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WBC Bantamweight Championship Shinsuke Yamanaka vs Chemito Moreno full fight replay, result, recap September 16,2016.
WBC Bantamweight division reign Shinsuke Yamanaka(25-0-2,17KOs) vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (36-4-1,12KOs) Batamweight venue at saka, Japan – Edion Arena Osaka.
Yamanaka, 33, will look to defend his belt for the 11th time, but will face a tough challenge against the former WBA bantamweight champion, who arguably gave the Japanese star the toughest challenge of his title reign. Yamanaka edged the Panamanian in a split decision to retain his belt for the ninth straight time in Tokyo in last September.
Yamanaka said he expected to fight overseas, which didn't happen this time, but that his motivation was high for the return match against Moreno.
Moreno, 31, captured the WBA bantamweight belt in 2008 and defended it 12 times. The southpaw is known as the Chemito — the Phantom — for his phenomenal defensive skills. Yamanaka said he had a hard time landing his blows on Moreno in their last fight.
Yamanaka admitted that Moreno had been the toughest boxer he's squared off against in his career "without a doubt," but wants to prove he's a better fighter in a clear-cut way this time.
"I wasn't able to handle the distance as well as against my other opponents," Yamanaka said of the last bout against Moreno. "But I know what kind of space he takes, and I can adjust this time."
Everyone knows that Yamanaka's got a heavy, jaw-breaking left, which is dubbed "God's Left." Yet he thinks that he's also developed his right recently and that it will help land his left more effectively.
Yamanaka still anticipates a difficult, close contest against Moreno, who ranks No. 1 in the WBC bantam division with a 36-4-1 record.
"I want to win in a better way," he said. "We're going to work on our plans to do so. But if I get myself prepared properly, I have the confidence to win."
Yamanaka posted a win over Liborio Solis in March and improved his undefeated pro record to a 25-0 (two draws, 17 KOs).
Meanwhile, Hasegawa, who used to hold the WBC bantam belt that Yamanaka currently possesses, will be trying to be a world champion "for one last time."
The 35-year-old failed to defend his bantamweight title against Fernando Montiel in April, 2010, after defending it 10 straight times. He lost to champion Kiko Martinez in an IBF super bantamweight title match in April, 2014.
"It's been almost two years since my last title fight, and I've practiced hard every day, waiting for (September, not having any other fight before) this year," Hasegawa said. "Now I shall only focus on my training. I've had so many fights in my career and I don't have to say a lot any more. I consider this my last challenge, and I'll train as hard as possible so I won't have any regrets."
If Hasegawa takes the belt from Ruiz, who was a former WBC featherweight champion as well, he will be the fourth Japanese boxer to win world titles in three different divisions, joining Kazuto Ioka, Koki Kameda and Akira Yaegashi.
But Hasegawa, the fourth-ranked boxer in the WBC super bantamweight class, showed no interest in the feat, saying, "It's way more important to become a champion once again."
Ruiz, a 29-year-old Mexican, has been 36-3 with 32 KO in his career. He earned the belt with a first-round technical knockout victory over Julio Ceja in February and this will be his first title defense fight.


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This year alone, three long-established firms that serve the gay and lesbian trade--Atlantis Events, RSVP Vacations and Olivia--have a total of 15 cruise ship charters on their books. And, with the recent arrival on the scene of R Family Vacations, a new company formed by Rosie O'Donnell and her partner, Kelli O'Donnell, you can add one more cruise to this year's calendar.
Consider these demographics, based on an e-mail survey of 3,155 American gays and lesbians taken between July and January by San Francisco-based Community Marketing Inc., a firm that does gay-lesbian market research and strategic planning worldwide:
- 97 percent took vacations in the last year.
- 20 percent took at least one cruise.
- 53 percent spent $5,000 or more a person on vacations in the last year.
- 76 percent have household incomes above the national average of $40,000.
- 82 percent are college graduates.
- 84 percent hold a valid passport.
The attraction of cruises, Roth said, is that they "offer a really controlled environment for gay and lesbian travelers. They can pick basically the environment that they'd like to be in and know that they can be in it for a full week. It's an easy way to travel."
Roth said the number of cruise fans keeps growing because more and more cruise lines are identifying themselves as gay-welcoming and gay-friendly.
RSVP Vacations, based in Minneapolis, is the oldest of the companies offering such cruises. With five charters this year on Holland America ships (including the Oosterdam) and Royal Clipper, RSVP books from 5,000 to 7,000 gay and lesbians travelers a year, said marketing director Paul Figlmiller. "We also do resort vacations, African safaris and riverboats in Europe," he said. "We can create an environment where gays and lesbians can be completely comfortable and be themselves. Today, if gays or lesbians hold hands, it becomes a political statement rather than just holding hands with each other." (800-328-7787; www.rsvp.net)
Hollywood-based Atlantis Events, largest of the gay and lesbian travel providers, books about 12,000 people a year on its cruise, resort and tour packages, said Rich Campbell, the company's CEO and founder. Its cruises are aboard such ships as Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Millennium and Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, ships that carry 2,000 or 2,200 passengers.
Depending on the cruise, prices can start as low as $799, though rates are more along the lines of what you'd pay during a high-demand holiday week, Campbell explained. "We're a value-added experience for our guests. What we offer is a really customized, entertainment-heavy, highly produced cruise experience. It's very different from what a guest experiences the week before on the same ship. We have a team of people who go on board and work with every aspect of the line."
What makes these cruises so attractive to gays? "It's the social experience. We're giving our guests a real community." (800-628-5268; www.atlantisevents.com)
Unlike RSVP and Atlantis, whose guests are overwhelmingly male, Olivia, based in Oakland, Calif., caters to the lesbian market. "This year we'll have about 7,500 people on cruises," said Amy J. Errett, CEO and co-founder with Judy Dlugacz.
"The core of our business is the ability to understand what people want as a community and to be able to give them fantastic service and the programs that they want," Errett said. "We bring our own cruise director, our own program director, stage managers, production people and oversee the activities. What we foster is a sense of belonging so our guests can just fully be free to be who they are. You don't have to worry about holding hands or dancing together. Your whole environment shifts to you being the majority, not the minority." (800-631-6277; www.olivia.com)
The newly established R Family Vacations, based in Nyack, N.Y., is gearing up to serve gay families. Its first effort, a cruise out of New York aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn, is billed as "the first-ever gay and lesbian family cruise." The company also plans to do some land-based programs, including a family ski week and a dude ranch holiday.
"What we are trying to offer is something unique," said Kelli O'Donnell. "On the cruise, I'm bringing my partner, Rosie, our four kids, my parents, my sister and her husband, my brother and his wife and their kids. This is my family and that is how the ship will be. A lot of people are bringing their extended family. It's going to be an environment that's not so party-intensive and so glitzy gay." (800-631-6277; www.rfamilyvacations.com)
Yet another aspect of the gay and lesbian travel market is a firm like Ocean Voyageur Cruise Consultants, based in Fairfield, N.J. It organizes groups of gays--from 30 to 50 people--and books them on regular cruises on Holland America, Cunard, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, according to Pat Conway, the firm's manager. Some cruises are escorted, others not.
E-mail Alfred Borcover: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Self-righteous indignation
November 27, 2011
We're all guilty of it: self-righteous indignation (SRI) is the little voice inside your head whispering (or shouting), "I'm right and you're wrong!" when we observe the actions of others. Most often, you hear this voice when you're driving, notes one self-identified "licensed therapist":
The term 'self-righteous' is defined by yourdictionary.com as 'filled with or showing a conviction of being morally superior, or more righteous than others; smugly virtuous.'
Beautiful. That's exactly it. Not virtuous, but smugly virtuous. It is about feeling superior to someone else. Most of us are most easily tempted into self-righteous indignation when driving. The driver ahead of us is driving too slow, too fast, cuts us off or makes some other terribly heinous error. And we are filled with outrage. We lay on the horn and yell and make sure everyone around knows that driver is not driving 'correctly' (or at least how we define correct driving). The nerve of that guy! What a loser.
As a mother, I deal with a constant flood of SRI. First, as a pregnant woman, I was subject to unsolicited advice about my diet, my sleep patterns, my maternity clothes, my exercise habits, etc. Apparently, everybody is an authority on pregnancy…even most men! I didn't know much, so I listened.
Now, as mother to a 16 month-old, I feel I may know even less, because there's a whole new strain of SRI coming my way: advice about her diet, her sleep patterns, the outfits I put her in, how much activity she gets, and more! Apparently, everybody is an authority on motherhood too…and the worst offenders are other mothers.
