Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP) are a niche market. They shouldn't be.
Ralph Waldo Emerson never said "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." The mousetrap that likely inspired the misquote was invented seven years after his death. Unfortunately, many people take it literally. GHPs have all the hallmarks of a better mousetrap: They do the job of heating and cooling a building more efficiently than any other option. Despite the larger up-front cost, they are a mature technology and usually the most economic option for buildings that can accommodate them.
The world has not yet beaten a path to the GHP door. Instead, GHPs have a slim and only modestly growing market share. A study by Frost and Sullivan projects the market for GHPs in North American commercial buildings to grow at a 7.8% annual rate from 2012, 4.7% faster than the North American climate control market as a whole. An industry representative pointed me to a Navigant study which projects the world installed base to grow from 13.3 million tons to 36.2 million tons in 2020, see chart below.
Navigant projections for world installed capacity, 2013 to 2020.
Unfortunately, growth in installed base is not comparable to industry sales. For a young industry with a low installed base, sales are approximately the increase in the installed base. I eyeballed the chart to get annual estimates of world sales from the chart, and found that Navigant is projecting less than 5% sales growth in 2013 to 2015, followed by rapid growth (20-30%) in the 2016 to 2018 time frame. Navigant's discussion makes clear that the later rapid growth rates require a revival of the economy and easier access to capital.
In the short term, Navigant's study seems less optimistic than Frost & Sullivan's, while it is more optimistic in the medium to long term. Using either projection, the near term less than 5% annual market share growth is clearly not the type of market transformation many would expect from a "better mousetrap." Does the rapid market growth Navigant expects after 2015 have to depend so greatly on easy access to capital? Are other factors holding the GHP market back?
I struck a few raw nerves when I asked if air source heat pumps are a threat to geothermal heat pump suppliers last month, despite the fact that I answered my own question with a "No."
Except in moderate climates, super-insulated homes, or situations where the installation of a geothermal heat pump (GHP) would be particularly difficult, GHPs have the better economics. This is despite recent advances in air source heat pump (ASHP) technology, which led me to ask the question in the first place. ASHPs don't provide hot water, while many GHP systems can. Also, as the recent heavy snows in the Northeast demonstrated, there are some advantages to having a heat exchanger which is not exposed to the elements (see pic).
One advantage of a geothermal heat pump's ground loop compared to the air source heat exchangers shown is that you don't have to dig them out after a snowstorm. This pic also shows an installation problem which is allowed under manufacturer specs, but may lead to less than optimal performance if both pumps are operating simultaneously: one heat exchanger blows air directly at the other. This problem is analogous to poor ground loop design for GHPs.
Given all these advantages, why the raw nerves? I suspect it's because geothermal heat pump sales continue to disappoint and proponents are looking for someone to blame.
He relates the story of the Putney School's 16,000-square-foot Net-Zero Field House. The team designing this building modeled its heating costs using a GHP, and also using ASHPs with additional solar photovoltaics sufficient to provide the extra electricity needed to run the ASHPs. They found that it was cheaper to expand the solar system to power the ASHPs than it would have been to pay the extra installation costs of a GHP. Furthermore, the price of solar has fallen significantly since the Putney Field House was built; the price of the ground loop for a GHP has not.
Nevertheless, Rosenbaum's preference for ASHPs in highly insulated buildings does nothing to explain GHPs' low market share growth rate. Net Zero buildings are the exception, not the rule, and have a far lower market share than geothermal heat pumps. When the heating load is very low, the operating cost advantage from the greater efficiency of GHPs is not enough to repay the additional installation costs. That is not the case in 99.9% of new and existing buildings today.
My own home, a farmhouse built in 1930, is much less efficient and requires a lot more heat than a Net Zero home, despite my own significant improvements. I don't have enough suitable roof space for photovoltaics to make up for the extra energy ASHPs would require, even if that could be done economically. I opted for four ductless minisplit ASHPs rather than a GHP system, but it was because the minisplits allowed me to do the install without adding air ducts. Adding air ducts to my 85 year old home would have significantly increased the cost and disruption of installing a GHP system.
ClimateMaster, a division of LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU), makes a ductless split system called the Tranquility Console Series which probably would have been suitable for my needs, but I did not know about it until I received comments on an earlier version of this article telling me about it, nor did any of the geothermal installers I spoke to. Unfortunately, the efficiency ratings are low for GHPs with a COP of 3.3 in the ground loop configuration. This is not much better than the Mitsubishi air source units I had installed, which operate at a COP of around 2 from around -10° to 20°F outdoor temperatures, and exceed 3.3 COP when the ambient temperature is 35°F or more. The added efficiency at low temperatures would probably not have been sufficient to pay for the ground loop, but I would have been interested to get a quote. Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (TSX:WFI, OTC:WFIFF) offers the Envision Series Consoles with slightly higher heating efficiency (up to 3.5 COP) for certain models.
Since GHPs are economic in most situations, other factors must be holding them back.
"[O]ne thing I really like about the minisplits is how they are packaged systems from a single supplier, and are highly engineered as a system and therefore very reliable. GSHP systems are, at least where I have practiced, essentially custom engineered and installed, usually by several entities who have a shared responsibility to make sure the systems perform."
Given the large up-front cost of a GHP system, the risk of a poor installation is likely to deter nonprofessionals from using GHPs even more than it deters experienced professionals like Rosenbaum.
out of business. Without such monitoring, it's nearly impossible to track increased electricity use back to the source.
I recently spoke to Matt Davis, the co-founder of Ground Energy Support and a professor of hydrology at the University of New Hampshire. Ground Energy Support provides GHP monitoring to GHP owners and contractors, as well as data and analysis to support the development of the industry.
Ground Energy Support recently published a 14 page Homeowner Guide to Geothermal Heat Pump Systems. While I found the guide easy to understand, it makes clear that GHPs are not for everyone. The start of the guide directly helps homeowners decide if they and homes are suitable for a GHP, while its length indirectly makes the point that GHPs are not always "plug and play." The six pages dedicated to finding and selecting a suitable GHP installer indirectly makes clear that the process is not for anyone with only casual interest in GHPs and their savings they bring.
If GHPs are to become commonplace, the process of financing and purchasing a reliable GHP system have to be simplified to the point where it becomes a matter of calling a name in the phone book. The success of SolarCity Corporation (NASD:SCTY) in providing solar to homeowners who are more interested in the green in their checking account than the green of their electricity shows the potential. That success is based on SolarCity's ability to provide financing, installation, maintenance, and performance verification services internally. All the homeowner needs to do is pay the monthly bill for electricity production. The value proposition is simple: a hassle-free installation and savings from day one.
A single company responsible for the entire installation, from engineering to installation to maintenance.
Reliable monitoring of heat production from the ground loop.
A financing tied to the geothermal installation itself, to allow a lease-like structure which allows homeowners to see the benefits from day one.
We already have the corporate and financial structures to bring the solar lease model to GHPs. In fact, it takes little stretch of the imagination to see a solar lease company acquiring or partnering with GHP installers and offering a geothermal lease along with the solar lease to its customers. In cold climates not known for their sunny winters such as the Northeast US, the underlying economics of GHPs are far superior to those of solar photovoltaics. These economics should enable very attractive GHP leases, as soon as the other pieces are in place.
First, the homeowner and the geothermal lease company would have to have a reliable, objective way to monitor the performance of the GHP system.
Ground Energy Support is tackling this problem with its GXTracker, which monitors the heat output of the ground loop and monitors or models the electricity consumption of the pump itself. Heat production monitoring lets everyone know if a system is operating as designed, and helps diagnose the problem when it is not.
Of the 30 GHP systems Ground Energy Support has been monitoring for the last two and a half years, 60% have had some operational, maintenance or mechanical issue. Most of these were minor maintenance issues or improper settings which caused only minor drops in performance, but which would have gotten worse if undetected. But 17% of the systems had significant design or installation problems. A third of these were oversized systems which can lead to higher energy costs but were likely the result of homeowner preferences. Another third were easily fixable and not the fault of the installer: a failed heat pump (covered under warranty), and an air duct which was left open to an unfinished garage. The rest (high pumping penalty caused by too large a pump or too small pipes, and an undersized ground loop) could have been avoided if the homeowner had been able to vet the installers' track records - another potential benefit of ubiquitous monitoring.
One other way proper monitoring of GHPs might help the industry is enabling the implementation of incentives for renewable heat production from geothermal ground loops, analogous to the incentives for photovoltaics. The Massachusetts legislature currently working on a bill to allow heating and cooling with renewable fuels to benefit from the same incentives the state give to renewable electricity. The bill states that the heat must be "verified through an on-site utility grade meter" or similar means.
Advocates of geothermal heat pumps should spend less time discussing the well established attractive economics of GHPs in theory, and more time delivering those economics. The key to this is making the buying process simple for the customer while providing verification and taking responsibility if those economics fail the be acheived . While GHPs are not the best fit for every home, in many climates the majority of such homes will benefit more from a GHP system than a new conventional heating and cooling system.
The solar lease is an excellent model for taking a renewable energy system and making it attractive to the general public. The GHP industry can follow down this path, but first it has to adopt reliable monitoring as a standard feature. This will hold installers to account for their design and implementation, while giving customers confidence that they will get what they pay for.
Adopting monitoring could start with customers wanting to know that their systems are operating as designed. It could also begin with states like Massachusetts giving incentives for verifiable renewable heat production, or an installer deciding to break open the market by offering a geothermal lease. UPDATE: It looks like at least one installer, Orca Energy, is alreadyoffering a geothermal lease to developers of new homes in a partnership with GHP manufacturer Bosch Thermotechnology. New homes are a natural starting point for residential geothermal leases because of the lower installation costs and greater ease of design.
It seems to me that the group that has both the most to gain and the most power to affect change is GHP manufacturers. If they were to include monitoring as a standard feature, they might be able to catalyze this market themselves.
To Davis' knowledge, only Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (TSX:WFI, OTC:WFIFF. Disclosure: I own this stock.) and Modine Manufacturing Company (NYSE:MOD) currently offer any sort of energy monitoring. Modine's is part of their optional Orb controller. Waterfurnace seems farthest along in this regard. Sensors are standard on Waterfurnace's most advanced (and efficient) models, the 7 Series. According to the company, the thermostat retains 13 months of energy usage data. I'm inquiring to determine if that includes heat production.
I suspect the extra costs of making such monitoring standard would be more than compensated by greater customer satisfaction and increasing sales.
Is this the start of a move by manufacturers towards better monitoring, or will change come from the bottom up? If geothermal heat pump sales are going to soar, change will have to come from somewhere.


