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Here are profiles from the candidates vying for office in 2018. The Iowa primary election is Tuesday, June 5.
The Iowa primary elections for the 2018 election cycle will be Tuesday, June 5. Below are candidate summaries filed by the candidates themselves. The listings are in alphabetical order and begin with candidates for Fremont County Board of Supervisors.
Editor's note: the candidate profile for LeRoy Vrbsky was inadvertently ommitted from the June 1 newspaper. As such, his profile is the lead profile. Others are in alphabetical order.
LeRoy Vrbsky
I was born on farm in in Dorchester, Nebr., in 1937. Moved to Iowa in 1939 with my parents and sister. A brother was born in Iowa.
Education: Graduate of Farragut High School in 1956. Joined Army Reserves January 1956. Took basic training at Fort Leonardwood, Mo. Went to Fort Riley, Kan. Graduated from culinary school as chef then was head cook of Heavy Artillery Company. Discharged from Army Reserves 1964. Worked at Miller Tractor 1956-1960. Painting tractors, welding, custom harvesting and worked in the Parts Department.
Married Feb. 29, 1960, and have five children. Went to College of Automation IBM 1960. Worked for Johnson Brothers Mill applying fertilizer, building grain bins and taking care of stored grain. In 1963 worked at Union Carbide in Red Oak as Line Mechanic on night shift until 1970. Also started a custom farming business in 1963. custom farming 500 acres. In 1970 went to work at Shenandoah Farm Supply. When not farming worked in store and during winter season until 1980. In 1973 started farming 50/50 and cash renting 800 acres. In 1981 bought 80 acres, I designed blueprint and built new home and moved in 1982. I farmed 800 acres and did custom farming for the next 12 years. In 1993 started working night shift at Pella in Shenandoah. Also farmed 500 acre and custom farmed. Was Carpenter and Safety Coordinator, training safety operations on equipment to all personal for two years. Worked 14 years as Machine Mechanic. Took a class at Iowa Western for Machinist and Advanced Welding.
Pella training: Class A Electrician, Basic Hydraulics and Pneumatics.
Honorary member of Fremont County Fair, Friend Certificate of Shenandoah FFA, treasurer of Izaack Walton, Shenandoah 20 years, member St. Mary's Church, treasure for Knights of Columbus six years, three-term Grand Knight Shenandoah, Imogene. Retired from farming 2006. Retired from Pella 2009. Past member of Amvets, Eagles, Elks and Izaak Walton.
County Level: I am against closing landfill. I will follow up on citizen's complaints. Presently, I believe they are not prioritizing jobs. We also need better upkeep on secondary roads. Keep spending within the budget to keep taxes down. I will work for all citizens of Fremont county. It's time to vote for the person and not the party. I am honest and hard working. I want to improve County infrastructure, work to bring new jobs and ideas into the county. Holding a fulltime job while farming and custom farming and working with people will be an advantage as Supervisor.
A vote for me is a vote for you.
Rodney Burge
I was born and raised in Fremont County and have raised my two children here. My wife and I along with my daughter live west of Sidney. I have worked in Hamburg and Fremont County for the past 25 year. We also own and operate a flower shop and antique/junk shop in Sidney, The Farmer's Daughters. In my free time I enjoy hunting, fishing and raising hunting dogs.
My work experience, strong work ethic and knowledge of starting business' and operating under a budget will benefit me as a Fremont County Supervisor.
I can prove that business' can thrive in Fremont County. I have started three, having liquidated one after nine years to focus and combine the last two as one. All while working a full-time job off the farm. I'm not afraid to ask questions and do research to find answers or gather more information before making a decision.
I am concerned with rising county taxes and why this continues to happen.
I feel there is a lack of industry and business in Fremont County, I am interested in what and who is working on bringing it here, and how we can help.
Infrastructure of all our roads in the county has been on the list of all the past elected candidates and nothing has changed or improved. It needs to improve.
I plan to bring business experience and working within a budget to the Board of Supervisors. I plan to bring an open mind and open door. I have passed out cards with my personal cell phone number on them, because I want the people of Fremont County to call with concerns, suggestions, problems and compliments at any time. It's time for a change, change is good. No more stuck in our ways of doing things. I feel the people of Fremont County need to know what is going on and be aware of where their tax dollars are going.
Not everything needs changed or fixed. There are a lot of good things in Fremont County. Leadership and hard work will get us back on the right track in Fremont County. I am not looking for a paycheck or a way to pad my retirement, I am looking to hold people accountable with our tax dollars and help Fremont County be a viable, sustainable county in Southwest Iowa.
Challenges need to be dealt with timely and properly follow procedure. Two big challenges I feel that will be up and coming will be dealing with the County dump and the golf course. Do they need to go away, NO, but there does need to be some changes, positive changes to benefit the citizens of Fremont County.
Budgets will always be a hot topic, but living/operating within our means is key. There is a lot of debt to inherit as a new Board of Supervisor so I along with the other new Board of Supervisors it will be a huge challenge to work on ways to eliminate this and not incur any more.
Earl Hendrickson
Born in Auburn, Nebr. and graduated from Hamburg High School. Worked construction after graduation. Joined the Marine Corp in 1964 for three years and am a Vietnam vet. Went to work at Missouri Beef Packers eight years and then took a job with USDA in meat grading. I retired from USDA in 1996 as field office director over all 50 states, supervising 300 employees. After retiring from the government job, I moved from Denver Colo., and farmed for 10 years 1996-2006.
Now, eight years as Fremont County Supervisor, I believe safety is important while keeping taxes as low as possible.
I believe my industry experience and being a supervisor for eight years makes me the best candidate for the next four years.
Some of the challenges that lie ahead are:
1. The radios mandated by the state and will cost the county almost 2 million dollars.
2. The landfill is a "hot topic" that needs to be resolved.
3. The hog confinement's, which we have no control over, but still need to keep applying pressure on state legislatures.
4. The budget is a very big concern, with tough decisions to be made, while trying to keep taxes from increasing.
This election is very important in electing supervisors with the experience and background to address the issues we are presently faced with.
I will appreciate your support!
Earl "Speck" Hendrickson
Randy Hickey
My name is Randy Hickey, and I am a Republican candidate for Fremont County Supervisor. I have lived and worked in Fremont County my entire life as a farmer, contractor, and your Supervisor. My home is in rural Thurman with my wife, Joni, who currently is a minister of the United Methodist Church. We have two children, Ryan Hickey of Fremont, and Tara Goodman and husband, Dusty, and four grandchildren of Malvern.
I have served as your Supervisor for eight years and most recently promoted the building and opening of the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center. Behind the scenes for many, I am currently serving or have served on the Committee for Regionalization of the Department of Health, Waubonsie Mental Health Board, Board of Health, Child Welfare Decategorization Project, Workforce Development, Regional Planning Affiliate for county road projects, Early Childhood Development Board, Emergency Management Board, and the Landfill Committee. My desire is to continue to help identify new developments that will support and promote the county, its people and its businesses, such as Hometown Pride.
My three main concerns about Fremont County are its population decline, continued economic development, and limited housing. The population of the county has been declining for several years. We need to try to find ways to keep young families in Fremont County and to draw new ones to our area.
During the 2011 flood, many families were relocated and have not returned. Studies show that housing in the county is limited. There are families that consider moving to our county, but do not because they cannot find satisfactory housing.
We have good school systems that families are seeking, but the limited housing situation deters them from relocating here. We have been striving to bring new economic development to our communities, a difficult task, but we need to continue our efforts in that regard.
The top 3 changes, goals or projects that I'd like to accomplish as Supervisor are: (1) develop more businesses along the I-29 corridor and along Highway 59 in the Shenandoah area, and bring more small businesses into our communities; (2) provide an effective local mental health system for our communities; and (3) build and implement a statewide communications system for law enforcement, fire and rescue that will make our schools and communities safer.
The work is not finished, but I take pride in the accomplishments of the county through its leadership and the hard work and time given by the people of the county. Working together is key, and I realize the importance of listening to people's ideas and concerns and then taking action on what I believe is in the best interest of the county. Together with my experience of the last eight years, these are the reasons that I ask you to vote for me as your Supervisor.
Peter Johnson
My name is Peter Johnson. I was born in Hamburg at Grape Community Hospital. I grew up and currently live in Sidney. In 2014, I graduated from the University of Iowa. After, I managed a $7 million per year apparel department for Nike. I also have experience in the legal field working for Immigrant Legal Center in Omaha and as a legal assistant at Johnson Law in Sidney. I currently coach youth and high school sports as a volunteer.
I am running for Fremont County Supervisor because I believe in the future of Fremont County. We must address current challenges, but without limiting future opportunity. Nobody serves Fremont County better than Fremont County residents. Outsourcing and "sharing" agreements, which make it difficult to reclaim, must be the last resort for the county. We must invest in our local county departments to perform their services effectively.
For Fremont County to grow, we must attract young people, young families, and new businesses to our communities. I understand the importance in developing our digital infrastructure. This increases access to e-health, educational, business, and agricultural opportunity. Access to high-speed internet is an integral part of the modern economy.
I understand that a rising tide raises all boats in the local economy. The ripple effect of the success of any Fremont County community is felt across the county.
Collaboration between communities streamlines our economic development.
I am running to serve the people in all areas of the Fremont County. Together we can create the environment of sustainable economic growth.
