text:
Clemson Baseball
Presbyterian College vs Clemson (Mar 22, 2016)
2016 Clemson Baseball
Presbyterian College at #12 Clemson
Mar 22, 2016 at Clemson, S.C. (Doug Kingsmore Stad.)
Presbyterian College 4 (11-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
Brett Auckland cf........  4  1  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
Nick Guimbarda ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Tyler Weyenberg lf.......  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
Guy Casaceli ph.........  0  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
Weston Jackson rf........  4  1  2  1   0  1  3  0   0
AJ Priaulx dh............  4  0  0  1   0  2  0  0   1
Peter Johnson 1b.........  5  0  2  1   0  0 11  0   4
Jacob Midkiff 3b.........  5  0  1  0   0  0  1  4   1
Cletis Avery ss..........  3  0  0  0   1  1  0  3   0
Rob Koski c..............  2  0  1  0   1  0  4  1   2
Patrick Burt ph/c.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Ryan Hedrick 2b..........  3  0  1  0   0  0  1  3   3
Colton Chapman ph.......  1  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
David Sauer p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Ethan Wortkoetter p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Trey Hayes p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Aaron Lesiak p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Logan Beegle p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Nick Wise p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  4 10  4   3  6 24 12  11
Clemson 8 (17-3)
Chase Pinder cf..........  4  2  1  2   1  0  5  0   1
Reed Rohlman lf..........  4  1  2  2   0  0  2  0   0
Chris Okey c.............  4  0  0  0   0  2  6  0   1
Jackson Campana 1b......  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Seth Beer rf.............  3  1  1  1   2  1  2  0   0
K.J. Bryant rf..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Weston Wilson 2b.........  4  1  2  3   0  0  2  2   1
Drew Wharton ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
Jordan Greene 2b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Robert Jolly dh..........  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   2
Eli White ss.............  3  0  1  0   1  0  1  1   1
Chris Williams 1b/c......  2  2  0  0   2  1  6  0   0
Adam Renwick 3b..........  3  1  1  0   0  0  0  2   1
Jake Higginbotham p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Brooks Crawford p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Patrick Andrews p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Paul Campbell p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Alex Schnell p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  8  9  8   6  6 27  7   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
Presbyterian College 100 000 003 -  4 10  1
Clemson............. 100 032 02X -  8  9  0
E - AVERY(4). DP - Presbyterian 1. LOB - Presbyterian 11; Clemson 9. 2B -
JACKSON(10); ROHLMAN(8). 3B - MIDKIFF(1). HR - CHAPMAN(1); WILSON(3). HBP -
JACKSON; PRIAULX; ROHLMAN; OKEY. SH - RENWICK(3). SB - AVERY(8); WHITE 2(8).
Presbyterian College   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
David Sauer.........  5.0  5  4  4  3  3 20 24
Ethan Wortkoetter...  0.2  0  2  2  2  0  1  4
Trey Hayes..........  0.1  1  0  0  0  1  2  2
Aaron Lesiak........  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  4  4
Logan Beegle........  0.1  2  2  1  1  0  3  5
Nick Wise...........  0.2  0  0  0  0  2  2  2
Clemson                IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
Jake Higginbotham...  5.2  6  1  1  2  4 23 25
Brooks Crawford.....  1.1  2  0  0  0  1  6  7
Patrick Andrews.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Paul Campbell.......  0.1  1  3  3  1  0  2  4
Alex Schnell........  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  3  3
Win - HIGGINBOTHAM (3-0).  Loss - SAUER (2-2).  Save - None.
WP - SAUER(3); LESIAK(2); HIGGINBOTHAM(3); SCHNELL(2). HBP - by SAUER (ROHLMAN);
by CRAWFORD (PRIAULX); by BEEGLE (OKEY); by CAMPBELL (JACKSON). PB - BURT(2).
Umpires - HP: Craig Mirr  1B: Ken Couch  3B: Tony Thompson
Start: 6:37 PM   Time: 3:06   Attendance: 3871
Game: CU3221
Presbyterian College at #12 Clemson - Play-by-Play
Presbyterian College starters: 21/cf AUCKLAND; 20/lf WEYENBERG; 15/rf JACKSON;
33/dh PRIAULX; 4/1b JOHNSON; 8/3b MIDKIFF; 23/ss AVERY; 2/c KOSKI; 25/2b
HEDRICK; 27/p SAUER;
Clemson starters: 5/cf PINDER; 26/lf ROHLMAN; 25/c OKEY; 28/rf BEER; 8/2b
WILSON; 12/dh JOLLY; 4/ss WHITE; 27/1b WILLIAMS; 11/3b RENWICK; 24/p
HIGGINBOTHAM;
Presbyterian College 1st - AUCKLAND singled up the middle. AUCKLAND
advanced to second on a wild pitch. WEYENBERG grounded out to 1b unassisted;
AUCKLAND advanced to third. JACKSON doubled down the lf line, RBI; AUCKLAND
scored. PRIAULX struck out swinging. JOHNSON grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 2
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Clemson 1st - PINDER walked. ROHLMAN grounded out to 2b; PINDER advanced
to second. OKEY struck out looking. BEER singled to left center, RBI; PINDER
scored. WILSON singled down the rf line; BEER advanced to third. JOLLY grounded
out to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Presbyterian College 2nd - MIDKIFF grounded out to 2b. AVERY grounded
out to ss. KOSKI singled down the lf line. HEDRICK flied out to rf. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Clemson 2nd - WHITE singled up the middle. WHITE stole second. WILLIAMS
grounded out to ss; WHITE advanced to third. RENWICK grounded out to 3b; WHITE
no advance. PINDER flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Presbyterian College 3rd - AUCKLAND struck out looking. WEYENBERG flied
out to lf. JACKSON singled up the middle. PRIAULX grounded out to 3b. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Clemson 3rd - ROHLMAN singled to shortstop. OKEY grounded out to 3b;
ROHLMAN advanced to second. BEER walked. WILSON grounded into double play 3b to
1b; ROHLMAN out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Presbyterian College 4th - JOHNSON singled through the right side.
MIDKIFF popped up to 2b to right field. AVERY flied out to cf. KOSKI walked;
JOHNSON advanced to second. HEDRICK flied out to cf to left center. 0 runs,
Clemson 4th - JOLLY grounded out to ss. WHITE reached on a fielding
error by ss. WILLIAMS struck out swinging. RENWICK flied out to lf to left
center. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Presbyterian College 5th - AUCKLAND flied out to cf to right center.
WEYENBERG struck out swinging. JACKSON flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Clemson 5th - PINDER flied out to rf down the rf line. ROHLMAN hit by
pitch. ROHLMAN advanced to second on a wild pitch. OKEY flied out to rf;
ROHLMAN advanced to third. BEER intentionally walked. WILSON homered to left
field, 3 RBI; BEER scored; ROHLMAN scored. JOLLY struck out swinging, out at
first c to 1b. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Presbyterian College 6th - PRIAULX struck out looking. JOHNSON flied out
to cf to left center. MIDKIFF tripled to left center. AVERY walked. CRAWFORD to
p for HIGGINBOTHAM. AVERY stole second. KOSKI lined out to cf to right center.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Clemson 6th - WORTKOETTER to p for SAUER. WHITE walked. WHITE stole
second. WILLIAMS walked. RENWICK out at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; WILLIAMS
advanced to second; WHITE advanced to third. PINDER reached on a fielder's
choice to third base; WILLIAMS advanced to third; WHITE out at home 3b to c.
HAYES to p for WORTKOETTER. ROHLMAN doubled to right field, 2 RBI; PINDER
scored; WILLIAMS scored. OKEY struck out swinging. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
Presbyterian College 7th - HEDRICK singled to center field. AUCKLAND
reached on a fielder's choice to second base; HEDRICK out at second 2b to ss.
WEYENBERG singled to right center; AUCKLAND advanced to second. JACKSON struck
out swinging. PRIAULX hit by pitch; WEYENBERG advanced to second; AUCKLAND
advanced to third. JOHNSON lined out to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3
LOB.
Clemson 7th - LESIAK to p for HAYES. BEER grounded out to 2b. WILSON
grounded out to ss. JOLLY singled to left center. JOLLY advanced to second on a
wild pitch. WHITE popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Presbyterian College 8th - ANDREWS to p for CRAWFORD. MIDKIFF flied out
to rf. AVERY struck out swinging to catcher. BURT pinch hit for KOSKI. BURT
fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Clemson 8th - BURT to c. BEEGLE to p for LESIAK. WILLIAMS walked.
RENWICK singled through the left side; WILLIAMS advanced to second. RENWICK
advanced to second on a passed ball; WILLIAMS advanced to third on a passed
ball. PINDER singled up the middle, 2 RBI; RENWICK scored, unearned; WILLIAMS
scored. ROHLMAN flied out to cf to right center. OKEY hit by pitch; PINDER
advanced to second. WISE to p for BEEGLE. BEER struck out swinging. WHARTON
pinch hit for WILSON. WHARTON struck out looking. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors,
Presbyterian College 9th - CAMPANA to 1b for OKEY. BRYANT to rf for
BEER. GREENE to 2b for WHARTON. WILLIAMS to c. CAMPBELL to p for ANDREWS.
CHAPMAN pinch hit for HEDRICK. CHAPMAN homered to left field, RBI. GUIMBARDA
pinch hit for AUCKLAND. GUIMBARDA grounded out to 2b. GU. CASACELI pinch hit
for WEYENBERG. GU. CASACELI walked. JACKSON hit by pitch; GU. CASACELI advanced
to second. SCHNELL to p for CAMPBELL. JACKSON advanced to second on a wild
pitch; GU. CASACELI advanced to third on a wild pitch. PRIAULX grounded out to
2b, RBI; JACKSON advanced to third; GU. CASACELI scored. JOHNSON singled
through the left side, RBI; JACKSON scored. MIDKIFF flied out to rf to right
center. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Clemson Announces Signing Class
Davidson Named ACC Baseball Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year
Clemson Baseball Timeline


