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Assessing polyelectrolyte effective charge Abstract Polyelectrolytes are distinguished by their linear charge density, a parameter responsible for their many functions in nature and their many technological applications. Despite the fundamental and practical importance of this parameter, quantitative understanding of polyelectrolyte charge remains rudimentary, primarily due to a lack of experimental methods capable of capturing polyelectrolyte's actual or effective charge under diverse conditions. ^ Capillary electrophoresis study revealed how polyelectrolyte effective charge correlates with polymer structure and solvent polarity. The study focused on ionenes, polyelectrolytes with quaternary ammonium groups linked in the backbone by spacers of defined uniform or alternating length. Traditional ionenes with hydrophobic aliphatic spacers as well as novel, inherently hydrophilic ionenes with oxyethylene spacers were synthesized, characterized, and examined by capillary electrophoresis. Complete ionization of ionenes and their good solvency in water and mixtures of water with lower dielectric constant solvents (methanol, acetonitrile) enabled measurements of ionene effective charge density as both backbone charge spacing and solvent dielectric constant varied. Two fundamental trends were uncovered: (i) As charge spacing decreased, effective charge rose linearly with backbone charge density to saturation at a critical value of backbone charge density, as expected from the standard (Manning) counterion condensation theory; (ii) As solvent dielectric constant decreased, deviating from the existing theory, charge saturation occurred not at a critical backbone charge density but at a critical dielectric constant. The latter trend suggests a new type of counterion condensation, one driven by ion-pairing. In support of the ion-pairing hypothesis, the onset of condensation correlated with counterion size. Traditionally associated with small molecule electrolytes, ion-pairing has not been previously regarded as an origin of polyelectrolyte effective charge lowering. ^ Manifesting the universality of our findings with respect to polyelectrolyte chemistry and sign of charge, analogous charge behaviors were found with quaternized poly(vinyl pyridine), poly(styrene sulfonate), and acrylamide-acrylamidomethylpropanesulfonate copolymers. By comparing polyelectrolytes with sulfonated and quaternary ammonium functionality, we deduced a universal dimensionless criterion for the onset of ion-pairing on polyelectrolytes. This study is the first to report polyelectrolyte effective charge lowering by an ion-pairing mechanism, but the results should have broad implications for the polyelectrolyte field.^
Subject Area Chemistry, Physical|Chemistry, Polymer
Recommended Citation Alexei Popov, "Assessing polyelectrolyte effective charge" (January 1, 2007). Electronic Doctoral Dissertations for UMass Amherst. Paper AAI3254923. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3254923


A total of 117 deaths were reported on Red Cross mortality forms. The source of information for the mortality forms was a medical examiner/coroner for 94 (80.3%) cases and the family of the decedent for 10 (8.5%) cases (Table). Most deaths occurred in New York (53 [45.3%]) and New Jersey (34 [29.1%]); the other deaths occurred in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Maryland. The deaths occurred during October 28–November 29, 2012 (Figure 1). Approximately half of the deaths (60 [51.3%]) occurred on the first 2 days of the storm’s landfall, with a peak of 37 deaths on October 30, 2012.
Decedents ranged in age from 1 to 94 years (mean: 60 years, median: 65 years); 60.7% were male, and 53.8% were white. Of the 117 deaths, 67 (57.3%) were classified as directly related deaths, and 38 (32.5%) were indirectly related to the storm. Of the directly related deaths, the most common mechanism was drowning (40 [59.7%]), followed by trauma from being crushed, cut, or struck (19 [28.4%]). Poisoning was the most common indirectly related cause of death; of the 10 poisonings, nine were caused by carbon monoxide. Most directly related deaths occurred during the first few days of the storm, whereas indirectly related deaths continued from the day before the storm into the middle of November.
Comparing the 40 drowning deaths to all Sandy-related deaths, the age, sex, and race distributions of decedents were similar (Table). The majority of drowning deaths (29 [72.5%]) also occurred in the initial phase of the storm, during October 29–31. Twenty-one (52.5%) drowning deaths occurred in the decedent’s home, and 11 (27.5%) occurred outside; one person drowned in a flooded commercial building lobby, and another person drowned while intentionally swimming off a storm-affected beach. For six deaths, circumstances of the drowning were not available. The location of drowning deaths by state was significantly different (p<0.05) compared with all Sandy-related deaths. The majority of drowning deaths (32 [80.0%]) occurred in New York, whereas deaths in New York accounted for only 27.3% of nondrowning deaths. Twenty decedents drowned in flooded homes in New York, and home addresses for 18 (90.0%) of them were located in Evacuation Zone A (Figure 2); the other two decedents’ homes were in or near areas of flooding and near Evacuation Zone A. Notes written by Red Cross volunteers on these 20 deaths captured decedents’ reasons for not evacuating, such as “afraid of looters,” “thought Hurricane Irene was mild,” and “unable to leave because did not have transportation.”
And while we’re on the topic of nasty weather…


Politics: We neither 'belong to' our government, nor are we 'part of' it Published by: Robert Laurie on Friday September 7th, 2012 By ROBERT LAURIE - Democrats like to claim that government is the one thing "to which we all belong." Here's why they're wrong.
I published this piece yesterday, in a slightly modified form, at the Detroit News website, The Michigan View. They're gracious enough to allow me to share it here. In light of The DNC's pro-government themes, and Granholms bizarro speech, I think CainTV's readers will enjoy. Left wing media is a lot like a parrot. Every day, the Democratic Party sends out its talking points, and every evening they’re presented as fact by an army of slavish talking heads. This week, when the Democrats released a creepy video claiming "Government is the only thing we all belong to," DNC speaker and former Governor, Jennifer Granholm was quick to hop on board.
A message on her Facebook page read: "In America, you can't love your country and hate your government -- we ARE the government." With all due respect to the former governor - sorry, but no.
We may fund our government, elect our government, or appoint our government. We may hire politicians, fire them, laud them, or impeach them. We may even watch them fail their states and slink away when term limits force them out of power. We are, however, NOT our government, nor do we belong to it.
This may be the most fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives. People like Granholm believe that Government is our family. When it takes from us, we're "sharing." When we're forced to sacrifice for it, it's a moral imperative. Like the mythical Force from Star Wars, it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds us together. This ideology was front and center during this week’s Democratic Convention.
For conservatives, it's the exact opposite.
Conservatives believe that government is a beast - a hungry monster that's ready, willing, and able to devour us all. There's no boundary it won't cross, and no transgression too despicable. If there's an inch it will take it, if there's a crack in your armor, it will exploit it. The only time it "penetrates us," is when we're being strip searched by the TSA.
Unfortunately for people of Granholm's ilk, history's lessons back her opponents.
From Rome to colonial England, from Nazi Germany to Russia - and even in present-day countries like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia - the story of humanity is rife with governments that acted as though their citizens were tenants rather than landlords. Once a government begins the "you belong to us" rhetoric, it's not long before it resorts to atrocity and violence in an attempt to control its increasingly dissatisfied public. From there, it's a short hop to war, chaos, and collapse.
Fortunately, our forefathers saw fit to create a place that could avoid this very pattern.
In the Constitution they spelled out specific limits that would reign in out-of-control presidents. They gave us checks and balances, a judiciary, and the 10th Amendment - all of which were designed, in excruciating detail, to grant us means by which we could limit a government that had crossed the line.
If all else failed, they guaranteed us the right to bear arms. If the "worst case scenario" presented itself, at least we would have the means to fight the beast we'd created.
None of this would be necessary if, as Governor Granholm claims, we "ARE the government."
The founders recognized very clearly that, while people do have need of a small, functional federal system, it would always have the potential to expand beyond its constitutional boundaries. They were well aware that it could grow into something which views its own people not as its keepers, but as the kept. Clearly, they didn't think we were a part of it, or they never would have given us the means to defend ourselves against it.
This week, in their "Government is the only thing we all belong to" moment, Democrats have finally declared what Conservatives have known for years. The political left does not view the American Citizen as a boss. It sees him as a subject.


WASHINGTONCancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, but the disease's mortality rate declined by 2.9% in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Total US cancer deaths in 2004 numbered 550,270. Preliminary mortality data put the age-adjusted death rate for malignant neoplasms at 184.6 per 100,000 population, down from 190.1 in 2003. The nation's overall death rate fell to a record low of 801 per 100,000 persons, down from 833 the previous year. The preliminary data are based on approximately 90% of the 2004 death records reported by the 50 states.