Dale Kirkpatrick
I grew up in Glenwood and moved to Fremont County in 1982. My wife of 35 years is Vicki. We have 2 children – Mandy and Tucker Kirkpatrick, future daughter-in-law Jordan Vanatta and grandchildren Taviar, Jacelyn, Rhett, Brexlee and Bryxtol and my mother-in-law, Sharilyn all live in Fremont County. I have two sons, 1 daughter and eight additional grandchildren that live near Des Moines. My hobbies include fishing & spending time with family.
My experiences to assist me as a Board of Supervisor include: I owned & operated a successful over the road trucking company for 20+ years, employing three drivers; I worked for IBP as a driver recruiter, IBP flew me all over the United States hiring drivers for their operation; I managed the Fremont County Landfill as the DNR licensed operator; I worked heavy equipment construction including building Highway 2 between Shenandoah and Clarinda; I worked for the Mills County Roads Department for seven and a half years.
1. I would like to actively recruit new businesses to Fremont County. We are losing jobs and population and would love to turn this trend around.
We need to look at improving the county's infrastructure. We have major transportation lanes with I-29, railroad access and Highway 2 would should be tremendous selling points to businesses. New businesses would employ residents, increase our tax base & increase cash flow through the county.
2. I want to keep the landfill as county owned and not turned into a transfer station. We need to keep the control of the landfill and not lose more county jobs. As a former licensed landfill manager, the building of the last cell is a crucial piece of the puzzle in order to stop the leachate from getting into the water system and to be DNR compliant.
3. The number of hog confinements being built in the county keeps increasing. I would like to put restrictions in to stop this trend.
Due to my vast experiences, I believe I would be a great asset on the Board and bring a fresh set of ideas.
I have experience in specking out equipment-heavy equipment, trucks, tractors, trailers-I know what features work and don't work.
I have experience with budgets operating my trucking company.
I have experience in Union negotiations. I have been and employer overseeing drivers. I have common sense.
I have the knowledge & experience to work with the public.
Having been a business owner, you have to be able to sell yourself and your service and then deliver what is presented. I am currently serving on the SWIPCO Board.
I do not have a personal agenda in getting on the Board. I will work for the betterment of all the citizens of Fremont County. I am retired and have the time to devote to the Board.
Dustin Sheldon
I was born and raised in Fremont county I graduated from high school in Sidney and then went to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville and got a bachelors of science degree in animal science after that I came back to Fremont County to farm and raise cattle.
I married to my wife Rhonda of 20 years we have two daughters and 1 adopted son.
We like to go boating in the summer months and attending our kids school activities takes up the rest of our time.
I am president of the Sidney fire department handling business activity and day-to-day operations for them.
Self-employed skilled in many areas.
I would like to see the state wide radio communications for emergency services get up and running as soon as possible and our county for the safety of our emergency personnel and our citizens and also like to make sure that our tax dollars are getting used to benefit the majority of Fremont county
I'm an honest hard-working guy who will listen to the people of the county and try my best to meet their needs.
I feel like we need to be more proactive in our county government preparing ourself for the future to allow Fremont County to grow and prosper and bring people back to our county to raise their families
I think the biggest challenge now is we're kind of in a tough economic time right now in agriculture and that's a big part of our county as taxpayers we have to be able to make do with what we have financially and not overspend
County Recorder
Jenny McAllister
I thank the voters of Fremont County in electing me to the position of Fremont County Recorder for the last eight years. The 20 years working in the Recorder's office has given me the experience to run this office.
I have managed this office with a conservative mind. I maintain a balanced budget and have always come in under budget. I offer stability to the job and serve the people of Fremont County with professionalism and dedication to the job.
I am a life long resident of Fremont County and a graduate from Sidney High School.
I reside in Farragut with my husband Jeremy and son Dalton. Jeremy works for his family's business, Professional Waste Water Services Inc/Don's Johns. Dalton will be a senior at Sidney High School in the fall
I have been an active member of Farragut Fire and Rescue for 20 years and served as Secretary for a number of years. I have been teaching Hunter Safety to the youth of Fremont and Page Counties for the past 5 years.
I would appreciate your vote on June 5th, to continue as your Fremont County Recorder.
Thank you for your support.
County Recorder
Wendy Stenzel
I was born and raised in Lake City, Iowa to the late Gerry Bean and Darlys Bean. I have two sisters and two brothers. Upon graduating High School I attended Northwest Missouri State University then moving to Hamburg where I've resided since 1994. I am married to Michael Stenzel and have 4 children; Samantha, Bryce, Cole and Aiden. My hobbies include walking, reading, volunteer work and being active with my children and their activities.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Management of Human Resources which I utilized while working at ConAgra Foods as the Human Resource Director. I was responsible for my budget, maintained records and provided customer service internally and externally. I am currently working for Fremont County as an Assistant Auditor. I work closely with the Recorder's Office documenting real estate transfers. I am also responsible for Accounts Payable so am familiar with budgeting and expenses incurred in the Recorder's Office.
If elected as Recorder, I would be mindful of the budget doing everything possible to keep expenses at a minimum, cutting expenses where feasible. I would ensure that the office environment would provide a positive experience where excellent customer service is provided with an efficient turnaround time to customer requests. This would include educating and assisting citizens with requirements for services provided by the Recorder's Office. I would promote Fremont County as a whole as well as the services provided specifically within the Recorder's office.
I think the Citizens of Fremont County should elect me as Recorder as I am fiscally responsible, pride myself in providing excellent customer service, am determined to meet the needs of the citizens, and will be in the office whenever you call or stop by.


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Sam Hunt Montevallo Review
Sam Hunt is one of the three male country solo artists — along with Hunter Hayes and Scotty McCreery — who I will voluntarily purchase an album from and enjoy. As a whole, males in country music tend to resort to clichés, asking a girl to come up in their truck and ride. Few manage to escape this mold and actually write music that is worth listening to. But as an artist who is opening for Lady Antebellum on their Wheels Up tour and who writes with songwriters such as Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, it's safe to say he has.
RaeLynn Me EP Review
I'd say that RaeLynn came to my attention like everyone else, on the Voice, but that would be a lie. I was looking at my Tumblr dashboard (which I have been wasting too much time on lately) and saw an upload of her single God Made Girls reblogged by Megan & Liz. Initially my response was hesitant, wondering if the song was a girl anthem or sexist, but I came to the conclusion that it was the first — albeit not the kind of girl anthem you'd see on popular radio in anywhere but the South. And I liked the song (the co-writers recruited are brilliant). So I was looking up her radio tours. And basically fell in love.
We had to wait entirely too long for her EP, but it's finally here.
About the Blog
Fountain Pen Girl Album Reviews is a blog writing track-by-track reviews of new popular and independent music with a focus on female artists. The main genres that are covered on this blog are pop, country, singer-songwriter and alternative music, focusing especially on independent artists and female country artists. Enjoy my blog!
April 2016
View archives by genre, artist and other tags here.

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Mixed Berry Mascarpone Scones are sweeter than sweet, with a delightful "cream tea" flavor to them that can't be beat. Mascarpone makes them wonderful. You know how sometimes you get an idea in your head and it just won't go away? That's where these ... [ Read More ]
Coconut Oil Banana Muffins
Coconut oil banana muffins have a delectable crumb topping that makes them hard to resist. They make a fantastic breakfast any day of the week. My first Mother's Day is coming up. It's pretty monumental. For the last few years, it's been a somber ... [ Read More ]
Caramel Apple Pie
Okay, so it's not really the "season" for caramel apple pie, but I'm never one to let the season stop me when I've got a craving. There's still plenty of great apples popping up at my local market, and who's with me: there's never a bad time for pie. I'll ... [ Read More ]
Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes for Jamie
I feel sorry for winter babies. Being one myself, I know the envy that is birthday pool parties, slip and slides and barbecue parties, or, well, pretty much any outdoor party you can think of. When February rolled around every year, all I wanted was a pool ... [ Read More ]
Secret Recipe Club: Apple Cinnamon Waffles
It's that time again, time for a Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month I was assigned Itzy's Kitchen, written by Erica, mom to the most adorable baby girl, Kaylin, and an English Bulldog named Frank. My pal Maegan would be so in love with Frank! It didn't ... [ Read More ]


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LI banana mogul Thomas Hoey faces new charges
Long Island banana mogul Thomas Hoey Jr. is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on new federal charges that he ripped off money intended for the pensions of employees at his family-owned Long Island Banana Co.
Hoey is currently serving a state sentence for assaulting his girlfriend, and awaiting sentencing later this week on federal charges that he supplied drugs that killed a woman at a sex party and obstructed justice.
The new indictment charges that he took more than $800,000 from profit-sharing retirement accounts maintained for employees of his Long Island Banana Co., a regional produce distributor, between 2009 and 2012. The company is now in bankruptcy proceedings.
The money was used to pay company bills for produce from wholesalers, Manhattan federal prosecutors alleged, and also to pay for personal expenses for Hoey and his family -- including insurance bills on luxury cars, and credit card bills.
Among the credit card expenses, prosecutors said, were travel to London, Las Vegas, Aruba, Cancun, Mexico and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as payments to a university attended by Hoey's son, and payments for hotels, limousines, department stores and home furnishings.
While the pension money was misused, employees continued to get misleading statements about the value of their retirement accounts, the indictment said.
