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Posts Tagged 'Albany'
Announcing HERRICK Family Association Reunion in Albany
This message was recently received from Richard L. Herrick with the request to pass it on.
So to the readers of the New UNYG Blog, here it is:
The Herrick Family Association (HFA) is pleased to announce that the Herrick Family Association Annual meeting is being held September 23 to September 27, 2009, in Albany, New York. Richard L. Herrick, President of the HFA and compiler of the third edition of the Herrick Genealogical Register (HGR) will be available to consult with anyone interested in their Herrick family connection.
Mr. Herrick graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S.M.E and later became interested in genealogy in the early 1960s. After retirement in 1994 Mr. Herrick began in earnest to update the 1846 & 1885 editions of the Herrick Genealogical Register [HGR] which now has a database of 50,000 individuals for Herrick's and allied families connected to the Herrick family.
Volume I of HGR3 was published in 2008; Volume II in 2009 and Volume III will be published in 2010. Publishing the HGR3 is a team effort of Richard L. Herrick, Kenneth Roy Herrick, Sharon Herrick, Joann Nichols and Dale!
EllenYoe who will also attend the Herrick Family Meeting.
The Herrick Family Association is a national non-profit organization formed in 2001 to provide a central focus for family tree information for all individuals with an ancestor or spouse named Herrick and those who descended from Henry Herrick who arrived in Salem, MA from England during July 1629. The Herrick Family Association also supports a DNA project and genealogy research ongoing in several countries.
The meetings will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites-Albany, located at 25 Chapel St., Albany, NY 12210. Further information on reservations and activities at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~herrick
Note: If any of you are interested a capsule format genealogy of my connection to the HERRICK line is shown on the main UNYG website at: http://www.unyg.com/my_genealogies/
How to obtain copies of Vital Records for Genealogical Purposes in Upstate New York.
The New York State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, at the state capital in the City of Albany, NY, is the official repository for the original certificates that were issued for Births, Deaths and Marriages for almost all of Upstate New York locations, (other than the cities of Albany, Yonkers and Buffalo prior to 1914.) The filing of certificates was required by law commencing in 1881.
Albany is one of those locations in the state that can mean a City, a Town or a County. For purposes here, when mentioned, it shall mean the City of Albany unless described differently.
The information written here does NOT cover the major metropolitan New York City areas, for obvious reasons.
There are a great many certificates lacking in the earlier years, as individuals and doctors, just did not comply with the law. It will be observed that a more complete listing starts about the time of World War I.
When a vital record certificate was issued it first was recorded at the local level in the appropriate Village Clerk, Town Clerk or City Clerk's journal books, before the actual document was forwarded to the Department of Health in Albany.
You may purchase a transcription of the partial information that is in the local journals from that particular village, town or city clerk. As it apparently is now you will receive a pre-printed form of the basic facts that a clerk excerpts out of the record books. The clerks do not allow patrons to see the books directly or to handle them personally. There are some cases where the clerk transcribed the document for a waiting patron and the person could actually read the item in the journal though it was upside down on the counter.
This might be good enough for your purposes, and the transaction usually takes place rather quickly, sometimes immediately in person, and sometimes about two weeks through the mail. It varies from office to office and clerk to clerk. Keep in mind this method will give you a clerk's transcript of information from the incomplete journal entry.
A more thorough method is to obtain a photocopy of the original actual vital records document itself. This you may do from the Department of Health in Albany. Now here is some advice that will smooth this procedure out for you and will certainly speed it up.
First you should locate the item of interest on the microfiche index. The indexes are made from typewritten sheets by category and year and alpha grouped by surnames. Use care when searching as the state clerk typist that created the index did not always spell properly, or the handwriting might have been unclear on the document, or for what ever reason, if you do not find what you want immediately in the index; try it again using variant spellings. There are many entries of births wherein the child had not yet been named when the certificate was filed. In that situation it is usually just "male or female," date, location, and certificate number.
These typewritten sheets were then filmed and converted into a microfiche index set. Several years ago the vital records office made the decision to put a duplicate set of fiche indexes only, at the New York State Archives to be allowed to be accessed by the public with certain restrictions. You must provide a photo ID to use them, no copying of the fiche is allowed, no reproduction in any manner is allowed, and no computer databases are allowed to be made from the index.
What you are allowed to do, is to locate the name and item of interest, and write down the village, town or city the event occurred in, the date of the event, and a certificate number. That number only has relevance to the collection of records in Albany at the Dept. of Health. If you were going to apply locally to the village, town or city clerk then the number would not have any meaning to them, only the name and date would. The location of the event may at times appear rather cryptic, as the indexer used their own method of abbreviation for villages, towns and cities in some cases. There is no key to these abbreviations that I am aware of, but using some common gazetteers and maps you should be able to figure it out.
Well thanks to the lobbying of many friends to genealogists everywhere, a few years ago the state put a duplicate set of microfiche indexes at the Rundel Library in Rochester, NY. This was soon followed by putting another set in New York City, and for the sake of convenience and good control, the National Archives Branch in Manhattan agreed to house them. What has followed since is that the microfiche index set is now available throughout the state in several prime localities and the regions are quite well spread out.
Our friend, Cliff Lamere, has been working on compiling specific details as to the whereabouts of these indexes and has made many telephone calls directly to the NYS Archives, the NYS Health Department, and the actual Libraries and facilities that now house the index collections. Cliff reported on one of the newsgroup mail lists recently that the people in charge at the state offices were not able to tell him where more than five of the sets were. I had heard of a couple of locations and told him, and he followed through as Cliff always does, and confirmed the complete list, or as we now believe is the complete list of eight locations.
The rules for public access to the vital records indexes are as follows; you are only allowed to look at the indexes for births that occurred seventy five or more years ago. Marriages and deaths must have occurred fifty years or more ago.
The Microfiche Indexes that are available now are as follows;
Births (1881-1933), Marriages (1881-1958), and Deaths (1880-1958).
In addition to the birth and marriage time restrictions, you must be able to show that all parties are known to be deceased in order to purchase a non-certified copy of the original document. In the case of marriages the bride and groom will both be indexed separately.
Complete sets of the vital records microfiche indexes that are available to the public are presently at the locations listed below. You will still need a photo ID and it would be prudent to listen carefully to the instructions.
1) The New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY
12230. Location: 11th Floor, Madison Ave. at the Empire State Plaza.
2) The National Archives, Northeast Region Branch, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014. (Note: Since September 11, 2001 there is now a very high level of security screening of all persons entering this facility. Be aware of this and do not take anything with you that might even slightly resemble a dangerous instrument.)
3) The Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County. Located in the Rundel Memorial Library Building at 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604.
4) The Onondaga County Public Library (OCPL) at the Galleries of Syracuse, 447 S. Salina Street, Syracuse, NY 13202-2494. Located on the fifth floor, Local History/Genealogy Department.
5) The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square. Buffalo, NY 14203.
6) The Steele Memorial Library, 101 East Church Street, Elmira, NY 14901.
7) The Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library, 229 Washington Street,
Watertown, NY 13601.
8) The Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen St, Glens Falls, NY 12801.
Important note: "Temporarily," until about December 2008, (during renovations) these indexes are located at the Southern Adirondack Library System Headquarters, 22 Whitney Place, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Phone: (518-584-7300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 518-584-7300 end_of_the_skype_highlighting x 226 Erica Burke). Viewing at this location is by appointment.)
The price for an excerpt out of a journal entry at the local level, or a photocopy of the original document at the state level is the same either way, $22.00.
To order a copy by mail or to have the state do the searching for you the address is,
New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Section
Genealogy Unit
P.O. Box 2602
Albany, NY 12220-2602
Before mailing to the Department of Health for a copy of the certificate you should be aware that the state suggests that there is about a five months backlog. It is noted that on several rootsweb newsgroups that the waiting period is now quite a lot longer than that.
Here is the official state website concerning vital records for Genealogical purposes. It would be a good thing for you to read carefully all of the pricing structure and rules and regulations. A pdf file of the application form is available for download at this website
There is one way to improve the turnaround in being able to obtain a photocopy of an original certificate. For some unknown reason the state has a little known "fast-track" (my term) method. If you hand carry the application, with the payment, and insert it into the drop box at the NYS Archives reference desk, then those applications take precedence and the wait is normally only from two to four weeks. Don't ask why.
You are not allowed to mail your application to the Archives to have a staff person enter it into the drop box. They are not allowed to handle the money and do not want to be responsible "for security reasons," as was reported directly to a recent inquirer.
There are professional genealogists and researchers that work in Albany every day and if you are not able to do any of this searching yourself, tell us about it, and we will try to find someone that would be willing to do the searches and expedite the process for you by entering the application and payment in the drop box..
Cliff Lamere's website for Albany and Eastern New York Genealogy is very helpful. Thanks to Cliff for his thoughts and corrections also, regarding this Blog.
OK, for those of you that will ask about the New York City metro area anyway, please consider these suggestions. Read the detailed description by Roger D. Joslyn, FASG, in "Ancestry's Red Book," 3d ed. Read Estelle Guzik's "Genealogical Research in New York," and visit the website of the New York City Municipal Archives. To locate a researcher for NYC areas, go to the website of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) New York Metro Chapter .
One question that seems to always come up when discussing this matter is "Have the Mormons filmed these Indexes?" The answer is "NO". They are not available anywhere other than as described above.
We really need your input on this subject. All questions and comments will be answered. Use the "comments" tab below.
