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The battle for my gentleman friend's attention used to be between me and his cell phone. Now it's between me and Foursquare, and kids … it ain't lookin' good for me.
Saturday nights were punctuated by the constant ring of his phone, each call a "possible emergency" … you never know. Now it's a single application on my gentleman friend's iPhone that needs regular tending, for each location in our travels must be immediately checked on Foursquare. And as long as the app is open, why not check for tips from friends who have been at this bar or gallery before, and have a look to see what his Foursquare friends are up to?
Foursquare, if you don't know yet, is a hipster-habituated, location-based social networking Web site in which you earn virtual merit badges by punching your coordinates into your iPhone (or whatever) whenever you hit a bar, brunchery, gallery — or hook up with other Foursquare friends.
(Hitting four spots in one night earns you the "Crunked" badge. Checking in with three members of the opposite sex gets you the "Player Please!" badge. Meanwhile, check in at one place enough times and you may earn the "Mayor" title. You get the idea. )
Here in New York City, a major metropolitan area lousy with social media nerds, I can't swing a dead cat without hitting a friend or acquaintance in the act of notifying Foursquare pals about what groovy establishment he or she is chilling at right that very moment. (Not that I would swing a dead cat. That's wrong.) Soon enough — just like that Facebook you said you'd never use and the Twitter you just didn't get, that may very well be you.
Recently, Foursquare, which has approximately 500,000 users, made a big splash at the interactive portion of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. SXSW is like Burning Man for social media nerds … unless Burning Man is Burning Man for social media nerds. Hmmm.
Well, anyway, SXSW is a big nerd conference where lots of nerd leaders make keynote speeches, the highlights of which are tweeted by their nerd minions. Also, a bunch of startups and whatnot host booths and give away lots of swag in an attempt to convince industry-types that they're the next big thing. (If I sound bitter, it's because I never get to go.)
Foursquare was the belle of the ball when it premiered at SXSW last year, and this year it's touted as the social network to beat at the center of what the technorati are calling the "location war." The guys behind Foursquare are also the guys behind Dodgeball, a similar location-based social network that was acquired, then killed, by Google.
Back in the Dodgeball days, GPS-enabled smart phones weren't as prevalent or effective as they are today. Now everyone wants a piece of the location-based mobile advertising dollar. Gowalla, which is a lot harder to cheat (log into places you didn't go) because it requires GPS coordinates, is coming up fast. Facebook and Twitter — both developing location-based features — are snapping at Foursquare's heels.
None of the other location-based social networks have merit badges, however. Foursquare has loads – each more entertaining than the next. These charming virtual prizes are compelling to earn and may be just the bit of creative genius that keeps Foursquare ahead of the pack.
(And now, you can even buy corporeal versions of the merit badges at the Nerd Merit Badges Web site.)
Earning the merit badges on Foursquare isn't as easy as you might think — the exact behavior algorithm is sort of a secret, so it's tough to know what activities will get you one.
Holding the title of "Mayor" at 16 or 17 locations earned Internet-famous art blogger/Foursquare friend Paddy Johnson the coveted "Super Mayor" badge. She's even "Mayor" of the Detroit airport, because she's checked in there twice. (She will, of course, lose that title once another Foursquare member checks in three times.)
"I wouldn't say I use it because of the (merit badges) but I do feel disappointed when I see I've lost a mayorialship," Paddy says. She also boasts the "Warhol" badge (for many, many art gallery check ins) and the "Far and Away" badge (for traveling to the scary netherworld above 57th Street in Manhattan).
Despite Paddy's merit badge treasures, "I'm still disappointed that I haven't got the 'Douchebag' badge," which one achieves by frequenting bars frequented by … well … you know.
Mostly, however Paddy says she uses Foursquare as sort of a digital Day Runner to keep track of all the places she's been and the things she's done. "I do a lot,"she says. "I want a record of it." As the early badges imply, Foursquare was launched, and is most useful, for those with an active nightlife. But not so much Paddy's kind of nightlife.
"I hate the art world!" Paddy says. But really, Paddy doesn't hate the art world. If she did, blogging about art would be just weird. She's frustrated that more of the art world isn't on Foursquare, where it would do her some good during gallery openings and art fairs.
"Galleries have these analog versions of Foursquare," she says, referring to the guest books often posted at the desk. Those, people use —to both sign in and see who else stopped by. But you can't tell you if those people are still in the area.
During the New York City art openings in September, "I had 30 friends I wanted to meet up with, and I couldn't really text them all at the same time," Paddy says. Foursquare would've really come in handy. "There aren't enough people in the art world or other professions yet to make Foursquare really effective," she says.
Maybe you've read this far into the article and you're still all, "No way! Foursquare (and by association, any other location-based social network) is something I will never do." And if you're me, with my formidable history of stalkers, you probably won't. Otherwise, you probably will. Just like you joined Facebook.
Anyway, it's not about you. Neither is Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Friendster before that.(Hey, remember Friendster?)
All these new-fangled social networks that play to our narcissism and our need to belong are tools for capitalism. You know, ways to sell you crap. How can Foursquare and other such networks sell advertising, which in turn will attempt to sell you crap? Take Foursquare friend André Sala.
The other night André's sitting on the couch, watching TV and poking around on Foursquare. He notices that a lot of people are checking in at the Mercury Lounge, a music venue a few blocks from where he lives.
Digital guy that he is, André heads over to Twitter search, plugs in "Mercury Lounge," and learns that his most favoritest band MGMT is having some sort of super-secret record release party via a bunch of tweets that pretty much read like this: "holy s***, MGMT coming on stage, performing their new album, and mercury lounge is half empty."
This is exactly how location-based social media is supposed to work. Well, this is exactly how location-based social media is supposed to work if André bolted off the couch and over to the Mercury Lounge, thus benefitting the venue and any surrounding businesses Foursquare might recommend once André "checked in."
"Sadly, I'm a lazy old man and didn't actually get dressed and head out," the … ahem … 29-year-old says — not that he didn't appreciate the social network synergy. "I thought it was pretty magic," he says.
Of course, this is only magic for Foursquare if, unlike André, most people get off the couch.
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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Hypoxemia is an immediate consequence of obstructive sleep apnea. Oxygen (O2) administration has been used as an alternative treatment in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who do not adhere to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in order to reduce the deleterious effects of intermittent hypoxemia during sleep. This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of O2 therapy on patients with OSA.
We conducted a systematic search of the databases Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1st Quarter 2011), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (from 1950 to February 2011). Our search strategy yielded 4,793 citations. Irrelevant papers were excluded by title and abstract review, leaving 105 manuscripts. We reviewed all prospective studies that included: (1) a target population with obstructive sleep apnea, (2) O2 therapy and/or CPAP as a study intervention, (3) the effects of O2 on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), nocturnal hypoxemia, or apnea duration.
We identified 14 studies including a total of 359 patients. Nine studies were of single cohort design, while 5 studies were randomized control trials with 3 groups (CPAP, oxygen, and placebo/sham CPAP). When CPAP was compared to O2 therapy, all but one showed a significant improvement in AHI. Ten studies demonstrated that O2 therapy improved oxygen saturation vs. placebo. However, the average duration of apnea and hypopnea episodes were longer in patients receiving O2 therapy than those receiving placebo.
This review shows that O2 therapy significantly improves oxygen saturation in patients with OSA. However, it may also increase the duration of apnea-hypopnea events.
Mehta V; Vasu TS; Phillips B; Chung F. Obstructive sleep apnea and oxygen therapy: a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(3):271-279.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the periodic reduction (hypopnea) or cessation (apnea) of airflow due to narrowing of the upper airway during sleep, often accompanied by hypoxemia and sleep disturbance.1 The prevalence of OSA is estimated to be between 2% and 25% in the general population. OSA is linked to hypertension, ischemic heart disease, stroke, premature death, and motor vehicle crash.2–7
Oxygen desaturation is an immediate consequence of obstructive sleep apnea. Intermittent hypoxemia increases sympathetic activity and norepinephrine levels and leads to hypertension.8,9 It has also been associated with an increased risk of diabetes.10 Indeed, most of the sequelae of obstructive sleep apnea are more strongly linked to the degree and duration of oxygen desaturation than to the numbers of apneas and hypopneas or disruptions in sleep architecture.11 The resolution of nocturnal intermittent hypoxemia associated with sleep apnea is a major goal of the treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Many treatment approaches have been employed for the treatment of moderate to severe OSA, but CPAP is the treatment of choice and has been widely prescribed.12,13 In placebo-controlled and uncontrolled studies, CPAP has been shown to reduce apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and to improve hypoxemia associated with respiratory events during sleep.14,15 CPAP adherence has been reported to be as low as 50%, at least in part because it is a burdensome treatment.16
Oxygen administration has been used as an alternative treatment in patients with OSA who are not somnolent or not compliant with CPAP; the purpose of supplemental oxygen in this situation is to reduce the deleterious effects of transient hypoxemia during sleep.17 Supplemental oxygen has been shown to be effective in improving the AHI, respiratory arousal index, and nocturnal desaturation during apneic episodes.18 However, oxygen therapy may lengthen apnea duration, thus accelerating CO2 retention.19
This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of CPAP and oxygen on patients with OSA. This review addresses the following questions: (1) Does evidence from controlled trials support the preferential use of CPAP over oxygen for improving OSA symptoms? (2) Can oxygen therapy be safely used in patients who are non-adherent with CPAP?
For purposes of this analysis, the target population consisted of adult humans with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea defined as an AHI > 5 events per hour. The diagnosis of OSA was made using polysomnography (PSG). The study intervention included either the CPAP and oxygen therapy or oxygen therapy compared with the placebo. Outcomes of interest included the effects on AHI, nocturnal hypoxemia, apnea duration, and arousal index.
The literature search was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and meta-analysis) guidelines.20 The databases Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1st Quarter 2011), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (from 1950 to Feb 2011) were thoroughly searched to include all available evidence for the systematic review. We developed and executed the search strategy with the help of an expert librarian familiar with the literature search protocol of the Cochrane Collaboration. The following target population keywords were used for the literature search: "obstructive sleep apnea," "obstructive sleep apnea syndrome," "obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome," "sleep disordered breathing," "obesity hypoventilation syndrome" and "apnea-hypopnea," "sleep apnea syndrome and "apnea." The target intervention keywords used were "oxygen", "oxygen therapy," "oxygen inhalational therapy," "CPAP," "positive airway pressure," and "continuous positive airway pressure." The results of the target population were combined with the target intervention results (using an "and"). Studies focusing on central sleep apnea were excluded by including "NOT central sleep apnea" in the search strategy. The search strategy was limited to English language abstracts and adult human population. Duplicate records, if any were removed from the final search result. We also reviewed the reference lists of relevant articles to retrieve potentially relevant articles.
