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2012| September-December | Volume 5 | Issue 3
Online since January 22, 2013
Cited Viewed PDF
Laboratory handling of epididymal and testicular spermatozoa: What can be done to improve sperm injections outcome
Sandro C Esteves, Alex C Varghese
September-December 2012, 5(3):233-243
DOI:10.4103/0974-1208.106333 PMID:23533051
Spermatozoa from azoospermic males can be retrieved from either the epididymis or the testis, depending on the type of azoospermia, using different surgical methods such as percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA), testicular sperm aspiration (TESA), testicular sperm extraction (TESE), and microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (micro- TESE). After collecting the epididymal fluid or testicular tissue, laboratory techniques are used to remove contaminants, cellular debris, noxious microorganisms, and red blood cells. Processed spermatozoa may be used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection or eventually be cryopreserved. However, spermatozoa collected from either the epididymis or the testis are often compromised and more fragile than ejaculated ones. Therefore, sperm processing techniques should be used with great caution to avoid jeopardizing the sperm fertilizing potential in treatment cycles. In this review, we describe the current methods for processing surgically-retrieved specimens, either fresh or frozen- thawed, and provide the tips and pitfalls for facilitating the handling of such specimens. In addition, we present the available laboratory tools to aid in the identification of viable immotile spermatozoa to be used in conjunction with assisted reproductive techniques. Review of the literature was carried out using PubMed and Science Direct search engines.
Cystic Adenomyoma simulates uterine malformation: A diagnostic dilemma: Case report of two unusual cases
Nutan Jain, Shradha Goel
Cystic adenomyosis is a rare form of adenomyosis mostly seen in middle aged women.We report two cases of cystic adenomyosis in juvenile patients, which simulate uterine malformation and presented as a diagnostic dilemma. The first patient initially was diagnosed as uterus bicornis with a hematometra in obstructed rudimentary horn while the second patient was diagnosed as broad ligament fibroid. Surgical exploration by laparoscopic approach confirmed the diagnosis and excision of the cystic mass relieved the symptoms of the patients.
Clomiphene citrate or letrozole as first-line ovulation induction drug in infertile PCOS women: A prospective randomized trial
Sujata Kar
Objective: To compare Letrozole (5 mg) and clomiphene citrate (100 mg) as first line ovulation induction drug in infertile PCOS women. Study Design: Prospective Randomised trial. Setting: A Tertiary level infertility centre. Patients: 103 infertile PCOS women Intervention(S): Treatment naοve infertile PCOS women were randomised to treatment with 5 mg letrozole (51 patients) or 100 mg clomiphene citrate (52 patients) daily starting day 2 to day 6 of menstrual cycle. Timed intercourse or Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) was advised 24 to 36 hours after Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injection. Main Outcome Measures: Ovulation rate, mono or multi follicular rate, days to ovulation, endometrial thickness, serum progesterone, serum estrogen, pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate. Results: The mean age, Body Mass Index (BMI), duration of infertility in both Clomiphene Citrate (CC) and Letrozole groups were similar.Ovulation rate was 73.08% in letrozole group and 60.78% in CC, which was not statistically significant (P=0.398). There was no statistically significant difference between Endometrial thickness (CC 7.61 ±1.96, Let 7.65 ± 2.10), Sr E 2 on day of HCG (CC 178.3 ± 94.15, Let 162.09 ± 73.24), Days to ovulation (CC 14.2 ± 3.41; Let 13.13 ± 2.99) and Sr P 4 on D 21 (CC 10.58 ± 6.65; Let 11.86 ± 6.51). Monofolliculo genesis (CC 54.84, Let 79.49 %, P=0.027) and Pregnancy rate (CC 7.84%, Let 21.56% P=0.0125) were statistically significantly higher in letrozole group. Conclusion: Our study shows that letrozole has excellent pregnancy rates compared to clomiphene citrate. Letrozole should be considered at par with clomiphene citrate as first line drug for ovulation induction in infertile PCOS women.
A study of recipient related predictors of success in oocyte donation program
Pooja Gupta, Manish Banker, Pravin Patel, Bhart Joshi
Background: Oocyte donation is an invaluable therapy for couples with impending or complete ovarian failure. In addition, oocyte donation affords a scientific opportunity to study the unique biologic participation of the uterus in the process of human embryo implantation. Aim: To identify the recipient variables that may have a significant impact on pregnancy outcome in order to optimize results of an oocyte donation program. Design and Settings: A prospective study conducted from March 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 at a private tertiary care IVF Clinic. Materials and methods A total of 270 recipients resulting in embryo transfer as a result of oocyte donation were enrolled. Clinical and Ongoing pregnancy rates, Implantation rates were calculated according to different age groups, Endometrial thickness, Indication, Day and number of embryos transferred. Data was evaluated as chi square analyses with comparative significance determined at P <.05. Results: In recipients less than 40 years of age, higher ongoing pregnancy and implantation rates (41.9% and 24.6%) were seen as compared to recipients above 40 years (21.8% and 13.18%) respectively. Pregnancy and implantation rates increased with increasing endometrial thickness but the difference was not statistically significant. A higher ongoing pregnancy rate (40.9% vs.28.8%) and implantation rate (23% vs.19.6%) was demonstrated with Day 3 embryo transfer compared to Day 2 transfer. Conclusion: A declining endometrial receptivity may result in lower implantation and pregnancy rates in recipients above the age of 40 years, more pronounced after the age of 45 years. An endometrial thickness of >8 mm is considered ideal before transfer. Transfer of two selected embryos on day 3 yields a favorable pregnancy outcome with reduced multiple pregnancy rates. Recipient's age above 45 years has negative impact on pregnancy outcome whereas embryo transfers on Day 3 yields better pregnancy
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Evaluation of the impact of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist as an adjuvant in luteal-phase support on IVF outcome
Dattaprasad B Inamdar, Abha Majumdar
Objectives: To evaluate whether three daily doses of GnRH agonist (Inj. Lupride 1 mg SC) administered 6 days after oocyte retrieval increases ongoing pregnancy rates following embryo transfer (ET) in cycles stimulated with the long GnRH agonist protocol. Settings And Design: Prospective randomized controlled study in a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and twenty six women undergoing ET following controlled ovarian stimulation with a long GnRH agonist protocol were included. In addition to routine luteal-phase support (LPS) with progesterone, women were randomized to receive three 1 mg doses of Lupride 6 days after oocyte retrieval. Computer-generated randomization was done on the day of ET. Ongoing pregnancy rate beyond 20 th week of gestation was the primary outcome measure. The trial was powered to detect a 13% absolute increase from an assumed 27% ongoing pregnancy rate in the control group, with an alpha error level of 0.05 and a beta error level of 0.2. Results: There were 59 (27.69%) ongoing pregnancies in the GnRHa group, and 56 (26.29%) in the control group ( P = 0.827). Implantation, clinical pregnancy and multiple pregnancy rates were likewise similar in the GnRHa and placebo groups. Conclusions: Three 1 mg doses of Lupride administration 6 days after oocyte retrieval in the long protocol cycles does not result in an increase in ongoing pregnancy rates.
Progesterone supplementation in women with otherwise unexplained recurrent miscarriages
Munawar Hussain, Samawal El-Hakim, David J Cahill
Context: Recurrent miscarriages, the loss of three or more consecutive intrauterine pregnancies before 20 weeks of gestation with the same partner, affect 1%-1.5% of the pregnant population. The inadequate secretion of progesterone in early pregnancy has been proposed as a cause of recurrent miscarriages. Aims: The aim was to investigate the efficacy of progesterone supplementation in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriages. Settings And Design: This was a 9-year cohort study of women with otherwise unexplained recurrent miscarriages who attended a recurrent miscarriage clinic in a tertiary care university hospital. Subjects and Methods: Women with at least three unexplained recurrent miscarriages were included in the study. They were divided into three groups according to their initial and 48-h repeat progesterone levels. For women with inadequate endogenous progesterone secretion, natural progesterone vaginal pessaries 400 mg 12-hourly were offered until 12 weeks gestation. Statistical Analysis: Proportions and 95% confidence intervals calculated for categorical variables and the chi-square test were used to show statistical significance. Medians and ranges were calculated for noncontinuous variables. Results: Pregnancy cycles (n = 203) were analyzed to examine the miscarriage rate following progesterone supplementation. Overall live birth and miscarriage rates were 63% and 36%, respectively. When analyzed by the number of previous miscarriages there was a reduction in the miscarriage rate following progesterone supplementation in women with 4 previous miscarriages when compared with historical data. Conclusions: Progesterone supplementation may have beneficial effects in women with otherwise unexplained recurrent miscarriages.
The computational analysis of human testis transcriptome reveals closer ties to pluripotency
MT Anand, Burra VLS Prasad