Fighter Pack 3. Atom, Enchantress, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
You can play as them individually. Each turtle is unique and not just a reskin.
Sulit ba ang Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character DLC? Mukhang sulit naman.
- Premiere skins available from the Injustice 2 Ultimate Edition including Power Girl, John Stewart Green Lantern, Reverse-Flash, Grid and Black Lightning each with unique looks, voices, and dialogue.
Dadagdag kaya ito sa vanilla copies? Wala akong DLC characters.


text:
STMicro sets up micro fuel cell lab
STMicroelectronics has teamed up with a French public technological research organisation, CEA, to develop and commercialise new miniaturized energy sources such as solid-state microbatteries and micro-fuel cells. The two companies will establish a common laboratory in Tours and Grenoble, France, that will pursue advanced research in fields. Other promising energy generation, conversion and storage technologies that will be investigated include thermoelectric and mechanical scavenging techniques that convert, for example, physical motion into electrical power, always with a focus on low power applications.
ST, which has a major manufacturing facility in Tours, and CEA Liten (Laboratory of Innovation for New Energy Technologies and Nanomaterials), a research laboratory of CEA based in Grenoble, France, will collaborate on a four-year program to develop new miniaturized technologies for energy solutions with a particular emphasis on powering mobile phones, laptop computers and other portable electronic products.
The collaboration will involve more than fifty researchers, distributed approximately between sites in Grenoble and Tours.
"We have a long experience in working with ST, including successful previous collaborations with its Tours teams in this field. We know the strength of their expertise, which was a factor in making us decide to set up a common lab between Tours and Grenoble", said Jean Therme, director of the Technological Research Division at the CEA. "The manufacturing know-how of ST will be an important asset in the industrialization of the new technologies we will develop."
The joint research team will work on a variety of projects. These include micro-fuel cells specifically designed to power mobile phones using fuel that can be topped up at any time, thin-film microbatteries for use in applications such as "smart labels", which are expected to replace existing barcode technology, and Radio-Frequency ID tags, and the development of new energy scavenging technologies. These new technologies, many of which will exploit ST's expertise in manufacturing using extremely thin films of materials, are expected to bring multiple benefits in terms of lower cost, size or weight as well as providing more environment-friendly solutions that will be widely welcomed by consumers. Thin, solid state microbatteries will also open up new opportunities in areas such as medical implants where replacing or recharging conventional batteries is difficult or impossible.
"The proliferation of portable devices has created a huge demand for energy sources such as rechargeable batteries but existing solutions still leave room for improvements in terms of performance, operating life and environmental impact. We believe that the complementary skills of ST and CEA Liten will lead to the development and industrialization of cost-effective new technologies that will meet these challenges", said Carmelo Papa, Executive Vice President and General Manager of ST's Industrial and Multisegment Sector (IMS).
The R&D group of ST's IMS organization has been working for several years developing know-how and expertise in the field of micro fuel cells and microbatteries, with research teams based in Tours and Catania working together as well as with research institutes in France and Italy. The agreement between ST and CEA Liten will further strengthen collaboration with important research institutes and will reinforce ST's position in this important sector.
Labels: design, power, telecoms
iPhone leads to a lot of nonsense
Where will the next semiconductor crash come from?
WiBree finally merges with Bluetooth group
Price and power war looms for ARM M3 microcontrollers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


John M Armleder has worked for more than thirty years, starting off in the 1960s as a performance artist in the Fluxus inspired Geneva group Ecart (trans. French for 'diversion'). Rather than work out of a studio, he travels, using galleries as studio spaces, working up shows in response to particular spaces, opportunities, possibilities. Here a flag of dots was made for a flag project in The Netherlands in 1988.


text:
Talented Trojans A Solid Favorite In Baseball Playoffs
Jack Danilewicz
The Mililani baseball team can't help but regard this week's Division I state tournament as an opportunity to finish some unfinished business.
Indeed, with a pair of runner-up finishes the past two seasons, the Trojans are arguably the most seasoned team in the state, with key veterans throughout their lineup. Can Mililani take the next step and deliver the school's first- ever state baseball title? Central Oahu Voice takes a look at the Trojans' postseason prospects.
The DI baseball championships will be played Wednesday through Saturday at University of Hawaii's Les Murakami Stadium. Pairings for both tournaments were to be revealed Sunday.
The Mililani File
Record: 12-3 overall. The Trojans went 10-2 in the OIA Div. I West regular season to earn the league's No. 2 seed for the conference postseason tournament.
Key Wins:
Waipahu (7-5 on the road) March 21; Campbell (2-1 in eight innings at home) March 28; Leilehua (1-0 on the road) April 1; Kailua (7-0) in the semifinals of the OIA tournament April 24
How They Got Here — OIA DI Tournament Recap: Defeated (East No. 3 seed) Moanalua (6-0) in the quarter- finals; defeated (East No. 1 seed) Kailua (7-0) in the semi- finals; lost to (West No. 1 seed) Campbell in the cham-
pionship game.
The Trojans went more than a month — from March 7 to April 10 — without losing a game, compiling a 9-0 record in that stretch.
The History — Mililani at the state tournament:
Mililani has been the DI state baseball tournament runner-up each of the past two seasons. The Trojans, who are making their fifth state tournament appearance in the last six years, also placed fourth in 1987. Trojans head coach Mark Hirayama owns a 9-5-2 all-time record in state tournament games.
Trojans at a Glance:
Mililani's 2015 resume shows a team poised for yet another riveting tournament run. Even with their heartrending loss to Campbell in the OIA title game, there can be no doubt the Trojans are built to last. Pitching, defense and depth, lest anyone forget, traditionally carry the day in the postseason, and Hirayama's club has been solid in those areas.
Senior Micah Chinen and junior Koa Eastlack led the Trojan pitching staff with 79.6 innings pitched between them. The pair also have been among the best in the state at not issuing walks, as Chinen ranks first (four walks issued) and Eastlack ranks fourth (six walks). Chinen's ERA is an impressive .085 with Eastlack right behind at 1.27. Seven of Mililani's 12 wins have come by way of shutouts.
The Trojans also have been in their share of close games, having been involved in seven decided by a single run so far this season. (Mililani is 4-3 in those games.)
Mililani's record is just 1-3 when giving up four runs or more.
Offensively, the Trojans have been hitting their stride at the perfect time, having tal- lied 30 runs over their last six games.
Senior catcher Sean Sonognini (team-leading 18 hits) and junior outfielder Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi (nine runs scored, five stolen bases) are among the Trojans who have figured big in that stretch.
Central Oahu Sports
Sophomore Goalkeeper Leading Mules Water Polo
Central Oahu Highlights


We create the most engaging Student Housing Videos. Get seen over 1000 times a month. Now that's smart marketing.
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"They made up their minds to name two forms / Of which it is not right to name one, that is where they have erred." In the flickering of light and darkness that men recognise in what is the effect of their own actions there is discovered a kind of being, but one divided and turned against itself in contradiction.
Leonard Woodbury presented "Parmenides on Naming by Mortal Men: fr B8.53-56" to the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy at its meeting with the American Philological Association in Toronto in 1984. It was published in Ancient Philosophy 6 (1986) 1-13. See also C. G. Brown, ed. 1991. Leonard E. Woodbury: Collected Writings. Scholars Press.
Woodbury, Leonard, "Parmenides on Naming by Mortal Men: fr. B8.53ff. VS" (1984). The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter. 116.


At Prior Heath we recognise that every child is a special individual with their own needs. We aim to provide a quality learning environment in which everyone is given the opportunity to achieve their full potential and become a valued and responsible member of the local, national and global community. We are committed to high quality safeguarding practice. We endeavour to provide a happy, safe and caring atmosphere in which all children are able to understand and value their achievements and those of others and engage fully in the joy of learning.
Our school values, chosen by the pupils and staff, form the foundation of this vision and include: respect, kindness, friendship, responsibility, teamwork and perseverance.
Fully participate in their learning and achieve their best.
Observe, investigate, question, learn to think for themselves and collaborate.
Develop curiosity, imagination and creativity in a safe and secure environment.
Be inspired to develop a positive attitude towards learning.
Attain independence in all aspects of learning and development.
Respect and care for the world around us.
Develop understanding of environmental and global issues.
Understand how to live active and healthy lives.
Celebrate being part of a diverse local, national and global community.
Building confidence, independence and self worth.
Showing commitment, perseverance and self discipline.
Encouraging sensitivity for others and respect for all.
Sharing, listening to and respecting the views, beliefs and cultures of others.
Forming friendships and developing social skills.
Recognising their impact on the environment and taking a responsibility for its sustainability.


This quote from Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes by Alastair Humphreys describes much of my life.
This entry was posted in Around the World, Experiences by Seth Grotzke. Bookmark the permalink.


