News for today's 2018

Jerusalem, My Happy Home: Part 8

11:41 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">Today we saw the very old and the completely current.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">We began with a journey south to Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. This is pretty credible sacred geography. It is the place where Abraham bought a cave for burial. According to Scripture, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah are buried there.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a>And sure enough, there are their tombs. Are they really in them? Probably so. Joseph is supposedly there too but there’s quite a dispute about that here. Some say he lies in Shechem. A building erected by Herod the Great surrounds the tombs. That in itself is pretty impressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Tomb of the Patriarchs is sacred to both Jews and Muslims but the animosities make it necessary to divide the building between them. We entered the Muslim part of the building and the Jewish part through different doors, after passing through different security checks. The tombs of Abraham and Sarah can be seen from either side. Isaac and Rebecca are on the Muslim side. Jacob and Leah are on the Jewish side. A bulletproof glass separates the two sides. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">The feeling of tragic violence hangs over the Tomb of the Patriarchs. On August 24, 1929, Arabs, incited by false rumors that Jews were killing Arabs in Jerusalem, killed 67 Jews including 23 college students. On February 25, 1994 a Jewish settler, Baruch Goldstein, shot to death 29 Muslims and wounded 125 there in the Ibrahim Mosque, before running out of ammunition and being beaten to death by survivors. In the ensuing riots, Israeli soldiers killed 19 more Palestinians. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">Those memories hang like a curtain between the pilgrim and Abraham. I left the Tomb awed by the ancient memory of the patriarchs of three faiths, and deeply disturbed by the killings in a house of prayer so recently. It made me think of the mass murder in the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. This isn’t just the Middle East. It’s us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">Following that sacred but disturbing visit to Hebron, we had two conversations that served to raise our discomfort level. First we visited a Jewish Settlement in Efrata (the Palestinian territory where these settlements are so controversial) and met with an articulate spokesman for the Israeli position. He was a strong advocate who argued well. But I was struck by his refusal to see another interpretation or to acknowledge uncomfortable facts. Then we went to a Palestinian Refugee Center and spoke with a young man who was born there 25 years ago. The despair of his life evoked my sympathy, but it also left me feeling he was pretty attached to his victim status. The murals on the walls of his Refugee Center valorized people throwing Molotov cocktails and using other simple weapons against Israelis soldiers. The young man had complained about being treated as a terrorist, but what about these murals?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">The day left our group agitated. The conversation has been uneasy, making cases for one side or another, looking for a solution – but I am not at all confident that either side of this conflict wants it resolved. Surely many people on both sides do want peace. But there are enough people on both sides sabotaging peace to make it very hard to resolve – and it strikes me that this has very little to do with religion. It has more to do with meta-narrative, grievance, and a failure of relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">I do not have any idea how to help this situation from the outside and I will never be on the inside. So this is just a partial thought about a piece of what needs to happen:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">First, both sides are caught up in the meta-narrative of return from exile. It is as if they are fighting over the their role in the narrative as much as they are fighting over the land. Each claims the status of the displaced exile longing to return to a rightful home. Each casts the other as Babylon. Before there can be peace, it will be necessary for the parties to share the meta-narrative, to see each other as exiles, to see themselves as Babylon. And it will be necessary to reinterpret the return from exile as something more relational than territorial. The return from exile is a return to a state of neighborliness. That was not even easily said. It sure won’t be easily done. The recasting of a meta-narrative is seismic. We have our own American meta-narrative that needs recasting; so far be it from me to criticize the Israelis and Palestinians for being stuck in theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">Second, both sides have suffered greatly. That cannot be undone. But the present problem is that both sides are attached to their sense of grievance. If one has been aggrieved, one has the moral upper hand, a sort of moral free throw -- that is, the rules do not apply to the aggrieved. Grievance is very sticky indeed. To give up one’s sense of grievance is to step back down into the moral milieu. There are few things more precious to us than our sense of grievance. Sadat gave up land for peace. Would people today give up grievance for peace?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">Finally, I wonder how many members of the opposing factions know each other in a particularly personal way. I believe they would have a much better chance of coming to an understanding if they did a lot of relational spadework by telling each other their stories. With a foundation of shared stories, they might begin to explore their interests and find that there are deeper interests, more relational interests, than they have recognized, interests that might be better served by compromise than by perpetuating the conflict that presently serves the meta-narrative of exile and the sense of grievance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt;">I don’t know how such processes of recasting the meta-narrative, relinquishing the grievance, and sharing the stories could be accomplished on a large scale. I do know we had a Kids For Peace Camp in the Diocese of Atlanta. As I recall, 12 Israeli kids, 12 Palestinian kids, and 12 American kids went to summer camp in North Georgia each year, got to know each other, learned some conflict resolution skills, and became friends. When they went home, they remained friends and created connections among their families. It was a small step, but a real one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />  <div id="edn1"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></a> I had to go back to the books to figure our why Rachel wasn’t there. Jacob and Rachel were so star-crossed. Jacob meant to marry Rachel but wound up married to Leah. It took an extra seven years for him to earn Rachel’s hand, then they wound up buried in different places. When Jacob fled from Laban, Rachel stole the household gods. Jacob didn’t know that. When Laban tracked them down, Jacob denied culpability and cursed anyone in his party who had stolen from Laban. The curse fell on Rachel and she died in childbirth near Bethlehem. So that’s where Rachel’s tomb is.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText"><br /></div></div></div>

Jerusalem, My Happy Home: Part 8

Today we saw the very old and the completely current. We began with a journey south to Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. T...

Senior Software Engineer (C++/ C# / OOD / OOP ) (#109140)

11:36 AM Anonymous 0

<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt;">  <div><b>Position</b>: Senior Software Engineer<br>    <b>Location</b>: Milpitas, CA <br>    <b>Duration</b>: Full time<br>    <br>    <b>Job Description</b>:<br>    The Wafer Inspection Division (WIN) of KLA-Tencor designs and manufactures systems that are used for capturing yield-impacting defects at the front-end-of-line (FEOL) and the back-end-of-line (BEOL). A successful candidate will be joining a world leader in  wafer inspection products and technologies designing and manufacturing the next generation of products.</div>  <div> </div>  <div><b>Responsibilities:</b></div>  <div>The Wafer Inspection Division (WIN) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in our Milpitas, California campus. You will be responsible planning and developing SW solutions for our end customers for our next generation semiconductor wafer inspection machines.<br>    <br>    You will be working in cross functional teams and be hands-on during the entire product development cycle. You will have opportunity in participating in all stages of software development starting from requirement analysis to deployment and even visit customer  sites if necessary.<br>    <br>    <b>Preferred Qualifications:</b></div>  <div>1) Experience with object oriented software analysis & design in C++/C#</div>  <div>2) Excellent communication skills, inter personnel skills and leadership skills.</div>  <div>3) Good understanding of general SW principles and product life cycle.</div>  <div>4) Able to conduct technical presentations and articulate use cases/solutions.</div>  <div>5) Requires knowledge of multi-threaded/parallel processing applications.</div>  <div>6) Semiconductor equipment industry experience, system control and/or image/data processing experience a plus.<br>    <br>    <b>Minimum Qualifications:</b></div>  <div>Doctorate (Academic) with at least 2 years of experience.</div>  <div>OR</div>  <div>Master's Level Degree with at least 4 years of experience.</div>  <div>OR</div>  <div>Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 5 years of experience.<br>    <br>    Kindly send your resumes to<font color="navy"> </font><a href="mailto:Sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com"><font color="navy"><u>Sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com</u></font></a><br>    </div>  <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></font></div>  </span></font>

Senior Software Engineer (C++/ C# / OOD / OOP ) (#109140)

Position : Senior Software Engineer Location : Milpitas, CA Duration : Full time Job Description : The Wafer Inspectio...

