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Dr. Nasir Saddal's Professional Visit
In February 2017, CLAN sponsored Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr Nasir Saddal, from the Department of Pediatric surgery at the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi, Pakistan to visit Australia to work alongside the medical personnel at the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney. During the professional visit, Dr Saddal aimed to learn more about telescopic rod implantation for treatment of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) in hopes of bringing the method back with him to treat children living with OI in Pakistan, a project referred to as the Pakistan Develop Rod Project.
Throughout his time in Sydney, Dr Saddal worked closely with Professor David Little of the Children's Hospital at Westmead. With the help of Professor Little, Dr Saddal meticulously observed each step a patient with OI must go through in order to successfully receive the rod implantation. Most patients observed ranged from infant age to 16 years and had a range of hip complications. Dr Saddal reviewed several case studies alongside x-ray images in order to build knowledge on the rod surgery as a form of treatment for OI. Professor Little and Dr Saddal engaged in discussion on the criteria for selecting patients for the rod surgery, and once case studies were reviewed and rod surgery was decided upon, Dr Saddal observed these surgeries performed by Professor Little and his team.
Dr Saddal met with interdisciplinary health professionals to further his understanding of OI management working closely with senior consultant Dr. Michael Bellmore who specialises in pediatric hip surgeries, Dr Axt, an orthopedic surgeon for patients with Cerebral Palsy, Pediatric knee surgery specialist Dr Dao Quang, pediatric hip and foot surgeon Dr Oliver Brik, and connective tissue disorders specialist Dr Craig Munns.
Dr Saddal joined Dr. Kate Armstrong at the Australian Pakistan Medical Association meeting held in conjunction with CLAN. Throughout the meeting both organizations discussed the possibility of funding opportunities for NICH. The organizations also discussed working together on the Urdu translation of education materials for patients and families living with NCDs. CLAN and AMPA NSW have recently joined forces and signed a Memorandum of Understanding, agreeing to work together to help the people of Pakistan and Urdu speaking community of Australia. CLAN is thankful for this wonderful new partnership and is looking forward to working hand in hand with AMPA NSW to address the pressing health concerns of communities in Pakistan and Australia.
Dr Saddal's visit was essential for the future of children with OI in Pakistan as it enabled him to forge key relationships with Australian health professionals and the Australian OI community. Dr Saddal was able to learn different surgical techniques in pediatric orthopedic patients whilst working alongside medical professionals from the Children's Hospital at Westmead.
Dr Saddal and CLAN would like to thank everyone who helped make his professional visit a success. Thanks are given but not limited to Professor David Little, Dr Michael Bellmore, Dr Axt, Dr Dao Quang, Dr Oliver Brik, Dr Craig Munns, and the Children's Hospital of Westmead.


Summary/Type: Harry and Severus meet at the Annual Ministry Birthday Ball.
For the snarry100 challenge #309 Dark Mark. Let's see if I made the fluffy enough!
On my journal here: Mark? What Mark?
ETA: May I get an author tag, please?


text:
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text:
Effective Political Expression By Sports Organizations: A Cursory Analysis on the Reactions to North Carolina's Bathroom Law House Bill 2
24 October, 2016 Blog, Contract Law, Entertainment Law, Sports Law 5386
By: Tim Lauxman
Roughly $180 million.[1] That's a (rough) estimate of economic loss from sporting events being canceled or moved from North Carolina in protest of the state's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act[2], more commonly known as House Bill 2 ("HB2") or the Bathroom Law. Enacted as a ban to keep individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond with their biological sex, HB2 also preempted local ordinances in the nondiscrimination field, like the one the city of Charlotte had previously passed allowing protections for transgender individuals.[3] Consequently HB2 has been widely criticized for marginalizing the transgender community, and that criticism has come from a wide range of sources.
One critic that might have been unexpected to oppose HB2 was the NBA, who dealt a heavy economic blow by pulling the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte itself, an estimated loss of $100 million.[4] Numerous recording artists, performers, and even TV and film companies have followed suit by pulling out of scheduled work in the state.[5] But arguably the next biggest hit came from the NCAA, who to date have pulled seven events, including a set of first and second round NCAA Tournament Men's Basketball games and the entire Women's Division I Soccer College Cup championship.[6] Additionally, the NCAA could also decertify—and thus bar from being played—the Belk Bowl, a college football postseason game played between two Power 5 conferences in the ACC and SEC.[7] On top of that, the ACC itself has pulled all of its neutral-site championship events, another ten events in total, including the ACC college football championship originally scheduled to be played in Charlotte.[8]
Likely all of these events directly or indirectly involved substantial contractual relationships and thus some of this economic harm can and will likely be recovered.[9] But it's fairly easy to imagine additional transaction costs incurred in pursuit of such recovery, complicated by a duty to mitigate, will still make any recoverable losses pale in comparison to projected monetary gain in the state from hosting these events.
After the NBA's decision, North Carolina Governor Pat MrCrory called the move an "insult" and "'total P.C. (politically correct) BS'."[10] In a more cultured response to the NCAA's decision, Gov. McCrory asked "all public and private institutions to both respect and allow our nation's judicial system to proceed without economic threats or political retaliation" while those systems determined the fate of HB2.[11] But regardless of how hypocritical, or just plain wrong (much like the policy bases[12] supporting HB2) I believe Gov. McCrory is in supporting HB2, I must reluctantly agree with him in that the NBA, NCAA, ACC and others are in the wrong with their actions, and support his request to stop the economic retaliation.
