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The Man Behind the Plan to Make Electric Cars Mainstream
Image: TreeHugger Slideshow on Electric Cars
Interview with Brian Wynne, Electric Drive Transportation Association
As you're likely aware, this year is a big one for electric cars -- two of the highest profile EVs ever aimed at the mainstream are slated to debut soon. Meanwhile, the political and cultural climate is beginning to shift away from the oily favoritism of decades past: Gas prices are rising ever higher, and there's a new premium on efficient vehicles. All in all, it looks like the long-promised electric vehicle revolution is on the horizon. It might just need a little push. And that's exactly what the Electric Drive Transportation Association is planning on doing. I already highlighted the group's initiative to bring EVs into the mainstream consumer consciousness at this year's CGI. I had the opportunity to ask EDTA president Brian Wynne more about his program -- and he explains how and why the era of the EV has finally arrived.1. It's long been held as conventional wisdom that a major paradigm shift would have to take place before US consumers would be willing to give up their gas guzzlers. With this being a big year for electric cars -- the Volt and the LEAF are debuting -- do you think we're seeing that shift now?
Yes. Production of plug-in electric vehicles will grow to record levels over the next several years with the roll-out of diverse PEV models by many different major auto manufacturers, including Ford, GM, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota. GM alone expects to produce 80,000 Chevy Volts by 2011 and 200,000 by 2014. Nissan is planning to produce 25,000 Leafs by 2011. Just the volume figures from these two manufacturers represent a highly accelerated market curve - more than twice the initial five-year sales rate of the entire hybrid fleet.
The mass production and growing demand for plug-in electric vehicles is a reflection of the public desire to decrease dependence on foreign oil and support the environmental benefits of this new technology. Today, the United States imports 57 percent of its oil or more than nine million barrels a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Much of this oil is imported from the Middle East and other regions of the world where conflict and political instability often threaten supply. Widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles will reduce carbon-based greenhouse gases that heat the atmosphere and cause damaging climate changes. In addition, more than 20,000 charging stations are being deployed across the country.
The U.S. Department of Energy has provided $115 million to support the installation of charging infrastructure for two different programs. The EV Project is underway in 16 major U.S. cities and will be installing home, workplace and public charging. ChargePoint America is another program that is installing levels I,II and fast charge stations across the country and already has 700 stations. A variety of manufacturers are producing charging infrastructure components for plug-in electric vehicles, including Coulomb Technologies, Eaton Corporation, ECOtality and General Electric.
2. With its new initiative, EDTA is working to help push electric cars mainstream. What are the greatest challenges in getting American consumers excited about electric cars?
The challenges we face are similar to those any industry faces when introducing new technology--bringing down costs, ensuring availability and educating the public. Government incentives are making owning and operating a plug-in electric vehicle more affordable than ever before. Drivers who purchase a plug-in electric in the U.S. may qualify for a federal tax credit up to $7,500. Drivers who purchase a plug-in electric in Washington D.C. and in several other metropolitan areas are eligible to receive a free home charging station through the ChargePoint America program.
Many choices will be available to consumers over the next few years as a variety of PEVs hit the market. By 2012, consumers will be able to choose from 15 different PEVs from such manufacturers as Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and U.S. auto manufacturing start-ups such as Tesla, Coda and Fisker. Consumers who are familiar with the environmental benefits, cost savings, convenient charging options and unique driving experience associated with PEVs are already excited. We will reach beyond the first adopters in our efforts to educate the public. This is why EDTA and its members have created the National Plug-in Vehicle Initiative to serve as a national clearinghouse for timely and accurate information on plug-in electric vehicles.
3. How do you envision the initiative you announced at CGI impacting the public? How will the different parts -- which include a website, development of educational materials, and fostering inter-industry and government cooperation on the issue -- congeal to make the nation a more hospitable place for EVs?
Our website will provide consumers with everything they need to know about owning and operating a plug-in electric vehicle. It will be an interactive resource of information with Q&As;, information on incentives and new vehicles.
The components of EDTA's action plan announced at CGI will be complementary in their support of making the U.S. a welcoming environment for PEVs. By educating consumers about the benefits and accessibility of plug-in vehicles, we will also be helping to grow the market. As the electric drive industries grow and vehicles become more commonplace, costs will come down and understanding of the value will increase.
4. Do you think the US is truly ready for electric cars? How long do you think it will be before EVs represent a significant share of the market, and what more can be done to speed the process up?
Yes. Even the most conservative estimates in a recent Boston Consulting Group study project reflect that more than one quarter of all new cars sold on the consumer market in 2020 (only a decade from now) will be electric drive vehicles. Ten years is the "immediate future" in the vehicle manufacturing, where design, development and production cycles are established for multi-year periods. Inter-industry and inter-governmental collaborations to establish best practices, uniform standards, and incentives will accelerate market acceptance of all types of PEVs and PEV deployment in the U.S.
5. What's the biggest aversion to EVs you encounter -- is it range anxiety? Charging concerns? The expense?
I don't hear much aversion, but I do hear a lot of curiosity. There is a great demand for credible and customized information about owning and operating a plug-in electric vehicle. For instance, there are different types of plug-in electric vehicles: some that run entirely on electricity (battery electrics), some that offer a range extender (extended range battery electrics), and some that offer two drivetrains (plug-in hybrids). The configurations offer different benefits to different consumers. Consumers want to understand the differences and how to make the best choice to meet their needs. They also want to know how they can get help - what are the incentives in place for vehicles and charging. Many consumers will find the federal (and in some cases state) tax credits make the purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle more affordable than they might have thought. Plus, plug-in electric vehicle owners save on gas and have the convenience of charging their vehicle at home.
6. If you could, briefly outline how you envision the future of EVs over, say, the next 20 years.
We - and others - see the increasing electrification of the transportation sector over the next two decades. Hybrid, plug-in electric and fuel cell vehicles will all play an increasing role in meeting our national goals for energy security and sustainable transportation. Plug-in electric vehicles will be an important part of the electric revolution.
As battery technology continues to advance, vehicles will provide increased performance at reduced cost, reinforcing the market's embrace of electric drive. In fact, a recent National Research Council report estimates a conservative forecast of 13 million plug-in vehicles on the roads by 2030 is likely, but also says that number could be as high as 40 million with thoughtful policy support. The stimulus funding and consumer incentives for vehicles and infrastructure are exactly the policy support that will help speed adoption in that higher range.
We also believe that other market factors will accelerate the turn toward electric drive. Economic growth and auto sales in China, India and other fast-growing economies will increase global demand for oil. So the forecast is for rising gas prices, which makes the efficiency of electric drive increasing attractive to consumers.
More on Electric Cars
DIY Movement Sprouts for Electric Cars
23 Electric Cars Driving the Revolution
Tiny Iowa Town Has Highest Concentration of EV Charging Stations in US


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Entrepreneurs are typically so focused on saving enough cash to stay alive that you don't see them blowing money. It's rare to see fat expense accounts or even market rate salaries. While spending too much isn't the problem, spending on the wrong thing at the wrong time often is. Here are eight common mistakes:
–Spending too much too early. If you don't have a product yet, don't spend much on anything other than developing the product.
–Not spending enough. When the flywheel is really going, it might be necessary to spend money on increasing sales and marketing to grow even faster. In other instances, it becomes essential to spend more building the architecture and systems to stay ahead of the growth.
–Hiring a sales team early on. If you have an enterprise product under development, having a big sales team before you have a product is a mistake. Salesforce.com, where I am a board member, is a great example of a company that did not invest in sales until it was necessary. Instead, it invested its resources in developing a great product. And the founders and early employees pitched the service wherever they went—including while waiting in line at the supermarket.
-Beefing up on administrative matters in the beginning. Building HR or finance teams too early is not prudent. Initially, those can—and should—be outsourced.
-Falling for office space. Most entrepreneurs are frugal, with one exception: some become enamored with office facilities. While many entrepreneurs start in a garage, apartment or the dorm room, there are others who fancy a cool location or space to grow into—that's something that can be very costly.
-Paying full salaries. Offering high salaries at an early stage is a recipe for burning cash. Everybody should be taking a risk. Compensation should be a combination of salary and equity.
-Underutilizing all of the available resources. If you need help, ask for it from your advisers and board. Don't think of your board members just as people who tell you what to do; put them to work. The best entrepreneurs know how to leverage their network and are not shy about asking for advice and introductions.
–Wasting time. Time is just as valuable as capital and managing it well is just as crucial. You have to do as much as you can every day, week, month and year—utilizing time effectively is one of the most important skills in an entrepreneur's arsenal.

subset: commoncrawl


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As might be expected, San Jose and San Francisco, the bookends of Silicon Valley, rank first and second among top U.S. tech cities in a new report from global commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. But the top 25 list published as part of the Tech Cities 1.0 report also includes some more unexpected markets, such as Madison, Wis.; Columbus, Ohio; and Kansas City.
To read the entire article, click here.