Why? Because we can't avoid that voice in our heads yelling that we know what's best. And, because we're mothers and thus very important people (certainly this is true in our own lives!), we feel we are obligated to make sure that other mothers know what's what. That means openly criticizing everything other mothers do: from what they wear on/feed/do to their own bodies to what they put on/feed/do to their kids. I've even heard mothers criticize other mothers for totally unrelated things, such as only checking email once per week or volunteering for charitable causes in their spare time. "How come she can't make time to check email on weekdays?!" "How come she has enough time to raise money for cancer research?!"
What it really comes down to is this: we all make choices. Some of those choices line up with those made by our friends and some just don't. And it's really hard to hear opposition to your choices if you've spent a lot of time weighing your options in order to make an educated decision.
Case in point
A recent public service announcement issued by the City of Milwaukee Health Department (CMHD) claiming that co-sleeping with your baby is just as dangerous as positioning your baby next to a sharp knife has some parents outraged:
The CMHD justifies this ad reporting an alarming statistic: "Between 2006 and 2009 there were 89 infant deaths related to SIDS, SUDI, or accidental suffocation. Of these, 46 (51.7%) infants were sleeping in an adult bed at the time of their death. The overall rate of such deaths has remained high in the last decade, prompting public health officials to launch a provocative city-wide safe sleep campaign to prevent them."
Sounds like their hearts are in the right place. Who wouldn't want to prevent 46 infant deaths?! But to a parent who has put a lot of time, energy and thought into his or her choice to co-sleep, this ad comes across as flip, dismissive, insincere and of course – because it is – self-righteous. The CMHD is saying, "We know what's best for you and your baby," or, in other words, "You are doing it all wrong!" For a parent who has made a loving decision to create a family bed, receiving a message like this is like getting a slap in the face…or a knife in the back.
SRI: a good thing?
When you visit the CMDH Web site and read its rationale, you might reconsider co-sleeping based on statistical evidence that suggests it's dangerous. Perhaps, if you're a heavy person and a heavy sleeper, co-sleeping is not the best choice for you and your baby. Maybe the Department's information will help you create a safe compromise: in-room crib sleeping, using a co-sleeper pulled up to your bed, opting for an in-bed nest with firm boundaries to keep you from rolling on top of your baby, etc. In this case, the information is a good thing: it has alerted you to the potential hazards of sleeping with your baby.
But if you have a principled stance in favor of co-sleeping in place – because you want to be able to breastfeed in the night or because you believe in continuum parenting, etc., then the information may be something you already knew and had considered…and the posters of babies sleeping next to knives might come across as snide. Snide is NOT a good thing.
While the posters, like much unsolicited advice, are meant to be helpful – and it's up to all of us to accept this advice graciously because we too are just as likely to dish it, when messages are snide – or read as snide, they are hurtful. It's not surprising that some parents were offended by the arguably glib suggestion that co-sleeping is akin to the Psycho shower scene, because it's a deliberate exaggeration to make a point. And it worked! It got our attention…but that doesn't mean that feelings did not get hurt in the process.
Is SRI a Feminist issue?
Yes. Feminism is, for all intents and purposes, a form of self-righteous indignation. It's basically one set of people saying to another set of people, "We're right about women and you're wrong." And, even when Feminists are not talking about how wrongfully men treat women, they're telling other Feminists how to behave. It's incredibly self-righteous for radical Feminists to refer to liberal feminists as "fun fems," for instance, suggesting that the libs are trying to win favor with men by engaging in sex with them. Feminism is full of infighting, even though, supposedly, we're all trying to eradicate the misconceptions that women are by default shrewish, ignorant, weak, etc. The best thing we can do for our cause is to conduct ourselves with grace, listen to and contemplate the opinions of other Feminists (even if they have a snide tone), and respond politely with, at the very least, egalitarian respect.
Consider this advice from the good "therapist":
If you are guilty of this pattern (of SRI), how do you stop it?
1. Instead of deciding what people should be doing, look at what they are doing and then decide how to react to it.
2. If you find yourself condemning people, examine your motives. Is the issue itself really that important? Is it really worth your time and energy? Is this really a battle you want to take on? Or are you doing it for some other reason?
3. Feel your feelings. How do you feel when you are complaining about or reporting this behavior? Superior? Powerful? Is that the true motivation for it, rather than righting a wrong?
4. Examine the effects. What effects is this behavior having on your life? Has it damaged your career? Cost you friends? Caused conflict within your family?
5. Repeat after me: "I cannot change other people's behavior, only my own." You have no power over other people. Whatever they are doing is what they are going to do. The only person you can change is yourself. And most of us have more than enough work to do developing ourselves without taking on other people's issues.
Self-righteous indignation is a heady, powerful emotion that can be quite (exhilarating). But it comes at a high cost. If you can only bring yourself up by putting other people down perhaps you need to look at that. Perhaps your time and energy would be better spent developing your own character rather than shooting down other people's.
After all, my SRI isn't any better than your SRI!
Oh, the sexist things we say…
March 26, 2011
"What would you rather do: make 80 cents on the dollar or have your head cut off?"
Um, those are my only choices? (If that's true, I'll cut my own head off.) Quite obviously, I'd rather…make 100 cents on the dollar and keep my head, Bill Maher. Yes, the liberal commentator – in making his morally relativistic point that "degree matters" in the maltreatment of women – posed that question to talk show host Tavis Smiley on Maher's Feb. 18 "Real Time." Why? Apparently, according to Maher, it's important to understand the difference between United States sexism and Muslim-world sexism. We non-Muslim Americans should be patting ourselves on our backs for only hating women…a little.
Smiley replied that sexism isn't relative: "It's either right or it's wrong. It's either acceptable or it's unacceptable." Exactly! Thank you! And Bill Maher was arguing that sexism on the lesser end of the spectrum – such as paying women less money than men get for equal work – is acceptable because it's not as bad as violence (which we have plenty of in the U.S., by the way). No. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! He also said that the statement that women are being maltreated in the U.S. is "bull shit."
And in case you think Maher's sexism begins and ends with women, think again. He also said a mouthful about how men are universally uncivilized by default: "Civilization begins with civilizing the men. The women are sort of already there." What?! Been to a sorority hazing lately, Bill? Women are often equally less civilized than what would be desired. Not only can we be equally productive, we can also be equally destructive.
Smiley had the last laugh, however. Maher tried to diss Smiley's liberalism by saying, "When you tolerate intolerance, you're not really being a liberal." (That should be embroidered on a pillow.) But, Bill, you're the one tolerating sexism – or sexist intolerance: "I mean, in this country, we treat women badly because they don't get equal pay, or someone calls you 'sugar tits,' or something like that." I guess he doesn't read past front page headlines. (To be fair to Maher, rape stories usually are buried on page 10.)
"One of the things that is troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, 'Hey look, we're having children. We're not married, but we're having these children, and they're doing just fine.' But there aren't really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie. And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers, and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of children wedlock."
We'll get to sexism in a moment, but I'd first like to point out the Republican double standard at work in this Mike Huckabee quote from a radio interview with Michael Medved earlier this month: Republicans champion the likes of Bristol Palin completing her out-of-wedlock pregnancy before completing her high school matriculation, but Natalie Portman – a Harvard University graduate, is the enemy? Now, I would never claim that an Ivy Leaguer is more prepared to successfully handle pregnancy and motherhood than any other woman…I leave that to the conservatives. That is what Huckabee was saying: "most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job…" But, married or otherwise, Portman does not consider herself single. So, whether she hires a nanny or not, she and the father of their child purport to be united as parents…ergo, she will not be poor or jobless because she has the help of a supportive partner and thus time enough to work outside the home. And Mikey, single mothers have a job: it's called "raising a child." The pay is shit, but it's nonetheless a JOB!!!
Bristol Palin – of the pantheon of young women fighting the temptation to choose to terminate their pregnancies so they can get on with their lives unfettered (let me add that this is – quite obviously – a choice that plagues ONLY women) – is somehow heroic to Republicans. But here's what Palin and Portman have in common: money. Neither is married, but neither is poor. So if there's glamorizing going on, it's happening in both places. Not all single mothers are poor, just as not all married mothers aren't. In fact, as of 1993, only about 40% of the women receiving food stamps in the U.S. had never been married, and a similar portion were currently married, according to a report by the Census Bureau. Ergo, matrimony does not an autonomous mother guarantee. It's sexist to assume that only the presence of a man makes for a financially stable family.