What I really really wanted was some PJs for Aaron and I had no trouble choosing.
He'd recently gone through a growth spurt (and actually has again) so all of his PJs were short on the arms and legs. When he has GREAT PJs I enjoy bedtime more as I love dressing him for bed when I know he looks great. Is it just me?
At the time of choosing (back in February) they had a blue cross sale on, so the Pac Man ones and the Monster ones were heavily reduced so were bargains and sadly dear reader, that means they are no longer available. Actually I tell a lie, I just checked and the Pac Man ones are available in age 9-10. Despite Aaron being age 3 he has been in age 5-6 for ages as he is incredibly tall and has been since birth. They fit just right, and are beautiful fabric. We've washed them quite a few times and they're as good as new. What I LOVE about the Pac Man ones is that they are "skinny" which means they are such a gorgeous snug fit. The brand is Mini Vanilla and you can feel immediately that they are QUALITY! Aaron's going through a massive Pac Man phase at the moment and watches it all the time on You Tube and there is even a show on TV (which is what got him into it) - did you know it's made a comeback? It's on the Disney XD channel. He has no idea it is a computer game - nor does he know that me and my Mum had the hand held game when I was little (in the 80s) and that we both "clocked it". Mum never touched any of my handheld games (I had 8! I was a spoilt only child) but she was off sick with salmonella in bed for a week and turned out to be a Pac Man fan! Who knew! We (Aaron and I) now have the Pac Man characters (figurines) but THAT is a review that I am yet to right - coming to a blog near you soon!
I love that the Pac Mans on the bottoms are not just stickers so they wash well and I love that the one on the top is embroidered on, and again not just a sticker! The other thing I adore about these PJs is the cuffs on the arms and ankles, as it is still chilly at night despite the Spring weather and it's great to know Aaron doesn't have any chills getting under baggy PJs. You can see in the photo that they are not at all skimpy in length, even more so on the arms, so he will 100% get 6-12 months out of them, and more if his growth plateaus for a while which it would need to with the height of him right now!
I already blogged previously about the Very Hungry Caterpillar PJs as he wore them for World Book Day. They too are QUALITY and have the same principle of cuffs on arms and legs, which I now think are a must in cooler weather. Again no nasty stickers like you see at the cheaper end of the market. I have very much enjoyed my exploration of the top end of PJs. Sometimes you know, you DO get what you pay for.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar PJs retail at 22 pounds. I'd say they make a perfect birthday or Christmas present for the little book fan. You won't regret it as the fit and quality are both superb. The colours are really vibrant and I just love Aaron in them. The brand this time is Fabric Flavours and as a really nice touch the swing tag is made of fabric. I couldn't throw it away as I just loved it!
I am sure you can tell that this is a review I have very much enjoyed. You will know from my blog that I don't go to the opening of a postage stamp (in terms of blogging events) not that I have ever been invited to such an event ;-) and similarly I don't review just anything. If it's not right for Aaron and/or me, it aint getting on the blog #simples.
Blogging is a dedicated and time consuming affair, hence why I will only do a review if it is something that I want, that I really really want. On this occasion it was PJs as we had a real shortage and the budget wasn't allowing for the PJ splurge that I knew I wanted to have.
So thank you thank you thank you House of Fraser.
Their website is really worth checking out. Especially the kids and baby section.
Disclosure: I was provided with my (Aaron's) precious PJs free of charge but was not told what to say. When I love it I tell you about it! Them's the breaks!
These look great! I love soft, well made pjs for bedtime!


The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority are indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians, descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians (see Assyrian continuity); however, there is a small community of Armenians, as well as a tiny number of Kurdish, Arab and Turcoman Christians extant.
In Iraq, Christians numbered about 1,500,000 in 2003, representing just over 6% of the population of the country down from 12% on 1947 in a population of 4.7 million. They numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the population. After the Iraq War, it was estimated that the number of Christians in Iraq had dropped to as low as 450,000 by 2013 — with estimates as low as 200,000. The most widely followed denomination among Assyrian Christians in Iraq is the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Christians live primarily in Baghdad, Basra, Arbil and Kirkuk and in Assyrian towns and regions such as the Nineveh Plains in the north. Assyrian Christians live primarily in northern Iraq; and in regions bordering it in northeastern Syria, nortwestern Iran] and southeastern Turkey, an area roughly corresponding to ancient Assyria.


Indigenous education has been a part of the work of CMEC since it was made a priority by ministers of education in 2004.
established an ongoing dialogue with national Indigenous organizations (NAOs) and the federal government on a variety of issues pertaining to Indigenous education.
In February 2009, the CMEC Summit on Indigenous Education brought together ministers of education and Indigenous affairs, national and regional Indigenous organizations, federal government representatives, and other stakeholders to discuss issues related to Indigenous education.
In December 2011, CMEC hosted the Educators' Forum on Indigenous Education, which gathered educators and researchers from across the country to engage in face‐to‐face dialogue, exchange ideas with their colleagues and peers, and network on Indigenous early childhood and K–12 education.
Most recently, in June 2015, CMEC held the CMEC Aboriginal Educators' Symposium in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The aim of the symposium was to provide a forum for Indigenous educators to discuss, based on their own personal experiences, how best to attract more Indigenous people to teaching careers, encourage existing Indigenous educators to remain in the profession, support Indigenous students entering the field of education, and support all Indigenous educators in their training and career development.
Education ministers are currently implementing an updated plan of work on Indigenous education.
In 2016, CMEC adopted the term "Indigenous," rather than "Aboriginal," to refer to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in the context of its work. Use of appropriate terminology regarding Indigenous people and issues related to Indigenous people is a first step for governments in the work toward reconciliation.


text:
Ask the taxman to boost charity gifts
By Jo Thornhill
Updated: 05:08 EST, 22 December 2008
Charities will make their last big push to raise funds over the next three days. But while putting pennies in an envelope or collection box is laudable, it makes more sense to get the taxman to chip in as well.
All in a good cause: Pennies in the collection box is commendable, but not the most tax-friendly way to give
If you are a taxpayer, the best way to ensure you boost the amount given to the charity is to give tax-efficiently. For one-off Christmas donations it is best to use Gift Aid - a Government scheme providing tax relief on donations to charity.
It means a £78 donation from a basic-rate taxpayer is increased to £100. This is because the Treasury agreed to freeze Gift Aid at 22 per cent until April 2011, even though the basic rate of income tax has dropped to 20%.
Higher-rate taxpayers can claim back even more on their annual self-assessment tax return. For them £60 is boosted to £100.
'Don't short-change your chosen charity,' says Anita Monteith at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
'If you give to charity this Christmas or decide to buy a charity present, make sure you claim Gift Aid. It increases the value of your donation by nearly one third.'
If you give through websites, such as justgiving.com, which has thousands of UK registered charities on its database, tax relief will be passed on to the charity immediately.
It is usually possible to tick a box to say you are a taxpayer when making postal donations or you can make a declaration over the phone. This way the charity can then claim back the tax, though only at the basic rate.
Workers who want to make regular donations to charity can do this through payroll giving. Ask your human resources department about how you can do this.
Giving regularly through your salary is even more efficient because charitable donations are taken from gross pay, saving the charity the administrative work of claiming back the tax.
There are other ways to help charities in a less direct way, such as saving with banks like Charity and Triodos.
Deposits made into their savings accounts are loaned to charities, and in the case of Triodos, also ethical businesses.
It means that savers can be sure their money is working hard for good causes. Both banks are regulated by the Financial Services Authority so savers have their deposits protected up to £50,000.
Nick Smith, a 25-year-old computer programmer from Finsbury Park, north London, pays £200 per month into a cash Isa with Charity Bank. He opened the account three months ago. Charity Bank launched in 2002 and has deposits of more than £32m. It has so far supported 600 organisations and made loans worth £70m. Savers can opt to have interest earned on their accounts paid to charity or they can keep it.
'I think it makes a lot of sense to put your savings to good use and give to charities regularly through these types of savings accounts and through payroll giving, rather than just one-off donations at Christmas,' says Nick. 'It is more efficient for the charity.' Nick looked at cash Isas with Triodos before plumping for Charity Bank as its savings account paid a higher interest rate of 4.5%.
This may be cut following the recent 0.5 percentage point base rate cut by the Bank of England. The Charity Bank Isa also offers an extra 1.25% bonus after five years, which can be donated to charity. 'This particularly appealed to me,' adds Nick.


When I was in fourth grade, a good friend transferred to the new St. Agnes Catholic school in our small city.
His name was Mike O'Shea.
When he transferred, my mother taught me the evils of Catholicism. She didn't know much about the theological differences between our two versions of Christianity. But she was adamant about two concepts: that Catholics all but worshiped the Pope; and that if, in childbirth, the life of the mother was in danger, those people would save the baby before they saved the mother, and that was unimaginable!
These days Mom would be in a tiny minority among Baptist preachers' wives who'd say the life of a mother is more valuable than the life of her unborn baby.
I don't understand a great deal of what goes on in the world (ask my friend Gordy—he'd tell you I'm too emotional or something, that I am a conspiracy theorist, or that I get too involved in radical divisive left-wing ideas). Gordy notwithstanding, I am baffled—my view of the rightness of the world and the intelligence of human beings is completely and utterly transmogrified—when I consider that so many Americans have been convinced, in the short span of sixty or so years since Mike O'Shea went to St. Agnes School, that a fetus, an embryo, a zygote, for goodness' sake! is a person.
Those convinced that abortion is murder can, of course, maintain that this entire line of argument merely shows that we must hold that the fertilized egg is a human person: abortion is always wrong and it wouldn't be if the fertilized egg weren't a person (1).
analysis does show that those who do not agree that a fertilized egg is a person cannot argue that abortion is wrong because an embryo or fetus has human DNA. To maintain a strong anti-abortion position, they must find some other reason for thinking that abortion is murder (2).
Here's my sweeping generalization. Those who believe abortion is murder have "some other reason." For Roman Catholics it is apparently the authority of the Pope's teachings, and for other Christians it is apparently somehow related to "family values." No one has one iota of evidence that a fertilized egg is a human being At any rate, none of the dozens of articles I've read, and none of the explanations I've heard from students, from cousins, from members of churches where I've been organist have offered me any proof.
Perhaps I simply don't have the mental capacity to comprehend scientific fact. I admit that.
On the other hand, the fact that a zygote has all of the DNA necessary to form what we know as a human being is not proof or evidence that it IS a human being. In order to assert that zygotes are persons, one has to use any or all of at least four logical fallacies: Appeal to Belief takes the form of, "Most people believe that a claim, X, is true; therefore, X is true." Appeal to Authority asserts that Person A is an authority on the subject at hand; Person A makes claim C about subject S; therefore, C is true. An Appeal to Tradition assumes that something is correct simply because it is traditional, or "has always been believed;" that is, X is an old or traditional idea; therefore X is correct. And a Genetic Fallacy is a line of reasoning in which the origin of a claim is taken to be evidence for the claim. This sort of "reasoning" has the following form: the origin of the claim is presented; therefore, the claim is true because of its origin.
Whether for religious reasons or because they find the idea inherently reasonable, many people assume that we have full moral status the moment we come into being. But this assumption is not self-evident. . . prior to the point at which a fetus becomes sentient – which apparently occurs at around six months' gestation – its moral status is only partial. As with many other philosophers, I hold that sentience is central to a determination of moral status. Sentience is the capacity to have feelings. . . (3).
The assumption that a zygote is a person is not self-evident. The Catholic Church itself thought not until the 20th century.
The Creationist views of Augustine and Aquinas were the norm in the Christian West . . . to the late nineteenth century. . . Pope Gregory IX (c. 1241) affirmed the distinction between "vivified" fetuses (older than forty days) and those younger than so. Not until . . . Pope Sixtus V in 1588 did the forty-day rule vanish and abortion was declared illegal . . . But this ruling was rescinded by Sixtus's successor Gregory XIV, and this repeal lasted until 1869, when Pius IX reinstated the earlier decision. Even so, Pius's decree did not become canon law until 1918—a mere ninety years ago(4).
By the end of the 1970s, the Christian right had devised rhetoric that made liberal reformers enemies of the family and positioned "family values" as mainstream fare. Opposing abortion, feminism, and gay rights. . . would benefit all Americans. . . Americans viewed with suspicion any political movement that encroached on individual liberties. Yet the Christian Right [succeeded] by establishing the family as . . . instrumental to America's success. "If America is to return to original greatness," wrote [Jerry] Falwell, "we must … support the traditional monogamous family as the only acceptable form." Falwell . . . suggested that America became great because it nurtured "traditional" families. Thus. . . opposition to abortion, feminism, and gay rights became markers of mainstream identity (5).
Opposition to abortion, feminism, and gay rights became markers of mainstream American identity. The Christian right convinced the Christian center, and Rick Perry ends basic medical care for 130,000 women in Texas to prove that our state believes in "family values" (6).
(1) Gutting, Gary. "On Abortion and Defining a 'Person'." Opinionator. opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com. November 30, 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2012.
(3). DeGrazia, David. "Moral Status, Human Identity, And Early Embryos: A Critique Of The President's Approach." Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics 34.1 (2006): 49-57.
(4) Disney, Lindsey, and Larry Poston. "The Breath Of Life: Christian Perspectives On Conception And Ensoulment." Anglican Theological Review 92.2 (2010): 271-295.
(5) Dowland, Seth. ""Family Values' and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda." Church History 78:3 (September 2009), 606-631.
(6) Beadle, Amanda Peterson. "130,000 Texas Women Lose Health Care Just So TX Can Prove How Anti-Abortion It Is." Think Progress. Alternet.org. March 16, 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.
I wish thought processes like this could get out to more people. People aren't looking back to when ideas/movements started in this country or what the motivations were in starting them. Many were started out of hate or at least breed hate. Sometimes I think I am a conspiracy theorist and I have become obsessed with negative effects religion has on human relationships. I just see it as man's invention to have control over other men instead of teaching man to have control over themselves. It is too fear based and fear creates control. I am interested to know your views on the legalization of marijuana (maybe you have written them and I haven't gotten that far in your posts).