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If you aren't fortunate enough to attend NYU film school or get cornered by me at a networking function, you've probably missed out on my many diatribes on shooting guerrilla video. Well, now's your chance to check me out in person and hear my all new presentation "Down and Dirty Filmmaking: Guerrilla Tactics for Professional Results".
This Thursday, November 15 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Apple Store - Soho (2nd FL.) I will be giving a slide show presentation to The Motion Picture Collective (aka MoPictive and formerly known as The NYC Final Cut Pro Users Group) on developing a guerrilla mindset and some of the tactics that I and others use to maximize our limited resources to tell compelling stories with professional production values.
Apart from myself, there will be several other presenters including Sony and AbelCineTech showing off the much-anticipated Hi-Def Sony XDCam EX which I wrote a post about last spring.
So here's the full line up for the MoPictive Meeting:
- Docmaker Cynthia Wade will show excerpts of two films: Freeheld and Shelter Dogs.
- Bogen/Manfrotto will be show off their latest fluid tripod heads.
- Sony and Abel Cine Tech will be demo-ing the brand new just hit the streets XDCam-EX Video Camera.
- I, Anthony Q. Artis, will present for the first time in public ever - "Down and Dirty Filmmaking: Guerrilla Tactics for Professional Results"
The Apple Store - SOHO is located at 103 Prince Street, on the corner of Greene Street. Best train stations are R/W at Prince St, The 6 & F/V at Broadway/Lafayette or the C/E at Spring Street.
Come out and introduce yourself to me, learn some things, drool on the new Sony HD camera and network with fellow indies in the NYC area. See y'all there!


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CU*Asterisk Partners
Trust for Credit Unions
The Trust for Credit Unions (TCU) is a family of institutional mutual funds offered exclusively to credit unions. Our motto is "For Credit Unions By Credit Unions". TRUST helps credit unions succeed in serving their members by providing a professionally managed family of mutual funds — exclusive to credit unions — as well as the information and analysis they need to support investment decisions. Created by some of the leading credit unions with oversight by a board of trustees, TRUST's mutual fund options keep credit unions always invested, are professionally managed, and are based on the cooperative values of credit unions. Today, credit unions have invested nearly $1.4 billion in TRUST's three portfolios.
CU*Answers provides services to over 190 credit unions in 18 states, representing nearly 1.5 million credit union members and $12 billion in credit union assets. Clients range in size from 700 to 65,000 members. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, CU*Answers employs a staff of more than 180, with 40 full-time programmers and a technical and client support staff of over 75 professionals with decades of combined experience serving the credit union and data processing service industries.
CU*South is a proud member of the cuasterisk.com network, the nation's largest network of CUSOs, made up of over 600 credit unions, over 150 CUSO owners, more than $37 billion in assets, and more than 6,000,000 members. In addition to making our outstanding, integrated CU*BASE core platform affordable for credit unions of all sizes, this powerful network allows our member-owners to expand services while reducing expenses. CU*South is commited to the credit union movement, and serving members. That's why we deliberately chose a business model that would allow us to be a partner, and not just a vendor.
CU*NorthWest was founded in 2005 to provide credit unions with the information solutions and tools necessary to grow and aggressively compete in a competitive financial environment. CU*NorthWest is a regional extension of CU*Answers - a highly successful Michigan-based CUSO. From data processing and computer support to marketing campaigns and teller training, our goal is to help credit unions address their every need, every day, We're not just a service provider, we're an extension of your credit union's staff; programmers, designers, hardware gurus and service professionals all ready to insure your credit union excels at everything it does.
Lender*VP delivers to your credit union a team of experienced lending professionals that will take over the task of driving the success of your loan department. The Lender*VP team has years of on-the-street credit union lending experience, combined with an intimate knowledge of CU*BASE tools. Services provided range from PayDay Lending, Consulting, and a variety of Loan Delivery Channels to ensure credit unions can remain competitive in the fast-paced lending environment. We can make sure you know what products you need, get them off the ground quickly, and drive them to success.
CU*Answers Network Services
CU*Answers Network Services is a full-service network technology solutions provider. We specialize in LAN/WAN design, implementation and management; network security; firewall management; IP telephony VOIP (voice-over-Internet protocol) solutions; records management; managed hosting solutions (facilities management), compliance and security audits (HIPAA/GLBA/SOX); high availability solutions; web site engineering, and hardware sales and support services. CU*Answers Network Services provides services to the education, retail, legal, medical, real estate, hospitality, and financial services industries as well as court systems and regional municipalities. Our financial services portfolio includes servicing over 150 credit unions across the country.
eDOC Innovations
eDOC Innovations has been providing superior products and our standard of excellence for e-document strategies and e-commerce solutions for more than 20 years. As the nationwide leader in e-document and e-commerce software for credit unions, eDOC Innovations has been designing workflow tools that reduce overhead, increase operational efficiency, and deliver mobile conveniences and specialized portals for anytime, anywhere digital transactions.


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Looking for something to spice up your next special event?
The Zameen Food Truck is here to bring you a wonderfully new and diverse twist on Mediterranean street food. From Gyros and Falafels, to seasonal salads, sweet potato fries and eclectic hand made sauces, we specialize in customizing our menus to suit your specific needs, making entertaining easy and delicious.
Contact us to plan your next big event and we'll work with you to customize a menu that is sure to delight all of your guests!


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Hopefully you've subscribed to our newsletter by now and received our most recent email on October 13th when we announced dates and locations for 2018! If you haven't, DO IT NOW so you can be updated on event details as soon as they happen. We do our best to update our social media feeds but your email on our newsletter list is the BEST way for you to be informed.
In case you missed it, here's a little thank you note that we'll be sending out this week so check your mailboxes or read and share this post!
October 16, 2017. We want to thank you for your continued commitment to and interest in the Women's Sportbike Rally. Thank you for having the courage to Be Your Own Hero and joining us in 2017.
Dates and Locations
2018 West Rally | July 13-15, 2018 | Camarillo, California
Headquarters: Hilton Garden Inn Oxnard/Camarillo
We are thrilled to bring the true essence of Southern California to the WEST event by moving rally headquarters to Camarillo, connecting attendees to both coastline and canyons.
2018 East Rally | September 7-9, 2018 | Deals Gap, North Carolina
Headquarters: Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge
The EAST event has always been focused on our love of the Great Smoky Mountains and Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge provides the perfect retreat in heart of Appalachia.
The Theme for 2018 is CHASE YOUR DREAMS
Our events empower and encourage female sportbike riders to chase their dreams whether it's improving lap times at the local track, racing for glory and riches, or riding sportbikes on the weekends just for fun.
Workshops are returning in 2018! We will cover new topics such as leading group rides, overnight travel, accident scene management, and slow speed skills. The women who attend the rally will ride away with pertinent knowledge that can be shared with others… the true essence of empowerment.
We're adding a ton of options to Registration ! Attendees can choose to add shirts, meals, workshops, group rides, sign up for room sharing and more to base registration costs – this allows a truly customized experience for every attendee.
Be on the lookout to stay informed – Subscribe to notifications on our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), subscribe to our newsletter emails direct to your inbox (link on our website), and make sure to check your snail-mailbox every once in a while for fun stuff from us!
WSR is always looking for Volunteers for tasks both before and during the rally. We know you all have special talents. If you'd like to share them with the women of WSR, please contact Brittany Morrow, email@example.com .
We can't wait to see our #Sportbikegirls in 2018! We hope you'll Chase Your Dreams and join us! –
Team WSR


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NCAA Memphis Tigers Modern Take Comforter Set
Style #: 1COL862000049EDC
Details https://www.belk.com/p/the-northwest-company-ncaa-memphis-tigers-modern-take-comforter-set/76016681187671.html
Orig. $167.00
$112.50 - $125.2590.00 125.25
$90.00 - $100.20 after coupon
use 20% code: HOMESAVINGS
ends 2/4 View Details
Additional Information
Add a modern twist to your bedroom or dorm room with this super cozy and soft Officially Licensed NCAA 'Modern Take' Printed Comforter and Shams Set by The Northwest Company! This set is designed with your favorite school's logo in the center of the comforter and the shams. The background shows off a bold, repeating print of your college with an extra added side color panel and the established date.
Twin Comforter Set Includes:
1 Comforter: 64 in x 86 in
1 Standard sham: 24 in x 30 in
Full/Queen Comforter Set Includes:
1 Comforter: 86 in x 86 in
2 Standard shams: 24 in x 30 in
Twin Comforter Set Includes:
1 Comforter: 64 in x 86 in
1 Standard sham: 24 in x 30 in
Full/Queen Comforter Set Includes:
1 Comforter: 86 in x 86 in
2 Standard shams: 24 in x 30 in
Product Details
- Imported
Material & Care
- Polyester
- Machine washable
Shipping Details
Shipping Details
This item ships directly from the vendor, usually within 4 business days. Shipping Details
Due to shipping weight restrictions, this item cannot be shipped to a PO Box.
Return Details
Returns are easy at belk.com. Easy returns

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reviews, product

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I am starting a new company and am looking for designers to help design a logo and 4 page website. The main criteria are uniqueness and creativity. The reward will be $400 paid through PayPal or any other payment method specified by winner.
Due to privacy please PM me for compete competition information. Please do not type the name of the organization at anytime during this contest (will get indexed on search engines). Please PM me and I will send you details.


