 pressure on our part!
Thank you so much Allison. It really does mean a lot to me.Using one email address for multiple Practice Ignition accounts is currently not supported although this is something that we're looking into.
If you're using Google as your email provider, you can take advantage of their feature that allows you to create an alias for your email address. This will seem like your using multiple email addresses but in reality, you're only using one.
Read more about Google alias here.MediciNova, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, recently announced that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) notified the company of full enrollment of their ongoing clinical study evaluating ibudilast (MN-166) for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis. The trial randomization is aimed to be completed in about 4 to 6 weeks.
MN-166 (ibudilast) is a first-in-class, orally bio-small molecule phosphodiesterase (PDE) -4 and -10 inhibitor and a macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitor that suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines and promotes neurotrophic factors.
This Phase 2b study called SPRINT-MS (Secondary and Primary Progressive Ibudilast NeuroNEXT trial in Multiple Sclerosis) will be conducted at 28 clinical sites across the United States and will evaluate the efficacy, tolerability and safety of ibudilast (MN-166) administered twice per day in patients suffering with secondary and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS or SPMS, respectively). In the study a total of 250 patients meeting the study criteria are assigned at random in a 1:1 proportion to either one of two groups: MN-166 (ibudilast) 100 mg per day (50 mg twice per day) or placebo.
Patients with progressive MS who are not currently taking long-term disease modifying therapy (DMT), as well as those who are currently prescribed glatiramer acetate (GA) or interferon beta (IFNβ-1a or IFNβ-1b) treatment were both accepted into the study. Patient randomization will be stratified by therapy status (IFN/GA vs. no DMT) and also by disease status (PPMS vs. SPMS).
The clinical trial primary endpoints include the evaluation of MN-166 activity versus placebo, measured at 96 weeks of treatment with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) for atrophy in the whole brain with resource to brain parenchymal fraction (BPF). The trial also aims to conduct an evaluation of the tolerability and safety of MN-166 versus placebo given orally to patients with a diagnosis of either PPMS or SPMS.
The clinical trial’s secondary endpoints involve assessing imaging analyses of brain, retinal tissue integrity, disability, neuropathic pain, cognitive impairment, cortical atrophy and patients’ quality-of-life. In the trial, the researchers will also conduct biomarker and pharmacokinetic analyses.
The collaborating entities include NeuroNEXT, the Cleveland Clinic, the National MS Society and MediciNova. NINDS’s Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials, or NeuroNEXT, was created to conduct studies of treatments for neurological diseases through partnerships with academia, private foundations and industry.
Tagged clinical trials, Ibudilast, MediciNova, MN-166, PPMS, Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, SPRINT-MS.
So I am the biggest fan of the AK platform. I find them more interesting than any AR. I own prob 15+ AKs or AK based firearms. I love shooting them. While they can be excellent, practical rifles they simply aren't as good as an AR. 

Especially in the US, the AR platform is massively supported, has tons of options and accessories, is more ergonomic and simply shoots better. It is also cheaper for a quality option. A decent AK is gonna cost $1000 plus. Especially if you want it in an actually modern cartridge like 5.56 or 5.45. 

If I couldn't have an AR I'd go with a modernized AK-74 variant, pref in 5.56, but so long as the AR exists it is the best choiceSyabas logo (source: syabas.com.my)
SELANGOR, apparently, is facing a water crisis. On 15 July 2012, Selangor’s sole water distributor Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) announced its application to carry out water rationing exercises in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
The Selangor government responded with puzzlement. Representatives said the state’s seven dams were filled to the brim. But Syabas countered that regardless of the dams’ water levels, Selangor’s 34 water treatment plants are operating at full — and some over-capacity. It said overall water reserve levels were down to two percent instead of the “safe mark” of at least 20.
After the Selangor government proposed to take-over Syabas and a Special Cabinet Committee on the Selangor Water Issue refused Syabas’s proposal, Syabas backed down. Water rationing was a “long-term plan” but it wasn’t necessary to implement it now, said its chief operating officer Datuk Lee Miang Koi.
So were the 7.5 million consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya taken for a ride? Is there or is there not a water crisis and what is being done to ensure it doesn’t happen?
Water crisis?
There is currently no widespread water shortage across the state and two neighbouring federal territories, according to a Selangor government task force set up to monitor Syabas’s daily operations.
Khusrin Munawi (pic source: jais.gov.my)
The task force led by state secretary Datuk Khusrin Munawi and staffed with water experts and Selangor Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) officers also uncovered something revealing. Selangor’s 34 treatment plants are jointly capable of treating up to 4,807 million litres of water per day (MLD). But, Syabas is only capable of distributing up to 4,411 MLD. So even if the treatment plants fulfilled their full potential in their water treatment capacity, Syabas still can’t distribute all of it. Moreover, an ongoing mitigation project will reportedly boost the treatment plants’ capacity to 5,139 MLD in March 2013.
In addition, up to 1,389 MLD is lost due to pipe leakages and theft, also known as non-revenue water. Only some 2,944 MLD treated water reaches consumers. A 32% of non-revenue water is extremely high compared to five percent in Singapore and seven percent in Germany.
Syabas has said that the Selangor government needs to approve the Sungai Langat Two treatment plant to alleviate the water crisis. The multi-billion project involves transferring and treating raw water from Pahang. Federal government ministers also support the project.
But why push for a mega project when Syabas can’t even distribute all the water it treats? And why doesn’t Syabas fix the pipe leakages and theft before advocating a multi-billion ringgit interstate water transfer project?
Non-revenue water
Syabas says the Selangor government is to blame for freezing its capital expenditure programme and thereby jeopardising efforts to bring down non-revenue water. But federal lawmaker Tony Pua pointed out in a 7 August public forum that the state has no obligation to fund the private company.
Tony Pua (file pic)
“The [concession] agreement says Syabas may request for funding from the state. But [there are] no obligations on the part of the state to fund Syabas’s pipe-replacement programmes,” said the Petaling Jaya Utara Member of Parliament in an email to The Nut Graph on 17 Aug 2012.
The Selangor government has taken issue with Syabas’s financial management. It sought to terminate the concession agreement with Syabas in 2008 as an audit report found the company had breached contract terms. This included awarding up to 72% of contracts, worth RM600 million, in direct negotiations instead of via open tenders as stipulated in the 2004 concession agreement.
Old spat
The recent water spat is but an extension of the three-year deadlock over the state’s water restructuring exercise.
Khalid Ibrahim (file pic)
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s administration has been trying to restructure the fragmented water industry and terminate what it claims are lopsided concession agreements with the existing water concessionaires.
Three companies — Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd (Abass) and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sdn Bhd (Splash) treat the raw water from dams. Syabas distributes it to consumers. The Selangor government says it can improve efficiency and keep water tariffs low if it restructures the water sector by taking over the four companies. It offered RM5.7 billion for them in February 2009 and revised it upwards to RM9.3 billion in June 2009 after the initial bid was rejected.
Splash, a Gamuda subsidiary, and Selangor-owned Abbas accepted the RM9.3 billion deal. But, Syabas and PNSB, both owned by Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, snubbed the offer. Puncak Niaga Holdings executive chairperson Tan Sri Rozali Ismail was formerly an Umno Selangor treasurer.