In a sad irony, the majority of the economic harm caused by these groups' action falls squarely on the city of Charlotte, a city that expressly sought to protect the rights of transgender individuals, the view point these groups support while taking action. Moreover, while the economic harm from the NBA and others taking their business elsewhere has undoubtedly caught the attention of North Carolina and others, the impact on the state's economic situation is minimal[13] compared to the economic impact on the city of Charlotte itself. In fact, it's likely one of the reasons why Charlotte received the 2017 NBA All-Star game was because of the city's $27.5 million commitment of public funds to upgrade the Time Warner Arena.[14] Charlotte was likely hoping the All-Star game would provide a return on that investment, and now that the game is being played elsewhere, the city faces a substantial loss. And that loss is directly borne on the very people that supported equal protections for transgender individuals, and likely has already caused some of them to change their minds on the issue of supporting these protections.[15]
Instead of the NBA and others using the proverbial "stick" of economic retaliation, I would suggest they use a "carrot" in supporting their views on equality. First, I applaud these groups for their advocacy effort. In the modern world, these groups garner a constant mainstream media attention, and thus serve as excellent stages for advocating for social justice and change. Second, these groups have the sufficient financial resources and abilities to effectively advocate for the causes they choose to support. As a result of this unique position, these groups, when dealing with political bodies that promote policies they oppose, should, instead of boycotting, continue their normal operations while actively and very publically maintaining their opposition. Essentially, instead of harming the political body they oppose (the stick), they should provide a means to bolster and incentivize support for their cause (the carrot). For example, since the NBA has no issue incurring extra cost in protesting HB2 (as seen by its willingness to expose itself to liability for breach), why not spend that money helping with the legal costs of those opposing HB2? Or offer price discounts to potential advertising partners for taking measures to public and/or financially support transgender rights or advocacy groups? Or maybe even use the media attention given to the NBA's All-Star Weekend to make its views on transgender rights a focal point during the event?
This approach would avoid potentially entrenching and bolstering opposition through generalized harm cause by economic retaliation, and would instead substitute that retaliation with what any minority group ultimately needs to make gains in society, a strong voice. And in the modern day, with a 24-hour news cycle consistently drawing upon celebrities, athletes or these major sporting groups for stories, there is no better platform and speaker to be that voice. But most importantly, those people and groups must use that voice effectively, remembering that "man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love,"[16] or perhaps, a carrot.
[1] See Laura Leslie, Cancellations Over HB2 Make Headlines But Barely Dent NC Economy, WRAL.com (last visited Sept. 25, 2016), http://www.wral.com/cancellations-over-hb2-make-headlines-but-barely-dent-nc-economy/16035660/; see also Alex Kotch, Tallying Up the Mounting Economic Toll of North Carolina's HB2, Common Dreams (Sept. 17, 2016), http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/09/17/tallying-mounting-economic-toll-north-carolinas-hb2.
[2] 2016-3 N.C. Sess. Laws, http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2015E2/Bills/House/PDF/H2v0.pdf.
[3] Tal Kopan & Eugene Scott, North Carolina Governor Signs Controversial Transgender Bill, CNN politics (last updated Mar. 24, 2016, 11:12 AM), http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/north-carolina-gender-bathrooms-bill/.
[4] Kotch, supra note 1.
[6] Andy Katz, NCAA Moving 7 Championship Events Out of North Carolina, ESPN (Sept. 13, 2016), http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/17533335/ncaa-pulls-7-championship-events-north-carolina.
[8] Andrea Adelson, ACC Moving Neutral-site Championship Games Out of North Carolina Due to HB2, ESPN (Sept. 15, 2016), http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17547270/acc-moving-neutral-site-championship-games-north-carolina-due-hb2.
[9] Id.; see e.g. Dedrick Russell, Hotels Scrambling After NBA All-Star Game Moved From Charlotte, wbtv.com (last updated July 22, 2016, 4:35 PM), http://www.wbtv.com/story/32510842/hotels-scrambling-after-nba-all-star-game-moved-from-charlotte.
[10] Steve Harrison, McCrory Says NBA All-Star Game Decision is 'Total P.C. BS', The Charlotte Observer (July 22, 2016, 9:24 AM), http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article91225547.html.
[11] Katz, supra note 6.
[12] See Stevie Borrello, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations Debunk 'Bathroom Predator Myth', ABC News (Apr. 22, 2016, 7:15 PM), http://abcnews.go.com/US/sexual-assault-domestic-violence-organizations-debunk-bathroom-predator/story?id=38604019 (stating that jurisdictions that have enacted protections for transgender individuals have not seen a rise in public safety issues).
[13] Leslie, supra note 1; Andrew Heath, Don't Believe the Hype: HB2 Hasn't Hurt the N.C. Economy, The Charlotte Observer (Aug. 8, 2016, 5:48 PM), http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article94448907.html.
[14] Charlotte Taxpayers Get Fouled Again On Stadium Upgrades For NBA All Star Weekend 2017, AllStarWeekendCharlotte.com (last accessed Sept. 25, 2016, 8:57 PM), http://www.allstarweekendcharlotte.com/blog/charlotte-taxpayers-get-fouled-again-stadium-upgrades-nba-all-star-weekend-2017. It should be noted the commitment of these funds was not made on reliance or condition of the 2017 NBA All-Star game being played in Charlotte. See id.
[15] See Steven Harrison & Ely Portillo, Charlotte Chamber: Let's Hit 'Reset' On HB2, LGBT Ordinance, The Charlotte Observer (Sept. 18, 2016, 6:16 PM), http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article102630242.html (illustrating a call by some Charlotteans to abandon their local ordinance protecting transgender individuals in exchange for the repeal of HB2, as a means to reverse the exodus of sporting events from the city).
[16] Martin Luther King, Jr., Acceptance Speech On the Occasion of the Award of the Nobel Peace Prize (Dec. 10, 1964) in Martin Luther King, Jr. – Acceptance Speech, Nobel Media AB 2016 (last accessed Sept. 25, 2016, 9:09 PM), https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance_en.html.
bathroom laws
sexual equality
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A STEP FURTHER, OR A STEP BACK?


Transparency: This Generation's Magna Carta?
Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation — a great access advocate at a great access advocacy shop — attended the first Global Conference on Transparency Research at Rutgers University-Newark, which brought together two hundred transparency researchers from around the world. Thanks to a post-surgical travel ban, I missed it, doggonit, but I thought I'd pass along his great post, here.
It's well worthy your time.
"Open Government: Beyond Static Measures" looks at the issue of metrics in transparency and examines some of the ways that access can be qualitatively measured.
The indicators proposed in this paper are intended to fill this gap. They seek to complement, rather than replace, the existing data sets used for measuring government openness today. It is hoped that by improving the ways in which we assess open government, this project will contribute to a better understanding of what open government means in practice, which in turn will lead to improvements in the delivery of the openness agenda both in OECD member countries and worldwide.
