that sign outside. Seriously! So I didn't have a camera with me. And then the sign happened, and I was all, GAME ON. but I walked in, and the first thing I see apart from the oven is totally two big blackboard menus, labeled:
RED and WHITE.
Separate menus. So this is a plus. Then I started reading the separate menus, and discovered a few things:
1) flour imported from Italy
2) pizzas made with mostly-local ingredients including bacon from a smokehouse down the road.
Awesome? I think so.
Anyway, we ordered a couple of beers and look at the menu, which has a whole bunch of other stuff on it besides pizza. We ended up with a Pork Slap Pale Ale, which I've had before and quite liked, especially for a beer in a can – It's a good malty beer- and City Steam Naughty Nurse Pale Ale, which was not bad but not particularly memorable, either. They had two beers on tap, UFO Hefeweizen, which I'm not a fan of– I find all the UFO beers to be a bit too light and watery for my taste– and Shipyard IPA, which I like a lot, so we split a pint of that once we finished our bottle and can. They had a pretty decent bottle selection, too.
We ordered a beet salad that had feta, edamame, sunflower seeds, and shaved marinated fennel. It was a pretty darn awesome salad and very large for the small-sized portion. We really liked the fennel on it best of all; it was shaved very thin and was tender, not crunchy.
We got two pizzas to split. One was the "Piggy Piggy," which was a pizza with local bacon, caramelized onions, and cherry tomatoes. The other was the "Summer Lovin'," which had a nice olive pesto on it, red onions, and then all the other toppings were put on after it came out of the oven– goat cheese, oregano, and cherry tomatoes. The oregano was really fresh, good, spicy oregano and I loved it.
So…best pizza in the universe? Here's my take:
The toppings were all really amazing, really fresh, and yummy. They clearly timed when they put which toppings on, rather than throwing everything on at once, which is a nice detail and one I appreciate, because it means the ingredients are being used in their best state. Especially with the tomatoes, because I prefer raw tomatoes to cooked on pretty much every occasion. The crust didn't do it for me, though. I was impressed with their whole attention-to-flour thing, but the flour didn't work for the kind of crust they were doing, which was a much more American-style crust with a poufy edge, although the middle was relatively thin. It did have just the right amount of char on the bottom, and the wood stove made it really nice and smokey, but the texture was off for the style of crust they were doing; it was too stiff and chewy and didn't have quite enough flavor. I do suspect though that the crust would be better with a red sauce on it, and my mom and I have already made plans to go back and try the meatball pie.
So, no, Dante is still my number 1, probably followed closely by Otto in New York. But this was some pretty good pizza and our salad was excellent and I will probably be going back there soon!
Mirrored from Nommable!.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"Hadoop QA (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] [Commented] (HADOOP-8531) SequenceFile Writer can throw out a better error if a serializer isn't available
|Sun, 01 Jul 2012 10:40:23 GMT
[ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HADOOP-8531?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=13404707#comment-13404707 ] Hadoop QA commented on HADOOP-8531: ----------------------------------- -1 overall. Here are the results of testing the latest attachment http://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/attachment/12534147/HADOOP-8531-1.patch against trunk revision . +1 @author. The patch does not contain any @author tags. +1 tests included. The patch appears to include 1 new or modified test files. -1 javac. The applied patch generated 2072 javac compiler warnings (more than the trunk's current 2070 warnings). +1 javadoc. The javadoc tool did not generate any warning messages. +1 eclipse:eclipse. The patch built with eclipse:eclipse. +1 findbugs. The patch does not introduce any new Findbugs (version 1.3.9) warnings. +1 release audit. The applied patch does not increase the total number of release audit warnings. +1 core tests. The patch passed unit tests in hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common. +1 contrib tests. The patch passed contrib unit tests. Test results: https://builds.apache.org/job/PreCommit-HADOOP-Build/1159//testReport/ Javac warnings: https://builds.apache.org/job/PreCommit-HADOOP-Build/1159//artifact/trunk/trunk/patchprocess/diffJavacWarnings.txt Console output: https://builds.apache.org/job/PreCommit-HADOOP-Build/1159//console This message is automatically generated. > SequenceFile Writer can throw out a better error if a serializer isn't available > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Key: HADOOP-8531 > URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HADOOP-8531 > Project: Hadoop Common > Issue Type: Improvement > Reporter: Harsh J > Assignee: madhukara phatak > Priority: Trivial > Labels: newbie > Attachments: HADOOP-8531-1.patch, HADOOP-8531.patch > > > Currently, if the provided Key/Value class lacks a proper serializer in the loaded config for the SequenceFile.Writer, we get an NPE as the null return goes unchecked. > Hence we get: > {code} > java.lang.NullPointerException > at org.apache.hadoop.io.SequenceFile$Writer.init(SequenceFile.java:1163) > at org.apache.hadoop.io.SequenceFile$Writer.<init>(SequenceFile.java:1079) > at org.apache.hadoop.io.SequenceFile$RecordCompressWriter.<init>(SequenceFile.java:1331) > at org.apache.hadoop.io.SequenceFile.createWriter(SequenceFile.java:271) > {code} > We can provide a better message + exception in such cases. This is slightly related to MAPREDUCE-2584. -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. If you think it was sent incorrectly, please contact your JIRA administrators: https://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/ContactAdministrators!default.jspa For more information on JIRA, see: http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
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text: Pushka #101 Posted June 20, 2019 6 hours ago, Marykatesmom said: My gut feeling is that the email we were sent was written within a day or so of the ban and they waited too long to send it. It was before "the specific details" were known, which we've all seen the PDF that is pretty detailed and therefore sounded ridiculous. And before it was clear there were going to be no exceptions. There is no way that Viking is going to get an exception for a half full cruise. Viking cruisers are much more well traveled than most other cruise lines. We are simply not that gullible to believe that Cuba is a possibility It also did not promise that we would be given other high quality ports and left open the possibility for an 8 day cruise to Nassau. At that price point a terrible value. That email made sense immediately after the ban but they waited too long for such a vague email asking us for patience. I think that there is an assumption somewhere that we are that gullible and we don't do our research on the internet. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Diwali Sweet distribution & Celebration in orphanage School at Phaltan
Donation Charity Program Held At Safosh Home For Mentally Challenged Children, at Pimple Gurav, Pune.
Event & Sweet Distribution to Encourage HIV + Children at Gokul By Manvya,Bhugaon
Sponsored & Organised Annul function for Orphanage School at Phaltan
Distributed 200 Bags to student of Orphanage School at Phaltan
Held a Drawing competition & prize distribution for Std. 1 to 7 at Phaltan
Diwali Sweet distribution & Celebration in orphanage School at Phaltan
Donated 200 Blankets to Orphanage School
200 Tree Plantation Program in Association With Kamayani Mentally Challenged School At Talegaon, Pune.
Charity Program Held At Navkshitij Home For Mentally Challenged Adults, at Hinjewadi, Pune
A-Day Meal Program for 150 old patients at Mother Teresa Missionaries at Chinchwad, Pune
Event & Charity Program For Mother Teresa Missionaries at Chinchwad, Pune
Distribution of Cloths & Fruits & Daily Necessity need to Laparoscopy Patient at Govt. Laparoscopic Hospital, Yewalewadi Kondhwa Budrukh.
Distribution of sweet and sponsored a day meal at different occasions Nachiket Bal Ashram, Nigdi
To Get New Project Details, Please fill below form


text:
As of July 1, 2017, Nancy Walton has taken on the role of director of the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University. She has just completed a year on secondment to the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development as a special advisor to the Deputy Minister.
In September 2013, Walton was appointed by the provost for a three-year term as the director, e-learning, for Ryerson University. Walton was the chair of the Ryerson University Research Ethics Board from 2004-2013 and has actively engaged in academic governance through her roles as the vice-chair of Ryerson Senate, and the vice chair of the Senate Priorities Committee. She served as the co-chair of the Ryerson United Way campaign for 2011-2012. In 2013, she was the recipient of a University Faculty Service Award as well as the recipient of the Ryersonian of The Year Award.
Walton is an academic colleague at the Council of Ontario Universities and, as of 2013, is now a member of The Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance.
Walton has a PhD in Bioethics from the University of Toronto Collaborative Program in Bioethics (2003) and an undergraduate degree in nursing science from Ryerson (1992). She has both published and presented in the areas of priority setting and decision-making in health care, internet-based research, research ethics board composition and mandates, risk in social science and humanities research and the legal and ethical concerns in research involving children and adolescents. She is a co-investigator for the CIHR Team Grant-funded project CCORT 2 (Canadian Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Team 2) and was co-investigator for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care-funded project on Variations in Revascularization Practices in Ontario. As a principal investigator, she also holds a Ryerson Health Research Grant to continue her research on the experiences of parenting children with autism spectrum disorder and the phenomenon of the "parent-as-therapist".
Walton has served as a Council member of the National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR). She is a longstanding community member and member with expertise in ethics of the Research Ethics Board at the Hospital for Sick Children and a founding member of the Research Ethics Board at the Ontario College of Art and Design University.
She is the Canadian author of the textbook "Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing" and is co-author of an upcoming textbook entitled "Critical Thinking for Nurses" (2014). She co-authors the Research Ethics Blog and the Nursing Ethics Blog.
Associate Professor


