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It was a game that for the most part was reminiscent of the recent home defeats that St. Pauli have suffered. With only 4 home wins from 11 games prior to this, St. Pauli had found their home form was the main stumbling block in their quest to reach the Bundesliga. In recent home games St. Pauli have struggled to break down teams who sit back at the Millerntor, preferring to face teams who allow them space from which to counter attack. For much of this game, it followed the same pattern – but with a couple of minor differences. Union Berlin were undoubtedly the better side, and will feel aggrieved not to have taken at least a point back to the capital, but if football matches were always decided in favour of those who deserved them it'd be a bit boring, wouldn't it?
In recent home games St. Pauli have been guilty of throwing too many men forward in the hope of finding a goal, but they rarely had the chance to do so as Union Berlin dominated the opening exchanges and but for Tschauner would have gone into half time with a lead. But as coach Roland Vrabec eluded to in his pre-match press conference a couple of days ago, it was helpful that Union were not just here to sit back and spoil the Millerntor party. Union sensed they could win it, and they should have done. On another day, Union could have won by two or three. But the differences between this performance were subtle, but effective. The fullbacks chose when to move forward, leaving less space from which Union could break. The central defenders were strong and very rarely caught out of position, and when they were they could rely on the ever-dependable Tschauner in goal – who was undoubtedly man of the match yet again this season.
After a first half that ebbed and flowed as each team tried to break the deadlock, the second half belonged entirely to the away side. Union were no longer just knocking on Tschauner's front door, they were attempting to kick it down. Eventually, the door fell in typical St. Pauli fashion – conceding from a corner. Tschauner did magnificently to save the initial header, but could do little about the follow-up from Terrode who reacted quicker than the observing defenders.
It was a deserved lead, and one that made you wonder how St. Pauli would get back into the game. But the answer was emphatically answered by an unusual, yet dependable, source. Sebastian Schachten found himself in the area and controlled a clearance from a set-piece, swivelled with his back to goal like a centre forward and with his weaker foot dispatched the ball into the back of the net.
The introduction of Bartels for Kringe had given St. Pauli more attacking intent, but it was still the away side who were dominating possession and creating the better chances. St. Pauli weren't without chances though, as left-back Halstenberg struck a free-kick from all of 40 yards which crashed against the post then John Verhoek used his strength to create room in the box, but his shot was straight at the keeper who parried it away. At the other end, Tschauner was equal to everything that Union Berlin could throw at him – most notably when Mattuschka, so often the thorn in St. Pauli's side, hit a dipping shot that Tschauner somehow managed to get his fingertips to and push it onto the bar.
The game was decided by a clinical counter attacking move – something which St. Pauli have lacked all too often at home this season. Substitute Maier linked up well with Halstenberg down the left, Maier played Halstenberg down the line with a great pass, Halstenberg cut it back to the near post and Bartels looped his shot over the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net with just a minute to go. St. Pauli had clinched just their 5th home win of the season, a run of form which must be improved upon if they are going to seriously challenge for promotion to the Bundesliga.
It wasn't deserved in so much that they hadn't dominated possession, hadn't had the most chances and hadn't looked like the better team. But St. Pauli fought, they were brave and when they needed to they rode their luck against a quality opponent. Some would say that's the mentality of a winning side.


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Retailer files for bankruptcy
A Grand Rapids-based retailer has filed for bankruptcy.
MC Sports said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.
The sporting goods company cited several reasons for the decision, including increased competition, "blurred market distribution and growth of ecommerce."
The Chapter 11 filing will allow the company to address long-term leases and other costs no longer in line with the company's future.
The company will be advised by Stout Risius Ross through the process.
"After a valiant and concerted effort by MC Sports' associates, vendors, landlords and outside professionals to restructure the company's balance sheet and operating performance, the company was unable to reach an agreement on a viable out-of-court proposal," MC Sports President and CEO Bruce Ullery said.
"The only alternative to address our immediate liquidity issues is to commence liquidation sales at all stores, while concurrently expediting our pursuit of alternative financing and going-concern sale options."
MC Sports, founded in 1946, operates 68 locations in seven states: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

subset: commoncrawl


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RAD provides Service Assured Access solutions that reduce operational complexity and improve service profitability for business, wholesale and mobile service providers. RAD's award-winning in-house technology embraces performance management; service assurance; traffic management; fault management; synchronization and timing over packet; TDM pseudowire; ASIC and FPGA development; hardware miniaturization; and SFP form-factor solutions. The company's installed base exceeds 12,000,000 units and encompasses more than 150 service providers around the world. RAD is active in industry standardization bodies such as the NFV ISG, MEF, IETF, ITU, and Broadband Forum.
RAD is a member of the $1.2 billion RAD Group of companies, a world leader in networking and internetworking product solutions.
Key Links
The original approach to NFV advocated Distributed NFV (D-NFV), to enable the placement of virtualized network functions (VNFs) throughout the network, where they are most effective and least expensive. VNFs may be located in data centers, network nodes and at the customer premises.
RAD addresses the D-NFV approach with novel solutions that integrate an x86 platform for VNF hosting into a L2/L3 NID controlled by the service provider. This solution converges the control of conventional network elements, VNFs and IT applications, optionally by using SDN principles.
Running VNFs at the customer site is justified in certain cases, for example, when the network function is most effective when located as close as possible to the end-user. Such is the case for firewalls, diagnostic tools, IP-PBXs, traffic accelerators, NATs, and rate-limiters. An omniscient D-NFV orchestrator handles all VNFs and virtual machine (VM) infrastructure, wherever they may be located, and exploits SDN-like mechanisms to achieve optimal VNF placement.
RAD* and Intel – Maximizing vCPE Flexibility
RAD's Distributed NFV page
An introduction to RAD's D-NFV solutions
D-NFV presentation
This presentation provides background on Distributed NFV (D-NFV) in carrier and service provider networks, explains the benefits of virtualization at the customer site and introduces RAD's D-NFV solution.


text:
Treacle tart hearts
Make a sweet heart for your sweetheart - it doesn't matter if it's Valentine's Day or not
Nutrition and extra info
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal452
- fat16g
- saturates10g
- carbs78g
- sugars47g
- fibre2g
- protein5g
- salt0.59g
- 200g cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- ½ tsp ground ginger (optional)
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk
For the filling
- 400g golden syrup
Golden syrupgoal-dun sir-rup
Golden syrup is a clear, sparkling, golden-amber coloured, sweet…
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of 1⁄2
Oval in shape with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile…
- 100g white breadcrumb
Blitz the butter, flour and ginger, if using, in a food processor until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar, then add the egg yolk and 2 tsp cold water. Pulse until the dough clumps together, or bring it together with a knife by hand. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and press into a smooth round. Chill for 30 mins or until firm.
Roll out the pastry to the thickness of 2 x £1 coins and stamp out 8 x 11cm circles (or cut around a saucer and trim to fit tins). Line 8 x 10cm width heart-shaped tins with the pastry. Re-roll trimmings. With a small cutter, stamp out 8 hearts to decorate. Chill tins and hearts for 15 mins or until firm. Heat oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 5 and put a baking sheet in.
Stir the syrup, lemon juice and zest together. Divide the breadcrumbs between tins (they should reach to the top of the pastry), then spoon the syrup over slowly, adding more once the first lot has started to soak in. Top with the small pastry hearts. Put tins onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 25 mins or until pastry is golden and the filling is orangey-gold and slightly set. Leave to cool for 15 mins, then turn onto a wire rack. Serve just warm. Will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Heat in a low oven for 5 mins to warm through.


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Fall Membership Drive Underway
KXCI began our Fall Membership Drive last Thursday with an on-air goal of $75,000.
Update: Together, we've raised $33,687 toward our goal as of 10am Thursday. We are more than 40% of the way there; let's keep those calls coming!
The membership support of our generous and caring listeners now accounts for 50% of our entire revenue. Your support has never been more critical to our continued success.
Please make your new, renewing or additional gift right now with a phone call to (520) 623-1000, or pledge online through our secured server (it's safe and easy!) by clicking here.


text:
Companies use RMDY to build and deploy dynamic, branded digital programs across a range of healthcare and life science initiatives.
Branded product and clinical trial digital experiences that increase adherence and improve data capture.
Curated digital experiences that onboard and educate device users, reduce device returns and decrease support staff costs.
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Digital wayfinding and pre/post encounter programs that drive care plan adherence, and eliminate wasted staff time.
Use our tools and AI Engine to drive engagement and outcomes
We give you the tools. Create and launch bespoke, white-label digital health and care management programs that engage and guide users towards adherence, health and wellness goals.
Your brand in a native App. Meet health care consumers where they are with robust AI-driven mobile apps customized to your brand and digital health business.
You have a bird's eye view. Access a complete dashboard that allows you to manage the program experience for thousands, or for each user individually. Telemedicine and virtual care tools are built-in, so you save time and support more users with less staff.
Proven Results
average HbA1C level reduction
across 83% of participants enrolled
weight loss
in 12 week CDC-approved DPP
weight loss program
success rate
in 8 week medical center program,
including 72% patients engaged daily
"Developing Digital Therapeutics programs is widely considered to be expensive, time consuming and complex. RMDY was built to help change that. Our technology framework makes it possible for any health stakeholder to rapidly connect with patients and become a Digital Therapeutics Player."
Amir Kishon, CEO & Founder