In a forthcoming study in the Washington & Lee Law Review, Brigham Young University law professor RonNell Andersen Jones undertakes a large-scale historical investigation of the role that traditional newspapers have played in litigating and legislating open-government issues. She concludes that the predicted death of newspapers can be expected to have severe effects on the development of the law in this area.
Jones says that although these legal efforts have been largely unnoticed by the American public, the citizenry has been a major beneficiary of them.


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Does Too Much Fructose Help Colorectal Cancers Grow?
October 29, 2021 , by Sharon Reynolds
A microscopic cross section of villi, finger-like structures that line the intestines.
Credit: Used with permission from Amy Engevik, Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina
A new study suggests that excess consumption of fructose can promote both obesity and colorectal cancer.
Conducted largely in mice, the study found that large amounts of the sweetener, which is present in both table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), increased how long both normal and cancer cells in the intestines live.
In normal mice, this increased cell survival led to more nutrients being absorbed, leading to weight gain. And in mice prone to develop cancer, the increased cell survival led the animals to develop larger tumors and more anemia, a common tumor-related complication.
Findings from the study, which was funded in part by NCI, appeared August 18 in Nature.
The researchers, led by Marcus Goncalves, M.D., Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medicine, are launching human studies to see if a similar phenomenon occurs in people.
"But this mouse study is really important, because it establishes a molecular mechanism for why fructose can drive tumor growth," said Kristine Willis, Ph.D., of NCI's Division of Cancer Biology, who was not involved with the study.
How Could Fructose Increase Tumor Growth?
In 2019, Dr. Goncalves and his colleagues published a study showing that feeding HFCS to mice prone to developing intestinal tumors could increase the size and aggressiveness of colorectal tumors. They also found that blocking the uptake of that particular sweetener by the body's cells could prevent such growth.
But the details of the "why" behind these results remained a mystery. In the new work, the researchers thoroughly examined what was happening on the cellular level in the intestines after HFCS consumption.
They first looked at what happened to intestinal cells in normal mice fed a diet including large amounts of HFCS. The team focused on villi: finger-like protrusions of the intestinal lining. Villi increase the surface area of the intestinal lining and maximize the amount of nutrients that can be absorbed after a meal.
The HFCS caused the villi to grow in length. Normal mice fed HFCS had villi that were around 25%–40% longer than those in mice that weren't fed the sweetener.
When the mice were then fed a high-fat diet in addition to excess fructose, it caused them to gain far more weight than mice only fed a high-fat diet.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup Metabolism at the Cellular Level
Further experiments showed that the overabundance of HFCS kept the cells at the tips of the villi alive longer. Normally, the cells at the tip of a villus, where oxygen levels are lower (called hypoxia), die off. They're then replaced by new cells that are produced at the base of the villus and migrate up to the tip.
But by increasing cell survival at the villi tips, and with new cells continuing to be made, the villi inevitably got longer, they found.
Excess fructose causes cells at the tips of villi to live longer than they should. With new cells continuing to be made, the villi get longer.
Credit: Used with permission from Dr. Marcus Goncalves, Weill Cornell Medicine
The researchers then turned to human colorectal cancer cell lines to see whether excess fructose would affect their ability to grow and survive in low-oxygen conditions. Hypoxia is a common occurrence in the middle of tumors and can limit their growth.
As with the mouse intestinal cells, the researchers found that adding fructose to colorectal cancer cells grown in a low-oxygen environment didn't increase the rate at which they grew but helped the cells survive longer than cells to which fructose wasn't added.
But why does fructose increase cell survival when oxygen levels are low? In further experiments in colorectal cancer cells, the researchers found that the sweetener caused a chain of cellular reactions, which resulted in lowered activity of a protein called PKM2.
PKM2 is involved in cellular metabolism. When PKM2 activity is low, as can happen under stressful conditions like hypoxia, cells adjust their metabolism so that they can stay alive.
So in order to survive, "the tumor wants to find the best way it can to inhibit PKM2," explained Dr. Goncalves.
Several additional experiments showed that preventing fructose from inhibiting PKM2 could stop both villi and colorectal cancer cells from thriving in a low-oxygen environment. For example, when they gave HFCS-fed normal mice a drug called TEPP-46, which turns PKM2 back on, their villi didn't elongate and they didn't gain weight.
When the researchers then fed excess HFCS to mice predisposed to develop colorectal cancer, the mice developed bigger tumors and became more anemic—a complication associated with worse survival in both mice and people—than mice not fed the sweetener. Treating mice fed large amounts of HFCS with TEPP-46 slowed tumor growth.
The ability of a drug to activate PKM2 even in the presence of fructose, both stopping weight gain and slowing tumor growth stimulated by HFCS is exciting, said Dr. Willis.
"There's huge potential there," she said. "If this translates to humans, does that then represent a possible avenue of treatment for obesity as well as colorectal cancer?"
What Happens in Humans?
Dr. Goncalves and his colleagues are getting ready to launch a follow-up study in people. To date, it remains controversial whether substantial amounts of the HFCS that people consume in their diets can reach the colon, or whether most of it gets absorbed higher in the digestive tract, he explained. The mouse digestive tract is much shorter than the human version, relative to size, making it easy for HFCS to reach the colon in mice.
The team will recruit people with colon cancer scheduled to undergo surgery to have their tumors removed. Before surgery, they'll eat a meal containing HFCS to which a heavy isotope of fructose has been attached. After the tumors are removed, this "label" will allow the researchers to measure how much of the fructose made it into the cancer cells.
This work will, the team hopes, help answer the question of whether fructose from HFCS can reach tumors in the human colon. If so, Dr. Goncalves said, "the next step is: how do we intervene?" he added. Several drugs that target PKM2 or related molecules are currently under development for other conditions.
"These could [potentially] be repurposed to reduce or shorten villi and hopefully prevent tumor growth," he said.
Metabolism can differ vastly from one person to another, Dr. Goncalves explained. So many mechanisms—not just related to PKM2—likely drive both obesity and colorectal cancer.
"But exposure to fructose is one component of the diet that's modifiable, and we think plays a role," he said. "There's still a lot more work to do in terms of [understanding] how big of an effect it has, and if we can use drugs to try to prevent it from happening."