Lying in the grass at the edge of the garden on a sunny day, I feel like Gulliver in a Lilliputian forest of daisies. A neighbour commented that we'd seen enough rain. A bit of warmth with the water butts full, she said, and the growing season will take off. Now all Britain is blanketed in an impossibly yellow and green patchwork of oilseed rape and young wheat. Even the wilder spaces alternate grass, dandelions and buttercups.
Our plot has exploded. The largest angelica has already passed three metres. It might have been taller but a windstorm last month left it stooped and leaning on braces. I've never known them to grow so tall. Rhubarb has been more abundant than ever, but the flavour is flaccid. We reluctantly discarded a few litres of rhubarb liqueur in favour of purchased local stalks. I must track down the farm and find out why theirs is better.
New in the garden so far this season, welsh onions. Billed as a perennial green onion, they are delicious: part onion green, part chive. I hope the partridges don't enjoy them as much as they did the shallot sprouts. Also new, salad burnet. With a vague physical resemblance to coriander and cucumber-peel flavour it will end up in many summer salads. Salad is never so fresh as picked for the table.
Parsnips harvested in mid-winter are wonderful. But what happens if you leave them into spring? Another question answered. They launch a metre of dense vertical foliage topped with seed heads. When I mentioned it at the pub a quick show of hands revealed three others had not only done the same but admitted it happened nearly every year. Dandelions scatter seeds prolifically, ground elder springs from the smallest scrap of root. The weeds in one corner of the garden are simply too beautiful to remove. Could I select plants that would juxtapose quite so harmoniously? Perhaps I will pull these later, but not just yet.
We've been potting strawberry runners again as we clear the ditches along the bed. In two bouts, we've deposited at least 50 plants outside the local pub with a "free: take one or all" sign. Both times, they were grabbed in an hour. We don't know where they went, but it's nice to know others will be enjoying Cambridge Favourites this summer, too.
Fellow allotment blog contributor Sparclear cautioned us about bird feeders attracting large birds. She also recommended we keep a source of rainwater for them. This quickly attracted the largest and most welcome birds yet: a pair of mallards who strolled the garden as a couple of tourists might wander around Bath or Stratford on Avon, before stopping for a drink and a foot soak.
I've always loved the poppy's voluptuous blooms. We started these from seed five years ago and moved them with us from Ealing. This is the first flower, with nine more fat hairy green buds waiting in the wings.
Some flowers are beloved for their colours, others for their shape. Solomon's Seal is in the latter category, transforming simple green and white into a nature's art. Cut fly larvae will soon hatch and swarm up the stems to defoliate each one, so we will enjoy them while we can.


Draw-A-Person Test Draw-A-Person Test Used to measure nonverbal intelligence or to screen for emotional or behavioral disorders. Based on children's drawings of human figures, this test can be used with two different scoring systems for different purposes. One measures nonverbal intelligence while the other screens for emotional or behavioral disorders. Drawings obtained from a child during a single administration may be used with both systems. During the testing session, which can be completed in 15 minutes, the child is asked to draw three figures—a man, a woman, and him- or herself. Draw a Person:QSS (Quantitative Scoring System) assesses intellectual ability by analyzing 14 different aspects of the drawings, such as specific body parts and clothing, for various criteria, including presence or absence, detail, and proportion. In all, there are 64 scoring items for each drawing. A separate standard score is recorded for each one, and a total score for all three. The use of a nonverbal, nonthreatening task to evaluate intelligence is intended to eliminate possible sources of bias by reducing variables like primary language, verbal skills, communication disabilities, and sensitivity to working under pressure. However, test results can be influenced by previous drawing experience, a factor that may account for the tendency of middle-class children to score higher on this test than lower-class children, who often have fewer opportunities to draw. Draw a Person:SPED (Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance) uses the test's figure drawings as a means of identifying emotional problems. The scoring system is composed of two types of criteria. For the first type, eight dimensions of each drawing are evaluated against norms for the child's age group. For the second type, 47 different items are considered for each drawing.
Books Chandler, Louis A., and Virginia J. Johnson. Using Projective Techniques with Children: A Guide to Clinical Assessment. Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 1991.
Mortensen, Karen Vibeke. Form and Content in Children's Human Figure Drawings: Development, Sex Differences, and Body Experience. New York: New York University Press, 1991.
Wortham, Sue Clark. Tests and Measurement in Early Childhood Education. Columbus: Merrill Publishing Co., 1990.


Transcript for The Future of Energy Gases, segment 07 of 13 Deep gas comes from wells that pierce the crust to depths of over fifteen thousand feet. Some penetrate over five miles into the Earth. The extreme pressures at these depths require massive wellheads to contain their potentially destructive force. The searing heat of deep gases, sometimes more than three hundred degrees Centigrade, must be cooled before the gas can enter a pipeline. Hundreds of deep wells have been completed, and they've tapped large accumulations of natural gas, but they are difficult to drill and expensive to complete. Low prices for natural gas have slowed development, and the extent of the resource is unclear. At present we can't predict how much deep gas might be available, but its potential remains enticing.


SHARJAH // Regular safety checks could have avoided a fire caused by a leaking gas cylinder that injured a mother and two children.
The fire gutted a home in Sharjah at the weekend and caused first and second-degree burns to the Iraqi mother, 36, and her daughter, 12. A boy, 7, suffered minor burns to the head.
"The fire accident was caused due to the leakage of gas from the gas pipeline connected to the stove, leading to a huge gas explosion," said Col Mohamed Habib, of the Sharjah Police forensics laboratory. "This would have been avoided if there were proper checks."
Col Habib urged people using cylinders to ensure the integrity of the pipes regularly and properly close the cylinder after using it. Proper ventilation is also crucial.
He said gas leaks in homes was mainly caused when butane, a common cooking gas, combined with oxygen. If there was a spark, it could cause an explosion.
People who think they have a leak should immediately disconnect the electricity from the mains power supply and shut the gas valves, Col Habib said.
If there are flames, they should use fire extinguishers until Civil Defence arrives and try to keep flammable materials away. They should also call 998 and give a detailed description of the fire.
Capt Mansour Batti Al Shamsi, the director of the investigations department at Buhaira Corniche Police Station, said construction companies should adhere to safety standards, such as using only fire-resistant wood for kitchen doors.
They should also install fire detectors and alarms, and regularly ensure the extinguishers are filled.


At the height of the country's socio-economic crisis, Zimbabwe lost the entire 2007 and part of the 2008 academic years as teachers and lecturers concentrated on meeting basic survival needs through alternative means. Unicef asserts 94% of rural schools, serving the majority of the population, were closed by 2009, with attendance plunging from over 80% to 20%.
Years of serious underfunding have forced the country's tertiary institutions to operate under the principles of economic rationalism, rather than principles of education. In colleges and universities, students quality is secondary to ability to pay.
Naturally, Zimbabweans are deeply concerned about declining academic standards at all levels of education and have questioned preferential college and university admissions and relaxed standards of curriculum, teaching, grading and marking.
Education minister David Coltart places the decline in quality of education on government's misplaced priorities.
"Zimbabwe's investment in education has drastically declined in the past two decades due to misplaced priorities and the sector still remains in a state of crisis," Coltart said. "The inclusive government is spending three times more money on globetrotting compared to education and this has compromised the quality of education."
Private colleges have mushroomed across the country's urban areas as proprietors seek to make a quick buck, raising fears that the colleges, once frequented by those who had initially failed their public exams, were compromising education standards. But Coltart dismissed the fears, saying the advent of private institutions had not compromised the quality of education because students still write the same examinations.
"It is the funding that is needed to maintain our standards," he said.


Organizing People Activating Leaders (OPAL), an advocacy group for local low-income groups and community members of color, walked away from today's TriMet board meeting accomplished. Sort of.
Following the regularly slated items on the meeting schedule, over 40 OPAL staff, affiliates and supportive transportation users presented and testified to the board, requesting one substantial change: a fair extension of transit transfer times. OPAL supporters also supplemented this request with a rally prior to the meeting outside of the Portland building.
Currently, TriMet passes allow holders to transfer to another bus or ride a return route one hour past the bus' "destination point" (around 1.5 to 2.5 hours). OPAL aims to extend that period to a cemented 3 hours, allowing passengers sufficient time to meet their transportation-dependent needs. Additionally, OPAL requested to extend transfer passes purchases past 7 p.m. through the end of the bus' evening service. For the past six months, OPAL has gathered a total of 6,000 petitions and spoke with a handful of transportation experts, TriMet staff members and community members to solidify their campaign.
OPAL's prepared resolution aimed to create a group that would "study and investigate the range of costs and benefits" associated with their proposal and report back to the board next month. Today's extended meeting was the result of a special request made by OPAL to the board.
"I'm really glad to see TriMet make space for us today," said Joseph Santos-Lyons, OPAL Co-Director. "This is definitely a step not only in our transfer issue, but in the board opening up to public communication."
Marisa Espinoza, an OPAL volunteer, also saw the hearing a step in the right direction. "It's about accountability. TriMet can affect different groups differently, and they need to know," she said. "Having an open dialog with TriMet is so important."
Espinoza went on to testify to the board that the truncated transfer times threaten her access to medical services, as she has a long-term illness. But, she said, Trimet didn't need to hear about it. "You don't need to know each of our stories, it's beyond that," Espinoza said. "The transfer policy just doesn't work, it's plain and simple."
Espinoza was followed by a homeless community member who couldn't afford a pass to the shelter, a Kaiser Permanente doctor backing the medical threat paired with the transfer times, and a night-shift janitor who feels her work is threatened by the transfer costs. Halfway through, a man stood up to leave, announcing "My transfer's about to expire, I better get out of here." The point was clear.
"People in your community are suffering and you can change that," OPAL's Crystal Wabnum concluded tearfully.
The board had a harder time presenting a response. Of course, money was a key issue. "If we were in a different environment financially, we would be all over this," said board president Rick Van Beveren. "If we knew that this could be economically neutral, it would help."
However, Santos-Lyons said OPAL thinks it's likely that the transfer extension will cost TriMet nothing, as it requires no new development. Also, in tandem with Trimet's recent fare increase, Santos-Lyons said that this transfer extension could boost ridership, a financial plus.
Board member Steve Clark added that this issue was more than what OPAL presented. "This conversation extends beyond the idea of 'transfer,'" he said. "This may not be enough to change our equality policy."
After a short board discussion, a measure was passed — but was not exactly what OPAL had intended for. For now, the board is prepared to meet with OPAL staff members and transportation experts to discuss the next step, but with no quick turnaround, as OPAL had hoped. We'll see how fast these "next steps" will take.


