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April 09, 2014
By -, -
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Anastasiia Baranova of Oklahoma Baptist has been named the NAIA Women's Tennis Player of the Week, the national office announced Wednesday. Baranova was selected based on her performances from March 31-April 6 and was chosen out of a pool of conference, independent and unaffiliated grouping award winners.
Baranova, a sophomore from Sochi, Russia, capped a 6-0 week for the No. 10-ranked Bison with wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles over NCAA Division I Oral Roberts (Okla.). The Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) No. 9-rated singles player handled unranked NAIA opponents Kaela Doyle of John Brown (Ark.) (6-0, 6-1) and Sara Peck of Southwestern (Kan.) (6-0, 6-0) before taking down Haley Martin of Oral Roberts (4-6, 7-6, 7-6 (10-3)). Along with partner Kateryna Shkot, Baranova also swept her doubles opponents from John Brown (8-3), Southwestern (8-0) and Oral Roberts (8-1). Baranova and Shkot are the ITA's No. 5-ranked doubles team in the NAIA and boast a 17-1 record on the season.
For the year, Baranova owns a 16-2 record in singles play.
For the complete Women's Tennis Player of the Week calendar, click here.
Nominees: Chelsea Cross, Stephens (Mo.); Rachel Hodas, Milligan (Tenn.); Tatum McMahon, Tennessee Wesleyan; Priscila Nunez, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.); Princess Clemente, St. Francis (Ill.); Hannah Husmann, Nebraska Wesleyan; Audri Swisher, Morningside (Iowa); Nour Abbes, Xavier (La.); Jennifer Luedtke, Ottawa (Kan.); Cassidy Cook, Kansas Wesleyan; Bree Honer, Bethel (Kan.); Brittany Gourlay, McPherson (Kan.); Sadie Pfau, Southwestern (Kan.); Alejandra Galvis, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.); Megan Charity, Campbellsville (Ky.); Neesha Thirumalaichelvam, Cumberlands (Ky.); Angelica Sepulveda, Cumberland (Tenn.); Anna Gotz, Embry-Riddle (Fla.); Lexi Hammerquist, Ave Maria (Fla.); Tetiana Kovalska, St. Thomas (Fla.); Emily Spiech, Davenport (Mich.).
2014 Women's Tennis Players of the Week
Week 1 (March 19): Valeria Podda, Georgia Gwinnett
Week 2 (March 26): Alyssa Fuentes, Davenport (Mich.)
Week 3 (April 2): Neesha Thirumalaichelvam, Cumberlands (Ky.)
Week 4 (April 9): Anastasiia Baranova, Oklahoma Baptist


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LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors and an attorney for Chris Brown were discussing a possible deal on Thursday to resolve probation issues faced by the R&B singer over his 2009 attack on Rihanna.
Brown was led into a Los Angeles courtroom in handcuffs for a short hearing after U.S. marshals transported him from Washington, D.C.
Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin ordered Brown to return to court on May 9 when a possible deal could be addressed in court.
No possible terms were discussed Thursday.
Brown could face continued confinement or other punishment if Brandlin or another judge determines he violated his probation by getting arrested after a man was punched in October outside a hotel in the nation's capital.
Brandlin revoked Brown's probation in December and ordered him into rehab for anger management and other issues.
Brown's attorney Mark Geragos said if a deal could not be reached by Tuesday, he would request the release of the singer.
"I'm hopeful that we get it resolved, and we get it resolved quickly," Geragos said. "He turns 25 next week. So I'd like to give him an early birthday present if I can."
The Grammy winner has been in custody since March 14 when he was expelled from a court-ordered rehab for violating its rules.
Brown's trial on a misdemeanor assault charge in Washington is on hold while his bodyguard appeals an assault conviction for the same incident.
Brown did not speak during the hearing on Thursday but smiled at his mother and other supporters.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0 -- Signing In to the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Administration Center
From DocWiki
Main page: Cisco Unified MeetingPlace, Release 8.0
Up one level: Configuration
- Restrictions for Signing In to the Administration Center
- Signing In to the Administration Center for the First Time
Restrictions for Signing In to the Administration Center
- Only users of type System administrator or Attendant can sign in to the Administration Center.
- The preconfigured admin profile provides access only to the Administration Center on the Application Server. It does not provide system administrator access to the Web Administration on the Web Server.
- If you configured Directory Service on your system, only users who are authenticated locally by the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace database can access the Administration Center. Specifically, the isLocalUser setting in the user profile must be set to Yes. This prevents unauthorized access even if external directory passwords are compromised.
Related Topics
- About User Types in the Administration Center Page References for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace (A - C pages) module
- Configuring Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Directory Service module
Signing In to the Administration Center for the First Time
- Go to http://application-server/admin/.
- Enter admin for user ID.
- Enter the password for the System administrator that you created when you installed the Application Server.
- The password is case-sensitive.
- Select Sign In.
Related Topics
- Recovering the User Password for the Preconfigured Admin Profile
- Admin Profile in the Configuring User Profiles and User Groups for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module
- Accessibility Features in the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Administration Center module
What to Do Next
Proceed to Changing the Passwords for the admin Profile in the Changing System Administrator Passwords for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module.


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Heritage 11/2004:7588 - Heritage 2/2005:7358 - Legend Numismatics, sold privately in 4/2005 - Eugene H. Gardner Collection - Heritage 6/2014:30593, $51,406.25
Legend Collection - D.L. Hansen Collection
American Numismatic Rarities 11/2004:1540, $13,000
Ron Guth: The 1843 Silver Dollar is a relatively common coin, on par with most of the other dates from the 1840's. In Mint State, the 1843 Silver Dollar is scarce, and usually found in baggy MS-62 and MS-63. Gem examples are essentially non-existent, and the finest examples certified by PCGS (as of November 2011) are five MS-64s, some of which are illustrated above.
© 1999-2018 Collectors Universe NASDAQ: CLCT