If any locations have been missed where the fiche indexes are located, then we REALLY need your input. Errors, corrections or omissions, gratefully appreciated. Please do not send emails about this, only post them on the comments tab. We do want to hear your tales of woe, but more importantly, we surely want to hear about your successes!
There is no budget for marketing of this Blog. If you find the information helpful, please bookmark it, tell others, talk it up on mail lists, and visit our "UNYG Affiliates" tab on our main website at Upstate New York Genealogy www.unyg.com .
Thank you so much.
Read the Update on this story here: "Update to How to Obtain Copies of Vital Records."
Read the third message on this subject here: "Update to the Update to How to Obtain Copies of Vital Records."
Albany Times Union 150 Year Retrospective
Just in case you did not see the very nice presentation that the Albany Times Union newspaper published for their 150 year anniversary, here is a website that will take you back.
Albany Times Union 150 Year Anniversary.
Dick Hillenbrand
Upstate New York Genealogy
Our newest advertiser at unyg is American Express – AMEX. Check it out.


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IBM has added to its security software portfolio with the purchase of Italian access control and identity management firm CrossIdeas for an undisclosed sum, the companies said Thursday.
The company, already an IBM partner, provides tools to ensure that users can only access the applications and data permitted under corporate governance, regulatory compliance and business process rules, whether on-premises or in the cloud.
One use for the tools is to enforce so-called segregation of duty controls, which ensure that staff are not given the power to police their own actions. As an example of how such rules might be violated, IBM cited a stock trader who, following a promotion, gains the power to approve trades while retaining the ability to enter trades from the previous role—and thus becoming able to conceal illicit trades from superiors. The CrossIdeas software can help auditors and managers to detect or correct such rules violations.
The CrossIdeas software must be integrated with other systems, but the company provides some vendor-specific tools for simplifying this. For instance, it offers a special SAP version of its Access Risk Controls tools, which polices segregation-of-duties violations, while a partnership signed earlier this month with U.S. company Stealthbits extended the capabilities of business units to manage access to unstructured data stored on Microsoft SharePoint servers or in server file systems without intervention from central IT departments. IBM's Security Identity Manager is also among the identity and access repositories that CrossIdeas' software can integrate into its dashboards.
CrossIdeas will become part of IBM's security systems division. It was formed three years ago as a management buy-out when the developers of the Ideas software acquired it from its developer, Engiweb. The companies did not say whether this would involve CrossIdeas' staff, based in Rome, moving to another location.
IBM noted that it has acquired more than a dozen companies to build its security business over the last 10 years. The span of their activities is broad: The most recent addition was Web anti-malware company Trusteer, acquired in August 2013.

subset: commoncrawl


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Popular postwar DUTCH Jazz sextet reissued from early in the evening until the wee small hours of the morning, night after night, it threw a party (source: liner notes De 28 Beste van de Millers (1982))Hans Koert
De Millers o.l.v. Ab de Molenaar (1945-1961) - Gone (Nederlands) | The Millers - Dutch jazz sextet dir. by Ab De Molenaar (1945-1961) - Gone .... (English)
The Dutch Doctor Jazz Magazine, recently released its nineth album dedicated to the Dutch jazz band The Millers, directed by Ab De Molenaar: The Millers 1945-1961 onder leiding van Ab de Molenaar: Gone .... ( DJ 009)
The Millers or Miller Sextet was founded by De Molenaar brothers ( Miller is the English word for the Dutch word Molenaar), Ab and Jochem, late 1930s as The Two Millers and during the Second World War period they performed as The Miller Quartet. That first quartet featured Ab De Molenaar on guitar, Jochem De Molenaar on bass, Joop Maten piano and Sanny Day as the vocalist.
Sanny Day, her name sounds like a pseudonym, but it isn't: she was born July 1921 as Sanny Elizabeth Day, labels the Millers, as a ritmesectie die muziek maakte, (= a rhythm section that makes music) - something rather unusual in those days. She had made her debut in the Amsterdam Sheherazade club with Manke Nelis, Maria Zamora and Jan Blok - the first two would become vaudeville artists and the latter a sought after accompanist on his guitar. At a concert by Freddy Johnson, who worked for some months in the Negro Palace in Amsterdam 1939, she was invited to sing: Please Be Kind ... Sanny Day, who had married Ab De Molenaar, can be heard on nine tracks. After her divorce from Ab she left the Millers mid 1950s, to make room for Suzie Møller, a vocalist Ab had met in Garmish-Partenkirchen - she can be heard on three tracks ..... Jochem De Molenaar, Ab's two years older brother, left the band in 1942 after a hell of a row, Sanny told Cor Gout. (source: Muziek in zwart-wit - Cor Gout)
The Millers ca. 1960 ( f.l.t.r.: Frans Van Bergen - Paul Ruys - Arend Nijenhuis - Suzy Møller - Ab De Molenaar - Coen Van Nassau) ( photo courtesy: Wouter van Gool) ( source: Rhythme nº 42 July 1961)
During the German occupation of The Netherlands the quartet was extended with musicians like Coen Van Nassou, who played the vibraphone and Willy Van Der Mandele ( aka Jan Doedel) on violin. This Miller Sextet was very succesfull in The Hague and Scheveningen, the beach resort near the Dutch coast. They were invited to play in dance clubs, where they played their popular dutchified swinging music, Junglemuziek, as an inspector from the DutchNazi Kultuurkamer labeled the music at a concert in the Gebouw van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. Late 1943 the band visited the Van Der Wouw studio where they debuted on a series of glass based acetates, which were released on four Sonante Records, exclusively distributed by The Bijenkorf, the well known Dutch department stores. Two songs from that series became hits: Zomernachtfeest and Als sterren fonk'ren.
Millers-mood altijd goed! ( sitting: Ab De Molenaar and Suzy Møller. standing f.l.t.r.: Eddie Doorenbos - Herman Schoonderwalt, Cees See, Rob Madna and Coen Van Nassau) ( source; Rhythme nº 103 April 1958)
The album Gone ..!., compiled by Skip Voogd, grand old man of Dutch jazz journalistics for ages, responsable for the liner notes and Ben Kragting jr., chief editor of Doctor Jazz Magazine, open this compilation with two tracks recorded on glass based acetates at the GTB ( = G.T. Bakker) studios, March 1945: Wenn Der Weisse Flieder Wieder Blüht and Angelina.
This reissue of Miller originals, contains reissues of 1946 Decca, Telefunken ( 1953) or Columbia ( 1958-1959) records, but also numerous unreleased recordings, like air checks for the US troups in Charleroi (Belgium) (1945) and a concert for the Nederlandse Strijdkrachten (1948), the Dutch soldiers.
The Miller-sextet listening to its recording of the Millers Mixture (11th of September 1957): f.l.t.r.: Ab De Molenaar - Suzie Møller - Herman Schoonderwalt - Cees See and Eddie Doorenbos ( source: Rhythme nº 97 - October 1957)
The Miller Sextet was, with the Ramblers, the Dutch Swing College Band (still alive an kicking all around the world) and the Pia Beck Trio ( Pia was a member of The Millers too, during the second half of the 1940s) one of the most popular bands of The Netherlands. The music they played was a mix of swing á la the Hot Club de France, Light Music up to the more modern mainstream jazz styles of the 1950s and 1960s. I remembered that I was fascinated by its sound, its swing, the voice of Sanny Day, the vibraphone of Coen Van Nassau, but, above all, that music was ...... fun, real fun in the hands of The Millers. Jazz as hard to understand music was not the Millers way. I still associate tunes like Take A Letter Miss Smith and I Told Ya I Love Ya to this band and this period. They had some hits during the 1940s, like Liefde in Rhythme (1947), Chickery Chick (1946) and the forementioned 's Avonds bij het licht der sterren ( 1944)
Ab De Molenaar, Eddie Doorenbos and Suzie Møller (11th of September 1957) ( source: Rhythme nº 97 - October 1957)
The album Gone contains 24 tracks by the Miller Sextet and a bonus track of a meeting by the vocal group The Mellow Mills, which featured Sanny Day, Pia Beck, Eddy Doorenbos and Paul Schwippert with the Seymour Östervalls Orkester in Stockholm (Sweden), March 1948.
Het Millers Sextet: f.l.t.r.: Ab De Molenaar - Tonny Nüsser - Paul Schwippert - Rob Madna - Herman Schoonderwalt and Coen Van Nassau at a concert in De Wiek - Rotterdam ( ca. 1958) (photo courtesy: Cor Aaftink) (source: Rhythme nº 112 - January 1959)
A Dutch reissue LP album, entitled De 28 beste van de Millers, confirms this theory in its liner notes: De teeners (sic) van toen, zijn de vijftigers van nu (= 1982), de mensen die hun muziek steeds moeizamer kunnen bemachtigen. (= The teenagers from the 1940s are in their fifties now (1982) and this music is nowadays hard to find in record shops.) Weet u nog waar de Millers jarenlang te zien en te horen waren? (= Do you still remember the places where the Millers played?) 's Zomers in de Kakatoe op het Gevers-Denootplein in Scheveningen en 's winters in De Wiek in Rotterdam. (= During the summer season they played in the Kakatoe-club at the Gevers-Denootplein in Scheveningen ( the beach resort of The Hague) and in winter at De Wiek in Rotterdam.) Van vroeg in de avond tot in de kleine uurtjes was het daar avond in, avond uit lettelijk feest. ( = From early in the evening until the wee hours of the morning, night after night, it threw a party .... ). Helaas die heerlijke tijden zijn voorbij, maar wat blijft zijn de herinneringen en de onvergetelijke sfeervolle muziek (= It's all gone now, but the memory lingers on ........: Gone .... The Millers (1945-1961) onder leiding van Ab de Molenaar ( DJ 09)
Audio engineer Harry Coster, one of the compilers of this disc, is responsable for the transfers of this rare material. He did a good job, as the sound is excellent.