Aims: The purpose of this study was to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEG) in human testis and also evaluate the relationship between human testis, human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC), mouse testis and mouse ESCs (mESC). Settings and Design: It is a prospective analysis designed computationally. Methods and Material: The microarray data for human testis, hESCs, mouse testis and mESCs were obtained from NCBI-GEO and analyzed for identification of DEGs. The results were then compared with mouse testis and extended to ESCs. Statistical Analysis Used: Data was analyzed in R using various Bioconductor packages. To identify DEGs, 2-fold cut-off and a False Discovery Rate (FDR) below 0.01 criterions was used. Results: A total 2868 transcripts (DEGs) were found to be significantly up-regulated and 2011 transcripts significantly down-regulated in human testis compared to other normal tissues. Of the up-regulated transcripts, 232 transcripts were grouped as unclassified i.e. had unknown annotations at the time of analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) based functional annotation of testis specific DEGs indicate that most of the DEGs (~80%) are involved in various metabolic processes. Pathway analysis shows over-representation of Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway. A core group of 67 transcripts were found to be common among human testis, mouse testis, hESCs and mESCs. Conclusions: Testis seems to be metabolically very active relative to other normal tissues as indicated by functional annotation. The comparison of human and mouse testis shows conserved functions and pathways involved in both species. Large numbers of genes were found conserved between testis and ESCs suggesting very close expression level relationship between reproductive organs and complex phenomenon such as dedifferentiation and reprogramming.
Comparison of anti-mullerian hormone and antral follicle count for assessment of ovarian reserve
Sonal Panchal, Chaitanya Nagori
Aim: This study aims to compare the efficacy of AFC and AMH, as markers for ovarian reserve. Materials and Methods: 75 patients with PCO (polycystic ovaries) undergoing IVF were randomized with 75 non-PCO patients. On day 3, volume of ovary was acquired, ovarian volume was defined by VOCAL, and Sono AVC was used to count the number of antral follicles. Sum total of antral follicles in both ovaries was taken as total antral follicle count (AFC). AMH was measured on the same day. Long agonist protocol with recombinant FSH (rFSH) was used for IVF stimulation till at least two follicles of 18 mm were seen. hCG 10,000 iu was given and ovum pick up was done after 34-35 h. Primary end point was number of follicles >12 mm seen on day of hCG. Final end point was number of ova retrieved on ovum pick up. Correlation of AFC and AMH was checked for both end points and with each other. Results: Correlation of AFC and follicles >12 mm on day of hCG in PCO group is 0.56 and non-PCO group is 0.63, 1 and for AMH and follicles >12 mm on day of hCG in PCO group is 0.42 and non-PCO group is 0.47. Correlation of AFC with number of ova retrieved on OPU in PCO group is 0.44 and for non-PCO group is 0.50. The value for AMH is 0.39 in PCO and 0.43 for non-PCO group. Comparing correlation of AFC and AMH for primary end point in PCO group has 'z' value 1.11(onetailed significance 0.1335, twotailed significance 0.267) and in non-PCO group comparison shows a 'z' value of 1.39 (one tailed significance 0.0823, two-tailed significance 0.1645). Therefore in both groups, AFC and AMH correlates with total number of follicles >12 mm on day of hCG, but both AFC and AMH have independent significance. Comparing correlation of AFC and AMH with number of ova retrieved on OPU, in non-PCO group has 'z' value of 0.54(one tailed 0.2946, two-tailed 0. 5892). In PCO group, this comparison shows, 'z' value of 0.36(one tailed 0.3594, two tailed 0.7188). Conclusion: AFC and AMH correlate with each other but have independent significance for estimating follicles >12 mm on day of hCG. For ova retrieved on OPU, in PCO group, AMH and AFC have similar significance. In non-PCO, AMH may increase accuracy of estimation of number of ova retrieved on OPU over AFC, but difference is not significant. AFC only may suffice for estimation of number of ova retrieved on OPU for all practical purposes.
The accessory fallopian tube: A rare anomaly
Kusum R Gandhi, Abu U Siddiqui, Rajendra N Wabale, Syed R Daimi
This paper presents a rare anatomical variation in the form of accessory fallopian tube on right side. The duplication of fallopian tube was observed in a 34-year-old female during routine undergraduate dissection in our department. Fallopian tube is the part of uterus that carries the ovum from the ovary to the uterus. Accessory fallopian tube is the congenital anomaly attached to the ampullary part of main tube. This accessory tube is common site of pyosalpinx, hydrosalpinx, cystic swelling and torsion. The ovum released by the ovary may also be captured by the blind accessory tube leading to infertility or ectopic pregnancy. Hence, all patients of infertility or pelvic inflammatory disease should be screened to rule out the presence of accessory fallopian tube and if encountered should be removed.
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Single-cell polymerase chain reaction-based pre-implantation genetic diagnosis using fragment analysis for β-thalassemia in an Indian couple with β-globin gene mutations
Shailaja Gada Saxena, Dhananjaya Saranath
Despite advances in diagnostic techniques, approximately 10,000 babies with β-thalassemia major are born annually in India. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), an alternative to prenatal diagnosis, helps in negative selection of affected embryos prior to implantation. Hereby, we report the first successful β-thalassemia PGD pregnancy in an Indian carrier couple. β-Thalassemia mutation analysis by Amplification-Refractory Mutation Sequence (ARMS)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the parents, followed by PGD for β-thalassemia mutation in embryos in two consequent in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, with transfer for three β-thalassemia minor embryos, resulted in singleton successful pregnancy, the results of which were confirmed on prenatal diagnosis. With advances in assisted reproductive techniques and molecular diagnosis, PGD for monogenic diseases is feasible in high-risk couples. The methodology in the current study included two rounds of PCR using fluorescently labeled primers, fragment analysis using the ABI 3100 nucleotide sequencer and the GeneMapper software, purification, and concentration of PCR product, which enabled distinct clear peaks making the analysis and interpretation non-ambiguous.
Correlation of technical difficulty during embryo transfer with rate of clinical pregnancy
Neeta Singh, Prerna Gupta, Suneeta Mittal, Neena Malhotra
Aim: To correlate the ease or difficulty of embryo transfer and blood at catheter tip with pregnancy rate when embryo transfer (ET) was performed by the same operator using soft catheter. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 342 patients who underwent in vitro fertilization or ICSI cycle from January 2008 to December 2010 in a single centre was done. The type of transfer was divided into two groups: 'easy' or 'difficult'. Transfer was considered difficult when additional instrumentation was required or firmer catheter was used or required changing of catheter. Patients undergoing cryo-preserved ET were excluded from the study. Results: On the day of transfer in 284 (83%) patients, ET was easy and difficulty was encountered in 58 (17%) patients. Blood at catheter was seen in 101 (29.53%) patients. In the group of 58 difficult transfers, 10 pregnancies resulted with a clinical pregnancy rate of 17.2%, while 67 pregnancies resulted in 284 cycles of easy transfer with clinical pregnancy rate of 23.6% (P value = 0.045). While no significant difference was seen in pregnancies with blood on outer catheter and blood less transfer, there was significant reduction in pregnancy rate when blood was present on catheter tip compared to bloodless transfer (13.3% v/s 24.1; P value = 0.032). Conclusion: Reduction in clinical pregnancy rate is seen with difficult ETs, more when blood is present at the catheter tip.
Complex mullerian duct anomaly in a young female with primary amenorrhoea, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain
Sanyal Kumar, Bhawna Satija, Leena Wadhwa
Mullerian duct anomalies, though rare, can be a treatable cause of pelvic pain and infertility. Various complex Mullerian duct anomalies may exist with combination of features of more than one class. Since there are no precise clinical or imaging criteria to enable specific categorisation, there is ambiguous classification of these anomalies by various radiologists and clinicians. A young female presented with complaints of chronic pelvic pain, primary amenorrhoea and infertility. The patient was evaluated by sonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging and diagnosed as case of complex mullerian duct anomaly, a unicornuate uterus with cervical dysgenesis and cavitated, noncommunicating, rudimentary right horn. The findings were confirmed on laprohysteroscopy and the patient underwent hystertectomy. There should be an integrated clinico-radiological classification scheme and familiarity with rare and complex anomalies for appropriate diagnosis and management of complex Mullerian duct anomalies.
[ABSTRACT] [FULL TEXT] [PDF] [Mobile Full text] [EPub] [PubMed]
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Kamini Rao
Congenital malformations and assisted reproductive technique: Where is assisted reproductive technique taking us?
Sunita Tandulwadkar, Pooja Lodha, Vineeta Kharb
Development of ART has great benefit for millions of couples all over the world and with falling fertility rate there are a growing numbers of children born with the help of ART, it is important to investigate potential risks to these children. IVF-ICSI pregnancies are associated with higher risk for multiple gestation, preterm labor and low birth weight. It is an area of great conflict and interest that whether ART is associated with increased congenital malformations or not. So, this article reviews the data and evidences linking ART to congenital malformations.