text:
Xabi Alonso saw red in his 100th Champions League game as Bayern Munich suffered a frustrating 0-0 draw in the first leg of their round of 16 clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Pep Guardiola's men saw plenty of possession but they had nothing to show after 90 minutes in Lviv as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller all wasted excellent chances.
However, the German champions' task became much harder after Alonso was shown two yellow cards for challenges on Alex Teixeira either side of the break.
Bayern threw on Robert Lewandowski as they tried to find an important away goal but Mircea Lucescu's side held on for a valuable draw to take to the Allianz Arena for the second leg next month.
Bayern pushed forward in the opening stages and it was Robben looking to have an immediate impact, finding Bastian Schweinsteiger in acres of space on the edge of the Shakhtar penalty area, but the German midfielder's volley flashed wide.
Robben, who had scored eight goals in his last seven matches before tonight, was looking the most likely for the visitors and he should have done better after Alonso found him from a well worked free-kick, however, the Dutchman scuffed his shot.
Minutes later, Robben broke forward again, playing Muller in behind the Shakhtar defence, but the German forward's shot dribbled back into the six-yard box before being hooked clear by Oleksandr Kucher.
There was not much to do for Manuel Neuer as Shakhtar focused on defence but he was called into action midway through the first half, gathering Yaroslav Rakitskiy's free-kick at the second time of asking.
It wasn't long before Bayern's dominance on the ball was restored with Franck Ribery and Mario Goetze linking up well, before the latter found Muller in space on the Shakhtar penalty spot, but again the Germany international was wasteful, firing over the bar.
After the break a similar pattern occurred with Bayern bossing possession and they thought they could have had a penalty when Alonso was brought down by Teixeira inside the area, but referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco remained unmoved.
Tempers were starting to flare as Douglas Costa's elbow appeared to catch Ribery in the face, minutes after he kicked the ball at the Frenchman, but the Brazilian was only shown a yellow card.
The referee was called into action again in the 66th minute as Alonso, who was booked for a late challenge on Teixeira, brought down the same player again and Mallenco had no choice but to show the Spanish midfielder a second yellow card in his 100th Champions League appearance.
Shakhtar might have sensed an opportunity to claim an unlikely win but it was Bayern who made the first offensive change with Lewandowski replacing the ineffective Goetze with 15 minutes remaining.
But on what was a difficult night for the Bundesliga leaders as the hosts held on to deny Bayern an away goal and take a 0-0 draw into next month's second leg.
Global Sports : Alonso Sees Red As Bayern Held
Xabi Alonso saw red in his 100th Champions League game as Bayern Munich suffered a frustrating 0-0 draw in the first leg of their round of 16 clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.


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The Horror: An Animated Calvin and Hobbes Fanfic Exists
I briefly went insane and thought I might embed the video below, but then I thought better of it. It'll probably only last as long as it takes Bill Watterson to hear about it.
Other people and sites I know have been tricking people into clicking, pretending it's a heartwarming, emotional fan tribute that you have to see. But I think I know you. And if I tell all of you that there's a video of a terrible, awful, unspeakable fake Calvin and Hobbes sex tape out there, well…I don't think any tricks need to be played. You've been warned.
And technically Hobbes is imaginary so it's not depicting any act that's illegal. I guess. Horrible, yes, but not criminal. That said, I can't even bring myself to link to it. You'll find it quite quickly if you really want to.


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Last week a colleague from Warwick forwarded us a short argumentation by Donald Macnaughton (a "Toronto-based statistician") about switching the name of our field from Statistics to Data Science. This is not the first time I hear of this proposal and this is not the first time I express my strong disagreement with it! Here are the naughtonian arguments
- Statistics is (at least in the English language) endowed with several meanings from the compilation of numbers out of a series of observations to the field, to the procedures proposed by the field. This is argued to be confusing for laypeople. And missing the connection with data at the core of our field. As well as the indication that statistics gathers information from the data. Data science seems to convey both ideas… But it is equally vague in that most scientific fields if not all rely on data and observations and the structure exploitation of such data. Actually a lot of so-called "data-scientists" have specialised in the analysis of data from their original field, without voluntarily embarking upon a career of data-scientist. And not necessarily acquiring the proper tools for incorporating uncertainty quantification (aka statistics!).
- Statistics sounds old-fashioned and "old-guard" and "inward-looking" and unattractive to young talents, while they flock to Data Science programs. Which is true [that they flock] but does not mean we [as a field] must flock there as well. In five or ten years, who can tell this attraction of data science(s) will still be that strong. We already had to switch our Master names to Data Science or the like, this is surely more than enough.
- Data science is encompassing other areas of science, like computer science and operation research, but this is not an issue both in terms of potential collaborations and gaining the upper ground as a "key part" in the field. Which is more wishful thinking than a certainty, given the existing difficulties in being recognised as a major actor in data analysis. (As for instance in a recent grant evaluation in "Big Data" where the evaluation committee involved no statistician. And where we got rejected.)


text:
Eli Lilly & Co. has already paid $3 billion to resolve thousands of Zyprexa lawsuits, but people continue to come forward to report severe side effects — including skin reactions, heart attack, and more.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Zyprexa induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with a severe side effect, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Zyprexa (olanzapine) is an antipsychotic drug made by Eli Lilly & Co. It has been used by over 20 million people since it was approved by the FDA in 1996.
Zyprexa Lawsuits
Over 18,000 lawsuits have been filed by people who were injured by Zyprexa. They accused Eli Lilly of marketing it for unapproved uses and downplaying the risk of side effects.
In 2007, Eli Lilly agreed to pay $500 million to resolve the litigation. In total, the company paid $1.2 billion to 28,500 people who experienced severe side effects.
Two years later, the company paid $1.42 billion to settle civil and criminal investigations into illegal "off-label" marketing with the Justice Department and several states.
FDA Warnings for Zyprexa
The FDA has issued several warnings about side effects of Zyprexa. In May 2016, a Safety Communication was issued for a rare but severe, life-threatening skin reaction known as Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS). Click here to read more.
Zyprexa "Black Box" Warning
The Prescribing Information for Zyprexa has a "Black Box" warning that it increases the risk of death for patients with dementia-related psychosis.
In clinical trials involving 5,100 patients, Zyprexa was associated with a 60% increased risk of death compared to a placebo — 4.5% of patients on Zyprexa died vs. 2.6% on a placebo. Most of the deaths were caused by cardiovascular events (e.g., heart failure, heart attack, sudden death) or infections (e.g., pneumonia).
What is the problem?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is nationally recognized as a class action law firm. However, our lawyers are not currently filing a Zyprexa class action. Instead, we are filing individual lawsuits on behalf of people who were injured by severe side effects.
About Class Actions
Class actions are an ideal way for a lot of people to seek compensation for similar legal claims as efficiently as possible. Everyone joins together, consolidates their claims into one lawsuit, and shares any payout awarded by a jury or settlement.
Why Our Law Firm is Filing Individual Lawsuits as Opposed to a Class Action
The problem with class actions is that they are not designed to maximize compensation for individual plaintiffs with the most serious injuries. It is extremely rare for consumer class actions to go to trial. Members may also have to accept "low-ball" settlements or higher legal fees.
Instead of a class action, we are filing individual lawsuits. We help our clients seek compensation for their medical expenses, future care, permanent injuries, lost income, wrongful death of loved ones, and more.
Do I have a Zyprexa Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Zyprexa induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with a severe side effect, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.


text:
European shares ended slightly lower on Thursday, weighed by financials after the region's top two central banks kept rates on hold as expected and investors saw little to suggest euro zone borrowing costs would fall soon.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 benchmark ended unofficially down 0.2 percent at 1,359.37 points, with banks taking the most points off the index, tracking U.S. peers that fell after regulators urged increased government oversight of investment banks.
Swiss bank UBS fell 5.1 percent, while Societe Generale lost 2.5 percent and Barclays slipped 2.9 percent.
Italy's UniCredit fell 2.9 percent after saying that profit might fall this year and that its capital strength weakened in the first quarter.
And Austrian bank Raiffeisen tumbled 7.7 percent to top European losers after its first-quarter earnings disappointed investors.
But mining stocks rose sharply on consolidation talk, with Kazakhmys jumping nearly 10 percent on renewed speculation of a bid from ENRC, which declined to comment.
Earlier, the Bank of England kept rates at 5 percent and the European Central Bank stayed at 4 percent, as expected.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said that the bank's current policy stance would help it achieve price stability, although inflation was likely to remain high for some time amid turbulent markets.
"The ECB will need to see more of a slowdown in the economy for the next months before it lowers rates, and we expect this to happen in the beginning of fall or end of summer," said Thierry Lacraz, strategist at Swiss bank Pictet.
"The main factor behind this is the development of the oil price, and the bank will have to decide whether...to have a tough policy to fight inflation that is not due to internal factors such as wages," he said.