The real sexism at work here, however, is making this statement targeted at any woman…at all. That's because it automatically implies that pregnancy is the fault of women and women alone. The last time I checked, pregnancy results from sex/fertilization between lady AND man bits. The instructions that Huckabee and other anti-Choicers (thanks to my girlfriend L***** for encouraging my use of this term) – many of them Democrats – are sending are mixed: don't have children out-of-wedlock, but don't terminate your pregnancies either…and don't come to us for help to feed your unwanted babies once you do as we say (not as we do, sometimes). We won't let you choose, but we won't support your forced hand either.
Sure, they'd love us all to abstain from sex…but that's not really plausible in a rape culture, and one in which we're constantly bombarded by both temptation (sex sells) and the message that sex is bad for us or morally wrong (don't teenagers do everything they're told not to do?). Once there's a pregnancy and the abstain message is no longer valid, the completion of the pregnancy is a must…which, let's face it, is often a problem for women alone. I mean, teenage girls lose their scholarships, jobs, families, etc. over pregnancy; yet, in most cases, all a teenage boy need do is deny he's the sperm (I'd write "father" but that's really too generous a designation for one who had sex…that one time…and then conveniently "forgot" about it). Huckabee should be commending Natalie Portman's partner, Benjamin Millepied. He's there. He's responsible. He may not yet be married; but he will be a father. Marriage is etched with ink on a piece of paper; parenthood is etched with blood on our souls.
"It's just destroyed our community. These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives."
Why is it that, whenever there's an alleged gang rape (as in the November 2010 incident in Cleveland, Texas detailed in this March 8 New York Times article) , people express concern for the accused? True, the accused are not always guilty; and the victim(s) is not always telling the truth. But wouldn't it be better to reserve comments such as this – spoken by Sheila Harrison, 48, a hospital worker – until the verdict is in. Assuming the accuser is lying is just as bad as assuming the accused are guilty, is it not?
The fuss over victim-blaming in the aforementioned article reached newsworthy status – and hopefully brought attention to the alleged rape – after Change.org set up a petition to shame the New York Times into apologizing for its story. The specific language in question is as follows:
Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands — known as the Quarters — said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said.
I didn't sign the petition. I think this proves victim-blaming – a hot topic in the feminist blogosphere – on the part of residents but not on the part of the reporter. (I myself have been accused of victim-blaming for admitting to a plan to encourage my daughter to avoid drinking from open containers at frat parties in college. I don't agree with this reaction because I think preventative measures taken to avoid possible sexual assault are appropriate, though certainly not safety guarantees. Unfortunately, if I tell my daughter not to drink from open containers, but then she does anyway…and then she's raped; it sounds like I should be saying "Well, I told you not to drink from open containers…so it's your fault you were raped." It's never the victim's vault. This is a tricky situation. I hope we can evolve to be a culture in which women, and some men, don't have to curb their own behavior to avoid becoming rape victims.)
I agree with Arthur S. Brisbane and his New York Times' follow-up to the reaction to its earlier article:
My assessment is that the outrage is understandable. The story dealt with a hideous crime but addressed concerns about the ruined lives of the perpetrators without acknowledging the obvious: concern for the victim.
While the story appeared to focus on the community's reaction to the crime, it was not enough to simply report that the community is principally concerned about the boys and men involved – as this story seems to do. If indeed that is the only sentiment to be found in this community – and I find that very hard to believe – it becomes important to report on that as well by seeking out voices of professional authorities or dissenting community members who will at least address, and not ignore, the plight of the young girl involved.
It should have struck the writer, and subsequently his editor, that the story "lacked balance." But prior to that, it should have been obvious to Cleveland community members that rape is not justifiable, EVER! – and certainly not in cases where an 11 year-old girl wears make-up.
Again, reserve your judgement. It's okay to express sadness for all involved, but not at the expense of the accuser.
Up next, from comedian Bill Maher:
"What would you rather do: be gang-raped at age 11, or have your head cut off?"
The ugly truth about Mary
December 29, 2010
Last week, my 5 month-old daughter made her theatrical debut as Baby Jesus in our church Christmas pageant. It was a precious happening because all of the other children, ages 3 and up, became serious and silent when they realized a real baby, and not a doll, was at the center of all the commotion. And Ellie – method actress that she is – slept soundly throughout the entire production.
I was Mary. As I sat there before the congregation in an itchy blue shawl with bobby pins pinching my scalp, I listened to the story of Jesus' birth…or as I've learned to think of it: "Mary's delivery."
From the Bible's Gospel according to Luke:
…God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'
'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God…For no word from God will ever fail.'
'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.' Then the angel left her.
(Oh my! "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you"?! Is that an archaic description of rape or what?! All that and she doesn't even get to choose his name?!) This cannot possibly be accurate. (Smirk.) For starters, if we believe that Mary was indeed a virgin and then mysteriously conceived a child without having sex, it would take a lot more than a seven-sentence conversation to quell any doubts and fears she'd have about her immaculate conception. Luke doesn't go on to tell us how Mary probably ran straight away to talk to her sisters, female cousins and friends, mother figures and others about her predicament. True to form, she would have analyzed the situation to death and tried to figure out what God Most High was thinking! Every woman would have nodded and smiled reassuringly, but inside thought to herself, "Yeah right…an angel told her that?! What a hussy!" And once the news leaked to Joseph, he and his posse of male relatives and friends would have accosted Mary until she named the father of her unborn as one other than the Lord so they could beat him to a pulp. This quiet acceptance is so…so…final century B.C.!
Additionally, I take issue with the whole virgin-conceives-the-living-god narrative, not unique to Christianity. The idea that sex – for women, at least – is dirty and cannot possibly result in a pure birth forms just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the gritty details we live in denial about – such as where and how the Holy baby comes out of the so-called virgin's body – form the bulk. It's easy to shrug off the biological impossibility of this conception. It's much more difficult to accept our imperfections and our feeble humanity in the face of such grace. Not only is the baby superhuman, Mary must have been superhuman too. (Oh right – she was "highly favored.")
More from Luke:
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'i-us was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
What kind of a birth story is that?! There's more language in there about a census than there is about Mary's experience. And what the fuck do Caesar Augustus, Quirin'i-us and David have to do with it?! The words "according to" in gospel according to… are really telling. History has been written primarily by men. And in Mary's day, this experience of pregnancy and childbirth would have been witnessed by women and its story passed from mother to daughter in an oral tradition. Were there a Gospel according to Oprah, for instance, we might know more truths about the birth of Jesus.
As it is, when I was a child, I listened to this distorted nativity story with no incredulity whatsoever. Joseph brought Mary to Bethlehem on a donkey. He knocked on the door of the inn and was told that there was no room for them inside. So, they went to the stable where she (painlessly) gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Yeah…you try riding on a donkey when you're nine months pregnant! And there really were no inns; just homes and travellers relying on the kindness and hospitality of strangers. A stable? Fine; but note that Joseph would have had little to no knowledge of the female body. That means Mary was on her own. She had no midwife and no sisters to prop her up so that gravity could help her baby travel down and out. How did Joseph know to cut the umbilical cord? Was he put off by all of the blood and shit that comes with baby? And when Jesus had trouble latching to Mary's breast, who helped her feed him?
Because history has traditionally ignored such details, we've lost much: the practice of midwifery has dwindled and even disappeared from certain parts of the world, and the knowledge that women are strong enough to give birth naturally has practically evaporated. And we take the authors' word for it – or rather their lack of words – that Mary's delivery was uneventful. There's nothing about the actual birth of Jesus in the Gospel according to Matthew: instead, Matthew chooses to focus on how Joseph was able to forgive Mary for whoring about and conceiving a baby behind his back. John and Mark don't mention the Nativity at all.
So that's it! That's all Mary gets. There's no reverence for the anguish she must have felt – as every woman feels – in the uncertain moments before giving birth to her first baby. When I had my moment of "great doubt," I was 9 centimeters dilated and just about to begin pushing. It was then that I asked for pain medication and was encouraged to continue without by my doula. Mary had the relief of no such science, and the assistance of no such saint.
This is the part where all the MRAs chime in: "But Joseph's experience really was harrowing!" they whine. Sure it was. It must have been very difficult to accept your betrothed's impossible explanation for how she became pregnant without you. But what would have been really harrowing was if Joseph had knocked down the door to the "inn" and demanded that somebody give his wife a bed…and some rags and water and loving care. That's right: a hero Joseph would have shouted, "Let us the fuck in!" And when those three idiot "wise" men showed up, he would have told them what they could really do with their gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Seriously, I can just picture the look on exhausted Mary's face as she endures what must have been the original, extraneous baby shower; but instead of sea of pink or blue crap, she found herself with useless luxury goods. "Uh, thanks for the gum resin…really. But did you bring me anything useful, like burp cloths or a bottle warmer?")