text:
"100 Million" is the second single from Birdman's third studio album, 5 * Stunna. The track features Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and was produced by Cool & Dre. Dre performs the chorus and DJ Khaled performs the intro and outro, but neither of the two are credited. The song discusses what Birdman believes is a major accomplishment: spending 100 million dollars. The song reached number sixty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number eighteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song samples Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley".

Music video

The song's music video was released on November 23, 2007 and was directed by Gil Green. The music video starts off with Birdman being interviewed by a parole board in a prison. It then introduces some people, such as Birdman and Fat Joe. The video then shows Rick Ross on a boat with his crew loading drugs. It then flicks to Birdman with various red cars. He sings his verse there and then shows Young Jeezy in a car and then that leads to Lil Wayne in a house. The video concludes with DJ Khaled's outro and Birdman saying that what he is going to do is make a lot of money, which is the overall basis of the song and video. The video was premiered on 106 & Park in January 2008.

Charts

References

2007 singles
2007 songs
Birdman (rapper) songs
Cash Money Records singles
DJ Khaled songs
Lil Wayne songs
Music videos directed by Gil Green
Rick Ross songs
Jeezy songs
Cool & Dre songs
Songs written by Lil Wayne
Songs written by Jeezy
Songs written by Rick Ross
Song recordings produced by Cool & Dre
Gangsta rap songs
Songs written by Dre (record producer)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Select one Search the Collection Start Your Research Database Quicksearch Find Full Text Go
starts with exact any all
Library Hours and EventsRenew OnlinePapercutContact Us
SitemapeClassMSMC PortalMSMC.edu
Books/eBooks/DVDs
Articles and Databases
Find Full Text Journals
MSMC Authors
New Library Materials
Database Trials
Find Information by Subject
Streaming Video (Kanopy)
Quick Answers by Email
One-on-One Research Assistance
Identifying Scholarly Articles
The Research Process
Curriculum Materials
For Online Learners
Newburgh Library Collaborative
Study Rooms and Reservations
Borrowing Library Materials
Library 2 U
Faculty Research Assistance
Hours and Events
Working in the Library
Off-Campus Database Access
Feedback and FAQs
Library Technology Help
Personal Librarians
Library Sitemap
Relaxation Café
Kaplan Library Rm 218
Come relax and release some stress in our Relaxation Café! While in the library, take a break from studying and chat with friends while you eat snacks, drink coffee, and listen to music.
Relaxation Café will run four nights during the first week of Finals. Each night there will be a different stress relieving activity at the Relaxation Café. Tonight's activity will be creating a motivation wall!
We look forward to seeing you at the Relaxation Café!
Regular Hours - North Wing
The North Wing of Kaplan Library includes areas on the 1st and 2nd floors where books, journals, dvd's, and other materials are housed, including the Curriculum Materials Center.
Sunday January 19, 2020 Closed
Monday January 20, 2020 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Tuesday January 21, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Wednesday January 22, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Thursday January 23, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Friday January 24, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday January 25, 2020 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday January 26, 2020 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Monday January 27, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Saturday February 1, 2020 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
View the complete Spring Schedule
After-Hours Access to Kaplan Library South Wing
Kaplan Library & Learning Center provides access to its South Wing after regular library hours and on days when the library is closed.
Find your personal librarian
Hours & Events
View Events in Calendar
Kaplan Family Library
330 Powell Ave. Newburgh, NY, 12550

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Michael Terpin has charged AT&T for the SIM-swap fraud wherein the hacker managed to impersonate his identity and gain access to his cryptocurrency accounts.
Cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin has recently sued telecommunications giant AT&T alleging that the company has failed to protect his cell phone data which the hackers exploited to steal his cryptocurrency holdings worth $24 million. As reported by CNBC, California-resident Terpin has filed a 69-page lawsuit through the Los Angeles litigation firm Greenberg Glusker on Wednesday, August 15.
The plaintiff has sued AT&T for nearly $224 million while alleging that the cellular service provider has been negligent in the protection of the customer data allowing hackers to get unauthorized access to his cell-phone account. Terpin's case is a classic example of the SIM swap fraud wherein the hacker has impersonated Terpin's identity while convincing the AT&T employee to give him access to Terpin's phone number without asking him for valid identity proof. This way the hacker managed to get the PIN code to Terpin's account.
This year there have been multiple cases of cryptocurrency hacking where hackers have managed to steal digital assets worth millions of dollars from the wallets of customers. Meanwhile, apart from this traditional stealing methods, study shows that 'cryptojacking' has been on a high rise, a hacking technique that involves targetting online computers while using their machine powers to mine digital currencies. Terpin's case is a recent example of the risks associated with the SIM-based two-factor authentication.
As a result, crypto investors should consider using the "cold storage" wallets which store the digital assets on a hardware device without exposing the risks of being constantly connected to the online networks.
Why is Raido Financial A Secure and Reliable Option?


text:
Q: Delete file from remote server in unix I have wrongly uploaded a file in a remote server through ftp connection.
Now when i tried connecting back and deleting the file from this remote server, i am getting this error message
"550  Directory /xhen/Input/aaaaa.txt does not exist.  Directory not deleted."
What should be the right approach to delete file.

A: *

*Connect using FTP to the server

*CD to the correct directory (cd /xhen/Input/)

*delete aaaaa.txt

A: *

*ssh username@

*Enter password of remote

*rm -f /filepath/file

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
About Sheffield FuturesYoung peopleParents, professionals & supportersContact us
Everything you need to know about Sheffield Futures Learn about us, our team, where we are and more.
Jobs at Sheffield Futures
Get started with Sheffield Futures
Mental health projects
Careers & education projects
Resources to help you
All youth work projects
Parents, professionals & supporters
Schools & professionals
About our Careers Services
Careers Adviser resources
Information about our employer engagement work
Information for funders & supporters
View our impact
Welcome to Sheffield Futures
About Sheffield Futures
Everything you need to know about Sheffield Futures
Door43 at Sheffield Futures
If you're struggling a little right now, we're here to support you.
Are you a young person aged 13-25 feeling low or anxious? Are you lonely, having difficulties at school or work, or simply finding life hard lately? There are different ways we can help.
Our mental health and wellbeing service is called Door43. It's called this because our team is based at 43 Division Street, in Sheffield city centre.
However, because of the coronavirus and social distancing rules, we're currently supporting young people online and by phone, to keep you and our team safe. We're really looking forward to opening the doors to our wellbeing space once again, when it's safe to do so. Until then, we'll be providing the same support, just from a little further away!
Our team is made up of Wellbeing Practitioners, who have the skills and experience to help you with the challenges you're facing. We're a really friendly team, and we're here for all young people in Sheffield.
Have questions? We'd love to hear from you.
What can we do to help?
This is the quickest way of connecting with our team! We're online most days Monday-Friday, talking about mental health, self-care and sharing our knowledge on how to stay well. We regularly create IGTVs on different wellbeing topics which are on our grid whenever you need them. We sometimes go LIVE for quizzes, bake offs and sometimes some serious chat too!
Access one-to-one support by phone or video call on Wednesdays
On Wednesdays, named wellbeing Wednesdays by our team, you can access one-to-one emotional support over the phone, text or video call. On a Wednesday morning, just call or text on 07815698447 or email us to book a slot. We will then call you back for a 20 minute chat between 11am–1pm or 2pm-4pm.
Email us about support on Wednesdays
Access up to eight one-to-one support sessions, for those who need longer term support
If you think talking regularly about how you're feeling or about something you're going through would be helpful, we offer up to eight one-to-one support sessions. These sessions can be over the phone, text or video call. Email us to let us know you're a young person interested in longer term support, and we'll have a chat to see if this option is right for you.
Send us an email about longer term support
Our counselling service is coming soon!
Meet our Door43 team
Wellbeing Practitioner
Assistant Health & Wellbeing Practitioner
Want to speak to us?
If you're not sure which team you'd like to speak to, call our reception team and they'll be happy to help you.
Do you agree with our Privacy Policy
Sheffield Futures
Sheffield Futures,
Star House,
43 Division Street,
S1 4GE
Sheffield Futures, registered charity in England and Wales (1044940). A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, company number 02963378. Registered office: Star House, 43 Division Street, Sheffield, S1 4GE
Website Designed and Developed by Mantra Media