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Some bits and pieces of things. Halloween 2008.
Ian Garrett hangs lights over the stage for Song of Extinction.
The Ford Theater sign, over the 101. Song of Extinction opens one week from today! Heading out to rehearsal soon.
Found information today about a back-country wilderness residency in Oregon for writers. If I haven't entirely missed the deadline, I'd like to apply. It's two hours away from civilization along dirt roads... a cabin in the wilderness. Get away and write, like Thoreau. Doesn't that sound cool? My mother would freak out, but it sounds amazing to me. I think I'm getting oversaturated with city.
Here's a line from the application: "You may mention a specific writing project you would like to undertake at Dutch Henry, but you're not required to do so. It is assumed that you will write. What you write is between you and the river."
Oh, what a week it's been! We are finally in the theater. A set has been built. Lights have been hung. Props and costumes have been gathered. And all day Saturday and Sunday, actors took their places upon the stage, as we brought all the elements together.
Everyone was amazingly patient with one another for tech days. Tech days are very long and tedious for everyone. It's the time when the light cues and sound cues and the actors' entrances and exits, and all the props and costumes are put together and written down by the Stage Manager. Jackie Moses (yay, Jackie!) is our stage manager, and she inhabited the booth with our light designer, Ian Garrett, and our sound designer, Jason Duplissea. Our set designer went back and forth between the house and the booth. Heidi Helen Davis (the director) and I and Kim Glann and Cece Tio were out in the house, watching and participating. And the actors were directed to mark their way through the play inch by inch. Where do they enter from? And do they enter from a light cue or a sound cue or a visual cue? When does that music kick in? Who is carrying that desk off stage? Where are my hand props? Who took Michael's shoe? Is that set piece going to work, or do we need something more/different? How loud should the chopping sound be? These are the kinds of things that the audience will hopefully never think about, because we have. We are trying to make the story-telling seamless. Natural. Right.
I shall add more to this later, because it was a very full day. An actor was lost, then found. I went and ran a War Plays Project event, then came back for more tech. Butterflies were discussed thoroughly, and thrown from the rafters for test flights. I saw deer, hanging out right outside the Ford's fence. We all ate lunch together, and bonded. Everyone worked incredibly hard, and the hard work showed in the amazing things that were figured out.
One play, starting to come together.
I can't wait until Wednesday, when we go back and get to work on it some more!
Talking about the play with the violist and recording technician the other night got me thinking about how you tell the story of your play to people. It's a tough thing. Flannery O'Connor once said that if she could tell you what her story was about, she wouldn't have needed to write it. And I totally get that. I certainly hope that the play will be bigger than any synopsis of it! But the world requires a playwright to say over and over again what their play is about, between the time when you start working on it (and maybe refuse to tell them) and when you finish it, when you start sending it out and when you get it produced.
Song of Extinction is particularly difficult to synopsize. It's about a musically gifted, troubled boy who is dealing with his present, and a solitary, haunted man who is dealing with his past. It's about death in three different layers (cancer, extinction, genocide), without trying to conflate the issues. It's about music and it's about science. Fathers and sons. Teachers and students. Bolivian wetlands and Cambodian fields.
I told the musicians that it's about how music stands in the face of death.
Got up at 6am this morning and took an hour and a half long walk. My I-Pod is a handy exercise accessory, and I've noticed that Pod Casts are good for me to listen to in the morning -- get me perked up and awake. I only subscribe to free ones, and my favorites are offered by the BBC. I especially love "The Naked Scientists." It's a one-hour science show -- weekly, I think -- in which British people talk about funny, cool and important science stuff that's going on in the world today in a way that the average layperson/playwright can understand. As I get older, I've noticed that my reading tastes have changed dramatically. I used to read all fiction, and now I read almost all non-fiction. And everything becomes research for my plays... Writing Song of Extinction put me on a science kick that I'm still enjoying, and the Naked Scientists give a fun science "fix."
There is a lot that needs to be done this week for Song and everything else, so today I am officially giving over to ORGANIZATION. To-do lists will be written and prioritized, e-mails will be returned, events will be organized. I may even do dishes. Look out world, here I come!!
I'm sitting here on Sunday morning with both cat and laptop on my lap, and a cup of coffee beside me. It's been a busy week, getting back to real life after Ashland, and catching up with everything here in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, I attended a rehearsal for Song. I've missed a full week, and wanted to check back in and see how things were going, as well as give my director the new scene I wrote in Ashland. I saw lots of growth and depth in the actors, connecting with their characters and with each other. In less than a week, we have our first run-through in the theater itself -- [Inside] the Ford.
I've moved into fluttery, nervous playwright mode a little. In the writing, one can feel sure-footed, at least some of the time. In control of the world you are creating. But to make your play into theater, you have to give over to a whole bunch of other people -- director and actors, producers, designers, composers (in this case) and musicians and finally an audience. You have to demand things, but you also have to trust people. You should check in regularly, but can't back-seat drive. It feels a little bit like throwing a baby bird out of the nest, hoping it will fly.
I hope my play will fly.
On Thursday, I had a great talk with Bennett Cohon. He's producing one of my short plays, called The Edge of Ross Island, over at Write Act Repertory Theater, here in Los Angeles, as part of an evening of short plays that he's calling "The Freeway Series." I'm delighted to have this chance to work with him!
Bennett and I had been playing phone tag a little, but finally connected and ended up talking for half an hour about my little ten minute play. It was a great conversation, though. I felt like we were very much on the same page about who the four characters in the play are, and what they're trying to do. I'm going to try to see a rehearsal at the end of the month. Write Act is practically across the street from [Inside] the Ford, and both plays will be running at the same time. Funny how these things happen! Several writer pals have plays in the same evening, including Richard Martin Hirsch, Herman Poppe and Hindi Brooks. I'm looking forward to the show!
On Friday, I was torn. Heidi was doing an all-cast run-through of Song of Extinction, and I would have liked to have gone to that. But instead I walked over to the USC campus after work, to participate in the recording of the song of extinction. Geoffrey Pope, the composer I engaged so long ago now (2 and a half years? more?) to write a piece of music for the play had arranged a violist to learn and play the piece for us, and a sound guy to record it. Kim Glann (producer) and I attended, carrying notes from our sound designer, Jason Dupplissea.
What fun! Renata Van Der Vyver was our violist -- a masters student in USC's Thornton School of Music, who is originally from South Africa. She was fabulously talented, and the sound guy, Barry Werger, was smart and knew not only what he was doing, but how to draw the best from the musician he was working with. The new version of the music -- which Geoff calls "Disembarking" -- is dynamic and strong and demanding and existential. I love it!
It wasn't just a matter of recording the piece of music. If it was just that, Kim and I probably wouldn't have been needed at all. But the idea of Song of Extinction is that young Max Forrestal is composing this piece of music throughout the play -- bits and parts of it coming to him at different points. We needed Renata to give us those bits and parts too, and some pieces of Max practicing arpeggios and scales, and some of his frustration with how things are going in his life, that are coming out in his music. I told them the story of the play, and described it to them as music standing against death. They seemed to like that idea, and get what I meant.
On an entirely different note, an odd little baseball play I wrote -- a short full-length -- called Catch has been pulling at my mind lately, telling me that it thinks it wants to be an odd little musical. I saw a performance of This Beautiful City by the Civilians that used music wonderfully, and am reading a book called Writing the Broadway Musical. Hopefully I'll find my way, and see what my play wants.
So... From my last post, you might get the idea that these theater festivals are all about wandering around town, seeing theater, going in shops and meeting nice people. There certainly was a good bit of all that on my visit to the Ashland New Plays Festival last week, but my main reason for being there was to WORK ON MY PLAY with SMART, CAPABLE PEOPLE. I did a good bit of that, too.
In the Ashland New Plays Festival, four playwrights were selected as winners, and all of us were required to attend the festival. We were given housing and a stipend to help allow us to do that, wherever we were coming from. Four directors were asked to read the eight finalist plays, and select which one they'd like to direct. The directors then selected actors from the Ashland area, both Oregon Shakespeare Festival actors and other local thespians, to be in our readings. Each of us had two readings of our plays, and at least one rehearsal with our director and actors. Each of us playwrights also led a writing workshop, on a topic of our choice.
Christopher Acebo was my director, and I felt lucky to have him at the helm of my readings. He is the Associate Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and a top-notch designer.
On Monday the 6th, I was able to meet Christopher for the first time, at the opening festival party. We'd exchanged e-mails, but it was great to actually sit down and talk about the play a little, and about my goals for our time working together. I was in a slightly different place in the process than a person usually is when at a festival -- leaving rehearsals for my production, and coming to work on the play some more. But I assured him that I wanted to take this opportunity to take one more really hard look at the script, and that changes in the script could still be put into the production, and happily so. I told him about a couple problem areas I was planning to look at particularly.
On Tuesday afternoon, I attended our big rehearsal. The cast had already met once with Christopher before I arrived in Ashland, and did a table reading of the play, but this was my chance to meet everybody, and to give thoughts, feedback and suggestions about how they were doing the parts. (Those are given to the director, who then talks to the actors.) They could also ask me questions about things, if they wanted. What a wonderful cast Christopher had selected for me! I can't say enough about the actors. They were smart, bold and wonderful to watch. I felt like my "baby" was in good hands.
Cristofer Jean (left, in a picture from his role in the OSF play "The Clay Cart") played the role of Khim Phan -- the biology teacher who is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide.
Tasso Feldman (right) played the role of Max Forrestal -- the musically talented, but emotionally devastated high school student who Khim Phan reaches out to.