His lab also studies cachexia, a loss of body weight and muscle mass that often occurs in people with advanced cancer. People with cachexia have the reverse problem from that seen in this study: their villi shrink, Dr. Goncalves explained. That leads to the intriguing question of whether fructose could actually be a treatment for cachexia, to help people maintain weight and strength.
They've started studying this approach in mice. "If you give cachexic animals fructose, will they absorb [nutrients] better and ultimately maintain their body weight?" he asked.
Sugar Versus High-Fructose Corn Syrup
What people normally refer to as "sugar," the table sugar used for cooking and baking, is a molecule called sucrose. Each molecule of sucrose is composed of two smaller sugar molecules, called glucose and fructose.
To human taste buds, fructose is much sweeter than sucrose. Fructose is found naturally in fruit and many other foods. It's also a major component of high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, an inexpensive sweetener used in many processed foods and beverages.
To produce HFCS, some of the glucose in regular corn syrup is chemically converted into fructose—which can make HFCS very sweet.
Research to date has not shown a nutritional difference between table sugar and HFCS. But studies are ongoing to understand whether the way they're metabolized—broken down by the body—may have different effects on health.
The effects of fructose on the villi observed in the current studies were likely highly beneficial for animals in the wild and was for humans in the past, Dr. Goncalves explained. "When we didn't have agriculture and transport systems, we would get our local fruit supply only in a limited fashion, and [elongation of the villi] would help us to gain weight for the long winter coming up, when food may be harder to get," he said.
"But now that we have continuous access to [sugar] all year long, our villi are constantly long, and we're constantly hyper-absorbing [nutrients]. And that may underlie why [people] are gaining so much weight all the time," he added.
Researchers are just starting to scratch the surface of how sugar metabolism affects cancer risk, growth, and treatment, Dr. Willis explained. Dietary guidelines universally recommend avoiding large amounts of added sugar in the diet, especially sugary drinks, but HFCS is almost impossible to avoid entirely in the modern world, she added.
However, a small amount is unlikely to cause long-term problems, and people shouldn't panic, Dr. Willis explained. "If you have a slice of sandwich bread … you're not doomed to get cancer," she said.
And whole, unprocessed fruit—a natural source of fructose—remains a healthy part of any diet, added Dr. Willis. That's because the amount of fructose consumed in fruit is lower than that in food containing HFCS. Fruit also contains healthy substances like fiber. "An apple is a completely different thing from a liter of soda," she said.
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If you would like to reproduce some or all of this content, see Reuse of NCI Information for guidance about copyright and permissions. In the case of permitted digital reproduction, please credit the National Cancer Institute as the source and link to the original NCI product using the original product's title; e.g., "Does Too Much Fructose Help Colorectal Cancers Grow? was originally published by the National Cancer Institute."


The Graduate Funding Information Center has upcoming workshops! These are the next three workshops for Summer Session I. Workshops are led by Graduate Funding Information Center staff who cover resources for finding and applying for funding. Possible funding needs include tuition, travel grants, dissertation research, master's paper research, stipends, or other costs associated with completing a doctoral or master's degree. For more information about topics covered, view our workshops page.
Please note, advance registration is requested, although walk-ins may attend as long as there is space remaining.
Now is an excellent time to start identifying funding opportunities as most funding deadlines will fall between October and March. The earlier you start looking, the more opportunities you'll be able to find. If you are not able to attend any of these sessions, you can reach out to our office at gfic@unc.edu for a one-on-one consultation.


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Human Animal
Sub Pop
Burned Mind, Wolf Eyes' Sub Pop (and "major" label) debut, pricked a lot of people's ears. The band was dubbed messiahs of noise, and while the audience for such stuff has been growing, there hasn't been some sort of mass noise takeover... and there is good reason for that. Where other artists in the genre place noise over noise, barrage over barrage, Wolf Eyes arrange; where others build, they compose. Their "songs" have movement, flow and drama. If noise music is an aesthetic opposite/equal to classical music, Wolf Eyes would have to be some violent, repulsive Romantics. Ugliness, as an aural quality, is just as vast, complicated and communicable as beauty. While that isn't to say that ugliness has been ignored by the avant-garde, it also has rarely been exploited in its fullest context.
As far as music goes, Wolf Eyes create some of the most diseased sound out there. It is, by some standards, barely music at all. Melody and harmony are not of any particular concern. Rhythm is a puppet-king, subservient to a congress of sound, which rules by force and under a very real threat of violence. This music is pure physicality.
Human Animal (a Sub Pop follow-up to Burned Mind, some 10-15 albums later), splits Wolf Eyes' past neatly in two — the "we are going to hurt you" Wolf Eyes and the "we are hurting you now" Wolf Eyes — while also moving that past forward. As Wolf Eyes have progressed, a certain cinematic quality has been lost to a will to dominate. Instead of threatening to tear your head apart, they tried to do it. They became enthralled with brutality, discontented with mere creepiness, with "darkness" as a shade. They made music that actually pained the listener: screw psychology, it's just a construct of your weak mind.
While this is impressive, and makes Burned Mind one of the most viscerally memorable albums one would care to recall, it is also a rather limited artistic goal. So, for Human Animal, Wolf Eyes have stepped back from pure violence, bringing in some of the old cinematic features while retaining pieces of the vicious nature that has served them well. "A Million Years" opens up the album with deadened bass hits, mutilated saxophone and clanging, echoing, scraping metals, setting a scene before some truly awful peak of screaming and layered nastiness, again to descend into "Lake of Roaches," which acts as some sort of aural afterbirth, all searing white noise, pained yelps and synth burbles. I can't help but think of being buried alive, having that lid nailed shut, fearfully screaming for help and slowly suffocating.