System Software Engineer (C++/ C# / OOD / OOP / Java / UML ) (#109148)

11:34 AM Anonymous 0

<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt;">  <div><b>Position</b>: System Software Engineer<br>    <b>Location</b>: Milpitas, CA <br>    <b>Duration</b>: Full time<br>    <br>    <b>Job Description</b>:<br>    The Wafer Inspection Division (WIN) of KLA-Tencor designs and manufactures systems that are used for capturing yield-impacting defects at the front-end-of-line (FEOL) and the back-end-of-line (BEOL). A successful candidate will be joining a world leader in  wafer inspection products and technologies designing and manufacturing the next generation of products.</div>  <div> </div>  <div><b>Responsibilities:</b></div>  <div>The Wafer Inspection Division (WIN) is seeking a Systems Software Engineer in our Milpitas, California campus. You will be a key member of our highly integrated multi-disciplinary team comprised of software, optical, mechanical, robotics, electronics,  control systems and image processing engineers.  You will be responsible for the creation of machine control, image computer and data storage software for next generation Semiconductor Wafer Inspection machines.  You will also be responsible for integrating  multiple hardware and software sub-systems to solve some of the most advanced technical challenges facing the semiconductor chip industry.</div>  <div> </div>  <div>The software is primarily written in Java with various components developed in C or C++ in a multi-threaded and distributed environment. The application will be distributed on multiple networked servers running various operating systems.</div>  <div> </div>  <div><b>Preferred Qualifications:</b></div>  <div>1) Experience with Object-Oriented software analysis and design using UML (Unified Modeling Language) modeling, Java and/or C++ programming. </div>  <div>2) Experience with multi-threaded/parallel processing applications.</div>  <div>3) Experience developing and debugging software to control electro-mechanical systems, opto-mechanical systems, instrumentation, or robotics.</div>  <div>4) Experience developing and debugging distributed high performance computing software applications. </div>  <div>5) Effective communication skills.</div>  <div>6) Image/data processing experience is a plus.</div>  <div>7) Knowledge of large scale storage technologies is a plus.</div>  <div>8) Semiconductor equipment industry experience is a plus.<br>    <br>    <b>Minimum Qualifications:</b></div>  <div>Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 5 years of experience.</div>  <div>OR</div>  <div>Master's Level Degree with at least 3 years of experience.</div>  <div>OR</div>  <div>Doctorate (Academic).<br>    <br>    Kindly send your resumes to<font color="navy"> </font><a href="mailto:Sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com"><font color="navy"><u>Sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com</u></font></a></div>  <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></font></div>  </span></font>

System Software Engineer (C++/ C# / OOD / OOP / Java / UML ) (#109148)

Position : System Software Engineer Location : Milpitas, CA Duration : Full time Job Description : The Wafer Inspectio...

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 03/05/2013

11:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/westwoodschools.org/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_GB&formkey=dDJMZVNUcXRQVXY2aTV6ZGtPSk1mVkE6MQ#gid=0">Sounding Board Classroom - Flat Classroom Project</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">If you want to collaborate and do something globally but just have one or two days and have no budget, a sounding board for one of the Flat Classroom projects is a great way to get started. This is the website where we have information on what sounding boards do and how you can sign up now. The window of opportunity for this semester is closing so if you're interested, sign up now.  "A Sounding Board is a classroom that reviews the collaborative wiki pages created by students in the Flat Classroom Project. Sounding Board classrooms are not part of this project in other ways, they come in specifically to review collaborative wikis and provide feedback to participating classrooms and students. They can be classes from typically Grade 6 and older. Sounding Board classrooms will sign up to give feedback to assigned Topic / Wiki teams as shown on the HomePage.  The amount of time it will take to peer review will depend on the experience the class has with online global collaborations. Students will need to carefully review material posted on the wiki (including watching the videos or presentations associated with that group) and then provide thoughtful feedback using the linked Peer Evaluation Criteria.  More details can be found on the Sounding Board wiki of the project you are applying for. The current project is FCP13-1. See further instructions and method at http://fcp13-1.flatclassroomproject.org/Sounding_Boards  More information about Flat Classroom Projects can be found at http://flatclassroomproject.net"</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclassroom">flatclassroom</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elemchat">elemchat</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/msedchat">msedchat</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/globaled">globaled</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://livemocha.com">Livemocha</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">A great website to help you find native speakers and connect with others who speak the language. You can join live classes and also connect with others. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/language_teacher">language_teacher</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.cilc.org/kc3/index.html">KC3 - Kids Creating Community Content - Home</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">An interesting project. "Circling the globe from east to west, urban or rural, we each live in a unique community. What can we learn from our area, from our varied citizens or natural resources? This standards based project seeks to tap into the creative nature of students as they look at their community with new eyes and explore ways to share their findings with others using videoconferencing and technology as a resource."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elemchat">elemchat</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/all_teachers">all_teachers</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://educents.com">Educents Pre-Launch - Sign Up Now for your free $15 gift card!</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">A new website is getting ready to launch that is sort of like a groupon for educational supplies and products. If you sign up right now you can receive a $15 educents gift card when they launch April 2. Wanted you to know.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/purchasing">purchasing</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='https://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 03/05/2013

Sounding Board Classroom - Flat Classroom Project If you want to collaborate and do something global...