Rounding out the cast were Brad Whitmore and Liisa Ivary as Ellery and Lilly Forrestal, Max's parents, Jeffrey King as Gill Morris, the evil land developer, and Neil Shah, as the young doctor, Joshua. What a great group! I definitely hope I have the chance to work with each and every one of them again someday.
The rehearsal went great -- four hours of concentrated work on the script, and making the seating arrangements and the entrances and exits, and playing with the lights and sound -- all those details that make a reading look professional for the audience.
There were talk-backs after each reading -- an opportunity for the audience to respond to what they just heard. For both readings, response was mostly fabulous and positive and excited, which is... you know... good. There were two guys in the audience for the first talk-back who doubted that the play could work without someone reading the stage directions. This is a fair question, I'd say -- the play glides from hospital rooms into Bolivian jungles, from real bus stops and classrooms to dream boats on magical rivers. It combines music and science, story and existential debate, and three levels of engagement with the question of death -- cancer, the extinction of a species, and genocide (without any intention of collapsing the issues). That's a lot! But I have a strong belief in the power of theater to do magic. It's not just about the words. Action and music and light and sound can do amazing things to transport us from one place to another. The play is in the process of being tested now -- that's the beauty of production, is you get the chance to see what works and what doesn't. But I believe in the magic.
In all, the Ashland New Plays Festival was a wonderful experience. I loved spending time with my fellow playwrights, whose work I respected and whose company I enjoyed. I loved the AWE folks who put on the festival and hosted us, and the OSF folks who I got to work with on my reading. I appreciated enormously the fact that a bunch of my family members came to see my reading. Mom and Dad and Jason, Uncle Harold and Aunt Lori, and Aunt Donna all made the journey to Ashland to see my reading. What a gift of a family I have! I love them dearly, and it was very special to share my most intimate self -- my writing -- with them. Scary, but awesome. I was really glad to have them there.
Now -- back to work in Los Angeles on the production!
ANPF - the rest of the story!
Back I am, from beautiful Ashland, Oregon, where I've been participating in the Ashland New Plays Festival. What an amazing time I've had!
On Sunday, October 5th, I flew from Los Angeles into Medford to begin my adventure as one of the four playwrights selected as "winners" of this year's ANPF. Check out my last post for a review of day one -- which began with meeting and greeting the wonderful folks who made the ANPF happen (including Art Works Enterprises president John Lee) and culminated in attending a performance of "The Clay Cart" -- an Oregon Shakespeare Festival show that was designed by my ANPF director, Christopher Acebo. It was fabulous -- a 2,000 year old tale from India, well-told, with singing, dancing and lots of fun.
I intended to keep up with this blog throughout the week... but I was having too much fun to have any time to write about it! Here are a few highlights from the week.
Just walking through the town of Ashland made me feel better about life. It's a beautiful small town that is infused through and through with theater. And deer. Herds of wild, roaming deer and actors. Is that cool or what?
The ANPF folks had given us coupons to a number of the local eateries -- a free sandwich here, a $5 gift certificate there. It was a great perk, and encouraged us to visit a variety of places during our stay.
The town is full of fun shops, restaurants, bookstores and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theaters -- the Elizabethan Stage, the Bowmer (where I saw "The Clay Cart," named after Angus Bowmer, festival founder) and the New Theater, where I was lucky enough to see "Coriolanus."
I especially liked their local independent bookstore, called Bloomsbury Books. I contributed to the local economy by buying a photo book on Antarctica (research for a new play) and a book called "River of Doubt" -- an utter astounding find -- about Teddy Roosevelt's voyage down the Rio da Duvida, which I talk about in "Song of Extinction." It has pictures and everything! I am so geeky and delighted... I found out about his Amazon expedition when I visited the Natural History Museum in New York.
Lithia Park is yet another reason to love this town. The park (and its walking paths) run along Lithia Creek, and it is a very peaceful, beautiful place.
I'll add more to this post later, because I haven't even gotten to the theater bits yet! But in the meantime, here's a picture of the four of us playwrights: Steve Lyons, me, Babs Lindsay and Tony Pasqualini. Do we look writerly to you?
On Sunday morning at 8:55am, I flew north out of LAX, bound for Oregon and the Ashland New Plays Festival. My full-length play "Song of Extinction was selected as one of the four winners of the festival this year.
I hadn't really slept the night before -- a combination of lots to do before I left, and being too excited about the trip to quiet my mind. Also, I really, really, really didn't want to miss my flight. I get to be in Oregon for a whole week, and don't want to miss a minute of it.
Michael, one of the Art Works Enterprises folks, picked me and Los Angeles playwright/actor Tony Pasqualini up at Medford Airport. On our way to Ashland, he talked about how he and his wife love this area. He took us by John Lee's house; John is the president of AWE, and awfully nice. He and his partner, Steve, welcomed Tony and I to Ashland, and stocked us up with maps of the town, festival posters, ANPF t-shirts and gift bags that included gift certificates to half a dozen local eateries. It was great to meet John. Everything about the festival has seemed so well-organized and he's been great about communicating with us playwrights every step of the way.
Michael then took Tony and I to the places we'll be staying this week. Each of us is being hosted by local theater patrons, many of whom seem to have extra rooms or apartments in their homes, probably for renting out during the high theater season when Ashland fills with Oregon Shakespeare Festival lovers from all over the world. We got Tony situated in his place, near Lithia Park. Then we headed over to meet Hollis and Mary Pat, my kind hosts. They've been going to, and then participating, in the Ashland New Plays Festival for fifteen years, almost since its inception. Michael carried my suitcases in, and Mary Pat welcomed me to the guest apartment in their lovely home -- within walking distance of the theaters, the park and everything.
I unpacked and rested a little after that, but not for long. Hollis and Mary Pat had invited Tony and I and John and Steve to dinner, and Hollis had also arranged tickets for Tony and I to see "The Clay Cart" at OSF. It was a great evening, talking theater with a bunch of other people who love theater, then seeing a delightful show.
"The Clay Cart" is a 2,000 year old Indian classic which (according to the OSF website) is "bursting with music and dance, color, action, and romance... Jewels are stolen. A Brahmin faces execution. A beautiful courtesan is at the mercy of the King's bad-boy brother. Journey through a world where gamblers, holy men, political fugitives and royal scoundrels intersect and good people triumph." It was directed by the OSF's new artistic director, Bill Rausch, and designed by Christopher Acebo -- who is directing my reading of "Song of Extinction." I thought it was just delightful -- like sitting on the floor when I was little, being told a wonderful story -- but with lights and costumes and singing and dancing and tons of fun.
After the play, Tony and I walked over to the little bar that all the actors go to after their shows to meet John and Steve. One of the actors who is going to be in my reading, Neil Shah, happened in and sat down to talk a while -- we'd just seen him in "The Clay Cart," and there we were having a drink together.
By the time the fellows dropped me off back at my apartment, I was well and truly exhausted -- but very happy. What a wonderful beginning to the ANPF! Do I really get to be here all week long? I'm a very lucky playwright.
1. Write the play. It took me a good year and a half, minimum, to write Song of Extinction. The folks in Lee's workshop, which I've been taking on Saturday mornings, can attest to my hard work and inching along. It was a challenging 90 pages to write -- full of music and magic and ideas that occasionally felt like I was trying to push through peanut butter to figure out. The voice of Khim Phan, (the chain-smoking Cambodia-born biology teacher who narrates the play), was the only part that came easily. His monologues just flowed. The folks in my workshop were amazing help, keeping me honest all the way.
So! Here's the history of Song of Extinction so far.
3. Re-write the play. Each of the readings above (all but Sundance involved a reading and/or workshopping process) allowed me the opportunity to work with a director and actors on my play. I got to hear my work out loud, listen to a director working on it with actors, get notes from the director, the actors and sometimes from the audience. From all that, I changed lines, deleted lines, added lines, reworked portions of the play, tried to make confusing bits less confusing. The playwright OWNS his or her play, so all revisions were things that I thought could be made better, found through the generosity of all parties.
4. Get the play produced. Hopefully, steps 1, 2 and 3 are leading to this step 4: PRODUCTION. It's easy to find yourself on a merry-go-round of sending out and getting readings. I think a year of this, after finishing a play, is helpful. Much more than that, and you're treading water (to mix my metaphors). I'm feeling very positive about the fact that Moving Arts is producing my play just a little over a year since I finished writing it.
Okay... taking a half-step back, how did Song of Extinction get into the ANPF? Well, I finished the play, saw their submission opportunity on one of my playwrights lists, and sent it in -- and they began their assessment of my script and all the others they received. According to their website, the Ashland New Plays Festival has been running since 1992. It benefits, I'm sure, from the theater-friendly atmosphere of Ashland, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for many decades now.
The 2008 ANPF Readers Committee began its work in mid-February with scripts from 180 playwrights, (a 5% increase over 2007). The committee guarantees a minimum of three readings and evaluations per script, meaning that they will finish the selection process with more than 100,000 pages read during three rounds and more than than 1,000 feedback evaluations written. The second round of reading started in April and included about 50 of the original 180 scripts. These were evaluated by an additional eight readers. In the third round, about 15 remaining scripts were read by nearly 30 people, resulting in the final six selections. As a last step, a group of professional directors read and selected the four winners, which became the scripts for the October festival. The final four "winners" are Barbara Lindsay with A Death Defying Act (Seattle, WA), Tony Pasqualini with Loyalties (Los Angeles, CA), Steven Lyons with Mystery Spot (Berkely, CA) and EM Lewis with Song of Extinction (Santa Monica, CA).
My reading is going to be directed by Christopher Acebo, who is the Associate Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. My cast includes a bunch of folks from the OSF: Brad Whitmore, Liisa Ivary, Tasso Feldman, Cristofer Jean, Jeffrey King and Neil Shah. I'm looking forward to meeting them at our rehearsals, and to working with them.
It looks like I'm going to be able to meet up for coffee with two "sister listers" from the International Center for Women Playwrights while I'm in Ashland. Organizations like this one have made the world a warmer place, travel more fun, and friends and fellow playwrights everywhere.
From Sunday the 5th through Sunday the 12th, I'm going to be happily immersed in the world of playwriting in Ashland, Oregon. I couldn't be more pleased, and appreciate all the people who have made my trip possible.