Rothbard on Money
What Has Government Done to Our Money?
by Murray Rothbard
Available as a pdf from the Ludwig von Mises Institute
Rothbard reviews the historical rise of money, discusses how money would operate on a free market, and reviews the American history of monetary interventions.
This reading works well for two meetings. Suggested review questions follow. (Note: Page numbers refer to the 1990 edition.)
Review Questions for Rothbard I: Through Page 54 (Parts I and II) 1. Does a voluntary exchange indicate an equality of value among the goods exchanged? (Page 16, "The Value of Exchange")
2. How did money arise? (Pages 15-20, "The Value of Exchange" through "Indirect Exchange")
3. What are the key limitations of barter? (Pages 16-17, "Barter")
4. Why did gold and silver displace other commodities as money? (Pages 18-19, "Indirect Exchange")
5. What is the significance of the fact that money is a commodity? (Pages 19-20, "Indirect Exchange")
6. What economic advances does money facilitate? (Pages 20-21, "Benefits of Money")
7. Originally, to what did the names of currencies refer? (Pages 22-24, "The Monetary Unit")
8. Why does Rothbard endorse private coinage? (Pages 25-29, "Private Coinage")
9. In Rothbard's view, what is the proper supply of money? (Pages 29-34, "The 'Proper Supply of Money")
10. What is the consequence of an increase or decrease in the supply of money? (Pages 32-34, "The 'Proper' Supply of Money")
11. Does hoarding of money on a free market present a problem? (Pages 35-39, "The Problem of 'Hoarding'")
12. For what legitimate reasons do people increase or decrease their cash reserves? (Pages 35-36, "The Problem of 'Hoarding'")
13. Why does Rothbard disapprove of the phrase "circulation of money?" (Page 37, "The Problem of 'Hoarding'")
14. Should government promote stable prices? (Pages 39-40, "Stabilize the Price Level?")
15. Can a free market accommodate more than one currency in the same region? (Pages 41-43, "Coexisting Money")
16. How does a free market in money lead to the exchange of paper receipts, token coins, and checks? (Pages 43-46, "Money-Warehouses")
17. What is Rothbard's case against fractional reserve banking? Is his case sound? (Pages 47-53, "Money-Warehouses")
Review Questions for Rothbard II: Pages 55-111 (Parts III and IV) 1. What is the primary difference between the way private individuals and government acquire more goods and services? (Page 55, "The Revenue of Government")
2. Why does Rothbard write, "Counterfeiting is evidently but another name for inflation?" (Page 56, "The Revenue of Government")
3. How does counterfeiting (or inflation) transfer wealth from some to others? (Page 57, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
4. Which groups are most harmed by inflation? (Pages 57-58, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
5. What is the impact of inflation on business calculation? (Pages 58-59, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
6. How does inflation discourage "sober effort," penalize thrift, and encourage debt? (How does this pertain to the modern housing crisis?) (Page 59, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
7. How can inflation morph into hyper-inflation? (Pages 59-60, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
8. How can inflation cause a business cycle? (Page 61, "The Economic Effects of Inflation")
9. Before widescale banking and paper receipts for money, how did governments inflate the money supply? (Pages 61-64, "Compulsory Monopoly of the Mint" and "Debasement")
10. What happens when a government attempts to impose "bimetallism" to control the exchange rate of commodity moneys? (Pages 64-67, "Gresham's Law and Coinage")
11. How do legal tender laws act to further devalue the money supply? (Pages 67-68, "Gresham's Law and Coinage")
12. How does granting banks the government privilege of "suspension of specie payment" contribute to inflation? (Pages 69-72, "Permitting Banks to Refuse Payment")
13. How did central banking arise, and what did it do to the money supply? (Pages 72-76, "Central Banking: Removing the Checks on Inflation")
14. By what mechanisms does the central bank inflate (or deflate) the money supply? (Pages 77-79, "Central Banking: Directing the Inflation)
15. Why do central banks go off the gold standard, and what is the result? (pages 79-84, "Going off the Gold Standard" and "Fiat Money and the Gold Problem")
16. How does central banking interfere with international trade? (Pages 84-87, "Fiat Money and Gresham's Law")
17. What were the basic steps in the U.S. government's monetary policy over the last two centuries? (Pages 90-111, Part IV)


Going to school is a milestone in the lives of children. They enjoy the independence it brings and the excitement of new experiences and relationships. For some kids school is scary and they may or may not share their concerns, such as fear of separation, social anxiety, and making academic choices openly with their parents – sometimes they are not even aware of being fearful.


I've had a bad hair day for about five years now, or has it been more like ten? Regardless of how long, the fact of the matter is that my hair is noticeably thinner and I'm not liking it.
Lupus requires my taking a cocktail of medications that include Methotrexate, Plaquenil along with Prednisone and cortisone injections on and off for as long as I can remember. Those combined with the reality that I'm in full blown menopause and my stress level has been through the roof with the sad passing of my step-father 4 months ago, and, well, it's clear my hair is paying the price.
For the record, I'm 53 years old with dark brown hair but do
not color my hair yet-- Because I only have 17 gray hairs, and yes, I've counted them. Despite my older and younger sisters all requiring the assistance of Miss Clairol, I'm still far from the monthly hair color ritual (knock wood). So,that's not contributing in any way to my hair falling out. Phew.It is my understanding that on average a person loses 50-100 hairs per day. I'm waaaay past that level so my Rheumatologist and I discussed the state of affairs-- Overall, my lupus symptoms (fatigue, joint swelling, shortness of breath) are cutting me a break in the past several weeks except for the alarming amount of hair on my pillow, in the sink and on my brush. I prefer not to rock the boat by changing any of my meds so a more natural approach was my chief topic of conversation.
Biotin, specifically Vitamin B7, was the suggestion. I stopped at the pharmacy on my way home and asked the Pharmacist which brand was best and of course he recommended the store's brand. I bought a bottle and started taking one small table a day.
Three weeks later I can't say I actually see a difference in my hair.... yet-- But I'm hoping I will. I have, however, seen a significant improvement in my finger nails-- They're growing like crazy and are stronger too.
Until next time...
Joanna J. aka Lemon-Aid
Photo Credit: © .shock - Fotolia.com


young runaways Documents the Reach model which has been developed by Railway Children to provide services for young people before, during and after episodes of running away. The concept of the Reach model was developed from previous research funded by Railway Children that evidenced a lack of support for young people who run away from home or care.
Early findings from the Children's Society's third national survey of young runaways, 2011.
The main aims of the survey were: 1. To provide up-to-date findings on rates and experiences of running away comparable with the two previous surveys conducted in 1999 and 2005 2. To provide new insights into the links between running away and other aspects of children’s lives, through the exploration of issues not covered in previous surveys, such as family change and subjective well-being.


Do Exclusionary Rules Convict the Innocent? Rules excluding various kinds of evidence from criminal trials play a prominent role in criminal procedure, and have generated considerable controversy. In this paper, we address the general topic of excluding factually relevant evidence, that is, the kind of evidence that would rationally influence the jury’s verdict if it were admitted. We do not offer a comprehensive analysis of these exclusionary rules, but add to the existing literature by identifying a new domain for economic analysis, focusing on how juries respond to the existence of such a rule. We show that the impact of exclusionary rules on the likelihood of conviction is complex and depends on the degree of rationality exhibited by juries and on the motivations of the prosecutor.


Previous research has advocated that plyometric training improves endurance performance. However, a consequence of such a training is the immediate and prolonged appearance of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). This study examined whether a single bout of plyometric exercise, designed to elicit muscle damage, affected cycling endurance performance. Seventeen participants were randomly assigned to either a muscle damage (n = 7 men, 1 woman) or nonmuscle damage (n = 8 men, 1 woman) group. Before and at 48 hours, participants were measured for perceived muscle soreness, peak isokinetic strength, and physiological, metabolic, and perceptual responses during 5-minute submaximal cycling at ventilatory threshold (VT) and a 15-minute time trial. Perceived muscle soreness and isokinetic strength (p < 0.05) were significantly altered in the muscle damage group after EIMD. No changes in heart rate or blood lactate were evident during submaximal exercise (p > 0.05). However, VO2, V(E), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) values were increased at VT in the muscle damage group at 48 hours after EIMD (p < 0.05). During the time trial, mean power output, distance covered, and VO2 were lower in the muscle damage group at 48 hours after EIMD (p < 0.05). However, there was no change in RPE (p > 0.05), suggesting effort perception was unchanged during time-trial performance after EIMD. In conclusion, individuals using concurrent plyometric and endurance training programs to improve endurance performance should be aware of the acute impact of muscle-damaging exercise on subsequent cycling performance.