text:
Kid Of The Week: Lily's Disneyland Surprise!
little girl freaks out after finding out she is
going to disneyland
Submitted by: krystalp
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Study enrollment process. AOD indicates alcohol and drug use; BDI-II, Beck Depression Inventory-II; BHS, Behavioral Health Services; CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy; and PHQ, Patient Health Questionnaire-8. *If more than 2 weeks passed between the assessment for eligibility by research staff and the baseline interview, clients were reassessed for persistent depressive symptoms using the BDI-II. †If the client had another known commitment (eg, court date, pregnancy, or specialty group) that would prevent him or her from attending the intervention, the client was deemed ineligible.
Conditional change in Beck Depression Inventory-II score over time.
Conditional change in Short Form-12 (SF-12) mental health score over time.
Alcohol and problem substance use at 6 months.
Customize your JAMA Network experience by selecting one or more topics from the list below.
Watkins KE, Hunter SB, Hepner KA, et al. An Effectiveness Trial of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Patients With Persistent Depressive Symptoms in Substance Abuse Treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(6):577–584. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.53
© 2018
Copyright 2011 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.2011
Although depression frequently co-occurs with substance abuse, few individuals entering substance abuse treatment have access to effective depression treatment.
The Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, and Thoughts (BRIGHT) study is a community-based effectiveness trial that compared residential substance abuse treatment with residential treatment plus group cognitive behavioral therapy for depression delivered by substance abuse treatment counselors. We hypothesized that intervention clients would have improved depression and substance use outcomes compared with those of clients receiving usual care.
A nonrandomized controlled trial using a quasi-experimental intent-to-treat design in which 4 sites were assigned to alternate between the intervention and usual care conditions every 4 months for 2½ years.
Four treatment programs in Los Angeles County.
We screened 1262 clients for persistent depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II score >17). We assigned 299 clients to receive either usual care (n = 159) or usual care plus the intervention (n = 140). Follow-up rates at 3 and 6 months after the baseline interview were 88.1% and 86.2%, respectively, for usual care and 85.7% and 85.0%, respectively, for the intervention group.
Sixteen 2-hour group sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression.
Main Outcome Measures
Change in depression symptoms, mental health functioning, and days of alcohol and problem substance use.
Intervention clients reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms (P < .001 at 3 and 6 months) and had improved mental health functioning (P < .001 at 3 months and P < .01 at 6 months). At 6 months, intervention clients reported fewer drinking days (P < .05) and fewer days of problem substance use (P < .05) on days available.
Providing group cognitive behavioral therapy for depression to clients with persistent depressive symptoms receiving residential substance abuse treatment is associated with improved depression and substance use outcomes. These results provide support for a new model of integrated care.
Trial Registration
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01191788
Depression and substance abuse are the second and fourth most common mental disorders1,2 and are the leading causes of disability, reduced quality of life, and adverse social consequences.3 Although depression and substance abuse frequently occur together, individuals with both disorders rarely receive treatment for both.4 The consequences of this unmet need are great. Individuals with co-occurring depression and substance abuse overuse high-cost, crisis-oriented services, and the interactive nature of the 2 disorders leads to poorer depression and substance abuse treatment outcomes compared with the outcomes when only 1 disorder is treated.5,6
There is a growing consensus that for the large group of individuals whose psychiatric symptoms do not remit with abstinence, treatment for both the substance abuse and the mental disorder should be provided, and the treatments should be integrated at the clinical interface.7,8 Despite the need for effective treatments, there is little research on psychosocial treatments for patients with comorbid depression and substance use disorders.
Group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for depression.9,10 The Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, and Thoughts (BRIGHT) study was a nonrandomized community-based effectiveness trial11 that developed and evaluated a 16-session group CBT for depression. The intervention was designed to be feasible for use in residential substance abuse treatment settings and to be delivered by typical substance abuse counselors. The BRIGHT study compared the effectiveness of residential treatment with that of residential treatment plus the BRIGHT intervention. We hypothesized that clients receiving the intervention would have improved depression and substance use outcomes.
We used a nonrandomized, quasi-experimental design in which cohorts of clients at each of the study sites received residential usual care (UC) treatment or residential treatment enhanced with the BRIGHT intervention (BRIGHT) provided by trained substance abuse counselors during a 2½-year enrollment period. The study sites were the 4 residential sites operated by Behavioral Health Services, one of the largest publicly funded substance abuse treatment providers in Los Angeles County.
We used an alternating assignment process. During the first 4-month period, all eligible clients from the largest site were assigned to the experimental condition (BRIGHT), while all eligible clients from the other 3 smaller sites were assigned to the comparison condition (UC). After 4 months this assignment pattern alternated, and all clients from the 3 smaller sites were assigned to BRIGHT, while clients from the largest site were assigned to UC. This alternating pattern continued during a 2½-year enrollment period, with the intervention delivered a total of 15 times. In the last year of the study, for logistic reasons, we centralized the delivery of the intervention at a single site; instead of having the outpatient counselors travel to the residential sites, intervention clients were transported to a single site to receive the intervention. Although a randomized design would have been a stronger test of causality, the logistics of a randomized design were not feasible.
Study recruitment began August 1, 2006, and ended January 31, 2009. During that period, 1262 clients were screened for eligibility and 299 clients with persistent depressive symptoms were enrolled (Figure 1). We defined persistent symptoms as symptoms that were measured on 2 separate occasions after at least 2 weeks of sobriety. Clients were first screened by residential staff using the Patient Health Questionnaire-812 14 days after entering treatment. Clients with a score of 5 or higher (corresponding to at least mild depression symptoms) were asked whether research staff could contact them. Fifty percent of the clients screened at 2 weeks scored 5 or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-8. Next, the research team conducted a second screening to determine eligibility; 66 clients refused the second screening or their contact information was lost, and 35 were discharged from the program before the second screening. Inclusion criteria at the second stage were (1) Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score higher than 17, indicative of moderate to severe depressive symptoms13,14; (2) the ability to speak and understand English; and (3) receipt of residential treatment. Exclusion criteria included a positive screen for a self-reported bipolar disorder,15 schizophrenia (1 item from the Healthcare for Communities Psychoticism screener), and cognitive impairment.16 We did not enroll clients on federal probation or parole because we were unable to obtain permission from the Federal Parole Board.
Twenty-four percent of clients assessed were eligible for the study. Participants were enrolled 3 to 4 weeks after admission to residential treatment. Intervention clients started the BRIGHT group within 2 weeks after study enrollment. The study was approved by the RAND Corporation Institutional Review Board, and all participants provided written informed consent.
Participants completed a semistructured baseline interview that included an assessment of a current depressive disorder by means of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.17 We selected this assessment tool because it does not require clinical training to administer or score. We used the Addiction Severity Evaluation Indices, which gather information about the previous 12-month period, to assess alcohol and drug use severity.18 The Timeline Followback Method19 was used to capture past 30-day alcohol frequency and intensity, and questions from the Addiction Severity Index were used to capture past 30-day use of the following substances: heroin, methadone, other opiates/analgesics, barbiturates, sedatives/hypnotics/tranquilizers, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis/marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, and polydrug use. The Timeline Followback Method and Addiction Severity Index have been shown to be reliable and valid measures of alcohol and drug use.20-24
We measured functioning using the Short Form-12, version 2 (SF-12).25 We also measured demographic characteristics, along with mental health and substance abuse treatment use. Race/ethnicity was asked using the categories that conformed to the National Institutes of Health reporting standards. Primary outcomes were change in depression symptoms using the BDI-II and change in mental health functioning measured using the mental health composite score of the SF-12. Primary substance use outcomes included days of alcohol and substance use as a percentage of days available for use (eg, not institutionalized). Participants received $20 for completing the baseline interview. Extensive contact information and likely places the participant might be found if he or she were to leave treatment were collected to aid in participant tracking.
Three months after the baseline interview, the first follow-up interview was administered by survey field staff, corresponding to the conclusion of the intervention. Because at this time intervention clients were asked additional questions about their experience with the intervention, interviewers were not masked to study condition. At this time, new detailed tracking information was obtained. Three months later (ie, approximately 6 months after the baseline interview and 3 months after intervention completion), a second follow-up interview was administered. Participants received $30 for completing the 3- and 6-month interviews. In both interviews, baseline measures of study outcomes were repeated.
The BRIGHT intervention is a group CBT for depression for clients in substance abuse treatment. It consists of 16 two-hour sessions, divided into 4 modules: thoughts, activities, people, and substance abuse. We adapted the intervention from an existing CBT for depression manual.9,26,27 Our adaptation sought to improve the intervention's appropriateness for clients in residential treatment and to increase the likelihood that substance abuse counselors could successfully implement the intervention. We integrated examples dealing with alcohol and substance abuse; added the fourth module to focus on the connections between thoughts, behaviors, mood, and substance abuse; and added guidance and structure to the sessions. In addition, we added a 45-minute individual "orientation" session before the start of the group therapy, designed to increase motivation and retention and which included elements of motivational interviewing28 and role induction.29 The BRIGHT intervention was delivered 2 times per week; thus, the intervention lasted 8 weeks. Enrollment in the group was semiopen, and new clients could enter the group at the beginning of each of the 4 modules. Previous work indicated that effectiveness was independent of initial treatment focus.30 While participating in the BRIGHT group, other Behavioral Health Services group commitments were reduced accordingly (ie, BRIGHT participation counted as 2 Behavioral Health Services groups per week), suggesting that all clients should have received the same number of group sessions per week.
Clients who were assigned to BRIGHT attended a mean (SD) of 10.5 (5.5) sessions, and 69.3% attended at least half of the 16 sessions.
To reduce contamination, the intervention was provided by Behavioral Health Services outpatient counselors who traveled to the residential sites to deliver the 2-hour intervention and then returned to their outpatient settings. Outpatient counselors had no contact with UC clients and interacted with residential staff only to coordinate care for intervention clients. We trained 5 counselors who had an average of 4 years of experience as counselors; none had specialty mental health credentials. Four counselors were certified by the state of California as substance abuse counselors. Counselors received 2 days of didactic training, followed by practice leading the intervention one time in their outpatient setting, coupled with weekly supervision from a licensed clinical psychologist. This preparation was followed by an additional 1-day booster training before the delivery of the intervention to study participants.
To encourage fidelity, sessions were coded for adherence and competence, with results provided to the supervisors to inform ongoing supervision. All sessions were digitally recorded, and 80 sessions (33%) were coded by at least 1 trained rater using measures adapted for this intervention. The adherence measure is specific to each session and requires ratings on a 4-point scale (ranging from 0 to 3) of how adequately group leaders covered each session element. A score of 2 or higher indicates adequate adherence to each session element. The 12-item competence measure was adapted from the Cognitive Therapy Adherence and Competence Scale.31 Items are rated on a 7-point scale (ranging from 0 to 6), with an average score of 4 indicating competent CBT delivery. To account for the high proportion of items with high prevalence and for possible disagreement between raters with respect to baseline rates of each measure, we estimated interrater reliability using the prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted κ (PABAK)32 based on 33 double-coded sessions (13% of all delivered sessions). The PABAK estimates ranged from 0.33 to 0.88 for adherence items (average, 0.68) and 0.15 to 0.94 for competence items (average, 0.58), indicating moderate to substantial agreement among the 3 raters.33 The average adherence rate was 94% across all coded sessions, suggesting high adherence to the treatment. The average competence score across all coded sessions was 4.1, indicating counselors were competently delivering CBT.31
We conducted annual site visits to assess organizational functioning and to determine whether UC treatment differed across sites. We conducted focus groups with assessment, admission, and counseling staff. Afterward, we administered a pen-and-paper questionnaire34,35 that staff completed anonymously to assess organizational functioning. We also conducted yearly, semistructured qualitative interviews with agency administrative leaders to ascertain information about staffing and training across sites. Findings from the organizational functioning surveys suggested that, overall, the sites did not significantly differ from each other or across the study years.36 We also learned that all staff were required to receive the same agency-wide training. Treatment (ie, UC) across the sites was standardized; clients experienced similar enrollment procedures and participated in individual substance abuse treatment counseling, group therapy, vocational skills training; Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous meetings; recreational therapy; and family services. Residential staff were instructed to follow their usual mental health care procedures of referring clients with severe mental health conditions to a community mental health provider for evaluation. These results suggested that it may be appropriate to aggregate the data across sites in our analyses of client outcomes.
We analyzed outcomes using an intent-to-treat approach, in which data from all enrolled participants were analyzed. We compared baseline characteristics of clients assigned to the BRIGHT and UC conditions using χ2 tests for categorical characteristics and t tests for continuous variables. Respondents and nonrespondents of both follow-up surveys were also compared. Our primary mental health outcomes were the BDI-II score and SF-12, which we examined at 3 and 6 months after baseline. Each mental health outcome was modeled using mixed-effects regression modeling. Random client effects accounted for the nonindependence, or clustering, of outcomes repeatedly observed for clients at 3 and 6 months after baseline. A multiple membership modeling approach was used to account for the clustering of outcomes among those who attended group CBT sessions together, given the semiopen enrollment, which involved including random CBT session effects in the model and estimating the client-specific session effect as an average of the random session effects for those sessions attended by the client.37,38 The baseline value corresponding to the outcome was entered into the model as a covariate and centered to have mean zero to allow for interpreting other model coefficients as the effect for a client with average covariate values. For the models of BDI-II and SF-12, an indicator variable of intervention assignment, a follow-up wave (3 or 6 months after baseline), and an interaction of these 2 measures were included as predictor variables. Intervention effects on BDI-II and SF-12 at 3- and 6-month postbaseline interviews were estimated from these coefficients and tested using 2-sided t tests, and the overall intervention effect during the full follow-up period was tested using a likelihood ratio test.39
We used a sensitivity analysis, conducted to determine whether controlling for site changed the statistical significance of treatment effect estimates, to confirm that data across sites could be aggregated for analysis. We also calculated the proportion of clients in each study condition whose depressive symptoms were minimal (BDI-II score ≤13)13 and compared the proportion with minimal symptoms in each condition at the 2 follow-up points.