Eric's Review - First... Wow. Just wow. This is the third planeswalker to have two +1 abilities AND the only others were printed in Standard about 4 years ago (Nissa and Elspeth, Knight-Errant). Costing five mana, Ajani 4.0 comes in and a decent 4 loyalty with three awesome abilities. He puts out more counters than Ajani 3.0 (Caller of the Pride) and he searches for auras, creatures, or planeswalkers. Yes, other planeswalkers can be found with Ajani. And 100 life is 100 life. You can survive a lot with that ability. This Ajani is a major powerhouse and expect him to stay high in price for a while, or at least until we see tournaments where the Top 8 don't run him.
Bottom Line: This is a great card. He fits in Standard, definitely in Limited, EDH, and I'd be willing to bet he'd be strong in Modern too.
Devin's Review - This card is maybe a standard all-star. It's first +1 (yes first plus one) let you build a monster or give your team a slight boost. Then we go to the second +1, Which lets you dig deep into your library and get real card advantage in G/W. Finally there is this guys ultimate, which lets you laugh as your opponent most likely decides to concede because you just gained 100 life. Though this card does have some weaknesses. In an empty board all he can do is give you some card advantage if you are lucky, he also has the huge disadvantage of costing 5 mana. Overall he will try to see some play in standard, will be amazing in limited, and be loved by all EDH players.
Eric's Review - First of all, the cost for this guy is insane. The only way to ditch him is exile, and he returns creatures to your hand when they die. Plue he's a 5/4. Sure seven devotion could be a pain to get to, but by turn 4, he should be a creature (think white weenies with Precinct Captain turn two and something else turn one with Atheros as the turn three). This is just insane.
Devin's Review - I remember when Mark Rosewater made the comment that when designing the gods he wanted to give them an ability that wouldn't be completely playable if on a regular enchantment card. Well he has proved himself wrong and this card is one of the reasons. Being able to recur creatures for now price (from you) after this is on the field is fantastic, this is good even with giving you opponent the chance to prevent it with 3 life. This card will be a standard all-star who will wreck the format and make already good decks better and decks that weren't playable before decks to be reckoned with. This card will be loved by the EDH players and i can't wait to build an EDH deck around him.
Eric's Review - For two mana, giving creatures +2/+0, vigilance and first strike is pretty powerful, but being able to essentially copy the spell for two mana each time, we'll it's like tapping an Isochron Scepter multiple times a turn (bad metaphor since Scepter is for instants, but you get the idea).
Bottom Line: Any heroic deck running red and white should probably be using this.
Devin's Review - Not that bad though not close to the best strive card even at uncommon, though it can help push you two the super aggressive R/W heroes deck in limited.
Eric's Review - I see this being far more of an EDH card than anything else. It essentially gets rid of things you don't need and trades them for things you do.
Bottom Line: Standard could put this to use, maybe, but EDH would benefit more.
Devin's Review - I love this card, I can't wait to transmute anything in my hand into another card in my deck. Though this may be good some in limited this card will see no standard play. Where this card will do best in is EDH were a repeatable tutor effect isn't that bad.
Bottom Line: Limited might see this used, not sure about Standard. This should show up in Blue/Green EDH decks though, I think.
Devin's Review - this card is alright though there is one word on this card that make it playable at all, Flash. This card is alright in limited though i don't think it will see much play.
Eric's Review - Iroas is a pretty powerful god, especially coming in at four mana. Creatures you attack with must be blocked by two or more creatures and they can't be dealt damage when they attack. This is really powerful.
Devin's Review - So boror aggro may now be deck when all your creatures can't be blocked except by 2 or more creatures and you don't care how many creatures block or what you attack into when none of your creature can die because Iroas, God of (your) Victory says so. Though this may be great in standard he will be a general to reckon with in EDH.
Eric's Review - Keranos is pretty powerful, however I don't see him doing well in Standard. You reveal cards and you can draw additional cards if the first card you draw is land and nonland cards deal three damage to a creature or player.
Devin's Review - This card is amazing, and i feel his perfect fit is into standard American Control that i feel will get more play with the release of the U/R scry land. When this card comes to EDH i have no idea were to place him as most Izzet decks are really spell heavy and this card does not help in there fun.
Eric's Review - Kruphix boosts your mana reserves so that your mana pool does not empty and instead hangs around and becomes colorless. It's not the best (Omnath is better), but in Standard, this is a major boost, especially if you have mana and nothing ig to play.
Bottom Line: EDH for sure, but I'm not sure this will really go anywhere in Standard.
Devin's Review - I love this card for so many reason. Mostly though for his second ability and what you can do with that in standard with all the other crazy simic stuff in the format (though i will go deeper on this subject in a few weeks). When it comes to EDH i see no reason why you wouldn't replace him with Omnath just so you can get the extra color that also happens to be the best color in EDH.
Eric's Review - Well, here we go with more B/G graveyard things in Standard. Definitely not a bad card, especially for that deck.
Devin's Review - This card has one home in a G/B dredge deck in EDH. Being able to mill two each turn without sacrificing your draw is amazing.
Eric's Review - Like the other gods in this set, Pharika is powerful as well. If you have cards in your graveyard and mana to spare, you can exile a creature card and give yourself a deathtouch snake to remove a threat. If an opponent wants a card out of their graveyard, exile it in response. Sure they'll get a 1/1 deathtouch snake, but Pharika can't be destroyed and therefore negates the deathtouch.
Bottom Line: Powerful and definitely a card to show up across a variety of formats.
Devin's Review - Probably the worst god in this set, though that is not to say that it is bad, i feel this card shines in some obscure snake EDH deck as your snakey goddess to rule your army of snakes.
Eric's Review - Well this is quite interesting. It puts out a lot of Satyrs, but I'm not sure the cost is worth it (or even attainable) in a fast-paced Standard. As long as there are decks capable of ending the game on turn five or six, this card has no place in Standard.
Bottom Line: EDH maybe, Limited definitely. Not much else where this could fit.
Devin's Review - 6 mana for 8 toughness all of it with haste isn't bad, but for the colors it is in it is too slow to shine in any real format besides sealed or possibly EDH.
Eric's Review - A flying creature that can boost through scry. It's not bad, but you run the risk of not giving it any boost.
Devin's Review - This card is crazy and that is not a bad thing. Being able to boost this creature with a slight gamble on how much it was worth just seems fun. I may throw this into some weird EDH deck.
Eric's Review - I actually like this. It gains you life for enchantments (it's cheap too), and you can also pay life to make opponents lose life. Any multiplayer game could be won with this card. As long as you have more than one opponent (such as in EDH or Two-Headed Giant), then losing one life makes a total of 2 or more life lost amongst opponents.
Bottom Line: EDH is where this fits, but if you have lots of life and mana, you could drop your opponent down a bit in Standard. You also could make this work in Two-Headed Giant.
Devin's Review - this is an odd bear, that i can't really comprehend.
Eric's Review - Wow, a boosting artifact that gives a creature more counters. I like it.
Devin's Review - I really like this card though i think that it is only good for limited.
Eric's Review - Not bad either, but not for Standard based on the cost.
Bottom Line: EDH and Limited will definitely put this to good use.
Devin's Review - This card will be amazing in limited, though that is about it.
Eric's Review - Kind of powerful, and a bit like Rubinia Soulsinger. Much too costly though.
Bottom Line: EDH is probably where this would go, although I could see control decks potentially using this.
Devin's Review -This card costs to much for it to really do anything in any format.
Devin's Review - 6 mana for a 4/4 flier is too much.
Eric's Review - This is a pretty powerful card. Sure it costs three mana, but it boosts all creatures of a certain color (so it's not as good as Spear of Heliod, but it'd pretty good).
Bottom Line: Maybe Standard could use this, maybe mono colored EDH decks could use this.
Devin's Review - A colorless anthem is broken and it will be amazing in standard. Being able to let the elementals in MUD live is amazing.
Eric's Review - A functional reprint of City of Brass is awesome, especially in Standard when you may not see the particular color you want.
Bottom Line: This is a card for everyone in any format.
Devin's Review - This is a lot of mana consistency that will be amazing in standard, legacy, and even vintage.
Eric's Review - About time we get a Blue/Red scry land. It was needed.
Bottom Line: It's a scry land!
Eric's Review - About time we get a Black/Green scry land. It was needed.