This great album can be ordered at the website of the Doctor Jazz Magazine,
but also in the record shops of FAME, (Amsterdam) and the Bijenkorf in Rotterdam and Amsterdam
Hans Koert
Twitter: #keepitswinging Facebook grouep Keep (it) Swinging ( register)
The Dutch Millers band, or The Miller Sextet, belonged, together with the Ramblers and the Dutch Swing College Band to the most popular traditional jazz and swing bands of the post war period. Its music had swing and its sound was easy recognizable and accessible. Do you remember its concerts? the liner notes of a 1982 Dutch LP-album reads: During the summer season they played in the Kakatoe-club at the Gevers-Denootplein in Scheveningen ( the beach resort of The Hague) and in winter at De Wiek in Rotterdam. From early in the evening until the wee hours of the morning, night after night, it threw a party .... - "Gone ..!", It's all gone now, but the memory lingers on........ Doctor Jazz Magazine revives these sweet memories with: The Millers onder leiding van Ab de Molenaar (1945-1961) - Gone ...!
Retrospect Keep Swinging (old) Oscar Aleman Choro Music Flexible Records Hit of the Week-Durium Friends of the Keep Swinging blog Keep Swinging Contributions


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Sunday, 10 January 2010 03:29 PM EST
Barred from using lead in children's jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States, an Associated Press investigation shows.
The most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for the AP contained a startling 91 percent cadmium by weight. The cadmium content of other contaminated trinkets, all purchased at national and regional chains or franchises, tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.
Cadmium is a known carcinogen. Like lead, it can hinder brain development in the very young, according to recent research.
Children don't have to swallow an item to be exposed — they can get persistent, low-level doses by regularly sucking or biting jewelry with a high cadmium content.
To gauge cadmium's prevalence in children's jewelry, the AP organized lab testing of 103 items bought in New York, Ohio, Texas and California. All but one were purchased in November or December.
The results: 12 percent of the pieces of jewelry contained at least 10 percent cadmium.
Some of the most troubling test results were for bracelet charms sold at Walmart, at the jewelry chain Claire's and at a dollar store. High amounts of cadmium also were detected in "The Princess and The Frog" movie-themed pendants.
"There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It's a poison," said Bruce A. Fowler, a cadmium specialist and toxicologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the CDC's priority list of 275 most hazardous substances in the environment, cadmium ranks No. 7.
Jewelry industry veterans in China say cadmium has been used in domestic products there for years. Zinc, the metal most cited as a replacement for lead in imported jewelry being sold in the United States, is a much safer and nontoxic alternative. But the jewelry tests conducted for AP, along with test findings showing a growing presence of cadmium in other children's products, demonstrate that the safety threat from cadmium is being exported.
A patchwork of federal consumer protection regulations does nothing to keep these nuggets of cadmium from U.S. store shelves. If the products were painted toys, they would face a recall. If they were industrial garbage, they could qualify as hazardous waste. But since there are no cadmium restrictions on jewelry, such items are sold legally.
While the agency in charge of regulating children's products, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has cracked down on the dangers posed by lead and products known to have killed children, such as cribs, it has never recalled an item for cadmium — even though it has received scattered complaints based on private test results for at least the past two years.
There is no definitive explanation for why children's jewelry manufacturers, virtually all from China in the items tested, are turning to cadmium. But a reasonable double whammy looms: Cadmium prices have plummeted as factories grasp for substitutes now that lead is heavily regulated under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
That law set a new, stringent standard for lead in children's products: Only the very smallest amount is permissible — no more than 0.0003 percent of the total content. The statute has led manufacturers to drastically reduce lead in toys and jewelry.
The law also contained the first explicit regulation of cadmium, though the standards are significantly less strict than lead and apply only to painted toys, not jewelry.
To determine how much cadmium a child could be exposed to, items are bathed in a solution that mimics stomach acid to see how much of the toxin would leach out after being swallowed.
The jewelry testing for AP was conducted by chemistry professor Jeff Weidenhamer of Ashland University in Ohio, who over the past few years has provided the CPSC with results showing high lead content in products that were later recalled. His lab work for AP assessed how much cadmium was in each item. Overall, 12 of the 103 items each contained at least 10 percent cadmium. Two others contained lower amounts, while the other 89 were clean.
Ten of the items with the highest cadmium content were then run through the stomach acid test to see how much would escape. Although that test is used only in regulation of toys, AP used it to see what hazard an item could pose because unlike the regulations, a child's body doesn't distinguish between cadmium leached from jewelry and cadmium leached from a toy.
"Clearly it seems like for a metal as toxic as cadmium, somebody ought to be watching out to make sure there aren't high levels in items that could end up in the hands of kids," said Weidenhamer.
His test results include:
— Three flip flop bracelet charms sold at Walmart contained between 84 and 86 percent cadmium. The charms fared the worst of any item on the stomach acid test; one shed more cadmium in 24 hours than what World Health Organization guidelines deem a safe exposure over 60 weeks for a 33-pound child.
The charms were purchased for testing in August 2008. The company that imported them, Florida-based Sulyn Industries, stopped selling the item to Wal-Mart Corp. in November 2008, the firm's president said. Wal-Mart would not comment on whether the charms are still on store shelves, or how many have been sold.
Sulyn's president, Harry Dickens, said the charms were subjected to testing standards imposed by both Wal-Mart and federal regulation — but were not tested for cadmium.
In separate written statements, Dickens and Wal-Mart said they consider safety a very high priority. "We consistently seek to sell only those products that meet safety and regulatory standards," Wal-Mart said. "Currently there is no required cadmium standard for children's jewelry."
As was the case with every importer or retailer that responded to AP's request for comment on the tests, neither Sulyn nor Wal-Mart would address whether the results concerned them or if the products should be recalled.
— Four charms from two "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" bracelets sold at a Dollar N More store in Rochester, N.Y., were measured at between 82 and 91 percent cadmium. The charms also fared poorly on the stomach acid test. Two other charms from the same bracelets were subjected to a leaching test which recreates how much cadmium would be released in a landfill and ultimately contaminate groundwater. Based on those results, if the charms were waste from manufacturing, they would have had to be specially handled and disposed of under U.S. environmental law. The company that imported the Rudolph charms, Buy-Rite Designs, Inc. of Freehold, N.J., has gone out of business.
— Two charms on a "Best Friends" bracelet bought at Claire's, a jewelry chain with nearly 3,000 stores in North America and Europe, consisted of 89 and 91 percent cadmium. The charms also leached alarming amounts in the simulated stomach test. Informed of the results, Claire's issued a statement pointing out that children's jewelry is not required to pass a cadmium leaching test.
"Claire's has its products tested by independent accredited third-party laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in compliance with the commission's standards, and has passing test results for the bracelet using these standards," the statement said. Those standards scrutinize lead content, not cadmium.
— Pendants from four "The Princess and The Frog" necklaces bought at Walmart ranged between 25 and 35 percent cadmium, though none failed the stomach acid test nor the landfill leaching test. The Walt Disney Co., which produced the popular animated movie, said in a statement that test results provided by the manufacturer, Rhode Island-based FAF Inc., showed the item complied with all applicable safety standards.
An official at FAF's headquarters did not respond to multiple requests for comment when informed of Weidenhamer's results; a woman at the company's office in southern China who would not give her name said FAF products "might naturally contain some very small amounts of cadmium. We measure it in parts per million because the content is so small, for instance one part per million." However, the tests conducted for AP showed the pendants contained between 246,000 and 346,000 parts per million of cadmium.
"It comes down to the following: Cadmium causes cancer. How much cadmium do you want your child eating?" said Michael R. Harbut, a doctor who has treated adult victims of cadmium poisoning and is director of the environmental cancer program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. "In my view, the answer should be none."
Xu Hongli, a cadmium specialist with the Beijing office of Asian Metal Ltd., a market research and consultancy firm, said test results showing high cadmium levels in some Chinese-made metal jewelry did not surprise her. Using cadmium alloys has been "a relatively common practice" among manufacturers in the eastern cities of Yiwu and Qingdao and the southern province of Sichuan, Xu said.
"Some of their products contain 90 percent cadmium or higher," she acknowledged. "Usually, though, they are more careful with export products."
She said she thought that manufacturers were becoming aware of cadmium's dangers, and are using it less, "But it will still take a while for them to completely shift away from using it."
The CPSC has received dozens of incident reports of cadmium in products over the past few years, said Gib Mullan, the agency's director of compliance and field operations. Though the CPSC has authority to go after a product deemed a public danger under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act — the law used in lead-related recalls several years ago — there have been no enforcement actions.
"We are a small agency so we can't do everything we think would be a good idea. We have to try to pick our spots," Mullan said. At most, the agency can investigate 10 percent of the tens of thousands of reports filed by the public each year, he said.
With the help of an outside firm, the CPSC has started a scientific literature review of cadmium and other heavy metals, including how the substances fare in leaching tests, according to spokesman Scott Wolfson. "If there has a been a shift in manufacturing to the use of cadmium, CPSC will take appropriate action."