text:
Read Céline's touching note where she expresses her gratitude towards the public for their support.
Céline Dion wants to thanks the public for their love and support.
Dion shared a note on her official website following René's funeral last week. It reads:
"My family and I are deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support from so many people who have touched our lives during these past few days. We have felt your love for René, and your prayers and compassion have helped us during this most difficult time… more than you'll ever know. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I would also like to sincerely thank the Quebec Government for honoring René with National Funerals as well as the many individuals and organizations who came together to hold such a beautiful tribute in his name.
We will never forget all of the kindness that you have bestowed upon us."
On behalf of our family, with all of our love,
Céline, René-Charles, Nelson & Eddy
Patrick, Jean-Pierre & Anne-Marie
The funeral was streamed around the world, including the touching moment where their 15-year-old son Rene-Charles Angelil spoke:
"Fifteen years is not a long time for a son to get to know his father. You had a busy life, but we were communicating through golf, hockey, poker, and smoked meat," Rene-Charles said. "And a lot of other wonderful food. Bonding more and more as time went by. You left me now with enough good memories of you to share with my younger brothers [Nelson and Eddy]. As they grow older without you being around, I'll make sure to pass on what I've learned from you. You are a tough act to follow, but with your help everything is going to be fine. Dad, I promise you here that we are all going to live up to your standards."


text:
* Economic concerns weigh on investor sentiment
* Canadian dollar falls to 81.02 U.S. cents
* Bond higher across curve as equities weaken (Adds details, quote)
TORONTO, April 20 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in more than a week on Monday as investors moved into the perceived safety of the U.S. greenback ahead of a slew of corporate earnings this week that could be gloomy.
"It's broad-based selling again of your commodity and cyclical currencies with risk sentiment changing," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
"There's concern going into the week as we get financial reports more from the real economy than just financial (companies) and the results might come in weaker than expected and we could see continued weakness in the real side of the economy."
Last week, U.S. banks Citigroupand JP Morgan reported better quarterly earnings than has been expected.
At 9:29 a.m. (1329 GMT), the Canadian dollar was at C$1.2308 to the U.S. dollar, or 81.25 U.S. cents, down from C$1.2150 to the U.S. dollar, or 82.30 U.S. cents, at Friday's close.
Earlier, it hit C$1.2342 to the U.S. dollar, or 81.02 U.S. cents, its lowest level since April 9.
The greenback hit a one-month high on Monday against a
basket of currencies and world stocks slipped as a big increase
in troubled loans at Bank of America and worries over
corporate results to be released this week made investors
nervous. [MKT/GLOB] [FRX/]
Another drag on the Canadian currency came from the price of oil, a key Canadian export, which fell more than 5 percent on growing caution about the pace of economic recovery and the impact on oil demand. [ID:nSYD428032]
"Crude oil prices have also eased off considerably. As a net oil exporter that will certainly hit the Canadian dollar very hard," said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities.
The decline in the Canadian dollar also comes ahead of the Bank of Canada's next scheduled interest rate announcement on Tuesday, when it is expected to leave its overnight rate steady at 0.50 percent [ID:nN16520541]
Canadian bond prices were higher across the curve alongside the bigger U.S. Treasury market with investors looking for more secure assets ahead of a slew of corporate earnings this week. [ID:nLK647426]
"When you have a flight to safety people move into bonds and move out of equities and other asset classes. That to some extent will cause will bond prices to rise and yields to fall," Mulraine said.
The two-year Canada bond was up 6 Canadian cents at C$100.23 to yield 1.139 percent, while the 10-year bond climbed 58 Canadian cents to C$106.88 to yield 2.956 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 70 Canadian cents to C$122.20 to yield 3.720 percent. In the United States, the 30-year Treasury yielded 3.7302 percent. (Reporting by Jennifer Kwan and Frank Pingue; editing by Peter Galloway)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


text:
Our Wallpapering Instructions
You'll find all the tricks of the trade in our Wallpapering Instructions.
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Delivery times refer to selected country Deutschland.Change country
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Standard shipping: £11.12
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Print out a sample of the wallpaper (with a scale of 1:1) in order to get a better idea of the dimensions of the individual design elements.Print a sample now
Order a sample of this wallpaper to get an exact idea of the material, the structure and the colour.
A sunny golden yellow is the perfect backdrop for the black dots, immersing the room in a cheerful liveliness. It emphasises the irregular polka dots which lend a hypnotising effect to this geometric design wallpaper. Perfect for fresh retro looks with warm wood and design classics or contemporary, modern living styles.


text:
We all have those small odds and ends rolling around a drawer or cupboard.
Use an empty tissue box to get it sorted. Just cut off the ends.
I used mine to organise stamps and the medicine cabinet:
The best thing about using this in the medicine cabinet is you can still see what is in each box if you turn the packaging around the right way.
I also put the medications which are not used very often in the plastic packaging from my pillowcase curtain diy project.
No more medicines falling on my head and getting lost in the back of the cupboard!


text: Interesting thing to consider is how many people would like to use the headset and how many would it use for playing music. My estimate is much bigger for the second, but it may be pretty much skewed. Using an adapter might be an option but not for mainstream (I know, the phone is not mainstream). Regards, Vladimir On 4/24/07, Thomas Seiler <thseiler at gmail.com> wrote: > Hi > Am 24.04.2007 um 12:58 schrieb Vladimír Lapáček: > > so why does Neo 1973 use the 2.5mm one? > > That makes perfectly sense: because the majority of headsets for > mobile phones are 2.5mm > > Isn't the questiont ths: Why doesn't it provide *additionally* a > 3.5mm jack ? That would be sweet!!! > (and i suspect it woudln't cost much more) > > Cheers, > Thomas > >


text:
Bus stop: Tyler Farrar escorted to Garmin camp after seeking a word with Argos sprinter Tom Veelers
An irate Tyler Farrar goes hunting for Argos-Shimano sprinter Tom Veelers after stage 5
SAINT-QUENTIN, France (VN) — While Ryder Hesjedal and Christian Vande Velde cooled down on their trainers after stage 5, much of the Garmin staff responded to a two-alarm fire next door at the Argos-Shimano team bus. It seems Tyler Farrar wanted to have a chat with Tom Veelers.
For the third day in a row, Farrar was caught up in a crash. As he made his way back from the finish, he made a detour to the Argos bus, which happened to be parked next door.
Garmin mechanics hurriedly leaned bikes against the nearest solid object and ran to the Argos bus, which was surrounded by a throng of fans and media alike. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters decisively made the trip over as well.
When Farrar approached the Argos bus, he was overheard saying: "You're not doing this to me. I want an explanation from Tom."
As quickly as it started, Farrar was turned around and escorted back to the Garmin bus; his body language was not positive.
"He said, 'I just want to talk to him,'" Vaughters said.
Veelers teammate Roy Curvers played a role in calming the situation.
"He wanted to go in but a few guys held against him," Curvers said. "He wanted to talk to Tom. He said, 'You don't do that in the sprint,' but I don't know what he was talking about. But I don't see a problem for the future."
Curvers didn't physically restrain Tyler, but he did see the tension in the air.
"Normally, Tyler is a really fair guy and a really fair sprinter," he said. "I think it needs to be a little bit more addressed and tomorrow we can talk about it more. When we see the video again [of the crash] we can really tell something about it."
After the dust had settled, Veelers seemed calm as he exited the bus.
"There was a fight for the back wheel of my train. I was on the wheel of my teammate Koen [de Kort] and Tyler was trying to come around me. He tried to pass me and I defended my position. It wasn't my fault. Normally, Tyler is a relaxed person. I am sure tomorrow we can discuss this in a normal way."
After entering his bus, Farrar was not seen again. His team was contacted but he had yet to issue a statement on the incident.
Editor's note: Stay tuned to Velonews.com for more details.