As a Christian, I try to find meaning in biblical stories rather than focusing on the details. But when it comes to Mary, there are no details; so what can I learn from her story about mothering? According to these accounts of her, she meant nothing more to Christianity than her anatomy, which was the vessel in which Jesus came to Earth. I wish the authors had seen it fit to value and relay her experience so that we might learn how strong, rather than subordinate, women can be.
The Nativity should not be a catalyst for women-man hatred. Ahead of his time, and perhaps even ahead of ours, German theologian Meister Eckhart (circa 1300) wrote: "We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born."
I agree. Fuck anatomy! We could all use a little of Mary's grace!
Postpartum sexy
October 17, 2010
(This post is about sex.)
A girlfriend of mine and I were moseying through town the other day, with our beautiful new babies in tow, when she confessed to me that she doesn't want to become part of one of those married couples who never has sex. She and I both agreed that we love having sex with our respective husbands.
Incidentally, the idea that women don't care about, or even like, sex was invented by the patriarchy to aid and abet a rape culture wherein men think they don't have to perform well or worry about a woman's feelings during sex because they're convinced that women don't like sex anyway, and men believe they can just take what they want from women because they deny that women care if they do. Stereotypical frat boys think this way…not all frat boys…indeed, not all boys. Heterosexual intercourse – or PIV, as the radical feminist Dworkinites refer to it, which makes it sound like a disease – is a very popular subject amongst the hetero females I know.
Gentlemen, many of us like sex and most of us could talk about it all day long (hence the high turnout at Friday's mothering group meeting for which the theme was "relationships" – yeah, the main topic of that conversation was sex too).
My girlfriend and I discussed the fact that we both had attempted to have sex with our wonderful husbands since the birth of our children, 10 and seven weeks ago; but that our attempts had been painful and unsuccessful. (The sensation – if I may – is like tearing off a Band-Aid®…slowly…on the inside of your vagina. Why? Breastfeeding can lead to vaginal dryness. In short: without the proper lubricant, sex can hurt like hell!)
Why did we perceive that there are couples who "never" have sex? …because cynics like Bill Maher and others claim that marriage and children ruin sexuality in a relationship. …because it's a punchline and a cliché that married people are unhappy under the sheets. …and because, when you've just had a baby and tried to resume your sex life – which was really good during pregnancy!!! – but your attempt fell flat, you worry that you're in for a long dry spell. It's the human condition to assume the worst, right?
Let me tell you how it all went down for us. My husband and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on October 8th with dinner and a hotel room. He, being a romantic, went all out on the hotel room; this wasn't a cheap motel, even though that's what we were using it as. Years from now, I will tell this story as if we intended a romantic evening, but right now is the time for absolute truth…so – fuck it! – I confess that we both were looking to get our rocks off, sexually speaking. We hadn't had sex since our daughter arrived nine weeks before. We felt emotionally ready to reconnect physically. I had been helping myself for a couple of weeks, thus I knew I possessed the urge. We knew that all we needed was the right time and place to get it on successfully. Or so we thought…
Our daughter was thriving so we asked my mother to watch her overnight. I booked our dogs into a boarding facility near the hotel. I wore real shoes instead of flip-flops – ahhhh…the sacrifices we make for l'amour. Everything was in place. I kissed Ellie "good-bye," dropped off the dogs, and strolled breezily into the restaurant, tossing my hair as I went. My entrance was like a Pantene commercial. (Not really.)
Despite what awaited us following dinner, I savored a beet salad and halibut filet in a roasted tomato reduction, along with a great glass of Chianti. I checked in with my mother before dessert: a festive pumpkin cheesecake. (Truth be told, the highlight of the meal was the beet salad.) Our daughter had not, according my worst irrational fear, evaporated. She was merrily cooing, drooling and had taken a conference with the blue elephant who dangles from her bouncy seat. (On second thought, the dessert probably rocked…but I really missed Ellie by then, and so my memory has decided it was a bland cheesecake. Is it possible to love your child too much?)
We made our way up to the hotel suite so that I could change into flip-flops for a walk by the neighboring riverside (Hey, I wore pointy shoes with heels for almost two hours!) My husband decided he couldn't wait for sex and so we began foreplay. I excused myself to put on some sexy lingerie, which I'd brought for fun. I looked pretty good, I thought. I'd managed to tuck the hanging folds of skin on my belly into some lacy knickers – pause for applause. (My appearance has not strayed too far from pre-pregnancy, I'll have you know. While I'm still about 30 lbs. – or two clothing sizes – over what I'd like to be, I am only about 10 lbs. over my pre-pregnancy weight. And I haven't yet cut my hair short indiscriminately or donned the so-called "Mom jeans," despite my empty-baby-bag-of-a-gut.) The lingerie nicely displayed my full, round breasts. I felt really good about myself: not just my appearance, but my efforts to keep the sex alive and well in my marriage. (Fuck you, Bill Maher!)
My husband seemed pleased by my efforts too and told me so (he's good about compliments). I pushed him back on the bed and straddled him. "Just don't touch my breasts," I warned. (The thing about breastfeeding, wonderful though I find it, is that it sort of hijacks your breasts. When they fill with milk and become engorged, they look like you've had implants and are large yet perky; but they hurt a lot. They're hard and sore.) The fact that my husband couldn't touch my breasts was tough for both of us: they've always been a great preoccupation for him during foreplay. And I enjoy that too…which is probably why, when I began to get aroused, I noticed that the right breast was particularly large yet perky.
"Shit! I'm engorged!" I shrieked. I got off the bed, grabbed my breast pump and ran into the bathroom for the second time since we'd entered the suite. Sexy, huh?! (Just nod and smile.)
"I'll just be one moment," I assured my hubby through the door. I opened the pump case, got out the motor, the rubber hose, the bottle and the nipple cover. I assembled said parts.
There came a hesitant request for clarification from somewhere beyond the door.
"I forgot the rubber parts that connect to the hard plastic parts." (At this point, there were hard parts all over the place, if you know what I mean. But the hard right breast had to be soothed as soon as possible.) I tried to hand express some milk from the nipple, but the milk just dripped slowly into the sink. That was not going to work. I exited the bathroom cupping my leaky boob.
"I'm sorry, Babe, but I really need those parts." (Wait for it…) "Can you go home and get them?"
Can you believe it?! Can you believe I asked my horny husband to put his clothes on, descend to the parking garage, drive home to his mother-in-law, collect rubber breast pump parts, drive back to the expensive hotel suite and wait outside its bathroom door while his severely engorged wife – who was trying to be sexy, by the way – pumped milk from her no-longer-very-sexy breasts?
Well, I did. It had to be done.
And he went. I wrote down the pieces I needed. "They're in the microwave sterilizer steamer (which is a big plastic dome resembling a cake carrier) by the sink in the kitchen."
He nodded and told me, sweetheart that he is, that it wasn't a big deal at all. I settled into the round window seat and looked out over the river. I studied the New York City skyline and almost forgot about my failure to achieve postpartum sexy and my sore and leaky right breast. I thought about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful best friend and husband. I thought about how blessed I am to have such a happy, healthy daughter. I thought about homelessness and hunger and rape and hatred…and how none of those things affect me right now. I thought about how much love I had accumulated; not just the love that I get from others, but the love that I give. I thought about beets and halibut and cheesecake and red wine and how delicious they all are. I thought about sex…and how I'd one day like to have it again…and…where the hell is he?!
About an hour after he'd departed, the suite door swung open and my husband sauntered through it bearing a cake carrier. "Howdy, Ma'am," he said, tipping his hat. It was just like a scene from an old spaghetti western. (Not really.)
Just when I was about to ask him where he'd gotten a cake at close to midnight, I realized that my husband hadn't just brought the three rubber pieces that I'd written about in detail on the back of an old receipt that had been hanging out at the bottom the abyss that is my handbag; he'd brought the entire steamer…and there was still water in it! Oh, J***…you carried that steamer all the way through the lobby of this fancy hotel, didn't you? I thought with a laugh. You silly man. The thought of him being so desperate for sex that he didn't fuck around with the parts of the breast pump freaked me out a little, though. I had failed him. I grabbed the steamer and went into the bathroom for the third and final time before sex.