The free press is a cornerstone of democracy. People have a need to know. Journalists have a right to tell. A free Press, at its best, reveals the truth. – The Newseum, Washington, DC
Experimentation and Evolution in Private U.S. Funding of Media Development In this report, Anne Nelson, a former journalist now teaching at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, examines recent trends in private U.S. funding of media development projects around the world. While U.S. foundations have long funded both “media development” and “media for development” programs, recent political and economic trends have shifted the balance in favor of the latter. In addition, the recent economic crisis, which has exacerbated the precarious condition of journalism in the United States, has led to retrenchment among many U.S. donor organizations.
The report recommends that foundations continue their consultative processes and explore new avenues for media development. New foundations should be included in these discussions to stimulate ideas, and U.S. foundations and implementers should try harder to think beyond their cultural context to include more new media technologies.


Citation:Verdonck MC, Ryan S (2008) Mainstream technology as anoccupational therapy tool: technophobe or technogeek? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(6), 253-256.
Abstract:
Occupational therapists need to embrace the use of mainstream technology in their quest to ensure that therapy remains current and meaningful to their clients. Technology can be useful to improve both functional independence and occupational performance. This opinion piece introduces how occupational therapists can apply mainstream technologies, including information and communication technologies such as the internet, computer software, portable devices and computer games, in their everyday interventions.


Kondor, Peter (2004)The more we know, the less we agree: public announcements and higher-order expectations. Discussion paper, 532. Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
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Abstract The stylized fact that public announcements in financial markets are followed by intense trading, high trading volume and volatile prices, is widely perceived as the sign of increasing disagreement due to the announcement. However, it is common to argue that this would be inconsistent with Bayesian-learning and common priors. In this paper, we not only show that — with certain information structures — increasing disagreement is possible in a Bayesian model, but we also argue that with the assumption that traders trade for resale — so they try to second guess future traders’ guesses — there are information structures which are simple, intuitive and plausible and result in increasing disagreement even in a standard, multi-period Grossman—Stiglitz model.
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Examine whether contaminants in your water supply met two standards: the legal limits established by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the typically stricter health guidelines. The data was collected by an advocacy organization, the Environmental Working Group, who shared it with The Times.
Hiwassee Water Co-op Benton, Tennessee . Serves 1,014 people.
No data was available for this system.
Units: ppb: parts per billion, pCi/L: picocuries per liter, ppm: parts per million, mrem/yr: millirems per year, MFL: million fibers per litre


Image from iyogalife.com
One of my favorite yoga workshops I've ever taken was with Iyengar teacher Patricia Walden a few years ago. It was all about poses that help build self confidence -- something I could certainly stand to have more of lately!
She explained that when she started practicing yoga she was shy and introverted, but practicing certain poses gave her the confidence she needed to come out of her shell. (You can see some of the poses here, but the story is so short, it doesn't really do the workshop justice! Plus, I KNOW there was a Handstand and Crow in there somewhere.) Obviously, it worked for her because now she's one of the most respected teachers in the United States, and she speaks in front of thousands (maybe even millions) of people a year. She doesn't even seem nervous.
I can relate to her story because I've noticed that the more I practice, the more confident I feel in my abilities, too. I think this is why I'm such an arm balancing fool! I'm the girl who used to have such lacking upper body strength it was a struggle to overhand serve a volleyball in high school. But now I can balance all of my body weight. And I don't even fall on my face... usually!
This practice is both uplifting and humbling at the same time. One minute you're rocking a pose, feeling like you could fly. The next second your balance shifts, and you crash into the floor. In a split second you come back to earth--and back to reality. It's like the practice was designed to show you your strengths, but remind you that you're human and make mistakes, too. It's a balance--a dance--that builds a cool confidence, but with humility and the understanding that we all make mistakes. Without the mistakes, there would be no success. It's a valuable lesson I've taken with me off the mat and into my life.
Have you noticed your confidence increase since you began your yoga practice? Which poses make you feel like you can conquer the world?


MSHA’s Evolving Authority
By Laura E. Beverage and Christopher G. Peterson
In last month’s Rock Law column, a Jackson Kelly associate discussed how the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission’s decision in Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC, et al. signaled a departure from the long held notion that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) lacked authority to obtain documents not required to be maintained under the Mine Act in the context of the Part 50 audit. However, this is not the final word in the discussion regarding the scope of MSHA’s access to documents. In Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC, et al., the Review Commission emphasized that any document request must be reasonable, and the information sought must be relevant and necessary to a legitimate agency purpose. Thus, once a document request is made, an operator could be subjected to enforcement actions and significant penalty potential when challenging the relevance and scope of any request before a Review Commission ALJ and the Review Commission.
However, even a legal challenge to MSHA’s document request authority may meet with limited success as the discussion of § 103(h) extends to areas not addressed in the Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC decision. For example, in Hopkins County Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor, 2012 WL 1564568 (ALJ Barbour April 2012), MSHA investigated a § 105(c) discrimination complaint which made no specific claims of protected activity. The MSHA special investigator asked for a number of documents from the operator, including documented hazards (whether or not included in the required record books), employee handbook editions for five years, all personnel files of disciplined or terminated employees for a period of five years, and all documents relied upon by the operator in its decision to terminate the individual.
Once a document request is made, an operator could be subjected to enforcement actions and significant penalty potential when challenging the relevance and scope of any request.
The operator’s legal counsel repeatedly sought clarification as to how the miner complaint stated a viable claim under the Mine Act and how the complaint was related to any of the requested documents. Ultimately, the operator provided those records required to be maintained under the Mine Act, but refused to provide the personnel files. MSHA issued a citation alleging violation of § 103(a) of the Mine Act for impeding the inspection, followed by a § 104(b) failure to abate order, citing authority under § 103(h) of the Mine Act which MSHA argued gave them access to the personnel records. The Secretary noted that she also had the option to seek an injunction under § 108 for failure to provide the documents, but that she opted for the failure to abate order.
The operator argued before the ALJ that the personnel files are protected by the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure and would not be released without specific releases from the employees whose files were requested. The operator also argued that the requests were overbroad and unduly burdensome in that they encompassed a five-year period. The Secretary claimed that the operator bears the burden of showing that her investigative authority was exceeded under §§ 103(a) and (h).
The ALJ noted that warrants were not required for administrative searches made pursuant to the Mine Act [Donovan v. Dewey, 452 U.S. 594, 604 (1981)]. Hence, he found that a warrant was not required for production of the documents, and the operator had no privacy rights in the personnel files. The ALJ found that MSHA’s purpose of promoting miner safety outweighed any potential privacy interest a miner or mine operator had in the personnel files. Moreover, the ALJ found that the operator had no standing to assert privacy rights of the employees who were not a party to the proceeding.
The ALJ found that in § 103(h) Congress clearly intended for the Secretary to have access to more than just those files required to be kept under the Mine Act by requiring the operator to “provide such information as the Secretary . . . may reasonably require from time to time to enable [her] to perform [her] functions under this Act.” One such function, the ALJ found, is the investigation of discrimination claims made by miners to determine whether there has been a violation of the Act. The ALJ decided that, where the Secretary’s function is the evaluation of a discrimination claim, information that is relevant to assessing the merits of that claim, including evidence of protected activity, adverse action, or discriminatory intent, may be “reasonably required.”
The ALJ concluded that the Secretary was entitled to the requested personnel files and that the operator interfered with MSHA’s investigation when it refused to provide the files. The ALJ noted that the operator had the ability to redact those portions of the records that were sensitive. This case is pending before the Review Commission on the operator’s petition for discretionary review.
It is noteworthy that an MSHA investigator may or may not accept redactions, and this concept of privacy is one frequently subject to protective orders negotiated or ruled upon in the discovery process in litigation, not in the field during an inspection. Moreover, MSHA cannot guarantee the ultimate non-disclosure of records obtained during an investigation if a Freedom of Information Act request is made of the government file by any person.
The ALJ found that a warrant was not required for the production of the documents, and the operator had no privacy rights in the personnel files.
However, the scope of MSHA’s authority to obtain documents and information not required to be maintained under the Mine Act may become a moot question as advocates for proposed new mine safety legislation have repeatedly requested subpoena authority to bolster MSHA’s inspection and investigation power. As Commissioner Duffy noted in his dissent in Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC, one of the problems MSHA has with its current “ad hoc” approach to document and information requests is that, without notice, the opportunity to comment, and a structured protocol applicable to all operators, the tactic of seeking non-required records by individualized letter requests violates due process rights. In any new mine safety legislation, Congress could very well take note of Commissioner Duffy’s dissent and mirror the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s subpoena power and the safeguards inherent in its subpoena process, such as requiring the agency to consider relevance, scope, and authority, while also affording an operator the ability to move to quash in a readily provided forum — without being subjected to enforcement actions and penalties.
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Dawsonville water and sewer customers could see a slight rate increase in the coming months.
According to a study presented Monday night by engineer Ben Turnipseed, the city "needs to adjust water and sewer rates" to "meet revenue needs."
"The existing rate structure ... does not cover the cost of service," he said, citing changes in the economy, particularly fewer tap fees from construction that previously had helped support costs.
Mayor James Grogan said the city trails other municipal utility providers by not addressing water and sewer rates on an annual basis.
"We've actually gotten behind in the last four to five years," he said.
"We fell behind when everybody else might have been moving up. We just stayed where we were at. That's the reason for doing this at this time."
The city's last sewer rate increase was in 2006. For water, it was in 2008.
Turnipseed recommended at least a 15 percent increase, which would mean water rates for residential customers using less than 1,500 gallons each month would go from about $15 to $17.25 per month.
The rate for customers averaging 1,500 to 5,000 gallons monthly would increase from nearly $21 to about $24.50.
He suggested a similar rate increase for sewer services.
The proposed increase would generate a projected $239,562 in revenue annually.
The council took no action on the matter, but plans to revisit the issue in the coming months.
Grogan also suggested staff review the city's bond payments to see if savings could be achieved by refinancing.


