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our stories of freedom
Luke 17.11-19
Ministry in the West in the 21st century is far easier than, say, ministry in the apostle Paul's time would have been. At any given moment, he was exposed to the threat of real persecution: hunger, thirst, exposure to the elements, ridicule, beatings, or death. We don't have to deal with any of that. We live in a place and time in which we are comfortable, well fed, well dressed, entertained, and at least superficially happy.
But our context brings different problems with it—and I'm not talking about how a secular society has a hard time accepting the gospel.
I'm talking about how you convince people who seem to have everything that they are actually lacking the one thing they really need.
How do you remind people who have everything of just how good they actually have it?
How do we teach our kids to be thankful when they grow up with all of their immediate needs (and many of their imagined needs) fulfilled?
Barring a miracle, there are two primary means by which we can understand this fully:
The first is through suffering. We lose some of the things we take for granted, and suffer for a while (sometimes for a long while). And when we get those things back, we feel the weight of God's goodness to us in a much deeper way.
The second is through stories, whether true or fictitious. Thank God he doesn't only teach us through suffering. He also gives us stories—tales we can identify with, in which we can see ourselves, which help us see what it is like to receive God's goodness.
We see one of those stories—one of those true stories—in today's text.
Ten Lepers Healed (v. 11-14)
In Luke 17.11-19, Jesus is still making his way to Jerusalem. He's walking, Luke tells us, between Samaria and Galilee. This was a kind of no-man's-land between two hostile territories: between the Samaritans in Samaria, and the Jews in Galilee.
The two groups couldn't stand each other. The Samaritans were descended from those Hebrews which had intermarried with foreigners brought over by the king of Assyria in 722 B.C. The result was a mixed people—descended from Jews and Gentiles—hated by the Jews, who saw them as a kind of unfaithful mixed breed.
Jesus is walking between these two territories when he is met by a group of lepers.
The word here for "leprosy" wasn't limited to what we call "leprosy" today; it designated a variety of highly contagious, infectious skin diseases. And it was a very big deal in the culture, because it made you ritually unclean. The Law of Moses had very specific rules about how to deal with a person who had leprosy, or anything that person owned or even touched. Having a leper in your house often meant losing everything you had.
As a result, lepers were almost always cast out of their homes, their towns and their families. Having leprosy almost always meant losing literally everything that was dear to you.
So we understand their despair when they come to Jesus. They have evidently heard that Jesus is a miracle worker, and they are desperate—they have lost everything. So they come, keeping a distance so as not to infect him, but begging for his help.
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14 When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests."
This is interesting; most of the time when Jesus was met by the sick, he touched them or spoke to them, and they were healed immediately. He doesn't do that this time, but rather tells them to go show themselves to the priests.
In Leviticus 14, we see what a leper is supposed to do once they've been healed of their leprosy—they're healed, but not yet ritually clean. To be ritually clean, they had to go to the temple, show themselves to the priest (who would confirm or deny their healing), offer a sacrifice, shave off all their hair, and bathe—all of this in a precise order, on specific days. It was a long process.
What's interesting is that Jesus essentially tells them to go do what you normally do when healed of leprosy…before they're actually healed.
He's forcing them to take him at his word, to believe that the healing is coming, even if they can't see it. And they seem to believe at least enough to do that (or at the very least, they figure they have nothing else to lose).
So they leave to go show themselves to the priest in Jerusalem. And, Luke tells us (v. 14b):
And as they went they were cleansed.
It works. All ten of them are healed.
You can imagine the scene—they didn't have mirrors, so they wouldn't have seen themselves, but they could see one another.
Sores begin to close themselves up. Fallen digits, noses and ears begin to grow back. Scales begin to fall off. They look at each other and are astonished, knowing that they are healed; and once they have been ritually cleansed as well, they can get their lives back. So they would have hurried all the more quickly to the temple.
And that's what they do…all but one of them.
One Leper Saved (v. 15-16)
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks.
Out of all of these men healed, only one of them is struck by what has just happened, to the point of turning back. Luke doesn't tell us what's going on in his mind, what exactly he understood about his healing. He tells us that he understands two things.
First, he understands that his healing came from God. v. 15: Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
When our translations say "loud voice," that's putting it mildly. In Greek the term used here is phonēs megalēs. Sound familiar? That's where we get the modern word "megaphone."
This man is so head-over-heels grateful for his healing that he is practically screaming, and he's screaming God's praises. He apparently knows that this is not magic; it is not sorcery. This was an act of the one true God, and he proclaims it with the full power of his lungs.
Secondly, he understands that even if his healing came from God, it came through Jesus. V. 16: 16 ...and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks.
He praises God, and he thanks Jesus.
He may not know precisely who this man is, but he has made the connection in his mind between Jesus and God himself. He knows that God worked through Jesus to make this happen, and that Jesus was not merely an instrument. (Unless you're Marie Kondo, you don't thank your tools once they've done their job). Jesus was the actor in this healing, and this man is so overwhelmed with gratitude that he literally falls on his face before Jesus.
And this is where Luke drops the big surprise revelation, at the end of v. 16:
Now he was a Samaritan.
What was a Samaritan doing with these other men? Samaritans and Jews, as we've already seen, were not on friendly terms.
But when you suffer as much as these men have, when you lose all that these men have, such distinctions lose their importance. They were united by their common suffering.
What's surprising here is not that a Samaritan was part of this group. What's surprising is that of all of these men, the only one to turn back to thank this Jewish healer is the Samaritan—the foreigner.
It's so surprising, in fact, that even Jesus voices his surprise.
17 Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
Jesus was God incarnate, absolutely; but during his time on earth there were attributes of God he intentionally left behind for a time. Jesus was not omnipresent; he couldn't be everywhere at once, because he had a body. In the same way, we see in the gospels that Jesus left some of his omniscience behind: we often see Jesus say that there are things that he doesn't know, at least in his current state.
Which means that on occasion, even the Son of God could be surprised.
And what surprised him was the lack of recognition and gratitude for the healing. Ten men were healed, and they were undoubtedly happy. But only one of them—and a foreigner at that!—was grateful enough to delay his reentry into society for a little while, in order to come back and thank the man he recognized as the Healer. That should have been the reaction of everyone healed. It should have been instinctive on their part. But it wasn't.
So we can imagine a pause here, after Jesus asks his rhetorical questions—a pause in which Jesus stops looking at the horizon, to the place where the nine men have disappeared, and turns his gaze down to the man lying on his face before him. He looks at him for a moment, and says something utterly astonishing.
19 And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."
Again, the translation puts it mildly. When he says "your faith has made you well," he's saying literally, "your faith has saved you."
Evidently, this man has understood more than even he realized. He has made the link in his mind between the God who was the source of his healing, and the Man through whom this healing came. He was healed of his leprosy, absolutely; but even better, he has been saved.
Jesus is not saying that this man was saved because he was thankful; he's not teaching, as R.K. Hughes puts it, "salvation by disposition."
The gratitude he displays is the result of his faith. It is the proof that there is more going on in his heart than happiness that he's not sick anymore; that he has been given faith. It is this faith that has saved him.
Consumer Christians
Luke knew what he was doing when he told his story the way he did (or rather, God knew what he was doing when he orchestrated these events to play out as they did). Because what we see in this story is what we see on a regular basis, still today.
Most of us know Christians who are positively brimming with gratitude. These people speak constantly of God's goodness to them; they share their testimony almost compulsively; they are overflowing with happiness.
These people stick out in our minds, don't they? We can think of these people, and we remember them. And we remember them not just because of how happy they are.
We remember them because so few people who are like that. This kind of Christian is, more often than not, the exception rather than the rule.
Ten men healed…and only one thankful enough to turn back. Isn't that the way it so often goes?
The question is, "Why is it so often that way?"
Jesus gives us a clue in the questions he asks. V. 18 again:
Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
These men were certainly grateful after their healing…but to whom were they grateful?
They were grateful to a man who happened to have the power to heal them. Their gratitude wasn't aimed at God. They were so down-to-earth in their thinking that they forgot all about the spiritual side of what had happened. Their minds were so quick to jump on the result—their healing, and the potential of a new life—that they didn't think to consider the cause.
And we are, far too often, exactly the same. We are, by and large, consumer Christians: Christians who come to God because of what he can do for them.