One employee, for example, got a statement saying his account value had grown from $132,000 to $140,000 in 2012, but in fact only $15,000 remained in his pension fund by the end of 2012.
Hoey, 46, of Garden City, is charged with embezzlement, interstate transportation of stolen money, money laundering and wire fraud.
He was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years incarceration last month for assaulting his girlfriend and tampering with evidence, and federal probation officers have recommended the maximum of 20 years on the federal drug and obstruction charges.
Lawyers for Hoey did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
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Indiana University Bloomington
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Anne Marie Baylouny examines previously undocumented effects of neoliberal economic reforms on middle classes in the Middle East. As the state's safety network has been withdrawn, kin-based mutual aid associations—organized around new definitions of kinship and identity and geared to contemporary market and labor needs—have taken its place. Such organizations provide a measure of social and economic security for their members, and have come to dominate civil society in Jordan and Lebanon. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with members, non-members, and policymakers, Privatizing Welfare in the Middle East provides compelling new insights into democratization, liberalization, and civil society.
Anne Marie Baylouny is Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
"Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, this study provides compelling new insights into democratization, liberalization, and civil society, examining previously undocumented effects of neoliberal economic reforms on middle classes in the Middle East."
"Full of novel and important information . . . offer[s] an innovative argument."
— Marc Lynch, George Washington University
"Baylouny's work covers the emerging trend of kin associations and privatisation of welfare as a global phenomenon in her theoretical approach and review of the literature.... The book maintains a flow with topics organised into chapters with a clear purpose which support the main arguments. Given the books accessibility and subject, it is a useful read for policy makers and professionals in the international development industry, as well as scholars and students with similar research areas.May 2012 "
— Edward Gaier, Political Studies Review
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Organizing for Security1. Welfare, Work, and Collective Action2. State and Militia Welfare and Their Demise3. Hard Times and Private-Sector Welfare Options4. Kin Mutual Aid5. Creating Kin and New Institutions6. Elites, Elections, and Civil SocietyConclusion: Insight into Identity and InstitutionsAppendix 1. Research Method and DataAppendix 2. Interview QuestionnairesNotesBibliographyIndex
Fulfilling the Promise
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Tears: What Are You Moved By?
Those close to me know I'm likely to get misty-eyed or outright bawl over anything that pulls at my heartstrings. The sentimental, nostalgic, idealistic, romantic, etc… whatever you may call it… some of us cry over even the smallest bits of endearment that cross our paths… whether it be a commercial, a quote, or a movie… there may be tears that ensue. I bawled at the end of the movie Safe Haven… big boo hoo's that required like half a box of Kleenex… I get tears every time I watch The Holiday scene with the little girls tent. My eyes wet listening to Gary Allan sing on the radio… his country songs sum up how beautifully bittersweet life can sometimes be… I shed tears when I hear of someone killed by a drunk driver on the late night news… because I know part of the hell and pain that is impending for their family.
Two years ago when I walked my old neighborhood one late afternoon I encountered an elderly man in his nineties who was raking leaves. He was a frail man with beams in his gray eyes but he was sharp as a tack. We struck up a conversation about his life… his time serving in the war, his job… and when I asked him if he was married his eyes glazed over with sweet recollection and he smiled sadly and said "She passed away three years ago." I told him I was sorry and gave him a comforting pat on his arm, noticing he still wore a gold wedding band. I commented on it and he smiled at me like a dear that he even had to explain and said "Well, yes I do… she's not here but I still love her." It began raining, I bid him goodbye as rain drops speckled my face and shoulders and I bawled the whole way home… where were men like that? In some odd sense he was like a sweet beacon of hope and promise. I sniffed as I wiped my nose like a three year old with my lightweight jacket sleeve.
I didn't have my daughter for Christmas this year so I spent the day in… catching up on things I had been wanting to do… baking brownies, watching some movies, organizing all the important papers that seem to take over in the most innocuous way and finally settling on the couch to read a book I had been wanting to read for quite some time. Maybe you have read it…
In Chapter 3 it talks about Jesus having dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee and the prostitute that attends that dinner to see Jesus… she had no invitation extended to her but she was so determined to see Him because she realized now that God loved her and wanted to forgive her… that He would put the broken pieces of her life back together…
Picture the scene. Jesus is reclining at the table. Instead of using chairs they would lean on an elbow that was propped up by a cushion. Their feet would be away from the table. This woman approaches and stands at the filthy feet of Jesus. The table grows silent. Everybody is watching. Everybody knows who she is. What is she doing? She looks around at the guests. She feels from some that familiar glare of condemnation. Others keep their eyes down, embarrassed by her presence and the awkwardness of the moment. But when she looks at Jesus, he seems to know what has happened in her heart. He gives her a warm smile. He seems delighted that she has come, and he looks at her with the eyes of a loving father watching his beautiful daughter as she enters the room. She has never had a man look at her that way before. She is so undone by this that the tears come, just a few at first, and then more. She falls to the ground and begins to kiss his feet. Soon, the tears are just pouring down her face. They begin to drip onto the dirty feet of Jesus. As she looks at the muddy streaks she suddenly realizes that his feet haven't been washed. She can't ask for a towel, so she lets down her hair. In those days women always wore their hair up in public. For a woman to wear her hair down in front of a man that was not her husband was considered grounds for divorce. She lets her hair down in front of Jesus and there was likely an audible gasp. She begins washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and drying them with her hair.
At the end of the story Jesus says to Simon:
Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
Luke 7:44-46 NLT
Here, then, is the question you and I have to ask ourselves:
Who am I most like in the story?
When is the last time you had a moment with Jesus like this woman in Luke 7 had? When's the last time you've poured yourself out before him? When is the last time the tears streamed down your face as you expressed your love for him? When is the last time you demonstrated your love for him with reckless abandonment?
I am not asking if you know about him, I am asking if you know him.
I read that passage and bawled.
Because it really speaks to how important Jesus is.
I was reading Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman
The question if we know about him or know him cuts right to the point… right to the heart of our relationship or lack thereof with Jesus. So I ask you as well… are we fans or followers of Jesus? It's a good question for us to ask ourselves and reflect on. It forces us to look at the relationship we have with him (or believe we have with him) with fresh eyes and close scrutiny. It has made me re-evaluate with close analysis. If you haven't read this book, it is a must read… Kyle is someone who tells it like it is… his writing is infused with humor yet sobering reflection and honesty.
I want to be moved by life… not embarrassed by it having a tender affect on me. I want to know that the enormity of having a relationship with Jesus, him wanting that relationship, his dying for my sins brings tears to my eyes, that it moves me… because if anything in this world should move me to tears, to a stirring, to action, to gratitude and praise... it is Him.
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July 2018
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Copyright Law may seem shrouded in mystery: how can you create, transfer, and protect property interests in something intangible? This lesson provides an overview of how it is done, focusing on copyright protection for music. This focus takes advantage of the multimedia capacity of the program; for example, you can listen to two musical works to determine whether one infringes the other, and you can listen to the parody version of "Pretty Woman" that figured in a decision of the United States Supreme Court. Students familiar with copyright law will find many resources beyond those they studied in class. Hypertext links take you to cases and statutes, and addresses are provided for web sites where you can obtain additional information.
Lesson Completion Time
1-2 hours
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Yo, it's your girl Maz – a bit of a stranger to the blog. Yeah, it's been a while since I've taken to my laptop and published a decent string of blog posts but hey ho, Girl Got Lost is all about the phases of business and chill.
As most of you probs know, I'm pretty keen on the old sustainable shopping front. I don't buy any new (as in 1st hand) clothes so when I do shop for clothes & accessories I head to a few random places IRL and online.
Here are some of my faves:
Ugh, such a great concept. Buying clothes by weight. Ok, in reality, it's not as simple as you'd hope but it does help to refresh your normal dull shopping experience. I used to enjoy visiting the Paris stores; great for basic items like shirts and blouses, not so great for heavy coats or jumpers.
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S A L E S month 😋 Explore hidden treasures in the biggest vintage shop in Greece from France!! @kiloshopfrance_officiel @kiloshopathens @kiloshop_tokyo 🇫🇷 🇬🇷 🇯🇵 #kiloshop #kiloshopathens #vintage #vintageshop #french #collection #clothing #sales #fripe #fashion #paris #perfectojacket
Vestiaire is a God send if you're a self-admitting label snob – ok, I haven't bought anything from there but I sure do love scrolling through the dreamy designer handbags. Vestiaire allows you to buy and sell 'luxury' and 'premium' second-hand items for a discounted price. Every item is checked by a member of their team to double check they're authentic and up to standard. Yes, some things are crazy expensive but you can also find a bargain and know that the quality is top notch.
Items that don't sell in Oxfam stores can end up on their online shop. It's really simple to use and there are honestly, SO MANY PRODUCTS on there. Not everything is second hand, some retailers will donate stock if they can't sell them or just wanna do some good. Books, vintage, CD and vinyl, clothes, shoes – basically, you can get almost anything on their website so it's defo worth taking a look.
Charity shops
An obvious choice for some but still, in 2017, so many people overlook the potential of charity shop shopping! They even have discount charity shops now, like in Hatfield, my fave is one where everything is £1(?!?!?!) Before going to Glastonbury last year I was stressing out about buying new wellies and managed to find a pair in my size in there; so fab for a quid.