Not all of Human Animal is so specific ("Rationed Rot" is eight minutes of creeping dread, a setup for what's to come), and not all of it is so purely atmospheric. The title track is shattered beats, squalling sine waves and vocal vomit, with nice breakdowns and gong-hits cutting it up before the whole thing really starts cooking on "Rusted Mange," where the tempo doubles and starts to resemble an army taking practice at a rollercoaster full of howling children. Something like that anyway. "Leper War" is a six-minute respite from the beating for some atmospheric skin crawling. "The Driller" comes closest to combining the atmospheric and the brutal, with a signals-and-synths intro allowing a death-march beat to slowly coalesce before vocals and saxes and general metallic mayhem ensue. For Wolf Eyes, it's almost a pop song. A few lyrics escape the din, and the thing's got a sort-of verse/chorus construction going on.
The album ends with a two-minute cover of the No Fuckers' "Noise Not Music," which actually sounds like it could have been made by a guitar-bass-drums trio, or maybe several of them, but the sound has been overloaded to the point of actual collapse, with only the shouted title and some screaming not reduced to a rhythmic soup. As a piece of music, it's not much, but as a finish to the album, it is a peak, allowing Human Animal the rise-fall-rise compositional structure that makes for the most dramatic of entertainment.
by Jesse Steichen


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I have just ordered a Samsung Galaxy S III with a plan "0 USD/month" on the Freedompop website. However, since I initially entered a wrong email address when I first connected to the Freedompop website, I would like to update my contact email information so that I can receive a confirmation of my order, and a link to activate my phone once I receive it. Any advice on how to proceed ?


This is possibly the most confusing home furnishing you can start to research and one where getting it wrong can be overly expensive and disappointing down the line. There are literally 1,000s of permutations of age, quality, design, colour, size and materials so it is possible to find the perfect rug with some effort and patience.
Handmade/Hand Knotted are constructed entirely by hand, with each knot being tied around a warp thread and the design built up row by row. Turn the rug over and see if the front design is the same, without the pile obviously, as the front. Just because a rug has a Persian design does not make it genuine.
Hand-Tufted rugs are handmade but are much quicker to make because they are not hand-knotted. The knots are fired into a backing and then a glue and cover are fixed to the reverse to hold it all together. If the rug has a solid plain back appearance then it is tufted. Tufting is also done by machine and then hand finished. Be careful as it will may be sold as a handmade item.
Machine made rugs often look hand knotted and are close approximations. Turn the rug over and you will see the design in a blurrier form than the real thing. The white weft threads that run widthwise on a hand knotted rug will run the length of a machine-made rug.
1. Depending on your home and the existing furnishings, as well as consideration for your budget, decide how old your rug needs to be. Vintage rugs, those over 30 years old, develop a patina of colour alteration and sheen that is impossible to fake. The older the rug, and the better it has been looked after, will have a look that is highly attractive; they can be worn for the shabby chic impression or in perfect condition to meld with a formal room. The oldest rugs in good condition and with more useable furnishing colours are obviously more sought after and therefore expensive.
New rugs can be made in approximations of vintage examples and are much less money- they can still seem expensive to the layman but remember a high knot count quality new rug may have taken 6 to 12 months to weave!
Depending on the room you are placing a rug in you should consider the quality and material requirements. With so many rug options on the market you can narrow them down to your exact specifications. For a very busy family room try and buy a hand-knotted rug in either a fine or chunky durable weave. Examples of these are Persian Kashan, Tabriz, Isfahan and Nain for finer examples and Heriz, Bijar, Meshed and Hamadan for heavy rugs. Always buy a wool pile rug for better durability and remember that the wool they use in Iran and Afghanistan is almost always better suited to rugs than from anywhere else. Find a rug expert that does home visits to get the best advice.
Apart from wool piled rugs you can buy wool mixed with silk, cotton and synthetic materials. As long as the wool content is higher than 50% the rug should be durable and easier to clean but a fully wool rug will develop a patina with usage and can be restored with professional cleaning to complete cleanliness and sheen. The better silk rugs are superb works of art but I would never recommend for them for use in a busy room – if your heart is set on one then use in a quite area to enjoy the glory – a study, formal salon or bedroom are perfect. Alternatively hang it on a wall.
The size of the rug you start to look for is highly important to get right or the incorrect choice may well annoy you within a short time. Start by deciding what purpose the rug will serve – is it going to fill the room to provide maximum comfort, warmth underfoot and to enable all the furniture to stand on it? Or do you want a centrepiece that is a feature? – this might be a rug that sits in-between the sofa and chairs with the feet all on or all off (a halfway house look is rarely the correct look). Strangely enough the smaller the rug the more noticeable it becomes. The size obviously has an impact on the price so the smaller the rug you buy the finer it can be. Measure the space you think you want to fill and then use either newspaper or dust sheets to get a better idea of how it may look. Very often buyers do not bother to get these most important parameters correct and waste a lot of time and money. Arm yourself with maximum and minimum sizes to broaden your options.
Finally…There are so many factors to consider when buying a rug so try and consult a rug expert who has placed his wares into 1,000's of rooms or ask your interior designer for their opinion. Always try and look at various options in your room before buying – the more reputable rug expert will insist you try a few in situ for a few days so you end up with the rug of your dreams.


RP Signs' Project Manager Christine Morgan taught the Architectural Signage segment for the graduate level course "Commercial Design Studio 2" at Queens University (2015 Spring Semester). The topics covered included, but not limited to, were codes and regulations, signage program development, integration with projects, and considerations during design and implementation. Thanks to David Hite of Hite Architecture and the graduate students at Queens University for this opportunity.
The "she" he is talking about is NOT an owner, but one of our Project Managers. We really appreciate the feedback and hope that all our Project Managers are mistaken for owners on every project they're involved with.
Just wanted to post this exerpt from an email that is referencing us, written by one of our clients in Florida who works with James Neely, one of our Project Managers.
We recently completed an upgrade to signs at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center as part of their application to become an accredited chest pain center. LNRMC relied on RP Signs to assist them in the placement and design of the signs that would be needed. Below is an e-mail received from their Director of Operations. We have enjoyed a great relationship with LNRMC and look forward to many future projects.
Good morning Jamie; just wanted to thank you for the innovative creativity we received from RP Signs on the upgrade to the interior signage in preparation for our accreditation survey. The surveyors were very impressed with the attention to detail of the new signage. They found the signage to give very good direction to the Emergency Department from all areas of the hospital. They commented that they would be hard pressed to find any better signage. They took a lot of photographs as they toured our facility to use as examples in future surveys. Again thank you very much for assisting us in achieving our success.