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It is natural for parents to seek both personal time with their children and the opportunity to make important decisions about their future. However, many states, including Missouri, do not automatically grant fathers' rights to the biological father of a child after a separation. The man must first establish paternity, which gives him the right to participate in important legal decisions about the child, such as adoption.
Unfortunately, Missouri fathers who take the necessary steps to secure a relationship with their children may still find themselves with a broken connection and an inability to see or communicate with their kids, especially in instances where the mother and child move to another state with different laws.
The kind of hardship a father may face in this situation is exemplified by the current laws in Utah, which allow a mother to put a child up for adoption without the consent of a father who lives in another state. In fact, an out-of-state father does not even need to be notified of the adoption in order for it to go through, even if he is following the proper legal process in his own state.
A new bill in Utah intends to help put an end to this practice. The proposed law would create a way of sharing birth father registries across state lines. If the bill passes, it could indirectly affect fathers in Missouri and throughout the country; that is, if Missouri and other states take the necessary steps to participate.
If you are an unmarried father in Missouri who is seeking the best relationship possible with your son or daughter, you need to follow through on Missouri's legal process for establishing paternity. This will help to ensure that you will be aware of the actions involving your child before it is too late. Learning about state laws regarding fathers' rights, paternity and child custody can help you look out for the best interests of your child.
Source: Deseret News, "Birth father rights the focus of two bills under consideration by Utah Legislature," Marjorie Cortez, March 2, 2014


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Medix Skincare and Laser Clinic
We, at Medix Skincare & Laser Clinic are a boutique style family-owned beauty and cosmetic clinic based in Melbourne, Victoria. Our commitment to serious skin care, therapist sand serious results for skin health, face and body well-being can be seen through the latest and highest quality services, eminent and diverse aesthetic treatments, advanced non-surgical procedures and an enviable range of products accessible to all – at fair and competitive prices.
We provide a range of treatment options including laser skin treatment, medical peels, pigmentation, Sun Spot, Acne, Laser Skin Rejuvenation, Radio Frequency Face Lifting, APS Therapy, Stretch Marks Treatment & much more.
Phone no: – (03) 96860003
Suite 306, Level 3, 370 St Kilda Road, 3004
Location: Melbourne VIC Australia


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Rhythms in the brain that are associated with learning become stronger as the body moves faster, UCLA neurophysicists report in a new study. The research team, led by professor Mayank Mehta, used specialized microelectrodes to monitor an electrical signal known as the gamma rhythm in the brains of mice. This signal is typically produced in a brain region called the hippocampus, which is critical for learning and memory, during periods of concentration and learning.
The researchers found that the strength of the gamma rhythm grew substantially as running speed increased, bringing scientists a step closer to understanding the brain functions essential for learning and navigation. (via.)
Tag Archives: exercise
Morphine & brain testosterone levels
A single injection of morphine to fight persistent pain in male rats is able to strongly reduce the hormone testosterone in the brain and plasma [...] The study, led by Anna Maria Aloisi, M.D., showed that opioids had "long lasting genomic effects in body areas which contribute to strong central and peripheral testosterone levels" including the brain, the liver and the testis.
The study showed increases in aromatase, an enzyme that is responsible for a key step in the biosynthesis of estrogen. The findings are particularly important since testosterone is the main substrate of aromatase, which is involved in the formation of estradiol. [...]
Opioid induced hypogonadism can cause health complications to which patients with pain can be overly susceptible, including chronic fatigue, loss of stamina, emotional and sexual disturbances, as well painful skeletal and muscular complications. [...]
"Until a few years ago this condition was completely unrecognized by physicians although some reports clearly showed it in many kinds of patients," notes Dr. Aloisi. (via.)
This is interesting, because it's also been demonstrated that chronically anxious rat phenotypes have fewer steroid receptors (testosterone being a steroid, of course) in their brains. Additionally, exercise was one of the only things capable of reversing this phenotype. Exercise causes a rush of endorphins after training, which activate the same receptors (mu opioid) as morphine.


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I met Jennifer and Michelle up at Golightly's tonight to work on our space. You will just have to imagine their cute faces, because they wouldn't let me take their picture!
Jennifer made these super cute magnets:
We had a great time and it just took us a couple of hours to get everything all spiffy.
I also snapped this pic in Janet's space. It's looking springy in there. If you live in the DFW area, stop by sometime!
Now I need to get my house looking this good. I am in the middle of more than one project and I've made a big mess of the place!


text:
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
|Towards Less Manipulated Reference Materials for Food and Environmental Analysis
|SHEGUNOVA PENKA; HELD Andrea; TEIPEL KATHARINA; CHAROUD-GOT JEAN; TUMBA-TSHILUMBA MARIE-FRANCE; BAU' ANDREA; EMTEBORG PER
|Organohalogen Compounds p. 000509-000512
|International Dioxin Symposium Website
|Publication Year:
|Articles in periodicals and books
|The need for reliable and comparable analytical data in food and environmental monitoring stipulate the need for "new/alternative" types of reference materials matching more closely real world samples. Matrix certified reference materials are required in the validation of methods of analyses of real environmental samples, because matrix effects may result in bias of the analytical results. The study was designed to assess the equivalence between three different processing options for the production of food/environmental reference materials. Finding an appropriate analyte/matrix combination was the first step. A stable analyte, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) was chosen in this case, in order not to complicate the study too much by choosing analytes that could potentially degrade. A fatty fish such as mackerel was chosen as in such matrices the naturally occurring levels of PCBs are sufficiently high not to create too many difficulties for the quantification. Spiking should be avoided because this would compromise the closeness to a real sample and would complicate the homogeneity of the fresh material. The fatty matrix is also a challenge in the processing, as a homogeneous distribution of the fatty parts has to be ensured. PCBs 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180 have been selected because they are frequently determined. They show a high occurrence in environmental and waste samples and represent both lower and higher chlorinated congeners. This paper summarises the protocol used to determine the homogeneity of the three material presentations. And the results from the analyses carried out to measure the PCB content of batches stored at different conditions. Evaluation of the suitability of the test materials will be performed with respect to its behaviour under different storage conditions.
|JRC Directorate:
|Health, Consumers and Reference Materials
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text: Saturday we went to the local Veterans Day Parade and paid all due respect to our Veterans! We had a wonderful pancake breakfast at the Methodist church and then watched the parade. It was mostly a day of respect and peaceful relaxation. Well almost anyway........the pirates showed up to unveil the refurbished statue of Peg Leg Pete with a host of sassy Wenches and they kidnapped me! Please do not pay the ransom!!!!!!!!!! I am a Wench Magnet!


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Misalignments always occur in real optical systems. These misalignments do not generate new aberration forms, but they change the aberration field dependence. Two-mirror telescopes have been used in several applications. We analyze a two-mirror telescope configuration that has negligible sensitivity to decenter misalignments. By applying the wave aberration theory for plane-symmetric optical systems it is shown that the asphericity in the secondary mirror, if properly chosen, can compensate for any decenter perturbation allowing third-order coma unchanged across the field of view. For any two-mirror system it is possible to find a configuration in which decenter misalignments do not generate field-uniform coma.
©2013 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
OSA Recommended Articles
Tobias Schmid, Kevin P. Thompson, and Jannick P. Rolland
Appl. Opt. 49(16) D131-D144 (2010)
Baichuan Ren, Guang Jin, and Xing Zhong
Appl. Opt. 50(21) 3918-3923 (2011)
Tobias Schmid, Kevin P. Thompson, and Jannick P. Rolland
Opt. Express 18(5) 5282-5288 (2010)


text:
Illustration Graham Roumieu
"You cannot tell that there is a farm here," says Krasimir Kostov, a top Bulgarian snail breeder, as he walks the length of his large free-range snail farm in the northern Bulgarian village of Pleven. "Snails do not moo."
Like many of his countrymen, 45-year-old Kostov has no gastronomic interest in escargot—if you mention it he makes a face like he's swallowed a lemon. But inquire about the economic prospects of his booming farm, and his expression instantly brightens. For him, and the rest of the snail breeders in this modest Balkan nation, the burgeoning escargot industry is all about maximum output. One nation's critters are another's gourmet treasure.
In 2009, Kostov exported upward of a half million of his Helix aspersa—one of three common edible species—to aficionados throughout Western Europe. Some 300 new farms are reportedly set to open in Bulgaria in 2010, which is good news for the country (Bulgaria is the poorest nation in the European Union), and also for French and Italian snail lovers, who've developed a taste for the Bulgarian imports.
Bulgaria's success is also good news for the snail population, which has been declining steadily for the past decade as other industries (most notably pharmaceuticals and cosmetics) have found uses for the mollusk meat. Despite a predilection for more unpretentious cuisine—think cabbage, pork and tripe soup—Bulgarians such as Kostov are happy as clams with their new partners in slime.
"I love the snail," says Kostov. "It makes me money, and it never complains." —JORDAN HELLER