Medline (Ovid SP) (1948 to Feb 2011)
EMBASE (1980 to Feb 2011)
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1st quarter 2011)
Cochrane Central Controlled Trials Registry (1st quarter 2011)
The databases of the Cochrane Library were used to confirm the completeness of the search. The time period searched was 1948 to 2011.
The search results were evaluated by two independent reviewers (VM, TSV). First, irrelevant papers were excluded by reviewing the title of the records. Next, the abstract and/or full text articles of the remaining papers were retrieved and carefully evaluated to determine if they met the eligibility criteria.
All prospective studies, including randomized and non-randomized placebo controlled trials were included if they reported the effects of CPAP treatment or oxygen therapy on AHI, oxygen saturation, apnea duration, and arousal index in patients with OSA. Studies not reporting at least one of these outcomes were excluded. All observational studies were graded for strength of evidence according to the Oxford level of evidence.21 We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool to assess the risk of bias for 6 randomized controlled trials (Table 1).22
Cochrane risk of bias in included studies
(more ...)
Data extraction was completed by two reviewers (VM, TSV) and validated by the senior author (FC). Various data extracted from these studies included the type of study, level of evidence, number of patients receiving the study intervention, type of study intervention, duration and effects of intervention on AHI, SpO2, arousal index, and apnea duration. We divided the studies into 2 groups: the first group included studies which used CPAP and O2 treatment; the second group included studies which used only O2 therapy as an intervention. The methodological qualities of the included studies were independently evaluated by the first author (VM), if any doubt the senior author was consulted (FC). Individual authors were contacted via emails for the details of the results
We performed the meta-analyses by using fixed-effects model if no heterogeneity was present. In order to assess the heterogeneity between studies, we used χ2 tests and estimated the I2 statistic. We considered the heterogeneity to be present if the p value on the χ2 test was < 0.05. In the presence of heterogeneity, we pooled the results by using random-effects (DarSemonian and Laird method) model. The standardized mean difference was used to pool continuous variables that used different scales. We performed separate random-effects meta-analyses among randomized controlled studies comparing CPAP, placebo CPAP, and oxygen. We did not correct for multiple comparisons.
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for the description of the search strategy. Our search strategy yielded 4,793 citations (Figure 1). In the first session of screening, most studies were eliminated based on the predetermined eligibility criteria, leaving 105 articles. In the second session, 105 articles were evaluated and 14 articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria, with subsequent exclusion of 91 articles. Articles were excluded for the following reasons: Non-pertinent papers—excluded by abstract/full-text review (n = 64), O2 therapy in pediatric OSA (n = 11), reviews papers (n = 10), correspondence (n = 4), and case reports (n = 2).
Flowchart of the literature search indicating number of papers in each condition
Tables 2 and 3 summarize study characteristics included in the systematic review. There were 6 studies23–28 that used a randomized control design with 3 groups, each group being assigned to CPAP, placebo CPAP, or O2 to evaluate the effects of CPAP and O2 on AHI, O2 saturation, and arousal indices. Eight studies29–36 used a single cohort in which the outcome was measured in the same study population before and after the study intervention. All of these observational studies compared the effects of room air with O2 on mean oxyhemoglobin saturation, sleep disordered breathing (SDB) events, and SDB event duration. These 8 studies were graded according to Oxford level of evidence and had a 2b level of evidence. We could not pool the results from the study by Block et al.33 because the authors did not provide the standard deviation for the outcome of interests.
Study characteristics and effects of CPAP vs. oxygen therapy in OSA patients
Study characteristics and effects of oxygen therapy in OSA patients
Table 2 represents a group of patients who received CPAP and O2 intervention versus placebo CPAP. Table 3 represents a group of patients who received O2 intervention compared with control (air). A total of 359 patients were included in the 14 studies. All the patients had a diagnosis of OSA confirmed by in-laboratory polysomnography. The inclusion criteria of the patients differed among the studies selected for the review. Two studies23,33 used AHI > 5; 5 studies24–28 used AHI > 15; one study32 used SDB event > 50/h, and one study35 used RDI > 20 for OSA patient selection. Four studies30,31,34,36 selected patients with a confirmed diagnosis of OSA following overnight PSG with no description of any specific AHI criteria. Most of the patients were male, accounting for 89% of the study population. All the patients in the reported studies had moderate to severe OSA with AHI ranging from 20.5 ± 5 to 88.2 ± 27. The duration of the study intervention across the different studies was in the range of 1 night to 3 months.
Table 2 summarizes the effects of the different treatment modalities on AHI, SpO2 and arousal events studied by 6 RCTs. The respiratory disturbances occurring during the nighttime in OSA patients were measured using AHI, respiratory disturbance index (RDI), or SDB events. When CPAP was compared with O2, CPAP was significantly more effective in reducing AHI, while O2 was shown to be more effective in elevating the mean SpO2 and mean nadir SpO2 during hypoxemic events. Both CPAP and O2 improved the oxygenation as compared to placebo (sham) CPAP; this effect was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Four studies showed that CPAP versus O2 therapy was more effective in improving the arousal events/total arousal index, but we could not pool the arousal events for the meta-analysis because of insufficient data.
The effects of CPAP and oxygen supplementation on the daytime somnolence was evaluated by 2 studies.23,24 In one study, nasal CPAP was more effective in improving objectively measured daytime sleepiness than oxygen. This effect was apparent due to the significant efficacy of CPAP in lengthening the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) time compared to baseline.23 Similarly, another study showed the effectiveness of CPAP in reducing Ep-worth Sleepiness Scale score; however, it was not statistically different from placebo-CPAP or supplemental oxygen.24
Three studies showed the treatment outcome on systemic blood pressure in patients treated with CPAP, oxygen, and placebo-CPAP.23,25,26 Two studies showed that CPAP effectively reduced both the systolic as well as the diastolic blood pressure as compared to oxygen (p < 0.05).25,26 In one study, CPAP and oxygen both had the effects in lowering the systolic blood pressure as compared to diastolic blood pressure; however, the changes were not statistically significant.23
The effects of O2 therapy on the oxygen saturation and SDB events are summarized in Table 3. Seven studies showed that oxygen therapy was effective in improving the oxygenation as compared to air (control) in OSA patients. The SDB events showed a decreasing trend in the number of events when the patients received O2 therapy after breathing room air. One study demonstrated an improved cardiovascular status in OSA patients following oxygen enrichment night.34 Similarly, another study showed an improvement in daytime somnolence in patients receiving oxygen therapy.35
Effect of CPAP versus oxygen on apnea hypopnea index (AHI)
A pooled analysis of 5 randomized controlled trials demonstrated that the use of therapeutic CPAP lead to a statistically significant reduction in the AHI versus nocturnal administration of oxygen (SMD -3.37, 95% CI -4.79 to -1.96). There was also a statistically significant reduction in AHI in CPAP group versus placebo (SMD -3.65, 95% CI -5.31 to -1.98). Nocturnal oxygen did not show significant reduction in AHI compared to placebo CPAP (SMD -0.32, 95% CI -0.74 to 0.08).
Effect of CPAP versus oxygen on nocturnal mean oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2)
A pooled analysis of 4 studies that reported mean oxyhemoglobin saturation showed that both therapeutic CPAP and nocturnal administration of oxygen lead to significant improvement in oxyhemoglobin saturation compared to placebo CPAP. Comparison of CPAP to nocturnal oxygen did not demonstrate a significant difference in the degree of improvement in oxygenation (SMD 0.07, 95% CI -0.27 to 0.41).
Effect of oxygen versus air on sleep disordered breathing (SDB) events
A pooled analysis of 6 observational studies showed significant reduction in SDB events with oxygen compared to air (SMD -0.95, 95% CI -1.69 to -0.21).
Effect of oxygen versus air on nocturnal mean oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2)
A pooled analysis of 6 observational studies showed signifi-cant improvement in mean oxyhemoglobin saturation with oxygen compared to air (SMD 2.45, 95% CI 1.49 to 3.4).
We identified 5 observational studies reporting the SDB event duration as an outcome.30–33 We could not pool the results of these studies for statistical analysis due to the lack of sufficient data. However, 3 of these studies reported that administration of oxygen lead to the prolongation of SDB event duration.31–33
In this systematic review, we identified and reviewed 14 studies evaluating the effects of oxygen supplementation for the treatment of intermittent nocturnal hypoxemia in patients with OSA. We performed a meta-analysis of the six randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effect of CPAP, placebo CPAP, versus oxygen on AHI and SpO2. In this analysis, patients with obstructive sleep apnea who used CPAP had signifi-cant reduction in AHI compared to those who used nocturnal oxygen. However, both nocturnal oxygen and CPAP improved oxyhemoglobin saturation equally.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a prevalent disorder with its serious health related consequences.37 Many patients with sleep apnea have intermittent episodes of hypoxemia at night secondary to the periods of the upper airway obstruction. These episodes have been shown to be associated with harmful sequelae including insulin resistance, cognitive deficit, and the development of other cardiovascular morbidity.38–40 Both nasal CPAP and nocturnal administration of oxygen improve oxy-hemoglobin saturation, but nocturnal oxygen has little effect on the blood pressure surge following apneas in patients with sleep apnea.41–43 On the other hand, CPAP has been shown to lower the blood pressure variability in patients with sleep apnea.25,26 This suggests that there might be some other factors such as hypercapnia, arousals, respiratory efforts, intrathoracic pressure changes, or fragmented sleep contributing to the increase in the blood pressure seen in sleep apnea.44–47 In a study in human adults, the arousals from NREM sleep was shown to increase the sympathetic discharge with increase in the systolic blood pressure.48
Patients with OSA frequently have cognitive dysfunction and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), possible secondary to the combination of hypoxemia and fragmented sleep. These symptoms worsen with increasing severity of hypoxemia and increasing frequency of arousals. Nasal CPAP improves both the arousals and hypoxemia and thereby has been shown to improve the sleepiness in contrast to the nocturnal administration of oxygen.23,49–51 On the other hand, both CPAP and oxygen supplementation have been shown to improve psychological symptoms, including depression.27
CPAP is clearly the treatment of choice in patients with OSA due to its immediate efficacy. It has been shown to improve AHI, hypoxemia, and arousals, thereby improving sleepiness and hypertension in contrast to the nocturnal administration of oxygen. However, patient adherence to CPAP is less than optimum.52 In one study, adherence to CPAP was reported to be higher in patients who had consultation with the sleep physician prior to undergoing the sleep study,53 but adherence to CPAP is between 50% and 70%, even with excellent management.54
Hypoxemia is a major problem for patients with OSA in the postoperative period and hypoxemic episodes have been reported to occur mostly between the postoperative nights two to five.55 Up to 40% of patients undergoing abdominal or thoracic surgery may experience postoperative hypoxemia.56 In particular, surgical patients with OSA are at high risk of having postoperative complications.57,58 A recent cohort study showed that oxygen desaturation with SpO2 < 90% was the most common postoperative complication in patients with OSA.59 These hypoxemic episodes have been shown to have serious consequences, including poor wound healing, cardiac arrhythmias, and delirium.60,61 The use of supplemental oxygen in the perioperative period has been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting and hospital length of stay, and to improve wound healing.62–64
Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) has been shown to improve survival and quality of life in patients with COPD.65–67 However, its role in obstructive sleep apnea treatment is more controversial. The administration of nocturnal oxygen leads to the improvement of intermittent hypoxemia in patients with OSA. It may be considered in hypoxemic patients with OSA who are intolerant to the other treatment modalities for sleep apnea. However, the long-term consequences of chronic nocturnal administration of oxygen are unknown in patients with OSA. Further nocturnal oxygen has been shown to prolong apnea duration in patients with OSA, perhaps as a result of the suppression of the hypoxic respiratory drive.31–33 In an observational study, the rise in blood pressure following each apneic episode was primarily linked to apnea duration and was not linked to hypoxemia.42 Prolonged apnea duration may also increase the severity of hypercarbia and acidosis in patients with OSA.19,31,32 This potential risk mandates careful monitoring for arrhythmias and other consequences of hypercarbia, especially in those with comorbid lung disease.
In conclusion, the evidence from the controlled trials does support the preferential use of CPAP over oxygen in patients with OSA since CPAP significantly improves the oxyhemoglobin saturation and reduces AHI and systemic blood pressure with improvement in daytime sleepiness. On the other hand, oxygen therapy is a double-edged sword, which not only lengthens the apnea duration but potentially increases the risk of hypercarbia with minimal to no effect on blood pressure and daytime sleepiness. Hence, at present it is difficult to recommend oxygen therapy for patients who are non-adherent with CPAP until the results of a multicenter clinical trial, Heart Biomarker Evaluation in Apnea Treatment, are available.
This was not an industry supported study. The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
The authors would like to thank Marina Englesakis, BA (Hons), MLIS, Information Specialist, Health Sciences Library, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada for her assistance with the literature search.
Author Roles:
Vanita Mehta: Conception and study design, data extraction, data analysis, and manuscript preparation
Tajender Vasu: Data extraction, meta-analysis, and manuscript preparation
Barabara Phillips: Manuscript preparation
Frances Chung: Conception and study design, acquisition and interpretion of data, manuscript preparation
This study was funded by the Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation, University Health Network Foundation and Department of Anesthesia, University Health Network, University of Toronto.
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Giles TL, Lasserson TJ, Smith B, White J, Wright JJ, Cates CJ, authors. Continuous positive airways pressure for obstructive sleep apnea in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;CD001106
Gay P, Weaver T, Loube D, Iber C, authors. Evaluation of positive airway pressure treatment for sleep related breathing disorders in adults. Sleep. 2006;29:381–401. [PubMed]
Engleman H, Kingshott RN, Wraith PK, authors. Randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial of continuous positive airway pressure for mild sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999;159:461–7. [PubMed]
Montserrat JM, Montserrat F, Hernandez L, et al., authors. Effectiveness of CPAP treatment in daytime function in sleep apnea syndrome: a randomized controlled study with an optimized placebo. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001;164:608–13. [PubMed]
Shapiro GK, Shapiro CM, authors. Factors that influence CPAP adherence: an overview. Sleep Breath. 2010;14:323–35. [PubMed]
Farney RJ, Walker JM, Elmer JC, et al., authors. Transtracheal oxygen, nasal CPAP and nasal oxygen in five patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 1992;101:1228–35. [PubMed]
Chauncey JB, Aldrich MS, authors. Preliminary findings in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with transtracheal oxygen. Sleep. 1990;13:167–74. [PubMed]
Motta J, Guilleminault C, authors. Effects of oxygen administration in sleep-induced apneas. Sleep apnea syndromes. 1978. New York: p. 137–44
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, authors. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ. 2009;339:b2535[PubMed Central][PubMed]
Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Levels of evidence. Accessed December 15, 2011http://www.cebm.net/index.aspx?o=1025.
Higgins JPT, Altman D, authors; Higgins JPT, Green S, editors. Assessing risk of bias in included studies. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.0.0. The Cochrane Collaboration; updated February 2008.
Phillips BA, Schmitt FA, Berry DT, Lamb DG, Amin M, Cook YR, authors. Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. A preliminary report comparing nasal CPAP to nasal oxygen in patients with mild OSA. Chest. 1990;98:325–30. [PubMed]
Loredo JS, Ancoli-Israel S, Kim EJ, Lim WJ, Dimsdale JE, authors. Effect of continuous positive airway pressure versus supplemental oxygen on sleep quality in obstructive sleep apnea: A placebo-CPAP- controlled study. Sleep. 2006;29:564–71. [PubMed]
Norman D, Loredo JS, Nelesen RA, et al., authors. Effects of continuous positive airway pressure versus supplemental oxygen on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. Hypertension. 2006;47:840–5. [PubMed]
Mills PJ, Kennedy BP, Loredo JS, Dimsdale JE, Ziegler MG, authors. Effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure and oxygen supplementation on norepinephrine kinetics and cardiovascular responses in obstructive sleep apnea. J Appl Physiol. 2006;100:343–8. [PubMed]
Bardwell WA, Norman D, Ancoli-Israel S, et al., authors. Effects of 2-week nocturnal oxygen supplementation and continuous positive airway pressure treatment on psychological symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized placebo-controlled study. Behav Sleep Med. 2007;5:21–38. [PubMed]
Lim WJ, Barwell WA, Loredo JS, et al., authors. Neuropsychological effects of 2-week continuous positive airway pressure treatment and supplemental oxygen in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized placebo-controlled study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3:380–6. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Kearley R, Wynne JW, Block AJ, Boysen PG, Lindsey S, Martin C, authors. The effect of low flow oxygen on sleep-disordered breathing and oxygen desaturation: A study of patients with chronic obstructive lung disease. Chest. 1980;78:682–5. [PubMed]
Smith PL, Haponik EF, Bleecker ER, et al., authors. The effects of oxygen in patients with sleep apnea. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1984;132:220–3
Gold AR, Schwartz AR, Bleecker ER, et al., authors. The effect of chronic nocturnal oxygen administration upon sleep apnea. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987;134:925–9
Alford NJ, Fletcher EC, Nickeson D, authors. Acute oxygen in patients with sleep apnea and COPD. Chest. 1986;89:30–8. [PubMed]
Block AJ, Hellard DW, Cicale MJ, authors. Snoring, nocturnal hypoxemia, and the effect of oxygen inhalation. Chest. 1987;92:411–7. [PubMed]
Pokorski M, Jernajczyk U, authors. Nocturnal oxygen enrichment in sleep apneoa. J Int Med Res. 2000;28:1–8. [PubMed]
Friedman M, Landsberg R, Ascher-Landsberg J, authors. Treatment of hypoxemia in obstructive sleep apnea. Am J Rhinol. 2001;15:311–3. [PubMed]
Kumagai T, Ishibashi Y, Kawarazaki H, et al., authors. Effects of nocturnal oxygen therapy on sleep apnea syndrome in peritoneal dialysis patients. Clin Nephrol. 2008;70:332–9. [PubMed]
Lindberg E, Gislason T, authors. Epidemiology of sleep related obstructive breathing. Sleep Med Rev. 2000;4:411–33. [PubMed]
Punjabi NM, Shahar E, Redline S, Gottlieb DJ, Givelber R, Resnick HE, authors; Sleep Heart Health Study Investigators. Sleep-disordered breathing, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance: the Sleep Heart Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2004;160:521–30. [PubMed]
Sharafkhaneh A, Giray N, Richardson P, Young T, Hirshkowitz M, authors. Association of psychiatric disorders and sleep apnea in a large cohort. Sleep. 2005;28:1405–11. [PubMed]
Gilmartin GS, Lynch M, Tamisier R, Weiss JW, authors. Chronic intermittent hypoxia in humans during 28 nights results in blood pressure elevation and increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2010;299:H925–31. [PubMed]
Schnider HJ, Schaub CD, Chen CA, et al., authors. Neural and local effects of hypoxia on cardiovascular responses to obstructive apnea. Appl Physiol. 2000;88:1093–102
Ali NJ, Davies RJ, Fleetham JA, Stradling JR, authors. The acute effects of continuous positive airway pressure and oxygen administration on blood pressure during obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 1992;101:1526–32. [PubMed]
Ringler JJ, Basner RC, Shannon R, et al., authors. Hypoxemia alone does not explain blood pressure elevations after obstructive apneas. Appl Physiol. 1990;69:2143–8
Trinder MR, Rosenberg JI, Fitzgerald F, Kleiman J, Douglas Bradley T, authors. Patho-physiological interactions of ventilation, arousals, and blood pressure oscillations during Cheyne-Stokes respiration in patients with heart failure. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000;162:808–13. [PubMed]
O'Donnell CP, Ayuse T, King ED, Schwartz AR, Smith PL, Robotham JL, authors. Airway obstruction during sleep increases blood pressure without arousal. J Appl Physiol. 1996;80:773–81. [PubMed]
Stradling JR, Barbour C, Glennon J, Langford BA, Crosby JH, authors. Which aspects of breathing during sleep influence the overnight fall of blood pressure in a community population? Thorax. 2000;55:393–8. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Redline S, Min NI, Shahar E, Rapoport D, O'Connor G, authors. Polysomnographic predictors of blood pressure and hypertension: is one index best? Sleep. 2005;28:1122–30. [PubMed]
Morgan BJ, Crabtree DC, Puleo DS, Badr MS, Toiber F, Skatrud JB, authors. Neurocirculatory consequences of abrupt change in sleep state in humans. J Appl Physiol. 1996;80:1627–36. [PubMed]
Montserrat JM, Ferrer M, Hernandez L, et al., authors. Effectiveness of CPAP treatment in daytime function in sleep apnea syndrome: a randomized controlled study with an optimized placebo. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001;164:608–13. [PubMed]
Jenkinson C, Davies RJ, Mullins R, Stradling JR, authors. Comparison of therapeutic and subtherapeutic nasal continuous positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnoea: a randomised prospective parallel trial. Lancet. 1999;353:2100–05. [PubMed]
McArdle N, Douglas NJ, authors. Effect of continuous positive airway pressure on sleep architecture in the sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001;164:1459–63. [PubMed]
Collen J, Lettieri C, Kelly W, Roop S, authors. Clinical and polysomnographic predictors of short-term CPAP compliance. Chest. 2009;135:704–9. [PubMed]
Pamidi S, Knutson KL, Ghods F, Mokhlesi B, authors. The impact of sleep consultation prior to a diagnostic polysomnogram on continuous positive airway pressure adherence. Chest. 2012;141:51–7. [PubMed]
Kohler M, Smith D, Tippett V, Stradling JR, authors. Predictors of long-term compliance with continuous positive airway pressure. Thorax. 2010;65:829–32. [PubMed]
Rosenberg J, Ullstad T, Rasmussen J, Hjørne FP, Poulsen NJ, Goldman MD, authors. Time course of postoperative hypoxemia. Eur J Surg. 1994;160:137–43. [PubMed]
Squadrone V, Coha M, Cerutti E, et al., authors. Continuous positive airway pressure for treatment of postoperative hypoxemia: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005;293:589–95. [PubMed]
Hwang D, Shakir N, Limann B, et al., authors. Association of sleep-disordered breathing with postoperative complications. Chest. 2008;133:1128–34. [PubMed]
Gupta RM, Parvizi J, Hanssen AD, Gay PC, authors. Postoperative complications in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome undergoing hip or knee replacement: a case-control study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2001;76:897–905. [PubMed]
Kaw R, Pasupulti V, Walker E, Ramaswamy A, Schafer NF, authors. Postoperative complications in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2012;141:436–41. [PubMed]
Galatius-Jensen S, Hansen J, Rasmussen V, Bildsøe J, Therboe M, Rosenberg J, authors. Nocturnal hypoxaemia after myocardial infarction: association with nocturnal myocardial ischaemia and arrhythmias. Br Heart J. 1994;72:23–30. [PubMed Central][PubMed]
Kehlet H, Rosenberg J, authors. Late post-operative hypoxaemia and organ dysfunction. Eur J Anaesthesiol Suppl. 1995;10:31–4. [PubMed]
Chura JC, Boyd A, Argenta PA, authors. Surgical site infections and supplemental peri-operative oxygen in colorectal surgery patients: a systematic review. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2007;8:455–61
Grief R, Laciny S, Rapf B, Hickle RS, Sessler DI, authors. Supplemental oxygen reduces the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Anesthesiology. 1999;91:1246–52. [PubMed]
Greif R, Akça O, Horn EP, Kurz A, Sessler DI, authors. Supplemental perioperative oxygen to reduce the incidence of surgical-wound infection. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:161–7. [PubMed]
Continuous or nocturnal oxygen therapy in hypoxemic chronic obstructive lung disease: a clinical trial. Nocturnal Oxygen Therapy Trial Group. Ann Intern Med. 1980;93:391–8. [PubMed]
Report of the Medical Research Council Working Party. Long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy in chronic hypoxic cor pulmonale complicating chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Lancet. 1981;1:681–6. [PubMed]
Cranston JM, Crockett AJ, Moss JR, Alpers JH, authors. Domiciliary oxygen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;CD001744[PubMed]