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We conducted population-based surveillance for Candida bloodstream infections in Spain to determine its incidence, the extent of antifungal resistance, and risk factors for mortality. A case was defined as the first positive blood culture for any Candida spp. in a resident of Barcelona, from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2003. We defined early mortality as occurring between days 3 to 7 after candidemia and late mortality as occurring between days 8 to 30. We detected 345 cases of candidemia, for an average annual incidence of 4.3 cases/100,000 population, 0.53 cases/1,000 hospital discharges, and 0.73 cases/10,000 patient-days. Outpatients comprised 11% of the cases, and 89% had a central venous catheter (CVC) at diagnosis. Overall mortality was 44%. Candida albicans was the most frequent species (51% of cases), followed by Candida parapsilosis (23%), Candida tropicalis (10%), Candida glabrata (8%), Candida krusei (4%), and other species (3%). Twenty-four isolates (7%) had decreased susceptibility to fluconazole (MIC ≥ 16 μg/ml). On multivariable analysis, early death was independently associated with hematological malignancy (odds ratio [OR], 3.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 10.4). Treatment with antifungals (OR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.2) and removal of CVCs (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.9) were protective factors for early death. Receiving adequate treatment, defined as having CVCs removed and administration of an antifungal medication (OR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.8), was associated with lower odds of late mortality; intubation (OR, 7.5; 95% CI, 2.6 to 21.1) was associated with higher odds. The incidence of candidemia and prevalence of fluconazole resistance are similar to other European countries, indicating that routine antifungal susceptibility testing is not warranted. Antifungal medication and catheter removal are critical in preventing mortality.
Candida species accounted for 8 to 10% of all nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSI) in the United States during the 1990s (8). The incidence of Candida BSI increased two- to fivefold in teaching hospitals and one- to fourfold in non-teaching hospitals in the United States during the 1980s (4, 5), and although there was a significant decrease in its annual incidence among intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the 1990s (41), the overall incidence did not decrease (7, 11, 13). In Europe, the incidence of Candida BSI in The Netherlands doubled between 1987 and 1995, but in Norway and Switzerland, it remained unchanged between 1991 and 1996 and 1991 and 2000, respectively (17, 36, 44).
Several population-based surveillance studies of Candida BSI have been reported in the United States (7, 11, 13). In contrast, most European studies have been conducted in selected hospitals (14, 17, 34, 40, 44) or have focused on specific groups of patients (16, 23, 42). Few population-based studies of Candida BSI have been conducted in Europe. Exceptions to this are a study from Iceland which reported a rise in annual incidence from 1.4 cases per 100,000 population between 1980 and 1984 to 4.9 cases per 100,000 population between 1995 and 1999 (3) and a study from Finland between 1995 and 1999 that detected an increase in annual incidence from 1.7 to 2.2 cases per 100,000 population (32).
Although Candida albicans continues to be the most common cause of Candida BSI, longitudinal studies have detected an increase in the incidence of BSI caused by other Candida species (28, 41). Compared with incidences from the 1980s, a larger proportion of Candida BSI are now caused by Candida glabrata in the United States (41) and by Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis in European, Canadian, and Latin American hospitals (17, 27). The changing epidemiology of Candida BSI has generated concern about the emergence of azole drug resistance and its clinical relevance. The extent of fluconazole resistance in Europe has been analyzed in previous sentinel surveillance programs (12, 29, 31, 34, 39).
For the most part, the epidemiology of Candida BSI in Spain has only been studied in selected hospitals (2, 26, 38, 43). Population-based surveillance identifies all cases of disease regardless of the health care settings in which they occur. It minimizes bias resulting from the selection of only a subset of hospitals, and it permits newly affected patient groups to be identified. We conducted population-based active, prospective surveillance for Candida BSI in Barcelona, Spain, to describe the epidemiology of Candida BSI, to determine the distribution of the species involved and the prevalence of antifungal drug resistance, and to evaluate risk factors for mortality.
Surveillance and data collection.The study was conducted in the greater Barcelona area (population, 3.9 million) between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2003. Fourteen major institutions participated, ranging in size from 214 to 1,295 beds. All blood cultures from which a Candida species was isolated were reported to the study coordinator (Dolors Rodríguez). The coordinator visited the hospital during the first week after the BSI was diagnosed to confirm the infection and again 3 weeks later to complete the case report form and record the outcome. A standardized case report form was used to abstract the medical records. Audits of clinical laboratories were periodically performed to ensure that all cases of candidemia were reported; cases found after the audits were added to the analysis. An audit of case patients' medical records was performed in July 2003 on 10% of the cases to verify data accuracy and completeness. To measure severity of illness, we used the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (6) for adult patients admitted to ICUs and the Karnofsky performance status scale for adults outside of an ICU (20). No standardized pediatric severity of illness score was measured during the study.
A case was defined as the incident isolation of any Candida species from the blood of a surveillance area resident. Candidemias that occurred >30 days after the initial case were considered new cases. Cases occurring either prior to or within 2 days of hospital admission were considered outpatient acquired. A case was defined as likely to be catheter related when (i) semiquantitative culture of the catheter tip yielded more than 15 CFU of a Candida species or (ii) simultaneous quantitative cultures of blood samples showed a ratio of ≥5:1 in CFU of blood samples obtained through the catheter and a peripheral vein (19).
To determine factors associated with BSI due to species other than C. albicans, we compared data for C. albicans with those from cases due to other Candida species by using univariate and multivariable analyses. Because of significant differences in demographics and crude mortality among C. parapsilosis cases, we excluded these cases from the multivariable analysis.
We also determined predictors of early and late mortality. We defined early mortality as death occurring 3 to 7 days after diagnosis and late mortality as death occurring between days 8 to 30. Patients that died on days 1 and 2 were excluded, as deaths occurring this early were unlikely to be related to treatment modality. Additionally, because of the significantly lower mortality observed with C. parapsilosis BSI, we excluded these cases from the analyses. For the late mortality study, we defined adequate treatment as the receiving ≥5 days of any antifungal medication in addition to catheter removal. Because a severity of illness score was not available for some cases, for mortality analyses we created an additional model that used other markers to adjust for severity of illness (location in the ICU, cardiac disease, renal failure, liver disease, and neurological disease).
Microbiological methods.Detection of candidemia and species identification of isolates were performed at the participating laboratories according to their standard protocols (45). Isolates were sent to the Mycology Reference Laboratory (MRL), National Center for Microbiology, Madrid, Spain, for species confirmation and antifungal susceptibility testing. When MRL and submitting laboratory identifications differed, the MRL final identification was used for the purpose of this analysis. MICs of amphotericin B, fluconazole, and flucytosine were determined by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing broth microdilution method. These recommendations are based on National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) reference procedure described in document M27-A2 but include some modifications to allow for automation of the method and to permit the incubation period to be shortened from 48 to 24 h (35). Isolates were classified as susceptible or as showing decreased susceptibility, by using interpretive breakpoints proposed by the NCCLS for flucytosine and fluconazole (21). The latter category included the susceptible dose-dependent (SDD), intermediate, and resistant categories of the NCCLS.
Statistical analysis.Incidence and age-specific rates were calculated using denominator data obtained from the 2001 local census. Hospital-specific incidence was calculated using denominators from individual hospitals' data for the total number of patients discharged and patient-days for 2002 to 2003. Overall incidence was calculated using denominators of summed discharges and patient-days to calculate pooled mean rates.
Data were entered into Microsoft Access 2000. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS, version 8.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.). Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical variables. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed using the LOGISTIC procedure. For the multivariable analysis, candidate variables were identified as those (i) having a univariate significance at the P of 0.10 level, (ii) identified in an earlier published study, or (iii) believed to be clinically significant. By using this candidate list, multivariable analysis was conducted using forward, backward, and stepwise procedures, as well as by using various subsets of the data. Variables were assessed for correlation and for significant interactions. Final models were estimated using variables (risk or protective factors) whose coefficients were stable across the range of possible models.
We detected 341 patients with Candida BSI. Four patients had a recurrent episode, resulting in 345 total cases. In six cases (2%), two different species of Candida were identified in the incident culture, and in 67 cases (20%), the patient had a concurrent bacteremia. The average annual incidence of candidemia was 4.3 cases per 100,000 population. Overall, the surveillance period included 4.7 million patient-days and 647,498 hospital discharges; the pooled mean rate of candidemia for the 14 hospitals was 0.53 episodes per 1,000 discharges and 0.73 episodes per 10,000 patient-days (Table 1). The age-specific incidence rate was highest in infants (38.8 cases per 100,000 population) and in those aged >65 years (12 cases per 100,000 population) (Fig. 1).
Demographics, clinical characteristics, underlying patient comorbidities, and outcomes are summarized by species in Table 2. Thirty-seven cases (11%) were outpatient acquired, but only 115 patients (33%) were in an ICU when candidemia was diagnosed. Among inpatient candidemias and excluding those transferred from other institutions, the median time between admission to the current hospital and date of positive blood culture was 22 days (range, 3 to 234).
Among conditions known to be associated with candidemia, receiving immunosuppressive therapy was the most common (39%), followed by presence of a malignancy (36%), neutropenia (11%), and receiving a transplant (8%); central venous catheters (CVC) were in place in 302 cases (89%). Catheters were studied for the source of infection in 188 cases (54%); 108 of these cases (57.4%) were likely catheter associated.
Over 80% of patients received some antifungal treatment for candidemia, but 55 cases were never treated. Twenty-nine untreated patients (52.7%) died within the first 48 h, likely before the result of the first positive blood culture became available.
Species distribution. C. albicans was the most common isolate (51%), followed by C. parapsilosis (23%), C. tropicalis (10%), C. glabrata (9%), and Candida krusei (4%). Other Candida species were isolated in 11 cases (3%) (Table 3). The local laboratories correctly identified the Candida species in 332 cases (96%).
