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In Providence, R.I., a small factory is running 21 hours a day, six days a week, to meet the intense demand for Plumpy'nut, a candylike paste that has been heralded as a game changer for treating the kind of severe malnutrition racking Somalia and other drought-stricken areas.
But even with Edesia's expanded hours, churning out what is essentially peanut butter pumped full of nutrients, there isn't enough Plumpy'nut – or its generic equivalents, known collectively as ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) – to meet the demand in East Africa, let alone help feed the estimated 20 million children worldwide who are extremely malnourished.
The reason: Plumpy'nut, the original RUTF, is patented. That patent bars operators in North America and most of Europe from large-scale production of RUTFs that could drive down the price. Companies in developing countries, meanwhile, are allowed to produce Plumpy'nut but can't yet make it cheaply or in large quantities.
That tension has spurred a vociferous debate: How can the need for affordable humanitarian relief be balanced with a profit motive that spurs innovation – and a business model that promotes industry in developing countries – but stymies more efficient production?
"It doesn't matter if people are priced out of the market for an iPad," says Owen Barder, a senior fellow and director for Europe at the Center for Global Development. "But it's not at all fine when it's a vaccine or Plumpy'nut."
A new model for malnutrition care
The Plumpy'nut formula is simple: peanuts, sugar, milk-based proteins, vegetable oil, and a mix of vitamins and micronutrients. Each serving comes in a foil packet. It needs no refrigeration and is ready to eat.
With three daily packets of Plumpy'nut, the recommended regimen, a child can make enormous strides in just a few weeks, says Stéphane Doyon, the nutritional team leader at Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
What makes RUTFs truly transformative for aid organizations is the way they changed the model of care for malnutrition, allowing for treatment at home. Children and their mothers no longer have to remain in hospitals for weeks at a time, which can pose a health threat and strain staff resources, Mr. Doyon says.
Shifting to RUTFs also eases demands on staff in the field. In 2002, MSF needed 2,000 staff to treat 8,000 children. In 2004, MSF's first time using the paste on a large scale, it treated 10,000 kids with only 120 staff. In 2005, it treated 40,000 children.
The patent that protects Plumpy'nut and three similar products is owned by the French company Nutriset. The company sharply restricts patent licensing in industrialized countries, but readily licenses companies in the developing world, providing them with the technology and training they need to produce it. Nutriset sees its patent as "a tool to promote development" and to increase "nutritional autonomy." Generics cannot be made in or shipped into countries with local producers of Plumpy'nut.
Nutriset says that by restricting licensing in industrialized countries that can manufacture its products inexpensively on a massive scale, it is protecting local producers in places like Malawi and Niger, where a lack of infrastructure limits the scale of production. That makes Plumpy'nut 10 to 15 percent more expensive there, according to UNICEF. Without the patent, European and American producers could flood local markets with cheaper products, driving domestic producers out of business.
Local production eases poverty
A benefit of local production, says Maria Kasparian, director of operations for Edesia, the only US Nutriset franchise, is that it creates jobs and a market for local agricultural products, chipping away at malnutrition's contributing factors, such as poverty.
It's an uncommon defense for a patent, Mr. Barder of the Center for Global Development says. Typically, companies argue that a patent is needed to recoup investment in research and development and is justified, because if people know they will make up their costs, they will be more motivated to innovate.
But the trouble with Nutriset's argument for its patent is twofold, Barder says: Supporting local development, while a worthy long-term goal, should not take precedence over responding quickly to life-threatening situations like the famine in Somalia. In this case, he says, that means importing RUTFs from the industrialized world.
Barder also takes issue with Nutriset's use of a patent to promote an economic development "ideology." If developing countries are serious about supporting local producers, they can opt not to import Nutriset's products, he says. Where RUTFs can be made and sold is not a decision for Nutriset to make.
Nutriset says that the limitations are temporary and that it will be less protective as local production expands and costs go down.
If that's the case, there's an easy solution for covering initial costs – a loan, says Barder: "Many companies make a loss at the beginning. You don't need a patent for that."
'The patent is definitely a barrier'
MSF has also been a vocal opponent of Nutriset's patent. Doyon insists that the company's control of the market has limited production and supply of RUTFs. He points to the way licensed producers are scrambling to fill the orders flooding in and the fact that Nutriset has temporarily relaxed its patent restriction in Kenya, where there is already a local producer. "It's good that they make this kind of gesture," Doyon says, but "the patent is definitely a barrier. Otherwise you wouldn't need to remove it."
Shanelle Hall, UNICEF's supply division director, says that Nutriset has readily granted exceptions whenever the need has arisen. Should Nutriset ever stand in the way, UNICEF has what Ms. Hall calls a "release valve" – the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.
The agreement allows governments to grant licenses or to import generics without the patent owner's consent in emergency situations.
According to Adeline Lescanne, the deputy general manager for Nutriset, the French factory produced 30,000 metric tons of Plumpy'nut and Nutriset's other nutritional supplements in 2010, compared with 1,700 in the United States and 6,500 from all the factories making Nutriset's products in the developing world combined.
But Edesia's Ms. Kasparian says the number of producers is secondary. The major barrier is funding, which she says is consistently too low – only enough for 5 to 10 percent of the children in need. Even if more firms produced more Plumpy'nut, aid groups currently don't have the money to buy more. Only if funding expands drastically, she says, "will the patent become immoral and need to change."
Easing the tension between the profit motive that spurs innovation and the need to keep humanitarian products cheap is possible, says Barder, who has researched this dilemma in the vaccine world. One way is an "advance market commitment," in which a sponsor promises to buy a set amount of vaccine, say, at a high price and sell it at a lower one, absorbing the difference. In turn, the vaccine company pledges to provide further vaccines at a lower price for a set period. Another idea is a cash prize that acts like a grant.
But the best solution is probably better anticipation of food crises and the marshaling of resources in advance to better address them.


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Highmark SportsWorks® provides the perfect opportunity to use kids' love of sports as a gateway to talk about the foundational science concepts related to sports, physical activity, and health.
Tons of scientific discoveries await within Highmark SportsWorks®. Students will learn about physics as they actually experience potential and kinetic energy, reinforce the importance of exercise, read about what a calorie is and see how long it takes to burn off what they eat, see how they fare in a series of sports challenges, explore the cutting-edge of surgical techniques, and more-as they interact with nearly 30 hands-on exhibits all about science and sports.
Highmark SportsWorks® was designed to support Pennsylvania's Academic Standards for schools in the areas of 'Science and Technology' and 'Health'.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman
General Hospital: So what do you think of GH's vampire story that features characters from that soap canceled a decade ago, Port Charles? Because it's not over yet, I'm not going to conclusively judge the storyline that already involves one murder (Allison Barrington's) and has "mad" Lucy as seeing John McBain and Sam McCall Morgan really being vampires Caleb and Livvie, the characters Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco played on Port Charles. I surmise the story is a means to an as yet unspecified end, providing suspenseful sweeps month mystery and excitement and introduction of a new character, Rafe (played by Jimmy Deshler), the teenage son of murdered Allison. He seems to be a future love interest for Molly. [Read more…]


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Zooey Deschanel Gossip
Zooey Deschanel gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
Zooey Deschanel's daughter is named Elsie Otter
FameFlynet, Derek Storm/ AR Photo/ Splash News
I'm just going to retype the headline above. Zooey Deschanel's daughter is named Elsie Otter. Here is what she and her husband told PEOPLE magazine: "It's Elsie…" Deschanel began, while Pechenik finished, "Otter. Full Story
In Defense Of Zooey's Emmys Hair
Jason Merritt/ Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images
I landed in New York this morning and it affected my Emmy experience in two ways. One, I got to watch all the American commercials which really do seem more …commercial, somehow…and two, I was SO HOT during. There's humidity here like there hasn't been all summer. So I realized, maybe in the moment as I watched Zooey Deschanel's hairdo that, that it was likely not a style choice, per se, but a leaning into what was already happening. Full Story
Mrs Timberlake wearing New Girl
Wenn, Splash, Pacific Coast News
Mrs Timberlake continued to work on New Girl yesterday. As mentioned, she's guest-starring in an upcoming episode as the "hottest scientist in the world". Check her out leaving set yesterday, presumably in her own clothes, but also similar to Zooey Deschanel's wardrobe. Am also attaching shots of Zooey Deschanel in costume with Jake Johnson. Full Story
Don't see that side of Reese
Yesterday I posted about Cara Delevingne's Instagram and how she put up two videos of Reese Witherspoon dropping some swears about pronouncing Cara's last name. Click here for a refresher. At some point in the afternoon, these videos were pulled down. Full Story
Reese's elevator swears
Someone sent me a note the other day about Cara Delevingne's Instagram. That it's amazing. It really is. Cara's motto is pretty much "f-ck it". Literally, figuratively, all of it. And it hasn't hurt her. She's not Reese Witherspoon. She doesn't have to have the MiniVan Majority onside. Full Story
Zooey Deschanel: tulle at the Globes
Fame, Jason Merritt/ FREDERIC J. BROWN/ Getty Images
Of course it's tulle. I'm surprised it's not taffeta and tulle. But let's not complain. It's the least annoyed I've been with a Zooey Deschanel award show red carpet appearance in a long time (until I looked at the shoes) and I wonder if that has less to do with the actual dress than with the fact that, well, she's lost some buzz, right? Two years ago, Zooey Deschanel was a "one to watch". Full Story
Sister Dressing At The Emmys
Jason Merritt/ Frazer Harrison/ Kevin Winter/Getty
I don't have a sister. I do have a cousin, Cat, who is like a sister. So I thought to myself last night, if Cat and I were invited somewhere to present together, would we do a sisterly matchy-matchy? No. She would pick a dress she liked and I would pick something I liked and if it clashed, so f-cking be it. Full Story
Globes Worst Red: Zooey Deschanel
Jeff Vespa/ Jason Merritt/ FREDERIC J. BROWN/ Getty
There were so many red dresses at the Golden Globes I almost had a seizure. You know I hate a red dress. And I especially hate this one. Enough with the sweetheart neckline and the pearls and the cutesy lollipop hair and the F-CKING NAIL ART and my God, my God with those red satin platforms, my GOD. Full Story
Emmys Most Annoying Dress was worn by Zooey Deschanel
Wenn, Kevork Djansezian/ Getty
F-ck off. And stop it. Full Story
GG Worst Follow-Through: Zooey Deschanel
Jason Merritt/Mark Davis/Frazer Harrison/Getty
Okay. So I'm Zooey D. My show's off the ground, I'm starting to get some blowback about how over the top the cute-geek thing is, and maybe, truth be told, I'm starting to get a little exhausted of it myself. So good. The Globes is a relatively low-pressure time to transition into something else. Full Story
New Year's Eve friends to lovers
Did you explode from the cuteness or roll your eyes from the hipster overdose? I suspect it's about 50/50. (Ha! I didn't even mean that when it first came out!) Those of you who loved (500) Days Of Summer are no doubt going into 2012 with high hopes of a Zooey Deschanel Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie life to real life romance after watching the video she posted of the two of them on Hello Giggles Full Story