Once we have a digital embroidery file created for your logo, all you pay for is the garment price (check the Online Catalog in the menu bar above) and the price to embroider as shown below. We charge a one-time fee to create the digital embroidery file (see Digitizing in the menu bar above) of your logo, rather than increasing the price of the garment or embroidery. That way, you pay it only once - not every time you order. We also don't include the embroidery price in the garment for two reasons. First, we offer heat transfers. They are usually less expensive than embroidery and we want to give you a choice. Second, some logos are more expensive than others (based on stitch count).
Almost all of the left chest and cap logos we embroider qualify for the pricing above (based on stitch count). If your logo contains more than 10,000 stitches, the price goes up incrementally based on stitch count and quantity ordered as shown in the table below.
Not all embroideries are created equal. What I mean is that a design that stitches out well on a polo shirt might not stitch out equally well on a cap. You can't take a design that has been stitched for a full jacket back and reduce it for a left chest or cap. A design that has been digitized for a towel, might not stitch out equally well for a silk blouse.
Want to read about Applique Embroidery? Check out this blog post... What I know about applique.


When it comes to weight loss, there are many approaches you can take to achieve your goals. If you're looking into your options for natural weight loss supplements in Orlando, then you may benefit from vitamin injections. Choosing to include FDA-approved injections into your weight loss plan can potentially boost your body's ability to lose weight. Vitamin shots can help accelerate your weight loss by providing your body with more of the nutrients that it needs. Depending on your age, health, and weight loss goals, certain vitamin shots may prove to be particularly beneficial.
B12 injections are ideal for individuals who suffer from low B12 levels or who are hoping to experience greater energy levels and stamina. Besides helping you sleep better and benefit from an improved mood, B12 can provide your body with more energy by assisting with glucose production. B6 shots can be particularly beneficial for women because they can ease symptoms of menopause and PMS. Additionally, a boost in your B6 levels can reduce water retention and improve your thyroid function. For these reasons and more, vitamin injections can be an ideal addition to your weight loss plan.
You can also get vitamin injections that contain more than one vitamin in the injection such as Lipotropic injections. These injections contain multiple B vitamins and help increase your metabolism which helps you burn fat faster. They also boost your energy, minimize unwanted water gain and help suppress your appetite.