Compared to non-C. albicans species, cases with C. albicans were more frequently associated with prior colonization by the same Candida species (43 versus 22%, P < 0.01). Cases with C. parapsilosis were more likely to be infants (24 versus 5%, P < 0.01), more likely to have indwelling CVC (97 versus 88%, P = 0.02), and less likely to die within 30 days (28 versus 48%, P < 0.01) compared to other cases. C. krusei cases were more frequently neutropenic (67 versus 9%, P < 0.01) or more frequently had a malignancy (75 versus 35%, P < 0.01) when compared to non-C. krusei cases. C. tropicalis cases were also likely to be neutropenic (26 versus 10%, P = 0.01), have a malignancy (58 versus 4%, P < 0.01), or die within 30 days (59 versus 42%) compared to non-C. tropicalis cases, although this latter difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.06).
On multivariable analysis excluding C. parapsilosis cases, the only exposure significantly associated with non-C. albicans candidemia, compared to that with C. albicans, was previous treatment with fluconazole (odds ratio [OR], 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 6.1; P < 0.01); previous antibiotic use was a protective factor for non-C. albicans candidemia compared to that with C. albicans (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.8; P < 0.01).
Outcomes.Overall, 150 patients (44%) died with 30 days; 74 (22%) died within 7 days of incident culture. Two hundred (58%) cases were evaluated for metastatic candidiasis; 21 (10%) had evidence of dissemination to the heart (29%), the kidney (19%), liver (19%), or eyes (14%). Autopsy was performed on 15 cases; disseminated candidiasis was documented in two (13%).
To investigate the correlation between severity of illness and mortality, we divided adult cases into three categories: ICU patients with an APACHE II score of >20, other hospitalized adults with APACHE II scores of <20 or any Karnofsky score, and adult outpatients (Table 4). A severity of illness category was available for 217 of 289 adults (75.1%).
On univariate analysis, numerous factors were found to be significantly associated with early mortality (Table 5). Upon multivariable analysis and controlling for the high and moderate severity of illness categories, treatment with an antifungal and having the catheter removed as a part of treatment were independently associated with lower odds of early death; having a hematological malignancy was associated with greater odds (Table 5).
Table 6 shows the univariate and multivariable predictors associated with late mortality. After controlling for severity of illness category, receiving adequate treatment was independently associated with lower odds of death at days 8 to 30; intubation was associated with higher odds. Similar associations were seen after creating multivariable models using other markers to adjust for severity of illness (data not shown).
Antifungal susceptibility testing.All 351 isolates recovered were tested for susceptibility to amphotericin B, flucytosine, and fluconazole as summarized in Table 3. Amphotericin B MICs ranged from 0.03 to 0.5 μg/ml and flucytosine MICs ranged from 0.125 to 4 μg/ml. Isolates of C. krusei demonstrated the highest geometric mean MIC for amphotericin B and flucytosine with geometric mean values of 0.30 and 2.43 μg/ml, respectively. A total of 24 isolates (7%; 1 C. parapsilosis, 1 C. tropicalis, 6 C. glabrata, 14 C. krusei, 1 C. inconspicua, and 1 C. norvegensis) showed decreased susceptibility to fluconazole (MIC ≥ 16 μg/ml). Six isolates were classified as resistant to this compound (MIC, ≥64 μg/ml) and 18 as SDD (MIC, 16 to 32 μg/ml).
This is the first population-based description of Candida BSI in Spain. It provides more representative information on species distribution, clinical characteristics, antifungal resistance rates, and outcomes than previous reports that were based on selected hospitals (2, 26, 38, 43). The overall incidence of Candida BSI in Barcelona is lower than in the United States (4.3 cases per 100,000 population versus 6 to 10 cases per 100,000 population) (11, 13, 18) but is consistent with recent reports from Northern European countries (1.7 to 4.9 cases per 100,000 population) (3, 32).
In comparison with data from the United States, the lower population-based incidence rate reported here might be a result of demographic or medical practice differences between the two countries. For example, the proportion of outpatient candidemia was lower than in the United States (10.8 versus 28% within 24 h of admission), possibly due to a difference in frequency of outpatient CVC use (11). Although the rate of outpatient candidemia reported here was higher than in other European studies, our study, being population-based, is likely a better estimate of the true outpatient burden (14, 40).
Candida BSI rates among hospitalized patients in this study (0.73 episodes per 10,000 patient-days) were lower than reported incidence rates from the United States (1.5 episodes per 10,000 patient-days) (11) but similar to previously reported Candida BSI rates for other European countries. These have ranged from 0.27 episodes per 10,000 patient-days in Norwegian hospitals in 1996 to 0.35 episodes per 10,000 patient-days in France in 1995, 0.54 episodes per 10,000 patient-days in Switzerland in 2000, and 0.71 episodes per 10,000 patient-days in The Netherlands in 1995 (17, 34, 36, 44).
The high incidence of Candida BSI among infants observed here (38.8 cases per 100,000 population) is consistent with previous studies in the United States (11, 13). Mortality among this population was significantly lower than among adults, similar to other reports (15, 16). However, in contrast to those studies where C. albicans was the most common species isolated, the most frequent isolate that we recovered from neonates was C. parapsilosis (16 of 24 cases, 67%). This proportion is higher than that reported in the United States, where C. parapsilosis accounts for 27 to 45% of BSI in neonates and decreases sharply with age thereafter (11, 13).
Although candidemia is often associated with an ICU stay, only 115 patients (33%) were in an ICU when candidemia was diagnosed. This rate is similar to those reported recently in the United States (11) and supports the thinking that candidemia is not exclusively associated with critical care. A significant decrease in the incidence of C. albicans BSI and a significant increase in the incidence of C. glabrata BSI in ICU patients have also been reported in the United States (41).
In general, the underlying conditions and risk factors identified in this study were similar to those documented in other European studies (14, 26, 38, 40). The proportion of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (4.4%) is similar to the rate of 6% reported in Northern Italy (40) but lower than proportions reported from the United States (8 to 10% of candidemic patients) (11, 13). This probably reflects the changing care of HIV infection, as fewer such patients now require admission to Spanish hospitals.
We found that 57% of catheters evaluated were likely the source of Candida BSI, highlighting the relevance of catheter-related sources in candidemia. Removal of an indwelling CVC is recommended whenever possible (16, 25), with some studies showing a clear benefit in terms of a reduction in duration of candidemia and a lower attributable mortality rate (9, 14). Other studies, however, do not support this consensus (24). In our study, removal of catheters in addition to receiving antifungal treatment was independently associated with a decreased risk for both early and late mortality. Our data, therefore, support current recommendations to remove CVC when Candida BSI is detected and to treat any candidemia with systemic antifungals (16, 25).
The distribution of Candida species was generally similar to reports from other European countries (29, 34, 40). An exception is the frequency of C. glabrata, which in our study was the fourth most-common species, compared to being the second most-common species in Switzerland (17), the United Kingdom (14), and the United States (7, 11, 13).
Our findings confirm the reports of negligible fluconazole resistance among C. albicans bloodstream isolates (11, 27). Additionally, susceptibility results for non-C. albicans species were consistent with other studies (11, 27). A low level of fluconazole resistance was found among C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis isolates, and a high level of resistance was detected among C. krusei isolates. Although only 3% of our C. glabrata isolates were resistant to fluconazole, the MICs for 16% fell within the SDD range (16 to 32 μg/ml), consistent with reports from sentinel surveillance (28) and results recently reported from 19 European centers where 5% of C. glabrata isolates were fluconazole resistant (31). These low rates of fluconazole resistance overall suggest that routine antifungal susceptibility testing for Candida species is not necessarily indicated in our population, particularly if C. albicans is isolated.
Amphotericin B MICs were consistent with reports from other European countries (3, 14). The decreased susceptibility of C. krusei to amphotericin B (MIC at which 90% of isolates were inhibited [MIC90], 0.5 μg/ml) is also consistent with previous reports (11, 13, 30).
The role of widespread azole use in the emergence of species other than C. albicans as causes of Candida BSI remains controversial. An increase in the proportion of C. glabrata BSI was first reported from the United States during the 1990s (1, 22, 33, 41). A similar trend was reported from The Netherlands (44), but two studies from Switzerland reported no shift to species other than C. albicans, despite a significant increase in fluconazole use (10, 17). In our multivariable analysis, we found that the risk of non-C. albicans, non-C. parapsilosis BSI was higher in cases previously treated with fluconazole, similar to several previous reports (1, 18, 23, 40). Taken as a whole, these results suggest that increases in the proportion of C. glabrata BSI in some countries might be related to increasing fluconazole usage, although other host and health care factors could also have an effect on this trend (37, 46, 47).
Our study was subject to limitations. First, severity of illness scores were not obtained on all cases. APACHE II and Karnofsky scores could not be calculated at times because the difficulty in obtaining these data or they were inappropriate. However, when we created models using other markers for severity of illness, our results were highly reproducible, thereby underlining the stability of our results. Second, the study relied on routine clinical care to document disseminated and metastatic candidiasis, making it difficult to determine the real number of cases of disseminated Candida infection.
This article is the first population-based surveillance for Candida BSI conducted in Spain and highlights the significant morbidity and mortality associated with this infection. Our results demonstrate that the incidence of candidemia in Spain is slightly higher than in other European countries but lower than in the United States and that the rate of fluconazole resistance is very low. Additionally, our findings indicate that adequate treatment of candidemia, with catheter removal and antifungal medication, is associated with improved outcomes, thereby supporting current treatment guidelines.
This study was supported by research grants from Pfizer, Inc., and Gilead Sciences and by the Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiologia Clinica (SEIMC).
Other members of the Barcelona Candidemia Project Study Group are Rana Hajjeh, Thomas Taylor (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Francesc Marco Reverter, C. Melcion Soler (Hospital Clinic-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain), Margarita Salvado (Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain), Amadeu Gene (Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain), Dionisia Fontanals (Hospital Parc Tauli, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain), Mariona Xercavins (Hospital Mutua de Terrassa, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain), Lluis Falgueras (Hospital General de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Valles, Barcelona, Spain), Marta de Ramon (Hospital General de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Valles, Barcelona, Spain), Maria Teresa Torroella (Hospital General de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Valles, Barcelona, Spain), Carles Alonso (Hospital Creu Roja, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain), Montserrat Sierra (Hospital de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain), Joaquin Martinez-Montauti (Hospital de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain), Maria Antonia Morera (Hospital de Terrassa, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain), and Jordi de Otero (Hospital Creu Roja, Barcelona, Spain).
- Received 20 October 2004.
- Returned for modification 7 December 2004.
- Accepted 16 December 2004.
- Copyright © 2005 American Society for Microbiology