Speaking of festivals, they're well worth a nosey around if you're into stand out, eccentric clothes. Summer 2016 took me to no less than 7 festivals and I did my fair share of clothes shopping between stuffing my face with falafel and belting out a tune alongside Adele. Shambala and Lattitude really impressed me with the amount of stuff on offer – picture sequins, bum bags, unicorn horns, tutus, fairy wings and more. Keep an eye out for bargains on the final evenings of a festival; a lot of stalls don't have room to take much back so they lower their prices at the final chance. I've nabbed an army jacket for £1, 2nd hand Topshop jumpsuits for a fiver (down from 20) and countless deals on socks and cosy hoodies.
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Every Friday, we're going to post one of our favourite #FruityFriday snaps, because every Friday should be Fruity. . . . . . . . . . . #FridayFeeling #Friday #AdventuresInUtopia #ShambalaFestival #Shambala #festivalseason #Festival #MusicFestivals #SummerIsComing #DragQueens #PartyTime
Overpriced but still fab –>
Pretty much the ASOS of the vintage clothing world.
The River Island of the vintage clothing world?
Lastly, if you have a tad more patience and don't mind wading through more random crap, I recommend shopping on Facebook Marketplace, Depop and eBay. You could even stretch to Gumtree if you're feeling reaaaally crazy (I once found the prettiest never been worn River Island kimono on Gumtree for a tenner so wahey, it can be done).
Hope you enjoyed the post.
Don't forget to follow me (online, not in real life plz)
Maz xxxxxxoxxxxxx


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Leaves of Absence for Military Training
University employees who are ordered to active duty for training in the National Guard or Military Reserves are eligible to receive leave with pay as provided in the applicable collective bargaining agreement or employee handbook.
During a training leave employees continue to accrue annual leave and disability leave.
To request military leave with pay for training, give a copy of your orders to your supervisor along with a written request for the dates you are requesting leave.
University of Maine System
Office of Human Resources
Contact Benefits
The above is a brief summary of military training leave offered by the University of Maine System. Consult your local University Office of Human Resources for more information.
If you have a question about your benefits coverage, benefit deduction amounts or any other benefit related question, contact your Campus Benefits Office. Be prepared to give your Employee ID number.
Last Updated: January 4, 2012


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People lie. Numbers don't. It's that simple. When agencies and social media community managers review data from their client's social profiles they can immediately tell what's working and what's not working. There's no mystery whatsoever. You get feedback immediately.
However, if one reports the data as found, the retainer checks might stop flowing. Think about it this way. If you were still in school, and you were asked to grade yourself, what would you do? What would your report card look like?
Yet brands have agencies report data back to them on the activities that they are actually executing. What kind of report do you think they are going to show their clients? One that makes them look like they are doing a great job, or one that shows the true indication of performance.
Well of course the agency or community manager who is crushing it will be more than happy to show you their true results. They've earned their money and as such, accolades and further cashing of checks is much deserved.
But what happens when you're given a report card by the agency or community manager that's not exactly representative of what's going on? Think that's not happening? You'd be foolish to think that it isn't.
So what should you do to make sure that you are being presented with the real data? You need, and you're entitled to, data that truly reflects the activity on your social profiles.
The best way to know that you are getting what you've paid for is to have a 3rd party perform a full, arms length, social media audit on your profiles.
Social media data can easily be obtained and analyzed but most clients don't know what to look for and that's where they get taken advantage of. The only data they sometimes see is manipulated and choreographed so that they think performance standards are being met.
If they only knew.


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In this week's episode of So Say SMEs in Virtualization and Cloud 2013, we discuss our recent travels as well as their football teams' current form. The net is that it is a journey and you definitely need to enjoy your time and experience instead of worrying about getting to the destination. The end is relative so make the means to that end count.
Let us know what you think.


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Report NEP-SOG-2007-04-09This is the archive for NEP-SOG, a report on new working papers in the area of Sociology of Economics. Jonas Holmström issued this report. It is usually issued weekly.
Subscribe to this report: email, RSS or Twitter.
Other reports in NEP-SOG
The following items were announced in this report:
- Doh-Shin Jeon & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2007. "The pricing of academic journals: A two-sided market perspective," Economics Working Papers 1025, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Apr 2009.
- Item repec:mea:ivswpa:610 is not listed on IDEAS anymore
- Yann Bramoullé & Gilles Saint-Paul, 2007. "Research Cycles," Cahiers de recherche 0704, CIRPEE.
- Oecd, 2007. "On the Edge: Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education," OECD Education Working Papers 7, OECD Publishing.
- Franz Strehl & Sabine Reisinger & Michael Kalatschan, 2007. "Funding Systems and their Effects on Higher Education Systems," OECD Education Working Papers 6, OECD Publishing.
- Item repec:mea:ivswpa:617 is not listed on IDEAS anymore
- Louis N. Christofides & Michael Hoy & Ling Yang, 2006. "The Determinants of University Participation," Working Papers 0608, University of Guelph, Department of Economics and Finance.
- Louis N. Christofides & Michael Hoy & Ling Yang, 2006. "The Gender Imbalance in Participation in Canadian Universities (1977-2003)," Working Papers 0610, University of Guelph, Department of Economics and Finance.


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Percy Harvin: 'I can be a factor'
After finding Waldo, talking about strippers and defining a legacy, there will still be a football game on Sunday.
For that game, the Seahawks will have a weapon they've hardly been able to utilize this year, but can take advantage of: Percy Harvin is playing. Harvin, the Seahawks' receiver who was concussed in the NFC Championship game, says he'll be ready for the Denver Broncos.
"I definitely think I can be a factor in this game," Harvin said. "The concussion was an unfortunate situation that I wish hadn't happened, but I'm ready to play football."
Against the 49ers, it was evident the kind of impact Harvin can have on Seattle's offense. As he recovered from hip surgery, Seattle proved that it could win without him. But with his speed, Russell Wilson had another explosive go-to option and didn't hesitate to look to Harvin as the 49ers kept Wilson on the run repeatedly.


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Acute kidney injury (AKI)10 is an important health problem. Patients who develop AKI have markedly increased in-hospital mortality, and they have an increased likelihood of morbidity and mortality over the long term even if they do survive. Current treatments focus on supportive care and avoiding the potential for injury, such as from nephrotoxic drugs and intravenous contrast agents. Potentially more-specific therapies have been identified with animal models, but they have not demonstrated efficacy in subsequent human clinical trials, in part because AKI is difficult to identify before there is loss of organ function, at which point the damage may be irreversible. Therefore, there has been much interest in the development of biomarkers for identifying AKI in its earliest stage, when interventions might be more successful. There is also keen interest in stratifying the patients at greatest risk for AKI so that preventive treatments can be initiated in a timely fashion. In this Q&A, 5 researchers with vast clinical experience in AKI and biomarker development discuss the current status of the field (for suggested readings on this topic, see the Data Supplement that accompanies the online version of this Q&A at http://www.clinchem.org/content/vol60/issue2).
What aspects of AKI do you study?
Lakhmir Chawla: I am involved in the study of inflammation and AKI, AKI biomarkers, AKI risk prediction, AKI as a cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and AKI therapeutics.
Kianoush Kashani: I am currently working on risk stratification models for prediction of AKI, novel biomarkers of early detection of AKI, derivation and validation of a renal angina model, and development and validation of electronic surveillance tools for early detection of AKI.
John Kellum: I am interested in all forms of AKI, but mainly those that arise as a consequence of critical illness—so sepsis-induced AKI is at the top of the list. I study the epidemiology and pathophysiology of AKI and evaluate novel markers and therapeutics in both animals and humans.
Jay Koyner: My work has focused on the investigation of novel biomarkers of AKI with the goal of diagnosing AKI before a significant increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, the currently accepted gold standards. Thus, I have prospectively followed patients undergoing cardiac surgery or in the setting of critical illness [intensive care unit (ICU) admission], attempting to determine if biomarkers can forecast who will have more-severe/more-progressive AKI at the time of clinical AKI (increased serum creatinine).
Ravindra Mehta: I have been interested in the epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes of AKI in critically ill patients. My areas of research have focused on defining the natural history of AKI in ICU patients through the Progress to Improve Care in Acute Renal Disease (PICARD) prospective observational cohort study, an assessment of nondialytic and dialytic interventions and the influence of process of care on patient outcomes. As a founding member of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI) and the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN), I have been involved in the development of the RIFLE and AKIN diagnostic and staging criteria for AKI and their subsequent refinement through the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) group. In collaboration with the University of Alabama in Birmingham, we have established a National Institutes of Health–funded O'Brien Center for AKI research that provides investigators core resources for clinical and translational research. Utilizing this core resource, we have developed an international prospective registry of AKI in the ICU patients that has enrolled over 1000 patients from 17 centers across the world. We have also studied the epigenetic changes associated with recovery from AKI and provided assays for various AKI biomarkers. I am currently the principal investigator on an international multicenter prospective study evaluating the potential genetic contribution to drug-induced kidney injury with a genomewide association study approach.
What do you see as the most important recent advances in the care of patients with AKI? What are the greatest areas of need?
Lakhmir Chawla: The first and most obvious are the discovery and validation of multiple AKI biomarkers that have the capacity to improve the time to diagnosis of AKI and offer insights related to the severity, prognosis, and recovery of AKI. A second important insight is the fact that patients who suffer from AKI are at risk for the future development of CKD. While this connection remains a strong association, multiple putative injury pathways have been demonstrated, and my personal bias is that this is likely causal. A third important advance is the clinical trials of renal replacement therapy dosing in patients with severe AKI. Multiple large clinical trials have helped determine the appropriate dose range that should be used to treat the vast majority of patients with AKI.