text:
Tribute to Hinduism
In spite of the reverence, the intellectuals had for Hinduism, there seems a constant effort at defamation in the media. Hindu idols are routinely disparaged in all walks of life. At Disney World there is statue of Lord Ganesh in one of the jungle rides! There are no other religious icons of any faith in the park. Recently, News India-Times published a front page story on $10 Express, a Jackson Heights N.Y. shoe store that was selling $5 sandals with images of Shiva, Ganesh, and Gayatri. This week, Sittin' Pretty, a Seattle-based manufacturer of designer toilet seats, is marketing toilet seats decorated with images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Kali.
Why such disrespectful treatment to such an ancient and noble religion?
Hindu scriptures such as Mahabharata, are often called myths. In reality, the great Hindu epics are formidable in their recording of events over a vast expanse of time. In the early eighties an important archaeological site was found in India, at Dwaraka, the site of the legendary city of Lord Krishna. Dwaraka was submerged by the sea right after the death of Lord Krishna. This was regarded as a grandiose metaphor, part of a story filled with great myths. Now, it is discovered that the whole coast of western India sank by nearly 40 feet around 1500 B .C. E. In contemporary world religions, the scriptural stories are not referred to as myths. For example, in Christianity the biblical story of the virgin birth of Jesus is considered true even today.
Stephen Cross, in his book on Hinduism, pg 1, says, "It is no secret that we in the West live in a time of spiritual crisis. Western civilization has been guided by Christianity. Now it appears that this period is drawing to a close. Both religious institutions and social structures are in disarray. A great many things that were considered basic assumptions of western thought are being challenged. The reality of the external world, the soul, the linear nature of time.
Swami B. V. Tripurari, in his book, "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Ignorance", points out that, "Those now disenchanted with industrialization and scientific materialism as well as pseudo-spirituality, India's ancient spiritual heritage provides a rich alternative. Eastern philosophy, and the devotional heart of India's Vedanta in particular, can fill the empty shopping bag of our Western accomplishments." Whoever reads the Bhagvad Gita for the first time will be struck by the beauty and depth of this work.
Author Beatrice Pitney Lamb has noted: "Recently, increasing numbers of Westerners in revolt against what they have found to be the shallow, gadget-dominated, spiritually empty civilization of the West have turned to "Hinduism" in search of greater meaning or purpose in life. There is no doubt that the great Hindu tradition offers profound spiritual insights, as well as techniques for attaining self-realization, detachment, and even ecstasy.
(source: India: A World in Transition - By Beatrice Pitney Lamb p. 358).
W. J. Grant wrote: "India indeed has a preciousness which a materialistic age is in danger of missing. Some day the fragrance of her thought will win the hearts of men. This grim chase after our own tails which marks the present age cannot continue for ever. The future contains a new human urge towards the real beauty and holiness of life. When it comes India will be searched by loving eyes and defended by knightly hands."
'The religion of the Hindus is rich in legend and stupendous allegory. It is a religion of great dignity and beauty. Its wrestlings with reality are as courageous as any in the whole history of mankind..' Indian thought has generally been contemplative, it has seldom been enamored of the material side of life.'
(The Spirit of India - By W. J. Grant 1933 p. vi - 58).
According to S. Radhakrishnan, "In the history of the world, Hinduism is the only religion, that exhibits a complete independence and freedom of the human mind, its full confidence in its own powers. Hinduism is freedom, especially the freedom in thinking about God. "In the search for the supernatural, it is like traveling in space without a boundary or barrier." (source: Bhagavad Gita - By S. Radhakrishnan pg - 55).
Hinduism may not be called a religion in the sense other religions are known. It is much more than a religion, it is a total way of life. Hinduism has no founder. Its authority is Eternal Truth. The cumulative record of metaphysical experimentation. Behind the lush tangle of religious imagery, is a clear structure of thought. Compared to the rugged originality of the Indian traditions, the language of today's philosophers concerned with being often sound a little contrived. Hindus have always been metaphysicians at heart. It is the underlying ideas, and not the images which count. The forms are many, the reality is one. As stated at the outset in the Rig Veda:
"Truth is one, the wise call it by various names."
Hinduism is a monotheistic religion that springs from the Trinity (Trimurti). Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. Three aspects of one God. Creation, preservation, destruction. Many in the west have tried to denounce it as the worship of idols. Swami Vivekananda, said: "If a person wants to drink milk, he uses a cup as he cannot drink it directly. Idols are nothing but symbols through which divinity can be comprehended. It helps undeveloped minds to grasp high spiritual truths.
Lord Krishna said:
"In whatever way men love Me, in the same way they find My love; various are the ways of men, but in the end they all come to Me."
The statue of Nataraja (dance pose of Lord Shiva) is a well known example for the artistic, scientific and philosophical significance of Hinduism. The dancing Shiva is the most sublime artistic attempt to capture the mystery of the universe in form. The late scientist, Carl Sagan, in his book, "Cosmos" asserts that the Dance of Nataraja (Tandava) signifies the cycle of evolution and destruction of the cosmic universe (Big Bang Theory). "It is the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of." Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but also the very essence of inorganic matter.
For modern physicists, then, Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. Hundreds of years ago, Indian artist created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. Today, physicist have used the most advanced technology to portray the pattern of the cosmic dance. Thus, the metaphor of the cosmic dance unifies, ancient religious art and modern physics. The Hindus, according to Sir Monier-Williams, were Spinozists more than 2,000 years before the advent of Spinoza, and Darwinians many centuries before Darwin and Evolutionists many centuries before the doctrine of Evolution was accepted by scientists of the present age.
The French historian Louis Jacolliot as quoted by Galav in the "Philosophy of Hinduism" page 17 says, "Here to mock are conceit, our apprehensions, and our despair, we may read what Manu said, perhaps 10,000 years before the birth of Christ about Evolution:
' The first germ of life was developed by water and heat.' (Book I, sloka 8,9 )
' Water ascends towards the sky in vapors; from the sun it descends in rain, from the rains are born the plants, and from the plants, animals.' (Book III, sloka 76).
According to the Gita, Creation has been under way from all eternity as the spontaneous outpouring of the Lord's creative energy, as the workings of his prakriti ( primordial Nature). Yet all this spontaneity and freedom, so natural to God, has yet to be discovered and realized by the numberless creatures involved in this process. (It is as if Creation were playing hide-and -seek with itself).
Hinduism is a positive religion in which there are no infidels or heretics. It does not look with contempt even upon an atheist. It doesn't approve of proselytism as means of increasing the number of its adherents. It contains no childish dogma of sin, superstition, fear, false hope and damnation like other religions. The serpent which, in Christianity, brought about the Fall of Man and became his lasting enemy, is in Hinduism found entwined around the neck of Shiva, and as the couch upon which Vishnu reclines.
In India, science and religion are not opposed fundamentally, as they often seem to be in the West, but are seen as parts of the same great search for truth and enlightenment that inspired the sages of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Philosophy and science both disputed Descartes' notions, and even the Church viewed him as a threat to its authority. In fact, in 1663, the Church condemned his books, but by then it was too late. Descartes reasoning helped bring in the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe and North America.
Hinduism comes before us as an old and authentic path, tested by many centuries of human experience. With its respect for the earth and her bounty. It is truly a joyous religion as those who have witnessed it during its many festivals. It is based on personal discovery. "Know thy self and be free." In such an open laboratory, Hindu spirituality has grown over the millennia, so diverse and rich, that it defies definition. If the Indian mind went beyond form to the formless, it also reveled in a riotous feast of forms - in a world of imagination. It has flourished in exuberance...
Klaus L. Klostermaier professor of Religious Studies at the University of Manitoba, Canada says in his book, "A Survey of Hinduism"
"Hinduism has proven much more open than any other religion to new ideas, scientific thought, and social experimentation. Many concepts like reincarnation, meditation, yoga and others have found worldwide acceptance. It would not be surprising to find Hinduism the dominant religion of the twenty-first century. It would be a religion that doctrinally is less clear-cut than mainstream Christianity, politically less determined than Islam, ethically less heroic than Buddhism, but it would offer something to everybody. It will appear idealistic to those who look for idealism, pragmatic to the pragmatists, spiritual to the seekers, sensual to the here-and-now generation. Hinduism, by virtue of its lack of an ideology and its reliance on intuition, will appear to be more plausible than those religions whose doctrinal positions petrified a thousand years ago." But man must go beyond the gratification of the senses. He must progress in thought. This cannot come, says Sri Aurobindo, "if we chain the spirit to some fixed mental idea or system of religious cult, intellectual truth, aesthetic norm, ethical value, practical action... According to M. S. N. Menon, "For the Hindus, we are like pilgrims on a long march. Some are in the lead. They have lighted torches in their hands. They are nearer to Bliss. Some are in the rear. They are somewhat in the dark. They are still in the thrill of the senses. And this is how it is going to be for ages. Before us is a great goal - the progressive divination of men. Those who are at the rear will seek to gratify their senses and those who are in the lead will raise their consciousness.