Webinar recording: Let's explore Google Chrome and its extensions (05/03/2013)

11:17 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YlL66J6__846SVtmiZ333nX0iIRHf_n0mKiYcWNsur0sb80MrIHEUOg931xYDO89Z5jZrIMNapQIbUouqgFs_GjW1eH3mT3alSNNOnveEEqAhrk3Wnk65XsLLRd662FgywKIOesVh4M/s1600/webinar+recording.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YlL66J6__846SVtmiZ333nX0iIRHf_n0mKiYcWNsur0sb80MrIHEUOg931xYDO89Z5jZrIMNapQIbUouqgFs_GjW1eH3mT3alSNNOnveEEqAhrk3Wnk65XsLLRd662FgywKIOesVh4M/s400/webinar+recording.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google Chrome is definitely a fascinating and very user-friendly browser.  Some of the things I love about using it are:</span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can easily create many different profiles for Chrome so that each email address you have uses its own profile.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The URL bar is called an Omnibox because you can search from it just as if you were operating in Google Search. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One can paste all sorts of bookmarklets in the bookmarks bar. i.e. Pin it for Pinterest, ‘Scoop.it’ for Scoop.it etc.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many wonderful time-saving <i>extensions</i> to add to the top right portion of the browser.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many <i>applications</i> that one can install on to the Google Search page for quick access.</span></li></ul><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Webinar recording</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night's webinar which supported our current onlne course 'Google for Professional Development' was called ‘Let’s explore Google Chrome and its extensions’. Here is the </span><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p3547h3qous/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">recording link.</a><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Webinar presentation</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the webinar presentation on SlideShare.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/16967254" style="border-bottom: #ccc 0px solid; border-left: #ccc 1px solid; border-right: #ccc 1px solid; border-top: #ccc 1px solid; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="427"> </iframe> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/google-chrome-16967254" target="_blank" title="Google chrome">Google chrome</a> </strong>from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">Fiona Beal</a></strong> </div></div></div></div>

webinars Webinar recording: Let's explore Google Chrome and its extensions (05/03/2013)

Google Chrome is definitely a fascinating and very user-friendly browser. Some of the things I love about using it are: You can easily crea...

Let’s Not Rush to Call the HIV Baby Findings a ‘Cure’ - The Daily Beast

6:09 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="text-align: left; "><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><p>This week, at the 20th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, a <a href="http://www.retroconference.org/2013b/Abstracts/47897.htm" target="_blank">group of researchers announced</a> they had achieved a "functional cure" of a newborn baby with HIV infection. The news <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/03/04/baby-with-hiv-cured.html">made a major splash</a> and raised hopes that a giant step forward in controlling this devastating infection was finally at hand.</p></div><a name="body_inlineimage" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><a name="body_text1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><p>To which I say—maybe. But probably not. The story is this: a pregnant woman with no prenatal care appeared in premature labor at a small rural hospital. She was not known previously to be HIV infected but on testing was found to have antibody to the virus. At this point, the infant was transferred to a larger hospital and tested for HIV itself and not for antibodies that might simply reflect the mother's bloodstream. This test was repeatedly positive in the infant, though at surprisingly low levels, suggesting a relatively small amount of virus circulating in the infant.</p></div><a name="body_text2" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>The implications of the low level of virus are uncertain, but any detectable virus is considered incontrovertible evidence of infection. Therefore, seeing this result, the treatment team initiated a potent treatment—not preventive—regimen of antiretrovirals for the infant. The child's virus became undetectable after about a month, a standard response for anyone initiating treatment.</p></div><a name="body_text3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>Then the story takes a strange turn. Just as the mother's poor connection to medical care resulted in a precipitous delivery without prenatal attention, so too did her decision not to follow up with her and her child's doctors lead to the exciting finding. She and her baby quit showing up after 18 months, then eventually resurfaced months later. Once they had returned, the infant was retested and, to everyone's surprise, had an undetectable amount of virus in its bloodstream despite no treatment for many months. In every other reported case, people with HIV infection who stop their medications "rebound" within days to a viral load in the bloodstream similar to that of their level before they initiated treatment. So the infant's absence of detectable virus was an extremely unusual and seemingly unprecedented response. And just maybe a cure.</p></div><a name="body_text4" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>Amid all the excitement, debate continues on two fronts. First, was the child truly infected? The low viral load was a very unusual but not unheard-of finding, meaning we may never know the truth. Second, does the current spate of normal tests truly indicate a cure? With ultrasensitive testing, the child does have some evidence of scraps of HIV in its bloodstream, not enough to duplicate and then spread but still something that remains present, at least in shadow form. That's not nothing. And 10 years of stability is but a moment of time for HIV, for which progression is measured in years. Therefore, "cure" or even "functional cure" seems a reach. A stable suppression in the absence of ongoing therapy would be a more accurate description—and one that likely would have been used in a less dramatic and headline-grabbing disease.</p></div><a name="body_pullquote" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><blockquote class="blockquote section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>Experts should step back and think carefully about how to present data from a small case report of uncertain biologic significance.</p></blockquote><a name="body_text5" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>But even if the child is indeed cured, as everyone hopes, the treatment approach presented is not relevant to the 34 million people now infected, as the hallmark of the new finding is treatment almost immediately after infection. Most of the world has well-established infection with HIV genes spliced into their own DNA. Nor will it work for uninfected persons who are exposed sexually. For them, an analogous program of mandated testing is not in place, and to test everyone within 24-48 hours after every sexual exposure to mimic the conditions of postpartum screening is wildly unrealistic.</p></div><a name="body_text6" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>That said, the new information may have a profound public health impact if the paradigm holds up and can be brought to some or most of the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/perinatal/index.htm" target="_blank">330,000 infants born annually with HIV worldwide</a>, including the 200 or so in the United States. Operationalizing this approach will be a challenge. Key questions include how to get to infants, many of whom are born at home or else far from high-tech medicine, how to monitor them while they take the potentially toxic antiretrovirals, and when to stop the medication to see if "it worked." These are exciting research questions that solid science will sort out in the years ahead.</p></div><a name="body_text7" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>The real story, though, is not really whether the child was cured. Instead it's the way the mother presented—as an undiagnosed pregnant woman without prenatal care in a rural area unequipped to manage HIV. In the U.S. in 2013, we have the tools to have prevented transmission to the infant. The use of AZT <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199411033311801" target="_blank">was shown almost 20 years ago</a>to reduce the risk by 66 percent, and more potent regimens have reduced it even further. But the drug cannot be offered unless a mother's HIV status is known. Once again, a basic, cheap, easy public health approach has failed because our health-care system, safety net and all, did not find a way to support the health of a pregnant woman.</p></div><a name="body_text8" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p>Plus, there is a cautionary tale here for the world of HIV. Although it feels like the disease has been here forever, HIV is new and still settling into a set of expectations. In the cancer world, the term "cure" is used all of the time, but when we read it, we know what it means—a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/24/5-highlights-of-the-new-breast-cancer-study.html">small step forward somewhere</a>. And indeed cancer treatment has muscled forward slowly, steadily, relentlessly, even heartlessly at times over the last 60 years, with the occasional dramatic lunge into something new and truly thrilling.</p></div><a name="body_text9" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); visibility: hidden; "></a><div class="text parbase section" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; ">For HIV, though, real therapy began only 18 years ago with introduction of a class of drugs, the protease inhibitors. These medications transformed the disease within a few years from a predictably fatal infection to a chronic disease but never really promised a cure. Control, yes—but no escape from the tedium of daily treatment. As a result, the term "cure," with its dizzying narcotic of animal hope and runaway dreams, has not often been placed into the HIV discourse. Now that it has, experts should step back and think carefully about how to present data from a small case report of uncertain biologic significance. Until the word "cure" finds a more realistic context in the world of HIV, those who present and those who report should perhaps tread more softly in their claims—because they tread on countless people's dreams. And those dreams will not come true from the findings from this latest report.</p><div><i>Kent Sepkowitz is an infectious-disease specialist in New York City. He has contributed to The New York Times, Slate, and, oh-so-briefly, O magazine. </i></div></div></div><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/05/let-s-not-rush-to-call-the-hiv-baby-findings-a-cure.html?">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/05/let-s-not-rush-to-call-the-hiv-baby-findings-a-cure.html?</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Let’s Not Rush to Call the HIV Baby Findings a ‘Cure’ - The Daily Beast