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Published at Wednesday, July 24th, 2019 - 09:25:39 AM. Wedding Venue. By Amalda Walter.
Selecting Wedding Venue Location. Bride and groom must ensure the best and healthy venue location that is full of green vegetation and located near the city. Wedding reception place should be near to the city in order to conveniently transport the necessary wedding accessories, guests, bride and groom and other wedding related things to the wedding destination. It is also important to choose a place near the vibrant city so that maximum number of guest can attend and enjoy the ceremony.
Online Wedding Venue Directories. You should also enquire about menu, special diets, chocolates, audio and visual effects and other associated services at the same time. However, it is good to find the exact venues from the online wedding venue directories. These directories offer you the exact and the most desired venues as per the location preferences. If you are residing in Australia, then you can easily find the most convenient and beautiful wedding venues in Queensland, Sydney, Gold Coast, etc. In fact, you can see multiple venue options, compare prices, and look for other wedding planning accessories as per your needs.
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Any content, trademark's, or other material that might be found on the Brikcase website that is not Brikcase's property remains the copyright of its respective owner/s. In no way does Brikcase claim ownership or responsibility for such items, and you should seek legal consent for any use of such materials from its owner.


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Big Blue Football Camp set for May at MCHS
The eighth annual Big Blue Football Camp will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. May 8 and 9 at the Moffat County High School practice field, 900 Finley Lane.
The camp is available to players in kindergarten through fifth grade who want to learn more about the basics of the game.
Registration for the camp is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. May 7 at the MCHS football field. The cost is $20 to participate and receive a Bulldogs backpack.
Funds go toward supporting the MCHS football program.
Focuses include offensive skills like throwing, catching and blocking, as well as defensive skills like coverage and tackling.
"It's not a contact camp, so they'll be using the tackling bags to get them used to the sleds they'll use later," organizer and MCHS football coach Kip Hafey said. "We also really try to emphasize sportsmanship."
Participants will also work on special teams tasks like kickoffs and punts.
Hafey said everyone who attends who will get a well-rounded experience.
"Everybody gets to try everything, there's no designation, like, 'You're a lineman' or 'You're a receiver,'" he said. "The second day we'll be playing some games so they can use all the skills they learned."
Hafey will be joined by fellow coaches.
"The players love it, and it's just a good time for everybody involved," he said.
For more information, call 824-9586.
Parks and Recreation soccer begins registration
Registration is open for Craig Parks and Recreation's 2012 summer youth soccer program.
The program is available for players at least 5 years old — as of Aug. 31— to age 15.
The participation fee is $30 for the summer and includes a team T-shirt. The deadline to register is May 16.
The season begins June 18 with practice sessions, and games are playeed Tuesdays and Thursdays at Woodbury Sports Complex through Aug. 2.
For more information about playing or volunteering as a coach, call 824-2029.
Golf course to host Friday get-togethers
Yampa Valley Golf Course will host TGIF couples events on select Fridays throughout the spring, summer and early fall. Registration is $46 each week for a round of golf and a meal.
Every week has a different theme and format, each of which begins at 5:30 p.m.
For more information, call 824-3673.
The schedule is below:
May 4 — Mexican Night/best ball
May 18 — Hippie Night/two-person scramble
June 8 — Cowboys & Indians/Chapman
June 15— Dads Night/alternate shot
July 6 — Hawaiian Luau/two-person scramble
July 20 — Fifties Night/four-person scramble
Aug. 10 — Gangster Night/best ball
Aug. 24 — Old-Fashioned Golf/alternate shot
Sept. 7 — Famous Couples/Chapman
Sept. 21 — Hunters Scramble/two-person scramble
October TBD — Bronco Bash/four-person scramble, 18 holes


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The Dating Game
My boyfriend and I recently reached our second anniversary and we celebrated in the usual way. Cards, flowers, wine, spending all weekend together playing South Park: The Stick of Truth. It was a lot of fun. It's not always sunshine and lollipops though. Sometimes my boyfriend annoys the absolute cr*p out of me. Sometimes he… Continue reading The Dating Game


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In a recent survey, Francisco Ruiz, Crimeware Researcher of MalwareIntelligence, broke through the security barriers of new rogue crimeware designed to automate running zombies for mass scale cyber crimes that are carried out using a vector attack from committed teams as part of the botnet...
BOMBA is accessed via web and the authentication system only requires a single password, an access system adopted by many applications of this kind like Phoenix Exploit's Kit and n0ise Bot.
The server that hosts this crimeware is based in Latvia (although the administrative record is in Moscow, Russia) under the AS6851 (Autonomous System) which is known as the network BKCNET "SIA" Izzie.
This server is listed for criminal activities such as the spread of rogueware, shelter kits and other YES Exploit Systems.
In 2009 it host the strategies of the botnet Waledac (successor to Storm), ZeuS and also had a direct relationship with criminals who are behind the maneuvers of the botnet Koobface.
The package is designed to exploit vulnerabilities through the family of Microsoft operating systems - as shown in the illustration above - Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Seven, and through precompiled exploits to use vulnerabilities in Java (Java Deployment Toolkit ), Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader and the classic MDAC.
Cross-posted from MalwareIntelligence