Because God does a lot for us, doesn't he? He gives us life; he gives us breath; he gives us food on our plate and a roof over our heads; he gives us clothes to protect us from the elements; and when we meet Christ, he gives us a family; he gives us a new circle of dear friends; he gives us community; he gives us a place to belong; he gives us a new way of speaking, a new way of acting; he gives us optimism for the future.
Every one of these things that God gives us is, absolutely, a legitimate reason to be happy.
And every one of these things is absolutely secondary.
They are by-products of the grace God gives us, necessary results of what it looks like to be saved. They are wonderful, but they are secondary.
The problem is that so very often, we make them primary. We make them the reason why we come to God at all; we make them the main things we're happy about.
And we know that's the case…because how do we react when he takes one of these things away?
How do I react when I get sick? When my clothes start getting ragged and I can't afford more? When my apartment starts springing leaks, or when my neighbors are difficult? When there is conflict between me and my circle of friends? When my sin starts showing its ugly face again (or when I see it in others)? When something happens that makes the future seem not so bright after all?
Said like that, these things don't seem like a big deal; but in reality, losing these things (especially if we lose more than one at the same time) can throw us into such a cycle of despair that coming to church and singing about joy and life in Christ feels more like a chore than a source of comfort.
These secondary things have the power to break us because we've made them primary: we've become consumer Christians, happy in God as long as he gives us what we need, and profoundly dissatisfied when he takes it away.
Why? Because we, like the nine lepers, are so focused on the result of our newfound Christian lives that we forget the root of it: what actually happened when we're saved, that no amount of suffering or loss can ever actually change.
The one who returned was set free from his illness; but even more, he was set free from what separated him from God—and the proof of that freedom is that the most important need he felt once realizing he was healed was not to go get his life back as soon as possible, but to return and praise the One who had healed him. He was free from the source of his misery, and he knew it…and nothing else mattered.
Our Stories of Freedom
I know you know the stories.
Stories of slaves who labored under the brutal sun, who suffered years of torture and backbreaking work. Men, women and children treated like animals rather than human beings, until the very idea of hope seemed like another form of torture. People who had seen the last of their will shredded away by cruelty, until the only thing that kept them going was a mechanical compulsion to take another step.
Imagine what it must have been like for these men and women to learn, one day, that they were free. That their cruel masters were gone, that nothing held them bound to the fields anymore, and that they could leave that awful place. That they could have families; they could build homes for themselves; they could enjoy a cup of coffee at the end of the day without fear.
You've heard the stories of World War II. Of Jews marched off to death camps, facing the cruelest of fates, wasting away of starvation and exposure, under the constant threat of a sudden death by gunshot, or of a slower, more painful death by gas or hunger.
Imagine then what it must have been like for these men, women and children (those who had survived long enough) to learn, one day, that the war was over. That their captors were now being hunted. That they could leave the camps, and return home.
Can we even fathom the pure relief of that moment, when you hear that everything tormenting you is now gone? That every cruelty leveled against you has been taken away? That every threat against you has been defeated?
What we would feel if we were among them, is what we should feel every second of every day, if we belong to Christ.
What we should feel is even more profond—because for these men and women, their struggle did not end at the end of their captivity, of course. In both cases, these people had to deal with the fallout of their slavery, had to reassemble the pieces of their lives while many of those pieces were missing, and would never be returned.
But for us, if we are in Christ, all that is left for us is freedom. We are absolutely, entirely and eternally FREE.
We are free from the need to earn our salvation—Galatians 2.16:
...we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ
We are free from sin and death—Romans 8.1-2:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
We are free from the shame of our past lives—2 Corinthians 5.17:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
We are free from fear—Romans 8.15:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
We are free from weakness—2 Corinthians 12.9-10:
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We are free from disunity with our fellow human beings—2 Corinthians 5.18, 20-21:
God...through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
It is simply astounding, given all that we have received, that there could ever be a single moment of our lives in which we are not blissfully, infinitely grateful. We think of those people we know who are marked by gratitude, and we remember them—they stick out in our minds. Given all we have received in Christ, it is simply astonishing that every single Christian is not like that.
I know that when some of you read this story of the leper, your minds will immediately speak up, "But this guy was clearly, visibly healed. What about those who are suffering? How can they expect to stay joyful in their suffering?"
It's a legitimate question, and it gets to the heart of how this text calls us to respond. Suffering, very often, has a blinding effect on us—it's very hard to see these things (the various ways in which Christ has healed us and freed us) as true when we're suffering.
But the key lies in the fact that these things ARE true…whether we're suffering or not.
This text simply calls us to remember it.
Obviously, Luke doesn't go into all the detail I just did. But he doesn't need to. We are blessed today, because we have the entire Word of God. We don't need to receive God's Word in snippets. When the Spirit inspired Luke to write these words, he did it knowing full well that the apostles would later keep writing, and tell us the full measure of the healing we have in Christ, the full measure of the freedom he has given us. And he expects us to keep all of that in mind, so that when we read stories like this, we can see all the possible parallels.
If this text calls us to do anything, it is to remember.
To remember that Jesus has healed us far beyond a simple, physical healing. He has healed us of eternal death. He has healed us of the cancer of sin. He has healed us of separation from God. He has saved us through faith in him, just as he said to this man: "Your faith has saved you."
This text calls us to remember that although ten were healed, only one returned to give thanks. It calls us to keep in the forefront of our minds all of these reasons we have for giving thanks to God, and to remember to do it, because he deserves it.
And as it calls us to remember, it calls us to help each other remember. There are times when even the most joyful of saints forgets how good God is. And in those moments, we need one another. When we are despondent, we need honest brothers and sisters who can pull our faces back upward and say, "But have you really forgotten all he has done for you?"
All of us are going through something today—something good, something bad, or something neutral. We all have our individual stories, and we have all arrived at this particular point in our stories.
Just for a moment, try to not think about what you're going through. Try to turn your face away from that, and look elsewhere. Look at what is true for you, regardless of what you happen to be going through right now.
If you have faith in Christ, everything we read earlier—and much more—is true for you. He has freed you.
Remember the old monicker from Alcoholics Anonymous? They say that "FEAR" stands for "False Evidence Appearing Real." In our case, that is exactly right. In Christ, God has freed us from everything that can ultimately and eternally hurt us; and anything that scares us is lying to us, telling us it is really and ultimately threatening when it's not.
In Christ, God has freed us from fear; he has freed us from the need to earn your salvation; from sin and death; from the shame of your past lives; from weakness; from disunity. That doesn't mean we don't see these things in our lives anymore; it means rather that these things can have no lasting effect on us.
He has freed us from a life devoid of meaning.
If we truly believe that, the only natural response is gratitude. And only once we are armed with that gratitude can we turn back to whatever we happen to be going through, and see it for what it actually is: light and momentary pain which is not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us (cf. Romans 8.18).
This is how we react like the Samaritan leper when our pain is removed…and this is how we react like the Samaritan leper while we wait for the pain to be removed.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember. Let us remember that we really can be this thankful, we really can be this joyful, even in suffering. Because the freedom we have in Christ goes infinitely beyond freedom from a disease, or freedom from even the most painful situation.
We really can turn back and fall on our faces before the one who saved us, praising God and exhorting our souls with David (Psalm 103.1-2):
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!
And if you don't know Christ this morning, know this: people might tell you that if you come to Christ, everything in your life will be different. And much of your life will change. Christ blesses us beyond all our expectations, every day.
But what it means to be saved by him through faith goes infinitely beyond whatever momentary blessing he might give us. The best thing Jesus could say about the leper was not, "Your leprosy is gone now," but rather, "Your faith has saved you." Come to Christ, place your faith in him, and know that in him, you have received that which no human suffering can ever take away.


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Since the closing of the Balkan Route to Middle Eastern refugees in 2016, Serbia has been gaining more and more refugees. UNICEF predicts that 18,000 people will transit through Serbia by the end of 2019.
Be a part of the response:
Please pray for all those affected by the refugee crisis. Remember those who have lost everything and all those who are working to respond. You can use these prayers and resources in your worship services.
Your gifts are needed now to help with immediate relief. Gifts designated for the Middle East and Europe Refugee Crisis will be used in full (100 percent) to assist those directly impacted and have fled for safety.