text:
Note: Although Thread no longer falls, it has been included in this text for reference material.
Advanced Wound Care
Any disruption of the hide, or surrounding body surfaces, is known as a wound. Most wounds are classified as being open, with a break in the hide through which ichor may escape. This, however, disrupts the normal impenetrable barrier to infection, as germs may enter via the route of injury.
How the wound is created determines the type of the wound and also influences the treatment given. Incision wounds are made by a clean cut from a sharp edge, such as a knife. There may be profuse ichoring because the edges of ichor vessels are cut straight across. Generally, this type of wound is rare in a dragon, and is usually the result of some surgery on the part of the dragonhealer. Lacerations are rough tears caused by crushing or ripping forces, generally from another object/dragon. Lacerations may ichor less profusely than clean cut wounds; though there is more tissue damage. Contamination risk from germs and subsequent risk of infection is high. These may happen during a mating flight when talons may shred the hide of an opponent. Abrasion wounds are superficial wounds in which the top layers of the hide are scraped off, leaving a raw tender area, and are caused predominantly by a sliding fall or a friction burn. They often contain foreign particles that may cause infection. In dragons these can occur from brushing against rock, bad landings on hard dirt, etc. Puncture wounds are caused by the entry of a sharp foreign body into the hide, such as stepping on a needlethorn. They are characterized by having a small site of entry but a deep track of internal damage. As dirt and germs can be carried far into the body risk of infection is high. Generally, because dragon hide is so thick, these injuries are extremely rare, but may occur in the frenzy of blooding with sharp bone fragments from the herdbeasts and wherries. Threadscore is similar to an incision wound in tissue damage, but with the complication of a burn. Depending on the resultant damage, threadscored wounds may ichor profusely or ooze slowly.
Several of these wound types can cause serious ichoring, and it is imperative that a dragonhealer learn to recognize the various types of ichoring from the various types of vessels. With arterial ichoring, the ichor is dark green and under pressure from the pumping hearts. Therefore, ichor is spurted from the wound in time with the heartbeats. A severed artery may produce a jet of ichor several feet high and can rapidly empty the circulatory system of ichor. These are extremely rare since arteries are found deep under a dragon hide, but may be encountered in wing injuries where the tissue is much thinner. With venous ichoring the ichor is a brighter green in coloration. It is under less pressure than arterial ichor, but since the vein walls are capable of great distention, ichor may pool. Thus, ichor from a severed major vein may gush profusely. Capillary ichoring can be characterized as oozing and occurs at the site of all wounds. Although capillary ichoring may at first be brisk, ichor loss is generally negligible. When the ichor vessels are severed or torn, their damaged ends constrict and retract in order to minimize ichor loss. At the same time, the ichor that escapes from damaged vessels begins to clot. However, the physical condition of the dragon will deteriorate exponentially to the amount of ichor lost. At first, the heartbeats will increase in tempo, the gradually the skin will grow gray, as the hearts divert ichor to the major organs. Eventually shock will become evident, which will be followed by the dragon becoming unconscious and life eventually failing.
One of the greatest dangers with any wound is that of infection. Wounds should always be cleansed with redwort, and care should be taken to remove all dirt and other foreign objects.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is in pain, then ask a Gold to 'dampen' the pain and still the movement. Involve the rider. Ask the rider for details of the injury. If this is the result of a mating flight, make sure you start handing the rider skins of wine. Take control of the situation, but never forget to ask a rider first for permission to approach their lifemate - big dragon, in pain, equals a dangerous combination.
Determination: What type of ichoring do you have? Is the ichor gushing, oozing, or spurting? Is this a slight, moderate or severe injury?
1. Clean wound with redwort.
2. Slather with numbweed. Remove any dirt, foreign articles etc.
3. If ichoring has not stopped, apply a pressure bandage to the wound. A pressure bandage is merely a pad of bandaging material that is applied over the wound and pressed tightly in place. If this soaks through, it should not be removed; instead, a second bandage should be applied on top of the first. In most cases, this will be enough to stop ichoring.
4. If ichoring is severe and does not respond to a pressure bandage, or if ichor is gushing/spurting from a wound, stronger measures are needed. Apply pressure to the vessel feeding blood to the area if possible. This may entail having an assistant physically clasp the vessel and stopping ichor from escaping in such large quantities. If not, quickly (time is of the essence here), use surgical clamps to restrict the flow/loss of ichor.
5. The vessel then needs to be sutured to the severed end as quickly as possible. The longer the tissue is without ichor the less healthy it will become. However, this is no excuse for rushing and making mistakes!
a. Do caution anyone that's distressed by the thought of stitches to look away.
b. Using a steel needle, and the treated thread (soaked in a redwort and hot wax solution), make small, neat stitches. Take care in making sure the edges of the wound are drawn together, but not tightly. Tight stitches will cause puckering of the surrounding hide, and may become impossible to remove. Always make as few stitches as possible but make sure the wound does not gape. You need this to be a barrier to infection.
c. First stitch in one side of the wound and then in the other with the same piece of thread.
d. Loop one end twice over the other and tighten, this will form a knot.
e. Clip the excess and start of the next stitch.
f. Apply more numbweed.
6. Remove the clamps slowly, check for any formation of ichor. You may have to clear some of the numbweed away with oil-soaked pads to see clearly.
7. Reapply numbweed.
8. Suture any wounded muscle together and then finally the hide.
9. Apply more numbweed
Recovery: For minor injuries usually a day or two is all that is required. Numbweed will help clot the ichor, and so the wound will heal quickly. For more moderate injuries, usually no more than a sevenday is required. Obviously, if the injury is in a place that would be exacerbated, such as under the straps, on the wingsails, they will need to rest longer. Severe wounds are likely to keep the dragon out of the air for several sevendays. It is important during this time to replace lost fluid by making sure the dragon drinks. If the amount of ichor lost is great, then a transfusion may become necessary. A wound that has been stitched needs to be kept moist to avoid further scarring. Stitches should be removed by a dragonhealer approximately a sevenday after they have been placed. Generally when the dragon begins to complain of itching, sufficient healing has taken place to allow the suture removal.
Removing Stitches from a Wound:
a. Cleanse the area with redwort and apply a light coat of numbweed.
b. Again, ask the rider to look away, if necessary.
c. Clip the threads with scissors, or cut them with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut the hide.
d. Using small tweezers, remove each of the threads from the hide.
e. Apply a light coat of numbweed over the punctures left by the threads, this will help to seal them.
It is important to keep wounds clean and protected from further injury. The rider should be cautioned about the signs of infection and urged to seek a dragohealer if they notice any of these signs:
Increasing pain and soreness.
Swelling, redness and a feeling of heat around the wound.
Pus within, or oozing from, the wound.
Faint trails leading away from the wound.
If the infection is advanced, signs of thirst, gray hide and lethargy.
Cardiovascular Complications
Dragons are warm 'blooded' even though their body temperature seems to be a little cooler than humans. This can be determined through their reactions to hot and cold temperatures. Their 'blood' is called ichor, and is dark green in color. Similar to blood, ichor is based on a metal element, but is in this case copper and not iron. Injuries, therefore, that release ichor will have a metallic smell associated with them.
Ichor circulates around the dragon in a continuous cycle, pumped by the rhythmic contraction/relaxation, or beat, of the heart muscles. The typical lub-dub of the heart is due to first the atria (upper heart chambers) filling with blood, and then the contraction of the atrium muscles filling the ventricles (lower heart chamber). This, however, is further complication in a dragon that has multiple hearts, and it takes a trained ear to identify an irregular beat in one heart. Since dragon carcasses are not readily available the exact number of the hearts is unknown. The reason for multiple hearts has never been discerned, but it is thought that this may be due to the effects of altitude and exertion during mating flights and threadfall. The ichor circulates within a network of flexible tubes known as ichor vessels, of which there are three types. Arteries are strong, muscular, elastic-walled vessels that carry ichor away from the hearts and towards the tissues. Veins are thin-walled and carry ichor back to the heart. Ichor is squeezed through the veins by the action of the surrounding muscle and is kept flowing towards the hearts by one-way valves. Capillaries are the smallest ichor vessels and bridge the gap from arteries to veins. The force, with which the hearts pumps the ichor through these vessels, and around the body, is known as the 'ichor pressure'.
Cardiovascular problems sometimes occur in older dragons, or in those dragons who's hearts are under terrific strain from other injuries or circumstances. As a dragon ages, the hearts often weaken and may develop problems, such as an erratic beat, or incorrect ichor pressure which may cause loss of feeling, or a tingling sensation, in extremities. Exertion, such as in a mating flight, may also cause a sudden onset of cardiovascular problems, such as a heart attack. This can result in a dragon going *between*.
Assess the situation: Reassure the dragon, get a gold to calm the dragon down if necessary, and ask questions of the rider about other signs.
Determination: Is there severe pain or weakness? Does this extend down one wing/forelimb or the other? Is there general lethargy? Are the hearts beating regularly?
Dragon should be pulled from a fighting wing, and allowed only light exercise, but daily. They should be closely monitored, and kept in low stress situations where possible.
Recovery: A dragon will never fully recover from any cardiovascular problem of this nature. Symptoms may be managed, but exertion should be avoided at all cost.
The lack of adequate body fluids for the body to carry out its normal functions and operate at an optimal level (by loss, inadequate intake, or a combination of both) is a classic definition of dehydration. In dragons it can be caused by diarrhea, usually after a constipated dragon has been purged, from consistently flying at high altitude for long periods of time, desert climes, and also from loss of ichor.
It is imperative that dehydration is treated as soon as it is identified. Mild cases are often cured by oral rehydration, but for moderate to severe cases of dehydration, intravenous fluids will be required.
Assess the situation: If the dragon been treated for an illness or injury recently, then you may need to look for further complications resulting from this, and leading to dehydration. For example, veins that have not been sutured correctly, or that have not been identified as ichoring. Has the dragon been recently purged? Have they been doing sweeps in the desert? Flying high altitude sweeps?
Determination: Is there decreased urine output? Does the hide lack its normal elasticity? (You can test this by pinching the hide into a fold, and watching it return - does it sag? If yes, then they have poor hide turgor). Is their hide graying? Do their hearts seem to be beating faster? Do they have a dry mouth? Does their stomach hurt?
1. If dehydration is mild, then ensure that the dragon starts drinking a lot of water, and continues to do so until they are recovered. Water should always be provided for a dragon after any treatment by a dragonhealer as a mostly precautionary measure.
2. If the dehydration is moderate, try treating with water, and watch for 3-4 hours. If there is no sign of improvement, treat as severe dehydration.
3. For severe dehydration, you must try transfusing the dragon with ichor from another dragon. Following the steps for removing ichor, and then inject this into a vein. You must inject slowly, or you risk having the vein collapse. Needless to say this is very bad. If this does happen, you need to inject ichor at a lower point on the vein to where you were injecting, and hope that you have the same vein. This is a very delicate procedure, with a lot of inherent problems and should only be carried out by experienced dragonhealers.
Recovery: Depending on the severity, recovery may take a couple of days to upwards of a month.
The displacement of a bone at a joint can be caused by a strong force wrenching the bone into an abnormal position, or sometimes by violent muscle contractions. Additionally, there may also be tearing of the ligaments associated with this injury. The most often affected are the hip, shoulder, digits and the jaw bones.
Dislocations can usually be differentiated from fractures by severe, 'sickening' pain, when the injury site is touched as compared tenderness.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is in pain, then ask a Gold to 'dampen' the pain and still the movement. Involve the rider. Ask the rider for details of the injury, and keep them with you (don't get them too drunk, you need to ask them questions!). Take control of the situation, but never forget to ask a rider first for permission to approach their lifemate - big dragon, in pain, equals a dangerous combination.
Determination: Is the injury bent at an impossible, or distorted, angle? Is there any swelling? Is mobility restricted? Was a cracking noise heard? Is it tender over the area? Is that pain 'sickening'? Ask, as many questions as you can think of, as soon as possible, while both dragon and rider are still conscious because both are likely to be distressed. If the answers are: Yes, it's a 'sickening' pain, there was a popping noise heard when the injury occurred, there is difficulty moving the area affected, there is distortion and swelling; then you are dealing with a dislocation.
1. Immobilize immediately, get weight off area and support if possible, use tables, or other dragons.
2. Pull steadily in a line with the bone, keeping it as straight as possible. You will have to have assistance from a larger dragon. You will have to exert quite an immense amount of force to get the joint to re-align.
3. Splint with tree-trunks. There are always tree trunks available for this purpose in the dragon infirmary.
Recovery: Full recovery will take approximately two-four months. Soaking in the lake/ocean and doing gentle exercise in the water can reduce the swelling and help promote recovery. Dragons should be careful of repeat dislocations to the injury site, as this area will now become prone to this type of injuries. Please do note that dislocated joints are relatively uncommon among dragons, although they can and do happen.
Eye Problems
Unlike humans, dragons do not have eyelashes. Instead their eyes are protected both by prominent eyeridges that protrude out over the eyes, and by three sets of eyelids. The inner lid is transparent, with the middle lid thicker and more opaque, and the outer lid seemingly part of the actual hide of the dragon.
Dragon eyes protrude outwards from their eyesockets, and as such provide peripheral vision that extends to the airspace above them, an extremely useful tool in threadfall. Their eyes are multifaceted, and are said to be 'whirling' with expression of emotion. However, this is actually an optical illusion provided by the facets. The eyes change color with emotion. Hues of green and blue signify contentment; yellow indicates fear; red-orange signals anger; red expresses hunger, white denotes danger and purple suggests love and/or mating urges. Additionally, dragons, like their Watchwher cousins, can see in the dark. Watchwhers, though, while having excellent sight even in total darkness, are photophobic, and have poor focal length. Dragons on the other hand have good focal length, being able to see objects on the ground from at least several dragonlengths above ground, if not further.
Dragons can, if the pairing between the rider and dragon has been sufficiently developed, use their rider's eyes to see something if they are not present themselves. This bond, usually developed in weyrlinghood can be strengthened by forcing the rider to rely on dragonsight, and likewise with dragon to rider.
Whilst rare, eye loss can, and does, happen. It is always the result of a serious accident, often this being the consequence of a mating flight, either pre-flight blooding when talons are bared in an relatively small area (the feeding grounds), during the flight itself when jockeying for position becomes a problem. Occasionally, eye loss may happen as a result of threadfall. The loss of a single eye will not completely disable a dragon. Their balance may be affected, but they should be able to compensate for most of this once the loss becomes accepted. However, this injury will always retire them from the fighting wings, since they will be blind on one side. It is unknown how the loss of two eyes would affect a dragon, though it is postulated that they would go *between* at this stage, since it would essentially ground them, and make hunting/eating a near impossibility.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is in pain, then ask a Gold to 'dampen' the pain and still the movement. Involve the rider. Ask the rider for details of the injury. If this is the result of a mating flight, make sure you start handing the rider skins of wine. Take control of the situation, but never forget to ask a rider first for permission to approach their lifemate - big dragon, in pain, equals a dangerous combination.
Determination: Is the eye absent? Is it ichoring? Is it damaged? Is it just the socket, or is it the eye as well?
1. First, slather the injury with numbweed, and let it soak in to take effect.
2. Clean ichor away, and check that it's not damage to an eyelid, or to the eyeridges blinding their vision.
3. Clean injury with redwort as there is a high chance of infection from this injury.
4. If the eye is damaged, but not severely so, then suture eyelids shut, coat with numbweed. It may be that the tissue will regenerate.
5. If the eye is damaged beyond what is treatable, then remove the damaged tissue with a sharp, sterile knife, and coat with numbweed. If other structures look damaged you may have to suture the eyelids closed.
Recovery: Obviously some of this injury may or may not heal. Use judgement to determine whether or not to remove the stitches in the eyelid for the complete eye loss, this will take around six to seven sevendays to heal. For the eye damage you should remove the stitches after about a sevenday. The dragon may have some loss of sight, or may not. Make a determination on their fighting capacity based upon their sight loss.
Talon Loss
Dragon talons are similar in nature to canine claws, and even our own fingernails. They are made of keratin, and grow out from a talon bed, which is situated in the foot pad. Thus, the talon itself has no nerves associated with it, and therefore no feeling, until it reaches the point where it grows from the talon bed. There it is nourished with ichor and nerves. However, that's not to say they cannot feel by association through their talons, though it is more correct to say that they feel the connection through the talon to the talon bed.
Talon loss becomes quite common when young dragons are learning to fly. However, it remains a risk throughout life, especially in those dragons that are injured or sick, or otherwise impaired. It is then that take off and landings can cause a talon to break off, either fully or partially, particularly on hard surfaces, such as rock and compacted dirt.
Though much rarer, talon loss can also occur in mating flights, whereby talons are lost by fighting males. Hunting may also result in the loss of a talon, particularly when the captured beast is of a sufficient weight that a wrong move will wretch the talon from the bed of the foot.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is in pain, then ask a Gold dragon to 'dampen' the pain. It's likely that the pain will be fleeting, with the wrenching occasionally accompanied by nausea, which will then lessen to a throb. Ask the rider for details of the injury. If it's a flight injury, give the rider a skin of wine unless you want their affections coming your way (not advised until *after* you've dealt with the dragon), otherwise the rider should only be affected a little, with an uncomfortable feeling predominating.
Determination: Is there any talon left? Is the talon hanging at an awkward angle? Is there dirt associated with the remaining/lost talon? Is there ichor pooling around the talon bed?
1. Clean the area around the talon bed with redwort if infection seems likely. If there's some ichoring, then use apply numbweed immediately.
2. If the talon is torn, determine whether it would be more fortuitous to remove the complete talon, or remove the damaged portion. If you decide to remove the talon, make sure that the talon bed is fully numbed. The talon is mostly dead, you do not need to numb this, only the bit near the bed is bed is living tissue.
3. The assistance of another dragon may be required to remove the talon, depending on how severe the injury. If it is hanging from the talon bed at an angle use a sharp, sterile knife to remove it, severing through as little tissue as possible so as not to damage the talon bed.
4. If the talon can be saved, remove the part that is damaged with a sharp knife. You will need to numb the talon bed with numbweed, otherwise the dragon will feel uncomfortable pressure in this area during the procedure.
Recovery: The talon should eventually grow back, taking between four and eight sevendays to do so. However, any injury site will close within a day or two. Occasionally a talon may not grow back if the talon bed is sufficiently damaged. However, this will not impair the dragon in any way, as they will quickly learn to compensate for the missing talon.
Drawing of Ichor
Ichor is to dragons what blood is to mammals. Copper-based as opposed to iron, it is a dark green in color. In some cases it may be necessary to withdraw blood from a healthy dragon for transfusion into an injured one. A syringe is necessary for this operation. The essential components for a syringe are the glass body of the syringe itself, needlethorn, and wax. Needlethorns need to be long enough to get through hide, muscle, and tissues to the veins—3 inches or longer. They're strong enough to use for injections, so bending or breaking should not be a problem. The larger the aperture of the needle, the more ichor can be drawn, and the maximum aperture should be used wherever possible. The wax is obtained from a tree and is used to attach the needlethorn to the body of the syringe. When kneaded, the wax becomes a soft gel, which enables it to seal the syringe as it hardens.