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Starhawk's multiplayer mode has been shut down
The PS3-exclusive Starhawk has just shuttered its online servers.
Starhawk headlines
PSN's Summer Festival sale discounts many PS3 titles, get the savings here
Sony has published new additions to its PSN 'Summer Festival' season, which sees several PS3 gamed discounted. We've got the full list here.
PSN offering new game+DLC "Ultimate Edition" bundles at steep discount this week
The PlayStation Store has these "Ultimate Edition" bundles that give you a base game and all its DLC for a discounted price. This week, they're putting out ten new Ultimate Editions, and they're making them even cheaper than they normally would. Plus subscribers get a better discount, as usual. Full list inside.
Gravity Rush and Starhawk DLC releasing for PlayStation All-Stars next month
The Gravity Rush and Starhawk DLC for PlayStation All-Stars will release next month, Sony has announced. The respective characters, Kat and Emmett, will be available for download on February 12 in North America and on February 13 in Europe through the usual PS Store update. The characters will be free for two weeks. Videos of […]
PlayStation All-Stars' first DLC characters revealed as Gravity Rush's Kat and Starhawk's Emmett
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale's first DLC characters have been announced as Starhawk's Emmett Graves and the long-rumored Kat from Gravity Rush.
Lightbox lay-offs confirmed, studio to refocus on mobile
Starhawk developer Lightbox Interactive has confirmed significant lay-offs and an abrupt shift in focus.
Starhawk update 1.04 is live, single and multiplayer options arrive tomorrow
Starhawk single-player launches for free for Plus members tomorrow in Europe, and as announced last week, the multiplayer will also be made available separately for €19.99/$19.99/£15.99. You can also pick up the entire game through PSN for €34.99/$39.99/£28.49. Update 1.04 is also available today for free and comes with new gameplay modes, weapons, mechs, community […]
Starhawk single-player is free for Plus members, multiplayer costs $19.99
Starhawk deals are coming to the PS Store, and according to Sony, three versions of the game will be available starting next week. The full game will run you $39.99, the single-player only will be free for Plus members, and anyone can buy just the multiplayer for $19.99. It all starts September 25.
Starhawk patch 1.04 includes three new modes: Arena, Assault, and Gatekeeper
Starhawk patch 1.04 will include three new multiplayer modes: Arena, Assault, and Gatekeeper. A video below gives you an idea of what to expect. Talk on the official forums expect the patch to land sometime this week. We'll update you with more information and patch notes when we know more. Thanks, NeoGaf.
Starhawk update 1.03 going live today, adds two new maps
LightBox has announced that Starhawk's latest update will be going live later today.
Starhawk video takes a look at final days of development
LightBox Interactive has released a video for Starhawk which give you a "behind the curtains look," at the final days of Starhawk's development. Watch below.
Starhawk map packs to be free, MLG tournament announced
With Starkhawk out today in North America, Sony and Lightbox Interactive has used the opportunity to announce a Major League Gaming tournament worth $20,000 in prizes. To find out how to compete, visit the official page for the game over on MLG. It was also announced that all map packs for Starhawk will be free […]
Sony adds free month of PS Plus to Starkhawk pre-orders
Sony has detailed the US pre-order incentives it previously announced for Starhawk, which it said contains over $20 worth of extra goodies through GameStop. You already know if you drop some money down you'll receive the following: Maw of Despair Outcast Co-op Map and Shade Warrior Multiplayer Skin, Echo Scrapyard Rifter Pack with Scrapyard Homeworld […]
Starhawk is golden, beta testers to receive thank you gifts
Lightbox Interactive has announced that Starhawk has gone gold and those who participated in the beta will receive a couple gifts as a thank you.
Starhawk trailer goes heavy on single-player
IGN's gone up with a new trailer of Starhawk. The video showcases the game's single-player, which has gone a bit under the radar in comparison to its much-anticipated multiplayer suite. Get it below. The Lightbox action title launches on May 8 in the US and May 11 in Europe for PS3.
Axel releasing for Twisted Metal tomorrow, watch Sweet Tooth invade Starhawk
Eat, Sleep, Play has confirmed Axel will be available to all Twisted Metal players when the free game patch releases on April 18. He was previously available through pre-order and comes with his "signature" Crowd Control attack and the War Wheel alternate special attack. Also, a video of Sweet Tooth's outcast skin for Starhawk was […]
Lightbox opens up on Starhawk single-player, says you'll "get your 60 bucks worth"
Dylan Jobe, president of Lightbox Interactive, has said when the team sat down to design the single-player portion of Starhawk, first and foremost, Lightbox wanted the game to have a bit of twist so it would stand out from a typical shooter.
Watch Facebook-exclusive Starhawk video, get a voucher for a multiplayer skin
Sony has released a new trailer for Starhawk, exclusive to Facebook, which when watched will net you some free DLC. The video, titled Build Your Team, focuses on teamwork and stars an "interesting" cast of characters. Go watch the video here, and receive a voucher for a special Starhawk Multiplayer skin which will be made […]
Latest Starhawk video takes you on a ride
Sony has released a new video for Starhawk which shows off some of the game's vehicular combat. It also touches upon the strengths and weaknesses of a few. Watch below.
Starhawk ditches four-player splitscreen, adds dual log-ins
Sony has posted some screenshots of Starhawk's two-player split screen co-op over on the PS Blog. The blog update states that at one point, the developers were considering adding four-player split screen, but based some data which was crunched, the studio found that "not enough people ever used four-player split screen in Warhawk" so efforts […]
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Starhawk latest
PSN's Summer Festival sale discounts many PS3 titles, get the savings here
PSN offering new game+DLC "Ultimate Edition" bundles at steep discount this week
Gravity Rush and Starhawk DLC releasing for PlayStation All-Stars next month
PlayStation All-Stars' first DLC characters revealed as Gravity Rush's Kat and Starhawk's Emmett
Starhawk update 1.04 is live, single and multiplayer options arrive tomorrow
Starhawk single-player is free for Plus members, multiplayer costs $19.99
Starhawk patch 1.04 includes three new modes: Arena, Assault, and Gatekeeper
Axel releasing for Twisted Metal tomorrow, watch Sweet Tooth invade Starhawk
Lightbox opens up on Starhawk single-player, says you'll "get your 60 bucks worth"
Watch Facebook-exclusive Starhawk video, get a voucher for a multiplayer skin
Pre-orders of Starhawk upgraded to Limited Edition, includes code for Warhawk
Euro PS Store and Plus update January 18 – Starhawk beta, GT5 DLC, Reckoning demo
Starhawk closed beta to end January 3, open beta dates coming "next few weeks"
Starhawk testing a "real beta"; games "need time in the pressure cooker"


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Chow Chow Dog Breed Necktie
Price:$45.00in stockNewView more Chow Chow products
Chow Chow Dog Necktie. Our Dog Breed Neckties are available in your favorite breed - the Chow Chow! Ties are 100% Silk and feature the Chow Chow design woven into the cloth itself for a more elegant and detailed
execution of the breed than would be possible in printing.
Please allow approximately two weeks for delivery. Customers from Canada, Hawaii and Alaska should inquire about international shipping prior to placing order.
Breed:Chow Chow
Material:100% Silk
Necktie color is the color shown with dog breed.
Necktie color is the color shown with dog breed.
Delivery Time:Please allow 2 weeks for delivery - custom made.


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I flew back today, and listened to it like 5 more times.
Then I went to the gym when I got home, and listened to it for my entire workout.
I fucking love this! TR is my favorite musician, but Im also a HUGE Carpenter fan. This track is pure magic.