"We are actively looking at cadmium right now," Wolfson said, adding that the agency will "take the right actions to protect children from either toys or other children's products" when an item violates the new stomach acid leaching standard or exhibits "a significant exposure problem."
Meanwhile, the CPSC's Mullan cites "a trend upward" in cadmium reports the agency has received — and private-sector testing AP reviewed shows cadmium is showing up more frequently.
Two outfits that analyze more than a thousand children's products each year checked their data at AP's request. Both said their findings of cadmium above 300 parts per million in an item — the current federal limit for lead — increased from about 0.5 percent of tests in 2007 to about 2.2 percent of tests in 2009. Those tests were conducted using a technology called XRF, a handheld gun that bounces X-rays off an item to estimate how much lead, cadmium or other elements it contains. While the results are not as exact as lab testing, the CPSC regularly uses XRF in its product screening.
Much of the increase found by the Michigan-based HealthyStuff.org came in toys with polyvinyl chloride plastic, according to Jeff Gearhart, the group's research director. Both lead and cadmium can be used to fortify PVC against the sun's rays. Data collected by a Washington-based company called Essco Safety Check led its president, Seth Goldberg, to suspect that substitution of cadmium for lead partly explains the increase he's seen.
Lawyers representing the Toy Industry Association of America and the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association said their products are safe and insist cadmium is not widely used.
Sheila A. Millar, a lawyer representing the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, said jewelry makers often opt for zinc these days. "While FJTA can only speak to the experience of its members," Millar wrote in an e-mail, "widespread substitution of cadmium is not something they see."
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org
Associated Press writers Alexa Olesen in Beijing and Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Los Angeles, and Associated Press researchers Xi Yue in Beijing and Julie Reed in Charlotte, N.C., contributed to this report.
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text:
Aston Martin DB5 Painting Limited Edition Canvas Print
- Regular price
- Sale price
Product Details
This is a print of a realistic painting of Aston Martin DB5 (made by hand and it's unique.)
This print is available in only 50 prints each size and every single one has a signature and it's numbered (from 1-50).
This is a unique gift for a car lover. Or you can order it for yourself so you have an amazing decor print on your wall!
* Name of print: Aston Martin DB5 (1-50 prints each size)
* Original piece painter: Michelle Jakelj
* Size:
30 cm x 45 cm (12 inch x 18 inch)
- 45 cm x 60 cm (18 inch x 24 inch)
- 60 cm x 90 cm (24 inch x 36 inch)
- 90 cm x 135 cm (36 inch x 53 inch)
* Limited Print on high-quality 260gsm waterproof glossy polyester UV resistance canvas
* Shipping time worldwide is 1-6 working days because everything is sent out with DHL Express
* Style: Modern, Realistic
* Shipping: Print rolled in a tube or packed in a box envelope (it comes without a frame, so you have to frame it yourself or in your local shop or hang it on the wall without it - in poster style)
* Signature and number of limited edition prints – you get a certificate!
*If you want to get in any other sizes, make sure to contact me and I'll see what I can do.
*Your print will be professionally packed with great care.
*For any customizations on print (like a special note to someone if it's a gift), please contact me and we'll try to make it happen.
If you have any kinds of questions don't hesitate to write to me, I would love to answer them. Thank you!


text:
NATALIE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman was found dead after getting her arm caught in a clothing drop-off bin, leaving her dangling for more than six hours.
Judith Permar, 56, died from a combination of trauma and hypothermia, according to Northumberland County Coroner James Kelley.
Permar used a step stool to reach the bin when her arm became stuck and the stool collapsed — her feet dangling just above the ground, PennLive reported. She broke her left arm and wrist, which prevented her from escaping, authorities said.
Investigators believe the woman went to the bin around 2 a.m. Sunday. The bin is located on Route 54 in Natalie about 60 miles northeast of Harrisburg.
She was found dead around 8:30 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene.
Law enforcement officials told WNEP the cause of her death was ruled accidental.
Her daughter, Angela Minnig, posted a message about her mother to Facebook following the news of her death:
"To the friends and family of Judy Permar:
I know it's in the paper and it's beginning to spread on social media, but for those who do not know; On Sunday morning my Mother passed away," she wrote.
"It was very sudden and our family will learn to coupe with the loss of such an amazing Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend. We will be updating everyone on her viewing and wish all who knew her to visit and pay her respects."
"She was such a fun loving person and we know it would mean the world to her to say 'See you Again.'"


text:
The US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Hearing on ICANN's Expansion of Top Level Domain Names on December 8, 2001 was all about strategy. The strategy was simple: while the world has its attention turned to the debate on the copyright legislative proposals of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act, let's have another ICANN hearing and try to re-open trademark protection for new gTLDs. And this time, let's have a different crowd submitting the testimonies: Mr. Dan Jaffe of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA); Ms. Angela Williams, of the Young Men's Christian Association of the United States of America (YMCA); and, Ms. Esther Dyson, first ICANN's chairwoman.
What was heard at the Hearing was not something inspiringly new: brands will suffer and consumers will be confused. A lot was said about defensive registrations, how the Internet is a scary place for trademark and brand owners, how there is a possibility that child porn will proliferate, how cybersquatters can 'blow us up', how law enforcement will not be able to do their jobs and how US senators may not be able to register their names. Innovation was questioned in a much unconvincing way and much was argued about the presumed lack of consensus for the new gTLD program.
The new twist in this Hearing was the participation of non-profits, through the YMCA, which was used by the trademark community as the new vehicle to air trademark concerns and as a further attempt to demonstrate that if these organizations' brands are suffering, then this should be enough to put the new gTLD program on hold. This might have impressed the Senators at the Hearing but it, ultimately, is a really weak argument. Non-profits are not trademark maximalists, especially in the way trademark interests are represented at the ICANN level. Non-profits are entities that protect their marks (not brands), but following the underpinning principles of goodwill, consumer protection, competition, etc. associated with the mark and the services they provide. So, I am not sure whether the YMCA's testimony represents an understanding for NGOs and non-profits outside the US; in fact I am pretty sure it doesn't represent the views of many NGOs and non-profits in Europe and, especially, in the developing world.
On the other hand, ANA's message was simple: the new program is a threat to companies and consumers and it should be stopped. ANA has been particularly involved in this process after the Special Trademark Issues (STI) team recommendations were released, which were based on a consensus that the trademark community did not agree with. This consensus was highly challenged by ANA, on the basis that, since it didn't reflect the views of the trademark industry and some non-profits, it was illegitimate. No matter what one thinks about ICANN's consensus policies, these have been in place for many years, a lot of work to more accurately define it has been done and continues at the level of the GNSO, they are part of ICANN's ecosystem of procedures and, in many cases, have been instrumental in the trademark community winning many policy battles. So, the idea that this consensus is not working is mistaken: it just didn't work out this time for the trademark crowd.
I was quite puzzled with Esther Dyson's testimony, especially the part where she argued that "the process of consulting with the public hasn't really worked" and that she was representing Internet users, who will be confused through this expansion. There are two mistakes Ms. Dyson made: through NCUC for example, users have participated in the process and, for instance, concerns of free speech and freedom of expression (that no one at the meeting even dared to mention) have been addressed to the fullest extent possible within a multistakeholder model. (The difference is that, contrary to other groups, these groups have accepted the results of such multistakeholder recommendations.) And, as for the argument that users will be confused through this process is really not working any more. Users have become more savvy than any other time; by now the majority knows how to use the Internet, what to suspect and what to avoid. The idea that we need stronger intellectual property protection for the users reflects a time when our parents and grandparents were not logging on to Facebook and they thought computers were aliens.
So, what one should take from this Hearing is that the people who actually have been involved in this process, Ms. Fiona Alexander from INTA and Mr. Kurt Pritz from ICANN, both celebrated and gave their vote of confidence to multistakeholder participation. They both correctly insisted on the fact that the new gTLD program was a consensus policy and that its language is an attempt to represent the multistakeholder environment of ICANN. They addressed how all stakeholders participated in the various policy groups and that, although work needs to be done, a lot has happened towards ensuring that ICANN's work on the new gTLD program reflects its multistakeholder community in a transparent and accountable way. This is a very crucial point and Hearings like this one demonstrate how foreign multistakeholderism is for many US politicians. So, here's a suggestion: if we wish to have Hearings like this one, let's do so, at least with an understanding of how ICANN works, where we were and where we are now. Because it turns out that Hearings like the one of December 8, are not constructive at all; they are highly disruptive, in a time when ICANN should be focusing on finalizing and cross-checking everything in order to make sure that the January 2012 launch goes as smoothly as possible.
Comments are closed.


text:
Using Stylesheet Schemas
April 6, 2005
Last month I promised to eventually discuss the use of schemas with XSLT 2.0 — that is, XSLT 2.0's ability to read a W3C schema to discover additional information about a source tree, result tree, or interim temporary tree, and to use that information when processing a document. This month I'll talk about the use of schemas with XSLT, but not schemas for the documents you're processing. Schemas for the stylesheets themselves, when those available are a good fit for your tools, can add a lot to your XSLT development. (While I'm on the topic, though, it's great to see that one new addition to the 11 February XSLT 2.0 Working Draft is that "A non-schema-aware processor now allows all the built-in types defined in XML Schema to be used; previously only a subset of the primitive types plus xs:integer were permitted." This will allow even more type-aware XSLT processing without requiring the use of a W3C schema.)
A DTD for Stylesheets?