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Holepunch is a geometric display typeface, made from a set of limited shapes and cut styles, inspired by the process of punching holes in sheets of paper.
Basic shapes were a prominent building block in visual grammar within the Bauhaus and they were deemed a powerful way to communicate. So, these ideals have been channelled into Holepunch. Taking influence from elementary principles, the letterforms have been reduced to the most essential elements by utilising the basic shapes of the square and the circle. Simple.
The square's uniformity provides rigidity, yet the fusion of circles gives a subtle softness to the letters and numerals and produces rather quirky results. Ultimately, the abstract typeface communicates in the shortest, simplest and most penetrating form. Holepunch is memorable, instantly recognisable and is boldly expressive, thriving mainly in headlines.


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Two Drugs Are Effective Against Rare Cancer Steve Jobs Had, Studies Find
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors arise from endocrine cells of the pancreas and are quite unusual, representing just 1.3% of pancreatic cancer cases. In the U.S., there were an estimated 43,140 cases of pancreatic cancer in 2010, according to the National Cancer Institute.
But the incidence of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is increasing, researchers note, and the 5-year survival rate is below 43%. Meanwhile, there are limited number of effective treatment options.
Pfizer's Sutent and Novartis's Afinitor are both drugs used to treat kidney cancer. But studies conducted from 2007 to 2009 show that both more than doubled the time that patients lived without their pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors spreading.
For Afinitor, the median time patients lasted before their tumors spread was 11 months, as compared with 4.6 months for those taking a placebo. Nearly three-quarters of the patients in the placebo group crossed over and started taking Afinitor, making it hard for researchers to examine the drug's overall survival effect. Afinitor's most common side effect was stomatitis. Researchers concluded that Afinitor significantly prolonged progression-free survival.
"These studies provide optimism regarding the treatment of malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors because both drugs are effective at improving disease-free survival," authors of the accompanying NEJM editorial wrote. But there are still unanswered questions. Both drugs primarily stabilize, rather than cure, the disease, and its is unclear what the possible side effects from long-term use might be. These, they say, "make the optimism guarded."
Back in 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. He had surgery to remove the tumor and returned to work at the helm of the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant. In 2009, Jobs took a second medical leave of absence and underwent a liver transplant: The form of cancer he had most commonly metastasizes to the liver. According to Fortune, Jobs spent part of 2009 at a hospital in Basel, Switzerland, seeking treatment for neuroendocrine cancer. He returned to his post within six months.
In January, Jobs, 55, announced he was taking his third medical leave. He didn't say why.
"I heard from news that Steve Jobs may have been suffering or may still have this particular disease, although I don't know what stage," said Dr. Eric Raymond head of the Laboratoire de Pharmacobiologie des Anticancereux at the University of Paris, France, who led the research into Sutent with colleagues. "In any case, [Sutent] may be an option for [a] patient like him and it's offering hopes for prolonging [patients'] overall and disease-free survival without much affecting quality of life and social life ... I sincerely expect this may [help him] in living longer, keeping good and active life, as he demonstrated so far."


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What's New Element Pack V2.6.3 Addon for Elementor Page Builder
What's New Element Pack V2.6.3
Welcome to Element Pack Version 2.6.3. It was released just few days ago. In this post, we introduce three new features in Element Pack. This features you should try after updating your websites.
Post Grid widget reverse skin preview
In this version post grid widget reserve skin added. You can select this skin easily. Go to layout tab and select skin reserve. This skin you can Select title, author, date, comments, category, except, read more etc from additional tab. Set description background color from style tab and various style from here.
Simple Contact Form widget reCAPTCHA preview
In this version Simple Contact Form widget reCAPTCHA option added. At first set reCAPCHA site key and reCAPCHA secret key from Elementor page settings.Then fill up the from, sent message and show reCAPTCHA.
Slider and Post Slider widget kenburn effect added
In this version Slider and Post Slider widget kenburn effect added. Go to content > slider settings and select Animation Kenburns for slider. Content > Animation and select Kenburns Animation for Post slider. Enjoy Kenburns Animation effect.
News ticker widget height preview
In this version News ticker widget height control and date option added. Go to content > layout. set height and date from here.
Lightbox widget lightbox style preview
In this version Lightbox widget lightbox style option added in page settings. Global lightbox style now we can control from page settings.
Iframe widget scrollbar preview
In this version Iframe widget sandbox and scrollbar option added. Go to content > Additional Settings. You can set Show Scroll Bar and Sandbox yes or no from here.
Tiny layout in weather
In this version Tiny layout added in weather widget. Go to content > weather. Select layout Tiny. You can set show city name, temperature and weather description yes or no.
Hosted audio url of Audio Player.
In this version Audio player URL structure changed, now you can select hosted audio easily. Insert audio player. Go to content > audio, select source type Local audio or remote audio. You can select audio Title, linline or none. Set fixed player from here. Set audio restrict time and audio play.


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October Book-O-Scopes
October 15th, 2018
Your next read is in the stars!. It's the spookiest time of the year. Let Allie, the Book Psychic, pick a scary book for you based on your star sign!
Aquarius: January 20 – February 18
The Listener by Robert R. McCammon
Set in the Great Depression, this historical horror novel features a young black man who has a special talent for hearing things that aren't there—including a child's cry for help, which gets him involved in a dangerous kidnapping scheme.
Pisces: February 19 – March 20
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
Two decades after the lead singer of a heavy metal band skyrocketed to fame and left his bandmates in the dust, the story gets complicated when the bandmates find out their former friend's success may have come at the cost of a person's soul.
Aries: March 21 – April 19
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Fall into this story of 1970s teen detectives reuniting as adults in the 1990s. It's a twisty, paranormal mystery that will make you nostalgic.
Taurus: April 20 – May 20
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker
Set in 1868, this is a prequel to "Dracula" that reveals both the author and the famous book's origins. Written by a relative of Bram Stoker, and based on found notes and texts.
Gemini: May 21 – June 20
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Written in dual narratives, one in Vermont in 1950, and the other in 2014, the book centers around a boarding school with a haunted past that a journalist wants to re-visit.
Cancer: June 21 – July 22
The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa
You'll be entranced by this gothic story about Milo, who is haunted by the creations of his dead father's horror stories.
Leo: July 23 – August 22
The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Horror by Joyce Carol Oates
You'll obsess over these six haunting stories, including one about a boy's obsession with a doll after his cousin's tragic death.
Virgo: August 23 – September 22
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
A reimaging of the fated Donner Party story, one of the most deadliest and disastrous western adventures in American history.
Libra: September 23 – October 22
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
Jake and his girlfriend are on a road trip to see his parents, when there is a detour. Written from the girlfriend's point of view, you'll be treated to a twisty, thrilling story centered around relationships and fear.
Scorpio: October 23 – November 21
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
From the author of the Newsflesh trilogy comes a new series about a young scientist Victoria and her crew who set out to find out why a film crew disappeared in the ocean while researching ancient sea creatures.
Sagittarius: November 22 – December 21
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Get transported to Night Vale, a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and conspiracies are all commonplace. Based on the popular podcast.
Capricorn: December 22 – January 19
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
The real life horror of the Golden State Killer, whose disturbing crimes were left unsolved until this year, comes alive in McNamara's true crime account.
If you want more personalized picks, try our reading recommendation service Book Mate! Fill out a short form about your likes and dislikes and one of our book experts will choose 3-5 titles for you. Who knows? They might suggest your next favorite book! Try Book Mate online or stop by any branch and pick up a form there!
Photo by Alex Geerts on Unsplash
Tags: book psychic, book recommendation, book recommendations, book-o-scope, reading recommendation, reading recommendations