Kianoush Kashani: There is good and bad news. The bad news is that there has not been any major breakthrough in the treatment of AKI, and, indeed, most interventions to avoid progression of AKI have been very disappointing.
The good news is that amongst scientists, clinicians, and patients, the awareness of AKI has significantly improved within the last decade. The volume of studies focused on AKI has significantly increased, and this has created more opportunities to advance the science. A large number of clinicians in multiple specialties and subspecialties consider AKI a serious adverse event, and many have implemented protocols to comply with consensus recommendations, including the KDIGO guidelines.
Community involvement and professional and political will are all required to increase the awareness about the gravity of this entity and the desire to mitigate the problem. In my opinion, the road to improvement in the care of patients with AKI includes but is not limited to the following actions:
Invent and discover novel tools and biomarkers of early detection of AKI,
Design and conduct large-scale studies on prophylactic and therapeutic interventions for AKI,
Develop biomarkers of AKI recovery to be able to monitor the response to the above-mentioned interventions, and
Continue large-scale epidemiological studies to evaluate the extent of impact generated by the above-mentioned interventions.
John Kellum: The first major advance is that we now have a consensus regarding what AKI is and how it should be defined. We now recognize that small changes in renal function can herald significant pathology that can have long lasting consequences. This is a huge advance over where we were just a decade ago. This advance has allowed for much better epidemiology of AKI and identification of conditions that cause it. In turn, this has opened up new avenues of research as to the mechanisms underlying AKI, and this, we hope, will lead to new therapies. The second major advance concerns the discovery of new biomarkers of AKI. These markers permit earlier recognition and even risk stratification for AKI. Next, we need to harness these advances to discover therapies that can prevent AKI, mitigate the damage, and/or enhance recovery.
Jay Koyner: The international acceptance of consensus definitions of AKI amongst nephrologists, intensivists, and health professionals has advanced our knowledge of the epidemiology, natural history and long-term outcomes of those with AKI. These definitions have (1) standardized AKI research, (2) paved the way for the recent explosion of biomarker studies, (3) informed our understanding of volume overload in the setting of AKI, and (4) led to the understanding that episodes of AKI have long-term deleterious consequences for a patient's renal function. However, despite these advances, those with AKI still suffer from a relative lack of effective prophylactic and therapeutic treatment options. By and large, patients with AKI are treated with supportive measures (e.g., acute dialysis, avoidance of nephrotoxins, maintaining adequate renal perfusion), and this care has essentially been unchanged over the last 10 years. While large randomized multicenter trials have answered questions about the dose of dialysis in the setting of AKI, we still do not have evidenced-based answers for the optimal timing of dialysis initiation or if there is a benefit from specific dialysis modalities. Patients with AKI desperately need therapeutic options that will treat their underlying tubular injury/dysfunction, rather than supportive measures that simply control their fluid balance and fix their deranged electrolytes.
Ravindra Mehta: The availability of standardized diagnostic and staging criteria for AKI, which have now been validated worldwide in multiple settings, has established the existence of a high disease burden linked to adverse outcomes. Studies have demonstrated large gaps in the recognition, management, and follow-up of patients with AKI. These findings have prompted an urgent need for raising awareness of AKI worldwide and for the development of practical strategies for early recognition and effective response to improve outcomes for this disease. Considerable progress has occurred in our understanding of the basic mechanisms and pathways of AKI, which have been facilitated with advances in technology. Preclinical studies have provided guidance for the development of specific biomarkers of kidney damage and established potential targets for therapeutic interventions. Several kidney-specific biomarkers have been tested in prospective studies; however, they have not been incorporated in the routine clinical management of AKI patients. Biomarker utilization has been hindered by several factors, including regulatory issues limiting availability in some countries, lack of standardized assays, identification of the best biomarkers for each purpose (risk assessment, diagnosis, determination of cause for differential diagnosis and prognosis), and the recognition that the thresholds may be different in each setting, particularly when there is underlying CKD. It is likely that further advances in AKI management will require incorporation of sensitive and specific biomarkers to enhance recognition and early and effective response for disease management.
What biomarkers show the greatest promise for detecting AKI?
Lakhmir Chawla: A large host of biomarkers have been identified that appear to detect AKI earlier than serum creatinine and urine output. It should be mentioned that multiple new biomarkers currently in development appear to have promise as well. Of the biomarkers that have been established in large cohorts, 6 have shown the most promise: neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin-18 (IL-18), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), liver fatty acid–binding protein (L-FABP), tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase inhibitor 2 (TIMP-2), and insulin growth factor–binding protein 7 (IGFBP7). Each of these biomarkers has shown promise in various facets of AKI management. Unfortunately, at this time none of these biomarkers has gained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and consequently the biomarkers remain unavailable in the US for clinical use.
Kianoush Kashani: Within the last decade, many biomarkers of AKI have been discovered and studied. Some of the markers obviously perform better than others in the early detection of AKI. Most of these markers were found not to be very specific for AKI in follow-up studies. In my opinion, an ideal AKI biomarker should have the following characteristics:
It is syndrome specific. For example, if a marker is to detect AKI, it should not show signals in CKD.
It is disease specific so that it can be used in differential diagnosis. For example, markers should be able to distinguish AKI due to tubular injury from glomerular injury or interstitial disease.
It needs to be adequately sensitive to the injury. Its sensitivity should be clinically relevant; that is, it should not be so sensitive that it identifies injuries that are not clinically important. On the other hand, it should be sensitive enough to allow detection of clinically significant AKI.
A marker is useful when it can estimate the extent of the damage.
It needs to be identifiable early in the course of AKI progression so that it can be used for identification of patients who may benefit from early preventive or therapeutic intervention.
Not only should the ideal marker show signals early during the injury, but its concentration should also decline after the injury has subsided or the underlying process has been removed.
It needs to be able to predict short- and long-term outcomes of AKI, including the need for renal replacement therapy and quality-adjusted life-years.
Low turnaround time is particularly essential in early detection of AKI. Point-of-care measurement of markers with low coefficients of variation would be ideal.
The marker needs to be easy to measure.
Measurement cost should be reasonable.
Unfortunately, none of the available biomarkers have all of the above-mentioned criteria. Particularly among the adult patient population with other comorbidities, the function of the available biomarkers is poor. NGAL is one of the most studied biomarkers of AKI. This marker has an excellent function in the pediatric population after timed injury (cardiopulmonary surgery). However, its performance in adult patients with other comorbidities is not as robust. KIM-1, IL-18, and L-FABP are other well-studied biomarkers that have the same limitations as NGAL. Recently, 2 novel biomarkers, IGFBP7 and TIMP-2, were validated in a large-scale trial. These markers reflect arrest in the cell cycle G1-to-S transition. In this study, the sensitivity and specificity of a panel of these markers were good. However, before any final judgment, these results need to be replicated in other, independent studies.
John Kellum: Biomarkers are not just about detecting AKI—indeed, once damage has occurred we've already lost part of the battle. The first role for biomarkers is to aid in risk prediction, to tell us which patients should be monitored closely and in which patients we should consider more expensive but safer treatment options. For this indication, I believe, new markers like TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 are clearly helpful. Next, we would like to know if a patient with reduced renal function has AKI and whether a patient with AKI will progress or renal function will recover. NGAL appears to have value in this space, as does KIM-1. KIM-1 may also be very helpful in detecting early renal injury from drugs and toxins. Finally, all of these markers may identify patients who have sustained some degree of subclinical AKI and may be at risk for progression.
Jay Koyner: Several biomarkers have shown tremendous promise, so it is hard to single out just one. Some have shown promise in the early detection of AKI following cardiac surgery (plasma NGAL, urine IL-18), while others have demonstrated the ability to detect AKI in the setting of critical illness (urine cystatin C, TIMP-2, and IGFBP7) and others have shown the ability to predict AKI progression at the time of clinical AKI (plasma NGAL, urine microalbumin). Serum creatinine has been the sole marker to detect AKI for so long that perhaps some physicians may have the misguided notion that, in the future, only 1 novel biomarker will be needed to detect AKI. However, in the near future physicians will likely use a panel of biomarkers (traditional and novel) to diagnose AKI, with different combinations excelling in certain clinical settings (sepsis, cardiac surgery, nephrotoxin) as well as at different clinical time points (in the emergency room, time of ICU admission, onset of clinical AKI).
Ravindra Mehta: This will depend on what criteria are used for diagnosing AKI. Currently, the detection of AKI is based on establishing a functional change, either through a change in urine output or an increase in serum creatinine. Over the last few years, the biomarker field for AKI has rapidly expanded with the identification of different molecules emanating from the injured kidney or reflecting altered kidney function. These molecules have ranged from constitutive proteins released by the damaged kidney (e.g., α and π glutathione S-transferases, L-FABP) to molecules upregulated in response to injury (e.g., KIM-1 and NGAL) or nonrenal tissue products that are filtered, reabsorbed, or secreted by the kidney (e.g., cystatin C). I believe that each of these biomarkers will have role in detecting AKI, depending on the context. For instance, oliguria is a sensitive and specific marker of AKI but will likely have value only when there is accurate monitoring of urine flow, e.g., in an ICU with an indwelling Foley catheter and consistent recording of the data. Similarly, while urinary NGAL may be increased earlier than serum creatinine, it may not be as specific in the setting of a pyelonephritis. At the current time, all of the damage and functional markers have promise; however, they need much more extensive evaluation before being considered as a substitute for current criteria.