This week, at the 20th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, a group of researchers announced they ha...

Today's archidose #655

6:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

Here are some photos of the <a href="http://www.nakam.info/english/works/houseK/index.html">Optical Glass House</a> (2012) in Hiroshima, Japan, by <a href="http://www.nakam.info/">Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects</a>, photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/">Ken Lee</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8523460655/" title="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8523460655_a5947aa834_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8523459035/" title="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8227/8523459035_7549ce500c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8524570872/" title="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8238/8524570872_d05830b8b3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8523457905/" title="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan" height="511" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8523457905_71e5905428_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8524572746/" title="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8524572746_b3237c2482_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #655

Here are some photos of the Optical Glass House (2012) in Hiroshima, Japan, by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects , photographed by Ken ...

SchoolNet webinar at 6pm tonight,Tues 4th March, ‘Explore the Chrome browser and its amazing extensions’

4:11 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidggr_8hTX-rETxqm8KcvhSvkxq2NYX4Zjjk6KVhjzHnkq9huuRFRgQn-nu9zdp7BuH2u6N3qGAiWMKeh3a6pEXFw7L9VK66wvfYJWp-AOFKEeb0ZH1DcCJSwv5mFbYy1X6o_QQr9Vnww/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9xyMZ5A-5v5CkIdj5jwMpEWUjH4MsQ15ywtl4F3QuGffCTjZuOw0T0KSJ7ecWiBY5DeLfwRUZx5T8H2CLzifnye9DUwF4xctoVTebz47dBwUgGafeTMeKxIv76Wk_i0nEJTRJruCe5qs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Join us!</b></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.w3schools.com/" title="http://www.w3schools.com"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.w3schools.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> lists Google Chrome as the current most used browser world-wide. Want to know more about the Chrome browser? We invite you to join a 15minute SchoolNet webinar this evening from 6:00 – 6:15pm</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come and discover how easy it is to use the Chrome browser to have a very different browsing experience. You can create multiple browsers for different email address, and best is that you can add free applications and extensions to those browsers which is so useful for the classroom. In this webinar we look at how to add extensions, and list ten+ favourite useful extensions.  </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Meeting Name</u>:  Explore the Chrome browser and its amazing extensions<br /><u>Summary</u>: This webinar sets out to show what one can do with Google Chrome! Chrome is an extraordinary browser with all sorts of tips and tricks you might not know about to make browsing a breeze!<br /><u>When</u>: Tuesday 05/03/2013 at 6:00 PM<u><br />Duration</u>: 15 minutes<br /><u>Presenter:</u> Fiona Beal<br /><u>To join the meeting</u>: <a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/chromebrowser/">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/chromebrowser/</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Test your system first</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Must do this) Test your connection:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />If you have never experienced an Adobe Connect  webinar before all you really need to do for  is test your connection before the time as you might need to add an add-in: <a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm</a>. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) <b>Click on the link, log in as a guest and write your name</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then on the evening just click on the link, log in as a guest and write your name.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) <b>(Optional) Get a quick overview:</b><a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview">http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview</a></span></div>

webinars SchoolNet webinar at 6pm tonight,Tues 4th March, ‘Explore the Chrome browser and its amazing extensions’

Join us! http://www.w3schools.com lists Google Chrome as the current most used browser world-wide. Want to know more about the Chrome bro...