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Social Security Disability Insurance
About SSDI
In order to use Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you must have paid a certain amount of Social Security taxes throughout the years that you've worked. Their requirements are measured by what is called "recent work" and "duration of work" tests. The age that you became disabled is also taken into consideration, as well as how long you worked.
To fully qualify, you must meet Social Security's definition of disability, in addition to having worked for a long enough period of time to obtain sufficient "work credits". You can earn up a maximum of four credits each year. The number of total credits that are required tends to vary depending on your age when you become disabled, as well as the current and ever-changing guidelines that are set. You can ask an attorney for more details regarding work credits.
To receive benefits, you must meet certain requirements to establish that you are disabled and that you are unable to perform substantial gainful activity as a result.
Find out more about Social Security Disability Insurance and learn how to proceed with making a claim by speaking to one of the many attorneys from our firm. Call today and speak to a lawyer.
Am I Eligible for SSDI Benefits?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) employs a rigorous set of standards when determining who may receive monthly SSDI payments. When evaluating your eligibility and the types of benefits you receive, the SSA will consider a number of factors like:
- your age;
- your work history;
- the effects of your disability on your ability to work;
- the type of disability from which you suffer;
- the number of disabilities from which you're suffering; and
- your medical history.
Proving disability is one of the most important aspects of filing for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. The SSA uses several criteria when determining whether or not an applicant should be deemed disabled. You'll have to establish that you're unable to work in your current job or perform other job duties that allow you to earn substantial gainful activity.
Furthermore, you must be able to prove that your disability will last or is expected to last for 12 or more months – or result in death. You cannot get Social Security Disability Insurance benefits based on a short-term disability, such as the weeks you miss from work for knee surgery or the recovery period for an illness, such as pneumonia.
File a Strong Application for SSDI Benefits
Your access to SSDI benefits will greatly hinge on the strength of your application, so be sure it is complete and contains all relevant information. You will submit the application to a local Social Security office, where it will be reviewed at Disability Determination Services and either be approved or denied.
An application should include evidence of how your medical condition affects all aspects of your daily life, such as whether or not your chronic back pain makes it impossible for you to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time, or if your cancer treatments make you too fatigued to concentrate.
You also may be asked provide adequate medical documentation of your disabling medical or mental conditions from doctors and other healthcare professionals. This includes doctors' notes and statements, medical records, test results (blood tests, MRI, X-rays and so on), and treatment records.
Our disability team has helped numerous New Bedford residents prove disability and collect SSDI benefits. Schedule your free case evaluation to learn more – call us, or complete our online evaluation form.


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Healthcare Startup Oscar Seeks New Agency Partner After Hiring Old Navy CMO
Company co-founded by Joshua Kushner has worked with Mother
Oscar Health, an insurance startup launched in the wake of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is shopping around for agencies.
According to two parties with direct knowledge of the matter, the company recently issued an RFP for a competitive creative review. One indicated that it is a project-based pitch focused on further defining and raising awareness of the Oscar brand.
A client spokesperson declined to comment.
Oscar came to life in 2012; founders include CEO Mario Schlosser, Kevin Nazemi and Joshua Kushner, the latter of whom is the brother of current White House advisor Jared Kushner. Its launch came on the strength of investments from Thrive Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Fidelity Investments and more, and attracted considerable attention from the tech press.
As of its early 2016 C-round of funding, Fidelity valued the company at $2.7 billion.
The three Harvard Business School classmates started the company with the goal of helping consumers better navigate the new healthcare landscape after significant changes brought on by full implementation of the ACA, better known as Obamacare. It provides telemedicine services and an app designed to connect users with healthcare providers through their insurance plans.
Oscar's advertising efforts have included a campaign that ran on the New York City public transit system beginning in 2013 as well as a 2015 TV campaign. The work is notable for its colorful cartoon characters; here is a 2015 spot characterizing the service.
Other marketing efforts have included Tonic, an Oscar-sponsored health vertical from Vice.
In the past, Oscar has worked with multiple agencies including Mother New York, Untitled Worldwide, Special Guest, and Something New.
A spokesperson for Mother New York, which led the brand's most visible campaigns to date, declined to comment.
The RFP also came around the same time the company hired a new CMO. Ivan Wicksteed joined Oscar earlier this month after spending the previous decade as CMO for fashion brands including Converse, Cole Haan and Old Navy and launching strategic consultancy FNDR.
"Ivan's ability to leverage two key components of successful marketing—creative and analytics—will make him an important contributor to Oscar's growth," said CEO Schlosser regarding that announcement and the hire of Verizon's Gerard Ohen as vp of talent acquisition.
Open enrollment for the ACA launches each November and lasts through the following month, so upcoming campaigns for Oscar will most likely go live at a time designed to raise awareness during that period.
According to the latest numbers from Kantar Media, the brand spent approximately $1.4 million on paid media in 2018. After this story initially ran, however, Wicksteed estimated his new company's annual marketing budget at $30 million.
This story has been updated to reflect that Mother New York was Oscar's most recent creative agency partner.


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Camps Bay 137 - Camps Bay, Cape Town
At a Glance
: Villa
: 6
: 4
: 12
: Not Available
: Not Available
: Housekeeping service • Satellite (DSTV) • Swimming Pool • DVD player • Security Systems • Garage • Outdoor Entertainment Areas • BBQ / Braai • Fully Self Catering
Photo Gallery and Property Description
Immaculate Camps Bay vacation villa – Perfect accommodation for large groups / families
Situated an easy five to ten minute walk from Camps Bay beach, popular restaurants and shops, this immaculate 6 bedroom Camps Bay vacation villa is located in one of the most desirable streets in Camps Bay, with views to take your breath away. This Camps Bay vacation villa is perfect for families and large groups. The location makes it perfect for you to enjoy a day at the beach or the spectacular night life that Camps Bay has to offer.
This 6 bedroom Camps Bay vacation villa has 3 floors:
The ground floor is self-contained with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge and a fully equipped kitchen. It has a garden with barbeque (braai) facilities, as well as a private swimming pool. It also has a reserved garage space.
The first floor of this Camps Bay vacation villa, which is one flight up, has a spacious kitchen, which serves the other four bedrooms on the second floor. It also has a generous lounge and family room, a large, enclosed sun room, and an outdoor patio.
The second floor houses the remaining four bedrooms and two full bathrooms, one of them being an en suite to the main bedroom.
There are Queen size beds in four of the bedrooms, while the other two have two single beds in each.
The decor in this beautiful Camps Bay vacation villa is understated, and the small bedrooms are furnished with beds only.
The sizeable balcony has amazing views of the ocean and Table Mountain.


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Slack today made its Block Kit tool for building more visually appealing apps generally available. The Slack App Directory currently has more than 1,500 apps, and the Slack Platform for the creation of apps and automated bots dates back to 2015.
The company also introduced Block Kit Builder for designing apps and testing app prototypes.
Block Kit and Block Kit Builder were created to make it easier to design apps and deliver a more consistent user experience. With that in mind, Block Kit launches with five basic blocks, including "Image" for image containers and "Actions" to add interactive elements, like buttons and six types of drop-down menus.
There's also a text container block called "Section," a "Context" container for descriptive metadata, and "Divider" to make space between blocks.
Examples of apps built with Block Kit include Doodle for scheduling and Guru for saving an organization's collective knowledge.
Block Kit was first released in preview in May 2018 at Slack developer conference Spec.
"Besides these blocks themselves, the other thing that this provides is flexibility in terms of vertical control: You decide how you want to stack components, how you want to place them on the page, and what order makes the most sense for your app and user base," said Slack Platform general manager Brian Elliott last year at Spec.
More interactive elements, display types, app installation within Slack, and many other near- and long-term plans are laid out in the Slack Platform Roadmap for Developers, a Trello board you can view online.
More than 90 percent of Slack's 10 million daily active users utilize at least one app, a company spokesperson told VentureBeat in an email.
Last month, Slack filed paperwork to launch an initial public offering later this year.
The audio problem: Learn how new cloud-based API solutions are solving imperfect, frustrating audio in video conferences. Access here


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11:18am PT by Michael O'Connell
Jimmy Kimmel's 'Kill Everyone in China' Skit Will Get White House Response
Jimmy Kimmel and ABC may have issued apologies for the recent "Kid's Table" skit, but the fallout continues.
The Live! segment, which featured Kimmel asking children how we should alleviate the national debt and one responding "kill everyone in China," prompted an official petition at WhiteHouse.gov, and it has received the 100,000 signatures needed to elicit an official response from the Administration.
PHOTOS: Hollywood's Memorable Mea Culpas
The petition, created by "H.Z." from Cedar Park, Texas, created the page on Oct. 19, and as of Nov. 7, it had 101,271 signees. "The kids might not know anything better," reads the petition. "However, Jimmy Kimmel and ABC's management are adults. They had a choice not to air this racist program, which promotes racial hatred."
As the official White House website notes, if a petition gathers enough signatures, it will be reviewed by staff and will receive an official response. It does not promise anything beyond that, and the petition includes some rather unlikely requests. "The program is totally unacceptable and it must be cut," it says. "A sincere apology must be issued. It is extremely distasteful, and this is the same rhetoric used in Nazi Germany against Jewish people."
Kimmel's skit has already prompted several mea culpas, including the host greeting protesters outside his Hollywood Blvd. studio and apologizing in person.
"I come to you with nothing but love in my heart," he said. "I'm a comedian, I was trying to make people laugh, I'm sorry that I did it."
The protestors' reactions have been quite charged. In addition to calling for his firing, the Los Angeles group that assembled in front of the El Capitan Theatre held up signs with a Hitler mustache drawn onto Kimmel's face.
Michael firstname.lastname@example.com mikeylikestv