According to Hans Torwesten, in his book "Vedanta - Heart of Hinduism":
" A fair number of leading physicists and biologists have found parallels between modern science and Hindu ideas. In America, many writers such as J. D. Salinger (An Adventure in Vedanta: J.D. Salinger's the Glass Family), Henry Miller, Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, and Christopher Isherwood, were in contact with the Vedanta. Most of them came from elevated intellectual circles which rejected the dogmatism of the Christian Churches yet longed for spirituality and satisfactory answers to the fundamental questions of existence. In Vedanta, they found a wide-open, universal, and philosophically oriented religion where even the penetrating scientific mind could find something to its taste".
European philosophers rhapsodized about the profundity and beauty of these writings. Here they encountered a fusion of philosophy and religion, a deep wisdom and a concern with the ultimate, that had no parallel in either contemporary Western philosophy or Western religion. George Feuerstein, in his book ' Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita: Its Philosophy and Cultural Setting' says: " The ant-heap behavior of modern human society, with its soul-destroying mechanical routine and organized aggression and violence, is only one of the negative aspects of the present crisis. Thorough discontentment with the inherited Western - Christian - tradition, especially with the 'God out there' dogma, has kindled a large-scale authentic search for truth in the 'heathen world', above all the spiritual heritage of India. As was to be expected after the disappointment with Christian Theism, it is more the monistic school, like Advaita-Vedanta and Zen, which captivate the interest of the disillusioned Westerner."
God is not dead in India and not a mere memory of the past. Numerous "living gods" and "Incarnations" are everywhere in India today. It is not poverty that you find here - its the absolute core of a living faith so alien to Westernized minds that it can be seen terrifying. Many people in the West have come to realize more and more that organized and denominationalized Christianity (called Churchanity by Hindus) does not even represent the essence of Christianity, let alone that of religion, a new broader, and looser understanding of religion is emerging that approaches the Hindu notion of dharma.
Joseph Campbell, was an avid scholar of spiritual development, in his book Myths to Live By states: " We in the West have named our God, or rather, we have had the Godhead named for us in a book from a time and place that are not our own. And we have been taught to have faith not only in the absolute existence of this metaphysical fiction, but also in its relevance to the shaping of our lives." In the Great East, on the other hand, the accent is on experience: on one's own experience, not a faith in someone else's." In the Christian West, there was that Fall, back there, in the Garden, and we have all been congenital sinners ever since." "Whereas in the East there is the idea of the inherent innocence of Nature, even in what appears to our human eyes and sentiments to be its cruelties, the World, as they say in India, is God's Play (Maya). It is a wondrous, thoughtless play: a rough play, the roughest, cruelest, most dangerous, most difficult with no holds barred." (source: Myths to Live By - Joseph Campbell p. 96).
According to Sri Aurobindo, in his book, "India's Rebirth" (ISBN 2-902776-32-2) page 141, says:
"The mentality of the West has long cherished the aggressive and quite illogical idea of a single religion for all mankind, a religion universal by the very force of its narrowness, one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies, one array of prohibitions and injunctions, one ecclesiastical ordinance. That narrow absurdity prances about as the one true religion which all must accept on peril of persecution by men here and spiritual rejection or fierce eternal punishment by God in other worlds. This grotesque creation of human unreason, the parent of so much intolerance, cruelty, obscurantism and aggressive fanaticism, have never been able to take firm hold of the free and supple mind of India".
To quote Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, " The intolerance of narrow monotheism is written in letters of blood across the history of man from the time when first the tribes of Israel burst into the land of Canaan. The worshippers of the one jealous God are egged on to aggressive wars against people of alien cults. They invoke divine sanction for the cruelties inflicted on the conquered. The spirit of old Israel is inherited by Christianity and Islam, and it might not be unreasonable to suggest that it would have been better for Western civilization if Greece had molded it on this question rather than Palestine. Wars of religion which are the outcome of fanaticism that prompts and justifies the extermination of aliens of different creeds were practically unknown in Hindu India."
The Vedas say that " the wise call the One by many names", and exhort us to "let good thoughts come to us from everywhere"; in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna assures the adherents of all religions that "those who pray with devotion to another god, it is to Me that they pray."
Many foreign groups of people persecuted for their religion came to seek refuge in India. The Parsis have thrived. The heterodox Syrian Christians have lived in peace until the Portuguese came to enlist them in their effort to christianize India. The Jews have expressed their gratitude when they left for Israel because India was the only country where their memories were not of persecution but of friendly co-existence. All these groups were not merely tolerated, but received land and material support for building places of worship. Yuan Chwang, the Chinese traveler, reports that at the great festival of Prayaga, King Harsha dedicated on the first day a statue to the Buddha, another to the sun, the favorite deity of his father, on the second, and to Shiva on the third. The famous Kottayam plates of Sthanuravi (ninth century AD) and the Cochin plates of Vijayaragadeva bear eloquent testimony to the fact that the Hindu kings not only tolerated Christianity but granted special concessions to the professors of that faith. Today, The Tibetan Buddhist and their spiritual head, the Dalai Lama have taken refuge in India, from the persecution of Communist China.
Hinduism is not a religion for occasional airings on Sundays or to be pulled out to celebrate births, marriages and deaths. It is part of everyday activity. To survive and flourish over a long period (over more than five millennia) is a striking testimony to Hinduism's ability to adapt itself to changing circumstances, an ability often insufficiently appreciated because of the apparent dominance of traditional attitudes. Hinduism is by definition (actually it defies definition) formless and seamless; its beauty lies in its refusal to be contained, least of all by national boundaries. Hinduism continues to show amazing life and vigor. In all the historic encounters between Hinduism and other religions Hinduism has always emerged the stronger and richer and succeeded in absorbing the other elements. According to Nirad C. Chaudhuri: " The faith which the Hindus had in their religion never wavered even in its worst days. It has had waxings and wanings which has kept the balance even." " In judging the vitality of Hinduism the point should be emphasized that it has maintained itself through the ages and enforced obedience to itself without support from any kind of organization, secular or spiritual." (source: Hinduism: a religion to live by - Nirad C. Chaudhari p. 116-120)
Hinduism is an inclusive faith, with many branches and many spiritual leaders, its strength is the unity which underpins the diversity.
In conclusion, " Hinduism it is said, compares to the River Ganges, which arises from the mighty Himalayas. She descends to the world of man and of everyday life, bringing great floods of life-giving waters to the plains. As she progresses, small tributaries and great streams join her, swelling her volume and joining in her progress to her ultimate home, the infinitude of the ocean. So it is with Hinduism. It is the oldest of the great religions. Rather than a single doctrine or a single system of worship it is a broad confluence of ideas and attitudes."
" Into the bosom of the one great sea
Flow streams that come from hills on every side
Their names are various as their springs,
And thus in every land do men bow down
To one great God, though known by many names."
- (The Folk Songs of Southern India By Gover 1871 p. 165)
ybr (alias ybrao a donkey) said...
Foreigners belittle Hinduism because Indians get their degrees at the cost of Indian Nation go abroad begging for jobs and dollars. When Alexander's commander went to a yogi in India soon after the conquest of Porus, and said that the "conquerer of the world was before him", the ascetic asked him to move aside as his loin-cloth was not getting dried since the Commander's shadow is falling on it. No amount of preaching will work on Corporates making and selling goods in Capitalist Societies. www.VivekanandaYb.Blogspot.Com
Ed Vis said...
The Only thing Hindus have to fear is fear itself.
The concepts of utmost freedom of thoughts and actions are the cardinal principles of Hinduism.
Even atheists can call themselves as Hindus.
Voltaire in Essay on Tolerance wrote:
"I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it."
Hinduism is the symbol of what Voltaire wrote.
http://www.amiahindu.com/
Pythagorean Theorem was first postulated by Indian...