Justices to Take Up Case on Generic Drug Makers’ Liability - NYTimes.com

3:56 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; color: black; text-align: left; "><nyt_text style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">The injuries that Karen Bartlett suffered after taking a mild pain pill are enough to make anyone squeamish.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Ms. Bartlett, who lives in Plaistow, N.H., developed a rare but severe reaction to the anti-inflammatory drug sulindac after a doctor prescribed it to treat shoulder pain in 2004. Within weeks of taking the drug, her skin began to slough off until nearly two-thirds of it was gone.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">She spent almost two months in a burn unit, and months more in a medically induced coma. The reaction permanently damaged her lungs and esophagus and rendered her legally blind.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Ms. Bartlett sued Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, which made the drug she took, a generic pill, arguing that the drug's design was dangerous and defective. During her trial in 2010 in Federal District Court in Concord, N.H., her burn surgeon described her experience as "hell on earth," and a jury awarded her $21 million. An appeals court upheld the verdict.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">"I wouldn't want anybody to go through what I went through," Ms. Bartlett said in a recent interview. "It was horrible. And this medication that I took, sulindac, I don't think it should be prescribed."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Now, in a case that is being closely watched by pharmaceutical companies, federal regulators and others, the Supreme Court will hear arguments this month on whether Mutual can be held responsible for Ms. Bartlett's injuries. The outcome is likely to further clarify the legal recourse for patients who take generic drugs, which now account for 80 percent of all prescriptions in the United States.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Two years ago, the <a title="From the archives." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/business/drug-lawsuits-hinge-on-the-detail-of-a-label.html?pagewanted=all" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Supreme Court severely limited</a> the conditions under which consumers of generic drugs could sue the manufacturers, ruling in Pliva v. Mensing that such companies did not have control over what warning labels said and therefore could not be sued for not alerting patients to the risks of taking their drugs.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Ms. Bartlett's case is slightly different because she did not argue that the drug's warning label was inadequate. She claimed that the drug itself was defective. But Mutual <a title="Their brief." href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/briefs-v2/12-142_pet.pdf" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">has contended</a> that the rationale is the same since, like the label, it has no control over the drug's design.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Under federal law, generic companies are not allowed to deviate from the brand-name drug they are copying. Sulindac is the scientific name for Clinoril, a drug similar to ibuprofen that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1978 and is sold by Merck. Like ibuprofen, sulindac is in a class of drugs known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or Nsaids, which are in widespread use.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Mutual is appealing <a title="The decision." href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=10-2277P.01A" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">a decision by the United States Court of Appeals</a> for the First Circuit, in Boston, that upheld the jury verdict and argued that even if Mutual could not have changed the drug's design, it had no obligation to continue selling a defective product and could have taken the drug off the market. Mutual is a subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceutical of India.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Interest groups on both sides say any decision could have serious consequences.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">If the court agrees with Mutual and rules that generic companies cannot be sued for defective products, trial lawyers warn that patients will be left with very few options if they are injured by a generic drug.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">"The question becomes, can you sue a generic manufacturer for anything?" said Bill Curtis, a Dallas lawyer who specializes in pharmaceutical cases.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">But manufacturers of generic drugs and other business groups have said that if the court sides with Ms. Bartlett, the decisions of individual juries could trump the authority of federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and potentially lead drug makers to remove valuable medicines from the market. <a title="The government's brief." href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/briefs-v2/12-142_pet_amcu_usa.pdf" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">The federal government has sided</a> with the generic drug makers in this case even though it opposed the industry in the Mensing case.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">"Tort judgments second-guessing F.D.A.'s expert drug safety determination would undermine the federal regime to the extent that they forbade or significantly restricted the marketing of an F.D.A.-approved drug," the government wrote in its brief to the court.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Keith M. Jensen, Ms. Bartlett's lawyer, disputed this argument, saying, "that presumes the F.D.A. always has all the information and that drug companies never have incentive to hide it from them." He said lawsuits like Ms. Bartlett's could uncover new information about the safety of a drug.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">In the case of sulindac, he presented evidence at trial that patients taking the drug were more at risk of developing the condition that Ms. Bartlett contracted, known as toxic epidermal necrolysis, a severe form of a related condition called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, than those taking other, similar pain drugs. The conditions can be set off by a negative reaction to many drugs, but only rarely.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">It is difficult to estimate how common the reactions are because some contend they are underreported, but <a title="The review." href="http://www.ajhp.org/content/67/3/206" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">one recent review</a> of medical literature found that fewer than a handful of people out of a million users of Nsaids would be affected.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Like all Nsaids, sulindac carried a notice on its label that patients could develop Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. But in 2005, after Ms. Bartlett's reaction, the F.D.A. required that all manufacturers of Nsaids strengthen their labels by specifically listing the risk of developing the skin reactions in the "Warnings" section of the label. That same year, <a title="The F.D.A. announcement." href="http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm124649.htm" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Pfizer removed the pain drug Bextra</a> from the market after the F.D.A. warned that patients were at a heightened risk for developing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and other skin reactions.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">In its brief, the federal government disputed the conclusion that sulindac was unsafe, saying the F.D.A. had reviewed the drug and determined that it could remain on the market.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Ms. Bartlett said that before her injury she was independent, active and loved her job as a secretary at an insurance company. In 2004, she visited her doctor because her shoulder hurt, and he prescribed Clinoril. The pharmacist dispensed a generic version of the drug.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">Today, Ms. Bartlett is 53 and legally blind despite 13 eye operations. She said she struggled to reach the mailbox each day and could no longer drive or work. Her lungs are severely damaged, and she has trouble eating.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; ">To her, it makes no difference who made the drug she took. "I think the generic companies as well as brand-name companies, they should be held accountable for the medicines that they put out there," she said.</p><nyt_correction_bottom><div class="articleCorrection" style="margin-bottom: 2.8em; "></div></nyt_correction_bottom><nyt_update_bottom></nyt_update_bottom></div></nyt_text><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none; "></span></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/business/justices-to-take-up-case-on-generic-drug-makers-liability.html?">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/business/justices-to-take-up-case-on-generic-drug-makers-liability.html?</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Justices to Take Up Case on Generic Drug Makers’ Liability - NYTimes.com

The injuries that Karen Bartlett suffered after taking a mild pain pill are enough to make anyone squeamish. Ms. Bartlett, who lives in Plai...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 03/05/2013

1:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://hackeducation.com/2013/03/03/hacking-your-education-stephens-hole-in-the-wall-mitra/">Hacking at Education: TED, Technology Entrepreneurship, Uncollege, and the Hole in the Wall</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">I agree with Audrey Watters -- we need a way to QUESTION TED talks. Good ideas worth spreading are worth interrogating and discussing. There is NO platform for that and a growing issue, I think that TED MUST address if it is going to live long and prosper.  Good educators, good leaders always question and are curious. We try things out and we wonder. We want solutions but solutions packaged in a cute 15 minute presentation aren't ever really as simple as they seem. There is a different between a sound byte and a bit of something I can REALLY use.   I agree with Audrey - READ her post. My worry is that we're spreading ideas that haven't, perhaps, been tested and gone through full examination.  IF we didn't learn anything from the Mortensen "3 cups of tea" fiasco then education deserves to be mislead again. We should examine and have transparency with the speeches and be able to continue the conversation.  "But I have questions.  I have questions about this history of schooling as Mitra (and others) tell it, about colonialism and neo-colonialism. I have questions about the funding of the initial “Hole in the Wall” project (it came from NIIT, an India-based “enterprise learning solution” company that offers 2- and 4-year IT diplomas). I have questions about these commercial interests in “child-driven education” (As Ellen Seitler asks, “can the customer base be expanded to reach people without a computer, without literacy, and without any formal teaching whatsoever?”). I have questions about the research from the “Hole in the Wall” project — the research, not the 15 minute TED spiel about it. I have questions about girls’ lack of participation in the kiosks. I have questions about project’s usage of retired British schoolteachers — “grannies” — to interact with Indian children via Skype.  I have questions about community support. I have questions about what happens when we dismantle public institutions like schools — questions about social justice, questions about community, questions about care. I have questions about the promise of a liberation via a “child-driven education,” questions about this particular brand of neo-liberalism, techno-humanitarianism, and techno-individualism.  You don’t get to ask questions of a TED Talk. Even the $10,000 ticket to watch it live only gives you the privilege of a seat in the theater."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/trends">trends</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/TED">TED</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/all_teachers">all_teachers</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edu_trends">edu_trends</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://sxswedu.com">News and Updates | SXSWedu.com</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">South by Southwest EDU is happening now. This is the website. You can follow and see what is happening. I keep looking in the pics to see if there is anyone else that I know.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/trends">trends</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='https://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 03/05/2013

Hacking at Education: TED, Technology Entrepreneurship, Uncollege, and the Hole in the Wall I agree ...