When I originally started my site in April 2014, I had no idea 6 months later I'd be traveling to Germany for thymus and stem cell treatment at Infuiso. I thought I would mostly write about my homesteading adventures. I was excited to connect with other homesteaders, gardeners, and beekeepers and learn from them. Instead, my site has mostly focused on my treatment at Infusio and how I've been doing since.
I am happy that I was able to provide more information about thymus and stem cell treatment for Lyme. At the time I had treatment (October 2014), the only Infusio location was in Frankfurt and stem cells for Lyme weren't even an option in US. Now in 2018, there are several options in the US and worldwide, it is truly amazing!
Over the past 3 years, I have personally spoken who a multitude of people via phone and have corresponded with many via email. At one point, I was have 3-4 calls per week and those calls averaged 1-2 hours and I answered several in depth emails a week. It quickly became too much for one person, especially when I still had to manage our homestead, attend nutrition school, explore alternative family building, update my blog, and deal with some minor health issues!
It seemed most read my recent post and then contacted to me to talk. I would spend 1-2 hours on the phone restating almost everything already covered on my blog. This eventually became annoying!
I understand it is always nice to have someone to talk with one on one. I literally was only able to fine 2 people who'd been to Infusio before I had to make my decision to have treatment. Now, there are several Facebook groups and many others blogging about stem cells.
Based on my experience during the past 3 years, I decided the best way for me to be sure people spent the time my blog before reaching out to talk is to charge a small fee for phone calls. I'm not doing this because I need the income, I hope the fee will weed out people who aren't willing to take time to read the content I've spent hundreds of hours comprising.
Therefore, effective January 2018, I will be charging $25 per hour if you'd like to chat via phone or $25 per email reply. I am still happy to talk or email with you, I just hoping charging a fee will encourage people to read my content first before contacting me to ask questions that are answered here. I promise, a majority of your questions can be found on my blog.
Infusio Interviews – updates from others who's been to Infusio Frankfurt. I hope to get more recent updates at some point.
After reading the content, if you'd still like to talk with me personally either via phone or email, please email me at honeychickhomestead@gmail.com. If you want to know more about me and why I started this blog, check out my "About Jen" page.
Hi Jen Since I work for Cargill (Nutrena products) This web site may be helpful for your chickens. I am excited for you getting your chickens!!!
How are you doing with the Lyme? Any update?
Yes, I've been feeling better and doing lots of research. I will be writing a post about my Infusio consult in a couple days.
I hope things in Germany are going well- and Happy Anniversary!
I have found your blog in doing a lot of research on Stem Cell options for Lyme. I think we share the same doctor? I live in South San Francisco- and see PFM in Redwood City.
Anyway- my question for you is: how did you decide on Infusio? I am torn between Germany, Panama, and India. I consider Germany/Infusio to be younger and India to be more experienced? I believe they both use different methods- Panama and India culture cells from your body fat while Infusio uses cells from your blood? Is there evidence to suggest one is better than the other?
I am very, very serious about getting stem cell treatments for my Lyme/CFS, and would love to hear more about your recent trip and your decision process.
Hi Louis, things are going great here in Germany! My last treatment is today. I chose Infuiso based on my LLND at PFM's recommendation. I felt the most comfortable with this clinic since he was familiar with them. I decided quickly and didn't do much research on stem cell treatment options in other countries. I liked that Infusio used my own stem cells. Infusio works with a stem cell clinic here in Germany that is very experienced and well known. I'd love to chat with you via phone about my experience when I get home.
If you don't mind, can you give me a basic summary of how you felt 12 months ago, 6 months ago, and currently?
Glad to hear Infusio went so well, and that's you're feeling good!
12 months ago I felt pretty good, I'd say I was at 80-90%, I'd have periodic symptoms but at that time I thought I was really close to full remission.
6 months ago, I felt pretty bad, I'd say 40-50%. I was on a lot of antibiotics and I felt"toxic." I have my treatment plans posted so you can see what I was taking during that time.
Currently, I feel GREAT! I didn't know I could feel this good! Besides the cold, I've felt good since I got home. I'm not taking anything for Lyme and co-infections, and I still feel good! The only thing Infusio wants me to take for the next 90 days is Vitamin D and Zinc. I'm still adjusting to the fact that I don't need to take tons of supplements, it's really cool and also strange at the same time. Let me know if there are any other questions you have, or if you'd like to chat via phone.
Hi Marnie, I've slowly started to feel better, and getting caught up on things. I've Been working on a post and hope to have it complete by tomorrow!
A fellow Lymie, looking forward to reading about Infusio. Will either read here or yahoo group.
Hi Sahara, I'll check in with Chrystie to see if she has a moment to chat. She had four kids so I tried to be brief when talking with her. Her son received treatment at Infusio. I'll get in touch with her soon.
Yes yes! I am in good touch with Stephen! He's wonderful! And I spoke with Nanci yesterday! 😄. And yes, I can ask him for additional contacts as well. I am trying to do my homework and gather as much information from people as I can. You are a delight for writing back! Heal, heal, heal!!
I'd love to chat with you when I get back. I'll contact you're in get home the week of the 20th. Take care!
I came across your blog, after talking to Chrystie (who's a friend of a friend and lives in my area). She told me all about Infusio, and DR Phil, and also DR Cole. Doing a little research led me to your blog, and I am really enjoying hearing about your experiences in Germany, and even your gardening back home! I have chronic Lyme, and of course many health issues because of that.
Is there anywhere on your blog (maybe I just need to do more searching), where you talk about the different health issues/symptoms you have because of your lyme?
Hi Diane, thanks for the nice message. I'm glad you found the Infusio team. I wish I could've just started me treatments with them. It would have saved so much time and money!
Most of my symptoms are in my two Lyme Story posts.
I don't have a specific place where I only listed my symptoms but that is a great idea! I might work on that while I'm in Germany.
Hi – I would love to talk to you in person about Infusio. I live In the SF Bay Area and have had Lyme et. al. for 11 years. Have tried everything and still struggle w many symptoms and low energy. I loosely follow the WAPF diet as well.
The rest of my week is pretty busy. Let's try to connect sometime next week, next Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are good for me. Email me at honeychickhomestead@gmail.com with some times that work for you and the best number to contact you. Looking forward to talking with you!
Thank you for reaching out to me in my post to Yolanda Foster. I have read with great interest your Lyme story as well as your recent success in Germany with alternative treatment. I am a mom of a 23 year old daughter that has been sick all her life and is very ill now. She definitely has Lyme and co infections and we didn't figure it out until a year and 1/2 ago. There is only one Lyme doctor in the state of Oklahoma and he correctly diagnosed it but he only does one protocol and that is the Marshall protocol which made my daughter very ill and made me very nervous because it is so bizarre. After abandoning that idea; we bought a RIFE machine and now that is sitting idle; she has been to a few alternative folks here in our area but nothing is better. She has an appt. with a Dr. Crist in Missouri now and at least that is driving distance for us but I know exactly what the treatment is going to be; years of antibiotics and that scares me but she has to have help in some capacity! I need to know if you would please, what is the cost of going to the Fusion clinic and getting the stem cell injection; not including the flight or hotels or anything; just a total for your entire deal? I can start saving now and someday take her. I would take her to the ends of the earth if I know there is true help and I have anyway to pay for it. I'm sorry this is so long. I'm happy for you and your new found health and you are such a positive person and I wish you the best.
Thank you for contacting me. I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter's extremely difficult experience with Lyme and co-infections.
From what I've learned on my journey, I definitely think antibiotics can be of great help initially. The short courses I took in the beginning of my treatments really helped knock down my microbial overload. The herbal remedies my Lyme ND gave me were also very powerful.
I encourage you to apply for a LymeLight treatment grant on behalf of your daughter. They give grants to kids up to age 25, so she still qualifies. You can find the application via their website and I think they will be reviewing grant applications again in January.
I'm happy that you were able to find a Lyme literate doctor, even if they are far away. I had to drive an hour one way to my Lyme ND's office.
The average cost for treatment at Infusio is between $20,000-$40,000, which includes accommodations. You can contact Infusio directly and they can give you a cost estimate based on your daughter's situation.
I hope your daughter can find some improvement with her new doctor. And don't forgot to apply for a Limelight treatment grant!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. I will look into the Limelight grant for sure. I knew treatment at Infusio had to be expensive but it is even more than I could have believed! Does the estimated cost include the stem cell injection you received? Do you need to return for additional stem cell injections over the next few years? I am so hopeful for you and I do really appreciate you sharing your journey on this blog.
Hi Kathy, I'm not available until after thanksgiving. When is a good time on Friday or the weekend to call you?
Hey Sahara, did you have success? What were you on a 1-10 scale prior, and what are you now? Would you recommend it to others?
How exciting!! I'd still love to chat with you, if you have time!
Hi Jenn! I have Lyme and am considering Infusio soon. I've spoken with Steven and Dr. Phil on the phone a few times. Will you call me to discuss your experience and treatment? I also want to know if you have had amalgams or osteonecrotic lesions / cavitations removed as part of your Lyme treatment. Thanks so much for your time!
Tomorrow afternoon is great! Thank you!!
Hi Traci, I tried calling you a couple times around 4 pm PST. Let me know another dat next week that works for you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing your Lyme story as well as documenting your experience with Infusio! I have SUCH a long history (like most Lyme patients!) and although I'm sure this must sound crazy, I believe I was meant to find you and your blog and that Infusio might be the answer for me, too. I was hoping you might be willing to email me privately sometime so I can ask you a few questions about your treatment/experience? To be honest, I'm not even sure where to start or what to ask, but I am in desperate need of some hope and I think speaking with you just might provide that :). Thank you!
I'm so glad you found my blog, and that it's been helpful!
I don't think you sound crazy at all!! I would love to answer any questions you have about Infusio.
I've found it's easiest to talk via phone. If you prefer to email me, that's fine too.
Please email me at honeychickhomestead@gmail.com with any questions. Or email me know some days and times that we can talk via phone. I'm available to chat starting Sat. 1/5/15.
Hi Jen. My name is Crystal and my 13yr old daughter has lyme and we are desperate for a cure! We currently are looking into a Germany trip and are currently fundraising to get her there. However if we can get the same thing closer to home that would be amazing! Please please can you email me or maybe chat on the phone I have so many questions.
Hello Jen, I am so grateful to have found your blog, thanks so much for sharing your experience. Im considering infusio and have a few questions, Would love to chat if possible over phone. Thanks so much!
I'm so glad you found my blog!
Please email me at honeychickhomestead@gmail.com with you phone number and some days and times that work for you to talk.
Hi Jen! I am a 34 year old, athletic, and adventurous woman. I was recently diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease (2 weeks ago today) using the western blot test thru Igenex in California. I do not think I have many symptoms, but that"s probably b/c I have been living with them so long I am just accustom to them. I still work my full time job and I am involved in a million different activities.
I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and chronic mono back in August 2012, and my back recently went out on me in November. My psychiatrist noticed I had a positive marker for Lyme from the 2012 test and sent me for further testing.
How in the world did you take on this disease? After reading everything I could get my hands on for the past 14 days, I am feeling a little hopeless. I go to church regularly, attend bible studies and fellowship with many Christians. However, I feel like I am starting a battle against something that I am unsure if I can beat..
How did you decide which doctor and treatment wold be best?
I'm so glad you contacted me! Welcome to the wonderful world of Lyme 🙂 Your sense that you "don't have many symptoms because you've probably been living with them" is a great observation.
Before my diagnosis, I was similar to you, I worked full time, was adventurous (still am), and did physical activity on a regular basis. I also just thought all my health "issues" were just how I "was." As you start to heal, it's amazing to see how many things were related to Lyme.
I can say with certainty that all but one or two issues I had were Lyme related. These last two, shortness of breath and fertility issues are the two I'm still trying to determine if they are because of Lyme or not. I'm about 99.5% sure the fertility issues were related. The shortness of breath, still waiting to see.
It sounds like you done lots of research since getting your test results, which is also common. I did the same thing, and it was overwhelming. I want to encourage you to not think for one minute that you can't beat Lyme, YOU CAN! When I was diagnosed I was so relieved to find an answer to all my aliments and was dead set on getting rid of the bugs for good. It took 3 years but I believe with God's help, I have accomplished that.
Regarding how I choose my doctor, I really wanted to do things as naturally as possible so I specifically choose a Lyme literate ND. I used this link to find a doctor close to me. http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php/doctors since there is so much controversy with treating Lyme, doctor don't usually "advertise" that they treat Lyme. Thankfully, there was an ND within an hour of me. Many people travel far distances to see their Lyme doctor, and my ND has several patients from out of state. I love my Lyme ND, he's super down to earth, caring, and he was a huge part in my recovery!
I did mostly herbals with short courses of antibiotics (no longer than 6 months). I think initially the antibiotics were helpful to knock down my overall bacterial load but I'm not sure how much they helped later on.
If you're willing to, I'd love to talk with via phone and answer your questions about how to took on Lyme and any others you may have. I'm happy to email you to, but I find talking with people is usually easier. Please email me at honeychickhomestead@gmail.com with your phone number and when is a good time to chat. I have time until Friday this week, and after that I won't be available till March 20th.
First, thank you for your website and blog about Lyme! 🙂 I have Lyme for going on 20 years, and have been treating it in a variety of ways, with ups and downs through the years. I'm 48, and at a point I want to try something different. I'm considering treatment in Reno and Infusio. Would you mind emailing me on the best way to get started with Infusio…a consultation, etc.? I'm working on it, but want to know what you found easiest. I'm in the process of reading your blog now. I live in Chico, CA.
I talked to you about taking my daughter to Infusio ! We leave Saturday for 2 weeks of treatment!!! Thank you for helping us make our very prayed about decision!!! God used you. Email me and tell us how to give u reports!!
Hi Jen- Just found your blog and site via a friend that sent me the info on Infuzio.I live in the east bay (ca) and my youngest son has neuro lyme- paranoia , anxiety, etc.
He has had conventional treatments of ABX and some herbs, homeopathics etc and it is all resurfacing again.
I am interested in this treatment as a possibility for him.
Is the first step to connect with the doc on Marin?
Your welcome, I'm glad my site was helpful! Right now, I don't think Phil is traveling to Marin. He's been busy getting the LA office open. You can schedule a consultation appointment with him or Sara Whitney at that location. Call LA office at 1 (888) 605 6579 to make an appointment. Let me know if you have any more questions.
This is a great website especially for Infusio. I would like to connect with you via email. Can you email me?
I am interested in discussing Infusio with you. How do we go about that?
Jen- having difficulty emailing you. Can you give me a call re Infusio? Also, do you have an update on Madison? Thanks!
Sorry about the email issue….is it bouncing back?
I can call you just need a phone number and let me know when a good time is for you. The soonest I can talk is next week as I am hosting a celebration of life for a friend who recently passed away and also working on a presentation for school. I'm available next Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.
I've asked Madison for an update and we've spoken via phone but she has yet to send me anything. I've asked her if I can write it for her and I'm just waiting for her permission. Hopefully she will get back to me soon!
I was an avid marathon runner health nut up until 3 years ago. I have an unofficial diagnosis of Lyme(tests were suspect but not conclusive) and Bartonella (tests showed exposure but still non specific). I went through lots of different symptoms but the lingering and more persistent symptoms are now peripheral neuropathy. Burning, freezing, tingling feet and also painful to walk or stand.
I'm going to email you in hopes of talking to you in some capacity about infusio.
Hi I have done extensive research and considering sending my mother to Germany for cancer treatment. However, it is hard not to be skeptical about sending a loved one to another country on a limb that they will come back in better health. Please share with me your opinion on recommending.
We are considering going to Frankfurt for cancer treatment for prostrate cancer- early stage. Have you met anyone there going through cancer treatment? Thank you!