The XSLT 1.0 Recommendation included an appendix with a non-normative DTD Fragment for XSLT Stylesheets. It's non-normative because namespaces play such an important role in XSLT stylesheets, and DTDs don't understand namespaces; it's a fragment because several extra declarations are necessary to allow for the use of literal result elements.
Literal result elements are the elements in a stylesheet from outside of the XSLT
namespace that an XSLT processor will add to the result document just the way they
are. For
example, in the following template rule, the
h2 element is a literal result
element that will be wrapped around the contents of each
subtitle element from
the source tree that gets added to result tree:
<xsl:template match="subtitle">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
 </xsl:template>
It's easy enough for a DTD's
xsl:template element declaration to
list the elements such as
xsl:choose, and
xsl:element that are allowed inside of an
xsl:template element,
but a DTD has no way to say "and any other elements from outside of the
http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform namespace." The appendix mentioned above describes
contortions that use parameter entity redefinition to allow this, but it's enough
that I've never heard of anyone doing it for a production environment. One simpler
alternative, which has been used in production environments, is to avoid all use of
result elements and to use the
xsl:element element to insert any new elements
into the result tree. Using this approach, the template rule above might be written
<xsl:template match="subtitle"> <xsl:element name="h2"> <xsl:apply-templates/> </element> </xsl:template>
This use of the
xsl:element instead of literal result elements
allowed the use of a DTD-driven editor to edit stylesheets. It also allowed the addition
a valuable quality-control step to a system responsible for the maintenance of a large
number of stylesheets, because validating each edited stylesheet before checking it
into the
repository greatly reduced the possibility of the runtime system choking on a bad
Stylesheet quality control and the use of intelligent editors are still worth pursuing beyond DTDs. An important reason that XSLT stylesheets are XML documents is to let us take advantage of our favorite XML tools on the stylesheets themselves. Just because DTDs aren't a good fit with these goals, though, we don't have to give up.
Schematron for Stylesheets?
I've written before about how Schematron lets us fill some of the gaps of a DTD-driven system. While it may not help us edit XSLT stylesheets with most popular XML editors, it can help the quality control goal of keeping certain mistakes out of stylesheets. When a co-worker asked me about the possibility of doing this, I replied that it would be a good idea, but that he'd still have some Schematron rules to write and test. Then I remembered: buried in the distribution of nxml, an Emacs mode that uses RELAX NG Compact schemas to turn Emacs into a context-sensitive XML editor, is a RELAX NG schema for XSLT. (It's a RELAX NG Compact version created from a non-compact version with trang.) So, I told my co-worker that instead of writing a set of Schematron rules, he could take advantage of work already done by James Clark.
RELAX NG for Stylesheets
Among Clark's many other contributions to the XML world, he helped to invent
XSLT, so he knows the syntax pretty well. He didn't write up some content models based
the DTD fragment and his own knowledge of XSLT, though; according to a header comment
in his
xslt.rng schema file, it "was mostly generated from the syntax summary in the XSLT
Recommendation." Being generated right from the spec itself (I assume that, by "syntax
summary," he meant the
p elements with a
class value of
element-syntax in the XSLT 1.0 Recommendation) automates the process enough
that we can assume that nothing was missed.
It's ironic that I had forgotten about this schema, because I had been using it all along. I've used Emacs with nxml to edit XSLT stylesheets and other XML documents as long as nxml has been available, but I never had to configure it to use the xslt.rnc schema when editing files with an ".xsl" extension because that's its default behavior.
If you don't know RELAX NG syntax, you can still use Emacs with nxml to edit
documents based on your DTDs by using trang to convert your DTDs to RELAX NG Compact
versions and pointing the nxml mode at those. If you're more familiar with XSLT than
RELAX NG Compact syntax, xslt.rnc is a great way to learn about RELAX NG Compact syntax.
example, to see how it addresses the issue of allowing certain XSLT elements and literal
result elements from other namespaces in the content of an
element, see how it declares this element:
element template { extension.atts, attribute match { pattern.datatype }?, attribute name { qname.datatype }?, attribute priority { number.datatype }?, attribute mode { qname.datatype }?, (param.element*, template.model) }
First, note how it's declaring an element called "template" and not "xsl:template". Because RELAX NG is namespace-aware, you can assign any namespace prefix you want to the http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform namespace and use that in your stylesheets. (Use of the XSLT 1.0 DTD fragment requires you to hardcode a prefix such as "xsl:" in the element declaration and then use that for all "documents" — in this case, stylesheets — that you check against that DTD.)
template.model pattern referenced in the
template.element declaration is declared near the beginning of the
template.model = (instruction.category | literal-result-element | text)*
instruction.category pattern names all the XSLT elements that
a template rule can contain, and the
literal-result-element pattern has this
literal-result-element = element * - xsl:* { literal-result-element.atts, template.model }
It shows the declaration of an element with any name, as long as it's outside of the namespace assigned to the "xsl" prefix in this stylesheet. Along with its attributes, it can contain anything that can go into a template rule.
Norm Walsh has created an alternative version of
the RELAX NG XSLT schema for the creation and editing of XSLT 2.0 stylesheets. Norm
had a
puzzle to solve along the way, though. He wondered what he could do to have nxml
automatically use the original schema for 1.0 stylesheets when he edited a stylesheet
xsl:stylesheet element had a
version attribute value of "1.0"
and the schema for 2.0 stylesheets when he used nxml to edit an XSLT 2.0 stylesheet.
solution turned out to be an elegant bit of RELAX NG syntax that he hadn't used before;
about what he did on his
W3C Schema for Stylesheets
There are several W3C Schemas for XSLT 1.0 out there, so I decided to try a few. My first step with each was to use the Xerces Java ASBuilder utility, which I wrote about in the O'Reilly book XML Hacks, to check the integrity of each schema. If it couldn't parse the schema, there wasn't much point in trying to validate a stylesheet against that schema. (To use ASBuilder to check a W3C schema's integrity, make sure that xercesSamples.jar is in your classpath, add the -f option to the command line, and don't include the -i option if you're not adding a document to validate against the schema.)
The "XSLT v1.1 XSD Schema for Visual Studio.NET" available on gotdotnet.com failed this first test, but according to a Kathleen Dollard weblog
entry it works with Microsoft's Visual Studio editor. (The gotdotnet.com web page
describes it as an XSLT v1.0 schema, and the only 1.1-like feature I saw was the
msxsl:script element, which I suppose corresponds to the
xsl:script element in the aborted 1.1 version of XSLT. This undeclared
"msxsl" prefix was one of the things that Xerces choked on.) I didn't see anything
in this
schema's declaration for the
xsl:template element that looked like it would
allow literal result elements, and without a copy of Visual Studio, I couldn't test
hypothesis that this schema would not allow them to be used.
When I heard of an XSLT 1.0 schema from webMethods, I couldn't find it on their web site, but I did find a copy on the web site for Austria's University of Klagenfurt. It was written before W3C Schemas became a Recommendation, and after I tried changing its namespace URL from http://www.w3.org/2000/10/XMLSchema to the http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema URL specified by the Recommendation, the Xerces ASBuilder utility complained enough about it to convince me that it wasn't a robust option for checking stylesheet integrity. I had a similar experience with an xslt.xsd schema developed by Don Box in early April 2000.
A RELAX NG devotee would say "You have a RELAX NG schema that works and you
need a W3C schema version of the same schema? Just use trang to create one!" trang
couldn't convert the original xslt.rng schema to xslt.xsd because of a nested grammar,
so I
took out the definition of and reference to the
top-level-extension pattern.
trang then converted the schema with a few warnings, but no errors. Before the ASBuilder
utility approved of the xsd version, I had to change some quotation marks that were
part of
an attribute value into
" entity references. Then, Xerces parsed a
stylesheet that included literal result elements against this schema with no complaints,
it gave the right error message when I added an illegal
xsl:whatever element to
the stylesheet.
Also in Transforming XML
Automating Stylesheet Creation
I don't know exactly what I gave up by removing the
top-level-extension pattern, but I would look further into it before using
the W3C schema created from xslt.rng in a production environment. I would be more
likely to
just use xslt.rng and a RELAX NG validator in the production environment, but if you
need to use an XSLT schema with a tool that doesn't know about RELAX NG, a W3C XSLT
created from a RELAX NG one is one option. (Make sure to mention to the tool's developers
that full RELAX NG support would be easier to implement than full W3C Schema support.)
There's one more option: the XSL Working Group has made an XSLT 2.0 W3C schema available
on the W3C's web site. It's non-normative, and XSLT 2.0 is not quite finished, but
had no complaints with the schema, Xerces had no problem with an error-free XSLT 1.0
stylesheet that included literal result elements when I checked it against this schema,
Xerces found my errant
xsl:whatever element in a stylesheet when I parsed it
against this schema.
Because XSLT 2.0 is mostly backward-compatible with 1.0, using the W3C's 2.0 schema to edit and validate your XSLT 1.0 stylesheets is better than using an editor that's completely unaware of XSLT stylesheet structure. It would be an interesting project for someone who wanted to learn a lot about XSLT 2.0 and W3C Schema to revise this schema to truly reflect XSLT 1.0 structure. Myself, I'll stick with James' RELAX NG schema for XSLT 1.0 stylesheets and Norm's RELAX NG schema for XSLT 2.0 stylesheets.


text:
Q&A: How do I find a real estate agent in Hawaii?
How do I choose a real estate agent?
Hi Kimo,
Purchasing your home is probably the biggest investment you will ever make, so it's important to choose wisely when deciding on a real estate agent.