To learn more about this situation and other LDR response:

subset: commoncrawl


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30 de abril
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The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) associated with chromosomal abnormalities.
This was a retrospective study of POI patients with chromosomal abnormalities diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2017. The definition of POI is based on hypergonadotropinism of 40 or greater in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) measurements at age 40 years or less. FSH was measured twice at least 4 weeks apart. Karyotyping using peripheral blood for chromosomal testing was conducted in all patients diagnosed with POI. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and genetic causes of patients who were diagnosed with POI.
Forty patients were diagnosed with POI including 9 (22.5%) with identified chromosomal abnormalities. The mean age at diagnosis was 23.1±7.8 years (ranging between 14 and 39). Three patients did not experience menarche. The presenting complaints were short stature in one case, one case of amenorrhea with ambiguous external genitals, one case of infertility, and six related to menstruation such as oligomenorrhea or irregular rhythm. Turner syndrome was diagnosed in four cases, Xq deletion in one case, trisomy X in two cases, and 46,XY disorder of sexual development in two other patients.
Patients diagnosed with POI carrying the same type of chromosomal abnormality manifest different phenotypes. The management protocol also needs to be changed depending on the diagnosis. A karyotype is indicated for accurate diagnosis and proper management of POI in patients, with or without stigmata of chromosomal abnormalities.
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as ovarian failure with hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism (follicle stimulating hormone [FSH] level>40 IU/L and estradiol (E2) level<50 pmol/L) occurring before the age of 40 years [1]. The incidence of POI was reported to be 0.01% by the age of 20 years, 0.4% by the age of 35 years, and 1% by the age of 40 years [2]. Pathophysiological defects inducing ovarian dysfunction are of two types: acceleration of follicle depletion, and decreased steroid production with oocyte loss [3]. POI caused by genetic factor was associated with accelerated follicle depletion. The causes of primary POI including genetic factors, enzyme deficiency, defective gonadotropin structure or action are known. However, POI of unknown etiology accounts for approximately 75–90% of all cases [4]. About 10–15% of POI carry familial history [5,6], which suggests genetic predisposition. The most common presenting symptom in POI involves a change in menstrual cycle. Almost 10–28% of patients with primary amenorrhea and 4–18% with secondary amenorrhea are related to POI [7]. Early diagnosis is crucial for POI patients. Approximately 25% of patients are diagnosed after 5 years of symptoms [8]. Early diagnosis of POI prevents clinical events induced by estrogen deficiency such as osteoporosis. Diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities in POI leads to different management options. Karyotyping is indicated for the diagnosis of POI.
The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features of POI in patients with chromosomal abnormalities.
We retrospectively analyzed 40 patients who were diagnosed with POI in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Gyeongsang National University Hospital from January 2009 to December 2017. Because this study used data from patients that could not be personally identified, it was exempt from Institutional Review Board review according to the Korean Bioethics and Safety Act.
Diagnostic specification was based on the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases 7th edition, which is a modified version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th edition. In this study, the definition of POI was based on hypergonadotropinism (over 40 IU/L) and hypoestrogenism (E2 less than 50 pmol/L) at age 40 years or less among the diagnostic codes for primary amenorrhea (N910), secondary amenorrhea (N911), amenorrhea (N912), primary ovarian failure (E283), and delayed puberty (E300). FSH was measured twice at least 4 weeks apart. Also, we performed urine or serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), prolactin. Karyotyping using peripheral blood for chromosomal analyses was performed in all patients diagnosed with POI. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) was not measured in all patients with POI. Information pertaining to height (percentile) was based on data provided by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards in 2010.
During the past 9 years, 40 patients were diagnosed with POI including 9 (22.5%) with identified chromosome abnormalities. Table 1 displays characteristics of POI patients with chromosome abnormalities; age at diagnosis, height (cm), presenting complaints, FSH level (IU/L), E2 (pmol/L), AMH (ng/mL), and final diagnosis. All of FSH, E2, AMH value were obtained at diagnosis of POI. The mean age at diagnosis was 23.1±7.8 years (ranging between 14 and 39). Three patients did not experience menarche. Presenting complaints included a case each of short stature, amenorrhea with ambiguous external genitals, and infertility, and 6 cases related to menstruation such as oligomenorrhea or irregularity of rhythm. Among 9 patients with chromosomal abnormality, Turner syndrome (TS), Xq deletion, trisomy X, and 46,XY disorder of sexual development (DSD) were diagnosed in four, one, two, and two cases, respectively.
Premature ovarian failure is defined as ovarian failure with hypoestrogenism and hypergonadotropinism in women aged below 40 years. The etiology of POI remains unknown in approximately 75–90% of cases [4]. The genetic causes of POI include X-linked and autosomal dominant diseases. X-linked diseases are characterized by monosomy, trisomy, deletions, translocations, and fragile X syndromes. Autosomal dominant conditions associated with POI include FSH receptor gene polymorphism, inhibin B mutation, and so forth [9]. Chromosomal aberrations constitute nearly 14.71% of all causes underlying POI [10]. In this study, 9 (22.5%) out of 40 patients diagnosed with POI were associated with chromosomal abnormalities. No monosomy was detected; however, two cases of trisomy, three patients with mosaicism, one case of deletion, and one case of isochromosome were found. The remaining two patients manifested 46,XY DSD.
Four patients were diagnosed with TS in our study. TS, which is caused by total or partial loss of a second X chromosome, is one of the most common genetic causes of POI, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 2,000 to 2,500 live female births [10]. TS is associated with diverse chromosomal abnormalities including 45,X (monosomy X), 45,X mosaicism, X chromosome anomalies, and Y chromosome mosaicism [11]. Monosomy X is found in approximately 45% of TS. This type was not detected in this study. Monosomy X may manifest clinically as short stature, web neck, low hair line at the back of the neck, and lymphedema. In this study, two patients were diagnosed with TS and TS combined with mosaicism, at the age of 27 and 39 years, respectively. The karyotype of both patients was 45,X/46,XX. One patient (age, 39 years) experienced two deliveries, with the last one occurring 2 years before the hospital visit. The patient reported only a sudden onset of secondary amenorrhea that occurred 6 months ago. Another patient presented with only oligomenorrhea (five times per year) starting from menarche. Ultrasonography revealed no abnormal findings except a small uterus. TS caused by mosaicism was estimated at approximately 50% (e.g., 45,X/46,XX, 45,X/47,XXX or 45,X mosaic with X chromosome anomalies). The mechanism of mosaicism results from sex chromosome nondisjunction occurring during postzygotic cell division [12]. The clinical phenotype of patients with mosaicism depends on the tissues affected and the developmental timing of mosaicism. The clinical pathology of mosaicism is milder than that of monosomy X. Low degrees of mosaicism occur in phenotypically normal females. TS is induced by severe X chromosome anomalies such as isochomosome Xq [46,X,i(Xq)], ring chromosome [46, X,r(X)], and Xp or Xq deletion. Isochromosome is an abnormal structure composed of two long or two short arms. 46,X,i(Xq) is reported to constitute 7–17 % of the total TS [13]. It is reported that the clinical characteristics of this type are similar to those of classical TS. However, patients with an Xp deletion have short stature and congenital malformations. Those with deletions of Xq often only exhibit gonadal dysfunction. In this study, one patient was diagnosed with isochromosome Xq. Her height was 164 cm (75–95%). No distinguishing features except for secondary amenorrhea were observed. Among the patients diagnosed with POI in this study, only one patient had a short stature. She had a height of 143 cm (less than 1%). Her karyotype was 45,X/46,X, +mar type which is rare and is reported in approximately 1% of TS [13]. No additional information was available due to lack of follow-up observation. One patient presented with infertility. She was accompanied by oligomenorrhea that started at the age of 20. Her height was 151 cm (5–25%). She was diagnosed with a deleted Xq chromosome. In the case of deletion of the terminal portion in Xq, most of the symptoms were related to ovarian failure without other findings of TS. It was assumed that short stature was not related to chromosome abnormality. Rates of Xp-deletion TS and Xq-deletion TS were reported as 1.5% and 3%, respectively [14]. Ovarian function was preserved until nearly two-thirds of Xp chromosome is lost [15]. Two critical regions involved in normal ovarian function include Xq13-q21(CR1) and Xq23-q28 (CR2) [16]. The region between Xq26.2 and Xq28 is the most critical for POI [17].