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What is G6PD Deficiency?
New Important G6PD Deficiency Medical Report Published in 2017.
G6PD Deficiency, or Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency as it is properly known, is a genetic disorder found mostly in people of African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean decent which can cause anemia under certain conditions. Although it can be fatal under the right circumstances, it is quite easy to control when you know how. Unfortunately, this information is included in what doctors won't tell you about G6PD Deficiency. This website is dedicated to correcting the myths surrounding G6PD Deficiency and teaching you what you need to know to get and stay healthy. Lets start with a little history about G6PD Deficiency and some information about what it is.
Back in the 1950's and 1960's we called it Familial Congenital Nonspherocytic Hemolytic Anemia Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency. And I had to memorize it so I could tell the doctor if I ever had to. This genetic disorder is basically an anomaly of the gene on the X-chromosome that controls the production of G6PD in cells.
G6PD is an enzyme which has the main role of helping cells convert carbohydrates into a form they can use. In the process of doing that another enzyme is produced called reduced glutathione. This enzyme is a very powerful antioxidant. Since those with G6PD Deficiency don't have enough G6PD, they don't produce enough reduced glutathione to protect cells from oxidative stress. In all other cells except red blood cells (RBC) it isn't critical as they have other means of protection. But for RBC's it is a deadly matter.
When RBC's are exposed to oxidative stress, the cell membrane either bursts or is damaged because there is no, or not enough reduced glutathione to protect them. So, what is this oxidative stress and how do I prevent it, you might ask. Good question. In fact, that is the most important question you could ask. If you can learn how to prevent oxidative stress, you can learn how to prevent RBC's from dying from it, thus the main symptom of G6PD Deficiency is averted. The answer is not so simple, however.
There are quite a few things that cause oxidative stress and they are in three main categories.
- Infections. Some infectious diseases cause oxidative stress. Some viruses (flu, colds) and some germ infections can cause it. So learning how to prevent them is a very good idea. Keeping our immune systems healthy and doing other things to help prevent being exposed to these diseases is vital.
- Drugs. There are many drugs that cause oxidative stress. We maintain a list of drugs to avoid on this website to help you make decisions about the medications you take. This list also contains some other substances that are very harmful. Some of them include naphthalene (moth balls), blue food color and menthol (artificial mint flavor).
- Foods. This is the longest list as it contains all legumes (beans, peas, lentils). This list would be shorter if not for soy. Soy has made its way into our food supply in a big way. In fact it is hard to find prepared foods without it. So, we prepare many our own foods from scratch. Our new Member's section contains over 300 G6PD Deficiency safe recipes to help you learn what you can safely eat. You will be surprised at how many foods we can enjoy.
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Endemic Populations/Discovery
Endemic Populations/Discovery
Until the past ten years or so, every time I told a doctor that I had G6PD Deficiency, he/she would respond with "do you have African ancestors?" This is a common response because those with African ancestors are the biggest group of people with G6PD Deficiency. But almost all other nationalities are affected by G6PDD to some degree or another.
So where did I get it? As it turns out, African and Asian people have about ten to fifteen percent of their population affected by it, but the good news is that for the most part it is milder than the other main groups with it. It is also pretty common in Mediterranean (Italian, Greek, Sephardic Jews) and Middle Eastern populations. Some of them can have rates as high as sixty percent. To make matters worse, the Mediterranean variant is very severe. Oh, did I mention there are over four hundred different variants? This fact makes things a bit complicated. And it turns out that there is one other group that has it. You guessed it. My group.
Not as many of us have it, but the ones who do tend to be very severe. There are about eighty variants with something called Chronic Non-Spherocitic Hemolytic Anemia (CNSHA) associated with them. Don't you love these million dollar names? Big name for a bad condition. Simply put, CNSHA means that we are always hemolyzing, whether we come into contact with triggers or not.
In 1956 a man named Dr. Beutler published a medical paper on his discovery. A few years prior to that, the Drug industry commissioned him and his group to find out why some people became anemic when given Primaquine (a drug used for Malaria). His team discovered that a very old disease called Favism caused it. He called it G6PD Deficiency. He used volunteer inmates in an Illinois prison to do his studies on, and my family is from Illinois. I don't think any of them were in that prison, but somehow, we became involved in that research.
We lived in Montana at the time, but my mother got regular updates on what was going on and how it affected us from other members of our family. Which was a good thing, because in 1956 I had the first hemolytic crises that I can remember. Had my mother not known what to do, I would have died.
Up to this time we knew G6PD Deficiency by a much shorter name. The "family blood disease" and several of my family had died from it. This morning I got a call from a lady needing help.
A few weeks ago a woman from Canada bought Staying Healthy with G6PD Deficiency, but unfortunately the wrong address was used for mailing by Paypal and I got the book back. I sent her an email explaining the problem and she called me with her correct address. I re-sent the book and she got it today.
She told me about her family's experience with G6PD Deficiency. Her father had died from G6PD Defeciency complications during an operation. Her son was diagnosed with G6PD Deficiency at two months of age. She didn't know she had G6PD Deficiency until years later when she was almost 50 years old. All boys get G6PD Deficiency from their mother. Period. There is no other way for a boy to get it. If he got it from his mother, she also has it, but for women, G6PD Deficiency is a somewhat different matter. Here's why.
Women have two X-chromosomes, while men only have one and G6PD Deficiency is controlled by a gene on the X-chromosome. When Dr. Beutler discovered G6PD Deficiency he and others thought that if one of the woman's X-chromosomes was normal and one had G6PD Deficiency, the normal one would compensate for the one with G6PD Deficiency. They call that a recessive trait and they thought that women would not have symptoms (be asymptomatic, not react to triggers). They were wrong, but this notion was spread through the medical establishment for many years and still persists. Most people, including doctors, still believe that women are asymptomatic unless BOTH of their X-chromosomes are affected by G6PD Deficiency.
When a woman has only one affected X-chromosome, we say she is partially deficient. When both of them are affected, she is fully deficient. In either case, she can pass G6PD Deficiency on to her children. To read more about how G6PD Deficiency affects women, see the Women with G6PD Deficiency page. Because of this myth, my mother thought she was not affected by G6PD Deficiency. Had I known then, what I know now, I may have been able to help her and prolong her life.
Another problem with partially deficient women is that they almost always test negative for G6PD Deficiency using standard screening tests. I cannot count the number of women who have contacted me saying "no one in my family has G6PD Deficiency, so why does my baby have it? I don't have it, I was tested and it came back negative."
The only tests that can find G6PD Deficiency in partially deficient women are G6PD Quantitative tests. And since not all of a partially deficient woman's children will get G6PD Deficiency and then the girls will be partially deficient, it can go for generations without anyone knowing. Then a boy gets it and everyone is surprised. See the G6PD Deficiency Inheritance page for more information.
This did not happen in my family. My mother is one of ten children and her mother is one of thirteen children. There was always at least one and usually more boys that had it and in my family ALL the boys know it when they have it. We spend a lot of time in the hospital getting blood, especially when young.
So, how do you keep from having symptoms (hemolysis)? Can you live a normal life when you have G6PD Deficiency?
Preventing Symptoms
Preventing Symptoms
From infancy to mid teens, I was plagued with hemolysis. I had two blood transfusions that I know about and I probably had more when I was born. My mother never said much about my birth, but if I was anything at all like the rest of my family, I had problems with jaundice and hemolysis.
After I reached upper teens, I pretty much forgot about G6PD Deficiency. But that was a serious mistake. We didn't know as much back then as we do now, and I continued to follow Dr. Beutler's recommendations. I was religious about staying away from everything on his avoid list. Some drugs, fava beans, methaline blue and moth balls. I always told my doctor that I had G6PD Deficiency, only I called it by the long name I had learned as a child. They all looked at me with a puzzled look on their face. No one knew what I was talking about. A few went to the trouble of analyzing the name to see what it might mean, but most just shrugged and said, "Never heard of it."
As I got older, a few asked me if I had African ancestors. And as I got older, more of them would say they had heard of it in medical school, but not since. Progress has been painfully slow. Especially for a condition that affects 700 million people world wide and is touted as the most common enzyme deficiency in the world. And to make matters worse, medical schools were not teaching them the truth.
So I went from teens to forties without recognizing what was happening to me. My skin was a bit yellow all the time, my urine was always dark and I was a bit on the tired side most of the time, but I thought I was fine. Boy, was I wrong. In my forties I began having health problems. Tingling in my feet. Arthritis and joint pain that would appear and then go away. Nobody had the faintest idea what was wrong with me. I spent over $10,000.00 USD at the Mayo Clinic, among others, trying to find out what was wrong with me.
My feet got worse and the arthritis got worse. My eyes began bothering me. All the doctors said it had nothing to do with G6PD Deficiency, but every other test they did came up negative. I was pronounced healthy as a horse, but a horse that would be in pain for the rest of its life. They gave it a name. Peripheral Neuropathy (PN).
I became resigned to my fate and pretty much gave up. The pain in my legs and feet got so bad that I started looking for something to help. I found a study in San Francisco that was doing research on PN pain and they agreed to put me in the program. Basically, it was taking an Opium derived pain killer for a six month period.
The medicine had to be taken slowly at first and stopped slowly when the study was over, but I finally lived pain free for the first time in years. I was on cloud nine. Not high, as in a drugged state, but it just felt wonderful to be pain free. Then the other shoe dropped.
After taking the last pill, the pain came back worse than ever. I sat in the Doctor's office and cried, the pain was so bad. It took several months for my body to readjust to the pain and I was miserable. I learned a valuable lesson. Pain medicine will always quit working at some point and when it does, the pain will be much worse than before. After returning to my old way of living, (avoiding all medicine and doctors unless I was dying) my health continued to get worse. But in 2007 things changed. I discovered a G6PD Deficiency forum.
G6PD Deficiency Diet
Learning about G6PD Deficiency became my new life. I had no idea there was so much to it. One of the first things I learned was that it wasn't rare. Seven hundred million people is a lot of people.
I became obsessed with learning how to fix my problems. The more I learned, the more I wanted to share this new knowledge with others. Learning about all the triggers was the biggest thing I had to learn and the hardest to accept. Grocery stores became very frustrating places to go. More times than not I would leave without buying anything. I was looking for the wrong things.
All my life I have gone to the grocery store and bought food based a lot on its convenience factor. Bread already made. Food already cooked and ready to eat. Just throw it in the microwave type foods. But, unfortunately, the prepared food manufacturers have increasingly added soy and other harmful things to their products, and soy is a big trigger. For a list of things to avoid, go to the Food to avoid and Drugs to Avoid pages. For this discussion, lets just say that I thought I would never be able to eat again.
Fortunately, that was entirely untrue. I just needed to make a few adjustments in what I bought. The first thing I had to come to grips with is the fact that prepared foods just were not going to work for me. I was going to have to learn to cook.
My mother was a wonderful cook, but she had passed away a few years earlier. The Food Network on TV became my new channel of choice and I spent hours every day watching it and learning. I figured that if I was going to have to learn to cook, I might as well be good at it. Besides, I missed my mother's cooking anyway.
Another thing I learned is that diet was extremely important. It turns out that hemolysis has a price. Our body has to make more RBC's and clean up the mess created by hemolysis. That takes resources and puts extra strain on our liver, spleen, heart, bone marrow, etc. and it takes the right foods to keep them going strong. So it was time to learn about nutrition.
What I have learned about nutrition is on the diet suggestions page. I cannot emphasize enough how much people with G6PDD need to eat right and stay healthy. If and when the time comes that we have a hemolytic crises, we will need all the strength our bodies can provide. Remember what I said about infections causing hemolysis? We need a healthy body to ward them off.
There are a few other general points I should make before I end this discussion. We'll tackle them on the next page.
More Information
More Information
A few other myths about G6PDD.
More men have it than women
This is not true, nor is it logical. Women can get it from either parent, while men only get it from mom. It just doesn't make sense that more men would have it, but where this myth came from is the failure of most screening tests to detect women who have it. Also, because most women have less severe reactions to triggers, it was just assumed that they didn't have it and were just carriers. A carrier is someone who passes something on to their children, but are not symptomatic themselves. We discussed that earlier.
Diagnostic problems
In patients with acute hemolysis, testing for G6PD deficiency may be reported falsely negative because older RBC's (erythrocytes) with less enzyme activity have been hemolyzed. Young erythrocytes and reticulocytes (new RBC's) have normal or near-normal enzyme activity.
This will be a bit technical, but the terminology is necessary. Diagnosis is made by a quantitative spectrophotometric analysis or, more commonly, by a rapid fluorescent spot test detecting the generation of NADPH from NADP. The test is positive if the blood spot fails to fluoresce under ultraviolet light.
In field research, where quick screening of a large number of patients is needed, other tests have been used, however, they require confirmatory testing to confirm an abnormal result.
Tests based on polymerase chain reaction detect specific mutations and are used for population screening, family studies, or prenatal diagnosis.
Worldwide Prevalence
An estimated 700 million people (10 percent of the population) world wide are G6PD Deficient. It is most common among people of Mediterranean, African, Asian and Middle Eastern decent though recent data produced by modern testing is not available. This website gets visits from almost every country on earth. The only countries not represented are very technologically challenged. New tests are much more accurate and suggest the number of G6PD Deficient people is higher than now reported, especially in women.
As an example, the Philippines, which showed few or no cases on G6PD Deficiency distribution maps, now that newborn screening has been implemented, is reporting that 12% of its population is affected.
More than 440 different variants of G6PD Deficiency have been identified so far ranging from severe to mild. More than 80 of them are accompanied by Chronic Non-spherocytic Hemolytic Anemia. G6PDD is commonly put into one of three classes as follows:
- Class I – Less than 10% G6PD activity accompanied by Chronic Non-spherocytic Hemolytic Anemia (CNSHA). The most severe form of G6PDD.
- Class II – Less than 10% G6PD activity. Severe.
- Class III – 10% – 60% G6PD activity. Moderate to mild.
There are two other classes that range from very mild to too much G6PD, but are not considered here as they do not pose much of a problem.
Favism has been known since antiquity. Everyone with Favism is G6PD Deficient. The term comes from the Fava Bean and those with Favism hemolyze when they come into contact with the bean. See the Favism Page for more information.
Treatment or cure
No. There is no known cure nor do you grow out of it. It is a lifelong condition. The only thing you can do is avoid substances which cause oxidative stress and that use G6PD. Carbohydrates require G6PD for the body to change them into energy for example. Legumes (especially the Fava Bean) contain the proteins vicine, convicine and isouramil which cause hemolysis. Not all legumes contain these ingredients, so there are other substances in them that are the triggers. We just don't know what they are yet.
Symptoms include hemolytic anemia caused by ingestion or exposure to certain triggers. Anemia in turn causes jaundice, pale skin or fingernails, lethargy, exhaustion, shortness of breath and fever, among others. See the Signs of Severe Hemolysis page. These symptoms usually go away on their own when exposure to the trigger is removed.