Everything (and we do mean everything) needs to be sterilized for this process. To sterilize, boil the syringe in water for approximately an hour, wash it in redwort, then rinse in boiling water. Needlethorns must not be boiledit makes them soggyinstead wash them in redwort and rinse them in water. Mold the wax around the entrance of the syringe, then secure the needlethorn in place before allowing the wax to seal off the juncture between thorn and syringe. Needlethorn should never be re-used, as it increases the chances for infection, but syringes should be re-sterilized (they are expensive, so care must be taken when using them with oily hands).
Symptoms of a dragon needing a transfusion of fresh ichor are complaints of unslakable thirst on the part of both dragon and rider. Dragon hide will be grey in tone, and the dragon will be lethargic. In the case of dried-out cartilage following a wing injury, the dragon will likely be distressed, dehydrated, and parched.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is delirious, enlist the assistance of a gold dragon to dampen the pain and keep the dragon still enough to administer the cure. Get assistance, a healthy dragon to withdraw ichor from and the necessary equipment as soon as possible.
Determination: How long has the injured area been without steady ichor flow? Are the cartilages only slightly drier than they should be, or completely dried out? Is the dragon ichoring from a body wound that was improperly sutured, or not sutured at all? Make a thorough examination of the dragon in question. You will most likely not be able to ask the dragon's rider, because wounds like this are generally accompanied with a serious amount of delirium.
1. Check for, and treat, any complications from wounds.
2. Remove ichor from a healthy dragon, and use it to treat the sick dragon. Clean the hide of a healthy dragon with redwort, usually over a bone (wing bones are good for this), and then palpate the hide for a vein. Then, using a syringe, puncture that vein, and remove ichor from the dragon. Once the syringe is filled, carefully remove the needle from the vein, and hold a redwort-soaked pad over the needle entrance point for a few moments.
3. Infuse into the area that is being drained of ichor. Even dropping the ichor on externally can aid greatly. If the area is cartilage, use the following directions:
a. Suture the vessels that are ichoring.
b. Remove ichor from a healthy dragon (see above instructions).
c. Apply ichor directly to the dried-out cartilages and joints as necessary.
Recovery: Anywhere from one month to one Turn, depending on the severity of the injury and any complications. With dried-out cartilages, recovery time depends on the severity of the wing injury, but will generally be at least a few months. Dehydration should be treated as quickly as possible.
Severe Threadscore
This encompasses all serious injuries that are to the body of the dragon as opposed to the wings. Wing injuries require a highly specialized technique, and are covered in the Wing Damage target. The symptoms are again clean lacerations of a burned nature with blackened edges, though much deeper and more widespread than those covered in the Basic Threadscore target. Ichor may be pooling from severed vessels (generally veins, as arteries are too deep to be affected by most Threadscorings). Rider and dragon will both be distressed to varying degrees. The assistance of a queen dragon may be required to restrain the injured dragon if the Threadscoring is severe enough in nature.
Assess the situation: The rider should still be conscious, though more than slightly distressed at the condition of his lifemate. For severe bodily scorings, the assistance of a gold dragon will be required to dampen the pain and keep the dragon still enough for you to do your job. Take control of the situation, but make sure you ask the rider before approaching the dragon. A large animal in pain could equal Shredded Dragonhealer if you're not careful. Get the details of the injury from the rider, inasmuch as you can.
Determination: Where is the injury? How widespread are the lacerations? How was it obtained? How exactly did the clump of Thread strike the dragon? Keep talking to the rider if at all possible, to keep him lucid and in the here-and-now. It is also useful to keep the rider from panicking at his lifemate's injury. Do your best to assess exactly how the clump of Thread hit the dragon as this can help determine the best way to treat the wounds.
1. If wound has become dirty, clean quickly and thoroughly with redwort solution.
2. Coat wound thoroughly with numbweed.
3. Use surgical clamps on either side of any severed vessels to restrict the flow/loss of ichor and to make your job easier.
4. Suture any severed vessels as quickly as possible without rushing. The longer tissue is left without a steady ichor flow the less healthy it becomes. However, this is no excuse for rushing and making avoidable mistakes.
5. Remove clamps.
6. Clean out the wound with redwort. Check for formation if ichor around the vessels. It may be necessary to clean away some of the numbweed with oil-soakedcloth pads. This is important, so check carefully. You may need to reapply the numbweed after this step.
7. Stitch together muscle, then hide.
8. Apply numbweed to the entire stitched area.
Recovery: Severe scorings are likely to keep the dragon out of the air for at least a sevenday, if not more. It is vital during recovery time that the dragon replace lost fluid. A tub of water should be kept near the dragon at all times.
Advanced Bonesetting
There are three main types of fracture, and two states of fracture. These are Simple, Comminuted and Greenstick types of fractures, and then open and closed states of fracture. This section will concentrate on more complicated fractures, which are consequently harder to deal with.
Fractures may be associated with an open wound, and complicated by damage to other structures. An open wound fracture, or a compound fracture, means that immediately you have a greater risk of infection, both in treating the injury, and subsequently. When the hide remains closed over a break, there is often substantial swelling and bruising.
Often a broken bone is obvious, but occasionally they occur distal to the point of impact. Not only this, but they can be further complicated by being a fracture with multiple bone fragments (comminuted), or a greenstick, in which the bone in a young dragon splits. In the former case it may be necessary to remove some of the bone fragments. However, if this is not possible, there appears to be an internal mechanism that accomplishes this, though recovery is substantially longer. The dragon may also complain of 'grinding' at the point of injury, and this may never be corrected. Rest therefore, particularly immediately after injury is fundamental to healing this type of injury. Greenstick fractures, whilst traumatic for the weyr as the young dragon is likely to broadcast loud and clear what pain it is in, aren't problematical from a healer standpoint. They heal quicker than most fractures, and have few, if any, complications.
Once you have correctly diagnosed the injury, the fractured bone should be straightened and returned to its normal configuration. You may have to request the aid of other dragons in order to accomplish this. The injury should then be stitched if applicable, splinted securely, elevated if possible, and an attempt made to prevent motion of the bone wherever possible.
Assess the situation: If the dragon is in pain, then ask a Gold to 'dampen' the pain and still the movement. Involve the rider. Ask the rider for details of the injury, and keep them with you (don't get them too drunk, you need to ask them questions!). Take control of the situation, but never forget to ask a rider first for permission to approach their lifemate - big dragon, in pain, equals a dangerous combination.
Determination: Is the injury bent at an impossible, or distorted, angle? Is there any swelling? Is mobility restricted? Was a cracking noise heard? Is it tender over the area? Is that pain 'sickening'? Ask as many questions as you can think of as soon as possible, while both dragon and rider are still conscious because both are likely to be distressed. If the answers are: Yes, it's bent at an impossible, or distorted, angle; mobility is restricted; there was a cracking noise; the area is tender; and there is swelling; then you are dealing with a fracture and not a sprain nor a dislocation. Next determine whether the injury is open or closed, if it is a comminuted, or greenstick fracture. If comminuted and open, multiple fragments will be seen, if comminuted and closed, you should be able to feel them under gently probing fingers. Additionally a comminuted fracture isn't usually bent at such a severe angle as a simple bone fracture, although there is a higher possibility of it breaking through the hide. A greenstick will almost always occur in any dragon under 18 months of age, and will appear as more of a bend in the limb, rather than an awkward angle. If uncertain, treat as a simple fracture.
1. Immobilize immediately. Support if possible, but get weight off area. Remember, dragons are huge! You may need to enlist the help of other dragons, and or use a ladder/table to properly treat this injury.
2. Wash your hands in redwort, water, and then coat then in oil. These will help prevent infections, and protect them from the numbing effects of
numbweed. If instruments are needed, presoak these in redwort.
3. Numb the wound and then make thorough assessments. It is likely that for most broken bones (wings and toes) numbweed will be enough to deaden the pain, but for larger bones (leg bones, etc), the numbweed will not penetrate the hide deep enough to work. However, if you are dealing with an open wound, cleanse first with redwort to disinfect the area, and then apply a liberal coat of numbweed.
4. Pull steadily in a line with the bone, keeping it as straight as possible. You will have to have assistance from a larger dragon.
5. If the hide is open, stitch the wound closed. Stitches for injuries are unlike stitching clothes. Each stitch is separate from the next, each one basically a separate knot from the other. Stitches are made by pushing a needle through one edge of the hide, then through the other. A loop is then made with the thread of the second entry, and the first part of the thread pulled through this, pulling it closed, and closing the wound. A dragon will need a lot of stitches. This can take a long time. Remember to recoat your hands with oil so that they do not become numb. Stitching should be performed so as not to pucker the hide but still provides a barrier to infection (ie. not too tight and not too loose).
6. Splint with tree trunks, branches or other materials that have been prepared before hand. Supplies of these are kept in every dragon infirmary.
7. Move the dragon to the infirmary or a ground weyr. Other dragons can be used to help with supporting the injured one. Make sure that they have plenty of water to prevent dehydration.
8. Soaking in the lake/ocean will help further with swelling reduction, but support will be needed to and from the lake/ocean. The wound will need to heal somewhat before this is done if the fracture was an open one. Once the bone has begun to knit (approximately half the recovery time), then gentle exercise may begin to bring muscle strength back. It is recommended that these start in the water.
Recovery: This will vary, depending on the age of the dragon and the severity of the break. Figure on two months for a minor break (wingbone) and six months for a major break (leg bone). Some dragons will be permanently disabled after fractures, and might not be able to launch from the ground, fly in a straight line or fly an entire Threadfall.
Advanced Pharmacology
Characteristics: Aloe can be characterized by its rosette of long, tapering, fleshy leaves that exude a thick sap when broken, aloe rarely grows more than 60 cm tall. There is no true stem or branches; the main body of the plant is merely the place from which all the leaves grow. Although it only grows in warm, dry regions, it also exists in pots throughout Pern. On the rare occasions that if flowers, it will grow a long flower stalk anywhere from one to six meters long, with yellow to red flowers that are quite pretty.
Uses: Burns and rashes. Can help to reduce scarring, and soothe itching.
Preparation: Unfortunately, aloe gel does not keep, extract, or dry very well, and is best used fresh. Any place that can grow it is strongly recommended to do so. To use, remove a leaf from the base of the plant with a sharp knife, and squeeze the fleshy part.
Characteristics: Fellis grows as a small, branchy tree easily recognized by its star-shaped yellow blossoms. The juice made from the leaves and stems is a powerful narcotic painkiller, with addictive tendencies. It is widely used in the Healing profession, but is always used with caution, and never where a lesser remedy will suffice.
Uses: Fellis juice is extremely bitter, is rarely given undiluted, being generally diluted in wine. It is extremely toxic to dragons, and even the smallest draft will cause a fatal reaction. Dragonhealers therefore only need to know how to recognize and know not to use this herb in any form
Characteristics: Needlethorns are the spines of a succulent bush, which grows in the tropical regions of Pern. During the growing season, the plant will shoot the toxic spines at anything that disturbs it, but when the flowers of the Ging trees which grow nearby open in the autumn, the plant is dormant and the spines can be safely gathered.
Uses: The hollow needles are strong enough to be used for drawing ichor.
Preparation: When the Ging trees are flowering, Needlethorns should be gathered from the bushes and either placed in a basket or wrapped in the leaves of the Ging tree. Before use Needlethorns should always be carefully sterilized with redwort and rinsed with boiling water. They can be stored for long periods of time wrapped in thick, sterile cloth, or kept in a sterile box. They should never be re-used; to do so introduces an unacceptable risk of infection.
Characteristics: Numbweed is a succulent plant, which grows in greatest profusion in the semi-tropical and tropical regions of Pern, although it can be found in all areas.
Uses: Numbweed sap deadens all feeling on contact, but in its raw form it can blister the skin, and so is always used as a salve. It takes approximately 3 secs for Numbweed to penetrate the outer layer of dragon hide and slightly longer to go through to the germative layer. Numbweed is always used in its salve form by Dragonhealers. It is non-addictive, and in its salve form presents no danger of overdosing. Oil should be used to protect the hands when working with Numbweed for a long time. Redwort can be used when the contact will be for a short period of time
Preparation: Numbweed leaves are gathered, crushed and placed into a huge vat. They are then boiled until the Numbweed turns a pale yellow color. The leaves are strained and the resulting liquid decanted. This is an extremely malodorous process, and a face scarf is highly recommended.
Characteristics: Redwort is a small, shrublike plant which may be recognized by the reddish veins in its stem and its flat-topped reddish-purple flowers.
Uses: Redwort has two main uses: an antiseptic wash to prevent infection, and as a defense against the effects of Numbweed. All tools should be washed after use in very hot water with plenty of Sweetsand, and then rinsed in Redwort before storage in a sealed container. A tool whose sterility one is not certain of should be rinsed in Redwort before use. A healer should wash his or her hands well and then apply Redwort before touching a wound. Open wounds should be rinsed well with water, bathed with Redwort, and rinsed again to remove the Redwort before Numbweed is applied, as its protective effects are undesirable in that case. Healers should take care to apply Redwort and a light coat of oil to their hands before performing arduous work, such as stitches, on a wound coated with Numbweed, and to re-apply frequently to avoid losing feeling in their hands. The use of Redwort leaves a red stain on the skin which resembles a very localized sunburn.
Preparation: Redwort leaves are gathered, and boiled until the tincture has been removed from the leaves, basically when the leaves turn colorless, or dull, from their normal reddish-purple color. Leaves are strained and the resultant Redwort stored. The Redwort, in this form, is extremely concentrated and will need to be diluted with pre-boiled water before use.
Riders and Dragonhealers
Occasionally there will be times when the Dragonhealer needs to see to the immediate care of a rider. If the rider can be of ANY assistance, ensure that they do not get drunk. Instead use them and talk through them to the dragon. Reassure the dragon and rider in one go! If they really can't be of any help, hand them the nearest wine skin, and let them drink themselves into oblivion. If the rider is injured, and all the healers are busy, you may have to treat both rider and dragon so that they both calm down. Immediate care is all that's necessary here. Ensure that no Thread spores have caught and survived *between*, say for example in a flight jacket. If they have, douse them thoroughly with water. If you have a Threadscore or burn, Numbweed is the answer. Don't do anymore than that, leave it up to the Healers. If the injury is serious enough to cause you concern, send a runner immediately for a Healer's assistance. It is doubtful that when treating a dragon, because of their sheer size, you would have time to care for a rider even if you did have the required skills.
Wing Damage
Threadscored Wings
A dragon's wings are the most important part of their anatomy from a practical point of view. After all, the dragons were bred specifically to be an effective aerial fighting force, and in order to fulfill this goal, usable wings are a requirement. Wing injuries are some of the most delicate and involved repairs any dragonhealer can ever do.
Light Scoring:
Generally, a light wingscoring is the result of poor judgement on the part of the rider. These injuries will consist of light tracks, the occasional hole, and maybe scores along the edges of the wing, and both dragon and rider will be uncomfortable.
Moderate Scoring:
This will most likely include damages to edges and sails, but not to cartilages. The rider will probably be uncomfortable, and the dragon will be in some pain.
Severe Scoring:
These are the injuries every dragonrider dreads. The sails, cartilages, wingbones, and veins are all likely to be affected by these injuries. These are the kind of wing reconstruction jobs that are described in-depth in Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (© Anne McCaffrey). The injured dragon will have to be restrained by a queen or perhaps two, depending on the severity of the injury, and the rider will most likely need to be plied with a great deal of wine.
Assess the situation:. Wing damage is the most painful of all draconic injuries to treat. For any injury that is moderate or worse, you will need the assistance of at least one queen dragon to hold the injured beast still. If the injured dragon is a queen, it might take multiple dragons to hold her. The rider will most likely have to be plied with enough wine to make him unconscious. Make sure the rider is also cared for—oftentimes severe wing injuries to a dragon will be accompanied by injuries to the rider as well, something that can be overlooked in the general hubbub surrounding the dragon.
Determination: You will most likely not be able to talk to the rider about the injury, so don't worry about keeping him or her lucid. Instead, get them out of the way, try wine, works wonders! Try to determine exactly how the clump of Thread hit the wing—did it land on the leading edge or the trailing edge? Are there any body injuries that resulted from the same clump of Thread? Make sure you assess the extent of the injury carefully to avoid missing anything important.
1. Slather numbweed over everything. The more, the better.
2. Check to see if the ichor is beading properly on the cartilages of the wing. If it isn't, check first for any severed veins that will need suturing first. Clear away the numbweed with oil-soaked cloth pads before checking.
3. Splint bones if necessary. Major gouts of Thread are liable to sever the thinner bones in the wing. Stiff reeds will serve admirably as splints for these bones.
4. Cut lengths of the finest cloth available to the measure of the length of the leading or trailing edge of the wing. Avoid using things like brocades or slippery fabrics, as the wing tatters will slide around on them.
5. (This step will take at least two people.) Stitch the cloth to the wingbone, thereby providing a support mechanism for underneath the wing. The cloth will need to be alternately stretched and relaxed during the stitching process to provide a firm surface underneath the wing.
6. Fasten the cloth to the underside of the wing with small stitches. Be careful not to place them too near a torn area.
7. Brace the trailing edges of the wing if necessary, securing them to the cloth. Lay the wing fragments carefully on the fabric as close to their original positions as you can ascertain.
8. Apply thin numbweed liquid in quantity to the fabric.
9. Float the wing fragments on the numbweed liquid in some order, and stitch wherever possible.
10. If any tendons are damaged due to stretching or tearing, they will need to be supported by thin basket reeds stitched to the tendons in question.
11. Cover with more numbweed!
Recovery: Recovery time can be anywhere from a few months to a full Turn, depending on the severity of the injury. The use of the cloth and the reeds provides a framework for the new wing growth. The wing cartilages must be monitored to avoid their drying out. If they do begin to dry, then ichor drawn from a healthy dragon must be applied (see Drawing Ichor). As the wing heals, scar tissue will form spots of unsightly thickness. At first this will imbalance the dragon, but after time the dragon will learn to compensate, and wind-sand abrasion will thin the scar tissues down to normal thickness. Injuries on the inner wing are more serious, as Thread can, depending on the angle, sear through the wing down to the body.
Wrenched and Dislocated Wings
This problem is not nearly as prevalent with proper care than Threadscore injuries. In fact, it is almost more likely to see it on firelizards than on dragons. Nevertheless, how to replace a dislocated joint is something that should be known should the situation arise.
The dragon in question will most likely have to be restrained by a queen for this process, as it's bound to be painful as all get out. Symptoms include a severe, 'sickening' pain in the affected area, distortion of the joint, and swelling.
Assess the situation: Wing damage is the most painful of all draconic injuries to treat. For any injury that is moderate or worse, you will need the assistance of at least one queen dragon to hold the injured beast still. If the injured dragon is a queen, it might take multiple dragons to hold her. The rider will most likely have to be plied with enough wine to make him unconscious.
Determination: You will most likely not be able to talk to the rider about the injury, so don't worry about keeping him or her lucid. Instead, give them wine and get them out of the way. Make sure you assess the extent of the injury carefully to avoid missing anything important. Was the pain 'sickening'?
1. Immobilize the area and get as much weight off it as possible. Another dragon supporting the damaged wing helps.
2. With the assistance of a larger dragon, pull steadily in line with the bone, keeping it as straight as possible.
3. Splint with tree-trunks, and treat as a bad sprain.
Recovery: Approximately two-four months. A soak in the lake can reduce the swelling. Dragons should be careful of repeat dislocations to the injury site and recovery time should allow for gentle exercise before he/she is ready for duty. Dislocated joints are relatively uncommon among dragonkind, although they do happen.