Our primary substance use outcomes were number of days of alcohol use as a percentage of days available and self-reported use of problem substances as a percentage of days available for use (ie, when client was not institutionalized) during the previous 30 days. We examined these outcomes only at the 6-month follow-up because most participants (70.4%) were institutionalized (mostly in the residential treatment program) at the 3-month postbaseline time point. Analyses of number of days of alcohol use as a percentage of days available and self-reported use of problem substances as a percentage of days available for use were performed only on clients with any days available for use in the 30-day window (64.8% of the sample). We conducted a χ2 test to compare the percentage of clients in BRIGHT vs UC having zero days available for use to assess the comparability of alcohol and other drug users in BRIGHT vs UC. We compared 6-month postbaseline alcohol and other drug use measures for BRIGHT vs UC conditions using t tests because the estimated variance component for CBT session attendance from the mixed regression model was zero and regression diagnostics of regression models that included baseline alcohol and other drug use as covariates indicated severe violations of key model assumptions that were not corrected by data transformations.40
No statistically significant differences between the UC and BRIGHT condition were found on demographic, mental health, or substance use characteristics. Participants were ethnically diverse (22.4% African American, 33.8% white, 30.1% Hispanic, and 13.7% other/mixed), and 51.8% were male. The mean (SD) age was 36.2 (10.3) years. Most clients were single (81.6%), with a mean (SD) number of years of education of 11.9 (2.0). Most participants were unemployed (83.6%), and 18.4% reported being arrested in the month before treatment entry.
Mean (SD) BDI-II scores were in the clinically severe range (33.5 [ 9.2]), and 45.8% had a past 12-month depressive disorder. Mental health functioning (SF-12) scores were almost 2 SDs below the population norm (mean [SD], 31.9 [11.0]). Nineteen percent of the cohort reported taking antidepressant medication, and 12.7% reported receiving individual psychotherapy in the month before entering residential treatment.
Sixty-six percent of the sample reported problem alcohol use. The mean (SD) number of drinks on a drinking day was 7.1 (range, 0-49.1). The sample reported using a problem substance a mean (SD) number of 16.3 days (11.9) in the month before entering treatment. The most commonly reported substance was amphetamines (36.8%), followed by cocaine (20.4%), alcohol (15.4%), and heroin (12.4%). The mean (SD) Addiction Severity Index alcohol evaluation score was 54.1 (9.8) and the mean (SD) Addiction Severity Index drug evaluation score was 47.5 (7.5). Evaluation indices are transformed such that mean (SD) is 50 (10), indicating that the substance abuse severity of the sample is typical of other patients entering substance abuse treatment.20
Two hundred sixty clients (87.0%) and 256 clients (85.6%) completed 3- and 6-month postbaseline surveys, respectively. Response rates for clients in UC vs BRIGHT did not significantly differ at either wave (P = .55 and P = .77, respectively) (UC, 88.1% and 86.2%, respectively, and BRIGHT, 85.7% and 85%, respectively). Responders were not significantly different from nonresponders at either wave with respect to baseline characteristics. Treatment effects did not significantly vary across the 4 sites.
At the 3- and 6-month postbaseline interviews, BRIGHT clients reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms; the Table shows the difference between BRIGHT and UC clients on average BDI-II score at each follow-up. The intervention was associated with increased overall mental health functioning. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the change over time of these 2 measures for the intervention and comparison conditions, conditional on a client starting at baseline with average scores on these measures. Inclusion of antidepressant medication use as a covariate did not alter the statistical significance of these treatment effects. Clients in the 2 conditions did not differ in terms of their self-reported receipt of individual counseling for a mental or emotional problem outside of substance abuse residential treatment at the 3- and 6-month postbaseline interviews (3-month: CBT = 20.8% vs UC = 28.6%, P = .20; 6-month: CBT = 19.3% vs UC = 25.6%, P = .29). At the 3-month postbaseline interview, BRIGHT clients had depressive symptoms in the mild range (mean BDI-II, 15.6), whereas UC clients were in the moderate range (mean BDI-II, 21.9). Symptoms continued to decrease in both conditions at 6-month postbaseline interviews.
At both the 3- and 6-month postbaseline interviews, more BRIGHT clients had minimal symptoms compared with the UC group (3-month: 55.8% vs 33.6%; P < .001; 6-month: 63.9% vs 43.8%, P < .001).
In addition to BRIGHT clients reporting significantly fewer depressive symptoms than UC clients, it is also notable that all clients reduced their depressive symptoms from baseline. At the 6-month interview, the mean BDI-II score of BRIGHT clients went from 33.5 to 12.5 and scores of UC clients went from 33.5 to 18.1, using the sample mean estimated from the model.
The UC and BRIGHT conditions had similar percentages of clients having no days available for substance use at 6 months (36.5% vs 33.6%; P = .63). Among the clients with days available, BRIGHT clients reported fewer drinking days at 6 months and fewer days of problem substance use compared with the corresponding values for UC clients (Table). The percentage of available days marked by substance use for BRIGHT and UC groups at each follow-up is shown in Figure 4.
The BRIGHT trial has several important findings. We show that providing group CBT for depression to clients with
persistent depressive symptoms receiving residential substance abuse treatment is associated with better improvement in both depression and substance use outcomes. Although all clients in our study, regardless of study condition, reduced their levels of depressive symptoms, intervention clients experienced greater decreases and their mental health functioning approached population norms. Among clients who had the opportunity for substance use at the 6-month postbaseline interview, intervention clients reduced their use by more than half compared with that of UC clients. It is notable that despite being a specific treatment for depression, the intervention was associated with clinically and statistically significant improvements in both mental health and substance use outcomes.
Few studies focus on the treatment of individuals with depression entering substance abuse treatment, and the majority of these examine pharmacotherapy.41 To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale trial of a psychosocial treatment for depression provided within standard substance abuse treatment, and it adds to the small volume of literature on effective treatments for individuals with co-occurring affective and substance use disorders. Apart from 1 study of interpersonal psychotherapy with 26 patients and another study of individual CBT with 35 patients, previous studies of psychosocial treatments have all included pharmacotherapy provided by a psychiatrist, a resource unavailable to most publicly funded substance abuse providers.42-45 Although the CBT study found that individual CBT significantly lowered both drinking outcomes and depressive symptoms among persons with an alcohol dependence, the sample was less severely ill; for example, baseline BDI-II score was 10 or higher (vs >17 in our study), and only a single participant met criteria for major depression.42 Our findings extend these findings to include a group format, drug users in addition to persons with a dependence on alcohol, and clients with severe depressive symptoms.
Our study addresses a critical need to develop and test integrated models of care suitable for the public-sector substance abuse treatment system. Lack of access to efficacious depression treatment for substance abusers is an important public health problem. Rates of current major depression are 2 to 4 times higher among substance abusers than in the general population,1,46 affecting 15% to 35% of people seeking substance abuse treatment.47 Persons with comorbid depression and substance use disorders experience greater impairment48 and worse outcomes than persons with only 1 of these disorders.49-51 Although current guidelines state that services for individuals with comorbid substance use and mental disorders should be available regardless of setting, studies have shown that few public-sector substance abuse treatment organizations are able to provide for the mental health needs of individuals with comorbid disorders.52,53 Fewer than 9% of US adults with a probable co-occurring disorder were able to access both mental health and substance abuse treatment.54
Public-sector programs typically do not provide mental health services because few substance abuse providers have qualified mental health professionals on staff,8,55 and most do not have the funding mechanisms or resources to hire mental health professionals. To increase access and to improve outcomes for individuals with comorbidity, interventions that use available resources need to be developed and evaluated. Because BRIGHT was implemented using typical substance abuse counselors, we address a critical limitation of the current system.8 A cost analysis will be reported elsewhere. The study demonstrates that it is possible to develop the capacity of substance abuse programs to deliver evidence-based mental health care by enhancing the skills and expanding the clinical roles of substance abuse counselors. If more broadly implemented, this approach could increase access to effective mental health care for the many individuals who enter the substance abuse treatment system with co-occurring persistent depressive symptoms. Moreover, because most substance abuse treatment occurs in a group format, our adaptation of group CBT for depression is consistent with providers' expectations of what a usable treatment looks like.
Results from our study should be generalizable to the large population of individuals with persistent depressive symptoms entering residential treatment. Our study population included diverse cultures and ethnicities, and study sites were geographically spread across Los Angeles County. Participants were typical of clients enrolled in public-sector treatment because most were single, unemployed, and indigent. To increase generalizability, we included clients with a range of severity and disorders and had few exclusion criteria. Approximately half had a current major depressive disorder. We also included individuals who were receiving antidepressant medication as long as they continued to experience depressive symptoms. Given the difficulty of distinguishing between a substance-induced depressive disorder and an independent depressive disorder, initiating a treatment that is effective for both and that does not have the liability of medication adverse effects is advantageous.
The observed rates of CBT treatment attendance and completion in the absence of external incentives suggest that clients and staff perceived the treatment to be acceptable and that the intervention is feasible. For example, we relied on the residential staff, who did not receive any training or exposure, to ensure that clients as signed to the BRIGHT condition received the intervention. In practice, this meant they had to remind clients, reschedule appointments, and ensure clients were on time. In addition, residential staff had to keep track of clients entering treatment to screen and enroll all eligible clients. Continued support for screening and client participation in the intervention was demonstrated by our low refusal rates and high attendance in the intervention groups. Consistent with the improvement in outcomes, counselors without previous exposure to CBT for depression or to other depression treatments were able to deliver the treatment with acceptable levels of adherence and competence.
Our study has several limitations. Despite our efforts to develop and evaluate a treatment tied to the available resources of substance abuse providers, additional resources were required. Counselors went through significant training and weekly supervision by a PhD-level psychotherapist, which may be more training and supervision than public programs can provide. BRIGHT was led by 2 counselors, and the group size was limited to 10, which also increase the resources needed. We did not conduct a randomized trial, although our quasi-experimental study design, in which sites were assigned to alternate between the intervention and the UC conditions, minimized the chance of unmeasured site or subject characteristics influencing outcomes, and we did not observe differences by either site or intervention status. In the last year of the study, we centralized the delivery of the intervention; clients were transported to a single site to receive the intervention. Although this could have resulted in contamination, there were no differences in treatment attendance or outcomes associated with this change, and we continued to see a difference between our intervention and comparison conditions. We tested BRIGHT in a residential setting in which clients were expected to stay 3 to 6 months, and it is unknown whether the intervention will be feasible in 28-day programs or effective in outpatient settings. Small residential programs may not have sufficient clients to support a group. More work is needed to test the feasibility of BRIGHT in different settings.
We did not confirm self-report with urinalysis or a clinical interview, and the lack of more thorough screening for comorbid conditions is a limitation. Also, follow-up assessments were unmasked to treatment allocation. Participants may have underreported their substance use or depression, although previous studies suggest the validity of self-reported mental health and substance abuse outcomes in similar populations, and the measures we used are based on previously validated scales.21,22,56-59 We do not know whether the treatment influenced both depression and substance abuse directly or whether the improvements in depression led to the improvements in substance use. This is an important area for further study. Although all clients should have received the same amount of total residential treatment, it is probable that BRIGHT clients perceived themselves to be receiving increased clinical attention.
Taken together, our results provide support for a new model of integrated care suitable for substance abuse programs. Integration exists on a continuum, ranging from the colocation of mental health and substance abuse providers to integrated treatment teams staffed by experts in both disciplines. However, colocation has not been shown to be effective,7 and integrated treatment teams are expensive to deliver and may not be cost-effective for individuals with less severe mental disorders. Future studies should include longer follow-up times and address the challenges of more broadly implementing this model of integrated care.
Correspondence: Katherine E. Watkins, MD, MSHS, RAND Corporation, Health Unit, 1776 Main St, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90401-2138 (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Submitted for Publication: July 25, 2010; final revision received December 20, 2010; accepted December 22, 2010.
Author Contributions: Dr Watkins had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Funding/Support: This research was funded by grant 1R01AA014699-01A2 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Previous Presentations: This study was presented in part at the International Conference on the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors; February 2010; Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Additional Contributions: We acknowledge the contributions of Suzanne Wenzel, PhD (RAND Corporation and University of Southern California School of Social Work), Suzanne Perry, MA (RAND Corporation), Susan Ridgely, JD, MS (RAND Corporation), Stephanie Woo, PhD (Pepperdine University), and Ricardo Muñoz, PhD (University of California San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital, and San Francisco State University). We also acknowledge the helpful contributions of Lynn Polite, BFA, and Jacob Solomon, BA. We acknowledge Shirley Summers (Behavioral Health Services) and Behavioral Health Services outpatient counselors Conswaila Jackson, Elizabeth Macias, MPH, Sabrina Navarette, and James B. Thompson, AA.
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All News Releases By Date
EPA and GSA highlight "eCycling" on America Recycles Day
Release Date: 11/15/2011
Contact Information: Josh Singer, 312-353-5069, email@example.com Deborah Ruiz, 202-208-0861, email@example.com
For Immediate Release
No. 11-OPA110
(CHICAGO – Nov. 15, 2011) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration highlighted the benefits of electronics recycling today at a certified "eCycling" facility for America Recycles Day.
"Instead of creating pollution, our used electronics can be supporting local jobs through eCycling," said EPA Region 5 Land and Chemicals Division Director Margaret Guerriero. "It's essential that used electronics are taken care of in the right way."
Each year, Americans generate approximately 2.4 million tons of used electronics. Recycling these electronics reduces the amount of raw materials extracted from the earth by recovering valuable materials, saves the energy needed to make new products and reduces landfill waste. Improper disposal of electronics, such as illegal dumping, can harm people and the environment through the release of substances such as lead and mercury.
Third-party certification of electronics recyclers to standards developed by either Responsible Recyclers or e-Stewards® ensures used electronics are properly managed. EPA officials, GSA Great Lakes Regional Administrator Ann Kalayil, and state officials toured Com2 Recycling Solutions, which has both R2 and e-Stewards® certifications.
The GSA buys products for the federal government, the nation's largest single consumer of electronics. GSA leads by example with proper management of electronics resources. EPA, GSA and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have developed a strategy to combat problems caused by the unsafe handling of used electronics, including proposals for federal agencies to use certified electronics recyclers.
"The U.S. government is among the country's largest consumers of technology and it seeks to be the most responsible user," Kalayil said."When these products have outlived their productivity, it is essential that we encourage the responsible disposal of electronics that will help create a more sustainable future and promote job growth in the recycling industry."
The tour at Com2 showed how the company stores, sorts, dismantles and tracks old computers, televisions and other devices. Com2 currently receives nearly 5 million pounds of leaded glass per month at its Carol Stream facility, mainly from older TVs and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes. Roughly 20 percent of the discarded electronics Com2 accepts are refurbished and sold at its store in Lombard. The company employs 88 people and plans to hire more.
"We expect strong growth due to the positive direction electronics recycling is taking both domestically and internationally," said Saheem Baloch, owner of Com2. "We hope that being the first facility in the state with both R2 and Basel Action Network e-Stewards® certifications will help us generate additional business and create more jobs."
For more information about eCycling: https://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/
For a copy of the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship: http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/admin/National_Strategy_Electronics_Stewardship_2011.pdf
For more information about Com2: http://www.com2computer.com/
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.