text:
Winning the Race to IPO: 5 Reasons Why it Matters for Lyft
Lyft is finally winning in a race against Uber. Lyft will be the first ride-sharing company to go public if things go as planned over the next six weeks.
Recent media reports suggested that Lyft will make its IPO filing public by the end of February 2019 and launch its IPO roadshow by the end of March 2019. Effectively, the company could start trading on NASDAQ by early April 2019.
Over the past year, Lyft has gained market share against Uber, according to published reports. In fact, Lyft raised roughly $2.9 billion in the past couple of years – a strong tailwind heading into the IPO.
But, as it is poised to jump into the public markets, one key question arises: Is it a good idea for Lyft to beat Uber to an IPO?
While Lyft's first-mover advantage as the only public ride-sharing company could be short-lived, we believe that these are the five reasons why it is a good idea for Lyft to go public before Uber.
1. Lyft can set the stage for disclosures and metrics: In its S-1 filing, Lyft would likely disclose underlying growth metrics such as the number of drivers, number of rides, and number of riders.
In addition, the company could provide a revenue breakdown by geography as well as revenue breakdown by product. As the first ride-sharing company going public, Lyft has the flexibility to choose which metrics convey its story in the manner the management wishes to communicate.
2. Lyft has more to gain from IPO-related press coverage: Lyft has been traditionally viewed as a fast follower to Uber and has lagged in brand awareness globally. But, an IPO is a critical moment for marketing, and clearly Lyft has a lot of ground to gain here. We estimate the value of earned media from Lyft's IPO coverage in the media could be worth millions of dollars.
3. Lyft will attract more institutional investor interest: As the first ride-sharing company to go public, Lyft stands to benefit from a rare first-mover advantage in its category as public-equity investors eagerly look forward to getting the first bite of the ride-sharing apple.
With an estimated $300 billion worth of ride-sharing IPOs expected over the next couple of years, we don't think there would be any shortage in investor interest and appetite for Lyft shares.
4. Lyft roadshow conversations would have fewer distractions: Investors love to juxtapose financials of companies within a sector. Such comparisons can yield interesting conclusions around comparable things such as customer acquisition economics and R&D spend trends.
Unless Uber fast-tracks its IPO filing process, investors would likely have to dissect Lyft's IPO filing on a stand-alone basis, leading to fewer distractions during Lyft roadshow conversations.
5. Lyft vs. Uber IPO race brings back LinkedIn vs. Facebook IPO déjà vu: As a quick recap, LinkedIn went public in May 2011. LinkedIn shares were priced at $45 and closed at $94, implying more than 100 percent first-day pop.
Conversely, Facebook went public in May 2012, priced its shares $38 and traded largely flat during its first day of trading. At the time, Facebook's market cap was roughly 10 times that of Linkedin.
All in, there are several parallels between Lyft and Uber IPOs, and, we wouldn't be surprised if the initial reception turns out to be similar, too.
Learn more about Forge's ability to give institutional investors unprecedented insight to the private market.
IPO Lyft Uber


text: Sample app which deploys application with networking resources. Useful for manual testing.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Hermann Voss may refer to:

 Hermann Voss (art historian) (1884–1969) German art historian and museum director
 Hermann Voss (anatomist) (1894–1987) German anatomist and medical author
 Hermann Voss (musician) (born 1934), German violist, painter and puppet player

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The 6th Day (2000)
Thread starter Howard
2.50 star(s) Rating: 2.50/5 2 Votes
Title: The 6th Day
Tagline: Are You Who You Think You Are
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Thriller
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Rapaport, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, Robert Duvall, Wendy Crewson, Taylor Anne Reid, Alexandra Castillo, Steve Bacic, Wanda Cannon, Andrew McIlroy, Rodney Rowland, Terry Crews, Colin Cunningham, Ellie Harvie, Don S. Davis, Ken Pogue, Jennifer Gareis, Don McManus, Mark Brandon, Christopher Lawford, Gillian Barber, Chris Cound, Ben Bass, Walter von Huene, Hiro Kanagawa, Peter Kent
Plot: Futuristic action about a man who meets a clone of himself and stumbles into a grand conspiracy about clones taking over the world.
Kaunisto
I think Arnold was a bad choice for this role, with someone who can pass for everyman this might have worked.
Kaunisto said:
Why was he a bad choice for the role?
It's more of a scifi thriller or at least it might work better as such, his presence emphasizes too much the action aspect.
Movie information in first post provided by The Movie Database


Rode Heath, near Alsager is within the Cheshire East council area, an example local postcode is ST7 3QT. Shown below is information about bus, express coach and rail transport (plus a few other local facilities) around Rode Heath, near Alsager.
There are 11 local bus services from Rode Heath, near Alsager, listed here.
Click here to book National Express services from Rode Heath.
To get to the nearest train station (Alsager), look for bold names in the 'Destinations by local bus' list below.
Click here for train bookings and services from the nearest station to Rode Heath, near Alsager.
A map of Rode Heath can be found here. To buy local maps of Rode Heath click here. You can also obtain an Ordnance Survey map centered on Rode Heath.
Various accommodation is available local to Rode Heath such as Premier Inn, Travelodge. For more accommodation options, click here.
Advice about attractions and hotels near Rode Heath from Trip Advisor is available here, taxis can be booked here. Books about Rode Heath are available here.
Destinations by direct local bus from Rode Heath, near Alsager.


text:
Countdown to 2015 Daily Deal – Day 14
by Major Nelson • Dec 28, 2014 @ 5:48pm
A pair of Assassin's Creed games are available on today's Countdown to 2015 deal. Grab Black Flag for the Xbox One or Liberation for the Xbox 360.
More Daily Deals incoming tomorrow.
For a full list of Xbox One deals, click over to the official Xbox Countdown to 2015 site here.
Content Title Content Type Discount %
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Xbox One Game 50%
Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region.
Assassin's Creed Liberation HD Arcade 75%
For a full list of Xbox 360 weekly deals, click over to the official Xbox Countdown to 2015 site here.
And for the PC gamers, Age of Empires II HD & Age of Empires III are 80% off today during the 2014 Steam Holiday Sale.
Xbox Store
Hovership Havoc Is Now Available For Xbox One
Jan 17, 2020 @ 1:22pm
Far-Out Is Now Available For Xbox One
Jan 17, 2020 @ 8:22am
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT Is Now Available For Xbox One
The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor Pre-Purchase Is Now Available For Xbox One


text:
REW.ca
Letters: Veggies over-packed at Richmond supermarket
Letters: Rentals needed in Richmond
Letters: Richmond Hospital parking unfair
Richmond 'Mompreneur' selected as finalist for national award
Knight Street Bridge maintenance work to begin next week
On this day 50 years ago, the Vancouver Canucks were born
Canucks ownership paid $6 million to enter the NHL
John Kurucz / Vancouver Courier
Athletes and performers representing future uses of the Pacific Coliseum standing in the construction site in 1967. Harry Jerome (third from left), Karen Magnussen (fourth from left), Barry Watson (fifth from left, in Canucks jersey), Gene Kiniski (fourth from right) and Miss PNE 1966 Judy Collyer (third from right).
Photograph By Photo City of Vancouver Archives AM281-S8-: CVA 180-5854
The misery, the almost-but-not-quite Stanley Cup runs, the rioting and the weight of a fan base yet to experience championship glory — all of it started on this day 50 years ago.
It was on Dec. 2, 1969 that the NHL's board of governors announced expansion from 12 to 14 teams and the Canucks, along with the Buffalo Sabres, were born.
Embattled Richmond lawyer dropped by big bank, sued by another
It cost then-owner Thomas Scallen $6 million to get the club into the league, the same amount paid today per season to much-maligned winger Loui Eriksson.
To put those numbers in perspective, $650 million was the price paid for Seattle's incoming team, while $500 million was paid by the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
The backstory began on Jan. 8, 1968, when the Canucks were still playing out of the Western Hockey League. A chaplain by the name of George Turpin blessed the Pacific Coliseum at its opening event — an Ice Capades show — to add another voice to the city's lobbying movement to convince NHL brass that Vancouver was worthy of an NHL franchise.
Fast forward two years later and Vancouver's inauspicious NHL start was first highlighted in the 1970 draft, when a roulette wheel that landed on 11 hinted at things to come.
50 years ago today, the NHL Board of Governors announced that expansion franchises had been awarded to Buffalo and Vancouver. The two new teams would begin play for the 1970-71 season #Hockey365 #Canucks #Sabres50 pic.twitter.com/jLNp7KnyPQ
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) December 2, 2019
Had that wheel landed on number one — as was initially believed — the Canucks would have got Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault.
It didn't, and the Canucks drafted Dale Tallon second overall. Perreault finished his career with 1,326 points compared to Tallon's 336.
On opening night, Oct. 9, 1970 Vancouver's first game was a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Orland Kurtenbach, the team's first captain, spoke to the Courier in January 2018 about that first game.
He remembered Barry Wilkins scoring the first goal in franchise history, but didn't recall the club's first fisticuff, despite his attachment to that piece of history.
Kurtenbach's donnybrook with Dale Hoganson was indeed a Vancouver first.
"I have no recollection of that," he laughed.
The first four seasons were not kind to the Canucks, as the team was stapled to the basement of the standings. The team's first winning season was 1974-1975, when it amassed a 38-30-10 record. Vancouver was bounced from the playoffs that season by the Montreal Canadiens.
They made the playoffs the following year as well, but were swept by the New York Islanders.
After those two seasons of success, the Canucks didn't have another winning record for the next 16 seasons.
Save for the Stanley Cup run in 1981-82 season, the 1980s were not kind to the Canucks. The club failed to have a single winning season throughout the entire decade and finally broke that goose egg in 1991-1992, two years before Vancouver's second of three failed trips to the Stanley Cup finals.
The club's most recent outing on Dec. 1 saw the team drop a 3-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers. Ironically enough, both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl notched their 50th points of the season one day before the Canucks' 50th birthday.
Vancouver's next game is Tuesday, Dec. 3, when the team hosts the Ottawa Senators.
Editor's note: If you haven't guessed, reporter John Kurucz is an unapologetic member of Oiler Nation.
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The season's changing colors bring certain hues to mind…and the one that tops the list every Fall is rich shades of wine. But don't worry: you don't have to commit to one color. There are plenty of varietals—from dusky roses to deep burgundies—that perfectly mix and match.
As with wine, often the simplest versions are the most rewarding. The same can be said about the minimal Gucci Silk Cady Long Sleeve Dress Cate Blanchett chose.
Olivia Palermo's fashion month looks were pretty spectacular, and this faded cherry ensemble was no exception. She paired a Reiss Jacket and Leather Leggings in Cognac to create a modern take on the matching suit.
You don't have to retire your colorful moto jacket for the season. Ashley Madekwe paired a pale pink Mural Tough Girl Faux Leather Moto Jacket with Leith's Long Sleeve Knit Midi Dress in Mahogany and Manolo Blahnik's Taylor d'Orsay Pumps for a perfectly on-point look.
There's perhaps no better way to show your love and affection for this trend than Burberry's Heart Print Shirt that Victoria Beckham wore.
Actress Kiernan Shipka made a splash in her Delpozo Ruffle Skirt Dress at a Maybelline soiree. The combination of bordeaux and peach make for a delightfully sweet blend.
Are you Wearing this Fall Favorite?


text:
\subsection*{Article Type}
Original Research

\subsection*{Keywords}
Ischemic stroke, Non-contrast CT, Deep Learning,  Convolutional Neural Network, Segmentation

\subsection*{Abbreviations}
\textbf{ASPECTS} Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, \textbf{AVD} Absolute Volume Difference, \textbf{CNN} Convolutional Neural Network, \textbf{ECASS} European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study, \textbf{HD 95} Hausdorff Distance 95 percentile, \textbf{NCCT} Non-contrast Computed Tomography, \textbf{nnUNet} No New U-Net, \textbf{SDT} Surface Dice at Tolerance, \textbf{VS} Volumetric Similarity

\subsection*{Summary Statement}
We show that our model, trained on one expert, achieves non-inferior performance to other experts at segmenting acute ischemic stroke on Non-contrast CT.

\subsection*{Key Points}

\begin{itemize}

\item We developed an open-source statistical evaluation methodology to compare models' predictions to that of experienced radiologists \url{https://github.com/SophieOstmeier/StrokeAnalyzer.git}.

\item We show that our acute stroke \ac{NCCT} segmentation deep learning model generalizes well and is non-inferior to neuroradiologists it was not trained on.