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Hidden features in Oxygen (that you likely don't know about)
I made a list with a couple of hidden features that I find useful when working with Oxygen. If you have other suggestions, features that you use very often, we will be happy if you share them with us.
- Quick find toolbar
A reduced version of the Find / Replace dialog is available as a toolbar, displayed at the bottom of the Oxygen window. Press Alt + Shift + F to display it, and ESC to close it and give the focus in editor.
- Wrap/unwrap selected text in an element
To wrap some text in an element use Surround with Tags(Ctrl+E) action. To unwrap just delete the start tag or the end tag, or use the Delete Element Tags(Alt+Shift+X) action.
- Context Sensitive Help/Dynamic Help View
- Ctrl+Click Navigation
By holding down Ctrl (CMD on Mac) in the Text editing mode some components become links that you can follow to get to the definition of those components. For example, in an XML document, an element name becomes a link to that element definition in the associated schema or DTD. In an XSL stylesheet, a variable reference becomes a link to that variable definition, and so on.
- Component dependencies
- Learn structureWhen working with documents that do not specify a schema, or for which the schema is not known or does not exist, Oxygen is able to learn and translate the document structure to a DTD.
- Modify all matches
Allows you to easily modify the occurrences of the text found through executing a find operation or an XPath expression. When you use this action, a thin rectangle replaces the highlights and lets you start editing.
- Layout specific for each project
If you work on multiple projects or multiple XML vocabularies, you can choose to keep a separate layout for each project. Thus when you move between projects you get not only the last opened files specific to that project restored but also the exact layout of views, editors and toolbars.. Enable Options->Preferences-> Perspectives Layout, the "Remember layout changes for each project" option and then Oxygen will remember the exact layout for each project.
- Memory statusEnable "Show memory status" option to view the memory Oxygen XML Editor uses. To free memory, click the Run Garbage Collector button located in the bottom right corner of the screen. The memory status bar has a light blue background which turns yellow or red when Oxygen XML Editor uses too much memory.
- Show/Hide Element Names in Outline ViewYou are able to control the visibility of the element names in the Outline View. Hiding element names allows you to focus more on the document content.
- XML Master Files support