Khai Tran of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties offers the following advice for finding the perfect agent:
Do your homework
Ask the agent for a list of all listings and sales within the last few years with contact information. You are essentially hiring someone, so you want to be able to call references. Talk with the realtor's recent clients, and find out how satisfied they were with the service they received. What percentage of their asking price did they receive? If a buyer, how many offers did it take to find a home? And how long are their listings typically on the market? Check their current listings to see how well they market listings and how easy they are to find.
Check references
Here in Hawaii, everyone knows everyone it seems. Your uncle, neighbor, or friend is either an agent or knows an agent. Personal references are always crucial, but make sure you ask around at the same time to make sure you are finding someone who knows the particular market you are searching for, and has sufficient experience to make your search successful.
Interview the agent
This can be as simple as going to an open house and asking a few questions, to looking up the agent's real estate credentials on the Hawaii.gov website and making sure they have no complaints and their credentials are current. Also look for an agent that is proactive-if you meet them at an open house and express interest and they don't follow up, do you really want to work with that person?
Find someone you are comfortable with
There might be three or four agents that fit the criteria you are looking for in an agent, but which one are you most comfortable dealing with? You're going to be spending a lot of time searching for homes, narrowing down options, and deciding on a place, so it's important to find someone you'll enjoy working with.
The Real Estate Question of the Week is a new feature on the Honolulu Magazine Real Estate blog. Have a question related to buying, renting or selling real estate? Email me!


text:
Please visit our Open House at 14 19330 69 AVE in Surrey.
Open House on Sunday, September 15, 2019 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Wow! What an incredible view! Enjoy Mount Baker/Rainier in all its glory from this spotless end unit townhome in popular Montebello in upbeat Surrey/Clayton. Open plan kitchen with chef's delight granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and loads of cooking space and cupboards. Double tandem style garage with full access to fenced backyard and open parkland (Katzie Park is great for dog walking and walking the kids safely to Katzie Elementary School). Family friendly and 2 pets allowed. Call now for private viewing. OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, SEPT 15 1-4pm


text:
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text: mark: > I was wondering about the possibility of using Haskell for developing > device drivers that would be kernel modules for Linux. If nothing else, > it would be quite an educational experience for me, as I've not yet > experimented with either the Linux kernel or Haskell FFI, nor have I > had to learn how to squeeze much performance out of my Haskell code. > > Clearly, this application demands special things from the compiler and > the runtime. But, I'm not exactly sure what, nor how to achieve such > given current compilers. Does anyone have any thoughts? Well, it would be tricky, but fun! We've got a few drivers written in Haskell already (but not for Linux, as far as I know). For example check out the House network stack and drivers: http://cvs.haskell.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/programatica/hOp/ and http://cvs.haskell.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/programatica/hOp/kernel/Kernel/Driver/NE2000/ So there's heavy use of Data.Bits and Word# types - but nothing that isn't fairly well established in GHC Haskell, anyway. Then (for GHC, anyway) you'd have to link the kernel against libHSrts.a, much as we do when calling Haskell from other kinds of C apps, which involves compiling the C app with all the magic flags ghc normally sets up (ghc -v9 main.c is helpful). Something like: ;) egcc -v -o a.out -DDONT_WANT_WIN32_DLL_SUPPORT main.o -L/home/dons/lib/ghc-6.4 -lHStemplate-haskell -lHSCabal -lHSposix -lHSposix_cbits -lHSlang -lHSmtl -lHShaskell-src -lHSunix -lHSunix_cbits -lHShi -lHShaskell98 -lHSaltdata -lHSbase -lHSbase_cbits -lHSrts -lm -lgmp -u GHCziBase_Izh_static_info -u GHCziBase_Czh_static_info -u GHCziFloat_Fzh_static_info ... Then, having the kernel start up the Haskell rts (at boot would be good): hs_init(&argc, &argv); .. do something in Haskell or C land ... hs_exit(); Then you'd could dyn load (via GHC's rts) your Haskell driver into the C app, and use it, as long as you've got a nice ffi interface to pass values back and forward. I'm sure the fun part is in the details ;) Cheers, Don


text:
Some of the most creative architects, working with their most adventurous clients, are revealing the results on Saturday and Sunday September 17 and 18 during a tour of modern homes in San Francisco that is part of the Architecture and the City Festival. The tour runs 10am to 4pm.
Among the homes in this ninth annual tour is a rebuild of a 1940s Noe Valley row house that is now topped with a cedar- and glass-sided bedroom that is "suspended overhead like a ship in a bottle," according to the AIA.
Also included is a three-story Dolores Heights home that includes a two-story, sky-lit stairway and bamboo garden, and exterior spiral stairs.
Tour headquarters will be B&B Italia (2211 Alameda Street, San Francisco), which opens at 9am, where visitors can view a home exhibit and learn about working with architects.
For more information, contact the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects.


text:
The police drama Hunter debuted in 1984 and was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. The TV show ran for seven seasons on NBC and features exploits of L.A. homicide detectives Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) and his partner, Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer).
Stories feature the duo foiling plots involving deadly heists, killer porn stars, gangland murders, international terrorists, punk rockers, and more. Kramer left the show after six seasons to pursue her music career and her character married an old flame. For the final season, Hunter and Captain Devane (Charles Hallahan) move from homicide to the elite Metro unit.
The complete series has recently been released on DVD. The 28-disc set includes all 152 action-packed episodes and features guest star appearances by George Clooney, Eric Estrada, Jesse Ventura, Dennis Franz, Brian Dennehy, Ed O'Neill, Bruce Davison, Garrett Morris, Jerry Orbach, Lauren Lane, Isaac Hayes, Robert Vaughn, Sammy Davis Jr., and hundreds more.
You can purchase Hunter: The Complete Series for $79.98 from Amazon. You can also try to win a copy here.
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OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know
Pathogen name and classification
Originally classified as a Corynebacterium, Rhodococcus is now classified as a member of the family Nocardioform, order Actinomycetes. The classification of this genus results from the following properties of rhodococci: mycolic, acid-containing cell walls and production of tuberculostearic acid. Members of this genus lack the ability to ferment carbohydrates and liquefy gelatin, which are characteristic abilities of pathogenic corynebacteria.
Rhodococcus is a facultative intracellular, gram-positive bacteria. It is an aerobic organism. As the name suggests (rhodo = red and coccus = round bacteria) it sometimes appears coccoid in shape. However, the organism is pleomorphic. Depending on nutrient and growth environment, it can also appear in a bacillary form. The bacillary form can appear as a variety of shapes, from curved and long to branched, short filaments.
History and important pathogens
Infection with Rhodococcus is a zoonosis. It was first discovered in 1923, in sheep with pyogranulomatous pneumonia. Since then, it has been documented in many types of animals, predominately herbivores. In 1967, the first human case was reported in a man being treated with steroids and 6-mercaptopurine for autoimmune hepatitis who developed pneumonia; the organism was isolated from his lung tissue. There were few cases reported subsequently until the time of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the 1980s. As impaired cell-mediated immunity in patients seems to play a role in the ability of this organism to cause disease, it follows that more cases have been seen since advances in treatment of malignancies and organ transplantation have led to increases in the numbers of immunocompromised hosts. Historically it has rarely been reported in people with intact immune systems; however, this may be changing because of heightened awareness of the organism.
Rhodococcus includes the following human pathogens: R. equi, R. erythropolis, R. gordoniae, R. fascians (R. luteus), and R. rhodochrous (complex). Most human infections caused by Rhodococcus have been identified as R. equi and much of the literature discusses this organism. Likewise, most of the information in this resource focuses on R. equi. Approximately 10 to 15% of reported infections caused by R. equi have occurred in immunocompetent individuals, although a recent article states a rate as high as 40%.
What is the best treatment?
Because there is no established standard for treatment, an Infectious Diseases consultation is recommended to assist in the care of patients. An Infectious Diseases consultation is also recommended because timely initiation of comprehensive treatment is essential to a favorable outcome.
Glycopeptide antibiotics (vancomycin, teicoplanin), rifampicin, quinolones, aminoglycosides, carbapenems, and in many cases, macrolides are effective. Alternative agents include tetracyclines, clindamycin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. However, susceptibility to these agents is variable. More recently, linezolid has been identified as an effective agent. There has been some controversy surrounding the use of cephalosporins and penicillins due to possible acquired or intrinsic resistance. Hence, these agents are not recommended. If they must be used, it is recommended that a β-lactamase inhibitor be utilized with these agents. Vancomycin-based regimens were shown to be effective in mice and in a multicenter study of HIV-infected persons. In general, regimens containing two to three agents are recommended and are effective in avoiding the emergence of resistance. Use of antibiotics that are active intracellularly, such as azithromycin and rifampicin, can be effective in limiting intrahistiocytic survival. Many experts view the combination of vancomycin, rifampicin, and imipenem as the most efficacious.
Duration of treatment is dependent on both degree and anticipated duration of immunosuppression, as well as severity of disease. In immunocompetent hosts treatment can be 2 to 8 weeks versus up to 6 months of total treatment, including initial intravenous antibiotic induction, in patients with impaired cellular immunity. Treatment should be continued until the signs and symptoms of infection resolve.
Localized, non-central nervous system infection in immunocompetent hosts can be treated with oral agents.
Abscesses and empyemas should be drained. Lobectomy should be considered if there is poor clinical response to antibiotic therapy. If surgery is undertaken, all infected tissues should be excised.