How do you envision clinicians using biomarkers in the care of patients with AKI?
Lakhmir Chawla: AKI biomarkers will be used in 3 different phases of AKI: early diagnosis, early prognosis assessment, and recovery.
Kianoush Kashani: Instead of reinventing the wheel, we can adopt what has been done by other subspecialties to improve the chance of success in implementation of biomarkers.
Oncologists use a panel of genetic markers to make a decision on the nature of each cancer and design a target-specific treatment plan. This has resulted in significant improvement in the treatment of cancer patients in recent years. The available functional and injury markers of AKI, and the ones that will be discovered in the future, could be used in such a fashion. Each marker potentially represents one or more mechanisms during the injury and/or recovery. The sum of information gained by the panel of markers can potentially be more meaningful than relying on markers separately. We can create a map of the injury process, and using marker panels can place each patient in the appropriate location on this map. This would allow us to design a focused and individualized care plan for each patient with AKI.
Cardiologists have used biomarkers of myocardial injury to plan for appropriate and early interventions to preserve myocardial mass. They have been able to collaborate with emergency room physicians, intensivists, and other care providers to measure and report these markers. To be able to use AKI biomarkers in a more efficient way, we need to collaborate with other care providers to utilize the markers in patients who have a high risk for AKI. Cardiologists use their biomarkers after initial risk-stratification processes. Indeed, any use of biomarkers in low-risk patients would be associated with increased cost with no value added.
John Kellum: Whenever clinical uncertainty exists. Sometimes AKI is obvious, and one doesn't need a biomarker. Often, however, we are faced with clinical uncertainty. Take, for example, a patient with oliguria who has responded to fluids. Has the risk of AKI been mitigated, or will the creatinine rise over the next 6–12 h? Can such patients safely be discharged, or should they remain in a monitored environment? What about a patient presenting with an increased creatinine? Will the patient progress, or will renal function improve? Is this a case of AKI or CKD or both? What is the prognosis? Biomarkers may also address the etiology of AKI and help guide clinical decision-making that way.
Jay Koyner: Physicians will utilize biomarkers to diagnose AKI before there are changes in traditional markers, such as urine output and serum creatinine. Additionally, biomarkers may be used to help prognosticate long-term clinical outcomes, including the risks of inpatient mortality and of developing post-AKI CKD. Biomarkers at the time of clinical AKI (once creatinine is already increased or the urine output has already dropped) will be used to differentiate those with volume-responsive AKI (e.g., from renal hypoperfusion) from those with true intrarenal tubular injury (e.g., acute tubular necrosis from renal ischemia); this is not currently possible with serum creatinine and urine output. Finally, a quick check of ClinicalTrials.gov demonstrates several studies that utilize biomarker values in conjunction with clinical factors to enroll/stratify subjects in therapeutic trials investigating novel and previously tested treatment options.
Ravindra Mehta: Since AKI has a wide spectrum of manifestations, ranging from unrecognized alterations in serum creatinine to anuric renal failure, the clinical context and setting strongly influence the natural history of the disease. Biomarkers can be used for risk assessment, diagnosis and staging, differential diagnosis, predictive value for prognosis for recovery of renal function or progression, and establishing appropriate time points for intervention. It is highly unlikely that a single biomarker will fulfill all these needs; however, individual biomarkers may be well suited for a specific purpose. I believe that the optimal utilization of biomarkers will require a combination of markers of functional change and kidney damage to characterize the underlying state of kidney health that represents changes in function or damage, alone or in combination. The magnitude of change could inform the underlying severity. For instance, measurement of NGAL or KIM-1 along with serum creatinine following exposure to a nephrotoxic antibiotic may demonstrate initial changes in the damage markers alone without changes in serum creatinine. This may represent a subclinical early phase of injury that could progress to a functional change. Alternatively, in a dehydrated patient who is oliguric, serum creatinine may be increased without increases of NGAL or KIM-1, suggesting a functional change that is potentially reversible. Sequential measurements would further define disease progression or resolution and guide interventions. However, biomarker-based management will require correlating the data with the clinical context and associated concomitant events to improve management. Which damage and functional biomarkers would work best for each purpose (risk assessment, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, or prognosis) will need to be defined in well-designed large prospective clinical studies. For instance, the recent identification of 2 biomarkers associated with cell cycle arrest performed better than NGAL and KIM-1 in predicting progression in severity. I envision that the clinical utilization of biomarkers will be incremental and will be guided by physician experience in specific settings and will benefit from a standardized approach.
What are the major obstacles to the development and use of AKI biomarkers?
Lakhmir Chawla: The major limitation in the US is availability. In addition, in order for these biomarkers to be widely used, the issues regarding platform and cutpoint values need to be addressed. Different laboratory platforms often generate slightly different results. In order for clinicians to have confidence in the markers, these logistical issues will need to be addressed. Fortunately, this process is under way in Europe and Japan, and as various companies complete their validation studies, we should have availability in the US within 12–18 months for some of these biomarkers.
Kianoush Kashani: There are many reasons that the field of AKI is not as advanced as for other diseases, including:
A false perception exists in the medical community regarding the lack of need for AKI biomarkers.
Until recently, clinicians had no specific definition of AKI.
Only in the past decade has the medical community realized that the kidney is one of the vital organs that, if injured, can independently increase mortality and morbidity.
The management of advanced AKI is very effective; that is, renal replacement therapy can maintain the metabolic milieu of the body in the case of severe kidney injury.
The clinical implementation of biomarkers needs a change in management to achieve a culture shift; this will require time and entail cost.
Currently, there is no effective treatment for AKI. Therefore, large numbers of clinicians question the need for AKI biomarkers.
In the majority of AKI cases, there is no biopsy sample available to compare tissue damage with biomarker concentrations.
The mechanism of AKI and its recovery are very complex, and pinpointing a single molecule may not represent the whole picture.
Most AKI biomarkers are not kidney or disease specific.
In the majority of cases, AKI biomarkers are compared with an AKI definition based on functional markers, such as serum creatinine and urine output. However, not all kidney injuries are associated with functional changes, and not all functional changes result from AKI. Therefore, it seems we are comparing apples to oranges.
John Kellum: Actually, the field has moved pretty quickly. It's very helpful that we have access to urine, which is very close to the site of action in the tubules. So, the markers we have are actually very good. The next required step, though, is education. We need to teach clinicians how to use these markers, and to do that we need a better understanding of exactly what they tell us. Studies evaluating the ROCs of the markers are too limited, and an ROC curve is not the be-all and end-all.
Jay Koyner: Countless small and several large-scale multicenter studies have been published [Translational Research Investigating Biomarker Endpoints-AKI (TRIBE-AKI), Early Intervention with Erythropoietin Does Not Affect the Outcome of Acute Kidney Injury (EARLY-ARF) trial, and Evaluation of Novel Biomarkers from Acutely Ill Patients at Risk for Acute Kidney Injury Trial (Astute Medical Sapphire)]. These studies have demonstrated an ability to accurately and reliably diagnose AKI earlier than serum creatinine, in a variety of clinical settings. While some of these studies require further validation, several biomarkers are ready for wide-scale use. To this end, in Europe and Asia several biomarkers are clinically available. Unfortunately, none of these assays are clinically available in the US; however, through continued collaborations between physician scientists, industry sponsors, the FDA, and the newly formed Kidney Health Initiative, I suspect that nephrologists and physicians in the US will have access to these clinical assays soon.
Ravindra Mehta: Several barriers have limited biomarker utilization in AKI. Emerging biomarkers all have different test characteristics (in serum and urine), diverse platforms for evaluation, and a lack of standardization in the way data are expressed. Additionally, there are considerable differences in the regulatory assessment for biomarker approval in different countries. Concern about the costs and reimbursement for biomarker assays further influences the enthusiasm for clinical implementation. The evidence base for biomarker performance has also been influenced by the large number of studies emphasizing the potential benefit of one biomarker over another without clear evidence of added benefit to clinical criteria. Finally, there have not been any specific clinical recommendations for applying these emerging biomarkers to optimize patient management. The results from the recent ADQI conference on biomarker utilization in AKI will be published shortly and will provide a framework for the clinician to incorporate biomarkers in clinical practice.
Are there any AKI biomarkers that are ready for prime time today?
Lakhmir Chawla: Of the main 6 biomarkers, 3 appear to have utility for early diagnosis of AKI: NGAL, TIMP-2, and IGFBP7. Other biomarkers, such as KIM-1, L-FABP, and IL-18, also appear to have an important capacity to assess kidney injury and prognosis. However, for each of these biomarkers the platform and cutpoint values will need to be determined before clinicians can effectively use these promising AKI biomarkers.
Kianoush Kashani: In a recent systematic review of AKI biomarkers, the authors concluded that current markers are not quite ready for prime time in the adult population with other comorbidities. This was felt to be due to a lack of sufficient sensitivity and specificity of these markers in the populations of interest.