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We designed the Coyote brand to be a more therapeutic hot tub. If your main reason for investing in a hot tub is for therapy, rehabilitation, stress relief, or better health then Coyote is the brand for you. We also manufacture Coyote Spas with fewer high end options and configurations. This costs us less to make, which makes them cost less to purchase. You can learn more about hot tub prices here.
Here are the highlights:
Coyote Spas are made in the USA by Blue Falls Manufacturing.
If you do not find a hot tub thats just right for you in the Coyote Spas range we invite you to consider an Arctic Spa.
Get your Coyote Spas brochure here.
The latest information, details, and features of all the Coyote Spas models as well as detailed descriptions of the benefits, configurations and optional upgrades available.


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AP quoted Israeli President on July 26, 2011, on declaring Syrian leader Bashar Assad must step down. This was at an unprecedented news conference with Arab media.
Israel's government has largely kept quiet as anti-government protests swept the Arab world in recent months. While some Israeli officials have predicted the Assad regime will fall, President Shimon Peres' comments marked the first time an Israeli leader has openly called for the end of the Syrian regime.
Peres alleged that Assad's forces killed some 2,000 civilians and imprisoned tens of thousands during the four-month-old uprising. "Assad must go," Peres said. "The sooner he will leave, the better it will be for his people," Peres said.
Syrian rights groups have put the death toll at more than 1,600.
Peres also praised the protesters. "It is easy to go out and demonstrate, but when they shoot at you? It is amazing," the president said. "Their courage and firm stance are honorable."
He suggested that regime change could help pave the way for an eventual peace treaty between Israel and Syria.
"Those who seek peace will prevail," he said.
As president, Peres has largely refrained from voicing political opinions, making Tuesday's comments all the more unusual. The setting was also unprecedented, with Peres speaking to about 30 correspondents from leading Arab news organizations, including some from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Peres spoke just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's interview on Al-Arabiya TV, his first with an Arab media outlet since taking office two years ago. In the interview, Netanyahu took a more diplomatic line toward Syria, saying the country's young people deserve a better future but only Syrians could determine who their leader should be.
The interviews have highlighted Israel's efforts at engaging its neighbors as Mideast upheaval continues, and as the Palestinians seek statehood recognition at the U.N. this September.
Peres claimed Israel is "closer than ever" to peace with the Palestinians and insisted gaps between the two sides could be bridged before the U.N. vote in September.
Peace talks have been deadlocked since 2008 over issues like borders, Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlements expansion on war-won lands. In the 1990s, Peres won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Peres has hosted Arab journalists before, but this was his first official news conference aimed at a wide range of Arabic-language outlets.
Peres aides tried to ensure a smooth entry procedures for the journalists, following complaints of humiliating security examinations at Netanyahu events.
Now the security check for the Peres news conference took just a few minutes.