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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
May 21, 1999
Dear Name*:
Thank you for your letter concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). I apologize that, because of the volume of work associated with administering FMLA, we were not able to respond sooner to your request.
Thank you for your letter of September 17, 1998, addressed to John R. Fraser, Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year with continued group health insurance coverage maintained during the leave for specified family and medical reasons.
In your letter, you specifically request an opinion as to whether the Name* is subject to the provisions of the FMLA. You provide information indicating that the Board is an independent occupational licensing board, which operates under the Nursing Practice Act Name* as enacted by the General Assembly Name*. The Name* Act provides under section Name* that the Board will consist of 15 members, of whom the Governor will appoint two members and commission all Board members upon their election or appointment. You also indicate that the Board employs 36 employees who are not subject to the State Name* Personnel or Retirement Acts.
The provisions of FMLA apply to all public agencies at the State and local government level, including local education agencies (schools). A public agency as an "employer" under FMLA includes any "public agency," as defined in section 3(x) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 203(x). The FLSA's definition of "public agency" includes the government of a State or political subdivision of a State; or an agency of a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or any interstate governmental agency. In applying the term "political subdivision" in the past, the Department of Labor has followed Supreme Court case law that considers whether an entity was either 1) created directly by the State or 2) administered by individuals who are responsible to public officials or the general electorate. The Board was created by the State and is, therefore, a public agency.
With regard to the term "employee," the FMLA's definition of "employee" (see section 29 CFR 825.800) is the same as that term is defined under section 3(e) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 203(e). In the case of an individual employed by a public agency, the term employee means any individual employed by a State, political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental agency. Excluded are individuals who are not subject to the civil service laws of the State, political subdivision, or agency which employs them, and who (1) hold a public elective office of that State, subdivision or agency; (2) are selected by the holder of such an office to be a member of his personal staff; (3) are appointed by such an office holder to serve on a policymaking level; (4) are immediate advisors to such an office holder with respect to the constitutional or legal powers of the officeholder; or (5) are employees of the legislative branch or legislative body of that State, political subdivision, or agency.
Your letter implies that employees of the Board are not subject to the State's civil service laws. If this is correct, then any one of the five additional criteria mentioned above would remove any individual worker from the definition of the term "employee" for purposes of the FMLA and FLSA. The Name* Act Name* states that the Board, which employs all staff, is not comprised of elected public officials; nor does the Board serve as personal staff or advisor to an elected official. In a recent telephone conversation between yourself and Name* of my staff, you advised that the Board is not part of the legislative branch or legislative body of the State. Based on the information provided, it appears that none of the five exclusionary criteria as listed above are applicable to the employees of the Board. Although the employees of the Board are not subject to the State's civil service laws, this condition alone is not a sufficient basis to exclude the Board's employees from coverage under the FMLA (or for that matter the FLSA).
As the Board is a covered employer, and its workers are employees, the FMLA would apply to the Board's eligible employees. All public agencies are covered by the FMLA regardless of the number of employees; they are not subject to the coverage threshold of 50 employees carried on the payroll each day for 20 or more weeks in a year. Employees of public agencies must meet all of the requirements of eligibility, i.e., at least 12 months of service with the employer, and have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately preceding the start of leave, and are employed at a worksite where the employer employs at least 50 or more employees at the site or with 75 miles of the site.
A State is considered a single employer for purposes of FMLA, which means that State agencies constitute the same public agency for determining employee eligibility. This provision is particularly relevant as it relates to "50 employees within 75 miles" employee eligibility test as all state employees within a 75 mile area must be counted to determine if there are 50 or more (State) employees within 75 miles of the Board's worksite location.
This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances provide in your submission, information provided by the Bureau of Census, and telephone conversations with yourself and the State Name* Attorney General's Office. If you require further assistance on any provision of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
For your information, we are enclosing several FMLA documents that may assist you in implementing the FMLA for your employees. If you require further assistance in implementing the FMLA, you may contact the Wage and Hour District Office located at Name*. The office's telephone number is ****************.
I trust that this reply is responsive to your inquiry.
Michelle M. Bechtoldt
Office of Enforcement Policy
Family and Medical Leave Act Team
* Note: The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(7).


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A professor of law and women's studies, Christine Littleton has taught at UCLA since 1983. Her primary research field is feminist legal theory, and she has led courses in employment discrimination, critical race theory, disability rights and sexual orientation. She helped develop the UCLA School of Law's policies and procedures on accommodations for students with disabilities, and has served on faculty advisory committees for the Women's Law Journal and for UCLA's Critical Race Studies program and Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Law.
Professor Littleton joined UCLA after serving as law clerk to Judge Warren J. Ferguson of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She began teaching in the women's studies interdepartmental program in 1985 and served as chair for several terms. From 2008 - 2010, she served as founding chair of the Department of Women's Studies, where she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses. She also was interim director of the Center for the Study of Women from 2003 to 2006.
Professor Littleton has served on Chancellor's advisory committees on the gay and lesbian community, on working groups and task forces on disability issues, and recently on the Academic Programs Task Force. She also has been active in the community as a founding member of the Board of the California Women's Law Center and a volunteer attorney for several nonprofit civil rights organizations. She has conducted or overseen investigations for the university and the City of Los Angeles involving allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion and disability, conducted trainings on sex and sexual orientation discrimination and served as special master or consultant for major settlements in cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning housing and public accommodations discrimination. Littleton earned a bachelor's degree with highest distinction in secondary education and communications from Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from Harvard University.