In this study, two patients were diagnosed with trisomy X (47,XXX), which is a sex chromosome aneuploidy associated with an extra X chromosome. The incidence of this condition is approximately 1/1,000 female births [18]. Trisomy X is caused by chromosomal nondisjunction during gametogenesis (resulting in a trisomic conceptus) or after conceptus (and known as postzygotic nondisjunction) [19]. Only approximately 10% of patients were identified clinically due to significant phenotypic variation [18]. Although most cases of trisomy X involve 47,XXX, approximately 10% is characterized by mosaicism such as 47, XXX/48,XXXX or 46,XX/47,XXX [20]. Significant facial and physical features associated with trisomy X are rare, and include tall stature, epicanthal folds, clinodactyly, hypotonia in infancy, and hypertelorism, with tall stature being the most common manifestation. Nearly 80–89% of cases reported a height above 75th percentile [21]. Two patients measured 168 cm (above 95%) and 165 cm (above 95%) in height, respectively. No other physical features were shared by such patients.
Two patients were diagnosed with 46,XY DSD in this study including one with androgen insensitive syndrome (AIS), and another with mixed gonadal dysgenesis. In the former case, the patient's sister and aunt were diagnosed with AIS and were treated appropriately. AIS is an X-linked recessive disorder. The patient's height was 167 cm (above 95%). Ultrasonography revealed no uterus or ovary. However, no further information was available due to loss of follow-up observations. In another patient, physical examination showed normal external female genitals except for clitomegaly. The uterus and ovaries were not observed on magnetic resonance imaging; however, laparoscopic examination revealed both streak gonads in the pelvic cavity. Bilateral gonadectomy with penectomy was done. Histopathology revealed a penile shaft in clitomegaly and testicular atrophy in both streak gonads. DSD is defined as a clinical condition of discordance between sexual phenotype and genotype. It is classified into three groups based on chromosomal components; 46,XX DSD, 46,XY DSD, and sex chromosomal DSD. 46,XY DSD is divided into two groups based on etiology: abnormal testicular development and defective androgen action [22]. The first group included conditions such as gonadal dysgenesis (Swyer syndrome), and the second group was characterized by AIS (Morris syndrome). Gonadal dysgenesis manifests three different phenotypes: simple gonadal dysgenesis, mixed gonadal dysgenesis (asymmetrical gonadal development, and external female genitalia) and partial gonadal dysgenesis (bilateral dysgenetic testis, and mixture of male and female external genitalia) [23]. The incidence of gonadal tumors is higher in XY females. It is reported that seminoma occurs in AIS and gonadoblastoma, whereas gonadal dysgerminoma is found in gonadal dysgenesis [23]. The streak gonads should be removed promptly after early diagnosis. In most cases, fallopian tubes are also removed in gonads with a wide margin.
This study has several limitations. First, a selection bias can arise from studies conducted at a single tertiary hospital. Second, a small number of patients participated in the study. Third, because this study involved a retrospective design, it was hard to determine the clinical characteristics of POI patients.
In conclusion, most of POI is of unknown etiology. However, a few cases of POI are caused by genetic factors such as chromosome anomalies. In this study, 9 (22.5%) patients were diagnosed with POI caused by chromosome anomalies. Four cases of TS, one case of Xq deletion, two trisomy X and two 46,XY females were diagnosed. Patients with POI carrying similar chromosomal abnormality manifest phenotypes differently, and the method of management depends on the diagnosis. Karyotyping is recommended for accurate diagnosis and management of POI patients, with or without chromosomal abnormalities.
Characteristics and genetic factors underlying premature ovarian insufficiency
|Age at diagnosis (yr)
|Height (cm)
|Age at menarche (yr)
|Chief complaint
|FSH (IU/L)a
|E2 (pmol/L)
|AMH (ng/mL)
|Additional information
|Secondary amenorrhea
|46,X,i(Xq) or 46,X,i(X)(q10)
|Short status
|46, XY, inv(9)(p12q13)
|Bilateral gonadectomy
|Hot flushing
|Secondary amenorrhea
aValue obtained at 2nd visit/value obtained at 1st visit.
FSH, follicle stimulating hormone; E2, estradiol; AMH, anti-Müllerian hormone.


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You are invited to gather for the joy of singing together! No musical skill or experience required! We sing simple harmonies and rounds with life-affirming messages. All music is taught by ear. We do not perform and no formal commitment is required. Ages 9+ We look forward to singing with you!
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Earlier Event: June 5Tend the Root Session Three: Cultivating the Soil of 21st Century Warriorship
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Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll Film Series: Sid & Nancy
Thursday, May 23 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
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Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb star as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, two young lovers who exemplified the punk lifestyle right up to their deaths. Webb was awarded two Best Actress Awards from film critic groups, and Gary Oldman won the 1987 Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer.
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An exploration of films about rock music, the people who create it and the people who love it.


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Keli'dan the Breaker slain
Heroic: The Blood Furnace is an achievement that is awarded for defeating the final boss of the Blood Furnace instance on heroic difficulty.
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Daniel Gelinas
English (North American), French, Russian, Spanish
England - London (Cockney, Estuary, East End), French, Irish, North American, Russian, Spanish, US New England (Boston, Providence)
Voice Ages
Middle Aged (35-54)
Special Skills
Audiobooks, Business, Documentaries, Educational, Internet Video, Television
Daniel R. Gelinas
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 175
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
(Phone hidden)
(Email hidden)
Film/Television/Voice Work
Milt -- The Earthworm Miracle: Take 1 Films
Bus Driver Two -- Wait—A Short Film: Visceral Cognition Productions
Lightning Rod Salesman -- Something Wicked This Way Comes: Colonial Radio Theatre On The Air
Matt Spaulding -- Dandelion Wine: Colonial Radio Theatre On The Air
Ted Hilliard -- 10th Anniversary Video of the 32nd-Degree Masonic Learning:
Communications for Learning Centers for Children
John -- Cable Connection Student film: Boston University
Dramatization actor -- The Science of Sex: Discovery Magazine
Capt. Jack Absolute -- The Rivals: Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air
Stage Work
A-Rab -- West Side Story: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Dr. Sanderson -- Harvey: Quannapowitt Players, Reading, MA
Ross Gardiner -- Visiting Mr. Green: Winchester Players, Winchester, MA
George -- Stop Kiss: Burlington Players, Burlington, MA
Nick Cristano -- Over The River And Through the Woods: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Captain Brice -- Arcadia: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Head, Headless Man -- Pippin: The Longwood Players Boston, MA
Judah -- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Laertes -- Hamlet: Holy Cross Drama, Worcester, MA
Ernie -- Ernie's Incredible Illucinations: Cape Elizabeth Drama, Cape Elizabeth, ME
Backstage Work
Stage manager -- No Way To Treat A Lady: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Light crew -- Fiorello: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Stage manager -- Arcadia: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Stage manager -- The Cripple of Inishmaan: Arlington Friends of the Drama, Arlington, MA
Other Activities/Skills/Honors ivities/Skills/Honors
Gold Ogle Award – Best Fantasy Production of 2006
EMACT Dash Award -Best Musical, 2006
EMACT Dash Award -Best Actor in a Play, 2005
EMACT Dash AWARD -Best Ensemble in a Play, 2005
EMACT Dash Award -Best Supporting Actor in a Play, 2004
Juggle. Walk on hands.
Knowledge of French, Russian, Spanish.
Swing Dancing (Ron Gursky, Watertown, MA)
Ballroom Dancing (John Paul, Cambridge, MA)
Shakespeare Dramaturgy (Holy Cross College)
Basic Acting (Holy Cross College)
Speech and debate and acting in high school. Basic acting, Shakespeare dramaturgy and stage combat in college.
Service Description
Voice over services, voice acting.
Voice Over Clients
Take 1 Films ((Website hidden))
Visceral Cognition ((Website hidden))
Colonial Radio Theatre ((Website hidden))
Communications for Learning ((Website hidden))
Discover Magazine (TV series)
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Posted by By John Ameh, Onitsha on
Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, alleged on Wednesday that the reason he had been under attacks lately was because there was a bid to poison the minds of the justices of the Supreme Court against him.
Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, alleged on Wednesday that the reason he had been under attacks lately was because there was a bid to poison the minds of the justices of the Supreme Court against him.
He claimed that his opponents who were reportedly bent on having the apex court reverse its June 14 judgment on his tenure of office, sought to create the impression that he was incapable of governing Anambra State.
According to Obi, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the attacks on him came at the time two suits were before the court, seeking to reverse the tenure judgment.
Dr. Andy Uba, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate at the April poll, who is challenging the judgment on the ground that the court lacked the jurisdiction to decide Obis matter, filed one of the suits.
Chief Ifeanyi Okonkwo, a member of Nigeria Advance Party, who claimed that his name was fraudulently struck out of the matter while it was still at the Court of Appeal, filed the second case.
He alleged that Obi offered him N10m bribe to effect the removal of his name from the case before it went to the apex court for the final judgment on June 14.
There has been a carefully drawn plan to destroy the image of Governor Peter Obi, pit him against the people of Anambra State and Nigeria as a whole; poison the minds of the justices of the Supreme Court so that they will reverse the judgment of June 14, 2007 and hand over power to another person, Obis media aide, Mr. Mike Udah, said in Awka on Wednesday.
But Uba had, last week, absolved himself of blame in Obis travails, saying that he was only exercising his constitutional rights at the apex court.
Uba added that Obi was not being fair to him by trying to drag his name into any problems he encountered, instead of concentrating on the job of governing Anambra State.
Only on Tuesday, Okonkwo had said that he merely filed a legitimate application at the Supreme Court to seek for a reversal of a decision he considered to be unjustifiable, adding that he was not in the position to sponsor crises in the state.
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Perils of Judicial Self-Government in Transitional Societies
Part of Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy
- Author: David Kosař, Masarykova Univerzita v Brně, Czech Republic
- Date Published: April 2016
- availability: Available
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781107112124
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Judicial councils and other judicial self-government bodies have become a worldwide phenomenon. Democracies are increasingly turning to them to insulate the judiciary from the daily politics, enhance independence and ensure judicial accountability. This book investigates the different forms of accountability and the taxonomy of mechanisms of control to determine a best practice methodology. The author expertly provides a meticulous analysis, using over 800 case studies from the Czech and Slovak disciplinary courts from 1993 to 2010 and creates a systematic framework that can be applied to future cases.Read more
- Expertly combines a deep knowledge of legal doctrine with political science methods
- Based on robust and verifiable evidence, this is the only scholarly work that tests the effects of a judicial council empirically
- Challenges the view of judicial accountability as an exclusively positive quality and shows its negative side-effects
Reviews & endorsements
'Kosař … relies on more than 800 case studies from the Czech and Slovak disciplinary courts from 1993 to 2010 to analyze differing forms of accountability of the least accountable branch of government: the judiciary. The volume's first part lays the theoretical framework that informs the empirical analysis presented in chapters 4 to 7. It defines judicial accountability, describes its mechanisms, and overviews the role of judicial councils in insulating the judiciary from politics, enhancing its independence, and thus ensuring judicial accountability. Chapter 4 comments on the methodology of the empirical research, explaining case selection and case analysis, whereas chapters 5 to 7 compare cases from the Czech and Slovak Republics. The final chapter serves as a conclusion, arguing that the judicial council increases judicial autonomy without necessarily improving the independence of individual judges. Recommended.' L. Stan, ChoiceSee more reviews
'Perils of Judicial Self-Government in Transitional Societies serves as a fine cautionary tale about unforeseen consequences and about the perils of sloganizing the sophisticated semantics of constitutionalism and imposing top-down, ready-made policy solutions adopted on the basis of such slogans.' Bogdan Iancu, European Constitutional Law Review
'Kosař's thoroughly researched book is one of the most comprehensive accounts on judicial accountability written in comparative judicial scholarship, providing a solid basis for further discussions of this concept in academic circles. The book offers a springboard for future analyses on judicial accountability mechanisms and their operation, including their informal dimension, in the post-communist world and beyond.' Raul A. Sanches-Urribarri, I-CONnect (www.iconnectblog.com)
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Product details
- Date Published: April 2016
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781107112124
- length: 488 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 152 x 27 mm
- weight: 0.82kg
- contains: 6 b/w illus. 32 tables
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Part I. Judicial Accountability: Theoretical Framework:
1. The concept of judicial accountability
2. Mechanisms of judicial accountability
3. Judicial accountability and judicial councils
Part II. Holding Czech and Slovak Judges Accountable:
4. Prologue to the case studies: methodology and data reporting
5. The Czech Republic
6. Slovakia
7. Evaluation: the Czech Republic and Slovakia compared
Part III. Conclusions and Implications:
8. Judicial accountability and judicial councils: critical appraisal
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Commonly used type of computer network technology for LAN's in homes and offices. Ethernet uses standards and a protocol to directly connect computers. It can be used independently of the internet, while Ethernet convienently runs over IP.
They are many kinds of Ethernet connections. All require a suitable Network Card or built in motherboard functionality. The most common Ethernet technologies has a limited range (about 200 yards).
The name "ether" comes from a different plane that scientists originally theorized light went to in order to explain its speed. Because light was later found to have a determinable speed, this theory was, of course, abandoned. But "ether-net" was used to explain that the speed of the network using ethernet was "fast as light."
Related Links
- Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) Web Site by Charles Spurgeon
- Ethernet Network FAQ
- The Educational User's Guide to Ethernet


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Sunday, April 7, 2019 – Loving Beyond Belief
Loving Beyond Belief – I had a poster in my classroom for some years that stated, "Let your life speak". For me the meaning I received is that our lives and the lives of others are far more impacted by how we live our lives than what we believe in our head. We will explore what it means to love without beliefs held in common. Join Rev. Neal Anderson for this service.


text:
Most Popular Movies and TV Shows With Chad Jamian
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Five friends with big egos and slightly arrogant attitudes are the proprietors of an Irish pub in Philadelphia.
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By day, mild-mannered Dexter is a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police. But at night, he is a serial killer who only targets other murderers.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar
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TV-14 | 40 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and cocky F.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth build a team to investigate murders. Quite often, there isn't more to examine than rotten flesh or mere bones.
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Finding out that their husbands are not just work partners, but have also been romantically involved for the last twenty years, two women with an already strained relationship try to cope with the circumstances together.
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TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood, after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor.
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6. 2 Broke Girls (2011–2017)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
Two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner strike up an unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business - if only they can raise the cash.
Stars: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Garrett Morris, Jonathan Kite
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7. 90210 (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Kansas family relocates to Beverly Hills, where their two children adapt to the infamous social drama of West Beverly Hills High.
Stars: Shenae Grimes-Beech, Tristan Mack Wilds, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Stroup
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8. General Hospital (1963– )
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Families, friends, enemies and lovers experience life-changing events in the large upstate New York city of Port Charles, which has a busy hospital, upscale hotel, cozy diner and dangerous waterfront frequented by the criminal underworld.
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Horny American teenagers fly to Australia for sex at the social media convention in Sydney. Will Logan survive his fear of flying? Will the pilots survive passengers not using airplane mode? Will anyone survive?
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After a family scandal leaves Mel, a local politician, alone with her niece and nephew, she hires a man named Joe to become the family's male nanny, or "manny".
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While Danny's father and mother independently search for love, Danny is on his own desperate quest to find a prom date. Danny's search becomes progressively more pathetic once he and his family learn that Bart, the school's biggest dweeb, not only secured a date for the prom, but got a hotel room as well.
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80 min | Comedy
A dark comic tale about the spiraling bad decisions a good man will make to right the wrongs done to him.
Directors: Chris Mollica, Greg Townsend | Stars: Camelia Dee, Cyrina Fiallo, Chad Jamian, Rhomeyn Johnson
Votes: 25
23. Burt Paxton: Private Detective (2014– )
Short, Comedy
Stars: Burt Grinstead, Kristian Steel, Melissa Chapman, Beau Cassidy
Votes: 11
24. The Daily Buzz (2002– )
Comedy, News, Talk-Show
Stars: Amy Sewell, Mitch English, Andrea Jackson, Kia Malone
Votes: 65
25. Behind the Vine (2013– )
Comedy, Talk-Show
Proving that 6 seconds is not enough, Host Eric Artell brings you Vine's biggest stars - up close and personal - in this hilarious parody of "Inside the Actor's Studio".