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5 Dating Tips To Kickstart Your First Online Date
So, are you ready for this online game of dating? If deciding whether or not to get into online dating was a tug of war for you, these tips are definitely going to clear your doubts. Once you are done reading this article, you will have a clear perspective about dating online and why you should or should not try it.
Here are some of the tips that can make your first experience with online dating worth it. Follow them and you might be on your first real date sooner than you know.
Tip#1. Look for the connection
Human beings are social animals and crave for connection. Online dating gives you the opportunity to get to know people on a superficial level. Build a deeper connection with the person who want to date before getting to the next step. Take your time and make sure that you have a deeper and meaningful connection with the person you are looking forward to have a relationship with. If you do not find the right person to make the connection, keep looking. There's plenty of fish in the ocean.
Tip#2. Don't keep playing around
Interestingly, the online dating scene has a lot of people who like to play around and have fun with multiple partners. Many consider it to be the only reason for being part of the dating platform – to play around and have fun. However, if you are serious about dating someone online, you need to stop playing around and focus on knowing more about the person you think you want to date. Having said that, don't forget to have fun in the process.
Tip#3. Don't be aggressive
Online dating is about meeting the right person for a relationship. But, it is also for fun. When you are annoyed by someone or you are in a bad mood, do not snap back immediately. You can also choose to take another course of action. This could be as simple as not replying to the person. Why spoil your mood because of someone you come across online? Having a better mood can make you more friendly and you could find that perfect match soon enough.
Tip#4. Be safe
When it comes to online dating, one of the things that we can't emphasize enough on is the importance of being cautious about sharing your personal information with others. Details like your home address or your personal phone number should not be shared immediately with anyone on dating sites. When you decide to meet the person for real, choose to meet in public places and not their homes. Safety should be your top priority when dating online.
Tip#5. Don't get involved too fast
A lot of people like to use dating sites as a quick fix for a heartbreak or as an escapade from their mundane lives. Very often than not, these people get involved in affairs real quick. Getting involved in relationships too quick can make you vulnerable. This can just be your recipe for disaster. Take a step back if you sense that the other person is in a haste to get into a relationship. When it comes to finding the best match online, you have to wait for it. That's how it works most of the time.


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Great selection of books in great condition at great prices.
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Classics Used and Rare Books is a great place to purchase used books. Located in Downtown Trenton, Classics has quite a selection to choose ...
Classics can be found at S Warren St 117. The following is offered: Used & Rare Bookstores. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Trenton there are 2 other Used & Rare Bookstores. An overview can be found here.
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CAIRO (AP) — The leader of a former jihadist group who is now a member of Egyptian parliament accused the largely secular opposition on Monday of using violence in the country's political struggle.
Another member of the same group, who served 29 years in prison for his role as a conspirator in the 1981 assassination of President Sadat, charged that opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi are trying to drag the country into a civil war.
The two — Safwat Abdel-Ghani and Tarek el-Zumor — are members of the Islamic Group, or Gamaa Islamiya, which was among militant groups behind one of the longest waves of violence against the Egyptian regime in the 1980s and 1990s. The group renounced violence while most of its leaders were imprisoned under Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Since Mubarak's ouster in February 2011 following a popular uprising, the group has formed an Islamist political party and its leaders have become important players in the new political scene, dominated by Islamists.
The accusations come amid a highly charged atmosphere in Egypt after a polarizing, monthlong fight over the Islamist-drafted constitution. The charter passed with 64 percent in a referendum, according to unofficial results.
Official results had been expected on Monday but did not come out. An official at the electoral commission said it is currently reviewing more than 400 complaints of fraud and violations by the opposition before announcing the results on Tuesday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Abdel-Ghani was speaking at a news conference to launch his group's initiative for a national dialogue aimed at bridging the deep rifts.
"There is no doubt that the opposition has failed miserably in achieving its goals. This failure has reasons," Abdel-Ghani told a news conference. "The first of these reasons is that it resorted to violence and used thugs to express its opinions."
Abdel-Ghani was detained in 1981 as a suspect in Sadat's assassination but was released a few years later and not charged. He served other prison sentences in a later assassination of the parliament speaker in the 1990s. President Mohammed Morsi appointed him over the weekend to the upper house of parliament, just days before the chamber assumes temporary legislative powers.
Islamist groups have risen to domination over Egypt's government in the wake of the uprising, and some of them have threatened to push their own vigilantes to protect them against violent clashes. Islamist groups also accuse former regime officials of using the charged political atmosphere to create chaos and undermine Morsi.
The opposition, made up of liberal and leftist groups, has accused Islamists of trying to clamp down on dissenting voices and spreading fear.
"We call on all political forces in Egypt ... to immediately give up all elements that almost led Egypt to civil war and for all those who participated in this to apologize," said el-Zumor of Gamaa Islamiya.
The recent flare-up of political tensions has turned deadly at times. On Dec. 5, clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of Morsi at the presidential palace, when Morsi supporters attacked the opposition. At least 10 people died, and the Brotherhood claims most of those who died were their supporters.
The offices of the Brotherhood and the liberal al-Wafd party were attacked.
Hossam Mounes, a member of the opposition National Salvation Front, said the accusations of using violence are "clumsy" and not based on evidence.
"The history of Islamist groups was based on bearing arms, and now they speak of democracy," he said. "Some of the Islamist groups are really feeling the tension against them and they can't understand that democracy is a practice and is not only a means to get to power."
Abdel-Ghani also said the opposition has failed because it campaigned against Islamic law, or Shariah, and relied on mobilization of Christians by the church to take part in protests.
With the referendum results expected on Tuesday, Morsi ordered parliament's upper chamber, the Shura Council, to convene on Wednesday.
The new constitution would give the council powers to legislate until the lower house is elected within the next two months. Morsi has held legislative powers for months now since a court disbanded the lower house of parliament.
Over the weekend, Morsi appointed 90 members to the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, in an attempt to make the body more representative. The 90 include at least 30 Islamists and a dozen minority Christians. The council now has a total of 270 members, two-thirds of them elected. Critics, however, say most of the representatives are either Islamists or their supporters.
The council was elected last winter in a vote with an extremely low turnout of less than 10 percent of Egypt's 51 million eligible voters.


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Whether you're on the hunt for doggie bling or you're simply hoping to keep Rover cozy this season, you'll find your best bets below.
Customizable Pet ID Tags by Dog Tag Art
Looking for something personalized to give your favorite pet this holiday season? Check out customizable pet ID tags by Dog Tag Art. They have hundreds of designs to choose from so you will be sure to find something that fits your pets' personality. And if not, you can upload your own image to have printed on a tag. You can't go wrong!
If you live in a state where the winters are blustery, Muttens are a must. These toasty, retractable fleece hand covers give provide the warmth of regular gloves, but the flexibility to poke your fingers out to do things such as pick up poop or dial a phone number on your cell phone. Even your leash fits right inside the glove, allowing for that extra control and dexterity you have when bare-handed. For the practical pup-lover.
Big Dog Bling Personalized Dog Collar by Dog Collar Boutique
The Dog Collar Boutique realizes that little dogs aren't the only ones who deserve to be pampered every now and then. This classy collar, designed especially for big dogs, is not only durable, but comes with the option to personalize with your dogs' name or nickname, or whatever you want to broadcast for that matter! Don't have a big dog? That's ok yoo. The Dog Collar Boutique has the latest trends for all size dogs, including leashes, harnesses, carriers, treats, toys and charms.
Bow Wow Bag "A Walkin' Dog's Tote"
This fashionable dog bag is a must have for carrying all your doggie essentials: balls, toys, nylon travel water bowls, treats, whistles, and anything else you may need. The Bow Wow Bag is your answer — and also stores waste bags (or discretely hides your used waste bag until you find a proper trash receptacle). Simply attach with the ultra sturdy velcro strap the Bow Wow Bag to any leash handle/loop and away you go.
Ruff Wear Performance Dog Gear —Bark'n Boots
These durable boots are perfect for providing traction for our dogs on the winter snow and ice and are great for hiking in the foothills and mountains in the summer. Another big winter benefit? Protection for your dogs' paw pads from the salt and chemicals used to melt snow on the sidewalks and streets. Guard against the elements year-round with Bark'n Boots — an excellent investment in your furry ones' feet.