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HTML5 Canvas Context Attributes
Each HTML5 Canvas context contains attributes that can be modified by JavaScript code. Note that attributes are assigned to Canvas contexts, not individual Canvas objects. Attributes for a context are referenced using dot syntax notation. Here is an example: contextName.fillStyle="red". The following attributes show default and other optional values:
fillStyle "black" font "10px sans-serif" globalAlpha 1.0
Comment: Values shown after attributes are defaults
globalCompositeOperation "source-over"
Comment: Other compositions are
"source-in", "source-out", "source-atop", "destination-over", "destination-in", "destination-out", "destination-atop", "lighter", "copy", "xor" lineCap "butt"
Comment: Other caps are "round" and "square".
lineJoin "miter"
Comment: Other joins are "round" and "bevel".
lineWidth 1.0 miterLimit 10.0 shadowColor "transparent black"
Comment: Other colors include wide variety
shadowBlur 0.0 shadowOffsetX 0.0 shadowOffsetY 0.0 strokeStyle "black"
Comment: Other colors include wide variety
textAlign "start"
Comment: Other alignments are
"end", "left", "right", "center" textBaseline "alphabetic"
Comment: Other baselines are
"top", "hanging", "middle", "ideographic", "bottom"


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Sony Considering More 'HD Conversions'
"Santa Monica Studios had the brilliant idea to upgrade and improve God of War for PS3 with the God of War Collection that we released last year," said Yoshida. "There were a lot of positive reactions from consumers in doing that, and now we get a lot of suggestions for types of packs they'd like to see," he explained, adding that "we are looking to continue to do these HD conversions."
As to the question of whether PlayStation 2 titles will be released for download via the PlayStation Network, Yoshida deflected "We are looking into ways how we can deliver the PS2 library to PS3 consumers, but were are not ready to announce anything yet."
From The Chatty