Stars: Eric Artell, Andrew Bachelor, Brittany Furlan, Kc James
26. The Root of the Problem (2012)
14 min | Short, Comedy, Fantasy
Set in the candy-colored world of 1950s suburbia, a reluctant young housewife suspects that the friendly neighborhood dentist is hiding a horrible secret, but is it just the anesthesia at ... See full summary »
Director: Ryan Spindell | Stars: Alison Gallaher, Brea Grant, Chad Jamian, Ptolemy Slocum
Votes: 76
27. Chocolate Milk (2013)
23 min | Short, Comedy
Chocolate Milk is the story of two slow-witted brothers, Kyle and Phillip, who are forced to fend their way through life after a low-flying Cessna killed their mother. Kyle is an eternal ... See full summary »
Directors: Michael Ring, J.R. Soldano | Stars: Harvey Guillén, Nathan Mobley, Chad Jamian, Maiara Walsh
Votes: 7
28. 102 in Dog Years (2016)
7 min | Short, Comedy
A comedy about getting exactly what you ask for.
Director: Dana Salah | Stars: Chad Jamian, Ellie Kovara, Kele Lavery, Gracie Miller
29. Zooom (2014)
PG-13 | 3 min | Short, Comedy
Distressed by modern practices, Matt turns to the world of ride sharing to find some romance.
Director: Chris Mollica | Stars: Chad Jamian, Lu Louis, Chris Mollica, Ren Montoro
30. Erostratus (2010 Video)
10 min | Drama, Thriller
A modern retelling of Jean Paul Sartre's shocking short story 'Erostratus'.
Director: Brandon Auman | Stars: Chad Jamian, Katerina Kopel, John Hayden, Chris Prater
31. The Comedian at The Friday (2010)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
A stand up comedian is forced to look at the decisions in his life while on a one week trip to the west coast.
Director: Brett Ryan Bonowicz | Stars: Chris Shields, Keston John, Chad Jamian, Dennis MaGee Fallon
Votes: 26
32. Inside the Handy Writers' Colony (2008)
55 min | Documentary
Director: Dawn Sinclair Shapiro | Stars: Sebashtin Alain, Jane Alexander, Tony Armer, Austin Blay
33. How to Makeup (2015– )
In How To Makeup, Ballinger begins in the spotlight, but Miranda herself is a major character in the series as well. The first episode begins as the two women gather their respective posses in a gym, where they stand as bitter rivals.
Stars: Colleen Ballinger, Meghan Rienks, GloZell Green, Chad Jamian
34. Freeport (2010)
29 min | Short, Comedy, Drama
Set in the world of late twenty-somethings, 'Freeport' is the story of Tom and his friends, a group that must rally around him after his brother's death and learn what decisions they must make next in their lives.
Director: Chris Mollica | Stars: Mario Alvarez, Camelia Dee, Kristpher Elder, Milan Epps
Votes: 12
35. To Where the Water Will Carry Her (2008)
10 min | Short
A young woman confronts various personal obstacles as she transitions in to womanhood. Now, torn between her past and her possible future, she must take matters in to her own hands, and learn how to survive on her own.
Director: Christy Rubenstein | Stars: Gricel Castineira, Chad Jamian, Daryn Kahn, Priscilla McEver
36. Just Ask Her Out (2015)
6 min | Short, Comedy
Director: Jonathan Cocco | Stars: Chad Jamian, Dane Johnson, Jenna McGowan
37. The Return (I) (2007)
G | 1 min | Short, Comedy, Horror
A teenage couple are attacked by zombies on date night.
Director: Ryan Spindell | Stars: Jyn Hall, Chad Jamian, Jessica Mansfield, Jamie Moore
Votes: 26
38. The Crew (2008– )
The Crew is comedy blending wit, situational humor and human interaction nestled in the environment of the space ship Azureas. If the characters from the hit television comedy The Office ... See full summary »
Stars: Philip Bache, Craig Frank, Brett Register, Ariel Lazarus
Votes: 12
39. Anything You Want at Wings N' Wings Restaurant (2006)
Short, Comedy
Director: Jeffrey Ashkin | Stars: Jamie B. Cline, Giancarlo A. Damiani, Michael Ellison, Chad Jamian
40. The Junior League of Superheroes (2009)
Director: Justin Fair | Stars: Justin Davidson, Justin Fair, Julie Gearheard, Brian Leahy
Votes: 14
The Crew (2008– )
A Pirate's Life
Director: Brett Register | Stars: Philip Bache, Craig Frank, Michael Hart, Chad Jamian
Melissa & Joey (2010–2015)
All Up in My Business
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
Joe suspects Mel is having an affair with a married man.
Director: Melissa Joan Hart | Stars: Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler, Nick Robinson
Votes: 91
2 Broke Girls (2011–2017)
And the '90s Horse Party
Not Rated | 22 min | Comedy
Caroline and Max throw a 90's themed party, hoping to raise money.
Director: Scott Ellis | Stars: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Garrett Morris, Jonathan Kite
Votes: 772
NASCAR on Fox (2001– )
Auto Club 500
Stars: John Andretti, Dick Berggren, Greg Biffle, Dave Blaney
Behind the Vine (2013– )
Behind the Vine with Chad Jamian
Comedy, Talk-Show
Stars: Eric Artell, Chad Jamian
Burt Paxton: Private Detective (2014– )
Burt Paxton and the Mysterious Lipstick
Short, Comedy
Detective Burt Paxton goes undercover when a sorority girl suspects her boyfriend of cheating.
Director: Aaron Fradkin | Stars: Burt Grinstead, Erin Alexis, Michael Antosy, Conor Bailey
Oishi: Demon Hunter (2018– )
Stars: Cathy Shim, Reba Buhr, Kathryn Feeney, Joe Gressis
My Roommate the (2010– )
Twitter. Facebook. TMZ. These "pushers" give us the fix that we "junkies" so desperately need...Celebrity Gossip. They are our deity, and we worship them at the Temple of Self-Indulgence. ... See full summary »
Director: Lu Louis | Stars: Lu Louis, Marisa DeVonish, Lawrence Adimora, Camelia Dee
90210 (2008–2013)
Clark Raving Mad
TV-14 | 41 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Naomi clashes with the Blaze's new faculty advisor, Mr. Cannon, over her racy gossip news segment and she is reprimanded in front of her peers which is a major humiliation for her. After ... See full summary »
Director: Stuart Gillard | Stars: Rob Estes, Shenae Grimes-Beech, Tristan Mack Wilds, AnnaLynne McCord
Votes: 99
Oishi: Demon Hunter (2018– )
Dramatic Irony
Stars: Cathy Shim, Reba Buhr, Kathryn Feeney, Joe Gressis


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Indian government plans to increase FDI ceiling in cargo by 2007
The Indian federal government plans to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in air cargo and non-scheduled operations from 49 per cent
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NHS Counter Fraud
The CCG is committed to ensuring that public funds are used appropriately. We work hard to help staff understand what fraud, bribery and corruption is, how it affects the NHS and could affect the CCG, and what they should do if they suspect fraud, bribery or corruption has taken, or is taking, place.
Fraud refers to a range of economic crimes, such as fraud, bribery and corruption or any other illegal acts committed by an individual or group of individuals to obtain a financial or professional gain.
Who pays for NHS fraud?
This short animation provides examples of different types of fraud affecting the NHS, highlights the impact of NHS fraud and explains how to report it https://youtu.be/2RYfv6CSTI0
NHS Counter Fraud Authority
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority leads on fighting fraud and other economic crime in the NHS and wider health groups. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) is a new special health authority charged with identifying, investigating and preventing fraud and other economic crime. To find further information and alternative ways of reporting fraud, including a confidential reporting line go to https://cfa.nhs.uk
Working with our local Counter Fraud Specialist
The CCG works closely with its local Counter Fraud Specialist to whom any suspicion of fraud would be reported, professionally investigated and treated with the utmost confidentiality.