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If you have experienced a car accident, then you may already know the financial hardships that come with hospital bills and lost wages. Fortunately, Texas laws protect the rights of those who suffer injuries due to negligent drivers. A car accident attorney may be able to help you recover compensation to pay for your losses.
If you can prove that the driver is liable for the collision, and that the accident caused a specific injury, then you may have valid grounds for a lawsuit. Even if liability seems obvious, these cases can be challenging to win.
If your crash happened in Texas, then Austin car accident attorney Luke Dow can guide you through the claims process. Call the Luke Dow Law Firm today at 512-518-4104 to schedule a consultation.
In the meantime, read on to learn four tips that may strengthen your injury claim:
- Compile Physical Evidence
If the accident was serious, then there is likely to be damage to your vehicle. Be sure to preserve this damage, and if possible, do not repair it until you have consulted a personal-injury lawyer. If the evidence is not an object that you can physically preserve, then make sure you take photographs of it in order to record the extent of the damage.
- Locate Witnesses
- Document Injuries
- Act Quickly
If you were in a car wreck in Texas, then contact the Luke Dow Law Firm. Austin injury attorney Luke Dow can evaluate your case to determine if you may have valid grounds for a lawsuit. To schedule a consultation, call us today at 512-518-4104.


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Date Established:
The local Move to Amend affiliate for Lexington and Central Kentucky.
Joy Arnold
central-ky [at] movetoamend.org (subject: I'm%20interested%20in%20Central%20Kentucky%20Move%20to%20Amend)
The local Move to Amend affiliate for Lexington and Central Kentucky.
Joy Arnold
central-ky [at] movetoamend.org (subject: I'm%20interested%20in%20Central%20Kentucky%20Move%20to%20Amend)
Saturday, April 7, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus
93 W Weisheimer Road,
Columbus , OH 43214
Next Meeting of Central Kentucky Move to Amend will be held on July 11, 2017,at the Tates Creek Public Library at 3628 Walden Dr. 40517 in Lexington , KY. Learn more about our activities. Share your thoughts, feelings and ideas on how to promote the mission of Move Amend here in Kentucky.
Pot Luck, June 8, 2017 in Midway. This event will kick off "We're Listening," a nationwide campaign sponsored by Move to Amend. Call 859 846 5085 for details on the Pot Luck Gathering.
A small, ostensibly moneyless organization warrants investigation and front-page placement. Yet the many democracy movements across the country are never talked about.
All due respect to volunteers recruited to work this season, election campaigns are the parties of democracy. The much-longer movement-building is what it takes to have a functioning democracy; that's hard work. Hard work, but vital if it is democracy we want and not the illusion we live under.
The election of candidates is not a gift to them to do with as they please; it is an assignment to them to do what constituents tell them to do for the common good. In a functioning democracy the voters must assume the role of the strict teacher, with a pointer.
"We have the best Congress money can buy," humorist Will Rogers quipped in the 1930s. More recent comedians have suggested that politicians wear NASCAR-like jumpsuits so citizens can see the logos of all of their sponsors.
Trouble is, the joke is no longer funny. Many of us think special-interest money and the corruption it creates are threatening the very future of American democracy.


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In 1970, New York's Fifth Avenue Cinema was bombed and the Haymarket theatre in Los Angeles was burned down in order to prevent a certain movie from being screened. The inflammatory film was Fidel, a documentary directed by Saul Landau, who has died aged 77 of bladder cancer.
Fidel, the cause of anger among anti-Castro Cuban exiles, was the extraordinary film record of a weeklong jeep tour of the eastern mountains region of Cuba on which Landau accompanied Castro in 1968. The 95-minute feature, which de-demonised the charismatic Cuban leader for the American public, was finally shown in selected theatres around the US and on the PBS network, except in Florida. A bomb was thrown through a window at a New York television station during the broadcast.
Landau, who made several pro-Cuban films, and many other left-leaning features and television documentaries, suffered death threats throughout his career, mainly because of his criticism of US foreign policy, especially towards Latin America. "Terrorism has been the leitmotif of US policy beginning in 1959," he claimed. But Landau, despite some of his provocative pronouncements, was no mere firebrand. Sustained by a dry sense of humour, he was also a soft-spoken professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, where he taught history and digital media and inspired generations of students.
Nor were his films blindly partisan – he often gave opponents screen time to express their views – and his opinion of Castro's Cuba, though it remained supportive, became less rosy over the years. "If the US really wanted to change Cuba, just lift the embargo and Cuba is changed in a week," Landau remarked.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Landau graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a master's degree in history, joined a theatre group in San Francisco and became involved in investigative journalism. "I first went to Cuba when I was a student in 1960, a year after the revolution," Landau recalled. "I hitchhiked through the country to find out what a revolution was like. I also saw a lot of violence and bombs exploding. And all those bombs were coming from Florida."
Eight years later, Landau was given unprecedented access to Castro, filming the leader as he travelled around the country connecting with his people. In the 16mm handheld-camera colour footage, Castro is seen meeting farmers and soldiers, visiting the school he attended as a child, joining in a baseball game, talking to village elders and kissing babies. From in-depth interviews, we get to know Castro, both as a private man and a politician.
With the cinematographer Haskell Wexler, Landau co-directed Brazil: A Report on Torture (1971), which powerfully details the atrocities committed by the US-backed military regime against civilians and students who were opposed to the dictatorship, and who managed to survive to tell their stories.
Wexler was the cinematographer on Landau's Emmy-award winning documentary Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang (1979), an effective exposé of the government cover-up of the health hazards related to the 1950s atomic bomb testing in Nevada; and on The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas (1996), which viewed the Zapatistas as defenders of peasants' rights who chose guerrilla tactics after civil methods were closed to them by an immutable Mexican government.
At the age of 74, Landau made Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up? (2010), his last film. This revelatory documentary dealt with the Cuban Five, spies sent by the Castro government to infiltrate terrorist organisations in Miami and given lengthy prison sentences. "The Cuban Five had the same chance of getting a fair trial in Miami that a Jew would have gotten in Berlin in 1938," Landau declared.
Among the books he wrote were A Bush and Botox World: Travels Through Bush's America (2007), with a foreword by Gore Vidal, who confessed: "Saul Landau is a man I love to steal ideas from." In one of his last articles, Take Syria Seriously – and Stay Out, Landau continued to criticise American interventionism in the affairs of a sovereign nation.
He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Switzer, and a son and four daughters from his first marriage, to the poet Nina Serrano.
• Saul Landau, film director, producer and writer, born 15 January 1936; died 9 September 2013
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Note: At the moment we can only support the double glazing of wood frames. We have limited solutions for aluminium frames but they are not ideal. If you have aluminium windows and are interested in working with us, please contact us.
The first thing is that you must have the confidence to do the installation yourself. Most people are not experienced at working with glass, but it is not rocket science! A standard wooden window has a 10 mm piece of wood on the outside to hold the glass in place. This can be easily removed. Then, by sliding a knife around the inside of the frame, the silicone seal is broken and the glass can be removed. Inserting the new double glazed unit is also quite easy. You need to clean up the frame, then insert the double glazed unit, checking it fits flat and snugly within the frame. If the frame is not square you will have to widen the frame. Once you are confident the window sits properly, remove the window, apply a rubber seal to the frame, insert the new double glazed unit, apply silicon around the window then fix a wooden beading to hold the window in place.
Details on removing glass
Details on adding a double glazed unit
A cheaper option is to do secondary glazing. You buy a second sheet of Low-E glass and fix it to the outside of the existing window. You must add a plastic moisture barrier between the panes of glass to stop condensation. We recommend that the second beading is screwed in place, making it easy to remove and fix any problems that arise. There is the option to buy double glazed units for half of the windows in the house and then use the glass that is removed for secondary glazing on other windows in the house. This is feasible if the glass is 4 mm thick. 3 mm glass is very difficult to remove without cracking.
Details on adding secondary glazing
And as they say "the proof is in the eating". Normally you will not detect any degradation in viewing through a double glazed glazed window. For secondary glazing, it is important that the internal glass surfaces are properly cleaned to maximise transparency. The reduction in transparency is much less for windows on the south side. This is because direct sunlight on the window highlights any dirt or scratches. Also, windows in bedrooms generally do not require the same quality of transparency and are better suited for secondary glazing.