I proceeded to pump something like 7 ounces from my right breast (the usual is 2 or 3 – I guess the alcohol helped things along)! I was so excited about the volume of milk that my body had made that I forgot I was trying to get postpartum sexy back. I ran out of the bathroom with the bottle in my hand and showed it to my husband. I mean, I wanted him to know that this was a serious situation he had helped me avoid. My right boob could have exploded or something! "See," I said, dangling the bottle before his eyes. His face displayed quite possibly the most frustrated/defeated/exhausted/horrified/compassionate look I'd ever seen on a human being before. He waved me off. (That display probably wasn't sexy of me either, was it?)
Well, as I mentioned earlier, the first time feels something like a slow Band-Aid rip. It was not good for me; but it did provide my husband with some relief. Needless to say, I was disappointed and scared. But after speaking with some other mothers about postpartum sex, I learned that it hurts like that for most women the first couple of times.
The thing about postpartum sexy is that it's different from the kind of sexy we knew before. When you're newly married without children and your husband brings you flowers or strokes your hair or rubs your feet after a long day…that's sexy. I used to want to make love to my husband because of his goodness. But after pregnancy and childbirth, I have found that I love him the most when I observe his tender yet strong paternalism, and that can be harder to spot. At first, he didn't seem to relate to Ellie the way I did. No surprise there as I had known her for almost a year before she emerged. He's had significantly less time to bond with her than I. And speaking of bonding: some days, it feels as though all Ellie and I do is bond because I hold her for hours. By the time my husband gets home from work, I have reached my fill of human contact. What I really want is not sex but space…and chocolate.
I have tried to get to postpartum sexy for both of us. I've been looking for his new sexiness: his loving attention paid to our daughter. I have figured out ways to get the physical autonomy that I need so that I can spend time physically bonding with him too. I swim laps. I practice yoga. I shower. (New moms everywhere probably know how special showertime is!) I've even been known to put on scented lotion, and make-up…and high-heeled shoes.
But sexy really is a two-way street, isn't it? My husband didn't wear lingerie on hotel night. And he has taken to farting loudly and blaming the nearest small creature lately: "Oh, that was the dog/cat/baby," he jokes. The first time he did this, it was funny, because they do fart often and without apology. But it has since gotten really tedious and gross. Before the baby, he used to quietly leave the room before passing gas. Why can't he try to be postpartum sexy too?
He'll get there. He loves Ellie more and more every day. And we know we have to talk to each other about what we want and need to move things forward. I asked him what I do that he finds sexy. He thought about it. "I think it's really cute how you get embarrassed when you toot," he confessed and grinned.
Well, at least somebody does.


text:
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text:
Endophenotypes in schizophrenia research is a contemporary approach to studying this heterogeneous mental illness, and several candidate neurophysiological markers (e.g. P50 sensory gating) and neuropsychological tests (e.g. Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)) have been proposed. However, the clinical utility of a single marker appears to be limited. In the present study, we aimed to construct a diagnostic model incorporating P50 sensory gating with other neuropsychological tests in order to improve the clinical utility.
We recruited clinically stable outpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria of schizophrenia and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Participants underwent P50 sensory gating experimental sessions and batteries of neuropsychological tests, including CPT, WCST and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III).
A total of 106 schizophrenia patients and 74 healthy controls were enrolled. Compared with healthy controls, the patient group had significantly a larger S2 amplitude, and thus poorer P50 gating ratio (gating ratio = S2/S1). In addition, schizophrenia patients had a poorer performance on neuropsychological tests. We then developed a diagnostic model by using multivariable logistic regression analysis to differentiate patients from healthy controls. The final model included the following covariates: abnormal P50 gating (defined as P50 gating ratio >0.4), three subscales derived from the WAIS-III (Arithmetic, Block Design, and Performance IQ), sensitivity index from CPT and smoking status. This model had an adequate accuracy (concordant percentage = 90.4%; c-statistic = 0.904; Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit Test, p = 0.64>0.05).
To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study to date using P50 sensory gating in subjects of Chinese ethnicity and the first to use P50 sensory gating along with other neuropsychological tests to develop a diagnostic model for schizophrenia. Further research to validate the predictive accuracy of this model by applying it on other samples is warranted.
Citation: Shan J-C, Liu C-M, Chiu M-J, Liu C-C, Chien Y-L, Hwang T-J, et al. (2013) A Diagnostic Model Incorporating P50 Sensory Gating and Neuropsychological Tests for Schizophrenia. PLoS ONE 8(2): e57197. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057197
Editor: Kenji Hashimoto, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan
Received: October 28, 2012; Accepted: January 18, 2013; Published: February 27, 2013
Copyright: © 2013 Shan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC-101-2314-B-002-137-, NSC-98-2314-B-002-047-MY3). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Schizophrenia, a complex psychiatric disorder, clinically encompasses heterogeneous syndromal presentations and pathogenetically involves complicated neurobiological process. The lack of specific corresponding relationships between various phenotypes and neurobiological bases makes it difficult to elucidate the etiology of this mental illness, which is particularly true based upon the phenomenological approach of the contemporary psychiatric classification system. To address this issue, utilizing the concept of endophenotype, i.e. a state-independent intermediate marker, in schizophrenia research has been proposed and widely adopted [1]. A growing body of evidence has suggested several candidate endophenotypes in schizophrenia, including neurophysiological markers (e.g. auditory event-related potentials (ERPs), such as P50, P300 and Mismatch Negativity), and neuropsychological tests (e.g. attention, memory, working memory, and executive function), some of which have been successfully linked to specific genetic components [1]–[3]. Therefore, studying endophenotypes in schizophrenia may lead to a better understanding of this complex illness.
Of neurophysiological markers, P50 sensory gating is regarded to be a candidate endophenotype for schizophrenia [2], [4]. P50, indicating a preattentional electroencephalographic activity, is a positive wave emerging around 50 msec after an auditory stimulus. In a healthy person, the amplitude of P50 wave corresponding to the second click (S2) is significantly smaller than that corresponding to the first (S1). P50 gating ratio, derived from the S2 amplitude divided by S1 amplitude, is the most commonly used index for P50 sensory gating. P50 sensory gating refers to the phenomenon that the central nervous system modulates its sensitivity to incoming stimuli [5]. Regardless of disease state, P50 sensory gating deficit exists in both patients with full-blown schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives with effect sizes of 0.92–1.29 and 0.79, respectively [2]. For schizophrenia patients, there is little evidence for any association between certain symptomatology and P50 gating ratio [6]. Furthermore, P50 sensory gating has been successfully linked to CHRNA7, the gene for alpha-7 subunit of nicotinic receptor, located on chromosome 15q13–14 [7]. Indeed, cigarette smoking has been proved to be able to transiently normalize impaired P50 gating ratio in schizophrenia patients [8]. It has been related to the high prevalence of cigarette smoking in schizophrenia patients, by which, as self-medication, psychiatric symptoms can be alleviated through improving P50 sensory gating deficits [9]. Nevertheless, it remains unclear about the relationship between P50 sensory gating and long-term nicotine exposure. Taken together, these findings support that P50 sensory gating may be qualified as an endophenotype for schizophrenia.
Abundant evidence exists that schizophrenia patients have a poorer performance of neurocognitive function across individual domains (e.g. sustained attention, memory, executive function, working memory, and spatial ability) and global indices (e.g. Performance IQ, Verbal IQ, and Full IQ), some of which have been proposed to be candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia [2], [3], [10]–[15]. However, it is an issue of grave importance choosing appropriate tools to measure specific neurocognitive performances. Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) have been widely employed to study neuropsychological deficits in schizophrenia; the former is used to assess sustained attention and the latter executive function. Impaired CPT performance can be found in both schizophrenia patients (effect size: 0.45–3.30) and unaffected relatives (effect size: 0.46–2.97) compared to healthy subjects [2]. Likewise, the effect sizes for WCST in schizophrenia patients and unaffected relatives have been reported to be 0.8–1.0 and 0.26, respectively [15]. Accordingly, both CPT and WCST may be candidate measures of neuropsychological endophenotypes for schizophrenia.