Educational First Steps has long served economically disadvantaged children through mentoring and training teachers and directors in the child care centers they attend every day. By guiding child care centers along the journey toward national accreditation, EFS has helped thousands of children become Kindergarten ready students, prepared for success in pre-literacy, pre-numeracy and social-emotional skills.
Recently, EFS has revised its program, resulting in Four Steps to Excellence 2.0, a more strategic, streamlined and efficient process. This program accelerates the achievement of accreditation to forty months, increasing accountability and quality standards for teachers and directors. The inaugural centers for the program are Southern Crest Day Care, Handprints Child Care, Little Rascals Child Development Center and The Mother's Heart Learning Center, all located in Dallas. These centers will benefit from guidance through three levels of competency, supported by a structured, tailored mentoring process through EFS in the Community, training far beyond minimum standard requirements through EFS Academy, regular assessments by EFS quality assurance staff, heightened enrichment opportunities and developmentally appropriate materials and furnishings.
These pilot centers initiate an era of heightened benefits to children through the EFS model. As these centers achieve accreditation with great quality and efficiency, new centers will be enrolled in the process and the positive effects will multiply exponentially.
Educational First Steps is a non-profit organization improving the quality and availability of early childhood education for economically disadvantaged children, by helping create nationally accredited early learning centers in neighborhoods that need them the most. Today, EFS assists almost 100 child care centers and over 5,000 children in Dallas and Tarrant Counties through an on-site, community based model of structured teacher training and classroom mentoring.


U. Schmidt, C. Rother, S. Nowozin, J. Jancsary and S. Roth (project page)
Non-blind deblurring is an integral component of blind approaches for removing image blur due to camera shake. Even though learning-based deblurring methods exist, they have been limited to the generative case and are computationally expensive. To this date, manually-defined models are thus most widely used, though limiting the attained restoration quality. We address this gap by proposing a discriminative approach for non-blind deblurring. One key challenge is that the blur kernel in use at test time is not known in advance. To address this, we analyze existing approaches that use half-quadratic regularization. From this analysis, we derive a discriminative model cascade for image deblurring. Our cascade model consists of a Gaussian CRF at each stage, based on the recently introduced regression tree fields. We train our model by loss minimization and use synthetically generated blur kernels to generate training data. Our experiments show that the proposed approach is efficient and yields state-of-the-art restoration quality on images corrupted with synthetic and real blur.


BACKGROUND: Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) is a fatal disorder threatening domesticated and wild psittacine birds worldwide. It is characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of the ganglia of the central and peripheral nervous system, leading to central nervous system disorders as well as disordered enteric motility and associated wasting. For almost 40 years, a viral etiology for PDD has been suspected, but to date no candidate etiologic agent has been reproducibly linked to the disease.
RESULTS: Analysis of 2 PDD case-control series collected independently on different continents using a pan-viral microarray revealed a bornavirus hybridization signature in 62.5% of the PDD cases (5/8) and none of the controls (0/8). Ultra high throughput sequencing was utilized to recover the complete viral genome sequence from one of the virus-positive PDD cases. This revealed a bornavirus-like genome organization for this agent with a high degree of sequence divergence from all prior bornavirus isolates. We propose the name avian bornavirus (ABV) for this agent. Further specific ABV PCR analysis of an additional set of independently collected PDD cases and controls yielded a significant difference in ABV detection rate among PDD cases (71%, n = 7) compared to controls (0%, n = 14) (P = 0.01; Fisher's Exact Test). Partial sequence analysis of a total of 16 ABV isolates we have now recovered from these and an additional set of cases reveals at least 5 distinct ABV genetic subgroups.
CONCLUSION: These studies clearly demonstrate the existence of an avian reservoir of remarkably diverse bornaviruses and provide a compelling candidate in the search for an etiologic agent of PDD.


FIRO – for the motivations behind behaviour FIRO is a personality test which enables individuals to understand the motivations behind their behaviour. It reveals mismatches between the behaviours expressed and those individuals want to receive back. FIRO provides powerful insights for improving communication, leadership, planning, decision-making and managing conflict or change.
take FIRO online You can complete FIRO online. Allow 15 minutes for this and please let us have your email address and telephone number so you can receive an hour of confidential telephone interpretation and feedback for £149 plus vat.
team development Describe team behaviours and the compatibility of individuals working in teams. Areas of harmony and conflict – both competitive and apathetic – can be explained in a manner which promotes mutual understanding and more effective team-working.
leadership development Insights are provided into leadership styles and levels of visibility within an organisation. These are especially important if the leader needs to persuade and influence others. FIRO provides a focus for both leadership development and personal growth.
conflict resolution Uncover sources of compatibility or tension. Troubleshoot relationships by discovering individual needs, wants and behaviours. Understand their impact on others to help resolve conflict.
coaching FIRO increases self-awareness and helps resolve issues around management style, team dynamics, relationships and culture, making it perfect for coaching.
Association for Coaching A wide range of coaching experience is recognised by membership of the Association for Coaching.
British Psychological Society Our British Psychological Society accreditation enables is to draw on a variety of personality tests and ability tests in our coaching programs.
FIRO-B is a registered trade mark of CPP Inc.


100+ Ways to Conserve
#01 - There are a number of ways to save water, and they all start with you.
#02 - When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.
#03 - Some refrigerators, air conditioners and ice-makers are cooled with wasted flows of water. Consider upgrading with air-cooled appliances for significant water savings.
#04 - Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street.
#05 - Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
For more tips, please visit www.wateruseitwisely.com 100 Ways to Conserve


While the healthcare decision is making more headlines, the Court’s decision limiting Arizona’s immigration enforcement statute (here) is also important, and will inform the immigration debate. While the broader effects of this Court decision remain uncertain, employers need to stay tuned as their role in immigration enforcement is debated and defined.


Zusatzinfos Hauptbeschreibung The evolution of educational technology has seen a shift from hardware and software to tactics and techniques, as the 2010 edition of the Educational Media and Technology Yearbook makes abundantly clear. As in previous years, it offers the reader a snapshot of the moment and a look ahead to issues most likely to shape the immediate future-an array as varied as the use of social networking sites in learning, new collaborations between media specialists and non-teaching school personnel, and the emerging discipline of Human Performance Technology. Here are ideas that are not only intellectually intriguing but also practical and practice-building, inspiring educators using computer technology to move beyond traditional teaching roles toward learning design. Included in the 2010 Yearbook: Salient issues in learning, design, and technology, such as the critical part school leadership plays in instructors' acceptance or rejection of technology, New trends in library and information science, including the role of school library media centers in preventing cyberbullying, This year's leadership profiles: Jerrold Kemp, author of Designing Effective Instruction; W. Michael Reed, accomplished, dedicated, and recognized educator in instructional technology, A worldwide directory of current professional associations and organizations in learning design, technology, information, and library science, Up-to-date listings of graduate program in these fields, rated using a variety of criteria, Special mediagraphy section featuring journals, ERIC documents, and media-related publications in specialized areas, including distance education, simulation/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, special education, and professional development. Academics in learning design and technology, and information and library science will welcome the latest edition of the Educational Media and Technology Yearbook as a reference, idea book, and a panoramic study of where we are now.


Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Divisions in the Scottish political community that were evident by the end of the reign of James VI have been posited as roots of the Scottish revolution of 1638 and the wars of the three kingdoms. This article argues that the disengagement of central government from the political nation at large was a key factor in this development. By demonstrating the frequency of conventions of the estates, it highlights the intensity of consultation in James's Scottish government before 1603. A sudden decline in their frequency thereafter was symptomatic of a wider failure of government to adapt to the absence of the king in the context of a composite monarchy. While correspondence between the king and the privy council was copious, communication between the council and the political elites of Scotland withered. Without conventions of the estates as a vital point of contact in which new policies could be tested and negotiated, parliaments became more disagreeable. The crown's reliance on unprecedented levels of management and increased central direction alienated a significant proportion of the political elite, driving them into the oppositional stance which endured through the reign of Charles I.


The solute carrier family 13 member 5 (SLC13A5) is a newly identified sodium-coupled transporter that mediates the cellular uptake of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) intermediate citrate, which plays an important role in the synthesis of fatty acid and energy homeostasis. Recently, the nuclear receptors constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR), initially characterized as xenobiotic sensors, have been functionally linked to the regulation of various physiological processes that associated with lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. Here, we show that SLC13A5 is robustly up-regulated by the prototypical CAR activator phenobarbital (PB) and PXR activator rifampicin (RIF) in human primary hepatocytes (HPHs). Two distal enhancer modules located upstream of the
SLC13A5 gene transcription start site are identified and postulated as the key elements governing the induction of SLC13A5. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays, these elements demonstrated strong binding to PXR/CAR proteins in the presence of their heterodimer partner, retinoid X receptor. Cell-based reporter assays in HepG2 cells and HPHs further showed that SLC13A5 reporter construct, containing both elements could be transactivated by CAR and PXR upon exposure to PB and RIF, respectively. Moreover, our chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays in HPHs showed that after PB and RIF exposure, significantly increased amounts CAR and PXR proteins were recruited to these distal enhancers. Together, our results clearly indicate that CAR and PXR are crucial for chemical-mediated induction of theSLC13A5 gene, and the regulation network of CAR/PXR-SLC13A5 may contribute to the overall energy homeostasis under metabolic and chemical stresses.