\item We conclude that such a model could be used by physicians to facilitate acute ischemic stroke treatment decisions based on \ac{NCCT}.

\end{itemize}
\pagebreak[4]

\pagebreak[4]

\section*{Abstract}
\subsection*{Purpose}
To demonstrate a deep learning model that segments acute ischemic stroke on \ac{NCCT} at a level comparable to neuroradiologists.

\subsection*{Materials and Methods}

This included 227 Head \ac{NCCT} examinations from 200 patients enrolled in the multi-center DEFUSE 3 trial. Three experienced neuroradiologists independently segmented the acute infarct on each scan. The neuroradiologists were divided into training experts (A) and test experts (B and C). The dataset was randomly split, by patient, into 5 folds with training and validation cases. A 3D deep \ac{CNN} architecture was trained and optimized to predict the segmentations of expert A from \ac{NCCT}.
The performance of the model was assessed using a set of volume, overlap, and distance metrics.
The optimized model was compared to the test experts B and C.
We used a one-sided Wilcoxon signed-rank test to test for the non-inferiority of the model-expert compared to the inter-expert agreement.

\subsection*{Results}
The model-expert agreement was non-inferior to the inter-expert agreement as evaluated with a paired one-sided test procedure for differences in medians with lower boundaries of 10\%, 2ml, and 5mm, $p < 0.05$, n=160.

\subsection*{Conclusion}
The 3d \ac{CNN} trained on one neuroradiologist generalizes to acute ischemic stroke segmentation on \ac{NCCT} of other neuroradiologists.

\pagebreak[4]

\section{Introduction}
Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United States. Globally, approximately 12 million people suffer a stroke each year, leading to 6 million deaths and another 5 million patients who suffer permanent disability from their stroke \cite{GlobalStrokeImpact,LakomkinPrevalence}.
Acute ischemic stroke due to a large vessel occlusion carries the worst prognosis, but timely endovascular treatment has the potential for a dramatic impact on clinical outcome and is cost-effective long term \cite{campbell2017endovascular}.
Among patients with a large vessel occlusion, the endovascular thrombectomy decision is decided by the presence and volume of the ischemic injury (ischemic core)\cite{PowersManagement,Albers6to16,Nogueira6to24}.

The stroke imaging modalities of MRI and CT Perfusion use rule-based algorithms to automatically quantify the ischemic core and the penumbra. But by far the most utilized ($>$65\%) imaging modality for acute stroke globally and in the US is a basic \ac{NCCT} \cite{KimUtilization,McDonoughState,AlexandrovTriage}.
\ac{NCCT} is fast, inexpensive, safe, and widely available  \cite{McDonoughState}.

Established semi-quantitative methods to assess an ischemic stroke on \ac{NCCT} are based on the \ac{ECASS} 1 and \ac{ASPECTS}. \ac{ECASS} defined a major infarct as involving more than 1/3 of the medial cerebral artery territory \cite{hacke1995intravenous}.
Similarly, an \ac{ASPECTS} score $<6$ is commonly used to define a large ischemic infarct and has served as a criterion to exclude patients from thrombectomy treatment.
While \ac{ASPECTS} is widely used, it is limited by low reproducibility among raters, a modest correlation to ischemic lesion volumes and symptom severity \cite{GoyalEndovascular,BarberValidity,SchroederCritical}.

Limitations of \ac{ASPECTS} and perfusion imaging could be mitigated by accurate segmentation of an ischemic core on \ac{NCCT}.
A poor signal-to-noise ratio makes this a difficult task for rule-based algorithms and less specialized physicians. A segmentation method that is comparable to specialized experts would enable a broader set of on-call physicians to efficiently use \ac{NCCT} in acute stroke treatment decisions.

Supervised deep learning is a promising technique that has been successfully applied in medical image segmentation challenges such as lesion segmentation on CT perfusion images of the brain \cite{GhaffariAutomated}. Furthermore, benchmark deep learning models for out-of-the-box segmentation of diverse medical imaging datasets have been developed \cite{IsenseennU-Net}.

However, variability in segmentations between experts makes it more difficult to evaluate whether the model can be used for clinical decisions \cite{Lampert2016Annotator,warfield2008validation}.
We demonstrate that the model generalizes to experts it was not trained with---showing that the model is consistent with the ischemic core as a biomarker and not just the style of the experts it was trained on.

We assessed a deep learning model for performance and generalization across experts for the segmentation of early infarct signs on \ac{NCCT}. Our evaluation and statistical code is open-source for analysis to be reproducible for other models and applications.

\section{Methods}
\subsection{Study Design and Data}
This retrospective study included 200 randomized and non-randomized patients that consented to participate in the DEFUSE 3 trial. This multi-center (38 U.S. centers) trial investigated thrombectomy eligibility for patients with acute ischemic stroke with an onset time within 6-16 hours \url{https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02586415}. Institutional review board approval was obtained, and consent was waived.

\subsection{Reference Annotations}
Three experienced neuroradiologists from the US and Belgium with 4, 4, and 9 years of clinical experience post-fellowship (A.M., B.F.J.V., J.J.H.) were instructed to outline abnormal hypodensity on the \ac{NCCT} that was consistent with acute ischemic stroke within 16 hours of symptom onset. Segmentation was performed in Horos (Horosproject.org, version 4.0.0). Experts had the option to not segment any tissue if no abnormal hypodensity was appreciated. Experts were aware that each patient had a large vessel occlusion, were given the laterality of the stroke, and were blinded to all imaging other than the NCCT.

\subsection{Data Preparation}
The \ac{NCCT} image and corresponding manual segmentation mask were resized to a common resolution of 512 x 512, resampled, and normalized using an existing preprocessing pipeline \cite{IsenseennU-Net}.
A mirrored co-registered version of each input image was computed using SimpleITK(\url{https://simpleitk.org/}).
The data was portioned in two ways. First, the experts were divided into training (expert A) and test experts (experts B and C). Second, the cohort of 200 patients was randomly split into five equal groups for 5-fold cross-validation, with 160 patients for the training and 40 for the validation set.
If a patient had undergone multiple baseline \ac{NCCT}s (n=23 patients), the additional scans were added only to the training set (supplemental material Figure \ref{fig:my_label}).

\subsection{Model Architecture and Training \label{sec:Training}}
A nnUNet was trained on the NCCTs with  manual segmentations of the training expert A as reference annotations. The output of the model was a segmentation mask \cite{IsenseennU-Net}.
The initial nnUNet configuration includes a patch size of 28x256x256 and spacing of (3.00, 0.45, 0.45), 7 stages with two convolutional layers per stage, leaky ReLU as an activation function, Dice + Cross Entropy, a batch size of 2, SGD optimizer and He initialization (Section \ref{sec:sub}, Fig. \ref{fig:archi}).

To achieve optimal performance, the initial model was modified in several ways. These are described and evaluated in detail in the supplemental material (Table \ref{nnUNetModifications}, \ref{tab:config}).

Different model configurations were optimized on fold 0 and validated on folds 1 to 4. The aggregated validation cases of folds 1 to 4 of the highest-performing model were then used for non-inferiority analyses (n=160)(Figure \ref{fig:my_label}).

\subsection{Metrics}

The models were evaluated using a set of metrics carefully chosen to suit the application in prior work \cite{ostmeier2022evaluation}(for definitions see Supplemental Material \ref{table:metric_definition}):
\begin{itemize}
\item Volume-based metrics (\ac{VS} and \ac{AVD} [ml])
\item Overlap metrics (Dice, Precision and Recall), and
\item Distance metrics (\ac{HD 95} [mm], \ac{SDT}\textsubscript{5mm}).
\end{itemize}

The design was chosen to optimize 'Surface Dice at Tolerance 5mm'. The performance metric is preferred over Dice for a dataset with uncertain, small, and empty reference annotations\cite{ostmeier2022evaluation}.
The Surface Dice at Tolerance measures the non-symmetric distances between each surface voxel of the reference annotation and the prediction of the model. The tolerance determines the maximum allowable distance between positive surface voxels on the reference and prediction masks to be considered overlapping of the surfaces. It then normalizes the overlapping surface voxels by the sum of the positive surface voxels of the reference annotation and the prediction\cite{nikolov2018deep}.

\subsection{Statistical Analysis}

R (Version 2022.02.3) was used for statistical analysis.
We compared the agreement between the training expert to the test experts with the agreement of the model to the test experts in terms of both bias and precision (Figure \ref{fig:analysis}).
For bias, we used the one-sided Wilcoxon rank sign test ($\alpha$ = 0.05, n=160) of the median metric values upon negative Shapiro test for normality.
We chose the following non-inferior boundaries.
\begin{itemize}
    \item for relative metrics with values between 0 and 1: The model-expert agreement is no worse than \textbf{10\%} of the metric range compared to the inter-expert agreement.
    \item \ac{AVD}: The model-expert volume difference is not higher than \textbf{2ml} compared to the inter-expert agreement.
    \item \ac{HD 95}: The model-expert maximum distance is not higher than \textbf{5mm} compared to the inter-expert agreement.
\end{itemize}
We chose these boundaries based on the minimum difference in inter-expert agreements (A to B, A to C, B to C), which for relative metrics has a median of 0.18, for AVD is 2.09 ml and for HD 95 is 1.53 mm.
This implies that the difference between the model-expert and inter-expert agreement is tested for being smaller than the minimum difference of inter-expert to inter-expert agreement to reach non-inferiority.

We verified these boundaries with clinical reality. For example, a volume error of 2ml is unlikely to influence the interventional treatment decision for a patient with acute stroke. We increased the maximum distance for the HD 95 to 5mm since a 5mm discrepancy for location is unlikely to alter the clinical management of patients.

Both bias and precision of the model were evaluated to ensure reliable performance across the clinical population.
We evaluate precision by comparing the consistency of the predictions.
We computed the ratio of variances and estimated the standard error of the variance ratio using bootstrap (R=1000).
We then tested for a non-inferiority delta of 0.1 (model-expert variance is no more than 10\% larger than the inter-expert).

All p-values and confidence intervals were adjusted for the total number of statistical tests and confidence intervals presented in the paper using the Holm-Bonferroni method.