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A Day In The Life Of Terry Kennedy (Almost Bangs On A Thief For Trying To Steal His Boys iPad "You Got Me F*cked Up Homie," Goes To 106 & Park + More)
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Whisky Review – Amrut Indian Single Malt Whisky (India)
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 4, 2009
Now I will take you to Bangalore India where great spirits are being made. The Amrut Distillery is making some of the best whisky and rum in the world. With water from the Himalayan Mountains, and locally grown grains, their whisky is proudly Indian in character and heritage:
Amrut Indian Single Malt Whisky
I'll start by saying that I am glad Amrut had the sense to make an Indian single malt whisky. There are flavours here I have never encountered in other whiskies. Whether this is from the locally selected Indian grain used, or due to aging in the Bangalore tropical climate I am not sure. The only comparison I can make is to the floral nature of Highland Park whisky and its unique heather infused peaty taste. This has no peat and no heather, but there is a tremendous floral note in the whisky which is unique to this brand. An anise/citrus/lilac/oriental spice taste that is divine. We get a small vanilla and toffee compliment which really kicks the complexity into high gear….
Read the full review here:
Review – Amrut Indian Single Malt Whisky (India)
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In the box (arrived in just two days from Hong Kong) we found the cellphone, an 850 mAh battery, 128 MB transflash-in-SD card, the manual, software CDs, a USB cable, a 3.5mm handsfree and a travel charger. The battery was almost full when the box arrived, but we fully charged it for an extra hour or so too. This feature phone (not a smartphone) features triband GSM, 1.3 MP camera with flash, 11 MBs internal storage, full SD slot, 2.2" QVGA screen, stereo sound, FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, USB 2.0 charging & file transfer and Bluetooth. The phone is just 107 grams and it feels very good in the hand. The keypad is easily reachable and pressable, except the * 0 and # buttons at the bottom of the phone which are a bit more difficult to press because of their reduced size. The background light on the keypad is very well done and it enables usage in the dark.
This is the first Motorola phone shipped that it's based on the Chameleon UI non-touchscreen engine, instead of their EZX one. Having used both UIs, I noticed that the Chameleon UI is somewhat derived by the EZX one (albeit very modified). Both are based on the Qt Embedded platform (not Qtopia). This phone uses Linux kernel v2.4.20, modified by Montavista.
On the front of the phone you will find a pretty normal-looking keypad, just like in most cellphones. You get the softkeys, a pretty nice 5-way joystick, a "back" key and a special music key that either loads the media player or puts it in the background (the UI allows for some form of multitasking, but this doesn't work with all applications). On the left side you get the volume up/down keys (when the media player is not loaded it acts as a Profiles loader), the voice record key and the music playback keys (previous, play/pause, forward). On the right hand side you get the voice recognition button (long press loads the Voice Recorder), the lock sliding button (similar to the ones found on iPods, there is no automatic soft-lock mechanism available), the hot-swapped SD slot and the standard mini-usb port. There is no dedicated camera button neither the existing buttons are configurable. There is a lanyard/wrist-wrap hole on the back of the phone, but if you actually attach one there it would cover the camera, so I am not sure this was the best place for a lanyard.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top of the phone. Having a standard 3.5mm jack is a big plus for audiophiles because it means that they can use any kind of headphones they want. My husband for example refuses to listen to music with anything else but his semi-professional Sony headphones. We tested the phone with two different 3.5mm headphones and it worked perfectly. The sound was clear, the bass was there, and the volume levels were high enough. The sound quality of the included handsfree proved good too in both mono (conversation mode) and stereo (music or FM).
Speaking about sound quality I must note that the ROKR-E2 has Bluetooth (without EDR) that supports the A2DP and AVRCP profiles. This means that you can use wireless stereo bluetooth headphones to listen to music/FM and you also have the ability to fast forward or go to the next song without using your handset's controls. Hopefully A2DP/AVRCP will become the norm for all new handsets soon (currently only Samsung includes these profiles on each and every one of their handsets). Regarding Bluetooth speed, during our file transfer tests it maxed out at about 45 KB/sec which is a good result.
I very much liked the fact that the ROKR-E2 comes with a full SD slot. I tried both the included transflash-in-SD card and a 512 MB Kingston card, both worked wonderfully. Copying big files to it was pretty fast too. According to Motorola the phone has been tested with up to 2 GBs of SD. A swarm of 2 or 4 GBs of hotswapped SDs can create a very nice alternative to the iPods or the (now very popular) Sandisk mp3 players. These days you can find 2 GB SD card for just $35 online. Each one of these cards can hold approximately 500 songs. Another good addition was that the phone now can recognize FAT32, while the previous Motorola Linux phones required the flash cards to be formatted as FAT16. The only problem with the idea of RoKR-E2 as a media player-only is that while the phone has an airplane mode, it won't work without a SIM. Other music phones in the market load the necessary applications for multimedia or office use even without a SIM in the phone. The previous Motorola Linux phones could do that too, but the ROKR-E2 can't.
The quality and brightness of the QVGA screen is amazing. I have it on the lowest brightness and yet the phone is fully usable indoors. When outdoors, you will have to jack it up a little. One funny thing we should mention here is that all levels/meters in the phone don't go from 1 to 100 or from 1 to 10. They go from 0 to 7, clearly indicating the phone's somewhat geek nature .
The 1.3 MP camera won't get any awards, but it takes good-enough pictures if there is enough light. Its included flash is a welcome addition and it even has a mode where the flash will get lit automatically if the room is too dark. You can also record video up to QCIF resolution (3gp format only) and apply zoom to it or some basic filters (e.g. b&w, night mode, add borders etc). The user interface for the camera is pretty simple, although a dedicated button on the side would have been nice (a camera button in the place of the mini-USB, and move the mini-USB on the bottom of the device). One small problem I found was that the actual picture snapped was with 1 second delay from the moment you pressed the button, so make sure you do not move the camera for 2 seconds after you pushed the button (otherwise you will get fuzzy pics).
- "The Hardware"
- "The Software"
- "The Problems"