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Stanczyk loves this story. That the discoverer formerly known as Christopher Columbus (who really should be known by his Portuguese name: Cristobal Colon) may be Polish-Lithuanian royalty.
Stanczyk has written a few times on this Columbus / Wladyslaw III genealogy-genetics-history riddle. The Don Quixote of this tale is Manuel Rosa (an an information technology analyst and amateur historian). Mr. Rosa's claims of the Polish (or more properly Lithuanian, as in Jagiellonian) Wladyslaw III lineage date back to November 2010.
Prior Stanczyk Polish Columbus stories …
1. 02-December-2010 – Christopher Columbus Discovers … He Is POLISH!
2. 27-December-2010 – Wladislaw III – Father of Columbus
Plus a few mentions: 2011, & 2012 at the start of Polish Heritage Month (each October).
Well here is the latest update, from "the Lithuania Tribune". You can read the lengthy article which is most informative.
Factual Claims:
- Rosa has published two books (one in Spanish and one in Polish). NO English version yet.
- Columbus married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo. Filipa was not only daughter of a high noble and Captain of the Portuguese Island of Porto Santo, but a member of the elite Portuguese Military Order of Santiago
- Cristobal Colon's noble wife: Filipa Moniz was one of the twelve elite "donnas" of the Portuguese Military Order of Santiago.
- Colon was descended from legendary Roman General Colonius (not listed in wikipedia List of Roman Generals )
- Columbus never wrote in Italian or Genoese [not even to his brothers]
- Columbus' writings were: rough Castilian punctuated by noteworthy and frequent Portuguese words
- Prof. José Lorente's DNA studies prove that the discoverer Cristóbal Colón's DNA did not match any of 477 Colombo families from the Genoa area.
- Colón was a royal prince, son of a Portuguese noblewoman from the Italian Colonna family and a man named Henrique Alemão (Henry the German) resident on the Portuguese island of Madeira
- Henrique Alemão (Henry the German) = false moniker of Wladyslaw III used for hiding on Madiera Island (presumably from the Ottomans)
- 1498 Will and later Genoese documents proved to be forgeries/fakes
- Prince Georges Paleologue de Bissipat, an exiled Byzantine nobleman living in France nicknamed "Colombo the Younger", said to be a relative of Christopher Columbus was also a relative of King Wladyslaw III
The author laments ("… it is lamentable that, up until now, there is little or no debate in America or Lithuania to either accept or contradict") that only Portuguese and Polish academics have currently debated this topic. Well then Rosa needs to have published/translated the book in Lithuanian and English if he wishes for further debate.
Are there any historians out there? Can anyone refute or supply proof of the above factual claims? Columbus letters and their language should be easy to establish. What about these other people named: General[Roman] Colonius, Portuguese nobles related to Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, or Prince Georges Paleologue de Bissipat ? Come on European Historians help out this poor jester with some factual links or books/documents — so much is online these days.
The next Manuel Rosa appearance is: April 6, 2013, where Manuel Rosa will present a lecture at Boalsburg's Columbus Chapel, (http://www.boalmuseum.com/columbus-lecture.html) where more evidence will be presented, in Boalsburg, PA which is North-West of Harrisburg (contact: contact 814-466-9266 or firstname.lastname@example.com).
I'd love to have this story proven true or false. It is time for the sensationalism to end. Did National Geo ever televise this story as reported earlier? This jester never saw it. What happened with the Colon DNA being compared to Wladyslaw III descendants? So far we only have that he is not related to Colombos who are Genoese. But since he had Roman heritage, I presume he has some Italian DNA. What about the Slavic DNA? Those pesky Slavic DNA markers are pretty different from Italian DNA markers. I am hoping we have Y-Chromosome DNA testing which should show Slavic markers and MT DNA testing which should show Italian/Portuguese markers.
I accept that Cristobal Colon must have had royal blood to marry a noble woman and have such access to European courts. I also accept that a noble man would have had the education that a peasant wool-worker could never have had. I am uncertain about the heraldic symbols. The rest I am unqualified to judge — hence the plea for help.


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J-school colleague Jock Lauterer alerts us to the new Carrboro online/offline news — the Carrboro Commons. The Commons is a lab production, completely with cracking electronics and bubbling liquids I suppose, of Jock's Community Journalism classes.
He writes: "A 12-page tab print version will be out later this week. Then next month, the Web-based Carrboro Commons will be released every other week throughout the semester. Once we have the user registration system set up, folks will be able to sign in and comment about individual stories."


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I just returned from speaking at HITEC in Anaheim, California for the 2009 HITEC conference. HITEC is a conference where hospitality professionals gather to learn and experience the technologies that continue to shape the hospitality industry and customers? experiences. During my time at the conference I realized that most hotels and hospitality operators are still dropping the ball in regards to interactive marketing. Many hotels and resorts have forgotten their customers are online and can type. This may sound slightly funny, maybe even sarcastic but it's the truth.
Many hotels forget that a guest experience either good or bad can travel at the speed of light. While most executives and marketing staff at a hotel are worried about sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp, they forget there are more poweful communication mediums like Facebook and Twitter that allow for guests to more easily and quickly post both good and bad reviews. This leads me to present: brand reputation managmement. Brand reputation management is not a new idea or practice, but more a reminder that the way we watch, monitor and control the things people say, share, do and think with a brand is happening all around is in real-time. The internet has revolutionized the way in which people share experiences, thoughts, ideas and rants and raves. It is important that all brands either it be hotels, shoe companies, banks, real estate, realize that they need to proactively manage and respond accordingly within digital communication verticals.
There are many tools to assist in online reputation managment. For example, you can read about 300+ Online Reputation Managment Tools here.
Twitter also allows for brands to search mentions of brands or any other keywords in their search tool located here: Twitter Seach Tool.
There are hundreds upon hundreds of tools that can assist marketers with online reputation managment. Regardless if you are a hotel, resort, surfboard manufacturer, or tour company, you must begin to reach out and explore what people are saying about your brand. There is no doubt, that people are talking about your brand 24/7. Companies and brands forget that they can innovate by internalizing what has been said in the past about thier products and services in order to create a better future experience or product.
When I had a bad experience with United Airlines recently, I vocalized it to them utilizing my Twitter account. Although, nobody from United Airlines responded, it gave me a place to vocalize my frustrations about their codeshare with US Airways. US Airways flew me from Los Angeles International to Phoenix, to Boston, to Philadelphia to Orlando because of malfunctioning planes. In total a trip that should have taken five hours from San Francsisco International took 30 hours. I received no apologies in person or online. I fly United all the time, but I will never fly US Airways again.
I also had a great brand experience online recently. I need music, pretty much all day when I am not in meetings or on the phone. I am an avid listener of Pandora Internet Radio and have been for about four years. I recently had some issues with the amount of songs I could skip in a give hour and it was beginning to bug me. So again, I went to my Twitter account to present to question to my community of followers. What I found was surprising within 4 hours of Tweeting my question, I received a response directly from the Founder of Pandora via his Twitter account. When I realized that the founder of the company took the time to reach out and reply, it created a new found sense of appreciation for the brand, product and overall customer service experience. I wish that more company and brand executives practiced that same approach habitually.
The bottom line is don't be ignorant. Customers are becoming increasingly saavy and vocal about brands and their experiences with brands online. By harnessing the good, bad, ugly and neutral, every brand wins. The future of online branding and reputation managment is destined to spawn the co-creation of new products, services and marketing campagins. The end consumers are now your new research and development team. They are constantly leaking the ideas and feesback you need to be successful both online and offline. Don't just shut out online, embrace it. You will be surprised and maybe even astonished by the amount of discussion that has already taken place online regarding your brand.


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Ocala police: Dad fed 2-month-old daughter bleach
Father arrested; girl taken to Shands hospital in Gainesville
OCALA, Fla. – A Marion County man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of feeding his 2-month-old daughter bleach.
Carron Washington, 20, was charged with aggravated child abuse.
According to police, Washington said he poured bleach into the child's bottle and fed it to her in an effort to help her breathing problems.
The child was taken to Shands hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Her condition was not known.
Ocala police said the child's mother was awakened by loud crying around 2 a.m. Sunday and found Washington feeding the baby. The woman said she took the child, who then vomited, and she could smell bleach, according to police.
Washington was being held on no bond.
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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|Automated Male (English)
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What does the name Aryaan mean? Find out below.
Interest is based how many people viewed this name from each country and is scaled based on the total views by each country so that large countries do not always show the most interest. Darker blue on the map indicates that people in the country are more likely to search for this name.
Longer bars in the bar graph indicate that people in the country are more interested in the name. Not all countries that have shown an interest in the name are listed in the bar graph.
I do not know how you feel about it, but you were a male in your last earthly incarnation. You were born somewhere around the territory of Eastern Australia approximately on 1775. Your profession was leader, major, and captain.
Psychologically, you were timid, constrained, and quiet. You had creative talents, waited until that life to be liberated. Sometimes environment considered you strange. It always seemed to you, that your perceptions of the world are somewhat different. Your lesson - to trust your intuition as your best guide in present life.