Finally, today we get to say goodbye to the old rpsigns.net and welcome in the new. We hope that it will be an improvement over the last version with more information about our company, larger photo galleries and this "Latest News" section, which we plan to keep updated with our latest projects and announcements.
Please follow us on Twitter @rpsigns and "Like" RP Signs on Facebook when you get a chance.


1. Paddling day started after Saturday's 50 km adventure race and Sunday's Jukola orienteering relay. My body was totally exhausted already in the start. Quarter to five I headed onto a water at the center of Virojoki. The first leg was 20 km paddling in a calm weather, 2m/s from SE and occasional showers.
Hey there. Keep on righting your blog. I am very interested and I was thinking of doing the same maybe next year or 2.


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Home > Reviews	> TO OLIVIA – Debbie Wiseman
TO OLIVIA – Debbie Wiseman
February 23, 2021 Leave a comment Go to comments
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It's something of a forgotten fact these days, but for thirty years between 1953 and 1983 the great British children's author Roald Dahl was married to the Oscar-winning American actress Patricia Neal. While they were together Dahl wrote many of his most acclaimed novels (including James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The BFG), as well as film screenplays such as You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Meanwhile Neal simultaneously enjoyed the peak of her acting career, appearing in movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Harm's Way, and The Subject Was Roses, and winning an Academy Award for Hud in 1963. However, their private life was marred with tragedy, the most significant event of which was the death of their eldest daughter Olivia from measles in 1962 when aged just 7. This new film To Olivia, directed by John Hay, explores the life of the couple around that time, how the tragedy of Olivia's death inspired them both to their greatest professional work, and how Dahl went on to become a staunch pro-immunization campaigner for the rest of his life. The film stars Hugh Bonneville as Dahl and Keeley Hawes as Neal, features Sam Heughan and Geoffrey Palmer in supporting roles, and has a sublime score by composer Debbie Wiseman.
It's been a quiet few years for Debbie Wiseman in terms of her film and TV output. Although she has been a remarkably busy composer elsewhere – acting as composer-in-residence for the British radio station Classic FM, writing acclaimed classical albums such as The Musical Zodiac, The Glorious Garden, and The Mythos, accepting commissions from numerous soloists and orchestras, and writing music for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday celebrations in 2016 – the last theatrically-released film she scored was Edie back in 2017, and most of her recent media work has been for TV series such as Father Brown and Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators. This is why it's such a delight to have To Olivia appear now; it marks her return to the lushly emotional sound that typified much of her most beloved 1990s film works – Haunted, Wilde, Tom's Midnight Garden – and makes you realize just how much her voice and her style has been missed, not least by me.
As befits the subject matter, To Olivia is a score about love, but for the most part it tends to dwell in the realms of the beautifully tragic, underscoring the inexpressibly painful love parents have for their children when they are in need, or hurt, or worst of all close to death. Everything is anchored around the magnificent main theme, which is given a concert arrangement in the opening cue, "To Olivia". The theme emerges out of a tentative piano solo, gradually picking up a mass of strings, and then eventually the entire orchestra, with each statement more ravishing than the next. There are two different melodic ideas contained within the theme – the initial melody heard on the piano, and then a second idea heard for the first time at 1:09 for strings and warm horn harmonies – and throughout the piece they move around and play against each other, often being linked by a cascading bridge that reminds me a little of James Horner's Braveheart. It appears likely to me that the two melodies represent Dahl and Neal individually, but the fact that they are usually presented together is likely a reflection of their united grief in losing their daughter, and is intelligent structuring on Wiseman's part. I also love some of the touches in the orchestration, from the subtle use of guitars behind the strings, to the lightly magical use of xylophones and chimes in the percussion, to the spine-tingling cymbal rings that usher in melodic statements, especially in the second half of the cue.
The two melodies that make up the theme dominate the rest of the score, receiving especially notable refrains in the playfully inquisitive and magically child-like "An Everlasting Gobstopper and a Shivery Smile," the romantic and glossy "The Film Star and the Fairy Tribute," and especially the sensational "Sorry a Second Time," which contains some of the score's richest crescendos and strongest moments of emotional power.
However, To Olivia is by no means a monothematic score, and there are delights to be found elsewhere. "Gus, the Giant and the Peach" has a sense of slightly playful trepidation, with tremolo strings underpinning plucked harps and more xylophones, as Dahl comes up with the basic story ideas that would eventually become James and the Giant Peach. The cue also features some lovely textural combination writing for strings, piano, and woodwinds – a Wiseman trademark that has permeated her entire career – as well as summery guitars that speak of warm days in the English countryside. "Only Trying to Be Nice" is a slightly more downbeat piece for a solo piano backed by strings, with the section split between a broad wash and more edgy pizzicato textures. "You're An Idiot" contains one of several variations on the main theme, which takes the basic sound and some of the chord progressions, but emphasizes different aspects of them to give the score a different feeling.
Quite a lot of the middle section of the score – from "A Message for the Kids" through to "You Fix Things, Roald" – is much more serious, as it deals with Olivia's illness and death, and the fallout this event has on the family at large. To emphasize the tragedy inherent in these events Wiseman takes her orchestra to darker places, making the strings more morose, making the piano lines more grievous, adding in solemn harp glissandi, and writing in a key which verges on the heartbreaking. Not only that, in cues like "An Emergency Like Now," Wiseman increases the percussion aspect of the score – literally hammering home the impact of Olivia's death – while also making use of some very subtle electronic textures, which add to the overall tone of desperation. Some of these abstract, glassy electronic sounds also underpin the drama in "Gone For a Walk," which is perhaps the score's 'low point' in terms of abject misery. "You Fix Things, Roald " is notable for its more prominent reliance on woodwinds, for the agitated string writing and tremulous percussion Wiseman uses to add to the gravitas of the scene, and for the lyrical statement of the main theme during its conclusion, representing a turning point in Dahl and Neal's relationship.