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NBA All-Star Weekend is around the corner and with all sorts of ASG packs on the way, there is still room for the classic Nike Dunk. Check out the three sneaker set designed for this years All-Star festivities. Each shoe in the pack features a detachable Swoosh and a Nasa styled logo on the tongue. Let us know your favorite colorway in the comment section.
Images: NK


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- Lined with velvet material. Elastic back for a snug, flexible fit.
- Approximately 20 inches in circumference
- 1" wide
- One size fits most ages 10 and up. Sizing available.
- Made in the U.S.A.
Color Me Chevron Headband- BluePurchase this product now and earn 9 Points!
The perfect headband for working out, going out, or just lounging around. No matter what you're doing this headband stays put!
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I think STOC/FOCS has become progressively less algorithms-oriented over the years. My impression is that STOC/FOCS emphasizes "mathematical depth", "cleverness", and "theory purity" over, say, "usability" and "insight into a practical problem". I know there are a large number of people who think this, and I would therefore encourage people who don't see this or think it is true to simply consider the issue again. I do not wish to make a judgement call as to whether this is good or bad -- this is just what these conferences, I believe, have turned into.I'd like to point out that there is nothing inherently wrong with FOCS and STOC being exactly the way Michael describes them, as long as these biases are made clear. A conference is defined by its community, and by the papers it accepts. If I know that only "deep/clever/pure" papers should be sent to STOC/FOCS, it makes my life much easier, as long we are willing to relax the idea that only STOC/FOCS must represent the best that theory has to offer.
SODA, not coincidentally, has become a refuge for more algorithmically oriented papers. (As have more specialized conferences.) In some ways, this is good -- these papers have a home! In some ways, it is bad, because I think it has exacerbated the division, which in part explains the extreme opinions the post has raised. (I too have had reviews essentially saying, "This is algorithmic, belongs in SODA." Perhaps the reviewer was just being kind and didn't want to negatively comment on the quality of my work. But my impression is that for many FOCS/STOC reviewers "algorithmic" has itself become a quality comment, in the sense that "algorithmic" papers that do not pass the "deep/clever/pure" test are pretty much dismissed out of hand.)
I have been on committees for FOCS/STOC conferences, and I feel that I have seen these biases in action. Strangely, I did not come away with any ideas on how to change things; once a culture develops, it seems very hard to change.
Ruminations on computational geometry, algorithms, theoretical computer science and life
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Michael finds the elephant
..in the room:
Posted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian at 9/07/2005 03:56:00 PM
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 23rd Sep 2007 13:32 UTC
Apple on Friday evening seeded developers with yet another pre-release of its next-generation Leopard operating system, this time a full-blown build that appears as if it could be a candidate for release. Labeled "Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard build 9A559," the new release came just hours after the Cupertino-based company issued two minor updates to the previous full-sized build (9A527), both of which were aimed at testing the system's automated Software Update mechanism.
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Apple drops the build?
by TechniCookie on Sun 23rd Sep 2007 21:16 UTC