The CCG's local Counter Fraud Specialists are:
Marie Hall, Local Counter Fraud Specialist. Phone 01904 725 166 or email email@example.com
Steve Moss, Head of Anti-Crime Services. Phone 01904 725 145 or email email@example.com
For more information about local counter fraud work go to www.audityorkshire.nhs.uk


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Yann Orhan
- France
- Groovy, flamboyant rock
Guitar hero, rock star, stage beast, Matthieu Chedid is all of these. After a collaborative album, he returns to the forefront of the stage as his alter ego, -M-. Forked hair, lacquered widow's peak, disco glasses and guitar bolted to his body: let the show begin. His flamboyant pop rock trend capsizes into funk tunes of electrical intensity and intense groove. With his falsetto voice, he sings Je dis aime, Qui de nous deux and Superchérie. Whilst an air of mystery persists around his character, and whether his hairdo evokes Mephisto, Machistador, Matthieu or Mister Mystery, one thing is certain: we love -M-.


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Anchorage citizens face a number of threats. Learn about them and take the steps to prepare yourself, your family, your neighborhood and place of work for all hazards that Anchorage residents face.
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It's not just for pickle lovers! Who knew?
These are the gifts that keep on giving.
Snag them for your loved ones...or yourself.
Hop on the thankfulness train with us, and use #GratList to share what you're most appreciative of this holiday season.
The job's no joke.
Yes, you can get through the season with a full head of hair.
Yes, it is 100 percent the worst.
Just make sure to use the hashtag #ShareAMeal.
Oh, and they taste AMAZING, too.
You can still turn heads on the fourth of July.
One white board, a few smelly markers, and so much freakin' love
We rounded up photos of past Women's Health cover stars for a fun and weirdly fascinating matching game.
Celebrating the big-hearted matriarchs of the small screen
Sure, they'll love you no matter what, but...
And those who practice it are having a fabulous 420.
Festive but still chic
Men: Who needs 'em? This shindig has chocolate and pancakes.
We know, it's a bold claim—but we're sticking to it.


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Posed Newborn Session, Baby Nora | Tulsa/
I absolutely adore this family! I was so excited to meet their newest addition. Nora did well for her session and we got some great photos of her alone and with her sisters and family. Her big sisters were able to play and watch tv while I photographed Nora. One of the many perks of an in home studio! We have a big playroom with tons of toys. The comfy couch and tv are always a big hit with tired dads, too. I hope you enjoy the photos of sweet Nora!


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Watch Online Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd T20 Highlights 2nd April 2018. Get here PAK vs WI Latest Cricket Highlights, West Indies tour of Pakistan 2018 second T20 Match Video Highlights free in good quality. Highlightsreplay will provide My Cricket Highlights Videos.
This will be the second match of the this new Twenty 20 series held in Pakistan. After the attacked on Sri Lankan team the International Cricket come again in Pakistan. West indies team is coming from after played the ICC World Cup qualifying round. And its good they have qualified for World cup. Watch free every Latest Cricket Match Highlights in HD Quality across the Worldwide.
The first match between both teams Pakistan and West Indies was one sided. West Indies have won the toss and opted to bowl first and the decision was not proved well. In this way Pakistan have won the match by 143.
Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd T20 Highlights
Match Info:
Pakistan vs Windies 2nd T20, 2018
Date -Monday, April 02, 2018
Time – 08:00 pm Local(2:00 pm GMT)
Venue – National Stadium, Karachi.
Pakistan T20 Team Squad
Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Aamir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Sarfraz Ahmed.
West Indies T20 Team Squad
Jason Mohammed (Captain), Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Andre McCarthy, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Odean Smith, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams.


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Article Text
Contributors WZ, CL, SZ and SL conceptualised and designed the study; YM, YZ and XZ collected and cleaned the data; YM, QL and XZ conducted statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; XT, SL, YZ and QL interpreted the results; CL, WZ and SZ contributed to discussion; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Funding This study was funded by the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2012BAI32B02) and the National Science and Technology Infrastructure Program of China (Grant No. 2013FY110500).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Parental/guardian consent obtained.
Ethics approval The study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research (2012-01).
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement The authors are willing to share any of the data collected during validation process that are not in this published manuscript or the online supplementary material.
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Strengths and limitations of this study
We validated the self-reported age at menarche using computer-assisted self-administered interviewing (CASI), in comparison with face-to-face interviewing (FFI), in a large population of 3478 schoolgirls in six provinces in China nationwide.
The correlations in subgroups according to locations, grades, awareness in reproductive health and breast tanner stages were determined, and the correlation of the age at menarche reported using CASI with FFI was poorer among girls in lower grades or those with poor reproductive health knowledge.
The data collected using CASI and FFI were self-reported and not prospectively recorded in this study.
Menarche, one of the milestones in pubertal development, is regarded as a unique maturation marker of transition from girls' childhood to adulthood and is considered an essential public health target for sexual education. The age at menarche is related to mental disorders.1 Both early and late menarche were associated with an increased risk of vascular disease.2 3 Therefore, a valid assessment of menarcheal age is fundamentally needed for epidemiology studies that are conducted to evaluate the impact of timing of menarche. Self-reporting of menarcheal age by face-to-face interviewing (FFI) has been commonly used and considered valid and effective for evaluating the timing of menarche by short-term recall.4 5
Girls' attitude to menarche has been found to vary according to their different cultural backgrounds.6 7 In Asian countries, girls are more sensitive and conservative regarding reproductive health issues. Therefore, Asian girls tend to feel ashamed when talking about menarche. Computer-assisted self-administered interviewing (CASI), in which respondents read the questions of a survey on a computer screen and then directly enter their responses into a computer, has been applied for investigating reproductive health to improve the quality and efficiency of self-reported data.8 In addition to cost-saving, a higher reporting of adolescent sexual behaviour, drug use and violence in surveys of risk behaviours were observed with CASI for school-aged children in comparison with FFI or paper-and-pencil self-administered interviews.9 10 This was because the CASI provides increased privacy of responses and the freedom for reporting behaviours that are widely believed to be risky or socially undesirable.11 12 However, FFI for assessing adverse experiences is generally regarded as superior to self-administered interviewing because FFI allows for probing and clarification of relevant details and minimises biases related to subjective responses.13 To our knowledge, there are currently no studies conducted to examine the validity and reliability of self-reported menarche data by CASI in Chinese culture.
The objective of the present cross-sectional study was to confirm the validity of the status and age of menarche attainment among schoolgirls in China obtained using CASI in comparison with FFI.
Population and sample
This cross-sectional study was conducted in six provinces in China from November 2012 to April 2013. A total of 4290 girls from 26 sampled schools were recruited. These girls were sampled using the multistage cluster sampling strategy.14 There were 24 girls with missing records regarding menarche and 788 girls refused to undergo the physical examination (online supplementary table S). Finally, 3478 girls were interviewed by both CASI and FFI.
Supplementary file 1
Both parental permission and students' consent were obtained for all participants before the survey.
Data collection
Sawtooth Ci3, V. 2.6.16 (Sawtooth software, Inc., Utah, USA) was used to compile the questionnaire that was administered using personal computers. During CASI, girls were interviewed with two main questions regarding their menarche. The first question was 'do you have menstrual periods?'; if the answer was 'yes', they were asked 'how old were you when you started your first period?'. Additional questions were asked as necessary to probe for a more accurate date of menarche attainment (eg, 'what grade in school were you?' and 'what season was it?'). Girls were also tested for their awareness in reproductive health related to pubertal development, pregnancy and knowledge and perception of sexually transmitted diseases and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The test contained 26 and 27 questions for girls in primary and middle schools, respectively. There were three research assistants in each room with 25~50 computers. One of these assistants issued unique codes and explained the background and objective of the survey, while the other two helped the participants log into the computers using the codes and provided guidance for completing the interview. The research staff uploaded and saved the data to the computer station at the end of the survey. The research staff did not interpret survey questions or observe the participants respond to specific survey questions.
We also conducted a physical examination and FFI for the girls who had completed CASI (n=3478). During FFI, the girls were also asked the same two main questions regarding their menarche. The trained clinicians first explained about menstrual periods to the girls and clarified that menarche was the first menstrual bleeding. The clinicians also asked necessary questions to help the participants recall their age at menarche (eg, 'what grade in school were you?' and 'what season was it?'). Girls were additionally examined for their pubertal development (eg, inspection and palpation of breast), and their medical and surgical histories were obtained.