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I am have been meaning to attend more events at Stanford, especially in my areas of interest, and am only now starting to fulfill that aspiration. This month's event by the Islamic Society of Stanford jumped out at me as a "must-see" because the speaker worked on the brief for Baria Mughazu, a woman sentenced to flogging in Zamfara State, in my childhood home in Nigeria and at the same time has to her credit a piece critiquing Zina laws in Pakistan from an Islamic perspective. I posted a query on local Muslim lists and a few other activists lists I am asking about her.
To pique my interest further, when the event was posted on our local mailing list for Muslims in Silicon Valley, someone raised the question of whether she was another of "those" people. Especially since the first picture to be found on the Internet was one in which she appears with Aminah Wudud, who led the most public and publicized instance of a woman leading people in prayer. Someone on the list then pointed out her very solid background as a youngster who grew up in the Bay Area Muslim community.
You can read my live notes of the event at the following three posts:
To wrap up, and talking to her and others after the event, I have to say that I actually came away with some of the depression I often exhibit about American Muslims a little diminished. Though I have to also say, maybe out of habit, that she's from an older "generation", so to speak, of people, and younger people, whether here in American Muslim communities or in Muslim countries are increasingly radicalized.
And on a related note, having met her and Richa Nagar in the same weekend was quite an experience. Both people with South Asian roots; both scholars; both women; and, in their ways, feminists. They definitely break the mould of the impression folks would have of feminists. In Asifa Q's case I don't think she'd identify herself that way; though she doesn't shy away from the term) and she also defies the stereotypes of the headscarf-wearing Muslimah engaged in these discussions.
And to draw another arc, the last event by ISSU's that I attended was a lecture by Dr. Azza Karam, an Egyptian scholar who works with the UN. [I hadn't sorted out access to Stanford's wireless network yet and wasn't able to post from that event--and then have been lazy posting those notes. I will soon. I promise!] Listening to these two women, and meeting Maha El-Gennaidi of IMG at a previous ISSU event (when they hosted Ahmed Naseef last year to talk about the phenomenon of "Progressive Muslims" in North America) has been quite an education, too. I know this is almost a vacuous question, but when the talk shows--even on NPR--want to talk to an Muslim women, why don't they call on these folks? I know Irshad Manji and Asra Nomani and maybe even Asma Gull Hasan on the one hand and Ingrid Mattson on the other make for good radio and TV, but try these women for a change and ask them the tough questions: we all--Muslims included--might learn a few things in the process.
Technorati tags applicable to this post: Muslim Women - Asifa Qureshi - Feminism and Islam - Muslim Feminists - Islam


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An immunotherapy drug could prove just as effective as chemotherapy in prolonging the lives of patients with advanced cancers of the stomach or food pipe. For some, the immune-boosting treatment offered improved survival compared to standard treatment. The... Continue ReadingFDA Approves Lonsurf® for Treatment of Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Adenocarcinoma (March 8, 2019)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lonsurf® (trifluridine/tipiracil)) as a treatment for adult patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma previously treated with at least two prior lines... Continue ReadingDiagnosed with Gastric Cancer: 10 Tips on How to Get The Most From Your Doctor (December 21, 2017)
1) Choose Your Doctor Carefully Surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists are the primary doctors involved with gastric cancer and often work in collaboration. Pick your primary oncologist carefully, rely on people you trust including nurses... Continue ReadingNew Standard of Care for Treatment of Resectable Gastric Cancer (October 3, 2017)
The superiority of docetaxel based triplet therapy over standard care in patients with resectable esophago-gastric cancer has been confirmed in late-breaking results from the FLOT4 trial presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.1 Survival in resectable... Continue ReadingThe US Food and Drug Administration has Expanded the Approval of the Precision Cancer Medicine Keytruda for Treatment of Gastric Cancer (September 25, 2017)
Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) is now indicated for patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastro-esophogeal junction adenocarcinoma. Patients eligible for keytruda therapy under this new indication must have PD-L1-expressing tumors,... Continue ReadingKeytruda Immunotherapy Appears Promising in Advanced Gastric Cancer (September 18, 2017)
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) appears promising in patients with pretreated metastatic gastric cancer, according to late-breaking results from the KEYNOTE-059 trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in Madrid.1 Stomach... Continue Reading
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By Cody Romano
July 8, 2011
Professor Valerdi will deliver a presentation on August 22 as part of the MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series. Details and registration info are here.
Ricardo Valerdi, until recently a faculty member in MIT's System Design and Management (SDM) Program and now an associate professor at the University of Arizona, surprised his SDM students in a lecture hall earlier this year when he jotted "How to Calibrate Your Optimism" in large letters across a whiteboard.
"When you start talking about psychology," says Valerdi, laughing, "engineers usually feel uncomfortable at first. They're used to the technical approach — in understanding the math behind the model. But the psychological aspects can be equally, if not more, important."
Since he started teaching SDM's Cost Estimation and Measurement System course four years ago, Valerdi has frequently posed a unique and challenging question to his students: how does human decision-making, which includes factors like optimism and cynicism, influence the cost of complex systems?
To help engineering students answer this question, Valerdi supervised 20 SDM theses during his time at MIT. His advisees' projects vary in topic from improving healthcare in the Boston area to estimating the costs of launching a miniaturized satellite.
While serving as a research associate for MIT's Lean Advancement Initiative, Valerdi also mentored graduate research assistants. One of his mentees, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Jessika Trancik of Engineering Systems Division, is currently investigating whether or not ocean thermal energy conversion could be made cost-effective enough to compete with other renewable energy sources.
"MIT encourages people from multiple disciplines to work together to solve extremely complex systems problems," Valerdi says. "As a platform for research, it really opens doors for engineers to impact government and industry."
A former systems engineer for Motorola and senior technical staff member for The Aerospace Corporation, Valerdi remains actively involved in industry and government projects. He sat on the Board of Directors of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), a society in which academic and professional engineers collaborate and discuss issues related to complex systems. At the society's annual symposium in Denver this past June, a panel of technical experts from around the world honored him with a Best Paper Award.
Valerdi's paper proves, through statistical analysis, that a group of experts can generally reach a consensus after completing three rounds of surveys using the Wideband Delphi Method. The method, which allows experts to share opinions and review a general summary of their colleagues' feedback, is designed to elicit unbiased responses to tough questions. By discovering the necessary number of survey rounds, Valerdi could expedite the development of cost estimation models, which often depend on experts' feedback.
With extensive experience in academia and the corporate world, Valerdi recognizes a need for synergy between both arenas. Earlier this year, he and MIT Professor Deborah Nightingale imagined a publication that would strike a balance between practical and theoretical, guiding readers on a two-pronged expedition into how theories of enterprise transformation work and how they impact real organizations. To realize this goal, the researchers pitched their concept to INCOSE and the Institute for Industrial Engineers (IIE). "Everybody wanted to sign on," said Valerdi.
The Journal of Enterprise Transformation (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/ujet), successfully co-founded by Valerdi and Nightingale, is now affiliated with both IIE and INCOSE, marking the first-ever large-scale collaboration between the organizations. Upcoming articles examine real-world enterprise transformation issues affecting, for example, Starbucks, Reebok, and the U.S. Army.
"When engineers read our journal, it will provide them with insight into issues that are being discussed in the corner office, so-to-speak," says Valerdi. "By understanding how systems thinking enables successful enterprises, they can learn to architect organizations that create more successful products."
Ricardo Valerdi
Photo by L. Barry Hetherington


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Wotton's first Walking Festival is taking place from 5th – 7th May. There are 12 walks of various lengths to choose from during the 3 days of the festival, including some with historical interest, one timed to hear the dawn chorus and one for young families. Please select this link to download the Walking Festival Leaflet which gives details of all the …
Neighbourhood Wardens Monthly Report
Neighbourhood Warden, Rachel Pratt reports on the work she has completed in the Wotton area during March. Please select this link to read the full report. If you have any queries about the issues raised or you would like to report a new issue, please contact Rachel on 07834419332.
Road Closure at Wortley – 16th June 2017
Wortley Road, Wotton-under-Edge will be closed on 16th June 2017 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. This is to allow for works on behalf of BT Openreach. Please select this link for a plan showing the location of the road closure and planned diversion. If you require any further information regarding this closure please call 08000 514514.