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Friday, October 09, 2015
May 2015Volume 46, Issue 5, Pages 926–928
An alarming presentation of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease following a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head
Carissa Harnish, Brian Gross, Katelyn Rittenhouse, Katherine Bupp, Ashley Vellucci, Jeffrey Anderson, Deborah Riley, Frederick B. Rogers
email Lancaster General Health, Lancaster, PA, USA
Accepted: November 29, 2014; Published Online: December 09, 2014
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), also known as prion diseases, are characterized by rapid and fatal neurological decline. They not only detrimentally affect the patient, but also present additional challenges to healthcare systems due to the infectivity of the tissues and the difficulty of inactivating the prion. The most common TSE is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which can occur after familial, spontaneous or acquired transmission. TSEs received more attention after the development of variant CJD (vCJD), also known as Mad Cow Disease, in the UK during the mid-1990s. Unlike familial or spontaneous CJD, this variant was connected to consumption of cattle contaminated with the prion disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.This development increased interest in the etiology of CJD and other TSEs and the risk it presents as an infectious disease. The following details the case of a 59-year-old male infected with CJD presented to our level II trauma center for treatment following a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Keywords: Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Trauma
Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes contaminated during neurosurgery.
Gibbs CJ Jr, Asher DM, Kobrine A, Amyx HL, Sulima MP, Gajdusek DC. Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Stereotactic multicontact electrodes used to probe the cerebral cortex of a middle aged woman with progressive dementia were previously implicated in the accidental transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to two younger patients. The diagnoses of CJD have been confirmed for all three cases. More than two years after their last use in humans, after three cleanings and repeated sterilisation in ethanol and formaldehyde vapour, the electrodes were implanted in the cortex of a chimpanzee. Eighteen months later the animal became ill with CJD. This finding serves to re-emphasise the potential danger posed by reuse of instruments contaminated with the agents of spongiform encephalopathies, even after scrupulous attempts to clean them.
98 | Veterinary Record | January 24, 2015
Scrapie: a particularly persistent pathogen
Cristina Acín
Resistant prions in the environment have been the sword of Damocles for scrapie control and eradication. Attempts to establish which physical and chemical agents could be applied to inactivate or moderate scrapie infectivity were initiated in the 1960s and 1970s,with the first study of this type focusing on the effect of heat treatment in reducing prion infectivity (Hunter and Millson 1964). Nowadays, most of the chemical procedures that aim to inactivate the prion protein are based on the method developed by Kimberlin and collaborators (1983). This procedure consists of treatment with 20,000 parts per million free chlorine solution, for a minimum of one hour, of all surfaces that need to be sterilised (in laboratories, lambing pens, slaughterhouses, and so on). Despite this, veterinarians and farmers may still ask a range of questions, such as 'Is there an official procedure published somewhere?' and 'Is there an international organisation which recommends and defines the exact method of scrapie decontamination that must be applied?'
From a European perspective, it is difficult to find a treatment that could be applied, especially in relation to the disinfection of surfaces in lambing pens of affected flocks. A 999/2001 EU regulation on controlling spongiform encephalopathies (European Parliament and Council 2001) did not specify a particular decontamination measure to be used when an outbreak of scrapie is diagnosed. There is only a brief recommendation in Annex VII concerning the control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE s).
Chapter B of the regulation explains the measures that must be applied if new caprine animals are to be introduced to a holding where a scrapie outbreak has previously been diagnosed. In that case, the statement indicates that caprine animals can be introduced 'provided that a cleaning and disinfection of all animal housing on the premises has been carried out following destocking'.
Issues around cleaning and disinfection are common in prion prevention recommendations, but relevant authorities, veterinarians and farmers may have difficulties in finding the specific protocol which applies. The European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA ) published a detailed report about the efficacy of certain biocides, such as sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, guanidine and even a formulation of copper or iron metal ions in combination with hydrogen peroxide, against prions (EFSA 2009). The report was based on scientific evidence (Fichet and others 2004, Lemmer and others 2004, Gao and others 2006, Solassol and others 2006) but unfortunately the decontamination measures were not assessed under outbreak conditions.
The EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards recently published its conclusions on the scrapie situation in the EU after 10 years of monitoring and control of the disease in sheep and goats (EFSA 2014), and one of the most interesting findings was the Icelandic experience regarding the effect of disinfection in scrapie control. The Icelandic plan consisted of: culling scrapie-affected sheep or the whole flock in newly diagnosed outbreaks; deep cleaning and disinfection of stables, sheds, barns and equipment with high pressure washing followed by cleaning with 500 parts per million of hypochlorite; drying and treatment with 300 ppm of iodophor; and restocking was not permitted for at least two years. Even when all of these measures were implemented, scrapie recurred on several farms, indicating that the infectious agent survived for years in the environment, even as many as 16 years after restocking (Georgsson and others 2006).
In the rest of the countries considered in the EFSA (2014) report, recommendations for disinfection measures were not specifically defined at the government level. In the report, the only recommendation that is made for sheep is repopulation with sheep with scrapie-resistant genotypes. This reduces the risk of scrapie recurrence but it is difficult to know its effect on the infection.
Until the EFSA was established (in May 2003), scientific opinions about TSE s were provided by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of the EC, whose advice regarding inactivation procedures focused on treating animal waste at high temperatures (150°C for three hours) and high pressure alkaline hydrolysis (SSC 2003). At the same time, the TSE Risk Management Subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) in the UK published guidance on safe working and the prevention of TSE infection. Annex C of the ACDP report established that sodium hypochlorite was considered to be effective, but only if 20,000 ppm of available chlorine was present for at least one hour, which has practical limitations such as the release of chlorine gas, corrosion, incompatibility with formaldehyde, alcohols and acids, rapid inactivation of its active chemicals and the stability of dilutions (ACDP 2009).
In an international context, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) does not recommend a specific disinfection protocol for prion agents in its Terrestrial Code or Manual. Chapter 4.13 of the Terrestrial Code, General recommendations on disinfection and disinsection (OIE 2014), focuses on foot-and-mouth disease virus, mycobacteria and Bacillus anthracis, but not on prion disinfection. Nevertheless, the last update published by the OIE on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (OIE 2012) indicates that few effective decontamination techniques are available to inactivate the agent on surfaces, and recommends the removal of all organic material and the use of sodium hydroxide, or a sodium hypochlorite solution containing 2 per cent available chlorine, for more than one hour at 20ºC.
The World Health Organization outlines guidelines for the control of TSE s, and also emphasises the importance of mechanically cleaning surfaces before disinfection with sodium hydroxide or sodium hypochlorite for one hour (WHO 1999).
Finally, the relevant agencies in both Canada and the USA suggest that the best treatments for surfaces potentially contaminated with prions are sodium hydroxide or sodium hypochlorite at 20,000 ppm. This is a 2 per cent solution, while most commercial household bleaches contain 5.25 per cent sodium hypochlorite. It is therefore recommended to dilute one part 5.25 per cent bleach with 1.5 parts water (CDC 2009, Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2013).
So what should we do about disinfection against prions? First, it is suggested that a single protocol be created by international authorities to homogenise inactivation procedures and enable their application in all scrapie-affected countries. Sodium hypochlorite with 20,000 ppm of available chlorine seems to be the procedure used in most countries, as noted in a paper summarised on p 99 of this issue of Veterinary Record (Hawkins and others 2015). But are we totally sure of its effectiveness as a preventive measure in a scrapie outbreak? Would an in-depth study of the recurrence of scrapie disease be needed?
What we can conclude is that, if we want to fight prion diseases, and specifically classical scrapie, we must focus on the accuracy of diagnosis, monitoring and surveillance; appropriate animal identification and control of movements; and, in the end, have homogeneous and suitable protocols to decontaminate and disinfect lambing barns, sheds and equipment available to veterinarians and farmers. Finally, further investigations into the resistance of prion proteins in the diversity of environmental surfaces are required.
98 | Veterinary Record | January 24, 2015
Persistence of ovine scrapie infectivity in a farm environment following cleaning and decontamination
Steve A. C. Hawkins, MIBiol, Pathology Department1, Hugh A. Simmons, BVSc MRCVS, MBA, MA Animal Services Unit1, Kevin C. Gough, BSc, PhD2 and Ben C. Maddison, BSc, PhD3 + Author Affiliations
1Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK 2School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK 3ADAS UK, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK E-mail for correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract Scrapie of sheep/goats and chronic wasting disease of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where environmental reservoirs are directly implicated in the transmission of disease. In this study, the effectiveness of recommended scrapie farm decontamination regimens was evaluated by a sheep bioassay using buildings naturally contaminated with scrapie. Pens within a farm building were treated with either 20,000 parts per million free chorine solution for one hour or were treated with the same but were followed by painting and full re-galvanisation or replacement of metalwork within the pen. Scrapie susceptible lambs of the PRNP genotype VRQ/VRQ were reared within these pens and their scrapie status was monitored by recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. All animals became infected over an 18-month period, even in the pen that had been subject to the most stringent decontamination process. These data suggest that recommended current guidelines for the decontamination of farm buildings following outbreaks of scrapie do little to reduce the titre of infectious scrapie material and that environmental recontamination could also be an issue associated with these premises.
Thorough pressure washing of a pen had no effect on the amount of bioavailable scrapie infectivity (pen B). The routine removal of prions from surfaces within a laboratory setting is treatment for a minimum of one hour with 20,000 ppm free chlorine, a method originally based on the use of brain macerates from infected rodents to evaluate the effectiveness of decontamination (Kimberlin and others 1983). Further studies have also investigated the effectiveness of hypochlorite disinfection of metal surfaces to simulate the decontamination of surgical devices within a hospital setting. Such treatments with hypochlorite solution were able to reduce infectivity by 5.5 logs to lower than the sensitivity of the bioassay used (Lemmer and others 2004). Analogous treatment of the pen surfaces did not effectively remove the levels of scrapie infectivity over that of the control pens, indicating that this method of decontamination is not effective within a farm setting. This may be due to the high level of biological matrix that is present upon surfaces within the farm environment, which may reduce the amount of free chlorine available to inactivate any infectious prion. Remarkably 1/5 sheep introduced into pen D had also became scrapie positive within nine months, with all animals in this pen being RAMALT positive by 18 months of age. Pen D was no further away from the control pen (pen A) than any of the other pens within this barn. Localised hot spots of infectivity may be present within scrapie-contaminated environments, but it is unlikely that pen D area had an amount of scrapie contamination that was significantly different than the other areas within this building. Similarly, there were no differences in how the biosecurity of pen D was maintained, or how this pen was ventilated compared with the other pens. This observation, perhaps, indicates the slower kinetics of disease uptake within this pen and is consistent with a more thorough prion removal and recontamination. These observations may also account for the presence of inadvertent scrapie cases within other studies, where despite stringent biosecurity, control animals have become scrapie positive during challenge studies using barns that also housed scrapie-affected animals (Ryder and others 2009). The bioassay data indicate that the exposure of the sheep to a farm environment after decontamination efforts thought to be effective in removing scrapie is sufficient for the animals to become infected with scrapie. The main exposure routes within this scenario are likely to be via the oral route, during feeding and drinking, and respiratory and conjunctival routes. It has been demonstrated that scrapie infectivity can be efficiently transmitted via the nasal route in sheep (Hamir and others 2008), as is the case for CWD in both murine models and in white-tailed deer (Denkers and others 2010, 2013). Recently, it has also been demonstrated that CWD prions presented as dust when bound to the soil mineral montmorillonite can be infectious via the nasal route (Nichols and others 2013). When considering pens C and D, the actual source of the infectious agent in the pens is not known, it is possible that biologically relevant levels of prion survive on surfaces during the decontamination regimen (pen C). With the use of galvanising and painting (pen D) covering and sealing the surface of the pen, it is possible that scrapie material recontaminated the pens by the movement of infectious prions contained within dusts originating from other parts of the barn that were not decontaminated or from other areas of the farm.
Given that scrapie prions are widespread on the surfaces of affected farms (Maddison and others 2010a), irrespective of the source of the infectious prions in the pens, this study clearly highlights the difficulties that are faced with the effective removal of environmentally associated scrapie infectivity. This is likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities to scrapie in terms of both the dissemination of prions into the environment and the facile mode of disease transmission. These data further contribute to the understanding that prion diseases can be highly transmissible between susceptible individuals not just by direct contact but through highly stable environmental reservoirs that are refractory to decontamination.
The presence of these environmentally associated prions in farm buildings make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge, especially in animal species such as goats where there is lack of genetic resistance to scrapie and, therefore, no scope to re-stock farms with animals that are resistant to scrapie.
Scrapie Sheep Goats Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) Accepted October 12, 2014. Published Online First 31 October 2014
*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).***
*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication
The infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) are notoriously resistant to most physical and chemical methods used for inactivating pathogens, including heat. It has long been recognized, for example, that boiling is ineffective and that higher temperatures are most efficient when combined with steam under pressure (i.e., autoclaving). As a means of decontamination, dry heat is used only at the extremely high temperatures achieved during incineration, usually in excess of 600°C. It has been assumed, without proof, that incineration totally inactivates the agents of TSE, whether of human or animal origin.
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production
Histochemical analysis of hamster brains inoculated with the solid residue showed typical spongiform degeneration and vacuolation. Re-inoculation of these brains into a new cohort of hamsters led to onset of clinical scrapie symptoms within 75 days, suggesting that the specific infectivity of the prion protein was not changed during the biodiesel process. The biodiesel reaction cannot be considered a viable prion decontamination method for MBM, although we observed increased survival time of hamsters and reduced infectivity greater than 6 log orders in the solid MBM residue. Furthermore, results from our study compare for the first time prion detection by Western Blot versus an infectivity bioassay for analysis of biodiesel reaction products. We could show that biochemical analysis alone is insufficient for detection of prion infectivity after a biodiesel process.
Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area
The data presented here demonstrate that sPMCA can detect low levels of PrPCWD in the environment, corroborate previous biological and experimental data suggesting long term persistence of prions in the environment2,3 and imply that PrPCWD accumulation over time may contribute to transmission of CWD in areas where it has been endemic for decades. This work demonstrates the utility of sPMCA to evaluate other environmental water sources for PrPCWD, including smaller bodies of water such as vernal pools and wallows, where large numbers of cervids congregate and into which prions from infected animals may be shed and concentrated to infectious levels.
A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1 Materials and Wastewater During Processing
Keywords:Abattoir;bovine spongiform encephalopathy;QRA;scrapie;TSE
In this article the development and parameterization of a quantitative assessment is described that estimates the amount of TSE infectivity that is present in a whole animal carcass (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] for cattle and classical/atypical scrapie for sheep and lambs) and the amounts that subsequently fall to the floor during processing at facilities that handle specified risk material (SRM). BSE in cattle was found to contain the most oral doses, with a mean of 9864 BO ID50s (310, 38840) in a whole carcass compared to a mean of 1851 OO ID50s (600, 4070) and 614 OO ID50s (155, 1509) for a sheep infected with classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. Lambs contained the least infectivity with a mean of 251 OO ID50s (83, 548) for classical scrapie and 1 OO ID50s (0.2, 2) for atypical scrapie. The highest amounts of infectivity falling to the floor and entering the drains from slaughtering a whole carcass at SRM facilities were found to be from cattle infected with BSE at rendering and large incineration facilities with 7.4 BO ID50s (0.1, 29), intermediate plants and small incinerators with a mean of 4.5 BO ID50s (0.1, 18), and collection centers, 3.6 BO ID50s (0.1, 14). The lowest amounts entering drains are from lambs infected with classical and atypical scrapie at intermediate plants and atypical scrapie at collection centers with a mean of 3 × 10−7 OO ID50s (2 × 10−8, 1 × 10−6) per carcass. The results of this model provide key inputs for the model in the companion paper published here.
Using in vitro prion replication for high sensitive detection of prions and prionlike proteins and for understanding mechanisms of transmission.
Claudio Soto
Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's diseases and related Brain disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