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Along the banks of the majestic Savannah River, scenes from the past will appear once more when the drums call the people to return from the four corners of the Earth.
The annual Lowcountry Powwow and Cultural Festival will gather American Indians and possibly native people from other countries to celebrate and share their heritage.
A ceremonial circle set along the river will be the scene of Grand Entry parades and opening ceremonies by local and visiting tribal members as well as a variety of native dances. Grand entry parades will take place at noon and 6 p.m. Saturday.
Young men will dance frenetically and the women will travel around the circle gracefully and smoothly. "There will be arts and crafts, drumming, an 18th-century period encampment, flute player, flint-napping demonstrations, native foods such as Indian tacos, fry bread and buffalo burgers, as well as contemporary foods available, as well," said Mike Benton, coordinator. "Friday evening is free for everyone. It will be an introduction to what will be happening throughout the weekend. People can visit with the various tribal vendors and those with tribal affiliations."
Event shirts designed and printed by Custom Tees in Ridgeland will be for sale.
The Marine Rescue Squadron, which is headquartered at the Landing, will be cooking and selling Boston butts as well as barbecue sandwiches.
"We'll be selling whole Boston butts and half the proceeds go to the Cancer Relay for Life," said MRS skipper Bill Stanley.
The Boston butts are $25 each and available between 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Call Stanley at 258-2132 to reserve one.
When: Friday, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: Millstone Landing, Purrysburg and Church roads, Hardeeville
Description: Intertribal dancing in full regalia, a period encampment, storytelling and more.
Details: Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, free for children ages 5 and younger. Friday evening is free for everyone. Call 384-5551 or 912-312-5538 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Hailey and Tori plan to go Paris, they get on the wrong...
They Are After You
- by Hailey Kase
- Rating:
- Published: 27 Dec 2013
- Updated: 29 Mar 2014
- Status: In Progress
Bridie from Amity and Fawn Candor THINK they are different until they KNOW they are different. The Test don't work and they don't know what to do. They run into a few more people that everyone calls divergent. In their new factions, their new lives they learn to cope and learn how to stand. How to understand the impossible. To learn they are after you.
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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Queens Library is facing unprecedented budgets cuts that will devastate library service unless funding is restored. The proposed city budget slashes our operating funds by nearly $20 million. If sustained, these cuts would reduce the hours that Queens Libraries will be open to the public with programs and services severely curtailed. All community libraries could be closed on weekends with some libraries open only two or three days a week. We must not let this happen!
More than 3 million people used Queens Library's computers last year. You borrowed 23 million free books, DVDs, and music CDs. Thousands of school children came in for homework help every day. Tens of thousands used the library to search for a new or better job and thousands learned to speak English. Half a million people attended free programs for education and entertainment.
These services are invaluable, and in today's economic climate libraries, are more important than ever. This is the worst possible time to scale back on these critical programs and services. That is why we must do everything we can to let our friends in government know how important libraries are to the people of Queens and ask them for their support in restoring Queens Library's budget.
The City Council and the mayor will negotiate the final budget during the next several weeks. Your voice right now in support of libraries can make the difference.
Please contact your city elected officials and let them know you want libraries to remain open.
Go to www.savequeenslibrary.org and sign the electronic petition. Better yet: come in to any Queens Library and sign the Save the Library petition. I know that by raising our voices together in support of the life-enhancing role libraries play in every community, we can keep library doors open for all.
Thomas W. Galante
Queens Library


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Similar Music: Looking on the Bright Side, Hope, Catchy Ukulele Advert, Inspirational Motivational Corporate Music
An upbeat, catchy piece of music, which brings to mind things such as happiness, moving forward and making the most out of life.
The track begins with a simple ukulele chord progression which is soon accompanied with some snaps, claps, hats and brushes on the snare. At 0:12 a light and memorable melody enters, played on a glockenspiel, along with the double bass and full drum kit; all of which heighten the positive mood. The piece concludes with two distinct tones, a bass lick and one last ukulele strum; a clearly defined ending.
Included in the download are: the original track and a version without the glockenspiel melody (suitable for voice overs etc.)
Positive Ukulele Introduction (with melody) | 0:40
Positive Ukulele Introduction (no melody) | 0:40
Now Included in the download is a short loop able version of the track, without any drums or bass, just ukulele, finger snaps, claps and glockenspiel!
Positive Ukulele Introduction (melodic loop) | 0:12
Ideal for: short adverts / video introductions / corporate presentations / company logos