The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council is holding a meeting on open standards payment for public transportation in New York City on September 22 – 23.
Hosted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit, the meeting will include updates on active and planned open standards transit payments projects from leading U.S. and international transit agencies.
The alliance has invited representatives from transit agencies from New York/New Jersey, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Paris, London and other cities to share their knowledge and experience on the challenges and opportunities to expand beyond closed loop fare payment approaches. They will examine and discuss how they can enable customers to access commuter rail, light rail, subways, and buses using contactless payment cards, stickers, and mobile devices for fare payment.
In addition to round table discussions and presentations, the meeting will be highlighted by a tour of the New York/New Jersey Contactless Fare Payment Trial.
The Payment Trial, which has been operational since June 1, allows commuters to use a contactless MasterCard PayPass or Visa payWave card or device to pay directly for fares with their credit or debit card accounts.


Communication is the foundation to all great relationships! The crazy thing is that communication happens mostly without saying anything at all. Being able to communicate, "I love you no matter what" is a strong parenting move that will create strong bonds.
How much sleep do your kids need? How about if naps are figured into that total? When should I start phasing naps out? All of this and more is waiting inside of today's podcast!
When life gets tough and things go wrong, our kids can spiral in chaos and meltdown mode. Yup, I've been there! The tears, the whining, the yelling, the hitting… Today we are talking about what we can do during these crazy times and what may help our kids in the future.
Positive behavior takes work. No worries, we got this! In the 4 steps discussed in this podcast, you'll learn ideas that you can put into place immediately!
Tell us about behavior concerns that you want to improve with your kids!


With a holistic approach to people's experience of food and meals.
A center for education and research in sports, health and food.
Welcome to our department – with a holistic approach to people's experience of food and meals, as well as sport and physical activity!
We aim to lay the ground for good health and sustainable development through research and education.
Central themes within Food and Nutrition include eating habits, meals, the significance of food in relation to public health, as well as leadership and organisation in restaurants and institutional households. Sport science covers a broad spectrum of physical activities, from exercise and health promotion to competitive and elite sports.


Our premium designer fabric collection is composed of upholstery weight goods, hand-picked by our fabric buyers throughout the year with a matching percale reverse.
Custom Designer Bedspread. Upholstery weight with matching percale on reverse side. Ships in 2-3 weeks.
Designer Comforter. Upholstery weight with matching percale on reverse side. Ships in 2-3 weeks.