The finale of the score returns the main theme to prominence, with noble and stately performances in "People Always Say That at the End" and "We All Become Stories," and then with a sweepingly uplifting tone in "Rough on Everybody," where the theme is supported by notably prominent flute trills and a warm horn countermelody, and is interrupted by a sprightly dance-like rhythmic section that is really lovely. The conclusion of the score, "And the Oscar Goes To…," underscores the scene where Neal receives her Academy Award for Hud, and has a lush and appropriate Hollywood sheen – even though Neal was not there to accept the award, as she was heavily pregnant in London with her fourth child, Ophelia, at the time.
To Olivia is a tremendously effective score, emotional and heartfelt, and at times truly heartbreaking, with a superb main theme that stands easily with some of Debbie Wiseman's career best. Looking at things objectively, it's perhaps not too difficult to understand why Wiseman is not as in-demand as she once was; she is a composer whose music is lyrical and thematic, who writes in the rich classical orchestral idiom, and who intentionally pulls at the audience's emotions. This type of music is, at least in today's contemporary mainstream, considered somewhat old-fashioned, and is even scorned by some as being too manipulative. For me, however, this is the type of film music to which I gravitate the most. I *want* to feel these emotions, to connect with the characters on a deeper level, nd to feel for Dahl and Neal as they suffer every parent's worst nightmare. As such, I thought To Olivia was outstanding, and is a welcome reminder of what a truly wonderful composer Debbie Wiseman is when she is given opportunities like these.
Buy the To Olivia soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store
To Olivia (3:10)
Gus, the Giant and the Peach (3:13)
An Everlasting Gobstopper and a Shivery Smile (3:43)
The Film Star and the Fairy Tribute (1:14)
Only Trying to Be Nice (1:41)
You're An Idiot (1:09)
A Message for the Kids (1:21)
An Emergency Like Now (2:29)
Not Allowed to Say Her Name (2:49)
Everybody Hold Hands (1:48)
Gone For a Walk (2:52)
You Fix Things, Roald (4:03)
Sorry a Second Time (5:18)
Twisted in a Good Way (2:16)
People Always Say That at the End (3:19)
We All Become Stories (1:36)
Rough on Everybody (3:51)
And the Oscar Goes To… (3:28)
Decca Classics (2021)
Music composed and conducted by Debbie Wiseman. Orchestrations by Debbie Wiseman. Recorded and mixed by Nick Wollage. Album produced by Debbie Wiseman.
Categories: Reviews Tags: Debbie Wiseman, Film Score, Reviews, To Olivia
ONCE AROUND – James Horner JULIUS CAESAR – Miklós Rózsa


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Other than some subtle updates in its appearance and cabin, the 2019 Isuzu D-Max V-Cross also gets a brand new 1.9-litre diesel engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. We find out how well the new drivetrain complements the character of the V-Cross.
By Shubham Parashar
| Updated: 08-Jan-20 01:45 PM
The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross Automatic was launched in India in August 2019.
The 2019 Isuzu D-Max V-Cross gets a new engine and gearbox combination.
It also gets styling updates predominantly centred on its face.
The cabin has been updated as well with new colour theme and features.
There are days when we want to break through the monotony of our daily life and do something exhilarating. A drive, a road trip, even a review for that matter makes things so much better because, you are behind the wheel and having fun, aren't you? Perfect timing then, as the 2019 Isuzu D-Max V-Cross pick-up found its way into our garage and so we decided to have our share of fun taking it out on the road and off it too! There were quite a few talking points this time though, as other than the subtle upgrades in its appearance, the 2019 Isuzu D-Max V-Cross also gets a new drivetrain- an all new engine and gearbox combination.
Also Read: Isuzu D-Max V-Cross 1.9-Litre Diesel Automatic Launched In India
19.77 Lakh * On Road Price (New Delhi)
The V-Cross measures almost 5295 mm in length which is longer than any full-size SUV on sale in India.
First things first! You just can't ignore it. Its robust and poised demeanour, bold and butch looks and its sheer size ensure enough stares. It's 5295 mm long and compare that to your big SUVs like the Endeavour (4903 mm) and even the Fortuner (4795 mm), and you understand how big it really is. The face was always imposing, in fact, almost intimidating to look at and now a healthy dose of chrome adds to its style.
The facelifted Isuzu D-Max V-Cross gets a healthy dose of chrome treatment which adds some style to its bold front.
There are solid chrome elements around the grille and fog lamps along with minimal sculpting on the face adding aggression. Interestingly, the chrome on the grille also extends to the new bi-xenon headlamps in a bull-horn like design on the top, complementing the DRLs.
Changes made to the profile and rear are subtle with just the addition of new 18-inch alloy wheels and LED tail lamps.
Among other additions are side steps, a shark-fin antenna, new tail-lamps with LED inserts and a size bigger- 18-inch alloy wheels. Now all those revisions don't necessarily make the D-Max look too different but bring in a sense of freshness while keeping its daunting looks very much intact.
The new Isuzu D-Max V-Cross gets an all black cabin and some updated features.
The facelift sees updates made to the cabin as well. For starters, you get an all-black cabin now with soft touch materials on places your hands will frequently touch, like door pads, the upper glovebox and on the instrument console hood. Then you have piano black inserts on the central console and on the door pads. Even the quality of the interior, be it the soft touch materials, door-pads or leatherette seats is of high standard and the seats are well-bolstered offering good comfort and lateral support.
There are soft touch materials at all the right places and seats offer good comfort and lateral support.
The cabin also scores high on practicality with multiple cup holders, twin glove boxes and with each door having a dedicated storage for a 1-litre bottle. But just one grouse that I have is with the ergonomics. For instance, the elbow-rest is quite high for my liking and even the door armrest could have been positioned a bit low.
Getting into the rear of the V-Cross is bit of a task as its a high climb and short rear doors limit the ingress.
Then, getting in and out of the V-Cross is bit of a task as it's quite a high climb and rear doors don't open wide enough. But once in, you find yourself in reasonable comfort and the cabin is wide enough for three at the rear. The knee room is adequate and the headroom is decent for someone my height which is 5 ft 10 inches. However, I would have preferred a little more under thigh support. The floor at the rear is flat and the seat is foldable for storage. Rear passengers also get, centre armrest, cupholders and USB port integrated into the central console, though it misses out on rear air-con vents which a car that costs around ₹ 18 lakh, on road should ideally have.