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LAKE FOREST – Coach Lovie Smith said the Chicago Bears properly handled quarterback Jay Cutler's concussion on Sunday night.
Smith said trainers immediately examined Cutler during a replay review after he took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Houston's Tim Dobbins late in the second quarter of a 13-6 loss to the Texans.
He said Cutler showed no symptoms of a concussion immediately after the hit, so the quarterback finished out the half. Symptoms showed up at intermission and Cutler wound up sitting out the second half, putting his status for next Monday's game at San Francisco in question.
Cutler will need to pass neurological and psychological tests and be cleared by both his team doctors and an independent neurological consultant before he can return.
The same goes for defensive end Shea McClellin, who left early in the game with a concussion. But unlike Cutler, he immediately showed symptoms.
Smith said both players were feeling "a lot better" on Monday.
"We do have a history with players, have a history with Jay, [former linebacker] Hunter Hillenmeyer," Smith said. "Every football team has players that they've gone through with concussions. And that's not just with concussions. We do that with all of our players with any injury that they have. We'll never put a guy at risk. No game is that important for us. The player's health always comes first with everything we do."
The retired Hillenmeyer was released after missing almost all of the 2010 season because of a concussion and is involved in a legal dispute with the Bears over how much money he's owed.
As for Cutler, the Bears believe the injury occurred on that hit from Dobbins with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter.
A scrambling Cutler had just unleashed a long pass on third down at midfield when he got drilled, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty. Cutler, who was shaken up on the play, also got called for an illegal forward pass because he was beyond the line of scrimmage, and the Bears challenged that call.
While the play was being reviewed, trainers examined Cutler on the sideline.
"It's not like he showed symptoms, but we had a break in between," Smith said. "Our trainers talked to him, evaluated him, he was fine from there. Players in the huddle didn't see anything wrong with him, at the time. Not just then, we just continued to talk to him all the way out, even through to halftime."
Cutler wound up taking seven more snaps, throwing an interception on that drive and then playing the final possession of the half. Smith said the Bears continued to monitor their quarterback, but he didn't show symptoms until he was in the locker room.
Asked what the symptoms were, Smith said: "I'm not gonna get into any of that. You can understand why. [It's] a part of our concussion protocol. I'm a coach, too. [The] medical staff went with him. They have a routine that they go through, that they put him through. Then they determine that."
Receiver Brandon Marshall said he didn't notice anything wrong with Cutler as he finished out the half. "He seemed normal to me," he said.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said that while the league is reviewing Dobbins' hit, there are no issues with how the Bears handled the situation.
"The injury was properly handled by the Bears' medical staff," he wrote in an e-mail. He said the league reviews "significant injuries" with team medical staffs "especially when they involve concussions."
In October 2010, Cutler missed a game with a concussion after being sacked nine times in the first half of a loss at the New York Giants. He was inactive the following week at Carolina, and the Bears dropped the next two games with him out before regrouping to go on a run that carried them all the way to the NFC championship game.


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|Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
|Courts and Criminal Procedure
|Three semester hours. (FL)
|Survey of the U. S. judicial system with emphases on formal judicial procedures and institutional structures. Also, quasi-judicial and extra-judicial features. Interchangeable with PSCI 4326 with permission of CRIJ advisor.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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Similarities In Dog And Human Breast Cancer Pre-malignant Lesions Found
Posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 3:56 am in Veterinary/Medical, Misc. Pet Info., News for Cats, Dogs & Owners, National Dog, Cat & Pet Info, Dogs.
By Emily Huh
DogPre-malignant mammary lesions in dogs and humans display many of the same characteristics, a discovery that could lead to better understanding of breast cancer progression and prevention for people and pets, said a Purdue University scientist from the School of Veterinary Medicine.
A group of scientists including Sulma Mohammed have found similarities between benign lesions that are considered to carry risk for developing breast cancer in both canines and humans.
"Dogs develop these lesions spontaneously in contrast to other available models and are exposed to the same environmental risk factors as humans,â€


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When you have oversupply & overactive letdown very often your baby can nurse super fast and be plenty full. My baby nursed just a few minutes on one breast and would be finished, and he got really fat (rolls over rolls over rolls style fat). I know it is unnerving at first, but if weight gain and diaper output are good then you need to trust that your baby is getting enough from these short nursing sessions. You can keep an eye on diapers and offer to nurse more frequently if they drop off, but it really doesn't sound like that is and issue at all.
with PP, the amounts that you are pumping indicate oversupply. Stop pumping. That will only make things worse. Pumping aggravates oversupply and overactive letdown.
Try nursing in a reclined position. You don't need to know when your letdown occurs for that to work. I think it is potentially more effective than most of the other tricks out there for overactive letdown too. I didn't feel a letdown either early on, but I definitely had issues due to overactive letdown.


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Stay Cozy & Get Crafty this Winter: 10 Wooden DIY Projects
For me, the winter months are project months. Thanks to the cold weather, I'm reluctant to leave the house, so my creativity gets a workout. Here are ten projects using wood–a warm material–that you can make while you stay toasty indoors.
Top row:
1. Twig Jewelry Hooks from Rebecca's DIY
2. Beaded Curtain Pulls from Henry Happened
3. Wooden Trivet from A Beautiful Mess
4. Embellished Wood Pencil Block from Design*Sponge
5. Birch Candle Holders from Oleander and Palm
Bottom row:
1. Cube Pendant Light from Vintage Revivals
2. Wooden Ball Candlesticks from A Subtle Revery
3. DIY Nightstands from CB and J
4. Copper Candelabra from Monsters Circus
5. Wood Plank Wine Rack from Camille Styles


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James Gosling (in 1806), left England intending to bring a load of merchandise goods to America for trade and sale. Apparently the ship upon which he was traveling was confounded by calm seas and instead of reaching America, the ship's 90 day charter expired, and the ship's Captain changed course to Bermuda. James Gosling never made it to America and instead settled in Bermuda opening a shop in St. George's at the end of that year.
James' brother Ambrose joined him in 1824, and the Gosling Brothers rented a shop on Front Street in the new Capitol of Hamilton (which was maintained by the family for 127 years.) In 1860, the new company of Gosling Brothers began to experiment with the rum trade, and three years later they were selling a distinctive dark rum. Gosling's originally sold the rum directly from the barrel requiring their customers to bring their own container. However during World War I the brothers began to acquire Champagne bottles which they filled with rum. The bottles were corked and covered with black wax sealing wax. Soon customers began to ask for that Black Seal Rum.
Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum is apparently blended from the same stocks and in the same manner as their flagship brand, Gosling's Black Seal. It is however, aged for a longer period of time in what the company calls 'dark barrels'.
You may read my full review by clicking the excerpt link:
Review: Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum
"… The breezes above the glass are tainted with licorice stained molasses, dark tobacco smoke, and strong hints of orange peel. I also sense some fine oak spices, a bit candied caramel and if you give the glass a little time, a scent of marmalade begins to develop. As the breathing continues some luscious baking spices rich with brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla begin to push through …"
Please enjoy my review which includes my recipe suggestion (Gosling's patented cocktail) , The Dark 'n Stormy.
Happy Father's Day everyone!