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Fayette area residents will have the opportunity to safely dispose of unused and expired medication next month.
Police chief Jason Simon said a collection point will be established in front of the village offices from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29.
In the past, collections were scheduled in Wauseon and Archbold, but this is the first time that Fayette will have its own collection.
Fayette maintenance supervisor Tom Clemensen told council members at the Aug. 22 meeting that expired medication is a big concern for sewage treatment plants due to the traces of drugs that are present in the discharge of treated sewage.
The EPA has begun testing for medication residue, he said.


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Students win good citizen awards
The Esther McCrory Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution had its annual Good Citizens Award ceremony on Feb. 11 at Amarillo Public Library's downtown branch.
The ceremony awarded students for good citizenship in their community through dependability, service, leadership and patriotism.
To enter, students had to present information on high school activities and contributions to home and community, and their future plans and their feelings about good citizen qualities. Students wrote a personal essay while under supervision with limited timing. This year's essay was titled "Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It: How are our freedoms and responsibilities as good citizens changing?" The winning entry was then submitted to the Texas Daughters of the American Revolution for the state and national competition.
The Esther McCrory DAR Chapter has been giving the Good Citizens awards since 1934 to area high schools seniors.
Eight area high schools entered the contest this year by submitting its most deserving senior. The schools were Amarillo High School, Caprock High School, Claude High School, Highland Park High School, Randall High School, River Road High School, Tascosa High School and Vega High School.
All recipients received certificates, pins, a poster stating the Significance of DAR Good Citizens pin and what it stands for.
Scholarship money was given to the top three entries.
The first place winner was Jill Michele Maxfield from Claude High School. She is the daughter of Lori and Brett Maxfield. Jill received recognition as a member of National Honor Society, Student Council and Future Farmers of America. She has won awards in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, English, history and physics. Jill has participated in band, basketball, cross country, tennis and agricultural activities. She plans to major in economics and mathematics in college.
The second place winner was Grace Elizabeth Douthitt from Amarillo High School. She is the daughter of Amy and Jim Douthitt. She is a member of National Honor Society, Superintendent's Scholars and Principals Council. Grace is a member of the Spanish Club and cross country and track teams. She has helped with Presbyterian Children's Home and is an Amarillo Sympony Guild Belle. Grace plans to attend University of Texas at Austin, majoring in biology or education.
The third place winner was Zoe Magaraet Baker from Tascosa High School. She is the daughter of Richard Baker. Zoe is a member of National Honor Society and a Superintendent's Scholar. She has participated in volleyball, choir, Student Council, Tascosa Fanatics and Spanish Club. Zoe plans to study pre-med and continue into ophthalmology.
Other recipients include: Meagan Nicole McLeland of Caprock High School, parent Paula McLeland; Matthew Alan Donaghy of Highland Park High School, parents Pamela and Ronnal Donaghy; Logan Jeffery Brittain of Randall High School, parents Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Brittain; Aubree Elizabeth Bast of River Road High School, parents David and Kim Bast; and Trey Nathaniel Tarbet of Vega High School, parents Richie and Cindy Tarbet.
- Submitted by Esther McCrory Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution


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The following audio was recorded by Bertha Antunez, in conversation with Yris Tamara Perez Aguilera, wife of Jorge Luis Garcia 'Antunez'. Aguilera reports that a government official from the Placetas Police Unit told her that her husband, along with the 12 other detained activists, will continue under custody for an "indefinite period of time because they are under a process of investigation".
The audio is in Spanish but is followed by an English transcription:
" I have just been told by a guard from the Police Unit of Placetas that my husband Jorge Luis Garcia "Antunez" and the other activists arrested alongside him will remain detained for an indefinite period of time because they are under a process of investigation. This was communicated to the guard by a State Security official who did not want to come out and speak to me".
Antunez and the 12 other peaceful anti-government activists (Pastor Alexei Gómez, Rene Quiroga, José Ángel Abreu, Oscar Veranes Martínez, María del Carmen Martínez, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Xiomara Martin Jiménez, Jorge Vázquez Chaviano, Orlando Alfonso Martínez, Enrique Martínez Marín, Mayra Conlledo García and Víctor Castillo Ortega) were arrested violently yesterday (November 8th) during a public sit-in. With the protest, they demanded freedom for all Cuban political prisoners and the immediate and unconditional end to government sponsored violence against opposition members and the country as a whole.
We must remember that in the 1960's in the United States, this civic resistance method of protesting- specifically the sit ins- was a very popular tactic among the African-Americans who peacefully fought for their rights. Just as the Cuban Resistance has, the African-Americans suffered countless violations for their demands. But we must also point out and remember that, in the end, they did achieve their goals. The Cuban Resistance will also be victorious.


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JAZZ ROOTS – A Larry Rosen Jazz Series - is a concert performance series that includes educational and community outreach programs that are designed to focus on the musical DNA that connects various communities and peoples, while examining the African based roots of popular music in the Americas.
play video
"Larry Rosen's JAZZ ROOTS is the most important
new concert and educational jazz series in America…
This series is simply imperative!"
- Quincy Jones


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drug ARM is a non-Government, not-for-profit organisation that:
Welcome to drug ARM's mental health services
Help make a positive difference in the lives of people who are experiencing mental health issues. Your generosity will assist as in providing quality programs and services.
Visit our Facebook and twitter pages or sign up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest events and news from the Mental Health Association QLD.
Have you thought about volunteering? Find out more about opportunities to volunteer in our programs, services, special events and general office work.


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|For immediate release
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday approved the issuance of a final rule that amends its regulations aimed at curbing predatory lending.
Compliance with the amendments becomes mandatory on October 1, 2002.
The amendments to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) broaden the scope of loans subject to the protections of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) of 1994 by adjusting the price triggers that determine coverage under the act. The rate-based trigger is lowered by two percentage points for first-lien loans and the fee-based trigger is revised to include optional insurance premiums and similar credit protection products paid at closing. Certain acts and practices in connection with home-secured loans are prohibited, including a rule to restrict creditors from engaging in repeated refinancings of their own HOEPA loans over a short time period when the transactions are not in the borrower's interest.
HOEPA's prohibition against extending credit without regard to a consumer's repayment ability is strengthened by requiring creditors to document and verify income for HOEPA-covered loans. Disclosures received by consumers before closing for HOEPA-covered loans would include the total amount of money borrowed and whether that amount includes optional credit insurance or similar products paid at closing.
HOEPA was enacted in response to anecdotal evidence of predatory lending practices in the home-equity lending market. HOEPA imposes additional disclosure requirements. It also imposes substantive limitations, such as restrictions on short-term balloon notes, on certain home-equity loans with rates and fees above a certain percentage or amount.
HOEPA authorizes the Board to expand HOEPA's coverage and prohibit certain acts and practices in connection with mortgage lending generally. The Board published proposed amendments in December 2000, after holding public hearings on possible ways to curb predatory lending using its regulatory authority.
The term "predatory lending" encompasses a variety of practices. Oftentimes homeowners in certain communities-particularly, the elderly and minorities-are targeted with offers of high-cost, home-secured credit. The loans carry high up-front fees and may be based on the homeowners' equity in their homes, not their ability to make the scheduled payments. When homeowners have problems repaying the debt, they are often encouraged to refinance the loan. Frequently this leads to another high-fee loan that provides little or no economic benefit to the borrower.
2001 Banking and consumer regulatory policy