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Measurement Invariance
Mplus Discussion
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Josue Almansa Ortiz
posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 8:01 am
Dear Muthen,
I've a sample of 21 countries, but most of them with sample size less than 40. A CFA model is adjusted for a large set of ordinal items (21).
1. Because of the small sample size per country, total measurement invariance (by country) it is not possible to test, isn't it?
2. Added Country as covariate the M.I. do not show the necessity of direct effects, and factor loadings and variances remains almost equal. I think this can be a "partial measurement invariance" demonstration.
But, although factor loadings did not change, thresholds of some variables changed a lot if country is included as covariate. żThis change in the thresholds when covariate country is included is meaningful in any sense? (can be an explanation for that? is a symptom of some measurement non-invariance?)
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 10:23 am
I think your sample size is too small to test for measurement invariance across countries. Note that with a MIMIC model, measurement invariance can be tested for the thresholds only. This is done by looking at the direct effect of the covariates on the factor indicators. A significant direct effect signifies measurement non-invariance. It is not possible in a MIMIC model to assess measurement invariance of factor loadings.
Josue Almansa Ortiz
posted on Monday, April 21, 2008 - 10:49 am
Then, once adjusted a model with covariates (country in this case), without direct effects, if there is no significant M.I. for the direct effects (item-responses on the covariates), Is this sufficient to say that thresholds are equal across countries?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 21, 2008 - 11:06 am
Yes. But be sure you are getting the modification indices. You need to add the regression of the items responses on the covariates fixed to zero for the modification indices for these parameters to be printed, for example,
y1-y10 ON
Josue Almansa Ortiz
posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 7:40 am
I didn't know that.
Lots of thanks!!
Dan Feaster
posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 1:34 pm
I am trying to test invariant intercepts without simultaneously constraining all groups means to zero. My first approach was to compare a model with all 3 groups factor means set to zero and free intercepts to a model in which groups 2 & 3 factor means were freed and all intercepts equated across the 3 groups. However, this is not a nested test. I wanted to try the Marker-Variable Method of identifying means and variances across groups (Little, Slegers & Card, SEM, 2001). In this method you constrain a single loading per latent factor =1 AND constrain that items intercept=0. Unfortunately, I have been unable to override the Mplus default of setting the first group's factor means to zero. I have included: [factor mean name]; statements in the overall model and and the 2 subgroup models, but still get zero estimates for the first group's means. Am I missing something? Thanks, Dan
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 1:58 pm
You are probably not specifying that the means are free in the first group. You need to do this to override the default.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 4:55 pm
To get the first group's factor means free you should say
[factor mean name];
in the first group.
James W Griffith
posted on Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 2:25 pm
Dear Dr Muthen and Dr Muthen
We are interested in testing metric invariance across two groups, using a Rasch model. All our items are dichotomous. Have we set up our input correctly?
We saw in your postings and examples how to set up the Rasch model, but in various postings about group invariance, the slope of the first indicator is fixed at 1.0 and the factor variance is left to vary.
We constrained the item slopes to be equal and fixed the variance to 1.0 (in both groups), as follows:
TITLE: Rasch across two groups
dv BY item1* item2-item10 (is);
g item1-item10;
USEVARIABLES item1-item10;
IDVARIABLE IS id;
CATEGORICAL ARE item1-item10;
GROUPING IS g (0=g1 1=g2);
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 2:43 pm
With Rasch modeling you typically want to use Estimator = ML (so drop Parameterization=Theta). Also, you probably want to allow for possible factor variance differences across groups which you can accomplish by saying
Model g2:
so that in group 2 the dv factor variance can be freely estimated and different from 1.
You can also test for threshold (difficulty) invariance across the groups.
Artemis Koukounari
posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 9:02 am
Is it possible to assess if there is partial measurement invariance in an LCA using the KNOWNCLASS option? Or we do we do this by looking at the direct effect of the covariates on the item response probabilities?
In this case, do we need to add the regression of the items responses on the covariates fixed to zero?
Many thanks!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 12:28 pm
Because in LCA, the only measurement parameters are intercepts or thresholds of the latent class indicators, looking at the direct effects is sufficient. Multiple group analysis allows the invariance of other parameters to be considered but in LCA this is not necessary.
You can ask for MODINDICES (ALL).
Artemis Koukounari
posted on Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 8:22 am
Thanks so much for the explanation. I shall then look at the direct effects. When I tried MODINDICES (ALL) I got the following message: 'This is not available for TYPE=MIXTURE with more than 1 categorical latent variable. Request for MODINDICES is ingored'.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 8:31 am
Then I would add one direct effect at a time where one latent class indicator is regressed on all covariates.
Jon Gruda
posted on Monday, March 21, 2016 - 1:33 pm
How would I test for measurement invariance not between groups (i.e., a categorical variable) but rather as a function of a continuous variable (and in fact, more precisely, as a function of two continuous variables and their interaction). In other words, I would not be comparing factor between groups but along a set of continuous variables and their interaction.
Is there any paper or examples that can point me in the right direction?
Thank you so much!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, March 21, 2016 - 1:39 pm
I don't know of any such paper. You should post this on a general discussion forum like SEMNET.
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Affordable Microchipping for Your PetMichigan Humane Society's three veterinary centers currently offering affordable microchipping
Recent media reports have shared the heartwarming tale of Petie, a dog who in July became separated from his owner in Tennessee. Three months later, he was found in Rochester Hills with no collar, and was brought to the Michigan Humane Society (MHS). The story had an extra happy ending when, at MHS, he was found to have a microchip, which allowed the staff to contact Petie's surprised owner.
Petie's story has increased awareness about the benefits of microchipping, but we'd like to see many more pets protected by this permanent, safe and effective form of identification. If the pet's collar and identification tags should fall off, or be taken off, a microchip could be his ticket home, like it was for Petie.
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To schedule an appointment for your dog or cat, contact an MHS veterinary center:
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Publisher's Summary
In the remote village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer - much to the frustration of her mother, who would rather she found a husband. Despite knowing that women aren't readily accepted by the Guild of Healers, Tessia is determined to follow in her father's footsteps. But her life is about to take a very unexpected turn. When treating a patient at the residence of the local magician, Lord Dakon, Tessia is forced to fight off the advances of a visiting Sachakan mage - and instinctively uses magic. She now finds herself facing an entirely different future as Lord Dakon's apprentice.
Although there are long hours of study and self-discipline, Tessia's new life also offers more opportunities than she had ever hoped for, and an exciting new world opens up to her. There are fine clothes and servants - and, she is delighted to learn - regular trips to the great city of Imardin. However, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. For a storm is approaching that threatens to tear her world apart.
Critic Reviews
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- Paul
- 16-12-13
The Healer's Apprentice
I really didn't like this book. It started out really slowly, and stayed that way through most of the book. There were three different points-of-view in this story, and none of them really appealed to me. Tessia was the main POV, and she started off as a really likable character who was helping her father the local healer, until she comes to realize she's a naturally gifted magician through an assault from our main villain. Ok that's pretty neat, but as the story goes on and the war escalates between Corallia and Sachika, she begins to whine about how much she'd rather be a healer. We get it after it's beaten into our skulls more times than I can count. The relationship between her and Jayan wasn't really well developed and not at all surprising, so it fit the bill, but it wasn't anything special. I don't really understand how she went from a healers apprentice and a magician's apprentices to this all powerful magical healer with only knowing the basics, as that's what we were led to believe.
The second POV character is Hanara the evil Takado's slave. This character served as our view into what the villains were doing. I thought this could have been a really interesting character after how the first part when he gained freedom, but then his character just fell apart as he groveled through the last 2/3 of the story.
The final POV character is Stara a woman who gets sent back to her Sachakan father to be married and start a family. She started off boring and actually became the most interesting character towards the end, even though she was pretty selfish in her goal to become a magician and not be married/have children.
The story mostly follows the war between Sachaka and Corallia. It spends a lot of time following the magicians movements and there's three battles that feel more like skirmishes, because they don't capture the battle very well. I don't know if Ms. Canavan has a lot of experience writing battle scenes, but these were not as exciting and they didn't capture the war very well.
**Spoilers Below**
I don't know if this is because this is a prequel and I should have read the Magician's trilogy first, but I was unimpressed with most parts of the book. I thought it was too long and it didn't cover much. I was tired of Tessia wanting to just heal everyone. I get that she didn't want to kill, but she was a magician and the country was at war with the guy who wiped her village out and killed her parents and she didn't seem to care much, but HEAL everyone!!! I thought that her romance was rushed even though it was expected. we're both hurt, but I LOVE You and I love you too!! She's the main character, but we couldn't focus on her for the conclusion of the book other than to say she's about ready to give birth? The same goes with Dakon, we just get a passive sentence that oh, he was assassinated, but that didn't really matter.
Hanara was a pitiful character. He started off as a slave who was beaten nearly to death by his master, and then he was told he was free and he was enjoying working in the stables, but then the war comes and he crawls back to Takado. He grovels at his feet even though he gets no respect other than his master can draw power from him.
Stara thinks she's going back to Sachaka to help her father's trade, but he wants nothing to do with her and doesn't respect her. He wants her to marry and breed, but he reads her mind and finds out she's a magician and not a virgin, so he passes her off to a husband, who happens to be gay. She realizes this late in the story, but once war hits home, she gathers up her friends, some slaves and other "traitors" and they high tail it out to form a Sanctuary for Women. It's pretty interesting, but the don't want men, and if the women want to have kids, they should go to a local village and shack up with someone and then return to this Sanctuary.
I was initially interested in this world, but this story really turned me off to her Magician's trilogy and the follow-up traitor spy. I don't think I'll check out any more of Ms. Canavan's stories.
6 people found this helpful
- Natalie Fayman
- 08-08-13
Total disappointment
What disappointed you about The Magician's Apprentice?
The characters were flat and 2-dimensional. The story was just not that interesting. The ending left me frustrated and feeling cheated out of the time I invested in plowing through this book
Any additional comments?
One of the things that annoyed me the most is that, despite the fact that the entire book is told from the perspective of Tessia-a 14 year old girl-, the narrator is a crochety-sounding old man. It just really didn't seem like the right choice of narrator for this story. Half of the book is the story of Tessia and her companions while the other half is the story of Starra and her personal struggles with her father, new lifestyle, new country, etc. I was waiting the entire book to find out what one had to do with the other. The answer... NOTHING. The 2 characters only cross paths for about 3 seconds at the near-end of the book. What is the purpose of the Starra storyline? Maybe to set up the sequels of this book. I don't know. But I'm sure not interested enough to find out.
And it isn't until the epilogue that the author mentions that a major character who we've been following throughout the whole story was assassinated. But it's merely mentioned briefly and then the story moves on as if it is just a minor trivial detail. I was yelling "What????" Nothing like dropping a huge bomb and walking away with absolutely no explanation.
I was completely disappointed by the character development, the plot, and the narration of this story. I don't think I'll be trying any more by this author.
4 people found this helpful
- Cheri
- 07-10-16
less than hoped for...
although having listened to The Black Magician Trilogy, and realize the author's writing style seems to be aimed at younger people, this particular book is written in a particularly immature way.
even those who are supposed to be adults, talk, think, and act in a very immature way. it makes the book hard to listen to as i find myself rolling my eyes at what i hear. this is one for the return pile.
1 person found this helpful
- Anonymous User
- 06-06-18
Alltime favourite fantasy
I read the Black Magician Trilogy first, then the Apprentice. The Apprentice is an exciting adventure and guides the reader back to before the founding of the Guild. It explains the background of the Trilogy and brings this particular world closer to the reader.
- Helen
- 29-09-16
This one drew me in slowly
Having read the trilogy many years ago, I expected this one to be impossible to set aside. While initially disappointed due to the slow start, but it drew me in bit by bit. By the end, I didn't want it to finish.
- Billy Carelock
- 13-08-15
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Reading was choppy, and storyline random as it jumped from character to character
Would you recommend The Magician's Apprentice to your friends? Why or why not?
no, storyline only loosely meshed, only real connection is that they share a common time line and "settings"
How did the narrator detract from the book?
choppy, sometimes had long pauses in reading some passages
Could you see The Magician's Apprentice being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
Any additional comments?
Found out during the reading that this may have been an attempt at giving historical background info/attempt to tie several of the authors other series together. As this was my first experience with this authors work I was disappointed and would be reluctant to check her other series.
- Marc
- 07-08-15
Not a Lot of Magic, BUT A Lot of Pauses!
I was really disappointed with the performance on this one. While many audiobook performances tend to run sentences, thoughts, paragraphs, and such together, the length of pauses, in addition to the placement of the pauses actually made this a struggle to get through. RARELY do I struggle so much to get through a story that I am interested in.
The book itself has a decent story-line, however it seems like there's more healing than magic discovery in this one.
I'd recommend it to anyone that likes a quick fantasy read... IF you can handle the performance.
- Birgitte
- 29-05-15
good intensions... painful execution
It could have been a good story. I certainly kept waiting for it to get better. It didn't.
Unfortunately, this book reads as if it was written by someone working in a large corporation specializing in product development. Everything is clinical, planned, and sterile. As an example, Henara, the slave, appears to have been placed with only one purpose in mind: to provide insight into the foreign magicians' thinking. The store stone and the map are so obviously placed to become important later. All characters are nearly completely dimensionless, and the storytelling is marred by long, excruciating, passages where the characters apparently feel the need to think they way through long explanations for why something is happening... even when it is completely obvious. All decisions must be debated in committee - just like at my job. Through the poor choice of narrator (poorly matched to the book - not a criticism of the actual reading), the magicians come off as doddering old fools, and the "love story" is just plain pathetic. I will be looking elsewhere for my next read.
- Michael
- 21-03-13
Not Awesome
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Different narrator, the narrator made it sound like everyone was whining.
Would you be willing to try another one of Richard Aspel's performances?
You didn't love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
I think there are good bones to the story
- J. R. Vine
- 21-02-13
I loved this book, its a prequal to the Magician's Guild trilogy and explains about the start of the Guild. Its definately worth a credit
14 people found this helpful
- Martina
- 31-10-13
Would you listen to The Magician's Apprentice again? Why?
I will certainly listen to this again. It feels possible although it is total fantasy. I became very involved with the main characters, and couldn't wait to see how they would get through.
What did you like best about this story?
The human ability to discover new things and they sound so plausible you want to try them
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The 1st head on battle after the wizards have learnt they can help protect each other
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
it sure was a book to take everywhere. I was itching for the next chance to listen to more. It got me happily through a few sleepless nights
Any additional comments?
Richard Aspel confused me on occasion with his mix up in voices. A couple of times I had to re listen to affirm which character was involved
6 people found this helpful
- Nya H
- 15-04-13
At first I found it quite hard to listen to this book but in truth it is ok. Not my usual sort of book but im glad i stuck it out. Its less about Magic and more about war though!
3 people found this helpful
- Mr
- 12-04-15
An amalgamation of so many books
What disappointed you about The Magician's Apprentice?
Poorly written or read or both hard to tell. Went to the end just to see if it got any better and it didn't.
What could Trudi Canavan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Stopped half on the introspection made it difficult to like any of the characters no one has that many doubts.
You didn't love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?
You get a long book for your credit
2 people found this helpful
- Deirdre Lynam
- 09-02-15
Would you try another book written by Trudi Canavan or narrated by Richard Aspel?
narration was fine but would be reluctant to try another trudi canavan book.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
i was with the story all along but its discriptions were very superficial....we started with tessia but i could never visualise her or really warm to her character and struggle... i believed the romance would develop between Dracon and Tessia...never warmed to the characters... and jumping 10 years in the last few chapters really robbed me of the true story of what happened after the war...
What does Richard Aspel bring to the story that you wouldn't experience if you had only read the book?
tone and inflection warm and entertaining...he did his best with a bad story..
If this book were a film would you go see it?
may do if the screenplay fleshed out the characters better and didn't jump 10years in the end..it cheats us out of a truly epic story...
Any additional comments?
first time to try a fantasy novel...not put off exactly but would expect a better story next time...
4 people found this helpful
- Caroline
- 10-04-13
The magicians Apprentice
Interesting and lively story, told in a melodic and calm voice - cant wait to read on - Great read
4 people found this helpful
- mollyeyre
- 08-12-15
I am really struggling with this book, the story line seems as if it will develop and be OK, but the telling is so laboured and drawn out that I am really finding it difficult to stay with. I have put it to one side for the moment and may pck it up again later.
The narration is not to my liking at all - his characters all sound half daft with an Essex accent that sounds as if a lot of gum chewing is involved.
The book is 25 hours long - I have churned through 5 hours so far - and I really think that a third of that time would have done it justice, I cannot bear the thought of another 20 hours. As I say - the story seems OK, and I quite fancy finding out where it leads - but it is a struggle.
3 people found this helpful
- tinyNorman
- 16-09-13
Entertaining story.
The narrator, Richard Aspel, is first class. The story is entertaining, and the only reason I give it less than 5 stars is that the foreshadowing is a little too obvious. This kind of takes away from the suspense of "what happens next?" which is the main appeal of these fantasy adventure novels.
All in all, an enjoyable book, and I will look for others by this author and narrator.
3 people found this helpful
- Ayj
- 08-08-13
Tedious in the extreme!
What was most disappointing about Trudi Canavan's story?
This book is monotonous.
Would you be willing to try another one of Richard Aspel's performances?
Performance of this book was good, its just a shame that the story was not more interesting.
5 people found this helpful
- D. J. A. Stevenson
- 20-12-19
Good story, terrible narration
This is a good story to introduce the universe, but the narration so far is in a monotone and makes the whole thing very boring. I've made it through a couple of hours but I'm struggling to go any further to be honest.
- Lachlan Peterson
- 30-05-16
A fantastic prequel
A great stand-alone story to the world of Kiralia and Sachica. A fantastic prequel that introduces the story, and is a good listen for either fans of the series or those who've never read any of them. Definitely reccomend!
2 people found this helpful
- Kindle Customer
- 22-09-16
Too Slow
This was by far the slowest fantasy book i have ever listened to try again.
the story had so much potential.