In 2009, Richard's grandmother and inspiration, Aziza passed away. She was the family's matriarch who lived in Israel. She arrived to Israel in 1929, and soon thereafter took up residence in Zichron Yaakov, where she had a vineyard and made wine naturally. The vineyard from which they source the Aziza's Shiraz, is on the top of a southeastern facing slope, in the coolest area of Hunter's Valley, which allows for the grapes to reach their maximum ripeness without losing their acidity. In memory of his grandmother and because she also made natural wine, Richard named his preservative free/natural wine after her. Imagine crushing a bunch of grapes in your hands and having the juice ferment between leaving your fingers and falling into your mouth...then drink this and see the similarity.
Brilliant ruby. Smoky cherry and blackberry scents are lifted by a minerally nuance and peppery spices. Sappy, penetrating and focused, offering sweet dark fruit and floral pastille flavors that gain weight with air. Refreshingly pure and lively on the finish, with the floral and spice notes strongly repeating.


Maxymillian Participates in 3rd annual MA Girls in Trades Conference and Career Fair - J.H. Maxymillian, Inc.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Hundreds of young women from 13 western and central Massachusetts vocational schools heard Lt. Governor Karyn Polito urge them to take advantage of construction job opportunities.
This was the third annual young women's job fair and conference held at Springfield Technical Community College.
Women who now earn their livelihood in construction were there to instruct the high school students in job opportunities in the building trades.
The upbeat advice given to young women like Katelyn Sawyer, still uncertain about choosing a career, made a positive impact.
These young women heard that, outside of the construction industry, women earn 84 cents for every dollar earned by men doing comparable work.
They expressed enthusiasm about securing a well-paying job in construction with pay on a par with that of their male co-workers.


show policer—Display information about the policers that are in effect (on vEdge routers only).
Display information about all policers.
Display information about policers that match the specified burst size.
Display information about policers that match the specified OOS action. A policed packet is out of specification when the policer does not allow it to pass. Depending on the policer configuration, these packets are either dropped or they are remarked, which sets the packet loss priority (PLP) value on the egress interface to high.
Display information about policers that match the specified OOS packet count.
Display information about policers that match the specified bandwidth.
In Release 16.3, add burst, oos-action, oos-pkts, and rate options.


text:
Information vs attractiveness cues in advertisements: OTC drugs in India and USA
Information vs attractiveness cues in advertisements: OTC drugs in India and USA Purva Kansal 2013-04-26 00:00:00 Purpose – Advertisements are the first point of contact a marketer has with a prospective consumer. It is at this stage that a marketer gets an opportunity to leave an impression in the minds of a reader and to differentiate a reader from a prospective customer. Marketers achieve this objective with the help of two tools of advertising i.e. attractiveness cues and information cues. Given the limitation of time, space and financial resources marketers have been forced into a tradeoff between information cues and attractiveness cues. This tradeoff has given rise to skepticism in the minds of customers and policy makers concerning the balance between the two cues and resulting ethical issues. This paper aims to carry out a content analysis of advertisements in magazines in order to study this tradeoff between information and attractiveness cues in advertisements. Design/methodology/approach – To pursue the research objective, it was decided to collect data through content analysis of advertisements. To judge the level of informative and attractiveness cues in advertisements, classification by Resnik and Stern and Pollay along with imagery questions were used. The classification determines the level of advertising information based on 14 criteria or cues. The classification is an established baseline and has also been tested for reliability in other cultures. To collect data it was decided to use magazine advertisements as these are a preferred means for advertising OTC drugs. In order to select the sample various Indian and US magazines were reviewed. Indian magazines focusing entirely on health and women could not be found; therefore two popular women's magazines were chosen which discussed health topics. For interpreting the content of the advertisements two coders, who were trained in marketing research, were chosen. Data collection resulted in 170 unique advertisements across India and USA. Findings – The results of the study highlighted that, although both US and Indian OTC advertisements were trading off in favor of attractiveness cues, Indian advertisements were more imbalanced. Indian advertisements on an average have 4.83 attractiveness cues out of 6.60 cues per advertisements while US advertisements have 4.55 attractiveness cues out of 7.54 cues per advertisement. Indian advertisements not only have on an average fewer information cues, but also fared badly in terms of the type of cues. The US marketers were found to be more socially responsible in terms of advertisements ethics as compared to Indian marketers in the context of the OTC drugs industry. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to OTC drugs; a more detailed study should be carried out to compare advertising content by specific product categories. Difference in scope of magazines used in this study may have influenced the adequacy of sample, as profile of target customers in the two magazines was a little different. Practical implications – The results indicated that the Indian OTC advertisers needed to re‐evaluate the industry standards and become more ethical and socially responsible to give the industry a global outlook and acceptance. Social implications – The paper highlights the need for companies to adopt a proactive and socially responsible attitude and improve information content of Indian OTC advertisements as per international industry standards. Originality/value – The paper will be of value to corporate and social policy makers and also to marketers. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Asia Business Studies Emerald Publishing http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/information-vs-attractiveness-cues-in-advertisements-otc-drugs-in-kuYSvF0zIg
Purva Kansal
Journal of Asia Business Studies
, Volume 7 (2): 13 – Apr 26, 2013
/lp/emerald-publishing/information-vs-attractiveness-cues-in-advertisements-otc-drugs-in-kuYSvF0zIg
Journal of Asia Business Studies /
Business, Management and Accounting /
Business, Management and Accounting...
Purpose – Advertisements are the first point of contact a marketer has with a prospective consumer. It is at this stage that a marketer gets an opportunity to leave an impression in the minds of a reader and to differentiate a reader from a prospective customer. Marketers achieve this objective with the help of two tools of advertising i.e. attractiveness cues and information cues. Given the limitation of time, space and financial resources marketers have been forced into a tradeoff between information cues and attractiveness cues. This tradeoff has given rise to skepticism in the minds of customers and policy makers concerning the balance between the two cues and resulting ethical issues. This paper aims to carry out a content analysis of advertisements in magazines in order to study this tradeoff between information and attractiveness cues in advertisements. Design/methodology/approach – To pursue the research objective, it was decided to collect data through content analysis of advertisements. To judge the level of informative and attractiveness cues in advertisements, classification by Resnik and Stern and Pollay along with imagery questions were used. The classification determines the level of advertising information based on 14 criteria or cues. The classification is an established baseline and has also been tested for reliability in other cultures. To collect data it was decided to use magazine advertisements as these are a preferred means for advertising OTC drugs. In order to select the sample various Indian and US magazines were reviewed. Indian magazines focusing entirely on health and women could not be found; therefore two popular women's magazines were chosen which discussed health topics. For interpreting the content of the advertisements two coders, who were trained in marketing research, were chosen. Data collection resulted in 170 unique advertisements across India and USA. Findings – The results of the study highlighted that, although both US and Indian OTC advertisements were trading off in favor of attractiveness cues, Indian advertisements were more imbalanced. Indian advertisements on an average have 4.83 attractiveness cues out of 6.60 cues per advertisements while US advertisements have 4.55 attractiveness cues out of 7.54 cues per advertisement. Indian advertisements not only have on an average fewer information cues, but also fared badly in terms of the type of cues. The US marketers were found to be more socially responsible in terms of advertisements ethics as compared to Indian marketers in the context of the OTC drugs industry. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to OTC drugs; a more detailed study should be carried out to compare advertising content by specific product categories. Difference in scope of magazines used in this study may have influenced the adequacy of sample, as profile of target customers in the two magazines was a little different. Practical implications – The results indicated that the Indian OTC advertisers needed to re‐evaluate the industry standards and become more ethical and socially responsible to give the industry a global outlook and acceptance. Social implications – The paper highlights the need for companies to adopt a proactive and socially responsible attitude and improve information content of Indian OTC advertisements as per international industry standards. Originality/value – The paper will be of value to corporate and social policy makers and also to marketers.
Journal of Asia Business Studies – Emerald Publishing
Keywords: Communication; Corporate social responsibility; Strategy; Management; Content analysis; Social responsibility; Advertisements; Print media; Advertising effectiveness; Pharmaceutical products
The information content of advertising: a meta‐analysis
Abernethy, A.M.; Franke, G.R.
FTC regulatory activity and the information content of advertising
A content analysis of magazine advertisements from the US and the Arab World
Al‐Olayan, F.S.; Karande, K.
Business advertising appeals as a mirror of cultural dimensions: a study of 11 countries
Albers‐Miller, N.D.; Gelb, B.D.
A comparison of print advertisements from the US and France
Biswas, A.; Olsen, J.E.; Carlet, V.
The 70 percent majority: enduring consumer beliefs about advertising
Calfee, J.; Ringold, D.
Testing Drugs on India's Poor
Carney, S.
Pharmaceutical advertisements: how they deceive patients
Chandra, A.; Holt, G.A.
Regulation of OTC Medicines
Switching prescription drugs to over the counter
Cohen, J.P.; Paquette, C.; Cairns, C.P.
A woman's place: an analysis of the roles portrayed by women in magazine advertisements
Courtney, A.E.; Lockeretz, S.W.
Persuasive advertising, autonomy, and the creation of desire
Crisp, R.
The meanings of ethics in and of advertising
Hackley, C.
An information content comparison of magazine ads across a response continuum from direct response to institutional advertising
James, E.L.; Bergh, B.G.V.
Alcohol advertising and youth: a measured approach
Jernigan, D.H.; Ostroff, J.; Ross, C.
The development of early thought in marketing and promotion
Kelley, W.T.
Image advertisements' influence on adolescents' perceptions of the desirability of beer and cigarettes
Kelly, K.J.; Slater, M.D.; Karan, D.
The inclusion of social‐responsibility themes by magazine advertisers: a longitudinal study
Lill, D.; Gross, C.; Peterson, R.
OTC drugs sale rise @10%: Assocham
A content analysis of Direct‐to‐Consumer (DTC) prescription drug web sites
Macias, W.; Lewis, L.S.
Analysis of information content in US and Japanese magazine advertising
Madden, C.S.; Caballero, M.J.; Matsukubo, S.
Review of global competitiveness in the pharmaceutical industry
Michels, D.; Jonnard, A.
Ethics in advertising: review, analysis, and suggestions
Murphy, P.E.
On the origin and distinctness of skepticism toward advertising
Obermiller, C.; Spangenberg, E.R.
The effects of comparative advertising on attention, memory, and purchase intentions
Pechmann, C.; Stewart, D.W.
Reliability of nominal data based on qualitative judgments
Perreault, W.D. Jr; Leigh, L.E.
Depiction of idealized youth lifestyles in magazine advertisements: a content analysis
Peterson, R.T.
The distorted mirror: reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising
Pollay, R.W.
Interaction of law and ethics in matters of advertisers' responsibility for protecting consumers
Preston, I.L.
Over‐the‐counter drug industry: market research reports, statistics and analysis
Reportlinker.com
An analysis of information content in television advertising
Resnik, A.; Stern, B.L.
Patterns in direct‐to‐consumer prescription drug print advertising and their public policy implications
Roth, M.S.
In India, oversight lacking in outsourced drug trials
Sandler, T.
The informative and persuasive functions of advertising: a moral appraisal
Santilli, P.C.
Alcohol and cigarette advertising on billboards: targeting with social cues
Schooler, C.; Basil, M.D.; Altman, D.G.
US Industrial Outlook 1994
US Department of Commerce
Marketing and the use of fear‐ or anxiety‐arousing appeals
Wheatley, J.J.
Advertising ethics: emerging methods and trends
Zinkhan, G.M.
Kansal, P. (2013). Information vs attractiveness cues in advertisements: OTC drugs in India and USA. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 7(2), 140-152.
Kansal, Purva. "Information vs attractiveness cues in advertisements: OTC drugs in India and USA." Journal of Asia Business Studies 7.2 (2013): 140-152.