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It's 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and the city of Houston sleeps, recovering from a night of madness that saw Baylor University and Duke University power their way to the Elite 8 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. But if you take a short drive up I-45, you'll come to a scene that is not uncommon in this part of the state. More than 100 men, women, and children are gathered, drums in hand, ready to make the five-hour trek to support the team they love, the Houston Dynamo.
Last weekend marked the beginning of the fifth year of Dynamo soccer, as well as some of the strongest support groups in any sport: the Texian Army and El Batallón. The Texian Army sponsored a major bus outing to Opening Day last weekend, so I decided to tag along. Founded in 2006, the Texian Army is a regular attendee at any Dynamo game, home or away. They come in all ages, shapes, and sizes, but the one thing they have in common is the love for their soccer team.
"It's like a brotherhood," said Sam Cook, a member of the TA since 2007. Although Cook lives in Dover, N.H., he flew to Houston this past weekend to partake in the five-hour bus ride to Frisco for the game against FC Dallas. Cook attends on average 12 games per year, including at least three in Houston. "We are all people with similar interests who come together to support our team."
This past weekend, the Texian Army brought two buses filled with supporters to Frisco. Only minutes after they arrived, the crowd made its presence felt. With drums pounding and flags waving, the supporters began their chants that echoed down I-45. At every pass, throw, or whistle, the Texian Army made its voices heard, at times drowning out the supporters of the home team.
Jeff Moreno, a member since 2007, recalls the first time he encountered the Texian Army when he attended a watch party for one of Houston's games against Mexican club Pachuca.
"I was taken aback by the passion and excitement the fans had for the Dynamo," Moreno said. "It's such a beautiful feeling, celebrating the great game of soccer with such passionate fans."
Moreno attends every home Dynamo game and as many road games as possible.
"We try to help the team any way we can, and no matter what happens out there, we will continue to show our support for the Dynamo," he added.
Chris Smink, a current board member of the Texian Army, admits that he was not born a soccer fan, but one game changed all that.
"One day I was walking to the library, and I saw a group of people dressed in orange heading toward Robertson Stadium," he said. "So I followed them to the stadium and watched Brian Ching score four goals in a 5-2 win against the Colorado Rapids. I was immediately hooked."
Smink said that being a member of the TA is more than just a hobby for him, it's a lifestyle.
"I wake up every morning wondering about how we, as an organization, can help the Dynamo," he said. "We've got drums, flags, and voices, and regardless of the outcome of the game, those things will not go away."
According to Smink, there are roughly 150 members of the Texian Army that stretch from coast to coast.
"No matter where the Dynamo are playing, there are members of TA there to support," he added.
Although Saturday's game ended in a draw for the Dynamo, the Texian Army did not despair. They just packed up their drums, put away their flags, and began preparations for the next game.
"Our heart is with the Dynamo," said Smink. "Wherever they go, we go."
And you can be sure if the Dynamo are playing at BMO Field on November 21, the Texian Army will be there, flags in hand, ready to support them.


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FamilySearch website. In the Asia and Middle East section of the Historical Record Collection, is the China, Cemetery Records, 1820-1983. As of May of 2013, this collection had over 72,000 browse able images.
The Jewish Cemetery at Happy Valley is just one of dozens that make up the collection. The list below is just a partial list of those cemeteries.
By clicking on the link Jewish Cemetery (Happy Valley), a further list of the years covered is shown.
In the list shown, I selected the year 1958. In that year there were 8 Jewish Foreigner's Interred in the cemetery.
The place of birth is not shown but I believe the majority were born in the British Isles. Again, its not a large collection, but how many of us will ever get the chance to walk through the grounds of this burial ground of our ancestors.


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#WikiLeaks- PAULSON DISCUSSES FINANCIAL MARKETS, IRAN WITH SARKOZY, LAGARDE
Alexander Higgins-
In 2007 top US and France officials knew rampant fraud being committed by regulators, rating agencies and Wall Street Banks would soon cause a global financial collapse.
While investors and nations around the world were happily giving trillions of dollars away to crooked Wall Street bankers top officials in the United States and France knew the market would soon collapse and people would be robbed of millions.
While raising the issue that the role of government regulators and rating agencies needed to be reviewed in the wake of the upcoming crisis, US officials ignored calls from the French government to enact necessary regulation to stop the rampant fraud that would soon result in investors losing tens of trillions of dollars they had invested into the markets.
The cable reveals that while discussing the ability of the French banks to survive the crisis, French President Sarkozy was pushing the US to enact regulations to forestall the crisis. Instead, Henry Paulson responded by telling Sarkozy not to overreacted because the" it would take months, not weeks, for credit to be re-priced" telling France this is "not a major crisis."
Paulson went on to warn that the major problem was with the German banks and which would require a bailout from the taxpayer while warning that the assets held by banks but covered up from investors by being held off-balance sheet presented systematic risk to banks and to sovereign wealth.
The cable clearly reveals that taxpayer bailouts would be needed. Paulson further up sticks up for the Wall Street hedge fund saying they were not to blame for the crisis while acknowledging there were major Wall Street transparency issues.
To summarize, the cable reveals that top government officials in France and the US knew Wall street banks were committing fraud in the origination and packaging of sub-prime mortgage and lying to investors about the resulting securities they were creating and selling. Officials knew banks were also lying about their own liabilities and hiding them from investors by keeping the assets off their balance sheets. The government also knew that both regulators and ratings agencies were participating in the scheme.
Remember as you read this cable, these conversations all took place over a year before the 2008 financial collapse when taxpayers around the world were forced into giving up trillions of dollars for banker bailouts. Also keep in mind that while the cable discusses "systemic risk", "bailouts" and "market turbulence", none of these had happened yet. They were discussing what would soon happen in the future.
The discussion of "systemic risk", "market turbulence" and "taxpayer bailouts" over a year before the markets actually collapsed and those events actually occurred, show they knew a global financial collapse. Not only did they know it would occur but knew what the consequences would be for the investors and the governments who were fleeced by Wall Street. As the cable reveals, Paulson chose to deal with the crisis by letting it continue and urging France to keep the issue underwaps by urging Sarkozy not to "over react", hence allowing the scandal to the continue which just postponed the inevitable.
Also remember when we were forced into these bailouts, it was under the guise that our governments had no idea the banks were doing this and this was a sudden and unforeseeable crisis. Finally, remember that – while there have been plenty of accusations from "conspiracy theorists", "fringe economists" and "wing nut" politicians such as Ron Paul – there still has been no admission from our government that financial regulators or the ratings agencies played a role in the crisis.


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As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Azerbaijan is
bound to comply with the rulings of the
"We are outraged at today's verdict against Eynulla
Fatullayev and call on the Baku Appellate Court to overturn it promptly," CPJ
Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator
Just as the
Based on Fatullayev's account and authorities' longstanding persecution of the editor, CPJ has concluded that the drug charge was fabricated. In January, the editor was moved from the prison colony, where he has been serving his longer term, to a solitary detention unit, where he remains, the editor's father told CPJ today.
If not overturned on appeal, the new verdict will result in Fatullayev's move to a strict-security prison notorious for harsh conditions and a record of inmate abuse.
Before Khalilov pronounced Fatullayev guilty today, the
editor was given the chance to speak. He told the court he had received
warnings to stop his journalism before he was first arrested in April
2007, while he was editing the now-defunct Realny Azerbaijan: "One top official told me that my newspaper irritates
the head of state because it is not only critical but also popular," the
Azerbaijani service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty quoted Fatullayev as saying. He said he is not expecting authorities to
release him because they do not want him to continue working as a journalist.
But Fatullayev went on to pledge that if released he would "produce an even
more popular newspaper than I used to,"


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This Blog focuses on Ancestor Stories, both the stories themselves about my family's ancestors and discussions of where they come from and how to prepare and share them. These stories may be non-fiction or fiction – we will always tell which is which, of course. Also see my KINNICK blog and The HOMEPLACE Series Blog, left sidebar, scroll down.
Friday, June 22, 2012
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Follow Friday - Week 25
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Follow Friday - Week 25
If I understand what Amy Coffin is suggesting in her 2012 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, I believe I can follow these prompts and use them much as I have been posting of Fridays, the past years. Let's give it a try.
Week 25: Genealogy Database Software: Database programs have revolutionized the way we store and record our genealogy. Which one is your favorite? What are some of the tools and perks of the program that enhance your family history research? Share a link to the company website or vendor so others may learn more about this product.
This week's prompt runs from Sunday, June 17 through Saturday, June 23, 2012.
I use only a MacBook Pro computer now, so I use Reunion 9. I used Reunion many years ago on my desktop computers. Then, I moved to several PC based programs. I was never particularly happy with any of them, though they all worked just fine. When I came back to the Mac, full-time, I tried several of the newer Mac programs, but eventually adopted the Reunion again, which is the same software that my wife uses. I am totally satisfied. I don't do a lot of 'fancy stuff' - so cannot comment on those kinds of things.
Families are Forever! ;-)
2 comments:
Bill, I am branching out. I am working on Roots Magic for my Mac. I started with PAF for Mac then went to Reunion. Accidentally watched a Roots Magic program at Jamboree a few years back and bugged Bruce Buzbee until he set it up for Mac people to use. Obviously it took him a few years but some time give it a try. I never dreamt I would have so many programs to play with. I have used Geni.com (Cloud program) for over 5 years. It helps for my branching family members. I have worked with MyHeritage.com new program and find it intriguing, again it is a cloud program. I have found more collateral family on MYHERITAGE.com than any program including lists and queries. Our world is expanding and shrinking at the same time. I hate that they are removing books from society.ReplyDelete
Thank you, Susi! Good information. I did not know Roots Magic was available for Mac. Roots Magic was the last PC program I used. I liked it pretty well. Thanks, again, for great comments! ;-)ReplyDelete