Endophenotypes in schizophrenia, in addition to facilitating research in pathogenesis, may serve another purpose of crucial significance – to refine the classification system, i.e. a clinical purpose [1]. However, the clinical utility of any single candidate endophenotype for schizophrenia to date is limited in contrast to a rapidly growing body of evidence from etiological studies using endophenotypes. This may be because the impairment in either neurophysiological or neuropsychological markers does not exclusively exist in schizophrenia. Taking P50 for example, P50 gating deficits can be observed in bipolar disorder, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's dementia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [16]–[21]. Similarly, both CPT and WCST impairments also occur in many psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's dementia, ADHD and autistic disorder [22]–[29]. One approach to address this issue is to build a diagnostic model by incorporating different markers. Theoretically, the more diversity the markers represent, the more power the model would have in discriminating patients and healthy subjects [30]. Of note, one recent study depicted there existed no associations between P50 gating and neurocognitive domains, including sustained attention, executive function, working memory, verbal learning and memory, visual memory and proceed speed [13].To the present, there have only been few studies focusing on developing models to differentiate schizophrenia from healthy controls or other mental disorders by a combination of different neurophysiological markers, neuropsychological indices, or both [30]–[33].
In the present study, we aimed to construct a diagnostic model for schizophrenia by incorporating P50 sensory gating in combination with other neuropsychological batteries. This work may contribute to the existing literature on P50 sensory gating in subjects of Chinese ethnicity.
Materials and Methods
We enrolled clinically stable outpatients meeting the DSM-IV criteria of schizophrenia and healthy controls of Han Chinese ethnicity with ages ranging from 18 to 65 years. Patients with no medication adjustment and no changes in psychopathology over the past 3 months were defined as clinically stable. Those who suffered from mental retardation, epilepsy or other major brain pathology were excluded. Eligible candidates were evaluated by trained interviewers who administered the Chinese version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Study (DIGS) [34], and further reviewed by two board-certified psychiatrists independently to make psychiatric diagnoses based upon DSM-IV-TR. In cases of discordant opinions, the final diagnoses were determined by a senior psychiatrist. Patients with a diagnosis classified as schizoaffective disorder, bipolar affective disorder, organic mental disorders or substance-related mental disorders were excluded. For controls, additional exclusion criteria included lifetime or current psychiatric diagnoses, and a family history of psychotic disorders.
Demographic characteristics and clinical variables were obtained by interview and medical records, including age, smoking status, amount of tobacco consumption, age at disease onset and antipsychotic medications. Patients' psychopathology was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) [35] by treating psychiatrists. The dosage of antipsychotics received was transformed into chlorpromazine (CPZ) equivalent using a standardized method developed by Andreasen et al [36].
This study was approved by the National Taiwan University Hospital Institute Review Board. All participants and/or their guardians provided written informed consent before their participation.
Electroencephalographic Procedures and Data Processing
Participants who failed to pass audiometric testing, i.e. detecting 40-dB sound pressure level tones at 500, 1000, and 6000 Hz presented to either ear, were excluded. Those who smoked were asked to abstain from smoking for at least 1 hour before sessions [37], [38]. Auditory ERP experiments followed a standard protocol for P50 paired-click paradigm [39]–[41]. The experimental sessions took place in a sound attenuated, electrically shielded booth, with participants lying down in the supine position in a comfortable recliner with their eyes open and focused on a fixation point.
Utilizing Neuroscan STIM system (Compumedics Neuroscan, El Paso, TX, USA), auditory stimuli, which were digitized at 1 kHz with an online band-pass filter at 0.5–100 Hz but no 60-Hz notch filter, were delivered via foam insert earphones binaurally., Corresponding EEG signals were recorded by Neuroscan ACQUIRE system (Compumedics Neuroscan) through a 32-scalp-location (10–20 system) Quik-Cap (Compumedics Neuroscan). The electrode placed on the tip of nose served as reference, and another at Fpz as ground. To monitor blinks and eye movements, four electrodes were placed above and below the left eye and at the outer canthi of both eyes. All electrode impedances were below 5 kΩ.
During the experiment, paired auditory clicks (1 msec, 85 dB) were presented every 8–12 seconds (average: 10 sec), with a 500-msec inter-stimulus interval [42], [43]. A minimum of 120 artifact-free trials were obtained online, in which artifacts were defined as activities exceeding ±100 µV within the time-window of -100–500 msec following stimuli.
All data were processed by researchers blind to the disease status of subjects using Neuroscan Edit 4.3 software (Compumedics Neuroscan) [44]. Tool Command batch processing Language (TCL) was used for semi-automated procedures, beginning with electrooculographic artifact reduction through a built-in pattern-recognition algorithm [45]. The data were epoched for the time window from -100 to 923 msec of the first click, covering both S1 and S2 in the same epoch. Epochs containing activities exceeding ±50 µV were excluded; the remaining epochs, to prevent temporal aliasing, were averaged and digitally bandpass-filtered (10 to 50 Hz) in the frequency domain [46]. Trials with artifacts were manually rejected. By using preset intervals, peaks and preceding troughs were then automatically detected at the Cz electrode [40], [42], [47], [48]. Data with S1 amplitudes less than 0.5µV were removed [44], [49]. When the peak was the largest positive deflection between 45 and 75 msec following the stimuli, the amplitude was the difference between this peak and the preceding negative trough (not earlier than 30 msec post-stimulus). For an S2 response, the activity had to appear within a time window of ±10 msec relative to the latency of the S1 response; otherwise, S2 was regarded as zero [46], [49]. Five parameters were extracted, including S1 latency, S1 amplitude, S2 amplitude, amplitude difference (S1–S2) and P50 gating ratio (S2/S1). For the gating ratio, a maximal value of 2 was applied; those greater than 2 were truncated to 2 as a previously established methodology [49].
Neuropsychological Assessments
Continuous performance test.
The paradigm for computerized CPT (i.e. 1–9 task) we adopted in this study has been described in details elsewhere [32], [50]. Briefly, numbers from 0 to 9 were randomly presented on a screen, and the participants were asked to push the button when the number 9 appeared following the number 1. There were two 5-minute sessions: one undegraded and the other 25% degraded. Sensitivity indices, d' for the undegraded task and mask d' (md') for the degraded task, were defined as the ability to discriminate target from non-target stimuli, and were derived from the hit rate and false-alarm rate. These two indicators were presented as adjusted z-scores which were regressed on age, sex and education level according to the data obtained from a healthy community sample [50].
Wisconsin card sorting test.
The WCST measures executive function. We used a computerized version of the WCST during which participants were asked to match 128 response cards to four stimuli cards according to one of three dimensions, i.e. color, form, and number. Four indicators were extracted and then transformed to adjusted z-sores [32], including: (1) perseverative errors: the number of such kind of errors, indicating perseveration tendency; (2) categories achieved: the number of 10 consecutive correct responses, a measure of overall success; (3) trials to complete first category: the number of trials required to successfully complete the first category, indicating initial conceptualization; and (4) conceptual level response: proportion of 3 or more consecutive correct responses, indicating insight to the correct sorting strategies [51].
Chinese version of the wechsler adult intelligence scale third edition.
Using the Chinese version of the WAIS-III, we obtained the following indices: (1) Digit Span: a measure of working memory free from distraction; (2) Arithmetic: a measure of working memory ascertained by arithmetic tasks; (3) Digit Symbol - Coding: a measure of processing speed; (4) Block Design: a measure of visuospatial and motor skills; (5) Information: a measure of general knowledge; (6)Working Memory Index: a composite index derived from Digit Span and Arithmetic; (7)Verbal IQ; (8)Performance IQ; and (9) Full IQ [52].
Statistical Analysis
For demographic characteristics, we compared schizophrenia patients and healthy controls using independent t test and chi-square test for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. We also used independent t test to examine whether there were any differences between the two groups in terms of P50 parameters and neuropsychological performance.
Moreover, we developed a diagnostic model to best differentiate the schizophrenia patients from the healthy controls by fitting multivariable logistic regression models. Demographic variables, P50 parameters and indicators of neuropsychological test batteries were considered as potential predictive covariates. The stepwise model selection method was used, with significance levels for entry and stay set as 0.15 to identify the important predictors. We used PROC GAM in SAS to explore the relationship between disease status and P50 gating ratio with LOESS smoothing. P50 gating ratio was accordingly dichotomized at a cut-off value of 0.4, obtained by generalized additive models (GAM). We then conducted regression analyses with dichotomized P50 gating ratio again to examine whether continuous or dichotomized P50 gating ratio performed better. Finally, the best model was determined by the metrics of accuracy, i.e. the properties of calibration and discrimination. The former was examined using Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test and the latter using c statistics. For the purpose of internal validation, the performance of the final model was assessed using bootstrapping technique by which a total of 1000 bootstrap sample sets drawn with replacement of the same size as the observed data was utilized to obtain c statistics.
Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS software 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). All tests were 2-sided with α = 0.05.