This is a placeholder page for Craig Beishuizen, which means this person is not currently on this site. We do suggest using the tools below to find Craig Beishuizen.
You are visiting the placeholder page for Craig Beishuizen. This page is here because someone used our placeholder utility to look for Craig Beishuizen. We created this page automatically in hopes Craig Beishuizen would find it. If you are not Craig Beishuizen, but are an alumni of Montague High School Montague, MI, register on this site for free now.


What does all the evidence say about effective preschool education and long-term cognitive benefits?
What are the estimated effects of state and local pre-K programs in more recent years?
Can government improve the quality of public preschool education?
If states expand pre-K with temporary federal matching funds, what happens to state education budgets when that federal money is not available?
NIEER projects that in 2030 all but 1 state would spend less on education from pre-K through grade 12 under federal proposals that incentivize states to raise pre-K quality standards, offer a full school day, and serve all children under 200 percent of the federal poverty level.


What is National Grid Smart Energy Solutions program?
National Grid's Smart Energy Solutions Program, serving almost 15,000 customers in Worcester, MA, is the largest and most comprehensive smart grid deployment in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
National Grid's program, which was developed in partnership with customers, the city of Worcester and other key parties, offers a number of benefits, including improved outage restoration, system reliability and personal energy management.
National Grid is empowering customers in the program with in-home technologies and dynamic pricing options designed to help save energy and money. These options offer a new level of choice, control and convenience in regards to their energy consumption. In addition, grid modernization solutions—including advanced meters and communications systems—enable National Grid to increase its service reliability and improve power outage and emergency restoration response. These technologies can help to improve the environment by reducing the need for new resource generation and decreasing the amount of resource generation used today.
What are the benefits of the Smart Energy Solutions program?
The key benefits of the program include greater energy efficiency, greater customer access to energy management information, and greater choice for customers in how they use energy, increased electric system reliability, modernization of the local electric system and a cleaner environment.
A smart electric grid offers two-way communications between the utility and the customer. Smart meters serve as a gateway to new energy management tools and pricing options and will be able to send or receive messages to and from National Grid. This two-way communication will quickly alert National Grid about any service disruptions and allow for faster service restoration during power outages, especially during storms.
What will change for customers participating in National Grid Smart Energy Solutions program?
Customers participating in the program will have an unprecedented level of control and choice over their electrical energy usage, including insights into how they use energy.
Program customers will receive smart meters that provide them with their usage information during the month, close to the time of their actual use. Also, customers will be able to participate in new energy management tools, devices, and pricing options that will potentially help them reduce their electric bills.
Will Smart Energy Solutions program customers have access to additional information about their energy use?
Yes. Smart Energy Solutions includes capabilities for all customers to receive additional information about their electricity use via a website, email or through their smart phone. Also, Smart Energy Solutions will provide analysis of customer's usage in comparison with other customers who are similar.
When will the Smart Energy Solutions program start?
The Company has already upgraded the meters at 15,000 customers' homes and businesses in the area. The meter is what gives the company the ability to offer to customers the opportunities and benefits to better manage their electrical usage provided by Smart Energy Solutions.
Starting in 2014, in-home or in-office technology will also be installed for customers who elect these options. Coming this summer, customers participating in the program will be offered new pricing options to help achieve the best balance between comfort and savings.
Smart meters are two-way communications devices that will serve as a gateway to new energy management tools, devices and pricing options that will be offered to Smart Energy Solutions customers. Smart meters are able to send or receive messages to and from National Grid. This two-way communication will instantaneously alert National Grid about service disruption at your home or business and allow for faster service restoration during power outages, especially during storms.
How do smart meters support the program?
Traditional meters simply measure overall energy use, but provide customers with no detailed energy data. Traditional meters also provide no communications to the utility in case of a power outage. Smart meters provide new communications features that deliver detailed energy data directly to customers using web, smart phone or email technology. This additional information and the ability to communicate the information to customers in near real-time will help customers control how and when energy is consumed as well as understand the level of use in their electric bill.
The advanced meters used in the Smart Energy Solutions program will give customers the ability to measure electricity in near real-time using two-way communications between the home or business and National Grid. The two-way communications capability allows smart meters to instantly alert National Grid about a power outage. This should reduce the response time needed to repair outages.
Will there be a cost to me for the smart meter?
There is no direct cost to customers for the new smart meter. The incremental costs for the Smart Energy Solutions program will be recovered from all customers because it is a test to determine what values can be provided customers through innovation.
What if I don't want to participate in the Smart Energy Solutions program?
We feel that the benefits of the Smart Energy Solutions program are significant to customers; however, you do not have to participate. You should have received notification that you were offered a smart meter upgrade. Each customer invited to participate in the program has had the opportunity to elect to not have your meter exchanged to a new smart meter.
Please note that if you have chosen not to receive a smart meter, you will be unable to take advantage of smart meter-enabled benefits offered through the program. However, if we have upgraded your meter, you still have the opportunity to opt-out of the program before it begins. Please contact us at 1-855-377-SMART (1-855-377-7627) to make this selection.
What if I don't want to participate in the Smart Energy Solutions program AFTER I receive a smart meter?
Participants in the program will always have the option to no longer participate if they so wish. If a customer changes their mind and wishes to no longer participate, they should call us at 1-855-377-SMART (1-855-377-7627).
What are the in-home technologies available to customers in the Smart Energy Solutions program?
These energy management tools and technologies will provide you with more details about how and when you use energy. Additionally, some of the new tools and technologies will help you reduce energy use by enhancing the automation of your electric appliance and equipment settings for savings.
Call 1-855-377-SMART (1-855-377- 7627) and a customer care representative will be happy to assist you.
Yes, numerous independent studies have confirmed that customers who have more information and control over their energy consumption realize noticeable savings on their bills.
In the second phase of this program—beginning in summer 2014—Smart Energy Solutions customers will have even more opportunities to save money by taking advantage of new pricing plans that will be offered by National Grid.
You receive more information about these new pricing plans and how to participate in them in summer 2014.
How do I choose a technology package?
Click here or call 1-855-377-SMART (1-855-377-7627) to request your preferred technology option, and a customer care specialist will be happy to assist you.
How will I request the technology package of my choice?
Customers will be able to rank their top three choices and will be assigned one of those packages while supplies last, assuming the technical requirements are met. It is important to note, all Smart Energy Solutions customers will have access to Option 1, which includes detailed personal electricity use information online.
How will the technology package be delivered to me?
Once your technology package has been assigned, you will be notified and a certified installer will call you to schedule a convenient date for installation.
How can I reduce energy in my home?
There are many simple ways that you can reduce energy use in your home. Below is a list of some helpful tips for reducing energy use every day. Remember, savings will vary significantly from home to home. Data based on 500 kWh monthly residential usage at 15 cents per kWh per month.
Replace five lights with ENERGY STAR® certified light bulbs and save 62 kWh for a total savings of $9 per month.
Turn off lights, appliances, TVs, stereos, computers and video games when not in use. You could save 58 kWh and $9 per month.
If you have a large television (greater than 32"), turn it off when not watching. You can save 50 KWh and $8 per month.
Unplug your electric space heater or hot tub and save $41 (or 270 kWh) per month.
Unplug and recycle your old, second refrigerator and you can save $23 (150 kWh) per month.
Washing your clothes in cold water can save you 63 kWh—or $9 per month.
Repair leaky faucets and save on your electric hot water. You can save 40 kWh or $6 per month.
Unplug chargers, laptops, anything with remote control or "instant on" features and save $4 (29 kWh) per month.
On your electric dryer: Clean the dryer filter, and clean and straighten the exhaust hose/duct and vent outside. You will save 23 kWh—or $3 per month.
When buying new appliances, always choose ENERGY STAR. This can save you 75 kWh—or $11 per month.
For more ways to reduce your energy use, see our energy saving tips.
How can I reduce energy at my business?
There are many simple ways that you can reduce energy use at your business. Below is a list of some helpful tips for reducing energy use every day. Remember, savings will vary significantly from business to business. Data based on business usage at 15 cents per kWh per month.
"Tune-up" your heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with an annual maintenance contract. Even a new ENERGY STAR qualified HVAC system, like a new car, will decline in performance without regular maintenance. A contract automatically ensures that your HVAC contractor will provide "pre-season" tune-ups before each cooling and heating season. You save energy and money, and your system may last years longer with minimal costs for yearly maintenance fees.
Install switch plate occupancy sensors in proper locations to automatically turn off lighting when no one is present and back on when people return.
Replace incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), wherever appropriate. CFLs cost about 75 percent less to operate, and last about 10 times longer.
Consider upgrading to T8 (1" diameter) fluorescent lamp tubes with solid-state electronic ballasts that are more efficient than older T12 (1.5" diameter) tubes with magnetic ballasts.
Install ENERGY STAR qualified exit signs. These exit signs can dramatically reduce maintenance by eliminating lamp replacement, and can save up to $10 dollars per sign annually in electricity costs while preventing up to 500 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Always buy ENERGY STAR qualified products for your small business. The ENERGY STAR mark indicates the most efficient computers, printers, copiers, refrigerators, televisions, windows, thermostats, ceiling fans, and other appliances and equipment.
Turning off machines when they are not in use can result in enormous energy savings. There is a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use by monitors; they do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is always the better energy-saving strategy.
Purchase ENERGY STAR qualified commercial food service equipment. For example, qualified refrigerators and freezers can save over 45% of the energy used by conventional models, which equals as much as $140 annually for refrigerators and $100 for freezers; deep fryers can save between $60 and $180 per year; hot food holding cabinets can save up to $280 per year; and steam cookers can save between $450 and $820 per year depending on fuel.
For existing refrigerators, clean refrigerator coils twice a year and replace door gaskets if a dollar bill easily slips out when closed between the door's seals.
More tips for how you can reduce your energy use, click here.
Are the new smart meters safe?
How much radio frequency do the new smart meters emit?
People are exposed daily to low levels of RF energy, from both natural sources, such as the sun, the earth and the earth's outer atmosphere, and from man-made sources, mainly telecommunications and common electronic devices. The Itron smart meters being installed by National Grid operate well below the regulatory safety limits and present less exposure than many common devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers and microwave ovens.
The amount of RF emitted by the new smart meter is approximately 1,000 times less than the average person's cell phone and 500 times less than the average microwave oven.
National Grid abides by the strictest guidelines for customer data privacy, data security and safety for our customers and employees. We have protected private data about our customers' accounts for decades, always improving its systems to meet the changing technologies, and will continue to do so as new advanced technologies are offered to customers. The new smart meters and the information communicated through these devices are subject to the same regulatory security standards that keep the electric grid secure.
Itron's smart metering system is designed with robust security to ensure data is safe and consumers are protected. All data transmitted via the Itron smart meters is encrypted to ensure the privacy of customer information.
Will personal information remain private with the new smart meters?
Yes, National Grid will keep all of its customers' personal information private, as it has always done. We fully comply with all existing laws and regulations designed to protect consumer information and maintain that any customer information that we gather is secure.