Prion and prion-like proteins are misfolded protein aggregates with the ability to selfpropagate to spread disease between cells, organs and in some cases across individuals. I n T r a n s m i s s i b l e s p o n g i f o r m encephalopathies (TSEs), prions are mostly composed by a misfolded form of the prion protein (PrPSc), which propagates by transmitting its misfolding to the normal prion protein (PrPC). The availability of a procedure to replicate prions in the laboratory may be important to study the mechanism of prion and prion-like spreading and to develop high sensitive detection of small quantities of misfolded proteins in biological fluids, tissues and environmental samples. Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA) is a simple, fast and efficient methodology to mimic prion replication in the test tube. PMCA is a platform technology that may enable amplification of any prion-like misfolded protein aggregating through a seeding/nucleation process. In TSEs, PMCA is able to detect the equivalent of one single molecule of infectious PrPSc and propagate prions that maintain high infectivity, strain properties and species specificity. Using PMCA we have been able to detect PrPSc in blood and urine of experimentally infected animals and humans affected by vCJD with high sensitivity and specificity. Recently, we have expanded the principles of PMCA to amplify amyloid-beta (Aβ) and alphasynuclein (α-syn) aggregates implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively. Experiments are ongoing to study the utility of this technology to detect Aβ and α-syn aggregates in samples of CSF and blood from patients affected by these diseases.
***Recently, we have been using PMCA to study the role of environmental prion contamination on the horizontal spreading of TSEs. These experiments have focused on the study of the interaction of prions with plants and environmentally relevant surfaces. Our results show that plants (both leaves and roots) bind tightly to prions present in brain extracts and excreta (urine and feces) and retain even small quantities of PrPSc for long periods of time. Strikingly, ingestion of prioncontaminated leaves and roots produced disease with a 100% attack rate and an incubation period not substantially longer than feeding animals directly with scrapie brain homogenate. Furthermore, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to different parts of the plant tissue (stem and leaves). Similarly, prions bind tightly to a variety of environmentally relevant surfaces, including stones, wood, metals, plastic, glass, cement, etc. Prion contaminated surfaces efficiently transmit prion disease when these materials were directly injected into the brain of animals and strikingly when the contaminated surfaces were just placed in the animal cage. These findings demonstrate that environmental materials can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting that they may play an important role in the horizontal transmission of the disease.
Since its invention 13 years ago, PMCA has helped to answer fundamental questions of prion propagation and has broad applications in research areas including the food industry, blood bank safety and human and veterinary disease diagnosis.
see ;
Thursday, September 24, 2015
TEXAS Hunters Asked to Submit Samples for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Testing
*** I cannot stress enough to all of you, for the sake of your family and mine, before putting anything in the freezer, have those deer tested for CWD. ...terry
Saturday, October 03, 2015
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
TAHC 393rd Commission Meeting Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion October 6, 2015
cwd to humans, consumption, exposure, sub-clinical, iatrogenic, what if ?
Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions
Liuting Qing1, Ignazio Cali1,2, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang3, Diane Kofskey1, Pierluigi Gambetti1, Wenquan Zou1, Qingzhong Kong1 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 2Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy, 3Encore Health Resources, Houston, Texas, USA
*** These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.
***These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.***
P.105: RT-QuIC models trans-species prion transmission
Kristen Davenport, Davin Henderson, Candace Mathiason, and Edward Hoover Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA
Conversely, FSE maintained sufficient BSE characteristics to more efficiently convert bovine rPrP than feline rPrP. Additionally, human rPrP was competent for conversion by CWD and fCWD.
***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.
***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.***
O.05: Transmission of prions to primates after extended silent incubation periods: Implications for BSE and scrapie risk assessment in human populations
Emmanuel Comoy, Jacqueline Mikol, Valerie Durand, Sophie Luccantoni, Evelyne Correia, Nathalie Lescoutra, Capucine Dehen, and Jean-Philippe Deslys Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
Prion diseases (PD) are the unique neurodegenerative proteinopathies reputed to be transmissible under field conditions since decades. The transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to humans evidenced that an animal PD might be zoonotic under appropriate conditions. Contrarily, in the absence of obvious (epidemiological or experimental) elements supporting a transmission or genetic predispositions, PD, like the other proteinopathies, are reputed to occur spontaneously (atpical animal prion strains, sporadic CJD summing 80% of human prion cases). Non-human primate models provided the first evidences supporting the transmissibiity of human prion strains and the zoonotic potential of BSE. Among them, cynomolgus macaques brought major information for BSE risk assessment for human health (Chen, 2014), according to their phylogenetic proximity to humans and extended lifetime. We used this model to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal PD from bovine, ovine and cervid origins even after very long silent incubation periods. *** We recently observed the direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to macaque after a 10-year silent incubation period, ***with features similar to some reported for human cases of sporadic CJD, albeit requiring fourfold longe incubation than BSE. Scrapie, as recently evoked in humanized mice (Cassard, 2014), ***is the third potentially zoonotic PD (with BSE and L-type BSE), ***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases. We will present an updated panorama of our different transmission studies and discuss the implications of such extended incubation periods on risk assessment of animal PD for human health.
***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases...TSS
***Moreover, L-BSE has been transmitted more easily to transgenic mice overexpressing a human PrP [13,14] or to primates [15,16] than C-BSE.
***It has been suggested that some sporadic CJD subtypes in humans may result from an exposure to the L-BSE agent.
*** Lending support to this hypothesis, pathological and biochemical similarities have been observed between L-BSE and an sCJD subtype (MV genotype at codon 129 of PRNP) [17], and between L-BSE infected non-human primate and another sCJD subtype (MM genotype) [15].
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Professor Lacey believes sporadic CJD itself originates from a cattle infection number of cattle farmers falling victim to Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease is much too high to be mere chance
*** HUMAN MAD COW DISEASE nvCJD TEXAS CASE NOT LINKED TO EUROPEAN TRAVEL CDC ***
Sunday, November 23, 2014
*** Confirmed Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (variant CJD) Case in Texas in June 2014 confirmed as USA case NOT European ***
the patient had resided in Kuwait, Russia and Lebanon. The completed investigation did not support the patient's having had extended travel to European countries, including the United Kingdom, or travel to Saudi Arabia. The specific overseas country where this patient's infection occurred is less clear largely because the investigation did not definitely link him to a country where other known vCJD cases likely had been infected.
***UDATED CORRECTION BY AUTHOR...SEE EMAIL TO ME...terry
From:Kyung-Min Lee Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 1:39 PM To:Terry S. Singeltary Sr. ; firstname.lastname@example.com Cc:email@example.com ; email@example.com ; email@example.com ; email@example.com ; firstname.lastname@example.com ; firstname.lastname@example.com ; email@example.com ; Timothy J. Herrman Subject: RE: TEXAS CONFIRMATION OF BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION IN ONE SAMPLE OF SORGHUM DDGS OUT OF 168 DG SAMPLES
Dear Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Thank for your interest and concern about our published article entitled "Evaluation of Selected Nutrients and Contaminants in Distillers Grains from Ethanol Production in Texas". I should apologize you and others that there were some errors and misleading statements in this article due to inappropriate terminology. The statement you were concerned about was corrected to "One sorghum DDGS out of 168 DG samples was contaminated with animal protein prohibited for use in ruminant feed and was channeled to poultry feed." We requested the journal editor to correct some errors and the relevant statements, or to withdraw the article from the journal.
Again I sincerely apologize for any confusion and inconvenience this may cause. Thanks.
best wishes,
Kyung-Min Lee, Ph. D. Research Scientist Office of the Texas State Chemist
Texas A&M AgriLife Research P.O. Box 3160, College Station, TX 77841-3160 Phone: 979-845-4113 (ext 132) Email:firstname.lastname@example.com Fax: 979-845-1389
my link corrected
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
*** Canada and United States Creutzfeldt Jakob TSE Prion Disease Incidence Rates Increasing
Sunday, December 14, 2014
*** ALERT new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease nvCJD or vCJD, sporadic CJD strains, TSE prion aka Mad Cow Disease United States of America Update December 14, 2014 Report ***
P.164: Blood transmission of prion infectivity in the squirrel monkey: The Baxter study
Paul Brown1, Diane Ritchie2, James Ironside2, Christian Abee3, Thomas Kreil4, and Susan Gibson5 1NIH (retired); Bethesda, MD USA; 2University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh, UK; 3University of Texas; Bastrop, TX USA; 4Baxter Bioscience; Vienna, Austria; 5University of South Alabama; Mobile, AL USA
Five vCJD disease transmissions and an estimated 1 in 2000 'silent' infections in UK residents emphasize the continued need for information about disease risk in humans. A large study of blood component infectivity in a non-human primate model has now been completed and analyzed. Among 1 GSS, 4 sCJD, and 3 vCJD cases, only GSS leukocytes transmitted disease within a 5–6 year surveillance period. A transmission study in recipients of multiple whole blood transfusions during the incubation and clinical stages of sCJD and vCJD in ic-infected donor animals was uniformly negative. These results, together with other laboratory studies in rodents and nonhuman primates and epidemiological observations in humans, ***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and perhaps other familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and that little or no risk is associated with sCJD. The issue of decades-long incubation periods in 'silent' vCJD carriers remains open.
***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and perhaps other familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and that little or no risk is associated with sCJD...see;
P.23: An improved test for the detection of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease from human CSF using new RT-QuIC conditions
Bradley R Groveman1, Christina D Orr u1, Andrew G Hughson1, Gianluigi Zanusso2, Maurizio Pocchiari3, Michael B Coulthart4, and Byron Caughey1 1Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases; Rocky Mountain Laboratories; NIAID; NIH; Hamilton, MT USA; 2Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences; University of Verona; Verona, Italy; 3Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences; Istituto Superiore di Sanit a; Rome, Italy; 4Canadian CJD Surveillance System; Public Health Agency of Canada; Ottawa, ON Canada
Neurodegenerative protein misfolding diseases are difficult to diagnose early and accurately. This is particularly worrisome with human prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease (CJD), because prions are transmissible, deadly, and unusually resistant to decontamination. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays allow highly sensitive and specific testing for CJD using human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or nasal brushings and are being widely implemented as important diagnostic tools. However, such laboratory analyses have required 2.5 to 5 d to complete. Furthermore, CSF testing using previously evaluated RT-QuIC conditions still yields false negative results in 11 to 23% of CJD cases. We have now developed an improved RT-QuIC assay which can identify positive CSF samples within 4 to 14 h with better analytical and diagnostic sensitivity. Analysis of CSF samples from 11 CJD patients demonstrated that while 7 were RT-QuIC positive using previous conditions, an additional 3 samples were positive using the new assay. In these and subsequent analyses, a total of 46 of 48 CSF samples from sporadic CJD patients gave positive RT-QuIC responses, while all 39 non-CJD patients were negative, giving 95.8% diagnostic sensitivity and 100% specificity. This diagnostic sensitivity was significantly better than that obtained using the previous conditions. We continue to expand the testing of CJD-positive and -negative CSF samples to further establish the diagnostic utility of this new assay for various human prion diseases. So far, our improved RT-QuIC assay appears to allow for much faster, more accurate and practical antemortem testing for CJD using CSF samples.
P.159: Improvements of nasal brushing procedure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease diagnosis
Matilde Bongianni1, Christina Orr u2, Giovanni Tonoli3, Bradley Groveman2, Giorgo Triva4, Santina Castriciano4, Luca Sacchetto1, Andrew Hughson2, Annachiara Cagnin5, Stefano Capaldi1, Sergio Ferrari1, Michele Fiorini1, Salvatore Monaco1, Maurizio Pocchiari6, Byron Caughey2, and Gianluigi Zanusso1 1University of Verona; Verona, Italy; 2Rocky Montain Laboratories; Hamilton, MT USA; 3Ospedale "Santa Maria della Misericordia"; Rovigo, Italy; 4Copan Italia S.P.A.; Brescia, Italy; 5University of Padua; Padua, Italy; 6Istituto Superiore di Sanit a; Rome, Italy
Introduction. We previously identified prion seeding activity in olfactory mucosa (OM) of CJD patients using nasal brushings coupled with Real Time Quaking induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) with 100% specificity and >97% sensitivity. OM samples were collected using a sterile disposable Cyto-brush (Kito-Brush, Kaltek) which might provoke a mild discomfort for patients. Therefore, we aimed to use a more gentle tool for OM samplings such as short nylon fiber Flocked swabs (Copan technologies).
Materials and Methods. We collected OM and CSF samples in 43 CJD patients. To ensure efficient OM sample collection, each patient underwent to two OM samplings using flocked swabs one in each nostril and a final with Cytobrush. OM samples were processed and analyzed by RT-QuIC, as previously described.
Results. Using Cyto-brushes 32 out of 35 OM samples were positive by RT-QuIC analysis, while flocked swabs in 40 out of 43 OM samples. In contrast, CSF samples were positive in 33 out of 43. Two OM samples resulted negative for both Cyto-brush and Flocked swab. Neither OM sampling technique or CSF produced false positives.
***Conclusion. This study demonstrates that OM brushing following RT-QuIC ssay is 95% sensitive and 100% specific in CJD diagnosis while CSF resulted 77% sensitive. OM collection using flocked swabs is preferred and provides same sensitivity as cyto-brush. These data recommend four separate samplings possibly from both nostrils to maximize the sensitivity, using three Flocked swabs and lastly a brush.
snip...see ; Saturday, May 30, 2015
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
*** Detection of Infectivity in Blood of Persons with Variant and Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ***
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee TSEAC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR June 1, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
*** FDA U.S. Measures to Protect Against BSE ***
Thursday, September 10, 2015
FDA TSE PRION MAD COW CIRCUS AND TRAVELING ROAD SHOW (their words, not mine)
25th Meeting of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Advisory Committee Food and Drug Administration Silver Spring, Maryland June 1, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
FDA Says Endoscope Makers Failed to Report Superbug Problems OLYMPUS
*** I told Olympus 15 years ago about these risk factors from endoscopy equipment, disinfection, even spoke with the Doctor at Olympus, this was back in 1999. I tried to tell them that they were exposing patients to dangerous pathogens such as the CJD TSE prion, because they could not properly clean them. even presented my concern to a peer review journal GUT, that was going to publish, but then it was pulled by Professor Michael Farthing et al... see ;
IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure
Singeltary et al
Posted by flounder on 03 Jul 2015 at 16:53 GMT
re-Human Prion Diseases in the United States
Posted by flounder on 01 Jan 2010 at 18:11 GMT
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Iatrogenic CJD due to pituitary-derived growth hormone with genetically determined incubation times of up to 40 years
Monday, August 17, 2015
FDA Says Endoscope Makers Failed to Report Superbug Problems OLYMPUS
I told Olympus 15 years ago about these risk factors from endoscopy equipment, disinfection, even spoke with the Doctor at Olympus, this was back in 1999. I tried to tell them that they were exposing patients to dangerous pathogens such as the CJD TSE prion, because they could not properly clean them. even presented my concern to a peer review journal GUT, that was going to publish, but then it was pulled by Professor Michael Farthing et al... see ;
Friday, January 10, 2014
vpspr, sgss, sffi, TSE, an iatrogenic by-product of gss, ffi, familial type prion disease, what it ???
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
*** Minimise transmission risk of CJD and vCJD in healthcare settings ***
Last updated 15 May 2015
*** Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease *** Public Health Crisis VIDEO
Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Singeltary, Sr et al. JAMA.2001; 285: 733-734. Vol. 285 No. 6, February 14, 2001 JAMA
Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
To the Editor: In their Research Letter, Dr Gibbons and colleagues1 reported that the annual US death rate due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has been stable since 1985. These estimates, however, are based only on reported cases, and do not include misdiagnosed or preclinical cases. It seems to me that misdiagnosis alone would drastically change these figures. An unknown number of persons with a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in fact may have CJD, although only a small number of these patients receive the postmortem examination necessary to make this diagnosis. Furthermore, only a few states have made CJD reportable. Human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies should be reportable nationwide and internationally.
Terry S. Singeltary, Sr Bacliff, Tex
1. Gibbons RV, Holman RC, Belay ED, Schonberger LB. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States: 1979-1998. JAMA. 2000;284:2322-2323.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
*** An interview with Professor John Collinge: VIDEO Director of the MRC Prion Unit Part of the Hayward Gallery's History Is Now ***
Thursday, October 1, 2015
H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy associated with E211K prion protein polymorphism: clinical and pathologic features in wild-type and E211K cattle following intracranial inoculation
Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kemosabe...THIS IS NOT GOOD GOOSE!...grasshopper...tonto...tss
Self-Propagative Replication of Ab Oligomers Suggests Potential Transmissibility in Alzheimer Disease
Received July 24, 2014; Accepted September 16, 2014; Published November 3, 2014
Singeltary comment ;
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Alzheimergate, re-Evidence for human transmission of amyloid-β pathology and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, Singeltary Submission to Nature
wasted days and wasted nights...Freddy Fender
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.