From October 2006 to September 2008, we recruited 106 schizophrenia patients and 74 healthy controls. There were no differences in age and gender between groups (Table 1). Healthy controls had received more years of education, contained a lower percentage of smokers, and consumed tobacco. For schizophrenia patients, the average age at onset was 23.54±8.10 years and the average duration of illness was 13.67±9.95 years. Psychopathology assessment by PANSS showed a mean total score of 52.54±15.39 (Positive Symptoms subscale: 11.77±4.31; Negative Symptoms subscale: 15.37±6.00; General Symptoms subscale: 25.40±8.18). The average chlorpromazine (CPZ) equivalent dose that patients received was 366.07±232.66 mg per day.
For P50 experiment, the average number of total trials delivered before online rejection of gross artifacts was 170.09±33.85 (patients: 175.44±34.52; controls: 162.43±31.54), and that of trials used for analysis was 111.36±22.70 (patients: 108.09±23.82; controls: 116.03±20.23). Among P50 parameters, the patient group had a significantly larger S2 amplitude and higher P50 gating ratio. However, there were no significant differences in the other P50 parameters, i.e. S1 latency, S1 amplitude and S1–S2 between the two groups (Table 2). With regard to neuropsychological function, schizophrenia patients had a significantly poorer performance than healthy controls across all dimensions, except for the Digit Symbol – Coding subtest of the WAIS-III, in which the difference did not reach statistical significance (Table 3).
Finally, we fit a multivariable logistic regression model to best differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy controls, which contained the following covariates: impaired P50 gating (gating ratio >0.4), sensitivity index from CPT (d'), three indices from WAIS-III (Arithmetic, Block Design and Performance IQ), and smoking status. For each variable, the regression coefficient and corresponding odds ratio are listed in the Table 4. This model showed an excellent ability to differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy controls (c statistic = 0.9043; concordant percentage = 90.4%) and fit the observed data well (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.640). For P50 gating alone and individual neuropsychological tests, the c statistics were: 0.578 for impaired P50 gating, 0.675 for d' from CPT (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.014), 0.795 for Arithmetic (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.610), 0.718 for Block Design (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.058), and 0.824 for PIQ (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.034). For the model containing three WAIS-III subtests, the c statistic was 0.870 (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.125). When combining CPT and WAIS-III subtests, the c statistic of the model was 0.891 (Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit test p = 0.084). Note the majority of the models containing neuropsychological tests fit the observed data poorly, as evidenced by Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness-of-Fit tests. The inclusion of P50 gating ratio in the final diagnostic model improved both calibration and discrimination. Finally, the internal validation using bootstrapping confirmed the final model having adequate discriminative accuracy (c statistic = 0.903±0.024).
To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study to date using P50 sensory gating in subjects of Chinese ethnicity. [53]. In addition, this study is the first to use P50 sensory gating in combination with other neuropsychological tests in order to develop a diagnostic model to differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy subjects. As compared with healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia had impaired P50 sensory gating (e.g. P50 gating ratio and S2 amplitude) and neurocognitive functioning (e.g. CPT, WCST and WAIS-III). The best-fit diagnostic model contained impaired P50 gating (P50 gating ratio >0.4), CPT sensitivity index (d'), and three WAIS-III indices (Arithmetic, Block Design and Performance IQ) as predictors, adjusted for smoking status. It was able to satisfactorily identify disease status with adequate calibration and discrimination.
Combining markers representing different neurophysiological and neuropsychological functions appeared to be an effective way to improve diagnostic utility of any single marker. It should be noted that the P50 gating ratio was modeled as a dichotomous variable with a cut-off value of 0.4 in the present diagnostic model. Generally, dichotomizing or categorizing a continuous variable in statistical analysis leads to loss of information, and thus jeopardizes the power. However, in our study, dichotomized P50 gating ratio fit better than keeping it in a continuous form. There may be two reasons for this finding. First, the P50 potential itself inherently suffers from the low signal-to-noise issue [4], [44], [54], [55]. Second, gating ratios greater than 2 were truncated to 2, which was by definition, the maximum value of P50 ratio [49]. That is, in this circumstance, modeling P50 gating ratio as a dichotomous variable may better prevent the association between exposure and outcome from interference by distorted information. In fact, this is in line with previous literature that defined P50 gating deficit as P50 ratio exceeding the cut-off value of 0.4 [56]–[58], which may suggest the use of dichotomous P50 gating for clinical convenience in the future. In addition to P50 gating, four neurocognitive markers used as predictors were also retained in the model. Arithmetic and Block Design, two subsets of the WAIS-III, are measures of working memory and spatial ability, respectively. CPT sensitivity index, d', measures sustained attention. As previously mentioned, these three neurocognitive functions (i.e. working memory, spatial ability and sustained attention) have been proposed as candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia [2], [3]. Of the three global intelligence indices of the WAIS, Performance IQ, but not Verbal IQ or Full IQ showed a significant difference between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, consistent with the findings of a meta-analysis [10]. Regarding smoking, it is well-known that cigarette smoking among schizophrenia patients is highly prevalent [59]. Although the effect of nicotine on P50 gating has been shown to be only short-lived in experimental sessions [37], whether long-term cigarette consumption causes permanent P50-associated neurobiological changes has not to be elucidated. Since smoking is not thought to be a causal factor of schizophrenia, the smoke-status variable in our model served as a confounder for which to be controlled. Taken together, the diagnostic model incorporated markers of biological significance, maximized discrimination power, and took confounding and parsimony into consideration.
With respect to P50 sensory gating, two further implications are worth discussing. Despite not being the first replication study in subjects of Han Chinese ethnicity, this study indeed enrolled the largest sample size of schizophrenia patients (n = 106) compared to previous studies (n = 50∼80) [53], further supporting the existence of p50 gating deficit in schizophrenia across different populations. Moreover, the role of S2 amplitude should be noted. It is controversial whether deviant P50 gating ratio (S2/S1) results from decreased S1 amplitude or increased S2 amplitude. It has been proposed that S1 reflects registration of novel stimuli and S2 represents habituation of redundant information ("gating out") [47]. The findings from the present study support the more important role played by S2 than S1 since our patient group had larger S2 amplitude but comparable S1 amplitude when compared with healthy controls. In fact, our results are in line with the findings from one recent meta-analysis which revealed more significant overall effect sizes for S2 (0.65) and P50 gating ratio (0.93) than S1(−0.19), implying the P50 sensory gating deficit in schizophrenia patients is more closely related to impaired ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli [60].
There are several limitations to the present study. First, there may be an issue of generalizability regarding the findings for P50 and neuropsychological tests since the recruited patients consisted of clinically stable outpatients with an average illness duration of 13.67±9.95 years. Second, the possible impact on P50 from antipsychotic medications should be considered. While it is believed that first generation antipsychotics exert no effect on P50 gating, the influence from second generation antipsychotics is inconclusive [6]. However, one recent meta-analysis on Chinese populations found no effect on P50 gating by either first or second generation antipsychotics [53]. Furthermore, we also adjusted for this possible confounding effect by transforming doses of antipsychotics patients took as CPZ equivalent dosage in the regression analyses. Third, since P50 is susceptible to the signal to noise ratio due to its small amplitude, the results obtained from our work might not be generalized to other sensory gating indices, such as N100. Fourth, there lacked a specific measure of memory, another candidate endophenotype for schizophrenia, in our neuropsychological batteries. Therefore, we were unable to examine this important cognitive domain and to determine whether incorporating it could further improve the model performance, which should be addressed by future research. Fifth, in the present study, the possible role and contribution of N100, another candidate endophenotype which also represents sensory gating was not investigated yet, which will be examined and then reported elsewhere in the future. Finally, the transportability of the proposed diagnostic model should be examined by applying it in other samples.
In conclusion, the clinical utility of candidate endophenotypes may be improved by simultaneously integrating several markers into a diagnostic model for schizophrenia. The findings of the present study contribute to the existing literature, especially in terms of expanding and exploring the probable clinical utility of candidate endophenotypes in schizophrenia. Further studies adopting this approach testing more diverse markers, using different populations (e.g. medication-naïve patients, those with early phase psychosis, different ethnic groups), and differentiating schizophrenia from other psychiatric illnesses (e.g. bipolar disorders) are warranted.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Gregory Light at the University of California, San Diego for support in TCL batch processing language during ERP analysis, Dr. Fu-Chang Hu at the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine and School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University and International-Harvard Statistical Consulting Company for the guidance on regression analysis, Dr. Shih-Cheng Liao at the Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University for statistical issues, and Mr. Hong-Xiang Liu and Ms. Nai-Ying Liu for their assistance in experimental processing.