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Senator John Cornyn (1952 - )In Congress 2002 - Present |
MemberHide Overview
Majority Whip
|In Congress
|Senate: 107th-115th (2002-Present)
517 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2934
Legislation Sponsored or Cosponsored by John Cornyn
1-2 of 2
- BILL1. S.2925 — 111th Congress (2009-2010) Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (Introduced 12/22/2009) Cosponsors: (7) Committees: Senate - Judiciary | House - Judiciary, Ways and Means, Oversight and Government Reform, Budget Latest Action: Senate - 12/21/2010 Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendment to Senate bill. (All Actions) Tracker:
This bill has the status Passed House
Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- BILL2. S.1764 — 109th Congress (2005-2006) A bill to provide for the continued education of students affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sponsor: Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey [R-TX] (Introduced 09/22/2005) Cosponsors: (2) Committees: House - Education and the Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Budget Latest Action: House - 11/07/2005 Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform. (All Actions) Tracker:
This bill has the status Passed Senate
Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
- Introduced
- Passed Senate


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The U.S. Department of Energy may have recently cut its estimates for natural gas reserves from the country's shale formations by 42 percent, but the volume of news coverage that high-volume hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) – what Time magazine called "the biggest environmental issue of 2011" – continues to receive has not declined one bit. A lot of the latest news relates to President Barack Obama's election-year State of the Union comments touting the important role that natural gas development can play in the U.S. economy.
Whether you take the President at his word – agree or disagree with his view or doubt his support for shale gas – there are many other noteworthy narratives in the debate over whether "to frack or not to frack." Here are five :
1 ) Fox Arrest: A "shameful stain on this Congress"
On February 1st, Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox was arrested while attempting to record footage of a congressional hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) investigation into groundwater contamination – possibly caused by hydraulic fracturing – in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. The arrest raises questions about open government and censorship. Fox, who was released later that day, was justifiably perturbed by the incident and the lack of transparency displayed in the People's House.
Also agitated by the arrest was Congressman Maurice Hinchey of New York, who continues to call for tougher standards to protect against the risks associated with the controversial natural gas drilling process. In his statement regarding Fox's arrest, Hinchey said:
This is blatant censorship and a shameful stain on this Congress. I stand by Josh's right to record this hearing. His arrest was a huge mistake.
This brouhaha may have died down somewhat but look for the issue of transparency to remain at the forefront at the federal level and in states like New York where a recent rally in the Capitol – in which Fox participated – called for an all-out ban of fracking.
2 ) New York Proceeds Cautiously
How New York State handles fracking could influence, policy making, regulation and enforcement in other states. That's pretty much how U.S. EPA regional administrator, Judith Enck sees it. In comments that her office submitted to the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) on its proposed plan to regulate fracking, Enck wrote New York "will help set the pace for improved safeguards across the country…It is vitally important that [hydraulic fracturing] be conducted with proper safeguards to avoid impacts to ground water and surface water quality in ways that may damage human health and the environment."
Accordingly, the state and Governor Andrew Cuomo may not be as fast and furious on fracking as they were a few months ago. In the words of Joe Martens, commissioner of the DEC, completing a regulatory framework for fracking in 2012 is not a 'fait accompli.' Among the issues that the DEC is still in the process of digesting is how to handle the chemical-laced fracking wastewater, a topic that ProPublica covers really well in this 2009 article.
Thanks to the extraordinary volume of feedback received – over 60,000 comments, a record for a DEC issue – on the state environmental agency's proposed plan, Martens acknowledged that there are months of work ahead for the DEC. In fact, two recent New York Times pieces (see here and here) provide evidence of a drastically slowing process.
In his 2012-2013 budget proposal, Governor Cuomo did not include hydraulic fracturing-derived revenue or related funding. This is significant as the 2012-13 budget process will play a role in the future of fracking in the Empire State, and environmental organizations and other groups are calling on the State Legislature to ensure funding for fracking is not included in the final budget.
3 ) Where Fracking Meets the Road and the Rain
In a move that environmental groups have applauded, DEC is seeking fines against U.S. Energy Development Corporation for water quality violations associated with Pennsylvania drilling activities that affected a small waterway within Allegany State Park. Three separate incidents of water quality violations during recent rainstorms caused severe turbidity in the waterway--Yeager Brook--from stormwater runoff.
An investigation into the cause of the turbidity found that during heavy rain events – in January 2012 and September and December 2011 – significant amounts of sediment from U.S. Energy's mining roads and well pads in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest washed into nearby creeks and streams ultimately reaching the waterway that is the subject of DEC's action against the company. As a result, DEC is also requiring U.S. Energy to install appropriate stormwater and erosion controls to prevent any future water quality-related impacts.
While the water quality violations mentioned above are not directly related to the controversial high-volume hydraulic fracturing process or any other type of drilling for that matter, the DEC has put all oil and gas drillers on notice. No doubt other states have taken notice too.
4 ) Other Nations Act Cautiously
Bulgaria recently became the second nation in Europe (and the world – France was the first) to ban the controversial shale gas extraction technique. According to a Treehugger post, the ban is for "an indefinite period of time...valid for the whole territory of the country, including the Black Sea territorial waters." What this may mean for U.S. policy on natural gas development is not clear but it certainly provides those opposed to fracking with info-ammunition.
5 ) The F-Word: What's in a Name?
No, not Fox; which might be a dirty word to some gas industry people. What originated as an industry term (fraccing or fracking) has been co-opted by opponents to hydraulic fracturing much to the industry's chagrin. Industry would love to turn back time and bury that word in a place no one will find it. But the genie is out of the bottle. Nonetheless, both industry and government go to great lengths to avoid using the f-word. The issue of which word(s) to use is not simply an academic discussion; it's important to each side in getting their respective message and information out to the public.
The issue of fracking is a fascinating one with many storylines that go beyond what the Obama administration is saying about natural gas development. These five definitely have legs and are worth keeping an eye on in the months ahead.
Other developing storylines of note include the debate over natural gas as a bridge fuel to a cleaner energy future (see here and here) and fracking's impact on local agriculture, including organic farms.
A special thank you to J Henry Fair for allowing us to use his amazing aerial image above. The image is from J Henry Fair's first book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis, published in 2011 by powerHouse Books. It is currently available where books are sold. For more information, contact Katherine Benjamin, [email protected] or visit www.IndustrialScars.com. If you're interested in learning more about J Henry Fair, please check out my colleague Robin Madel's interview with him.


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I am not using the Liquid Crystal h file or any code in the Arduino sketchbook. I need the cursor on my display to go to the next line. :~ :~ :~
Hi, thank you...here is the datasheet. This is my second time inquiring about these displays. The first one was using the NHD-C0220AZ which was a 5V display and would not work with a 3.3V Arduino Pro Mini. Now I have changed the display and have most of the code to get it going but I am having trouble moving the cursor(to the second line). It will be easy once I find which command it is. If you know anything about these commands please reply. Thank you for your help I will take a look at your link. http://www.newhavendisplay.com/specs/NHD-C0220AA-FSW-FTW.pdf
It looks like NHD calls the command 'DD RAM Address Set'.If you want to put the cursor at address 0x40 then the seven-bit binary version of this address would be 100 0000. To convert this seven-bit address to a command (aka an instruction) you would put the address bits into DB6 <--> DB0 and then set DB7 to specify the 'DD RAM Address Set' command.This means that your specific DD RAM Address Set command would be 1100 0000.So you would send this value, which in hex is 0xC0 to the instruction register of the LCD controller. [Edit] CAUTION: Pin 2 is contrast and pin 3 is VDD, reversed from just about every other LCD. Don


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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 21st Nov 2008 00:11 UTC, submitted by Moulinneuf
Every now and then, an article pops up which argues that it would make sense for Microsoft to offer a free, ad-powered version of Windows. "We are all aware that Google is the king of online advertising. Microsoft has wanted to compete in that space forever, which is why giving away Windows 7 makes so much sense," Business Pundit argues, "Let's look at the numbers; Microsoft's operating systems are on 90% of the world's computers, or roughly one billion machines. That's penetration on a massive scale. Even Google has to be impressed." While these articles make some valid points, they rarely dive into the actual details.
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RE[5]: Grasping at straws...
by rajan r on Sat 22nd Nov 2008 06:39 UTC in reply to "RE[4]: Grasping at straws..."


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Happy New Year!
Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all my friends here at TFL! old and new.
We've certainly shared lots of good times with our love for flour and yeast. My husband terms my almost nightly visit to TFL as "Breading", as in "What are you doing, breading?"
It's truly awesome how much this site has grown! Floyd, I remember a while back you broke down our membership by countries. It was amazing then and I'm sure phenomenal now (no, I'm not asking you to do it again, too much work!)
All the best..Floyd & Dstroy and kids, Howard, Dave, Mark, SourdoLady, Jane, Mini, Eric, Bill, Qahtan, MCCool, JMonkey, Norm, PaddyL, Chahira, Susan, Annie..oh gosh, I know I'm forgetting so many...sorry! and to all the new family too! Be safe!


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Firefighters from Chesterfield and Staveley attended a fire in a commercial premises last night (Wednesday, April 16).
The crew attended the building in Sheffield Road, Chesterfield, at 11.56pm.
They used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire and cut away part of the roof to get to the blaze.
The fire was out by 12.52am.