Susceptibility testing should be performed to guide definitive therapy. As in most organisms, resistance can develop in rhodococci; however, the resistance patterns have not been identified definitively. There are several postulated mechanisms of resistance. These include:
altered penicillin binding proteins
increased antibiotic degradation
β-lactamase production
Susceptibility testing can be performed by the method of Kirby–Bauer on cation-adjusted Mueller–Hinton agar. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) can be measured by Etest on these plates. Extrapolation of Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute criteria for Corynebacterium spp. breakpoints allows for interpretation of resistance patterns.
How do patients contract this infection, and how do I prevent spread to other patients?
Epidemiology—with regards to transmission, most information is based on R. equi.
Transmission is by inhalation, ingestion, or inoculation of the organism, usually from soil. Exposure to farm animals, soil, and manure has been reported in many cases. Apparently, close contact is not required as evidenced by several documented cases in the literature. There are, however, reports of HIV-positive individuals who have become ill, following contact with roommates infected with R. equi. This raises the issue of possible person-to-person transmission. Other patients with documented disease have reported only secondary exposure. In these cases, the patients have had no direct contact with livestock or soil; instead, they have had contact with an individual who has had those exposures. In animals, ingestion of soil is described as another route of exposure. This has not, as yet, been documented in humans. Human-to-human transmission has, occasionally, been suspected in cases of nosocomial pneumonia involving HIV-positive individuals. There has been discussion of seasonal and regional differences in R. equi transmission on farms possibly secondary to precipitation and heat levels, but there is insufficient data to clarify definitive patterns. There is even less information on seasonality with respect to human infection.
The organism has also been isolated from water. In the veterinary literature, there is mention of crowding as a risk for transmission, as such most stables/farms employ methods to reduce crowding to mitigate risk. It is reasonable to consider similar measures when dealing with human cases of R. equi. There is even less data on infection prevention for other types of rhodococci. Although found in soil, R. erythropolis has also been cultured from the surface of healthy eyes. Likewise, there is documentation of Rhodococcus as a nasal commensal organism in approximately 40% of human adults. The etiologic role of nasal colonization in Rhodococcus infection is unclear.
Incidence is difficult to gauge. On the one hand, possible infection and mortality due to R. equi in HIV-infected individuals has decreased as the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) becomes widespread. On the other hand, as technology improves and becomes more available, there are larger numbers of persons exposed to chemotherapy, immunosuppressive treatments related to solid organ transplantation and rheumatologic disease, and long-term dialysis. R. equi is an opportunistic pathogen.
The initiation of HAART in HIV-positive individuals, with decreased CD4 counts, has been associated with decreased risk of R. equi infection. Azithromycin used as prophylaxis in many patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome may also be beneficial in decreasing infection with this organism. Despite this, there is no evidence for long-term directed prophylaxis. Although speculative, there are two possible arguments that support the practice of not using prophylaxis. The first is that there seems to be evidence that immune reconstitution by use of HAART is more efficacious for protection from rhodococcal disease than adjunctive antibiotics, such as azithromycin. The second argument is that in veterinary practice, in which there is significantly more regular and widespread experience with R. equi, prophylaxis is not part of routine practice.
Infection control issues
Inhalation and inoculation are two important routes of infection. There are no specific recommendations or guidelines for infection prevention in patients with rhodococcal infection. However, in reviewing cases involving R. equi, it seems prudent to recommend that the following be considered: if the patient is coughing or has a definitive pneumonia, surgical masks should be considered for staff and exposed patients. Additionally, masks should be considered when caring for a patient who has documented R. equi pneumonia and who is coughing. Gowns and gloves should be employed during contact with patients with rhodococcal wounds or infections; if wounds are likely to produce material that could be aerosolized, masks might also be considered.
Vaccine technology has not been effective in preventing R. equi in horses or foals, due to immunological complications. At this time, there is no active research on a vaccine for humans.
What host factors protect against this infection?
Intact cellular immunity is protective against infection with R. equi. This may also be true of other rhodococci.
Patients with impaired cellular immunity are at higher risk for contracting infection secondary to Rhodococcus. This includes HIV-positive patients, particularly if their CD4 count is less than 100cells/mm3, patients who have undergone chemotherapy, and patients who are on immunosuppressants after receiving organ transplantation. In fact, most patients who are considered immunocompromised can be included here. Therefore, diabetics, alcoholics, patients with chronic renal failure, patients with sarcoidosis, patients on corticosteroids or immunosuppressive monoclonal antibodies, and preterm infants are at risk for infection.
A necrotizing granulomatous reaction is usually seen on histopathology. It is characterized by dense histiocytic infiltrates with eosinophilic, granular cytoplasm. Intrahistiocytic coccobacilli are present. This is, likely, the result of R. equi's ability to survive within macrophages. Its ability to inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion allows for proliferation of organisms intracellularly. The infected macrophages are, subsequently, destroyed. In most patients who manifest rhodococcal infection, cell-mediated immunity is impaired. They cannot mount an adequate response to rapidly eradicate Rhodococcus. Together with the organism's ability to survive in the macrophage, this accounts for a low-grade but persistent inflammation and granuloma formation and extrapulmonary manifestations. In some cases, Michaelis–Guttman bodies are prominent (Figure 1); these are concentrically layered basophilic inclusions resulting from impaired macrophage lysosomal function. This leads to failure of lysophagosomal fusion and ineffective killing of ingested organisms. This, together with the Michaelis–Guttman bodies, is called malakoplakia.
What are the clinical manifestations of infection with this organism?
A cavitary and sometimes necrotizing pneumonia is the most common clinical manifestation of R. equi infection (Figure 2). Eighty percent of R. equi cases demonstrate pneumonia. This is a pneumonia of subacute onset. Disease may start with an insidious, dry cough. Initial symptoms may be constitutional, with cachexia, weight loss, and fatigue. Typically, patients demonstrate progressive cough, fever, and pleuritic chest pain. Hemoptysis is also described in 15% of patients with R. equi pneumonia.
Chest radiographs often demonstrate upper lobe cavitation. This radiologic finding makes it easy to confuse rhodococcal infection with M. tuberculosis infection. However, in R. equi, the upper lobe cavitation is thick walled and frequently includes an air-fluid level. Other radiographic findings that can be seen in R. equi infections include pleural effusion, infiltrates, and nodules.
There is a significant frequency of bacteremia (30–50%) in R. equi infections which increases with degree of immune impairment. Bacteremia has also been reported in R. erythropolis infection.
The next most frequent sites of infection are central nervous system and subcutaneous abscesses.
Concurrent extrapulmonary infection is seen in approximately 20% of pulmonary cases. Three patterns of extrapulmonary infection have been described:
traumatic (including wounds, septic arthritis, and endophthalmitis
isolated bacteremia
inoculation of the gastrointestinal tract with dissemination to regional lymph nodes, peritonitis, or pelvic abscess
Infections of devices, such as intravascular catheters, have been reported.
There have been a variety of case reports of infections with non-equi species such as osteomyelitis caused by R. erythropolis and ocular infections secondary to traumatic inoculation of R. gordoniae.
What common complications are associated with infection with this pathogen?
Bacteremia frequently complicates R. equi pneumonia.
Pneumonia is also frequently complicated by lung abscess, pleural effusion, empyema, and pneumothorax.
Microabscesses are also seen, and these can coalesce into larger abscesses. Abscesses can also occur as a result of hematogenous spread of this pathogen to more distant sites, such as the brain.
Other complications of R. equi infection include endobronchial lesions, endocarditis, cardiac tamponade, and mediastinitis. Non-equi rhodococcal meningitis has also been documented.
Granuloma formation is common in rhodococcal infections. Both endobronchial and pulmonary granulomas are seen.
Malakoplakia is a less common complication of rhodococcal infection. Malakoplakia is a chronic, granulomatous inflammatory process associated with an impaired ability to process microorganisms within histiocytes. It is best described as an accumulation of benign macrophages associated with intracellular and extracellular aggregates of periodic acid-Schiff-positive histiocytes. These histiocytes are known as Michaelis–Guttman bodies, and they contain lamellated iron and calcium inclusions.
Relapse of infection is also seen; this is another way in which Rhodococcus emulates mycobacteria. The ability of the Rhodococcus to survive and multiply inside the macrophage, as well as the propensity to form abscesses, is the likely mechanism for this complication of infection.
Mortality is greatest in HIV-infected individuals who are not on HAART, and is as high as 50 to 55%. The mortality is 20 to 25% in patients with depressed immunity due to other causes, such as chemotherapy or transplant-related medications, and is 11% in immunocompetent patients.
How should I identify the organism?
Rhodococcus life cycle: R. equi inhabits the soil and gains entry into the respiratory tract via inhalation of dust/soil particles containing bacteria. In nonhumans, ingestion of soil may be another method of transmission; this, then, can lead to bloodstream infections. The organism replicates within the respiratory tract, is then coughed up, and then swallowed. Replication continues as rhodococci travel through the intestinal tract. Subsequently, Rhodococcus is eliminated by defecation, reintroducing large numbers of the bacteria back into the soil.
Microscopy and culture are the detection methods of choice.
The staining techniques which are useful are: Gram stain which shows the organism as gram-positive and an acid fast stain which shows the organism as partially acid fast. Rhodococcus is a pleomorphic organism. Depending on nutrient, environmental, and growth conditions, it can range in morphology from a long-curved rod, to a short rod with branching or filament formation, to a coccus.