Author Contributions
Organized the research team: HGH. Conceived and designed the experiments: MHH CML. Performed the experiments: CCL YLC TJH CML. Analyzed the data: JCS MHH. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MJC FSJ YTL. Wrote the paper: JCS MHH.
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Presidents Glassner and Schapiro defend higher ed in op-ed
July 03, 2012
Amid the national media hype that traditional colleges and universities are in crisis, President Barry Glassner asserts in an editorial for the Los Angeles Times that there is no emergency because classic higher education is invariably adaptable and unequivocally valuable.
Glassner and coauthor Morton Schapiro, president, and a professor of economics, of Northwestern University in Illinois, insist that while alarmists portray a doomsday scenario of financial ruin, the facts point to the contrary—the American higher education model is a thriving leader in the world.
"Though college debt levels clearly are something to monitor, the vast majority of students graduate with relatively small debt burdens—about $25,000 on average—and about one-third leave college with no debt at all," Glassner and Schapiro said. "Meanwhile, the college premium—the ratio of college earnings to high school earnings—is at or near record levels and has been increasing decade after decade since the late 1970s."
Glassner and Schapiro confess they have common anxieties about their respective college campuses, but for reasons beyond the paranoid rhetoric that current pundits use to describe higher education.
"The truth is that we don't always sleep well at night," Glassner and Schapiro said. "But what keeps us up is surprisingly similar to what we suspect kept up chancellors at Oxford University half a millennium ago: How can we best provide students with a balance of the practical skills they'll need for the world that awaits them and the abstract wisdom that will help them adapt when that world, and they themselves, change? How do we assist our students in their almost-universal desire to make a positive impact on society, while they are in college and after they graduate and become leaders in their communities? What should be the role of our institutions in addressing society's most challenging issues?"
Read the Los Angeles Times editorial.


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Albert Arthur Harbaugh 1929 - 2007 Tonganoxie
Services for Albert Arthur Harbaugh, 78, Tonganoxie, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at Warren-McElwain Mortuary, Lawrence. Burial will be at Mount Sidney Cemetery in Linwood.
Mr. Harbaugh died Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
He was born April 7, 1929, in Linwood, the son of Albert Donald and Mary E. Love Harbaugh.
Mr. Harbaugh worked for the Kansas University maintenance department as an air conditioner specialist. He retired in 1993. He also worked for 20 years for the Franklin Dairy and the Whitaker Chevrolet dealership in Tonganoxie.
He married Arlene Townsend on Nov. 15, 1980, in Lawrence. She survives, of the home.
Other survivors include a daughter, Kerry Martinez, Shawnee; a stepdaughter, Kim Gamble, Oskaloosa; three stepsons, Howard DuHaime, Spokane, Wash., David DuHaime, Seattle, and Albert DuHaime, Tonganoxie; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today, Jan. 2, at the mortuary.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Lawrence Humane Society, sent in care of the mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence 66044.
Online condolences may be made at warrenmcelwain.com, subject: Harbaugh.
- E-mail this obituary
- Send an online condolence
- Contact Warren-McElwain Mortuary and Cremation Services regarding Albert Arthur Harbaugh
- Contact Warren-McElwain Mortuary and Cremation Services by phone: 785-843-1120


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Raza was my rock. He was my eyes and ears on the dangerous Pakistani frontier with Afghanistan. He was the only person in Pakistan I trusted with my life and I repeatedly placed it in his hands. He never ever let me down.
He was officially a fixer, but Raza Khan was far, far more than that.
There isn't a photograph I have made in the tribal regions of Pakistan that did not have the help and/or advice of Raza Khan. From the streets of Peshawar, to the alleys of Jalozai, the mountains of Mohmand, and into the dangerous center of Mingora, Swat, Raza Khan was always by my side, always watching, always, protecting, always alert to anything and anyone who may pose a threat to me. I never ventured to Pakistan without calling him first. Often he would drive all the way from Peshawar to meet at the Islamabad airport.
Raza Khan died last week in a car crash. He fell asleep at the wheel of the car he was driving. Perhaps he had just pushed him once too often trying to help a couple of foreign journalists get their jobs done.
In 2008 while shooting in the crowded bazaar's of Peshawar, Raza Khan asked me to hand him my wallet for safe keeping. 'They will target you because you look like a foreigner', he said. I handed it to him. 15 minutes later his pocket got picked! We laughed at the irony, at the sheer stupidity of the situation. I had no cash, no bank cards and at least 2 weeks of assignment work to complete.
A few hours later Raza Khan turned up at my hotel room with $1000 in cash – 'You return it to me whenever you can. I made a mistake. Your work has to continue'.
In 2004 Raza Khan asked me to take a photograph of him and me together. We were in the wilds of the Mohmand tribal agency. We asked a passing truck driver to stop and take a picture of the two of us together with the mountains as a backdrop. As we stood together he put his hands around my shoulders and said 'Show this to your wife so she can believe that you have family in Mohmand.'
He had always wanted to take his daughter for a dinner at Peshawar's PC Hotel and he told me the last time I saw him, which was in 2008, that he would bring her with him the next time I came back to Pakistan and that we could all eat together. The honor that he had bestowed upon me with that statement made me blush. A deeply conservative Pushtun, Raza Khan had actually suggested that I, a non-family friend, could meet his daughter who would otherwise never be allowed into the company of strangers. It was then and there that I realized that I had long passed from being merely a friend, that I was no longer just another photographer working with him, but that our relationship had evolved to something far more, and deeper.
It was then that I realized that I had become family.
I will ask permission from his sons to take his family, and in particular his daughter, to dinner to the PC Hotel in Peshawar the next time I am in Pakistan. It is a promise that I must keep.
Raza Khan was my eyes and ears on the dangerous Pakistani frontier with Afghanistan. He was the only person in Pakistan I trusted with my life and I repeatedly placed it in his hands. He never ever let me down.
I can't remember the last time I wept at the loss of someone.
I can't remember at all.
I have wept for Raza.
I don't want these tears to dry because I don't want to forget him
Note: Time Magazine's former Pakistan bureau chief Tim McGirk was a close friend of Raza Khan and has written a short obituary remembering him and celebrating his spirit, courage and generosity.


text: The Portland Country Club offers one of the finest tennis facilities in the state of Maine. Our six clay and 2 hard surface courts are available for play from early May until Mid-October. Our Director of Tennis Eliot Potvin and his staff are dedicated to providing unrivaled service and programs geared to men, women and juniors of all skill levels.


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Hello! Lawn Fawn June Inspiration week continues and today I'm playing with some new dies for an older set, Here's The Scoop! I'm so glad there are some matching dies for this yummy set now, it makes it so easy to cut out the little ice cream images.
I colored the images with copic markers and used the new dies to cut them out. I also used some papers from the Let's Polka Mon Amie collection for my card base since to me the look like ice cream. :)
I stamped the sentiment from Milk & Cookies in Walnut ink to coordinate with the chocolate in the images and of course added some hot cocoa lawn trimmings twine to finish it off. Pop on over to the Lawn Fawn blog to see more projects with new dies for older sets including Here's the Scoop as well as Happy Summer, Make Lemonade, Silly Valentine and Love n' Breakfast.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Lawn Fawn June Inspiration Week: Here's the Scoop dies
Posted by Chari Moss at 12:01 AM
Labels: here's the scoop, inspiration week, lawn fawn
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Jan. 12, 2012
EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. - Due to an increased student ticket demand for the SIUE men's basketball game against the nationally-ranked and undefeated Murray State Racers on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m., a student ticket voucher policy has been instituted.
Student seating vouchers will be available for pickup starting Tuesday, Jan. 17, through Friday, Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the east gate concession stand at the Vadalabene Center. Students must present their valid SIUE identification card. Only one voucher will be issued per student ID.
SIUE Athletics is allowing students to claim a voucher which guarantees their free ticket to the game in the following priority: a red voucher will be issued for bleacher seating in the lower bowl; a white voucher will be issued for upper-level seating. Vouchers will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Students must present their voucher on the night of the game to gain entry into the Vadalabene Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
For more information, call the SIUE Athletics Ticket Office toll free at 855-SIUE-TIX.
-siue cougars-


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Home › Forums › Developing Websites › Search Engine Optimization › Getting Backlinks For SEO › How to do Link Wheel? › Re: Re: How to do Link Wheel?
August 29, 2012 at 7:57 am #33467
Hello Mitz! Do you still think that after penguin and panda link wheel is still helpful. Actually i have had a bad experience with it and all my keywords rankings was lost after structuring link wheel. So please share your knowledge.