Jay's Imaginary Friend Returns

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Hola y’all! Time for another discussion with Jay’s Imaginary Friend (IF). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin01DLK7YT-Ryn4CxI60WLaPfb3lWMG_mStZubtO4zfWpe3UmVNSc5l_foOYYcs4X66DCYKCPo945j6CTlFFe0YsgEb0CxQvV4h8pY6_vloQM3I6myOftq29diyk4iMGQqXu3iEnl5TKI/s1600/Britney-Spears-Boobs-Cleavage-Brunette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin01DLK7YT-Ryn4CxI60WLaPfb3lWMG_mStZubtO4zfWpe3UmVNSc5l_foOYYcs4X66DCYKCPo945j6CTlFFe0YsgEb0CxQvV4h8pY6_vloQM3I6myOftq29diyk4iMGQqXu3iEnl5TKI/s320/Britney-Spears-Boobs-Cleavage-Brunette.jpg" width="202" /></a>Jay: AHHHHHHHHH YOU FUCKING PIECE OF CRAP! WHAT THE FUCK’S THE PROBLEM! <br />IF: What!? What!? What are you screaming at! <br />Jay: Fucking Words With Friends is telling me that “G-A-M-B” isn’t word. That’s bullshit. <br />IF: I’ve never heard of that word. <br />Jay: Oh, so just because YOOOOOOOO’VE never heard of it, that means it’s a not a word? <br />IF: I didn’t say that, I just … *looks at screen* you played “g-O-m-b” dumb ass. <br />Jay: What? *looks at screen* Oh, let me fix that. *plays “g-a-m-b* See? It works? <br />IF: That’s great. I’m so happy. <br />Jay: Oh, now you’re gonna be a smart ass and not acknowledge that GAMB is a word. <br />IF: I didn’t say it wasn’t. <br />Jay: Uh-huh.  You just don’t want to admit being wrong.<br />IF: Whatever. Why do have to get so mad like that and yell at a computer screen?<br />Jay: I don’t. Just every once in a while. Probably because you’re here. <br />IF: Noooooooo …. You get mad at inanimate objects all the time. <br />Jay: It’s part of my charm. <br />IF: You should work on that. <br />Jay: I don’t really know what you’re talking about.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">IF: Really? As if you weren’t yelling at that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnAo1xUWpgY" target="_blank">KIA commercial</a>calling the guy who parked so close to the car next to him that he had to climb out the hatch an ASSHOLE? <br />Jay: He’s TOTALLY an asshole! Now the passenger in the car he parked next to can’t get in her vehicle. <br />IF: How do you know it’s a her? <br />Jay: They’re obviously at a family place, so dad will drive and mom is the passenger. <br />IF: Nice bit of sexism there. <br />Jay: Not sexism, just going with the … <br />IF: STEREOTYPES?<br />Jay: Percentages. <br />IF: Oh please! Anyway, the driver can just back out and HE OR SHE can get in then. No big deal. <br />Jay: They’ll hold up traffic in the parking deck. <br />IF: You don’t know that! <br />Jay: It doesn’t matter, it’s the principal. The guy is OBVIOUSLY an asshole. <br />IF: It’s just a TV commercial! <br />Jay: It reflects society! People are inconsiderate assholes and they’re celebrating that fact. <br />IF: Or, they made the commercial so people would see it and get mad at the rudeness and be sure not to act that way. <br />Jay: *rolls eyes* They’re not that fucking clever. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IzD7sHMUoFuZZsgI5dZses1u4MKJiNKL4GUcgFdXQVKuk11OGple77HbRSCAhT9P5rG25VCDkn7PaDO0Z7T5Zq4SKiFz9YQHQHIbk8y1KvRrumNmxu-96osSw1PBeLMoTi826sZkNvY/s1600/Jarah+Mariano+Hot+Nude+Bikini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IzD7sHMUoFuZZsgI5dZses1u4MKJiNKL4GUcgFdXQVKuk11OGple77HbRSCAhT9P5rG25VCDkn7PaDO0Z7T5Zq4SKiFz9YQHQHIbk8y1KvRrumNmxu-96osSw1PBeLMoTi826sZkNvY/s320/Jarah+Mariano+Hot+Nude+Bikini.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">IF: You’re just so negative all the time. <br />Jay: No I’m not. <br />IF: *sigh* Yes you are. <br />Jay: *sigh* Only when you’re here to bug the shit out of me. <br />IF: That’s not a very nice thing to say. <br />Jay: I’m not a very nice guy. <br />IF: No wonder you lose Facebook friends all the time. <br />Jay: That’s not really a good indication of anything. <br />IF: Why is that? <br />Jay: Because I don’t actually know most of the people who have de-friended me. <br />IF: MOST? <br />Jay: Almost all. <br />IF: A couple of them you did know? <br />Jay: Yeah, but one de-friended me when I made fun of Chick-fil-A, so that doesn’t count. <br />IF: Why not? <br />Jay: Because de-friending over political views is childish and stupid. <br />IF: But, don’t you want people to like you?<br />Jay: I don’t really have any control over that. <br />IF: Sure you do. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Jay: OH GODDAMMITFUCKSHIT! FUUUUUUUUUCK!<br />IF: OMG! What?<br />Jay: I left my phone in my car. <br />IF: See? That’s what I’m talking about! <br />Jay: What? <br />IF: There’s no reason to get all angry. <br />Jay: I’m not. <br />IF: There’s no reason to use that language. <br />Jay: Sure there. I need to express my annoyance sometimes. <br />IF: Annoyance with your phone for being in the car?<br />Jay: Yes. <br />IF: Or for the guy who left it in the car. <br />Jay: Oh you’re a fucking psychologist now?<br />IF: I think I’m on to something. <br />Jay: Or just ON something. <br />IF: Not like anyone is gonna call you anyway. <br />Jay: Fuck you. <br />IF: Ohhh … someone’s kinda touchy. <br />Jay: It’s time for you to go away. <br />IF: I don’t think so. <br />Jay: Oh I do think so cause I’m about to actually get angry. <br />IF: We’ll finish this discussion when you’re being reasonable. <br />Jay: That’ll be next NEVER. <br />IF: Fine. I’ll leave. Hurt and upset as usual. <br />Jay: Whatever. <br />IF: By the way … You have a typo right there *points at screen*<br />Jay: OHGODDAMNMOTHERFUCKINGASSHOLEBULLSHITFUCKER! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div></div>

Jay's Imaginary Friend Returns

Hola y’all! Time for another discussion with Jay’s Imaginary Friend (IF). Jay: AHHHHHHHHH YOU FUCKING PIECE OF CRAP! WHAT THE FUCK’S THE PRO...