And I quote: “Lee could have protected himself from liability only by stationing a guard upon the premises to insure that neither Rider, nor anyone else entered upon the inherently dangerous worksite.” A guard? Complete with a shack and taser? Is that the rule? Let me explain.
The facts…
On December 6, 2010, in Rider v. McCammert , the Indiana Court of Appeals addressed the duties owed by both a general contractor and an independent subcontractor to the purchaser of a home when she visited the construction site, without permission, and suffered serious injuries.
The purchaser, Rider, entered into a contract to buy a house from a general contractor. The general was also the landowner, as possession would be transferred at closing. The general hired Lee, a sub, to perform most of the labor. Importantly, the contract required that any visitor needed permission from the general or the real estate agent to enter the premises.
Although Rider obtained permission once, she visited 30-35 other times without anyone’s permission. On the ill-fated visit in question, Lee and his crew were working on the deck. When rain set in, they split from the site for an early lunch, leaving an unfinished deck. Rider subsequently arrived, leaned on the unattached railing, fell, and suffered severe injuries. Lee and his crew returned, discovered the incident, and nonetheless, finished the deck.
The majority’s view…
Rider filed a complaint for negligence against the general and sub. The court first addressed the liability of the general. As a threshold issue, the court noted that since the general still owned the property and was in possession, its duties are judged based on its status as the landowner. The court ultimately relied on the fact that the general/landowner was neither in actual possession or control of the deck when the accident occurred nor was in control of the premises because he did not perform any actual work. Since the sub did all of the immediate work, Rider’s negligence claim against the general failed.
The court next addressed the sub’s liability. Since the independent contractor had worked on the deck right before the incident and a short time after, the court first held that it was in control for purposes of establishing a duty to Rider. The court then held that the sub’s liability was dependant on whether Rider was rightfully on the premises or whether it was foreseeable that she would visit and be harmed. Although there were unanswered questions of fact, foreseeability was the key issue.
The dissent…
One judge disagreed with the majority’s analysis of the sub’s liability. The judge noted that the construction process is fraught with peril and involves many inherent dangers. To him, the key fact was that the contract required permission to enter. End of story. She didn’t follow the protocol and the sub was not present when the injury occurred. Therefore, it was not foreseeable that she would be there. The dissent felt the issue is more properly the risk incurred by Rider in entering a dangerous site, rather than the duty owed. The dissent stated that the majority’s view “places an impossible burden on contractors” and added the statement I initially quoted.
The moral…
Don’t wander around dangerous construction sites. Everyone loves watching their dream house as it’s built. However, I think everyone also loves actually moving into that dream home. Take the time to follow the procedure specified in the contract when you want to visit. Despite the dissent’s strong rhetoric, the majority is the law. Thus, if you are in control of the construction, and it is foreseeable that a homeowner (or similar party) will come on the site, take the necessary precautions. (consult a qualified attorney for such precautions). Kudos to the sub for finishing the deck.


Hormel (HRL), the maker of SPAM, is a leading supplier of pork, turkey, and beef products. In fiscal 2008, 53.5% of sales consisted of perishable meats, 19.2% of poultry (primarily turkey), 17.1% of shelf-stable foods, and 10.2% of other products including nutritional supplements, sweeteners, and seasonings.
The Refrigerated Foods segment generated 53% of fiscal Q1 2009 sales. It provides branded and unbranded fresh and frozen pork and beef products, which are available raw, marinated, or precooked.
In addition to Hormel brand products, it sells Lloyd’s Barbecue meats, Farmer John pork products, and Dan’s Prize beef products. Customers include grocery retailers and foodservice operators such as restaurants and delicatessens.
The Jennie-O Turkey Store (JOTS) segment produced 18% of sales. It offers branded and unbranded fresh and frozen turkey products for retail and foodservice customers. Products include fresh ground turkey, deli-sliced sandwich meat, turkey franks, and oven ready whole turkeys.
The Grocery Products segment accounted for 14% of sales. It consists of a variety of branded, shelf-stable foods found in the center isles of grocery stores. These include SPAM, Hormel chili, Hormel Compleats microwaveable meals, Dinty Moore stews, CHI-CHI’S and Herdez Mexican food products,Valley Fresh chicken products, Stagg chili, and Not-So-Sloppy-Joe sauce. The Specialty Foods segment, which was responsible for 11% of sales, includes sugar, sugar substitutes, salt, pepper, dessert mixes, drinks, and nutritional foods and supplements. Brands include Diamond Crystal, Century Foods International, and Hormel Specialty Products. It also supplies private label canned meats to retail and foodservice customers.
Other sales consist of HRL’s products sold in international regions, including Australia, Canada, China, England, Japan, Mexico, and Micronesia. This represented 4% of sales.
Thanks to the recession, consumers are preparing more meals at home. Hormel benefited from this trend as net sales in fiscal 2008 climbed 9.1% to $6.75 billion.
However, the gross profit margin shrank 31 basis points to 22.53% due to higher costs for feed and energy and an oversupply of turkey. The operating profit margin declined 21 basis points to 7.6%. Net income fell 5.4% to $285.5 million or $2.08 per share. Net sales in fiscal Q1 2009 climbed 4.2% year-over-year to $1.69 billion. Higher costs pressured the gross and operating profit margins by 193 and 163 basis points, respectively, to 16.12% and 7.68%. Net income declined 7.7% to $81.4 million or 60 cents per share.
Significant investment risks include higher hog, feed, and energy costs and an oversupply of turkey. Swine flu also poses a challenge. While there is no evidence that consumers can contract the disease by eating pork, they may decide to avoid pork products anyway. Indeed, China and Russia have already banned certain pork imports. However, swine flu fears may boost sales of HRL’s non-pork products.
Management is forecasting a 3-8% increase in earnings per share for fiscal 2009. Longer-term growth prospects are also promising. Management estimates that products introduced since 2000 could generate $2 billion in annual sales by 2012. The stock offers a steadily increasing dividend that yields 2.4%.


Preschool Data Abbott Preschool In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court mandated full-day, high quality preschool programs for all three- and four-year-old children in Abbott school districts. ELC has carefully monitored State and district progress in meeting the Abbott program goal of universal enrollment of all children in the Abbott districts and the regulatory target of enrolling 90% of the eligible universe of children in each community. For more detailed information, see the ELC publication The Abbott Preschool Program: A 10-year Progress Report.
Non-Abbott Preschool The State also provides funding for preschool programs in districts that do not meet the eligibility criteria of an Abbott district. The Early Childhood Program Aid (ECPA), part of the Comprehensive Education Improvement Finance Act (CEIFA) of 1996, is a categorical aid program for low-income districts to provide full-day kindergarten and preschool classes for all four-year-old children. Approximately 100 non-Abbott districts receive this funding. In 2004 the State began a competetive grant program, the Early Launch to Learning Initiative (ELLI), to expand preschool to four-year-olds across New Jersey. All non-Abbott districts were eligible to receive partial funding for low-income students to support, expand, or enhance preschool programs. These programs are not required to meet many of the standards required of Abbott preschool.
Preschool Expansion In 2008, the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) mandated the expansion of high-quality preschool to low-income children across the state. Under the SFRA, universal districts - those in District Factor Group A & B or CD with over 40% low-income students - are required to provide preschool to all three- and four-year-olds, while targeted districts are required to provide preschool to low-income children only. Approximately 30,000 more students are eligible for preschool services under this plan. However, implementation of the program has been delayed by the State's budget difficulties.
The following interactive report presents preschool enrollment data for Abbott and non-Abbott districts from 1999-2000 to the present.


[SOE LETTERHEAD]
January 3, 2003
The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004-2901
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Thank you for your letter endorsing the
findings and recommendations of the Department of Energy (DOE) Commission on
Fire Safety and Preparedness.
The Commission, in its final report of May
28, 2002, noted both strengths and weaknesses in the Departmentís fire
protection programs and recommended actions to improve fire safety across the
complex.† You requested a response that
outlines the specific actions that DOE will take to implement the
recommendations of the Commission.†
Enclosed is an Action Plan that responds to your request.
†
As you know, shortly after the Commissionís
final report, I issued a directive to DOE senior management to address the
threat from wildland fires; actions required as part of this directive are
complete.
I have assigned Ms. Beverly A. Cook,
Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health, the responsibility for
managing the completion of the actions contained in the Action Plan and to
implement changes to address the remaining fire safety recommendations that
were identified by the Commission.†
Please note that some of our planned actions are intended to address
broader issues within the realm of safety management.† We plan to keep the Board and its technical staff informed about
our efforts to meet our commitments.† If
you have any questions, please contact Ms. Cook at (202) 586-6151.
cc:
M. Whitaker, S-3.1


Merriman does not include a specific allocation to gold in our standard portfolios. This article, by Bryan Harris of Dimensional Fund Advisors, discusses why gold has not been an ideal long-term investment. It includes the following key concepts:
Gold has done well since the year 2000 and in the 1970s, and can potentially be a safe haven during times of political and economic stress. However, for the entire period of 1971 – 2011 gold performed worse than the S&P 500, U.S. small-cap stocks and non-U.S. stocks on an inflation-adjusted basis. From 1980 – 1999, gold experienced a negative return after inflation of -6.5%, vs. strong positive returns for stocks. While gold has held its value against long-term inflation, there have been extensive periods when gold did worse than inflation. Gold is also much more volatile than inflation, and can add substantial volatility to a portfolio. Unlike stocks, which are productive assets which generate growing levels of income and dividends over time, gold has no cash flow and costs money to own. For more detail and some illuminating graphs, please see the article.