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Table of contents
12 April 2011
Prerequisite knowledge
The downloads currently available on Adobe Labs are early preview releases—final releases of Flash Builder 4.5 and Flash Catalyst CS5.5 will be available for download in early May.
User level
Required Adobe products
Note: The downloads currently available on Adobe Labs are early preview releases; final releases of Flash Builder 4.5 and Flash Catalyst CS5.5 will be available for download in early May.
(Besides this article, you can watch my accompanying video to learn more about Flash Catalyst CS5.5.)
Flash Catalyst CS5.5 represents an important step forward in the Flex-based designer/developer workflow. As Flex-based applications become more visually rich, more technically complex, and more prominent in the enterprise, the ability to prototype and create visually accurate applications becomes even more critical.
In Flash Catalyst CS5.5 Adobe has focused development efforts on the following areas:
- Resizability support for applications and components
- Improved Flash Catalyst and Flash Builder workflow
- Wireframing and prototyping enhancements
By default, all new projects created in Flash Catalyst CS5.5 are resizable. With a resizable application, you can see a real-time preview of how your application will respond when viewed in the browser. Using the new application resize handle (see Figure 1), you can scale the artboard to test various layout scenarios. When you add components to your project, you can use a new UI to attach or constrain the component to the edge of its container. These new constraint handles (see Figure 1) can affect the positioning of a component as well as the size of the component. For instance if the left and right sides of a component are constrained to the artboard and the artboard grows in width, then the component will be forced to make up the difference with its width.
Components do not have to be constrained to only the artboard. If you have components grouped or added to other components, constraints can be used as well. Clicking on a constraint handle will attach that side to its container. You can also right-click a component and select Add Constraints to automatically add constraints to all four sides of it.
The primary focus for Flash Catalyst CS5.5 is providing designers and developers a meaningful way to work together. Adobe knows that teams and projects come in many shapes and sizes, so Flash Catalyst gives you numerous options to best fit your specific needs. This section provides a quick overview of workflow options. For a more in-depth look at what workflow best suits your needs check out the article Understanding new Flash Catalyst CS5.5 and Flash Builder 4.5 workflows.
Flash Catalyst CS5.5 and Flash Builder 4.5 roundtripping
Flash Builder 4.5 now supports opening any projects created in Flash Catalyst CS5.5. After creating a wireframe or prototype in Flash Catalyst, you can save your project and then import it into Flash Builder. Once in Flash Builder, you can begin to add business logic and define additional custom components. At any point, you can export the project back to Flash Catalyst and skin the components created in Flash Builder.
Flash Builder 4.5 also supports a new project type: the Flash Catalyst compatible project. This project type leverages a new compatibility checker that ensures code written in Flash Builder can be interpreted by Flash Catalyst. If you start a Flash Catalyst compatible project, you can simply right-click on the project and choose Flash Catalyst > Edit Project In Flash Catalyst to open and edit the project in Flash Catalyst (see Figure 2). Once you've finished editing in Flash Catalyst, you can resume working in Flash Builder seamlessly.
More Flash Builder feature support
Among the most exciting new features of Flash Builder 4.5 are the coding productivity enhancements and code style customization. If you define templates or a style in which your code should be formatted, when returning to Flash Catalyst it will respect those preferences and continue to generate code in that same style.
Not only does Flash Catalyst respect your style of coding, but it now respects your package structure as well. Any new files created by Flash Catalyst will be put into the Components package, but Flash Catalyst is also be able to read and understand components created in Flash Builder and placed in your custom package structure.
To work better with Flash Builder, Flash Catalyst now tolerates arbitrary ActionScript files as well as SWCs linked in Flash Builder projects. In many cases, Flash Catalyst cannot introspect or modify these files but they will not cause an error when opening the project in Flash Catalyst.
With new features such as the Align panel, managed layouts, and global interaction targeting, Flash Catalyst enables you to rapidly create wireframes to share with a development team or to generate a high fidelity prototype to share with a client.
Layout enhancements
The Align panel is a particularly exciting new addition, which you'll recognize if you are familiar with other Adobe design tools. It lets you align, distribute, and resize selected components to each other or to their container.
The Common Library panel (see Figure 3) offers a variety of placeholder components as well as Spark components. You can easily replace the placeholder components with imported artwork by using the Replace With command. The skinnable Spark components (noted by the small pencil icon) can be visually skinned and directly used in your Flex project.
Flash Catalyst CS5 supported only simple groups for layout. With this release, Catalyst CS5.5 supports more complex managed layouts such as Horizontal, Vertical, and Tile layouts. These layout types correlate to the same layout types developers use in Flash Builder.
Interaction enhancements
To help designers create truly interactive prototypes, Flash Catalyst has introduced a global interaction targeting system. Global interaction targeting enables an interaction, such as a click, to control another component anywhere in your prototype. After choosing the component to which you want to add the interaction, simply navigate through your app, select the component you would like to control (see Figure 4), and then choose your command.
Animation enhancements
Enhancements to the Flash Catalyst timeline and animation system will be a pleasant surprise for any designers interested in adding animation to their applications. Flash Catalyst CS5.5 has expanded the number and types of parameters that can be animated. There is now animation support for filters, strokes, fill colors, font sizes, and font colors. In addition, Flash Catalyst CS5.5 has auto-reverse effects, repeat settings, and interrupt settings to enable even more engaging animations.
This is just a brief overview of a few new features of Flash Catalyst CS5.5. To dive deeper into any of these topics follow the links in this article or check out the complete list in the Flash Catalyst Developer Center on the Adobe Developer Connection. If video is more your thing, there is tons of great content walking you through all of these features on Adobe TV. Watch my accompanying video as well.