The colonial appearance of Rhodococcus is quite variable, rendering phenotypic lab testing insufficient. In addition, the characteristic cell-wall lipids in Rhodococcus have more than one critical function; they are the end-product of complex biochemical pathways. The unique lipids produced by these bacteria do not lend themselves to antigen variation in the same manner as surface proteins found in many other bacteria. Therefore, molecular methods must, frequently, be employed to establish species identification. In addition, Rhodococcus possesses the ability to act as a biocatalyst; this is particularly true of R. erythropolis which possesses a large set of enzymes. For this reason, R. erythropolis has attracted attention in the biotechnology world. As Rhodococcus is so difficult to identify, multiple methods of testing are used simultaneously. The organism can grow at a wide range of temperatures, from 10 to 40oC. However, it grows optimally at approximately 30oC. Colonies grow on solid media (see below for preferred media). It is an obligate aerobe which is nonmotile and does not produce spores.
Rhodococcus grows well on ordinary media but may be overlooked as a contaminating coryneform or misidentified as Nocardia or Micrococcus. Selective media such as colixin-naladixic agar (CNA), phenyl-ethanol agar (PEA), and ceftazidime-novobiocin agar are useful in the isolation of R. equi from contaminated specimens.
R. equi colonies appear as irregularly round, smooth, mucoid, and salmon-colored (Figure 3). The latter feature occurs after 4 to 7 days. As indicated above, colonial appearance is variable.
Rhodococcus is biochemically characterized by positivity for catalase, lipase, urease, and phosphatase. Absent are oxidase, deoxyribonuclease, elastase, lecithinase, and protease.
Colonies form on solid media in approximately 48 hours. However, the characteristic salmon color may take 4 to 7 days of growth to manifest.
Polymerase chain reaction is helpful in identifying Rhodococcus, but this testing is not commercially available. Sensitivity and specificity appear to be high.
Rhodococcus can be difficult to differentiate from Nocardia, Bacillus, and Micrococcus when grown on nonspecialized media. Therefore, CNA, PEA, or ceftazidime-novobiocin agar are recommended culture media. As previously mentioned, Rhodococcus shares many characteristics with mycobacteria. Rhodococcus can also be difficult to differentiate from mycobacteria because Rhodococcus is weakly acid fast. The 14-day arylsulfatase test is negative in Rhodococcus; this helps to distinguish it from some species of mycobacteria. Synergistic hemolysis is another method which helps to identify Rhodococcus. Blood agar cross-streaked with Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, or Listeria monocytogenes to which Rhodococcus is added creates synergistic hemolysis (Christie Atkins Munch-Petersen test-like), as a result of enzymatic activity. An additional characteristic and defining feature is that in vitro antagonism between imipenem and other β-lactams is common in R. equi isolates, unlike other bacteria.
Restriction fragment length polymorphism and ribotyping can be effective adjuncts in identifying the organism.
How does this organism cause disease?
The significance of virulence factors in human infection is not well understood. These seem to vary between strains of R. equi, just as the host range of R. equi strains seems to vary. In R. equi strains infecting livestock, there is fairly consistent expression of a 20kDa antigen called VapA. Expression of the VapA antigen demonstrates measurable differences in R. equi strains in different geographic regions. VapA is considered to impart significant virulence in these strains which infect nonhumans. But VapA has only been found to be expressed in 20 to 25% of strains recovered in human infection, which is the reason that its role in virulence in humans is questioned. Instead, rhodococcal virulence in humans seems to be related to the organism's ability to evade the immune system. The ability of R.equi to survive within macrophages is its most important virulence factor in humans. Its ability to inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion allows for proliferation of organisms intracellularly in the macrophage. Subsequently, inflammation and ultimately destruction of infected macrophages occurs. Person-to-person transmission in pleuropulmonary disease, as well as wounds, can be understood as possible through aerosolization of the pathogen.
The clinical manifestations and indolent beginning of most rhodococcal infections correlates with the prolonged presence of this relatively low-virulence organism in cells. The clinical illness is indolent and, even in foals in which R. equi has been a recognized pathogen since the 1920s, symptoms can be hard to recognize. The cough may have an insidious onset, as does the corresponding apathy. Later, unexplained fever may be the first objective indication of active infection. By this time, some of the more definitive aspects of illness may be present, such as: cavitation, empyema, pleural effusion, bacteremia, pneumothorax, microabscesses, etc. Because Rhodococcus has the ability to persist and multiply in cells by evasion of the immune response or the lack of cell-mediated immune response in cases of impaired cell-mediated immunity, this organism causes granuloma formation, cavitary lesions, and slow invasion of tissue to the level of involvement of the bloodstream, in some cases.
WHAT'S THE EVIDENCE for specific management and treatment recommendations?
Chen, XY, Xu, F, Xia, JY, Cheng, YS, Yang, Y. "Bacteremia due to : a case report and review of the literature". J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. vol. 10. 2009. pp. 933-6. (A case report and a good review of the literature.)
Conlin, PA, Willingham, KJ, Oliver, JW. " bacteremia in an immunocompetent patient". Lab Med. vol. 31. 2000. pp. 263-5. (A case report which includes discussion of laboratory techniques for isolation and identification and characteristics of Rhodococcus.)
Corti, M, Palmero, D, Eiguchi, K. "Respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients". Curr Opin Pulmonary Med. vol. 15. 2009. pp. 209-17. (Overview of pneumonias in immunosuppressed patients, including those secondary to Rhodococcus: prophylaxis, clinical manifestations, microbiological and molecular identification, and treatment strategy.)
Finnerty, WR. "The biology and genetics of the genus ". Annu Rev Microbiol. vol. 46. 1992. pp. 193-218. (An overview of the characteristics of the genus.)
Gelfand, MS, Cleveland, KO, Brewer, SC. " pneumonia in a patient with fludarabine-treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia and CD4-lymphopenia". Am J Med Sci. vol. 340. 2010. pp. 80-1. (A case report with discussion of specific immunologic facets of Rhodococcus-related illness.)
Harvey, RL, Sunstrum, JC. " infection in patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection". Rev Infect Dis. vol. 13. 1991. pp. 139-45. (Overview of Rhodococcus infection with comparison of manifestations in immunocompetent versus immunosuppressed individuals.)
Holt, JG, Krieg, NR, Sneath, PH, Staley, JT, Williams, ST. Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. 1994. pp. 611-39. (A review of morphologic and biochemical characterisics of the organism.)
Kedlaya, I, Ing, MB, Wong, SS. " Infections in immunocompetent hosts: case report and review". Clin Infect Dis. vol. 32. 2001. pp. e39-45. (Case report and review of literature.)
Logan, NA, Lappin-Scott, HM, Oyston, PCF. "Prokaryotic diversity: mechanisms and significance. 66th Symposium of the Society for General Microbiology". 2006. (Includes discussion of biological characteristics of Rhodococcus.)
Lora-Tamayo, J, Fernández-Sabé, N, Viladrich, PF, Verdaguer, R, Gabarrós, A. "Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt infection due to non- sp". Int J Infect Dis. vol. 13. 2009. pp. e193-4. (Case report of a non-equi Rhodococcus infection.)
Nishi, SP, Valentine, VG, Duncan, S. "Emerging bacterial, fungal, and viral respiratory infections in transplantation". Infect Dis Clin North Am. vol. 24. 2010. pp. 541-55. (Overview including Rhodococcus as an emerging pathogen, specifically in the transplant population.)
Park, SD, Uh, Y, Jang, IH, Yoon, KJ, Kim, HM, Bae, YJ. " septicaemia in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia". J Med Microbiol. vol. 60. 2011. pp. 252-5. (Case report of Rhodococcus erythropolis infection.)
Reboli, A., Meyer, D., Mandell, GL, Bennett, JE, Dolin, R. "Other Coryneform Bacteria and Rhodococci". Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 2010. (Reference chapter from the major Infectious Diseases textbook.)
Takai, S, Sasaki, Y, Ikeda, T, Uchida, Y, Tsubaki, S, Sekizaki, T. "Virulence of Isolates from patients with and without AIDS". J Clin Microbiol. vol. 32. 1994. pp. 457-60. (A comparison of the microbiologic characteristics of Rhodococcus isolates in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals.)
Topino, S, Galati, V, Grilli, E, Petrosillo, N. " Infection in HIV-infected individuals: case reports and review of the literature". AIDS Patient Care STDS. vol. 24. 2010. pp. 211-22. (Case reports and literature review.)
Weinstock, DM, Brown, AE. ": an emerging pathogen". Clin Infect Dis. vol. 34. 2002. pp. 1379-85. (Overview of the diverse clinical manifestations of infection and accurate diagnosis.)
Yam, KC, Okamoto, S, Roberts, JN, Eltis, LD. "Adventures in —from steroids to explosives". Can J Microbiol. vol. 57. 2011. pp. 155-68. (Overview of biochemical and microbiologic characteristics of Rhodococcus.)
Yamshchikov, AV, Schuetz, A, Lyon, GM. " infection". Lancet Infect Dis. vol. 10. 2010. pp. 350-9. (Overview of pathogenesis, clinical characteristics of infections, and approaches to treatment.)
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- OVERVIEW: What every clinician needs to know
- What is the best treatment?
- How do patients contract this infection, and how do I prevent spread to other patients?
- What host factors protect against this infection?
- What are the clinical manifestations of infection with this organism?
- What common complications are associated with infection with this pathogen?
- How should I identify the organism?
- How does this organism cause disease?