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Fat, but not out of shape, Rougarou sets a new standard in fast-rolling, light-weight fat-bike tires. Engineered for speed and efficiency, the Rougarou is the fastest fat bike tire to date. If the sand and the snow is where you roll, Rougarou's svelte construction can get you to whatever finish line is first.
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- Home
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As soon as you set foot on our campus you will know you've found the place you can call home.
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Our students are engaged in a wide range of academic pursuits that include degree programs in 160 undergraduate and graduate fields delivered by 6 different colleges.
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Marking its first hundred years, Arkansas State University continues to expand in exciting ways.
Lori Hailey
Accelerated BSN Option Coordinator
Assistant Professor of Nursing
- MSN - Arkansas State University
- BSN - Arkansas State University
Professional Credentials
Teaching Specialties
- Pediatrics
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Research Interests
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- Standardized patients
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Lori joined the nursing faculty as Assistant Professor of Nursing in the year 2006, primarily teaching pediatric theory and clinical. Additionally, Lori teaches in Foundation of Nursing, Health Assessment, and various courses in the Accelerated BSN Program. She has recently moved to a 12-month faculty commitment as Clinical Learning Center Coordinator. In July 2009, she became certified in Pediatric nursing.
Prior to working at Arkansas State University, Lori served as health Services Coordinator in the Douglas County School system in Douglasville, GA setting up health services for chronically ill children for 3 years, taught nursing at Mississippi County Community College (now Arkansas Northeastern College) for 11 years, and spent many years in clinical practice in cardiac, critical care, emergency and public health nursing. She currently serves as Secretary for Sigma Theta Tau - Eta Theta Chaper and on the executive council for Boy Scouts of America.
Contact Information
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Cinemalphabet: P is for Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Easily one of the funniest films of the 80s and populated with the two of the era's most likable comedic leads, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is my go to Thanksgiving film, the way Die Hard is my go to Christmas film. A riotous buddy road trip film for anxious people like me who get panic attacks watching The Out of Towners. Its conflicts, while troublesome, are deftly mined for their comedic absurdity.
Kevin Bacon (in one of the most hilarious John Hughes movie cameos EVER) as always, is the glue holding everything in the universe together. In this case serving as the smarmy catalyst for all of Neil Page's (Steve Martin) holiday travel woes. Cabs scarcity, indecisive bosses and bad timing just will not allow Neil's holiday to be great!
Neil meets a chatty shower curtain ring salesman named Dell Griffith on a crowded plane and you just know things are not going to go the way Neil hopes. After being treated to a barrage of unwanted chatter and general intrusiveness, Neil and Dell form an uneasy alliance – traumatic bonding at its best – with singular purpose of getting home in time for turkey and all the fixings. Neil Page has a beautiful wife, a huge house and a daughter I went to high school with waiting for him at home. Dell has wonderful and loving wife Marie. Despite his gregarious external, one can't help but detect undercurrent of melancholy in Dell. The role was tailor made to showcase the late John Candy's comedic and dramatic skills. His performance is nuanced and script mines more of its Candy moments on circumstances rather than his size.
In one of the film's most hilarious and memorable scenes, Candy and Martin find themselves in a rental car, on a dark snowy road and every second of the scene will make you laugh until you're out of breath. Other movies would have either run the gag on too long or not taken it far enough. Director John Hughes finds the sweet spot, giving the leads a lot of room to do what they do best.
Even with all the laughs, ridiculous situations and unfortunate run-ins with well cast character actors, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a film with tremendous heart. The ending will have you wiping away tears, even if you're not the kind of person who gets weepy at movies. And Blue Room's rendition of the Hall & Oates song, "Every Time You Go Away" which plays in the background of the final scene is just so damn perfect. Probably my favorite version of this song.
Cinemalphabet: O is for Out of Sight (1998)
Blame it on Jackie Brown or my inexplicable late 90s dislike of Clooney, but I was not feeling Out of Sight upon its theatrical release. I can't recall if I had any specific thoughts about Soderbergh, who had not yet made Ocean's 11 or Traffic, two films I count as solid faves. That said, in the mid to late 90s adaptations of Elmore Leonard's work or knockoffs of his flow in indie films – which all seemed to feature Stephen Dorff – were as plentiful as slap bracelets and floppy candy raver top hats. By the time Out of Sight came I was probably found the whole aesthetic fatiguing.
When I finally succumbed to Netflix's relentless campaign to get me to watch it I instantly regretted not doing so YEARS ago. George Clooney gives one of his great ex-con-with-a-heart-of-gold performances, which he would later perfect in the Ocean's franchise. Clooney stars as career bank robber Jack Foley who we meet on the day he manages to botch a bank robbery and land himself in jail (again). Out of Sight cleverly plays with audience's sense of its timeline, which at time probably was totally fresh, but now kind of feels obligatory and dare I say quaint. As with Jackie Brown there is a beautiful, bad ass woman at the center of galaxy of inept, foolish greedy motherfuckers.
Jennifer Lopez is both radiant as US Marshall Karen Sisco who meets Jack Foley during the middle of his prison break. Tossed in the trunk together with their bodies impossibly close, Sisco and Foley set light to their steamy, slow burn chemistry, which at times gets the better of their judgement. What I loved about J-Lo's characterization of Sisco is how flawed she is, without being completely being inept at her job. She is great at tracking fugitives and spends a lot of time around criminally minded people (on both sides of the law), so it does make sense she's not always adept at making healthy relationship choices. Whether it's pining for an emotionally unavailable and totally shady FBI agent played by Michael Keaton (reprising his role from Jackie Brown) to the dashing criminal she's been tasked to apprehend. It's all steaminess, ice slowly melting in highball glasses and terrible relationship choices in Sisco's emotional world.
As for the heist itself, well that's where things are actually less complicated. With the exception of Foley and his road dog Buddy (Ving Rhames) everyone else eyeing the uncut diamonds white collar criminal Richard Ripley (Albert Brooks wearing a bald cap or something) is pretty much a totally idiot. Maurice Miller (Don Cheadle) an ex-con wannabe mastermind assembles a group of fellow cons who are trying to get the diamonds before Jack and Buddy can. The results in a fantastic clusterfuck at Ripley's mansion where everything that could go wrong does and in a spectacular, hilarious manner. Cheadle is a good sport as Maurice and delivers variation on his familiar on screen persona. A pre-homophobic, bigoted meltdown Isaiah Washington is also good in his limited screen time as one of Maurice's hoods who has an unfortunate tangle with Sisco.
Because the film draws its narrative tension not in the heist or even in the relationship concerns of its leads, there are moments when the tone feels a bit uneven. Even though I was laughing at the snappy dialog and the unfortunate situations characters found themselves in, there were times when I wondered whether or not the film would actually have a satisfying resolution. Thankfully, it does, though it was not one I actually expected and I liked that. Leaving the ending ambiguous resulted in a heist film capably both elevating itself from the tropes of the genre and also having fun with them.
Cinemalphabet: N is for Nighthawks (1981)
There are a lot of things I could say about this French Connection knockoff, but most of them would probably give the impression the film is not very good. In fact it is quite thrilling, interesting and gritty the way so many other films tackling its subject matter are. Nighthawks is a film I associate with the early days of premium cable where I'd watch whatever the hell aired because the novelty of cable television was still fresh. No doubt what initially attracted me to this film as a tween was its fabulously coiffed leads – Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams – in their prime.
It's hard not to think Serpico when Deke DaSilva (Stallone) shows up with impressive facial hair, leather pimp coats, Barry Gibb hairs and aviator sunglasses. But that's just styling. His work here is very subtle and all his well known Sly-isms are completely sublimated. Billy Dee Williams is excellent as DaSilva's partner – did I mention they're NYPD cops – with the unintentionally lulzy name of Matthew Fox. Stallone and Williams have wonderful chemistry, but not in a way that feels cloying like many buddy cop films do.
Nighthawks concerns itself the containment and apprehension of an discotheque loving, international terrorist played by hobo with a shotgun himself, Rutger Hauer. I remember being TERRIFIED of his character in this film when I was a kid. Something about a blond haired, icy stare terrorist who loves himself some Michael Zager Band and doing the hustle, I don't know just seemed extra crispy scary to my tween self.
It still floors me that Stallone managed to slip in Nighthawks a year before the one two punch of First Blood and Rocky III. I recall that I had seen Rocky III during the time where Nighthawk was relentlessly airing on premium cable and I was obsessed with all things Rocky Balboa related. I wish I could recall what I thought about seeing him bearded, subdued and not punching slabs of meat. I'm certain it must have been hilarious.
Cinemalphabet: M is for Moonraker (1979)
As the glorious Skyfall arrives in theaters stateside and with all the 50th anniversary celebrations, I saw it fitting to revisit what is arguably the cheesiest canonical Bond film ever made. I am pretty certain my older brother took me to see Moonraker when he was probably supposed to take me to see something else. It was my very first Bond experience and I can't imagine what I must have thought of it. I was six years old. I'm sure my attention was rapt, despite every single reference going completely over my afro puffs.
After the usual unrelated cold open, Moonraker's stirring title credits awash the viewer with Dame Shirley Bassey's lush theme. Goldfinger might be her most memorable, Diamonds are Forever her most playful, but Moonraker is her most stunning vocal performance. Despite its haunting beauty, the theme is at odds with the tone – ridiculously silly camp – of the film.