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Home > Classes & Events > Event Search Results Detail
Join this free support group in Battle Creek to learn ways to better manage your illness with support from others.
Registration Not Required
Living with chronic lung disease? Join us for the American Lung Association Better Breathers Club, a free support group for those with COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, or other lung disease. Connect with others and learn better ways to cope with your diagnosis and live life to the fullest with chronic lung disease during these regularly scheduled educational programs.
Meetings are free and held the second Thursday of every month from May to October. They are open to everyone, including caregivers or supportive friends and family.
Classes also offered in Kalamazoo.
Lon E. Letcher, LRT, Pulmonary Rehab Specialist at (269) 245-8438 or send an email
At this location Bronson Battle Creek Outpatient Center Beginning on May 9, 2019
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Call Bronson HealthAnswers at (269) 341-7723 or(800) 451-6310
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Sashes and Snakes
Calm Kiwi Weighted snakes are popular with adults and children alike. Great as a self-regulation sensory tools for providing calming deep pressure input, a favorite with OT's and other specialist.
Calm Kiwi weighted snakes can be used around the shoulders and neck or across the lap.
Avalible in a range of colour and weight opions


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Published in Thirteen in 2005
by Rob Shaw
Super League Grand Final
Bradford Bulls v Wigan Warriors
13th October, 2001
Old Trafford, Att: 60,164
Great memories don't always stem from great matches.
The 2001 Grand Final was an uncompetitive affair, played in dismal conditions one October evening, and was not the type of match the RFL had in mind when they inaugurated the finals system back in 1998.
But for Bulls fans this final provided an abundance of great memories, and perhaps more importantly it was the match where Noble and his troupe managed to rid themselves of the metaphorical 'monkey' on their backs.
Losses to Saints at Twickenham and two years previously in the 1999 Grand Final had earned the Bulls the unenviable tag of 'Chokers' – and what a way to stuff that tag down the critics throats – with the biggest Grand Final victory to date!
For myself, the match started with a desperate hunt for a ticket tout to swap my tickets for a pair in the Bradford end, with mission accomplished I headed into the stadium and wasted another tenner on some first try-scorer bets. Jimmy Lowes at 25-1? That's godda be worth a few quid!
Bradford applied pressure to the Wigan line from the off, and just a few moments in and Wigan were dropping out from under their own posts.
It seemed like we'd hardly found our seats before Jimmy Lowes was diving over for the first try of the evening. Jimmy Lowes?? I was nearly falling over the concrete parapet on the second tier. It couldn't get any better than this, could it? It could. With the beer and ticket paid for with change left over, the evening went from great to seventh heaven.
Bradford continued to dominate with Robbie and Henry linking up in midfield for their last time together in the red, amber and black vees.
Henry's 50-metre break down field was halted by some desperate scrambling defence, but the damage had been done. Withers went over in Jimmy Lowes' style for the opening try of his first half hat-trick, and Wigan's Irish speedster, Brian Carney, left the field haemorrhaging blood from a knee wound, not to return.
Wigan threatened to make a game of it at this point, and applied a little pressure of their own, but as Stevo would say, the fish-and-chip wrappers indicate the Bulls withstood the assault and answered with an attack of their own.
Naylor down the right flank shattered the shackles of the Wigan defence and set Vaikona free who sent Withers ghosting over for his second. At 22-nil it was beginning to look easy now, but Bradford fans will never take a big lead in a final for granted after Wembley '96.
The fans' were still hugging each other in glee when Withers completed his hat-trick just moments later. Cheers were now turning to incredulous exclamations rather than the exuberant roar that would normally escort a Grand Final try.
26-nil at half time, Bradford had the match sewn up. Hadn't they? There was still a nervous tension amongst the Bradford supporters as they watched the clock count down. Those 40 minutes were the longest 40 minutes in the club's history – especially when Lam reduced the arrears to 20 points with just less than 20 remaining. The 20,000 Bradford fans checked their watches and simultaneously performed a bit of mental arithmetic: 20 points in 20 minutes? 4 tries? Its not our title yet!
Thankfully, Fielden dived over in the corner into a litter of ticker-tape and unravelled loo roll to wipe out any flicker of a Wigan comeback.
Henry Paul slotted over a drop goal to make it 31-6 and Mackay completed the scoring with a try and conversion to mark his last, emotional appearance in a Bradford Jersey.
With a new record crowd that broke through the 60,000 mark, the feel good factor lasted a good while in Bradford. Personally, I can't remember much more of that particular night apart from the beer tasting particularly sweet.
A large panoramic print in my hallway shows Fielden going over for the 65th minute try that sealed it, and each day brings back a small part of the feel good factor from that wet October evening at the Theatre of Dreams.
Bradford: Michael Withers; Tevita Vaikona, Scott Naylor, Graham Mackay, Leon Pryce; Henry Paul, Robbie Paul; Joe Vagana, James Lowes, Brian McDermott, Danny Gartner, Jamie Peacock, Mike Forshaw. Subs: Paul Anderson, Shane Rigon, Paul Deacon & Stuart Fielden
Wigan: Kris Radlinski; Brett Dallas, Gary Connolly, Steve Renouf, Brian Carney; Matthew Johns, Adrian Lam; Terry O'Connor, Terry Newton, Harvey Howard, Mick Cassidy, Dave Furner, Andy Farrell. Subs: Neil Cowie, Denis Betts, Paul Johnson & Chris Chester