Identifying specific language impairment in deaf children acquiring British Sign Language: Implications for theory and practice This paper presents the first ever group study of specific language impairment (SLI) in users of sign language. A group of 50 children were referred to the study by teachers and speech and language therapists. Individuals who fitted pre-determined criteria for SLI were then systematically assessed. Here, we describe in detail the performance of 13 signing deaf children aged 5-14 years on normed tests of British Sign Language (BSL) sentence comprehension, repetition of nonsense signs, expressive grammar and narrative skills, alongside tests of non-verbal intelligence and fine motor control. Results show these children to have a significant language delay compared to their peers matched for age and language experience. This impaired development cannot be explained by poor exposure to BSL, or by lower general cognitive, social, or motor abilities. As is the case for SLI in spoken languages, we find heterogeneity within the group in terms of which aspects of language are affected and the severity of the impairment. We discuss the implications of the existence of language impairments in a sign language for theories of SLI and clinical practice.


ellisweismer{at}wisc.edu
This study used neuroimaging and behavioral techniques to examine the claim that processing capacity limitations underlie specific language impairment (SLI). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate verbal working memory in adolescents with SLI and normal language (NL) controls. The experimental task involved a modified listening span measure that included sentence encoding and recognition of final words in prior sets of sentences. The SLI group performed significantly poorer than the NL group for both encoding and recognition and displayed slower reaction times for correct responses on high complexity encoding items. fMRI results revealed that the SLI group exhibited significant hypoactivation during encoding in regions that have been implicated in attentional and memory processes, as well as hypoactivation during recognition in regions associated with language processing. Correlational analyses indicated that adolescents with SLI exhibited different patterns of coordinating activation among brain regions relative to controls for both encoding and recognition, suggesting reliance on a less functional network. These findings are interpreted as supporting the notion that constraints in nonlinguistic systems play a role in SLI.
KEY WORDS: neuroimaging, specific language impairment (SLI), language processing, memory, attentionSubmitted on September 22, 2003 Revised on April 16, 2004 Accepted on July 27, 2004
This article has been cited by other articles:
L. M. Archibald, M. Joanisse, and A. Edmunds
Specific language or working memory impairments: A small scale observational studyChild Language Teaching and Therapy, October 1, 2011; 27(3): 294 - 312.
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C. de Guibert, C. Maumet, P. Jannin, J.-C. Ferre, C. Treguier, C. Barillot, E. Le Rumeur, C. Allaire, and A. Biraben
Abnormal functional lateralization and activity of language brain areas in typical specific language impairment (developmental dysphasia)Brain, October 1, 2011; 134(10): 3044 - 3058.
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C. A. Miller
Auditory Processing Theories of Language Disorders: Past, Present, and FutureLang Speech Hear Serv Sch, July 1, 2011; 42(3): 309 - 319.
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D. Boudreau and A. Costanza-Smith
Assessment and Treatment of Working Memory Deficits in School-Age Children: The Role of the Speech-Language PathologistLang Speech Hear Serv Sch, April 1, 2011; 42(2): 152 - 166.
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E. Mainela-Arnold, J. L. Evans, and J. A. Coady
Explaining Lexical-Semantic Deficits in Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Phonological Similarity, Phonological Working Memory, and Lexical CompetitionJ Speech Lang Hear Res, December 1, 2010; 53(6): 1742 - 1756.
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C. Karasinski and S. Ellis Weismer
Comprehension of Inferences in Discourse Processing by Adolescents With and Without Language ImpairmentJ Speech Lang Hear Res, October 1, 2010; 53(5): 1268 - 1279.
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J. W. Montgomery, B. M. Magimairaj, and M. C. Finney
Working Memory and Specific Language Impairment: An Update on the Relation and Perspectives on Assessment and TreatmentAm J Speech Lang Pathol, February 1, 2010; 19(1): 78 - 94.
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D. A. Finneran, A. L. Francis, and L. B. Leonard
Sustained Attention in Children With Specific Language Impairment (SLI)J Speech Lang Hear Res, August 1, 2009; 52(4): 915 - 929.
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T. J. Spaulding, E. Plante, and R. Vance
Sustained Selective Attention Skills of Preschool Children With Specific Language Impairment: Evidence for Separate Attentional CapacitiesJ Speech Lang Hear Res, February 1, 2008; 51(1): 16 - 34.
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L. B. Leonard, S. Ellis Weismer, C. A. Miller, D. J. Francis, J. B. Tomblin, and R. V. Kail
Speed of Processing, Working Memory, and Language Impairment in ChildrenJ Speech Lang Hear Res, April 1, 2007; 50(2): 408 - 428.
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M. J. Moyle, S. Ellis Weismer, J. L. Evans, and M. J. Lindstrom
Longitudinal Relationships Between Lexical and Grammatical Development in Typical and Late-Talking ChildrenJ Speech Lang Hear Res, April 1, 2007; 50(2): 508 - 528.
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Subcategory Learning in Normal and Language Learning-Disabled Adults: How Much Information Do They Need?J Speech Lang Hear Res, December 1, 2006; 49(6): 1257 - 1266.
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Article Title Abstract The annihilation of more than 1.5 million Cambodians at the hands of the Khmer Rouge is widely considered a quintessential case of genocide. Whether these atrocities meet the definition of genocide as a legal matter, however, remains unsettled. As of October 2012, the question of whether genocide occurred in Cambodia within the meaning of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention is pending before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The ECCC will determine this question against the backdrop of an ongoing debate about the appropriate scope of the crime of genocide. This debate pits expansionists, who believe the definition of the crime should be broadened to include mass killings of political groups, against restrictivists, who assert that genocide's definition must remain tightly tethered to the crimes first articulated in the 1948 Genocide Convention. This Note finds both approaches wanting, and argues that the court should eschew dichotomies in favor of a comparative law approach to the crime of genocide. By approaching the crime of genocide in the Cambodian context as a legal transplant, the ECCC can achieve the uniformity critical to international law without sacrificing the cultural specificity necessary to ensuring that international legal principles remain locally meaningful.
Publication Citation Tatiana E. Sainati,Toward a Comparative Approach to the Crime of Genocide,62 Duke Law Journal 161-202(2012). Available at: http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/dlj/vol62/iss1/4


I was fortunate enough to attend last week's Social Finance Forum organized by the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (CII). The event was packed and there was a real buzz in the air. I left MaRS with renewed faith and a sore throat, a testament to my yapping all day long with incredibly interesting people. I have two personal takeaways from the event I thought I'd share with the social finance community, with the hope that you will accept my honesty in a positive light.
"CSR won't lead us to sustainability."
I was pretty taken aback. I shuffled in my seat nervously, felt blood rushing to my cheeks. I had come so far to believe in the power of CSR and its potential for solving societal problems. Jotting down her words anxiously, I wondered, "Am I completely off the mark? Is the work I'm doing taking us in the wrong direction?"
Every year, Ashoka inducts new social entrepreneurs, or, "Ashoka Fellows", into its global network, which currently stands at 2700 Fellows.
Reflecting back to September when I started volunteering at Ashoka, I didn't really understand the significance of an Ashoka Fellow's work. However, after months of engaging with these individuals, learning and working with them, I get it...now I understand why Ashoka spends endless hours selecting these individuals, and why there is so much emphasis placed on a candidate's new idea, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical fibre, creativity, and of course, social impact.
These are the top change-leaders in the world, and on may 26th, we are celebrating the addition of a new cohort of Canadian Fellows into our network. I've been to many events in the social innovation space; some I find very useful and others I find vague and confusing. The Ashoka Forum is different, because you will interact with and learnfrom the people who are actively solving Canada's most pressing social issues and making great strides in the process. If they weren't, they wouldn't be elected as Fellows.
If you have followed my posts throughout the past few months, you've likely caught on to the fact that I've become a tad cynical about corporate social responsibility (CSR). Having gone through business school thinking optimistically that CSR is creating positive impact around the world, since graduating a year ago, my experiences and research have tainted this perspective.
This past year, I have delved deep into the web of social innovation. I have spent countless hours at events that focus on social entrepreneurship and social finance. I have read blogposts, books, and articles about grassroots organizations and social entrepreneurs who are creating real system-changing impact on the world's most pressing social issues. I have lived and breathed all that is Ashoka. And I've seen reality snippets of the corporate world; its hypocrisy and wasted resources.
I guess this explains why in just one year, I went from the CSR end of the spectrum to the grassroots extreme.
A few days ago I came across a post entitled "The Hidden Reality Behind Social Impact Bonds". As I've mentioned several times, I believe the Social Impact Bond Model has true potential for progressing social finance in Canada. The author of this article, however, has taken an extreme opposite stance, and I couldn't disagree more with his opinion.
If you aren't familiar with what a Social Impact Bond is, I suggest you read my explanation on a past post, "Social Impact Bond Model: 7 Easy Steps" before continuing. It's a short but comprehensive read, I promise.