Experts 'appalled' by CPR policy at retirement home - USA Today

7:10 PM Tukiyooo 0

The death of an 87-year-old woman who did not receive CPR in her central California retirement community was a tragedy waiting to happen, long-term care housing experts say.<br /><br><br /><br>A nurse at Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield, Calif., refused to give Lorraine Bayless CPR after she collapsed last Tuesday in the dining room and was barely breathing. The nurse called 911 for help, saying it was against the facility's policy for staff to give CPR.<br /><br><br /><br>"It's a human being," dispatcher Tracey Halvorson says on a 911 tape released Sunday by the Bakersfield Fire Department. It was aired by many media outlets Monday.<br /><br><br /><br>"Is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?"<br /><br><br /><br>"Um, not at this time,'' the nurse said. Bayless was declared dead at Mercy Southwest Hospital later Tuesday.<br /><br><br /><br>"I was appalled to hear of a policy at a facility that will not give CPR,'' says Robyn Grant, director of public relations and advocacy for The National Consumer Voice for Quality Longterm Care. "Who knew? I guess this has never come up before, but it will from now on. It's an incredible tragedy."<br /><br><br /><br>Bayless' daughter told KGET-TV she is a nurse and was pleased with her mother's care. The station also reported Bayless did not have a "do not resuscitate" order on file.<br /><br><br /><br>The executive director of Glenwood Gardens, Jeffrey Toomer, defended the nurse's actions, saying she did indeed follow policy.<br /><br><br /><br>"In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives," Toomer said in a written statement. "That is the protocol we followed."<br /><br><br /><br>Toomer said a "thorough internal review" of the incident would be conducted. Bakersfield police are also conducting an investigation.<br /><br><br /><br>Toomer told KGET that residents of the home's independent living community are informed of the "no-CPR" policy and agree to it when they move in.<br /><br><br /><br>The policy does not apply at the adjacent assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Those residents would have received CPR in identical circumstances.<br /><br><br /><br>Calls by USA TODAY to Toomer and parent company Brookdale Senior Living, which operates long-term care facilities in 36 states, were not returned. Glenwood Gardens' website says Brookdale facilities are listed among the top 2012 choices for senior living and nursing homes, on lists by CNN and U.S. News & World Report.<br /><br><br /><br>"This speaks to the fact that consumers have to be extremely vigilant when selecting independent living and assisted living care,'' Grant says. "It's really hard when you're looking for care and reading these contracts to understand every word. We suggest people take them to an attorney to understand the responsibilities of the facilities."<br /><br><br /><br>At many of the nation's retirement communities, the cost of the care is based on how much medical assistance is required. Both assisted living and skilled nursing care are more expensive than independent living.<br /><br><br /><br>"There's already a level of stress when you're looking for care because of costs involved and for many other reasons,'' Grant says. "I think it puts a harsh burden on seniors and needs to be more clear."<br /><br><br /><br>"The nursing home industry is the Wild West of health care, the most poorly regulated, with typically the most vulnerable of patients, and a high concentration of for-profit operators,'' says Chuck Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association. "It's an area ripe for abuse, and greater public oversight is surely needed."<br /><br><br /><br>Not all facilities have the same policy, however. At Erickson Living, an effort would have been made to save Bayless, says Dan Dunne, director of communications for the company, which has retirement facilities in nine states.<br /><br><br /><br>"All of our communities have first responders who are trained to provide emergency care, including CPR whenever and wherever necessary," he says.<br /><br><br /><br>Grant questions the facility's response when the dispatcher is heard on the tape pleading with the nurse to find someone to do CPR.<br /><br><br /><br>"I hate to judge anyone who might be worried about losing a job in this economy,'' Grant says, "but you'd really hope human decency would stand above policy."<br /><br><br /><br>In the tape, the nurse could be heard talking to someone else at the facility.<br /><br><br /><br>"She's yelling at me," she said of dispatcher Halvorson, "and saying we have to have one of our residents perform CPR. I'm feeling stressed, and I'm not going to do that, make that call."<br /><br><br /><br>When Halvorson asked the nurse if she was going to let the woman die, the nurse said, "That's why we called 911."<br /><br><br /><br>When people are selecting longterm care, they need to read the fine print "and separate reality from the advertising pitch saying 'we'll take care of you','' says David Dosa, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/04/cpr-refusal-woman-dies/1961407/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/04/cpr-refusal-woman-dies/1961407/</a>

Experts 'appalled' by CPR policy at retirement home - USA Today

The death of an 87-year-old woman who did not receive CPR in her central California retirement community was a tragedy waiting to happen, lo...

Monday, Monday

6:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.archidose.org/wp/">A Weekly Dose of Architecture</a> Updates:</span><br /><br />This week's dose features the <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/03/04/lyce%CC%81e-re%CC%81gional-rene%CC%81-goscinny/">Lycée Régional René Goscinny</a> in Drap, France, by José Morales with Rémy Marciano:<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/03/04/lyce%CC%81e-re%CC%81gional-rene%CC%81-goscinny/"><img alt="this week's dose" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mar13-04.jpg" title="This week's dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The featured past dose is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/12/12/m3a2-cultural-and-community-tower/">M3A2 - Cultural and Community Tower</a> in Paris, France by Antonini + Darmon Architectes:<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/12/12/m3a2-cultural-and-community-tower/"><img alt="this       week's  dose" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Dec11-12-1024x682.jpg" title="featured past dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />This week's book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/03/04/grand-central-gateway-to-a-million-lives/"><i>Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives</i></a> by John Belle and Maxinne R. Leighton (L):<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/03/04/grand-central-gateway-to-a-million-lives/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/grand-central.jpg" title="This week's book review" /></a> <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2004/05/07/louis-i-kahns-trenton-jewish-community-center/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/trenton.jpg" title="This week's book review" /></a><br />(R): The featured past book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2004/05/07/louis-i-kahns-trenton-jewish-community-center/"><i>Louis I. Kahn’s Trenton Jewish Community Center</i></a> by Susan G. Solomon.<br /><br />: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">American-Architects <a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/pages/50x50">Building of the Week</a>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/project-review-detail/40154_unf_student_wellness_complex">UNF Student Wellness Complex</a> in Jacksonville, Florida, by (r)evolution architecture:<br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/project-review-detail/40154_unf_student_wellness_complex"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://files3.world-architects.com/projects/40154/images/900:w/UNFStudentWellnessComplex_1.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a>

Monday, Monday

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates: This week's dose features the Lycée Régional René Goscinny in Drap, France, by José Morales...