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Wondering if you should consider PeerStreet for your next investment? This in-depth PeerStreet review will break down how real estate backed loans work and the pros of cons of investing in them. The review also provides a step-by-step guide of PeerStreet's application process.
PeerStreet is an investment marketplace that surpassed $300 million in loans funded as of May 2017. It is a place where accredited investors, institutions, and funds can invest in private real estate loans.
Co-Founder and COO of PeerStreet, Brett Crosby says, "We have investors of all kinds, from beginners to people who know a lot about real estate, lending, and mortgage finance." Unlike other marketplaces where people apply for loans that investors can fund, PeerStreet does not offer loans to borrowers.
Instead, it sources its loans from existing real estate lenders. So, if you as a consumer find a house you want and apply for financing, your financing company can turn to PeerStreet, but you can not go to the company directly (except for a referral to a lender). It's a platform for investors to build their own portfolio of real estate loan investments.
In the words of Crosby, "PeerStreet's mission is to democratize access to investments in real estate backed loans. We help investors find yield from an asset that improves communities. The bigger this gets, the more neighborhoods we can improve."
PeerStreet private real estate loans: The general loan profile
PeerStreet loans are usually secured by first liens on real estate, they have short tems (3-36 months), and they have a loan-to-value (LTV) of 75% or less. They also have a wide range of investments available, varying in characteristics such as property type, maturity, geography, and originator.
PeerStreet's mission is to democratize access to investments in real estate backed loans. We help investors find yield from an asset that improves communities. The bigger this gets, the more neighborhoods we can improve."
When it comes to profitability, the historical annualized returns range from 7%-12%, according to PeerStreet. How is the rate so high if traditional mortgages typically have rates around 5%?
The secret is that PeerStreet works with loans originated by private money lenders. These lenders offer borrowers quicker capital with more flexibility, which warrants the higher interest rates.
How do PeerStreet's real estate loans work?
What happens when you go to sign up with PeerStreet? You can sign up for free but must be an accredited investor. Accredited investors include banks, developers, and private investors with $1 million or more in liquid assets.
See the "getting started" section below for step-by-step instructions. After you are all set up, you will fund your account.
Then, you can manually choose the loans you want to invest in, or you can set parameters using the Investor Dashboard and let automated investing do the work for you. In the case of the latter, when a loan comes up that meets your criteria, you will receive an allocation based on PeerStreet's prioritization algorithm.
Investments can be as little as $1,000 per loan.
Click here for PeerStreet's latest rates and terms.
PeerStreet loans: Getting Started
Here's how the application process works.
1: Head over to the PeerStreet website home page and click "Get Started."
2: Provide your basic information to create your account.
3: Provide your income and net worth information.
4: Complete your investor profile.
5: Your basic account is set up. You can now learn more about PeerStreet and start checking out investments.
6: If you click "See Investments" above, you will be taken to this page where you can view available and active investments.
7: You can also click over to the "Overview" page, which is where you will manage your investments.
8: Next, you will want to click "Complete Profile." Here, you will provide additional personal information, verify your identity, sign the investor agreement, confirm your email address, and then will be all set!
The set up is relatively easy and quick.
Why choose PeerStreet over investing on other platforms?
"PeerStreet has always focused 100% on first position liens on real estate. That means it is the safest place in the capital stack and first position to be paid back. And rather than sourcing loans from borrowers, we work with existing private lenders across the country who know their local real estate market. We vet them and their loans, which helps us scale while maintaining quality," says Crosby.
For the loans, vetting includes:
- Reviewing legal documentation
- Performing an independent valuation
- Ensuring the loan meets PeerStreet's underwriting guidelines
- Performing independent underwriting of all loans using both manual processes and big data analytics
For the origination partners, vetting includes:
- Reviewing their track records, financials, legal and underwriting processes, licensing, and adhering to state usury laws
- Running background checks
You may be wondering what happens if the loan defaults. If it does, your ROI will be at stake. However, PeerStreet has a team highly experienced in law, real estate, and regulatory compliance that goes to bat to protect investments.
Being that the loans are tied to the deed or mortgage which is secured by a hard asset, you will be in a favorable position to recover your principal investment. PeerStreet also has a good track record: a zero-loss record to date.
Pros and Cons of PeerStreet real estate loans
To recap, here's a quick rundown of the pros and cons.
Compare the pros and cons to make a better decision.
- High annualized return rate
- Short term loans allow for quick turn around
- Loans are backed by hard assets
- The debt you are buying is first position senior debt
- Low minimum investment requirements allows for increased diversification
- Low LTV provides equity cushion (margin of safety in case the property loses value)
- Good track record: $300 million loans funded with no losses yet
- Advanced technology that makes this asset class more accessible
- Private real estate loans have a higher risk of late payments
- Loans could default, which can put your returns at risk
If this sounds like a marketplace investment opportunity, you would like to pursue, learn more and apply by clicking here.