The Impact of City Connects in Catholic Schools Evaluation is a critical component of the CCCS intervention. It verifies that the intervention has been implemented appropriately, provides feedback to guide necessary adjustments to the intervention, and documents progress towards reaching program goals. The City Connects model has demonstrated a positive impact on academic achievement and thriving; for more information, click here. All results discussed below are for the 2011-12 academic year.
Impact on Students 77% of students in CCCS schools were connected to at least one service or enrichment Of those students, 24% received one service and 39% received three or more services or enrichments Children in early childhood grades most often received referrals for after school programming, enrichment opportunities, and early-stage health screenings (e.g., hearing, vision, dental) Impact on Community Agencies CCCS schools partnered with 82 different community-based organizations On average, students received an avergae of 2.82 service referrals Impact on Schools Overall, 90% of teachers and principals surveyed were satisfied with CCCS Teachers reported that CCCS positively influenced the professional culture of the school and enhanced their ability to recognize student and family strengths and needs Principals report that CCCS not only positively impacted student wellbeing, but also bettered conditions for staff by enhancing collaboration, permitting principals to focus on instructional leadership, and increasing teachers' awareness and willingness to address students' needs


CBRE today released data on rental market trends during the first quarter of 2012 for large multitenant logistics facilities in Greater Tokyo and Greater Osaka.
Noteworthy Trends
The supply-demand balance tightened for large existing facilities, bringing vacancy rates down to 4.5% in Greater Tokyo, and 0% in Greater Osaka.
Amid high occupancy at prime logistics facilities, inventory is scarce, and industry players appear to have an appetite for development.
The vacancy rate for Greater Tokyo during the first quarter of 2012 fell 0.7 points to 4.5% in a third consecutive quarter of decline. Due to a lack of new supply during the quarter, prime large facilities built in 2011 and state-of-the-art facilities owned by large real estate investment firms maintained occupancy at high levels, with contiguous vacant inventory becoming scarce.
During this quarter, relocations for the purpose of integration amid cost-cutting were observed, as were inquiries primarily from logistics firms attracting cargo owners who handle consumer goods. However, the restriction of supply that has continued since 2010 has led to a prominent shortage of prime facilities. The resulting tightening of the supply-demand balance has limited the relocation choices available, leading to an evident wait-and-see attitude among firms that foresee new supply coming online during the next quarter and thereafter.
Amid a lack of new supply in Greater Osaka as well, all existing large-scale rental facilities (10,000 tsubo and over) that were on the market were leased by the end of the quarter, resulting in completely full occupancy of all rental facilities on the market. The May completion of the first new large-scale multitenant logistics facility to come online in three years is expected to further stimulate demand.
However, with industry players eager to develop top-quality facilities due to their anticipated firm demand and high occupancies, there are possibilities of new development plans being announced for 2013 and thereafter. This is leading to concern that supply could concentrate in certain areas, and that future trends should be cautiously monitored. Rent levels have bottomed out due to the shortage of supply, but with tenants taking a wait-and-see stance given the upcoming supply, drastic increases in rents do not appear to be imminent.”
For details, please refer to the PDF file.
DISCLAIMER : Neither CBRE nor its affiliated companies make any warranties or claims on the implied accuracy of the information contained herein.


Residential Survey Consumer Broadband Adoption Trends
Broadband technology is a powerful tool that Tennessee residents are using on a daily basis because of the value that it brings to their lives. Connected Tennessee is working to make high-speed Internet available statewide, while empowering every Tennessee resident to use broadband to enrich their lives.
To achieve these goals, Connected Tennessee has conducted a survey of 1,202 residents across the state to see if they access broadband, and if so, how they are using it. Based on this data, we estimate that more than 1.5 million or 32% of adults statewide do not subscribe to home broadband service, and adoption varies significantly across socioeconomic lines. The Residential Technology Assessment was conducted as part of the State Broadband Initiative (SBI) grant program, funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
We would like for you to explore and share these results.


Steve M. Powell, MD
Molecular genetic analysis of gastric tumors The Powell laboratory is focused on understanding gastric tumorigenesis through molecular genetic studies. They have comprehensively characterized many genetic loci that are frequently amplified or lost in our panel of xenografted and primary gastric cancers though CGH and allelic loss studies and continue to narrow in on the targets of alteration. They also are employing serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and cDNA microarray technology for the analysis of gene expression changes in gastric cancers. The lab already identified over 50 genes significantly altered in expression within gastric tumors compared to normal gastric tissue, some increased and some decreased. Many are gene products which are known to be involved in cell processes such as proliferation, cell cycle or apoptotic regulation, and adhesion or metastasis factors. Others gene products found to be significantly altered are novel to gastric cancer development and some even to cancer in general. Most intriguingly, several patterns of alterations could be traced to common signaling pathways such as that involving calcium regulators (S100A), beta-catenin, tissue metalloproteinases, and hepatoma derived growth factor. DARP32 and the novel t-DARP has been characterized to be overexpressed in the majority of gastric tumors. The prevalence of E-cadherin alterations in our "sporadic" gastric cancers occurred in approximately one third as it was found to be constitutionally involved in their familial diffuse gastric cancer cases.
The lab currently plans to further test the hypothesis that these cellular functions and signaling pathways are critical to gastric tumor development. They continue to narrow down regions of genetic loss in their panel of primary and xenografted gastric cancers and have shown 8p imbalance in these tumors to be associated with poor survival. Currently, the delineation of homozygous losses and significant regions of allelic loss are being mapped and biological significance explored. Common regions of amplification are additionally being sought, specifically at 20q. Additionally, the prognostic and biologic significance of gene alterations is being explored in gastric cancers.
They are also characterizing the loss of TFF1 in gastric cancers and determining the cause for its dysregulation in these gastric epithelial cells leading to neoplastic growth.


BACKGROUND: In this study, the authors aimed to compare the effects that a medium- and long-chain triglyceride (MCT/LCT) fat infusion and a fish oil-based (ω-3) fat infusion for parenteral nutrition (PN) had on systemic inflammation, cytokine response, and hepatic steatosis in mixed intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
METHODS: This was a single-center, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in a university hospital. Four patient groups, including systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis patients, were assigned to receive PN employing the MCT/LCT fat infusion or the fish oil-based fat infusion over 7 days. Blood biochemistry and liver steatosis were evaluated.
RESULTS: Twenty sepsis and 20 SIRS patients were included in this study. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of biochemical values and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores between the different feeding groups. Sepsis groups who received MCT/LCT revealed higher grades of liver steatosis by ultrasound on days 7 and 10 (P < .05). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 values in sepsis group 1 (S1) were higher than in sepsis group (S2) on day 7, whereas IL-1 values were higher on days 3, 7, and 10 in group S1 than in group S2. Conversely, IL-10 values on days 3 and 7 were significantly higher in group S2.
CONCLUSION: Fish oil-based fat emulsions might have anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects in hyperinflammatory disease such as sepsis.


Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of deaths caused due to Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) during drug trials while Madhya Pradesh saw the least number of such deaths, latest official data reveal.
According to official data disclosed by the Drug Controller General of India, during the 49-month period, i.e., from January 2008 to January 2012, the country recorded 2061 drug trial related deaths.
However, the DCG(I) has provided death data for states only for 1603 of the total 2061 deaths.
An analysis of the death-data reveal that at 268, Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of SAE-related deaths and figures in the top five.
In the top five, Maharashtra is followed by Andhra Pradesh (153), Delhi/NCR (97), Gujarat (87) and Karnataka (78).
The States figuring in the bottom five are Tamil Nadu (46), Rajasthan (43), West Bengal (28), Uttar Pradesh (28) and Madhya Pradesh (26).
As the data show, the death toll for the top state (Maharashtra) was over 10 times that for the state lowest in the top-ten (Madhya Pradesh).
The data was obtained by medical rights activist Anand Rai under the Right to Information Act.
“ I had asked for the number of drug trial related deaths for the entire country, listed by state, trial site,drug name, investigator etc. However, the DCG (I) provided the full information for only 1010 deaths out of the total death figure of 2061,” Dr. Rai told The Hindu .
Among the drugs, trials of which saw the highest number of deaths during the 49-month period, were Rivaroxaban and Enoxiparin (both anticoagulants or blood thinners).
191 deaths occurred during trials for Rivaroxaban and 175 occurred during those of Enoxiparin.
However, these deaths occurred during the trials and therefore may have been caused by other factors besides the drug itself.


The left blames the failure of the supercommittee on Grover Norquist. Norquist is one lobbyist among thousands; the power rests with Congress. Norquist is nothing but a smokescreen for the left’s intransigence. It appears that the left will not agree to anything that does not have significant tax rate increases, even though conservatives have offered tax reform that would increase revenue. They resist tax reform because they like the byzantine system we have. They reward their friends and punish their enemies with the tax code. Contrary to public perception, Democrats get the lion’s share of Wall Street contributions. The left doesn’t want the gravy train to end. Furthermore, simplification would reduce their great power to do social engineering via the tax code.
On the other hand, raising rates enhances their power. The higher the rate, the more valuable the tax break, and the more powerful their ability to conduct social engineering.
James Berg
Covington