How American Health Care Killed My Father - David Goldhill - The Atlantic

2:22 PM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><i>After the needless death of his father, the author, a business executive, began a personal exploration of a health-care industry that for years has delivered poor service and irregular quality at astonishingly high cost. It is a system, he argues, that is not worth preserving in anything like its current form. And the health-care reform now being contemplated will not fix it. Here's a radical solution to an agonizing problem.</i><br><br>By DAVID GOLDHILL<br><br>ALMOST TWO YEARS ago, my father was killed by a hospital-borne infection in the intensive-care unit of a well-regarded nonprofit hospital in New York City. Dad had just turned 83, and he had a variety of the ailments common to men of his age. But he was still working on the day he walked into the hospital with pneumonia. Within 36 hours, he had developed sepsis. Over the next five weeks in the ICU, a wave of secondary infections, also acquired in the hospital, overwhelmed his defenses. My dad became a statistic—merely one of the roughly 100,000 Americans whose deaths are caused or influenced by infections picked up in hospitals. One hundred thousand deaths: more than double the number of people killed in car crashes, five times the number killed in homicides, 20 times the total number of our armed forces killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another victim in a building American tragedy.<br><br>About a week after my father's death, The New Yorker ran an article by Atul Gawande profiling the efforts of Dr. Peter Pronovost to reduce the incidence of fatal hospital-borne infections. Pronovost's solution? A simple checklist of ICU protocols governing physician hand-washing and other basic sterilization procedures. Hospitals implementing Pronovost's checklist had enjoyed almost instantaneous success, reducing hospital-infection rates by two-thirds within the first three months of its adoption. But many physicians rejected the checklist as an unnecessary and belittling bureaucratic intrusion, and many hospital executives were reluctant to push it on them. The story chronicled Pronovost's travels around the country as he struggled to persuade hospitals to embrace his reform.<br><br>It was a heroic story, but to me, it was also deeply unsettling. How was it possible that Pronovost needed to beg hospitals to adopt an essentially cost-free idea that saved so many lives? Here's an industry that loudly protests the high cost of liability insurance and the injustice of our tort system and yet needs extensive lobbying to embrace a simple technique to save up to 100,000 people.<br><br>And what about us—the patients? How does a nation that might close down a business for a single illness from a suspicious hamburger tolerate the carnage inflicted by our hospitals? And not just those 100,000 deaths. In April, a Wall Street Journal story suggested that blood clots following surgery or illness, the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths in the U.S., may kill nearly 200,000 patients per year. How did Americans learn to accept hundreds of thousands of deaths from minor medical mistakes as an inevitability?<br><br>My survivor's grief has taken the form of an obsession with our health-care system. For more than a year, I've been reading as much as I can get my hands on, talking to doctors and patients, and asking a lot of questions.<br><br>Keeping Dad company in the hospital for five weeks had left me befuddled. How can a facility featuring state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment use less-sophisticated information technology than my local sushi bar? How can the ICU stress the importance of sterility when its trash is picked up once daily, and only after flowing onto the floor of a patient's room? Considering the importance of a patient's frame of mind to recovery, why are the rooms so cheerless and uncomfortable? In whose interest is the bizarre scheduling of hospital shifts, so that a five-week stay brings an endless string of new personnel assigned to a patient's care? Why, in other words, has this technologically advanced hospital missed out on the revolution in quality control and customer service that has swept all other consumer-facing industries in the past two generations?<br><br>I'm a businessman, and in no sense a health-care expert. But the persistence of bad industry practices—from long lines at the doctor's office to ever-rising prices to astonishing numbers of preventable deaths—seems beyond all normal logic, and must have an underlying cause. There needs to be a business reasonwhy an industry, year in and year out, would be able to get away with poor customer service, unaffordable prices, and uneven results—a reason my father and so many others are unnecessarily killed.<br><br>Like every grieving family member, I looked for someone to blame for my father's death. But my dad's doctors weren't incompetent—on the contrary, his hospital physicians were smart, thoughtful, and hard-working. Nor is he dead because of indifferent nursing—without exception, his nurses were dedicated and compassionate. Nor from financial limitations—he was a Medicare patient, and the issue of expense was never once raised. There were no greedy pharmaceutical companies, evil health insurers, or other popular villains in his particular tragedy.<br><br>Indeed, I suspect that our collective search for villains—for someone to blame—has distracted us and our political leaders from addressing the fundamental causes of our nation's health-care crisis. All of the actors in health care—from doctors to insurers to pharmaceutical companies—work in a heavily regulated, massively subsidized industry full of structural distortions. They all want to serve patients well. But they also all behave rationally in response to the economic incentives those distortions create. Accidentally, but relentlessly, America has built a health-care system with incentives that inexorably generate terrible and perverse results. Incentives that emphasize health care over any other aspect of health and well-being. That emphasize treatment over prevention. That disguise true costs. That favor complexity, and discourage transparent competition based on price or quality. That result in a generational pyramid scheme rather than sustainable financing. And that—most important—remove consumers from our irreplaceable role as the ultimate ensurer of value.<br><br>These are the impersonal forces, I've come to believe, that explain why things have gone so badly wrong in health care, producing the national dilemma of runaway costs and poorly covered millions. The problems I've explored in the past year hardly count as breakthrough discoveries—health-care experts undoubtedly view all of them as old news. But some experts, it seems, have come to see many of these problems as inevitable in any health-care system—as conditions to be patched up, papered over, or worked around, but not problems to be solved.<br><br>That's the premise behind today's incremental approach to health-care reform. Though details of the legislation are still being negotiated, its principles are a reprise of previous reforms—addressing access to health care by expanding government aid to those without adequate insurance, while attempting to control rising costs through centrally administered initiatives. Some of the ideas now on the table may well be sensible in the context of our current system. But fundamentally, the "comprehensive" reform being contemplated merely cements in place the current system—insurance-based, employment-centered, administratively complex. It addresses the underlying causes of our health-care crisis only obliquely, if at all; indeed, by extending the current system to more people, it will likely increase the ultimate cost of true reform.<br><br>I'm a Democrat, and have long been concerned about America's lack of a health safety net. But based on my own work experience, I also believe that unless we fix the problems at the foundation of our health system—largely problems of incentives—our reforms won't do much good, and may do harm. To achieve maximum coverage at acceptable cost with acceptable quality, health care will need to become subject to the same forces that have boosted efficiency and value throughout the economy. We will need to reduce, rather than expand, the role of insurance; focus the government's role exclusively on things that only government can do (protect the poor, cover us against true catastrophe, enforce safety standards, and ensure provider competition); overcome our addiction to Ponzi-scheme financing, hidden subsidies, manipulated prices, and undisclosed results; and rely more on ourselves, the consumers, as the ultimate guarantors of good service, reasonable prices, and sensible trade-offs between health-care spending and spending on all the other good things money can buy.<br><br>These ideas stand well outside the emerging political consensus about reform. So before exploring alternative policies, let's reexamine our basic assumptions about health care—what it actually is, how it's financed, its accountability to patients, and finally its relationship to the eternal laws of supply and demand. Everyone I know has at least one personal story about how screwed up our health-care system is; before spending (another) $1trillion or so on reform, we need a much clearer understanding of the causes of the problems we all experience.<div><br></div><div>More ...<br><br><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-american-health-care-killed-my-father/307617/?single_page=true">http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-american-health-care-killed-my-father/307617/?single_page=true</a></div><div><br></div><div>Book:</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catastrophic-Care-American-Health-Father/dp/0307961540">http://www.amazon.com/Catastrophic-Care-American-Health-Father/dp/0307961540</a><br><br></div>

How American Health Care Killed My Father - David Goldhill - The Atlantic

After the needless death of his father, the author, a business executive, began a personal exploration of a health-care industry that for ye...