\subsection{Code Availability}
To facilitate future studies, we have made the model evaluator tool and statistical tool are freely available on GitHub \url{https://github.com/SophieOstmeier/UncertainSmallEmpty.git}, \url{https://github.com/SophieOstmeier/StrokeAnalyzer.git}.

\FloatBarrier
\section{Results}

\subsection{Patient characteristics}
The patient characteristics are summarized in Table \ref{tab:patients}. All randomized (n=129) and non-randomized (n=71) patients from the DEFUSE 3 trial with a baseline \ac{NCCT} study are included.
The median volume of Expert A's segmentation on \ac{NCCT} is 12ml (IQR: 5-30ml) and the ischemic core volume from advanced stroke imaging is 11ml (IQR: 0-39ml). The onset to image time was available for 129 patients and has a median of 10 hours (IQR: 8-12h).

\subsection{Evaluation of Model}

\label{sec:interexpert}
At the end of training on expert A, the optimized model scores an SDT\textsubscript{5mm} of 0.67 ±0.05, AVD of 4.9 ±0.94 ml, and a Dice score of 0.45 ±0.06 when evaluated against expert A (median ± 95 \%CI (bootstrapped, R=1000)).
A complete set of metrics, as well as the performance of variations of the chosen model, are presented in the supplemental material \ref{tab:config}.

To put the results of the optimized model into perspective, the predicted segmentations were then compared to experts B and C (Figure \ref{fig:analysis}, Table \ref{tab:comparison}).

With the chosen metrics and lower boundaries, the model-expert agreement is non-inferior to the inter-expert agreement with a p-value of $< 0.05$.
The model-expert SDT\textsubscript{5mm}, AVD, and Dice for expert B is better than the inter-expert SDT\textsubscript{5mm} (0.67 ±0.05, 0.68 ±0.05 (median ± 95\% CI)). For expert C, the SDT\textsubscript{5mm} is 0.53 ±0.08 and 0.66 ±0.09 and within the testing boundary (median ± 95\% CI).

Tests of non-inferiority of the precision were significant ($p<0.05$) for VS but insignificant elsewhere.
Where the precision findings are non-significant most confidence intervals that cover a variance ratio of 1. In these cases we cannot conclude the model is either superior or inferior to the experts (supplemental material Table \ref{tab:variance}).

In addition, the volumetric inter-expert and model-expert volume agreements are visualized with Bland-Altman plots in figure \ref{fig:bland4}, showing no significant difference between the methods.
We note that the volumes of expert B's segmentations are larger than those of expert A and those of the model, whereas segmentations of expert C are numerically smaller than those of expert B and the model.

\FloatBarrier

Figure \ref{fig:case} displays a qualitative comparison of the model's prediction and compared annotations by experts B and C. The probability predictions of the model (last row) highlight voxels that are not segmented by Expert A but are part of the segmentations from experts B and C. However, the model was never trained on segmentations by experts B and C. The figure also illustrates that the model tends to assign voxels a lower value to regions where the experts disagree.
This suggests the model is able to generalize beyond the data points it was trained on.

\FloatBarrier
\section{Discussion}
In this study, we found that our 3D \ac{CNN} was non-inferior compared to neuroradiologists in the segmentation of the ischemic core on \ac{NCCT}.
Our statistical methods evaluate the generalizability of our deep learning model that facilitates the identification and quantification of cerebral ischemia on NCCT in clinical practice.
This is notable because the segmentation of acute ischemic stroke may be a challenging task compared to tasks where deep learning methods have shown promise~\cite{havaei2017brain}.

Segmentation of acute stroke on \ac{NCCT} is challenging because there is no common gold standard for the segmentation of acute stroke on NCCT to this point, a continuous transition between healthy tissue and the target lesion and missing standardized evaluation method with direct implication for clinical practice.
First, our work provides data for human experts' segmentations as reference annotation and compares the model's performance to the agreement among experts, which resembles the current clinical practice for the evaluation of acute stroke on \ac{NCCT}.

Different reference standard definitions of the ischemic core exist across various stroke imaging modalities (MR and CT Perfusion, DWI).
Therefore, the ischemic core volume and location may differ depending on the imaging modality used to assess stroke patients and the voxel-wise correlation between modalities has been scarcely investigated\cite{cereda2016benchmarking,lansberg2000comparison}. This hampers consistent evaluation of deep learning models and integration in clinical practice.
In order to create an optimal ground truth, Christensen et al. created a hypodense ischemic core lesion on \ac{NCCT} from healthy patients by co-registering ischemic core lesions from DWI studies of acute ischemic stroke patients.
Other studies have also chosen DWI lesions as ground truth and co-registered to \ac{NCCT} images from the same patient~\cite{KuangSegASPECT,QiuNCCTMachine}.
However, diffusion restriction is a unique phenomenon of DWI, especially in earlier time windows ($<1$h) where cytotoxic edema is the predominant abnormality that is imaged \cite{albers1998diffusion}. Hypodensity on \ac{NCCT} is generally felt to largely reflect vasogenic edema, which normally develops $> 1-4$h after stroke onset~\cite{almandoz2011imaging} suggesting irreversibly damaged brain tissue (ischemic core).

Second, our study uses a set of metrics with an emphasis on the \ac{SDT} to better account for ground truth uncertainty (inter-expert variability) and evaluation biases for small lesions.
Cell death in ischemic stroke is time-sensitive and happens on a continuous scale, which results in a very difficult and subjective segmentation task where even experienced neuroradiologists inherently disagree (Section \ref{sec:resultsqualitative},\ref{sec:interexpert}).
This uncertainty demands different evaluation pipelines to reach clinically meaningful results because the prediction of the model is trained and evaluated based on a ground truth with uncertain, small, and empty segmentations~\cite{ostmeier2022evaluation}. For example, a slight difference in stroke volume and localization within the brain is unlikely to influence a physician's decision to treat the patient with endovascular therapy or not despite a potential lower performance score.

Third, we developed a reproducible statistical procedure to show how well the model's prediction generalizes to experienced neuroradiologists for this task.
The has the potential to increase the consistency and quality for stroke NCCT evaluation in the emergency setting across hospitals. Since we expect deep learning models for stroke imaging to assist physicians as part of the decision process ---they need to enable less specialized and/or less experienced physicians to view the results and process cases with consistent quality.
This motivates evaluating the model by identifying whether its performance is comparable, within the normal bounds of variation, to experienced neuroradiologists.
We leave it to future work to optimize such models not only for accuracy in performance metrics, but also for precision which ensures performance across the clinical population.
While our model performs comparably to expert neuroradiologists in median cases, we cannot prove that it has lower variance in its performance. By making our statistical tools open-source, we leave it to future work to ensure low variance in performance across the clinical population at large.

This study has limitations. First, the dataset originates from the DEFUSE 3 trial that randomized stroke patients presented within 16 hours. However, to mitigate this, we also include non-randomized patients who did not meet the inclusion criteria and had diverse patient characteristics (Table \ref{tab:patients}).
Second, the model was only trained on the ground truth of expert A and results may differ if the model is trained on expert B or C. We chose experts with a comparable high level of experience to mitigate this. Using only expert A for training allowed us to analyze the generalizability of the model's output compared to experts not involved in the training process.

We demonstrated non-inferior performance and generalization of an automated pipeline for the segmentation of hypodensity on \ac{NCCT} that is consistent with ischemic stroke core lesion. While the segmentation task of acute ischemic stroke on \ac{NCCT} is challenging because it requires rethinking reference annotation, evaluation metrics and statistical analysis \cite{ostmeier2022evaluation,tilborghs2022dice,brabec2020model}, it also increases the value an algorithmic tool provides \emph{because} the problem is hard for human experts.

\pagebreak[4]
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
The tropical disturbance near Africa is the system to watch
The tropical disturbance just off the coast of Africa has the potential to develop into a strong storm. Currently, the steering currents are weak, so it's going to take a long time for this system to move across the Atlantic. We'll be watching it through next week, at least.
Assuming it develops, and it very likely will, its name will be Sam.
Likely-Sam is probably going to be tough to forecast. It's far enough south that it should avoid the large batch of Saharan air that covers a good part of the eastern tropical Atlantic. But its slow movement means that more systems will come along that can affect it or deflect it.
For example, what's left of both Tropical Storms Peter, Rose, and Odette will be somewhere over the central Atlantic in a few days. They could create a weakness in the high-pressure system that is driving likely-Sam to the west. As a result, likely-Sam may turn north into that pressure void.
Exactly how much likely-Sam's track gets changed is unforecastable because we don't know how weak or strong those systems will be several days from now, and how they will interact. And that's just one of the systems that might come along and affect the steering-flow.
Based on what we know now, it looks like likely-Sam will be approaching the general vicinity of the northeastern Caribbean islands in about a week. At that point, it's anybody's guess.
The storm's future track is at least partially dependent on its intensity. According to the computer forecast models, the stronger likely-Sam is when it approaches the islands, the more likely it is to turn north.
Likely-Sam is in a hurricane lane we don't like, so we'll have to pay attention. But we have lots of time, and a lot can happen.
Just north of the northeastern Caribbean, Tropical Storm Peter is sputtering under hostile upper-level winds. Peter's thunderstorms have been stripped away from the center. The system will drift north of the islands for another day or so before finally taking a turn to the north.
The strong upper winds should keep Peter fairly inconsequential for the next several days, although Bermuda will have to watch it. There's a chance the hostile conditions will so disrupt the circulation that Peter dissipates.
Farther east in the Atlantic, not too far to the north of likely-Sam, is Tropical Storm Rose. This storm is also discombobulated. It's moving north into the middle of the ocean and will not have a significant effect on land.
In the far North Atlantic, the system that was Tropical Storm Odette and then evolved into a winter-type system is forecast to be steered to the south – also into the middle of the Atlantic. It might regain some tropical characteristics, but it won't directly affect anybody.
We'll see how or if the broad area of lower pressures related to Peter, Rose, and/or Odette might affect likely-Sam, along with other low-pressure systems moving across the North Atlantic.
There is no consensus from the computer forecast models where Sam will be next week. As always, forecasts for just-developing systems are iffy anyway. We should know more in a few days, if Sam develops more or less on schedule. Then there should be an actual center to track, and we'll see how the weather pattern to the north develops.