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15 things about Snapchat
Snapchat will change your life and here's 15 ways how...
Updated 26/02/2014 to include the new snapchat secret codes. We know, right.
1. It will become an obsession...
...the point where, instead of swapping numbers, you'll swap snapchats first.
Other possible side effects include: learning to hack your mate's phone so that they can download it too; (mostly) silently judging people who aren't on it, and hearing snapchat being mentioned when it's not.
2. You'll realise you can use snapchat to ask boys out
And the best part is, if they don't reply, you can pretend the whole thing NEVER HAPPENED. (Unless they screenshot it... and upload it... and share it with all their friends... OMGWHYWOULDYOUDOTHATBOYS).
3. You'll experience the 'selfies aren't a thing anymore because of snapchat' revelation
Remember when it was like 'omg #selfie'? Yeah, us neither. Because thanks to snapchat, a selfie is now a normal way of asking people what time they're coming round or if the corner shop has any peanut butter Kitkat Chunkys left.
4. You will fangirl when you discover the cheat codes.
Yessirreee. To get A WHITE PAINTBRUSH - srsly - hold your finger on the paint palette than drag up and across to the top left hand corner. Pull it down a little further to get a soft pink colour.
To get a BLACK OR BROWN PAINTBRUSH, do the same but drag down to the bottom left hand corner.
The old codes don't work on Snapchat anymore, so to get different photo effects like BIG HUGE WRITING and epic filters like sepia and black and white, go to settings > additional services > manage > turn on the options. Here you can also turn on your front camera flash and number of best friends.
Then, go back to your camera, take a photo and swipe left. Keep swiping left and you'll see all your extra options (including the time and the weather, because afterall, you never know when you're going to need to tell someone the temperature.)
5. This will be you one day.
6. Because of the video function, you will consider becoming a famous director/actress/producer/all-round-triple-threat
But seriously. Can we please just take a moment to appreciate the endless possibilities when it comes to Snapchat videos? In 10 seconds you could:
a. Quote key Mean Girls lines ("So you agree… you think you're really pretty?");
b. Re-enact the classic "I'll never let go, Jack"/*lets go* Titanic moment;
c. or, play the family-favourite 'which part of my face am I moving?' game.
7. You will freak out for a bit because you've read somewhere that your photos aren't 100% definitely deleted
And then you'll discover it's true. Snapchat have admitted it. There are companies in America who can recover the photos. There are loads of videos online showing you how to find the 'deleted' Snapchat files on your phone. Plus, the person you send it to can just take a screenshot of your pic or a photo of it (mind-blowing concept, we know).
But don't freak out, just think before you send. And maybe don't send anything you wouldn't want the whole entire world to see, yeah? Snapchatting should be fun, not weird.
8. You'll really connect with Amy Childs on another level …….
9. You'll realise that there have been like 5 versions and yet still it's like:
10. The text bar will become your best friend
Double chin? Text bar's got it. Weird imperfection? Covered. Didn't realise your face was so long? Break it up with this bad boy.
11. You'll discover that your privacy settings are kinnnda important
Don't want weirdos sending you snaps? Change your share settings to 'friends'. See ya, creepoids.
12. This is you when...
*Someone screenshots your snapchat.
*The person you sent a snapchat to opens it, but doesn't reply.
*That dreaded picture of the snapchat menu appears in your photos, even though you definitely screenshot the snapchat in time.
*Snapchat tells you you've got a new message but then doesn't load it.
*You find out that the awesome snapchat from the person you fancy was sent to at least 500 people.
13. You will genuinely believe your snapchats are ART.
…and for a while you will dabble with the prospect of becoming an artist. That is, until you realise that galleries are just far too quiet, stickmen drawn on Paint aren't going to make you millions and the fake arty moustache you've drawn above your upper lip was done in permanent pen and you think you might be having an allergic reaction.
So then you'll make do by saving the masterpieces you're particularly proud of and putting them all on Twitter and Instagram. Which sort of defeats the point of instant, private pics but yano.
14.When you close your eyes at night...
You'll see the flashing faceless ghost having his techno rave. And the worst thing? There's a part of you that sort of wishes you could join him.
15.When you're not Snapchatting, you'll find yourself reading articles about Snapchat.
Written by Vicki Lutas. Vicki works at Hollyoaks and they've recently launched on Snapchat. Follow 'HelloHollyoaks' for daily episode spoilers at 4pm.
Follow us on Twitter: @WhateverAfter

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


September is proving to be a busy and exciting month here at the Centre for Digital Built Britain. CDBB's remit and collaborative programme means our team works across industry, academia and government to deliver a smart digital economy for infrastructure and construction.
At a recent Cambridge Network event the Centre's Director, Professor Andy Neely, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the University of Cambridge, was the guest speaker. The event attracted members of the region's tech community, SMEs and researchers from a range of academic disciplines, including Architecture, Land Economy and Engineering. Professor Neely set out the Centre's mission to develop and demonstrate policy and practical insights that will enable the exploitation of new and emerging technologies, data and analytics to enhance the built environment, boost productivity, deliver commercial advantage and improve citizen quality of life.
Three additional presentations showcased a range of the Centre's research community: Dr Mohamed Zaki, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Service Alliance (at the Institute for Manufacturing) presented on 'Creating spaces that understand people'; Dr Anil Madhavapeddy spoke about architecture for interspatial communication (shared, multi-tenant infrastructure for communications); and Dr Gemma Burgess, from the Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research, who is leading the CDBB-funded Housing Digital Built Britain Research Network, considered the potential of digital to transform the housing sector.
Also, this month CDBB was one of the key sponsors of the New Civil Engineer TechFest Festival 2018, in London, which showcased the innovation and tech community and included the TechFest Awards. At the awards ceremony Professor Neely addressed guests and presented the Judges Supreme Award: Digitisation for digital built Britain. This flagship award recognises the individual, company, research or project team that is doing most to drive the industry forward through technology adoption, with specific references with the challenges set out in Digital Built Britain, the government's strategy for moving the industry beyond BIM Level 2. This was awarded to Gaist Solutions, for their innovation and role at the forefront of built environment digitisation.
Dr Jennifer Schooling who chairs the Research Strategy Steering Group and who has recently been elected as a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Amelia Burnett, Head of Engagement, and myself all participated in the ICE Shaping a Digital World event that focussed on collaborating to unlock the value of data.
This week Amelia Burnett will also address the CDBB BIM Level 2 Roundtable Discussion, in association with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), that will discuss Academia and Training on 27 September. This is part of a series of events – full details of the other Roundtable Discussions are on the CDBB website.
Looking ahead, please do make a diary date for CDBB's 'Security-Mindedness for Smart Infrastructure' event on 1 November, at Downing College, Cambridge, which is designed for users and providers of smart infrastructure solutions and will include morning presentations by partners, government security advisors and security experts followed by an afternoon workshop. I look forward to seeing many of you there.


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Q: Challenges with mysql_fetch_array() I'm running into a situation where a mysql_query() result being fed into a mysql_fetch_array() function is being interpreted as a boolean instead of the result.
The below code uses Using an SQL result in a foreach loop as a coding example for doing a foreach loop. There may be multiple problems with the code still as my current problem occurs before the foreach loop.
$results=mysql_query("SELECT * FROM order_details WHERE orderid = $orderid");

    print "SELECT * FROM order_details WHERE orderid = $orderid";

    $productid;
    $quantity;
    $price;

    $resultset = array();
while ($row = mysql_fetch_arraY($results)) {
$resultset[] = $row;
}

    foreach ($resultset as $result)
    {

    $productid = $result['productid'];
    $quantity = $result['quantity'];
    $price = $result['price'];

    print "
$productid, $quantity, $price";
    };

A: Change $orderid to '$orderid' provided that everything is fine.
One big note, try going over mysqli and PDO instead of mysql.

A: for($i=0;$i<$max;$i++) {
        $pid=$_SESSION['cart'][$i]['productid'];
        $q=$_SESSION['cart'][$i]['qty'];
        $price=get_price($pid);

        $pname;

        $row = mysql_fetch_assoc(mysql_query("SELECT name\n"
        . "FROM `products` \n"
        . "WHERE SERIAL =$pid\n"
        . "LIMIT 1"));
        $pname = $row['name'];

        print "
Product Name: $pname, Quantity: $q, Price: $price";
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Imperator Romanorum or emperor of the Romans is a title first held by Augustus. Augustus had (for all purposes) abolished the roman republic and became its "king". The title of king, though, (rex romae) had a negative connotation. The romans did everything to keep the king away from power, and until the official adoption of Christianity, the king only had a minor religious role. This is why Octavian (Augustus original name) took the title of emperor, referring to the nickname of Julius Caesar, his adoptive father.