Among the biomarkers of kidney function, certainly serum creatinine and cystatin C have been implemented in clinical practices across the nation. Urine output, although found to be very sensitive and a valuable functional marker, has not gained the momentum due to its limitations. In the majority of studies, urine output has not been reported, due to the difficulties associated with collection of the information. In addition, the frequent use of diuretics in hospitals and ICUs has made it more unreliable.
John Kellum: I believe there are. We have the most data on NGAL and KIM-1, and I think both are major advances over clinical evaluation alone. They are far from perfect, but I think both offer value. TIMP-2 and IGFBP-7 are new markers and look very good for risk stratification. They are linked to G1 cell cycle arrest, which is the cell's own alarm system. These markers may be allowing us to hear that alarm even before the cells are injured.
Jay Koyner: There are several biomarkers that have been approved for clinical use throughout Europe and Asia. Continued investigation will further clarify the strengths and weaknesses of these assays and will have them ready for real-time patient application in the US in the immediate future.
Ravindra Mehta: While several markers have been studied, I don't think any are ready to replace serum creatinine. However, several biomarkers are being tested in different situations to establish their utility for different purposes. The FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) have qualified a panel of 7 urinary kidney-damage biomarkers for the identification of nephrotoxicity, and clinical studies have been initiated by a collaboration among several large pharmaceutical companies participating in the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium and the Foundation for the NIH to evaluate their performance. Several other studies in cardiac surgery, contrast nephropathy, and heart failure also under way will provide more data for developing standardized approaches for the future use of biomarkers.
↵10 Nonstandard abbreviations:
- acute kidney injury;
- chronic kidney disease;
- intensive care unit;
- Progress to Improve Care in Acute Renal Disease;
- Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative;
- Acute Kidney Injury Network;
- Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome (group);
- neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin;
- interleukin-18;
- kidney injury molecule-1;
- liver fatty acid–binding protein;
- tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases inhibitor-2;
- insulin growth factor–binding protein-7;
- US Food and Drug Administration;
- Translational Research Investigating Biomarker Endpoints-AKI (study);
- Early Intervention with Erythropoietin Does Not Affect the Outcome of Acute Kidney Injury (trial);
- European Medicines Agency.
Author Contributions: All authors confirmed they have contributed to the intellectual content of this paper and have met the following 3 requirements: (a) significant contributions to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (b) drafting or revising the article for intellectual content; and (c) final approval of the published article.
Authors' Disclosures or Potential Conflicts of Interest: Upon manuscript submission, all authors completed the author disclosure form. Disclosures and/or potential conflicts of interest:
Employment or Leadership: None declared.
Consultant or Advisory Role: J.C. Lieske, IDEXX Laboratories; L. Chawla, Alere, Astute Medical, Abbott Laboratories, NxStage Medical, and Gambro; J.A. Kellum, Alere, Abbott Laboratories, Astute Medical, and Roche; R.L. Mehta, Astute Medical.
Stock Ownership: R.L. Mehta, Astute Medical.
Honoraria: R. Mehta, Abbott Laboratories and Alere.
Research Funding: J.C. Lieske, Bioporto and Gentian; K. Kashani, Astute Medical and Alere; J.A. Kellum, Astute Medical and Alere; J.L. Koyner, Astute Medical and Abbott Laboratories.
Expert Testimony: J.L. Koyner, Smith Amundsen LLC, for case involving acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery.
Patents: None declared.
- Received for publication April 27, 2013.
- Accepted for publication May 21, 2013.
- © 2014 The American Association for Clinical Chemistry


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See latest flood information here�.
Call the City of Miami Operations Center at 542-6685.
Call the News-Record at 542-5533.
Log onto the News-Record Web site at miaminewsrecord.com.
Listen to the KGLC 100.3 radio broadcast on the hour.
Tune into Cable One Channel 13 for top of the hour replays of press conferences.
NEW INFORMATION Gov. Brad Henry has declared Ottawa County a disaster area, along with Comanche, Pottawatomie and Washington counties. The declaration will be forwarded to President Bush.
� The level of the Neosho River at the Stepp Ford Bridge at 8 a.m. Friday was 24.73.
� Highway 10 has been temporarily closed at the intersection with SH 137 because of congestion created by semi traffic attempting to turn around. It should reopen Saturday, along with all outbound roads other than SH 125 at the fairgrounds.
� An estimated 300 Wardog polycarts have been lost due to the flooding.
� There are three ways to dispose of flood-related trash: curbside, by taking it directly to the transfer station, located across from the airport or via rolloff containers in each quadrant of the city:
� Northwest - in the parking lot at the Masonic Lodge (5th and H NW)
� Southwest - in the lot south of H&R Block, 318 South Main
� Northeast - 12th and Sky Lane
� Southeast - Behind Immanuel Baptist Church, 228 H SE
� Building permits will be available starting at 1 p.m. Monday.
� Tetanus shots - If you are a flood victim or are volunteering with flood relief efforts and you have not had a tetanus shot in 10 years, health officials advise that you do so. Free shots will be offered today at the Ottawa County Health Department. Integris Baptist Regional Health Center will also administer free tetanus shots Saturday and Sunday in the hospital lobby.
� Animal rescue - Calls regarding animal rescue, missing pets and animals that need shelter should be directed to 541-8526 and 542-3413.
� Collection efforts - Those who are sponsoring food, clothing or other donation drives related to local flood relief, please contact the News-Record and ask to be added to the "Relief List.�
� The flood of '51 - Do you remember the flood of 1951? If so, please contact the News-Record newsroom at 542-5533 or e-mail your thoughts to firstname.lastname@example.com.
� Tell us your story - If your home or business is flooded or you are participating in the ongoing relief effort, the News-Record would like to document your experience. Please contact the newspaper office via e-mail at email@example.com or mail correspondence to: Flood 2007, 14 1st Ave. NW, Miami, Okla. 74354.
July 5, 2007
� The level of the Neosho River at the Stepp Ford Bridge at 8 a.m. Monday was 27.07. Officials are estimating the Neosho and Tar Creek have dropped about 3 feet since the Tuesday midnight crest.
� The Neosho is expected to drop below flood stage Saturday night at Stepp Ford Bridge and here on Sunday night. Heavy rain in southeast Kansas Wednesday is not expected to affect the level on the Neosho.
� The Miami Police Department will inspect streets as soon as water levels drop. Hopefully starting on Friday, Street and Public Works Department employees then will remove debris. The roadway will then be hosed down and swept.
� The city will be out determining the number of homes and businesses that were flooded. The information gained will be used to develop a database for future use.
� Volunteers are now needed to help displaced families move things back in. To volunteer, call 542-6685.
� Forty-two families took advantage of the American Red Cross shelter at First Christian Church Wednesday night. Local coordinator Tammie Lewis said 575 meals were served Wednesday.
� Breakfast is being served at the shelter at 7 a.m. with lunch at noon and dinner at 5 p.m.
� Red Cross clean-up kits will be available starting at noon Thursday. The kit includes an information booklet and supplies.
� More than 300 tetanus shots have been given to volunteers as of Wednesday.
� Representatives from FEMA have not yet contacted city officials. Mayor Brent Brassfield said that hopefully will occur "within a day or two."
� Tires that have floated up can be taken to Red Cedar Recycling, 202 D NE, beginning Friday morning.
� Power will be restored to a house of business in a flooded area only if the floor is dry. If water reached receptacle level, it must be inspected. Individuals can hire private electrical contractors to do inspections, then they can provide a letter to the city.
� Building permits are not needed for basic cleaning. Removal of drywall and other major projects will require a city permit. Officials will waive building permit fees for all flood-related inspections.
� FEMA, Oklahoma Water Resouces Board and city ordinances require that if 50 percent of a building in the 100-year flood plain is damaged, it can not be repaired.
� Citations are being written for sight-seers who have driven around barricades. There have been no arrests for looting.
� Residences with dumpsters that have floated off should place bags at curbside for pickup. Also, flood damaged items can be placed curbside for pickup.
� Officials hope to have the Miami Municipal Pool back in operation within a couple of weeks.
July 3, 2007
� The Neosho River at the Commerce gauge crested at midnight on Tuesday at 29.25 feet.
Water in Miami has started to recede and is expected to continue to do so at slow pace. At its height, water in and around Miami is believed to have reached mean sea levels near 774.
� Federal Emergency Management Agency task force members will be in Miami today to begin assessing damage.
� Questions about the return of electrical power or property inspections, call 541-2231 or 541-2214.
� The NEW number for all calls regarding flood conditions, evacuation, recovery and assistance is 542-6685. City personnel will assist with directing calls to appropriate officials.
� Miami City Officials are asking that people stay clear of flooded areas unless they have a reason to be there. Spectators are hindering evacuation efforts. Those who are touring the flood areas by boat are creating waves that emergency workers say are causing further damage to property.
� Property owners be advised that ALL city employees will have proper identification.
� Ingress and egress into Miami is limited. National Guard members have been posted at several staging areas throughout town to assist motorist. Veterans Boulevard has been limited to local traffic only as it is one of the city's few access roads allowing traffic to move to Highway 69A and on to I-44. Oklahoma highways 10 and 69 remain closed, as does Steve Owens Boulevard and a large portion of neighborhood streets in the southwest and southwest portion of town.
� City crews are currently pulling electric meters at flooded properties. The meters will not be returned until city officials have inspected the sites and are confident that electrical power can be safely returned to the site.