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Harriet Carter has everything you need for your eating and cooking quarters. From cooking to baking needs, we carry a wide variety of kitchen helpers to aid with food prep, food storage, and clean up. Add color to your kitchen with decorative tablecloths and kitchen decor accessories.


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It is awfully difficult to win a championship in professional sports but heading into 2013-14 that is once again the goal of the Washington Capitals, who have yet to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup since their inception in 1974. The Caps, who have made the playoffs the last six years, have another quality team as they prepare to open their season against the defending champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the Windy City on Tuesday night at 8pm on NBCSN.
On Sunday, Caps General Manager George McPhee made several moves to help put some clarity to the opening night roster culminating with a trade of center Matheiu Perreault to the Anaheim Ducks for a 4th round pick and AHLer John Mitchell. In addition, several players were sent to Hershey, including defenesemen Tyson Strachan and Dmitry Orlov. For now, here is what the Caps roster looks like:
Goalies (2): Braden Holtby, Michal Neuvirth
Defensemen (7): Mike Green, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, John Erskine, Jack Hillen, Steve Oleksy, and Connor Carrick
Forwards (14): Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Mikhail Grabovski, Brooks Laich, Troy Brouwer, Martin Erat, Tom Wilson, Eric Fehr, Joel Ward, Jay Beagle, Jason Chimera, Aaron Volpatti, and Michael Latta
The move of Perreault was predicted here last week and makes sense from a hockey and salary cap standpoint. This Caps team needed to get bigger and more powerful up front and Wilson's outstanding camp made keeping him up with the main club, rather than shipping him back to a weaker league (OHL), an easy decision. The 19 year old, who was the 16th overall pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft, brings a dimension that this Washington team needs more of in the post season: size and the ability to score the tough goals in close. Six months with Coach Adam Oates and some highly talented teammates is what is needed for Wilson to continue his development, the OHL is just not going to help him get any better.
As for the rest of the squad, the strengths appear to be in goal and up front. Braden Holtby has established himself as a number one goalie and has the chance to move into the elite category with a very strong season. As McPhee told the media last Tuesday, to win the Stanley Cup you have to have great goaltending. #70 is the guy being counted on to deliver that, but Neuvirth is a more than capable net minder and will be needed to play well so that Washington can qualify for the post season in a very competitive Metropolitan Division.
At forward, the Capitals have some serious depth on the wings but still aren't sure who is going to be the third line center. Backstrom has the first line locked up with Grabovski manning the second unit. The club could go with Beagle as the 3rd line center and Latta pivoting the 4th to start the season, but that depends on the health of the others, primarily Laich, who has been battling a hip flexor issue. Right wing is just loaded up with Ovechkin, Brouwer, Fehr, Wilson, and Ward. Both Fehr and Erat were tried at center this preseason by Oates with some success, so the head coach has lots of options. Johansson could play 3rd line center at some point too. The Caps have not had as talented a crew of forwards to start the season in many years and with the players they have there is lots of room for flexibility.
On defense, the top three is awfully good with Green, Alzner, and Carlson. After that, it gets dicey. Erksine was super last spring in the regular season but is he really a top 4 d-man? #4 will have a chance to prove it starting this week. Oleksy came out of seemingly nowhere to take a 3rd pair spot in the spring and Hillen overcame an early season injury to play a lot of quality minutes last year. Carrick was the biggest surprise of training camp, has great offensive skills and his hockey IQ is high. Learning to play defense in the NHL is harder than any other position so Washington has to be careful to not put too much on the 19 year old, who has incredible potential. The organization still has high hopes for Orlov, but given his injury situation last season, starting him in Hershey made too much sense. The 2009 2nd round pick will play top pair minutes in the AHL and can hone his craft for what appears to be an inevitable jump back to the NHL at some point during the 82 game season.
Special teams will be an important component of Washington's success. Last season the Caps were #1 in the NHL with the power play (26.8%). You can expect it to remain at least top 5 and Oates and assistant coach Blaine Forsythe will continually be tweaking things to counter opposition tactics. As for the penalty kill, Laich stated on Tuesday that is one of the areas this Capitals club will have to improve in if they want to do well in the regular season and playoffs. The PK has been one of the team's weaknesses the last few years and it was 27th out of 30 in 2012-13 with a success rate of only 77.9%.
In summary, the expectations are high for this Capitals team. The playoffs are not a given, but if this club can stay relatively healthy, then they have the talent to compete for the division title. Every team in the Metropolitan Division has its issues. The Penguins are the pick of many but their goaltending and team defense certainly has its question marks. Will the Rangers respond positively to a new coach in Alain Vigneault? How will the Devils do with the departure of Ilya Kovalchuk? The Flyers added Vinny Lecavalier but will Ray Emery or Steve Mason step up and be a top goalie in a pressure packed Philly market? Are the Islanders ready to take the next step up the ladder or was their playoff run last spring a one time deal? Is Columbus going to play like the team that nearly qualified for the post season last spring or the cellar dweller crew that started 2013? Finally, will Cam Ward returning in net for Carolina propel them to a winning season? Nothing is set in stone heading into the season and in the salary cap era every team has holes and/or issues. What is important is that the Capitals get off to a good start since coming from behind in the standings is not going to be as achievable as it was in the Southeast Division.