text: BUSINESS Salonen to pass baton to young conductor 5:00 AM PDT 4/9/2007 by Associated Press , AP FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Empty The Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, announced Sunday he will step down at the end of the 2008-2009 season to concentrate on composing.His successor will be Gustavo Dudamel, a 26-year-old Venezuelan conductor with limited experience conducting a professional orchestraSalonen, 48, said he will continue to conduct the Philharmonic and other orchestras."It is with love and pride that I regard all we have accomplished. As hard as this is, I know now that the right moment has come for me to step down," Salonen said in a statement released by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association."I always felt that one day I would have to make the change in my own life, bite the bullet and see what it is to be a composer who conducts rather than the other way around," he told the Los Angeles Times.Finnish-born Salonen's scheduled resignation from the Philharmonic after 17 years would make him the nearly 90-year-old cultural institution's longest-serving director.He is credited with programing a creative lineup of performances and guiding the Philharmonic into its new home at the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003.Dudamel, who was signed to a five-year contract beginning in the 2009-10 season, is a relative newcomer. He never had stood before a professional orchestra before participating in and winning a competition sponsored by the Bamberg Symphony in Germany three years ago.Dudamel's U.S. debut was conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005 and he won over the crowd with his good looks and ebullience. The experience stuck with him, he said."Los Angeles was the first orchestra to give me the opportunity to make my U.S. debut at the very beginning of my career," Dudamel said. "The energy was very special from the start, and I love how open to new ideas the orchestra is."He has conducted since then some of the world's most important orchestras, including the Boston Symphony, and, on Thursday, the Chicago Symphony. He also has conducted at Italy's La Scala opera house.Salonen said Dudamel was ready to lead the city's orchestra despite his youth."He's definitely equipped with everything one needs to be conductor, and the mind is incredibly agile and quick," he said.Added Salonen: "I could not, indeed would not have made this decision unless I was confident that everything was in just the right place." FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Associated Press email@example.com @thr AP email@example.com @thr