� There is currently no concern of water quality issues. City engineer Jerry Ruse confirmed today that water is being tested hourly and, in the event that the quality becomes a concern, any problems will be quickly isolated and dealt with immediately. Measures are being taken to maintain quality, including additional - but safe - volumes of chlorine have been added to the water system.
� As people are able to return to homes where water may have infiltrated water taps, city officials advise that water be boiled before consumption until water has been sufficiently flushed through the residential pipes to clear any debris or contamination.
� Emergency management personnel have assisted in 12 evacuations that required removing people by boat from their residences. There have been no casualties reported.
� Anyone who is volunteering or working through the flood is being advised by city officials to have a tetanus shot. To date, the city has administered 120 shots.
Volunteers Needed
Emergency management personnel are calling for volunteers throughout Miami as the city now moves into a recovery and cleanup mode. City officials say that residents in more than 600 homes are expected to have been impacted by the flood. Official numbers will not be available until the waters recede.
When will it go away?
City Manager Michael Spurgeon said Monday that floodwaters are expected to remain at least through Friday.
Drinking water
City engineer Jerry Ruse said he anticipates no problem with the city's water supply. If a problem occurs, Ruse said it will be quickly identified and isolated.
Anyone who has private wells should boil the water before consumption.
Fire, rescue and medical crews have been set up in strategic areas, according to Fire Chief Kevin Trease. Emergency services remain available to as many people as possible.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has provided the city with a helicopter and the National Guard is now in place.
Shelters in place
Shelters are open at the First Christian Church and the First Baptist Church in Miami. Tammie Lewis of the Red Cross said additional sites are being prepared at the First Assembly of God Church, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Southeast Baptist Church in Commerce. There is no charge for use of the shelters. Meals are provided.


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Company profile
TEVEA international, founded in 1984, is a tax representation company specialised in operating consultancy in Vat matters, foreign VAT reimbursement, tax representation in VAT matters and property tax representation.
Its Know-How and experience since more than 25 years is allowing its clients to successfully fulfil all their fiscal and declarative obligations relating to their international activities.
Our team
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Why choose us ?
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The client is in the focus of our approach: we offer our clients personalised service based on real understanding of their needs.
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Whatever your aims, TEVEA International stands by your side to achieve results with quality services.
The executives
TEVEA International
29-31, rue Saint-Augustin - F 75002 Paris
RCS Paris B 331 270 280 00067 - FR 68 331270280
Patrick Brenelin
Graduated from INSA Lyon and a master from ESSEC in 1991, Patrick Brenelin carried out his responsabilities during several years at the head of service and It consulting companies in Paris, then evolving in a consulting firm in Management & Organisation, accompanying corporate accounts on topics related to financial performance management, before taking over the General Management of TEVEA International in 2007.
Cyrille Konter
Graduated from HEC in 1997 with a specialisation in Finances, Cyrille Konter started his career in Germany within various investment banks as structureur and seller of derivatives on action. In 2003, he returns to France to take over the business development of TEVEA International.
Several European saving banks and Institutions composed TEVEA International's shareholding :
- Germany : Sparkassen Verband Westfälisch Lippischer (SVWL) and Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA)
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Happy New Year 2019
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All news and events


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Report: Banks Float Industry-Led Crisis Plan to Federal Reserve
Pushing back against efforts to break up some of the largest financial institutions, U.S. banks reportedly presented the Federal Reserve with a "bail-in" plan for a restructuring in the event of another crisis.
Continue Reading Below
The talks come amid a renewed debate over how best to minimize the fallout from a banking disaster following the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
While the Fed favors making banks hold extra capital and issue more debt, some U.S. lawmakers and European regulators have pushed to downsize too-big-to-fail global banks.
The proposal by U.S. banks calls for the largest financial-services holding companies to hold a certain amount of debt and equity that would be used to support failed banking subsidiaries that are seized by regulators, The Wall Street Journal reported. Some of these banks would need to issue expensive long-term debt.
Conceding to pressure from the Fed, the banks said they would each agree to hold combined debt and equity equal to 14% of their risk-weighted assets, while the top six U.S. banks could need to raise that ratio as high as 15% to 16.5% due to global guidelines, the Journal reported.
Such a move would shift the financial burden of a bailout from taxpayers, like in the 2008 banking rescues, to creditors.
The private meeting was held in Washington on May 22 between the Fed, banking trade group the Clearing House and execs from several top U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C), the paper said.
Earlier this year, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R–LA) introduced a bill that would require banks like J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) that have more than $500 billion in assets to ratchet their capital reserves to 15%.
Analysts have estimated such a move would force U.S. banks to raise $1 trillion or more to comply.


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A crash course in some of the top free-to-use social media sites.
If, like many families, yours is scattered to the wind, welcome to your new favourite invention. Skype allows anyone with an internet connection to make free video calls – meaning you can watch your grandkids growing up, even if they're on the other side of the world. You can connect multiple people at once on group calls, too.
Just create a username and password – and away you go. To call someone, you'll need to add them to your Contacts list. Click the Contacts tab on the left hand side of your home page, type their name into the search bar, identify them, then click 'add'.
To ring one of your contacts, simply click the video icon (for a video call) or the phone receiver icon (for a call without video). They'll need to be logged into Skype to accept the call, so it's best to tee up a time to ring in advance.
If someone 'Skypes' you, you answer the call by clicking the 'Answer' or 'Answer with video' icon.
You'll find more info here, and step-by-step tutorials here.
Use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, find long-lost mates and share photos and videos. Here, your social network is made up of 'friends' you connect with by sending 'friend requests'. Create a profile using your email address, then type the name of the person you're looking for into the search bar. Click on their profile, then send the request. If you receive a friend request, you can choose to accept or decline.
On Facebook, you'll be able to read your 'newsfeed', which is constantly updated with photos and comments you and your friends 'post', plus any other news people 'share'. Comments or photos you post appear in the newsfeed and on your profile page or 'timeline'. You and your friends can 'like' each other's posts and comment on them too – it's an online conversation.
You can also 'follow' groups or organisations you're interested in to find out about events and more.
Click here for a guide to getting started.
More of a visual than a words person? This one's for you. Instagram is a photo-sharing site accessible via the Instagram app, which can be downloaded free from the App Store, Google Play Store or Windows Phone Store. Creating a profile allows you to post captioned photos. These are shared in the 'feed' of the people who 'follow' you.
Anyone can choose to follow you, and you can choose to follow anyone you know or admire (no matter how famous) by searching for their name. Usernames on Instagram begin with '@', and 'hashtags' (#) are used to link photos about related subjects. For example, type #cake into the search bar and you'll see photos from all over the globe with captions that include #cake. You can make up your own hashtags, or copy existing ones. You can also link other people or organisations to your photos by including usernames in your captions.
As with Facebook, you can have an Instagram account and never post a thing. Simply enjoy using it to look at inspiring images and learn more about the people who post them, as well as the news of the day.
Click here for more on getting started.
This is another site on which you can set up a profile and choose to post (or in this case, 'tweet') or just follow people who interest you and find out what's news. Your Twitter 'handle' is your username – like Instagram it begins with an '@'. Sign up using your name, email address and password, and you're ready to begin.
Join or start any conversation by 'tweeting' – posting a short message of up to 140 characters. You can add photos, links and videos too. Just like Facebook and Instagram, the Twitter activity of people you follow shows in your constantly updated 'feed'.
Curious about a subject? Search the topic and all related tweets will be displayed. Like Instagram, hashtags connect tweets on the same topic.
Visit Twitter for a glossary of the lingo and more.
And then there are...
A couple of other websites you might like to explore are LinkedIn and YouTube. LinkedIn is a professional networking site where employers and people you've added to your network post jobs and job seekers post personal profiles. Your profile is essentially an online CV featuring your work experience, skills, education and achievements. LinkedIn makes it easy to connect to others using the contacts in your email address book, by searching the site for people you'd like to connect with, or by accepting invitations or the website's suggestions of people you may know. Your LinkedIn network also shares news and other information – it's an ongoing source of ideas and opportunity.
YouTube is a video-sharing website that provides a wealth of inspiration and entertainment. There's virtually no end to what you'll find here; there's truly for something for everyone among the news, educational talks and tutorials, music videos, TV clips and more. You don't need to sign up – just head to the website then click the links on the left to find out what's popular (or 'trending'), type topics that interest you into the search bar, or subscribe to YouTube channels on subjects from tech, to cooking, to politics.
More about apps
Your two-step guide to FaceTime, WhatsApp, Viber and Snapchat.
1. FaceTime, WhatsApp and Viber are all very similar. Accessed from your smartphone, tablet or computer, they all allow you to make free video and audio calls worldwide to family and friends who use the apps using the data from your smartphone or broadband plan and the contacts in your address book. FaceTime is only available for iPhone users; you'll find the app on your home screen or the task bar on your Mac computer. WhatsApp and Viber are available for free download for iPhone and Android and have the added feature of allowing you to send free texts.
2. Snapchat is a bit of fun that lets users create and share 'snaps' (photos and videos). Creative tools let you edit your recordings, adding special effects and applying 'filters' that are like virtual costumes that can turn you into all kinds of characters – the grandkids will love it. It's easy to use: the app opens your phone's camera, you record a 10-second video, then you send it to a chosen recipient or make it public as a 'story'. Opt to have your snaps disappear after a set period of time, or save them as 'memories'.