The 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system doesn't get Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and in-built navigation.
The V-Cross doesn't really fall short in the features department as well, save for some. Segment standard features like auto climate control, powered wing mirrors and 6-way electrically adjustable driver's seat among others are very much part of the package and with eight speakers including two mounted in the roof, your acoustic needs are taken care of. That said, you get a very elementary 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, USB & AUX connectivity, but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. While that still doesn't disappoint, the lack of an in-built navigation surely bothers knowing its touring purpose and also given its price. But we'll talk about that a little later.
The new 1.9-litre engine is mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. It is yet to meet the upcoming BS6 norms.
Let's get into talking about the new motor under its hood and the automatic transmission. It's a brand new 1.9-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an all-new six-speed automatic gearbox which in-turn is paired with a shift-on-the fly four-wheel drive system. The engine is BS4 as of now but Isuzu has already announced making its models BS6 compliant by January 2020 with an expected price hike of almost ₹ 1.5 lakh. The engine belts out 146 bhp at 3600 rpm which is 12 bhp more than the 2.5-litre mill does and at 350 Nm at 1800 rpm - 2600 rpm, the torque is up by 30 Nm.
At 13.22 seconds, the new 1.9-litre powertrain makes the V-Cross about a second quicker than the 2.5-litre motor.
The V-Cross is now about a second quicker to triple digit speeds at 13.22 seconds and the engine offers a strong mid-range surge. However, we would have liked to see a little improvement in the initial acceleration as well, a thing many complained about even in the previous 2.5-litre unit. Even the new motor isn't that quick off the line and you want a little more grunt at the low-end.
The new 1.9-litre engine offer a decent mid-range surge but the low-end punch could have been improved.
However, this brand new six-speed automatic gearbox holds onto the revs quite well. So up to 3000 - 3200 rpm, it won't upshift and when you switch to manual mode it will follow your command without upshifting automatically even when revved to the red line. That certainly gives a reassurance while overtaking, but when you kick-down trying to make a quick move, there is a hesitation before it downshifts and the engine gets vocal as revs go up.
The speed build-up is linear and suits its cruising character.
Then as you pick up the pace, the build-up is quite linear and that's actually a good thing for an SUV of this size as the passengers won't be jolted and unnerved because of that kick-in of the torque, making it quite the highway cruiser. The suspension set-up too is not exactly firm, but biased on the firm side making it feel very cushy over rough patches. In fact, I was amazed at how silently it did the job even while gliding over some deep potholes. Passengers on the rear seat too won't feel the sharp bumps, more so thanks to the tall profile of the 18-inchers.
The V-Cross is a SUV that weighs almost two tons and you feel it everytime you hit a corner.
But show it a corner or a sharp bend and you get to know how wobbly this mammoth SUV can get. Then it gets drum brakes at the rear which feel really spongy and the feedback is not confident inspiring at triple digit speeds.You'll also have to slow down for speed-breakers as the unladen deck lifted on leaf springs tends to bounce. The hydraulic steering too doesn't offer any feedback at higher speed but is well weighed up so you don't lose confidence while manoeuvring and the traction control intervenes only when you go too wide. However, with an empty deck, which can carry up to 235 kg, it's easy to slide its tail with all power going to the rear axle when driving in two-high mode and the electronic stability control (ESC) comes to rescue only after a skid. Yes, it's oodles of fun!
The deck of the V-Cross has a loading capacity of up to 235 kg.
Also remember, it's anything but a runabout for your daily commute. The steering is cumbersome at parking speeds and turning radius won't favour pottering around. Moreover, with no parking sensors you got to park it cautiously as chances of bumping it are high despite you get a rear parking camera.
The V-Cross is kitted up with all the essentials a SUV needs to go off-road.
Having done with all the practical aspects of the V-Cross, let's get down to the stuff it's popular for- taking on the rough! It's kitted up with all the essentials like heavy-duty axles, a dependable 4x4 system, independent double wishbone suspension upfront with coil spring, high approach angle and for safety it gets hill-start assist, hill-decent control and brake override assist which cuts the power when you mistakenly accelerate while braking. There are six-airbags as well, just in case you do the forbidden. But tipping the scale at 1935 kg it's not a nimble SUV, so I started with an obvious question in my mind. Is this engine powerful enough for off-roading?
The V-Cross can easily take you across mild off-road terrains but you feel the need of more low-end grunt when the going gets tougher.
Well, it can take you across most of the tough climbs or get you through some rocky terrain without much hassle. Admiringly, it was a cakewalk for the V-Cross at the mild off-road terrains we took initially. But just when the going got a little tougher and I switched to four-wheel low, I was again left wanting for a little more grunt from the low end of the rev range. The motor feels stressed when you encounter the wicked and it's then when you feel the need of more power down the rev-range. Moreover, the long rear overhang eats into the departure angle as well.
The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross continues to be a fashionable truck suitable for highway cruising and mild off-roading.
The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross has its flaws, sure! It could do with a tad more on creature comfort and probably performance too. But there is a lot that it offers! The intimidating size and its go-anywhere ability is a big draw for people who love exploring the outdoors and the countryside. It can seat 4 in comfort and pack gear for a cross-continent drive too in its cargo bay or a motorcycle, whichever you choose. Isuzu never went looking for volumes with the D-Max V-Cross and the updates only do good to further build upon its cult following. But in case you are looking to lay your hands on one, we suggest you wait for the new-generation model, which should come to Indian shores this year, probably earlier than later.
2019 Isuzu D-Max V-Cross
Deck Load Capacity 235 kg
Tyre Size 18-inch
Engine Capacity 1898 cc
Engine Type Common Rail VGS Turbo Intercooled Engine
Maximum Power 146 bhp at 3600 rpm
Maximum Torque 350 Nm at 1800 - 2600 rpm
Transmission 6-Speed Torque Convertor A/T
Transmission Channel Shift-on-fly 4 Wheel Drive
Front Suspension Independent Double Wishbone Suspension With Coil Springs
Rear Suspension Soft Ride, Leaf Spring
Front Brakes Ventilated Disc Brakes (ABS + EBD)
Rear Brakes Drum Brakes
Photography: Rakesh Singh
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