Until the reign of the byzantine queen Irene of Athens, the title of Imperator Romanorum had been given to the monarch of Byzantium by the pope in exchange for protection.  But because Irene was a woman, and that Charlemagne now protected the papal states, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor. This Title continued to exist until 1806, when Napoleon made Emperor Francis II abdicate.

Currently, there are no Imperator Romanorum, the crown of the emperor is kept in Vienna, as it served for the title of Austrian Emperor. The crown is the last crown of the Imperator Romanorum, and the emperor not always had a crown, some of the Roman Emperors had a corona civica to show their links to the military, and humbleness.

Titles with conotations
Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") may refer to the title of:
 Holy Roman Emperor (first held by Charlemagne)
 Roman Emperor (historically Imperator Romanus).
 Byzantine emperor

References

Ancient Roman titles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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President Lukashenko ornaments foreign policy
Before the elections, the country's leadership takes hasty advance measures to mitigate the effects from the highly probable non-recognition of the legitimacy of the new parliament and the electoral process by the international observers. The authorities hope to limit their measures to the public relations domain.
On August 21st, President Lukashenko delivered a programmatic speech at the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and presented the new Minister Vladimir Makey. On August 24th, the President met with staff of the international TV project "Welcome to Belarus".
Country's authorities act primarily in the field of public relations to improve their image. President's surroundings believe that Vladimir Makey's appointment as Foreign Minister will be welcomed by, first of all, the EU and the U.S., since Makey was the main policy maker behind Belarus' Western foreign policy during the 'liberalization' period in 2008-2010. Therefore, President Lukashenko hopes Makey's diplomatic skills will "normalize relations with the West", during conflict periods in particular. It is clear that today Belarus and the West are in a conflict state.
Simultaneously, the Belarusian authorities still hope they do not need to fulfill the conditions for the resumption of the dialogue with the EU and the U.S. – to release and rehabilitate political prisoners. In particular, Lukashenko in his well-known manner, reminded the Foreign Ministry staff and reporters that today's main challenges and risks for Belarus "are external and brought to our country by some world forces interested in destroying the stability of the Belarusian society and the state".
Such rhetoric is rather traditional for Lukashenko and indicates that the release and rehabilitation of convicted politicians and activists is regarded as a stake card in a bargaining game, which, in the authorities' view, has not yet begun therefore leaving any tangible democratization in the political life out of the equation. Lukashenko aims to reach a compromise at the minimal cost.
For example, such a compromise could be the minimum possible "positive" assessment of the election campaign by the OSCE and PACE international observers. Judging by the President's statements, the government welcomed the recognition that the image of Belarus was changing for the better. In terms of the election observation mission during the parliamentary elections, the authorities would like to see 'progress' being asserted.
Following this logic, it is not a coincidence that on August 19th an international TV project "Welcome to Belarus" has been launched, which shows six families from China, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and the United States making guided tours around Belarus. On August 24th, President Lukashenko personally met with the participants in the show and reiterated that Belarus was an open and welcoming country.
Belarusian and Ukrainian Defence Ministries entangle in confrontation spiral
Фото: RFRM
Over the past year, military-political relations between Minsk and Kyiv have become complicated. Due to their high inertia and peculiarities, this downward trend would be extremely difficult to overcome.
The root cause of the crisis is the absence of a common political agenda in the Belarusian-Ukrainian relations. Minsk is looking for a market for Belarusian exports in Ukraine and offers its services as a negotiation platform for the settlement of the Russo-Ukrainian war, thereby hoping to avoid political issues in the dialogue with Kiev. Meanwhile, Ukraine is hoping for political support from Minsk in the confrontation with Moscow. In addition, Ukraine's integration with NATO presupposes her common position with the Alliance in relation to Belarus. The NATO leadership regards the Belarusian Armed Forces as an integral part of the Russian military machine in the western strategic front (the Baltic states and Poland). In addition, the ongoing military reform in Ukraine envisages a reduction in the number of generals and the domestic political struggle makes some Ukrainian top military leaders targets in politically motivated attacks.
Hence, the criticism of Belarus coming from Ukrainian military leadership is dictated primarily by internal and external political considerations, as well as by the need to protect the interests of generals, and only then by facts.
For instance, initially, the Ukrainian military leadership made statements about 100,000 Russian servicemen allegedly taking part in the Russo-Belarusian military drill West-2017. Then the exercises were labelled quazi-open and military observers from Ukraine refused to provide their assessment, which caused a negative reaction in Minsk. Further, without citing specific facts, it was stated that Russia was building up its military presence in Belarus.
Apparently, the Belarusian and Ukrainian Defence Ministries have entangled in a confrontational spiral (on the level of rhetoric). Moreover, only a small part of the overly hidden process has been disclosed. That said, third states are very likely to take advantage of the situation (or have already done so). This is not only about Russia.
The Belarusian Defence Ministry officials are restrained in assessing their Ukrainian counterparts. However, such a restraint is not enough. Current military-political relations between Belarus and Ukraine are unlikely to stabilise without the intervention of both presidents.


Sharon Constancon of Genius addresses a topic that has become increasingly relevant in recent times in this guest blog. The unified ethical stance of many a company has been vital in getting through recent scandals, and as Sharon discusses this must be consistent, from the chairman downwards.
Culture and ethics are topics that many boards are having to cover more regularly as stakeholders are demanding higher levels of accountability over corporate decisions and activities.
This means that the role of the board is changing, and as scandals occur, such as the PPI, LIBOR and Forex, the Chairman is having to lead the Board through times of uncertainty while in the media spotlight.
The need to be forward thinking and constantly reassessing strategy is crucial to the flexibility needed in the face of challenges and to get to the root cause of the issues they present.
The Chairman, through his experience and style by default sets the tone of the boardroom, however the real issue is the appropriateness of that tone by today's investors and media's judgement. It is crucial that the values reflect ethics, transparency, sustainability and care for the customer.
Diversity in the boardroom can significantly improve the setting of the culture and the way it is infiltrated to the front line through having different approaches to the same issue. It is key that a unified message is passed on to employees that sets the tone of the company.
Lists and codes of ethics just don't cut it any more. There is a need for active participation, and this starts from the boardroom. While the Chairman sets this tone it is the Chief Executive that must champion it. The CEO must pass it through management to the front line. This is only successful if the all Directors "walk the talk". Determining the success of the culture message usually occurs through interaction between Board and staff supported through employee surveys which determine if the culture is being infiltrated.
This culture should not just be diffused internally, but should be exposed to the various stakeholders too. This is a sign of strength of the business, and is key in showing that the company is unified.
There needs to be a process of monitoring the effectiveness of the culture which is best done by an external board evaluation by a person that can get under the skin of the boardroom behaviours and characters and unlock barriers to effective board behaviour.
There are inevitably conflicts of interest between the directors and stakeholders as to focus and returns. There is no social consensus that allows companies to be entrepreneurial and successful other than the traditional route of maximising stakeholder value. Few Boards realise that shareholder value should not be the most important measurable value of sustainability.
Risks are an inevitable part of business, but risk management review is not being effectively incorporated into the agenda and discussions within the boardroom. Each known risk as well as the unknown unknown risks need to be assessed in turn with the opportunities they present and cost if materialise. Effective risk reporting is crucial to matching tone and risk appetite.