Moonraker finds Bond doing battle with an industrialist – so you know he's a bad guy – by the name of Sir Hugo Drax (played with aplomb by the fabulous Michael Lonsdale). Drax is easily my favorite Bond villain, because he's so incredibly mannered, but also quite bananas. He just up and decides one day he's going to create a master race and force them to wear impossibly tight and skimpy blinding white tennis outfits, which honestly seems like the cruelest part of his plan. Drax retains almost nothing from his characterization in Fleming's novel; Moonraker retains almost nothing (except title) from Fleming's novel. Instead, the title is used to cover a litany of sci-fi sins in what can only be described as a cynical cash grab attempt at the sci-fi/space excitement created by the success of Star Wars.
Lois Chiles stars as the main Bond girl, Dr. Goodhead, which is quite possibly the worst Bond girl name ever. Chiles is great as the freeze dried lady scientist working for Drax. An air of elegance permeates her every scene, which is hard to do saddled with such a prOnny name. Anyway, Dr. Goodhead and Bond join forces (as is often the case with Bond and his ladies) in order to thwart Drax's plans for world domination via perky youths in tight, white booty shorts. In addition to Bond and Dr. Goodhead, Bond's old nemesis Jaws inexplicably turns up, but Moonraker's much better for it.
While the performances are capable and the stunts thrilling, none of this compensates for the farce otherwise known as the third act, which takes place in outer space. Well on spaceships. It's just too ridiculous, even at the time it was panned by critics. Sure it's fun and funny, but it also goes a long way of explaining why so many Bond fans remain sharply divided over both the film and Moore's tenure as Bond. For me, however, Moonraker remains my favorite Bond film. I can't exactly explain why. It's a mixture of nostalgia, dubious taste and a soft spot for the underdog.
Cinemalphabet: L is for Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
There is always a moment in a Bruce Willis film (except perhaps The Jackal and Unbreakable) where he flashes that iconic shit-eating smirk at the camera, which contrary to popular belief is not his default facial setting. At rest, Willis' face is as impassive as a slab of granite, but – you know – in a good way. I don't recall it every showing up so early in a film! We're talking less than six minutes in and the ink on the credits hadn't even dried. That was really exciting. I love seeing age on actor's faces and Bruce has such a great face. It was nice enough when he was on Moonlighting and seems to have gotten much more cuter as he's gotten older. I love the lines and folds and that starburst of crinkles that border the outer corner of his eyes. Willis doesn't really have to do much talking; his face can do most of the talking for him.
What I've always loved about the character John McClane is that he doesn't know anything about anything other than being a cop. He doesn't keep up on the latest fashions, trends in parenting, pop culture phenoms or technological advances! To him a fax machine is as baffling as the cockpit of a 747, neither of which he knows how to work! As a cop, McClane knows a lot about people; their motivations, their tells when they're lying, etc and he's incredibly perceptive and sharp minded. Nevertheless the fact that McClane is an analog man living in a digital world is brought home in the most unpleasant way in a series of events starting with McClane's discovery of the Lojack tracking device in his squad car and culminating with a shootout with snarky, informed "sociopath" (you can tell by his obsession with holding your gaze a beat too long without blinking) played by the dishy Timothy Olyphant! I won't front, Timothy Olyphant always seems kind of bonks to me, so like many other typecasted actors his appearance in a film is often its own spoiler.
Olyphant stars as Thomas Gabriel a bitterlicious computer expert who like every other villain John McClane encounters claims not to be interested in various forms of wealth. And like every other villain John McClane encounters Gabriel is a big ole liar. Well technically speaking, Hans Gruber did self identify as a "thief" despite others calling him a terrorist. In any event, Olyphant's Gabriel is not a particularly nice person. The gorgeous and talented Maggie Q co-stars as resident babe and ass kicker in manner of A View to a Kill's Mayday. By law Die Hard movies are only allowed two females in major roles, so it is with great sadness that I inform you of the disillusion of the marriage between John and Holly Gennaro McClane.
Fortunately, McClane still has a female in his life who is all about busting his chops! Little Lucy McClane is all grown up and attends Rutgers. She also doesn't wish to be called "Lucy McClane" except when bound and gagged by Gabriel and his merry band of cyber hackers. The Mac himself, Justin Long plays Clane's annoying charge Matthew Ferrell and I wanted to hate him, but he won me over with the line, "Good luck at the bad timing awards!" and then I just enjoyed his performance. Long is really adorable as the hacker sought by the FBI and Gabriel for different reason, which I'll be honest I never manage to catch nor care about whenever I watch this film. There is one amazing comic relief actor who is too hilarious to spoil here. Rounding out the cast are old friend Zeljko! and the glorious actor of Maori descent Cliff Curtis, who I vividly remember from both The Runaway Jury and the stunning film Once Were Warriors.
The stakes are high and the action is over the top. Yet somehow it stills retains a shred of realism. Well except for the part where McClane hurls I believe a car at a helicopter and brings the chopper down. But the parts of Matthew Ferrell being geeky and having asthma and knowing other geeky folks who live with their moms seemed kind of real. As an occasionally whiny asthmatic myself, Long's portrayal of one seemed pretty authentic. In fact all of his dialogue sounded as though he'd taken a hit or twenty of his puffer before speaking. He was kind of wired! Long and Willis seem to get along fine and their chemistry is the classic "old and busted/new hotness" dynamic. Willis' acting is so effortless and he slips back into McClane's world weary skin with ease and a respectable level of snark. Curiously, Willis, who I tend to think of as a performer who underutilizes his inside voice, delivers most of his dialogue in a husky honey drenched sotto voce! Of all four films in the series, Live Free or Die Hard boasts Willis at his most gorgeous and athletically impressive. He's in great shape and believable as an aged cop with a few tricks up his sleeve. Live Free or Die Hard is the kind of film that even if you don't like action movies or – Xena forbid Bruce Willis – it manages to suck you in with its well scripted characters and dazzling action sequences. And look, when you basically changed the action movie game – as the original Die Hard did in 1987 – you don't have shit to prove to anyone. Play on, playa, play on!
Cinemalphabet: K is for The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
If you have ever wanted to spend an hour or so listening to a legendary studio head mumble about himself have I got a docufilm for you! Based on the best selling tell-all memoir of the same name, the documentary begs the question, "would shadow puppets have been more compelling?"
The irony of the film is the Robert Evans of legend would never have greenlit such a shoddy looking piece of cinema. The life of Robert Evans is big and showy and glamorous, befitting of a splashy big budget Hollywood film. You know, the kind he used to produce. Instead rubberneckers are treated to visually confusing mess, that distracts more than it aids the narrative. This is Robert Evans for corn's sake; the story doesn't need a lot of embellishment. I wanted to like the style of filmmaking but found it to be a tad to precious for the subject. Especially knowing what a crash and burn story being told. Having said all that I do think the film is valuable for other reasons.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I am assuming you children actually know who Robert Evans is! Well, he was lovingly sent up by his good friend Dustin Hoffman in the film WAG THE DOG and right here at the end of The Kid Stays in the Picture More importantly, Evans embodies the bubbly hot tubby goodness of 70s filmmaking and the films are some of cinema's finest. We're talking The Godfather, Chinatown and to a lesser degree…Love Story. The film which is part cinema history and part cautionary tale is fascinating and unflinching. There is no glossing over the reversals of fortune or the terrible events that would later define his legacy.
If you read the book, the film offers nothing new, but hearing these stories in Evans' own words has an impact the book didn't really have for me.
Cinemalphabet: J is for Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Let's get one thing out of the way: without the involvement of 70s hot Redford and my beloved Sydney Pollack, this movie was never going to happen for me. I kept shuffling it up my queue, getting so close to clicking play only to find something more pressing to do like laundry or decluttering my closet. There's something about unflinching use of 70s Westerns as a lens to critically examine the Vietnam war that has always made me uncomfortable and perhaps that's the point. There's a troubling erasure of the complexities of white folk going off grid to live with Native folk. I think Jeremiah Johnson skirts the line, slipping on the wrong side in a couple of places and for me that does affect my overall experience of the film. It is a visually exciting, well crafted film, but it feels dated. Its commentary seems naive, given all we know in 2012, but ultimately because it's Pollack and Redford it was worth at least one viewing.
Also, can we talk about that awesome beard?


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Happy Father's Day
Now for the hard part. Raising your sons and daughters to be ready for the challenges ahead.
John Adams once said, "I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."
That was then. This is the Current Year. Raise your sons to study politics and war. Raise your daughters to be the wives and mothers of warriors.
Labels: decline and fall, war


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Brenner, Sydney
Brenner, Sydney, 1927–, British molecular biologist, Ph.D. Oxford, 1954. He was director of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England (1979–86), and director of the MRC Molecular Genetics Unit (1986–91) before joining (1996–) the Salk Institute, La Jolla, Calif., where he is currently distinguished research professor. With H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston , Brenner received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for discoveries relating to the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death. Brenner is credited with laying the foundation for the work by establishing the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for genetic studies. The .04-in.-long (1-mm) worm has a short life cycle, allowing researchers to learn substantial information about organ development and cell death in a relatively short period of time, and it is transparent, enabling cell division to be observed directly under a microscope. Brenner demonstrated that a chemical compound could induce gene mutations in the nematode and that different mutations could be tied to specific genes.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Biology: Biographies


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