FFI, conducted by the clinicians, was used as the reference for determining the age at menarche. The capacity of CASI to correctly classify the status of menarche (dichotomous data: yes/no) was verified by tools of standard epidemiological indices, including sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and accuracy.15 There were three options for the CASI method: yes, no and unclear. Sensitivity was defined as the proportion of girls truly having menarche who were correctly grouped as such by the CASI. Specificity represented the proportion of girls who truly had no menarche and were correctly grouped as such by CASI. The predictive values were calculated as positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). The PPV was the proportion of girls truly having menarche among girls categorised as such by CASI. The NPV was the proportion of girls who truly had no menarche among girls categorised as such by CASI. The accuracy rate was the proportion of agreement between the classification of menarche status between CASI and FFI.
Subgroup analysis was conducted according to location (urban and rural), grades (grades 5–6: primary school, grades 7–9: junior middle school and grades 10–12: senior middle school), awareness in reproductive health and Tanner stages of breast development. The awareness of reproductive health was categorised into three groups according to the proportion of questions that the girls answered correctly (<25%, 25%–50% and >50%); all the questions were assumed to be equally important for evaluating their awareness. Breast development was categorised as Tanner stages B1–B5, where stage 1 (B1) represented immaturity and stage 5 (B5) represented full maturity.16–18
A retrospective method was used to estimate the average age at menarche, and the means and percentiles (P5, P25, P50, P75 and P95) were calculated. Both Pearson and Spearman correlations were computed for determining the consistency of the age at menarche by CASI and FFI. The correlations between the difference in the age at menarche (CASI-FFI) and time interval between investigation and menarcheal onset were also calculated. Correlations were classified according to Cohen's criteria whereby a correlation of 0.10, 0.30 and 0.50 indicated a small, medium and large effect size, respectively. A Bland-Altman plot was constructed to measure the agreement of the age at menarche between FFI and CASI.19 20 The age at investigation was computed according to the girls' birthdate, as obtained by FFI, and the date of investigation.
The mean age of the study participants was 14.3 years (SD: 2.46 years). Of the 3478 girls, 53.5% were from urban areas, 68.7% had a low awareness of reproductive health (<50% of correctly answered questions) and 24.1% answered <25% of the questions correctly. Almost 60% of the participants were categorised in the late Tanner breast stages (B1: 6.4%; B2: 10.5%; B3: 23.5%; B4: 28.1%; B5: 31.5%; table 1).
After physical examination, 2538 (73.0%) and 2496 (71.2%) girls who underwent FFI and CASI, respectively, were found to have attained menarche. Two hundred and three (5.84%) girls were unclear about their status of menarche during CASI (table 1). Compared with FFI, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of CASI method were 0.97, 0.80, 0.99, 0.96 and 0.92, respectively. The PPVs increased, while the NPVs decreased, with increasing grade and later Tanner breast stages. Among girls in grade 5, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and accuracy were <0.8. The specificity was lower among girls from rural area (specificity: 0.71) or those with a lower awareness of reproductive health (specificity: 0.71; table 1).
Among the 2458 girls who reported their menarcheal age, the average age at menarche was 12.5 years in both FFI and CASI. The Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients for the age at menarche between CASI and FFI was 0.802 and 0.869, respectively. The partial correlation coefficient was 0.728 after adjusting for locations, grades and awareness of reproductive health. The Pearson, Spearman and partial correlation coefficients were increased with increasing grade and awareness in reproductive health. Among girls in grade 5, the Pearson, Spearman and partial correlation coefficients were 0.369, 0.678 and 0.335, respectively (table 2). The mean difference in the age at menarche between CASI and FFI was 0.05 years (SD: 0.82 years). Approximately >95% and 76.3% of the difference in the age at menarche between CASI and FFI ranged within 12 months and 3 months, respectively (figure 1). The time interval between the age at investigation and age at menarche had a small effect on this difference (correlation: 0.189) in the investigated population (figure 2).
In the present study, we examined the capacity of CASI to correctly classify the status of menarche and validate the self-reported age at menarche compared with FFI, the reference method. We generally found that the validity of the status of menarche obtained by CASI was satisfactory due to higher scores obtained for the indices (ie, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and accuracy). PPVs increased and NPVs decreased with increasing grades and Tanner breast stages. This negative correlation of PPV and NPV was probably attributed to the increased prevalence of menarche across the age groups.15 The Tanner stages of breast development and school grades generally increased with age.21 22
We also found that the menarcheal age reported in CASI closely agreed with that in FFI. The discrepancy in the age at menarche between these two interviews varied by an average of 0.6 month. The average age at menarche in CASI was 12.5 years, which was similar to that of FFI. Dorn et al 23 conducted a cross-sequential study in 253 girls categorised into four age cohorts to explore the reliability of age at menarche across time points and methods. They reported large discrepancies in the age at menarche between the phone interview and FFI across 12 time points.
Moreover, we found lower scores of sensitivity, specificity, PPV and accuracy and a medium correlation of the age at menarche between CASI and FFI among girls in grade 5. We also found a relatively low specificity in those living in rural areas and those with a low awareness in reproductive health. Such lower scores would be due to the low awareness in reproductive health.24 In our study, girls in grade 5 attended primary school and were aged 10.9 years on average. In China, most girls initially become informed regarding reproductive health, including menarche, in grade 5.25 Girls who were not knowledgeable about menarche would probably not fully understand the questions that were asked from them during the interviews, which can result in inaccurate answers.26 In our study, 603 (17.3%) girls did not know what menstruation was, and girls in grade 6 or lower had lower knowledge of menstruation than girls in grade 7 or higher. According to the subgroup analysis regarding the girls' knowledge of reproductive health, including menstruation, the correlation in the age at menarche between CASI and FFI was poorer among girls with low knowledge. Girls living in rural areas of China may have less access to computers and poorer computer skills compared with those in urban areas, which could impact the ability of the girls from rural areas to respond accurately during the CASI. Furthermore, the accuracy of the timing of menarche can be influenced by recall bias from the study participants.5 27 In our study, the time from menarche to study participation had only a small effect on the difference between FFI and CASI. The correlations in the age at menarche between interview methods also showed similar results across time.26
In the present study, conducted in a large population of 3478 schoolgirls in six provinces of China nationwide, we validated the use of CASI for determining girls' status and age of menarche attainment using FFI as a reference. FFI has been considered a valid and reliable method26 for measuring menarcheal age based on long-term28–31 and short-term recalls.5 32 33 However, our study was based on a cross-sectional study, and the data regarding menarche collected using both CASI and FFI were self-reported and not prospectively recorded.
The timing of menarche investigated in CASI was valid among all Chinese schoolgirls, except for those in grade 5 or lower, which suggested that the CASI method should be used with caution among Chinese primary school students.
We would like to thank the administrators of field education bureau and teachers of the field schools for their assistance with facilities and arranging the computer-assisted self-administered interviews and physical examinations for this study. We also thank Editage (http://www.editage.cn) for English language editing.
Contributors WZ, CL, SZ and SL conceptualised and designed the study; YM, YZ and XZ collected and cleaned the data; YM, QL and XZ conducted statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; XT, SL, YZ and QL interpreted the results; CL, WZ and SZ contributed to discussion; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Funding This study was funded by the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2012BAI32B02) and the National Science and Technology Infrastructure Program of China (Grant No. 2013FY110500).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Parental/guardian consent obtained.
Ethics approval The study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research (2012-01).
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement The authors are willing to share any of the data collected during validation process that are not in this published manuscript or the online supplementary material.
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Course summary
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Meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness, it is a form of meditation. 'Watching your breath' or 'Listening to the Birds' is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation. It also means a cessation of the thought process, a state of consciousness, when the mind is free of 'scattered thoughts' and intrusive patterns.
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Busting some kombucha myths and the biggest one: "I won't drink kombucha because it has too much sugar in it." The bottom line is that the benefits of it being a fermented drink outweigh the bit of sugar in it....Read More
Reality Check: There is NO Magic Cure
I believe that the best path to health is in the food we eat. Not in expensive pills, not in expensive boxes. Not in real food ground up and put in pills. Not in synthetic vitamins added to our water.
Instead.... Real food. Real drinks. Traditional foods. Traditional drinks. But... there is this idea that floats around.... that it is products, pills, oils, foods, (fermented or otherwise) or supplements that can cure us.Read More