Being a manufacturer within in the truck accessories industry, it's no surprise that at Magnum, we're huge truck enthusiasts. The parking lot to our production warehouse is filled with a variety of trucks every morning as our team arrives for work. Our team loves staying on top of the latest trends in the truck world as much as you do.
After recently listening to what interests both our team and our customers, we've put together some of our favorite truck videos of 2016 for your enjoyment.
A video shot on the coast of Maine to test the durability of the Magnum Truck Racks Glide Track System. Pro-Am Wake Boarder Dustin Ouellette was pulled by a rope solely held by the Cargo Stops on the Magnum Truck Rack. This is the extended version of that shoot.
The everyday life of a Magnum Truck Rack will see many things. For our "Project Dirt" shoot we hooked up with pro motocross racer Jimmy Decotis of the Geico Powersports Factory Connection Honda Team.
A video shot on the coast of Maine to test the durability of the Magnum Truck Rac's Glide Track System. Pro-Am Wakeboarder Dustin Ouellette was pulled by a rope solely held by the Cargo Stops on the Magnum Truck Rack.


You are viewing the for at 1585 S Coast 24 with the MLS® LG19006639 on Previewochomes.com. This at 1585 S Coast 24, CA . 92651 is located in the The Village (VIL) subdivision and is currently for featuring 1650 sq.ft. of living space, and listed for sale at $9,000. This for at 1585 S Coast 24 with the MLS® # LG19006639 has been listed since 2019-01-09.


text:
Are stem cells over?
April 21, 2016 Richard Jaffe Comments 4 comments
In 2003, I did my first stem cell case, and it was, as far as I know, the first time the Feds investigated a physician for the clinical use of stem cells. Mitch Ghen had treated a couple of dozen ALS patients with umbilical cord blood. He obtained the material from a Florida cord blood bank. The Feds found out and were not happy. So a half dozen agents raided his clinic in 2003. After the raid, they threatened to indict the Florida cord blood bank unless it stopped selling Mitch cord blood. It did and that pretty much put Mitch out of the stem cell business. The Feds kept investigating Mitch; calling his patients and former employees all to try to build a case against him. They wanted him to plead to a few minor felonies with probably only a scant few years of actual jail time. I made my arguments and we went round-and-round. In law, sometimes you have to know when to holdem and know when to foldem. I advised Mitch not to plead guilty to anything. He followed my advice. After more saber rattling, the Feds backed down and moved on to some easier targets. Mitch learned his lesson and his next forays into allogenic (other people's) stem cell therapy were done abroad. Since that time, it has been clear that allogenic stem cell transplants can only be performed under FDA approved clinical trials. (Galileo's Lawyer contains a chapter on Mitch Ghen and his run-in with the FDA. http://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Lawyer-Alternative-Complementary-Experimental/dp/0980118301
However, the allure of stem cells was irresistible to many medical mavericks and they started thinking about autologous stem cell transplants. This had been done legally for decades as part of oncology procedures (bone marrow/stem cell recovery as part of high dose chemotherapy) and other reasons. They focused on the extraction of mesenchymal cells from fat, maybe because it was relatively easy to remove belly fat and liposuction was common and safe. There were various techniques for separating the mesenchymal stem cells from the fat, some chemical and some mechanical via centrifuge.
I believe I wrote the first opinion clearing the use of these cells for transplant in US patients. But there was a rub or a couple rubs. First, the removal and reinjection of the material has to take place during the "same surgical procedure." But back then, there were no guidelines as to what that meant. There were noises about "homologous," use, meaning for the same type of thing the cell was made for. But that was also vague (or vague enough for me) and that the material couldn't be materially altered, or in FDA parlance, the cells couldn't be "more than minimally manipulated." Back then, separation either by physical or chemical means was not considered "more than minimally manipulated," at least by me because there was no specific language so indicating. (This exemption from full drug regulation for stem cells and tissue (in FDA parlance "HCT/P's") is found at 21 CFR 1271.15. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/1271.15).
On the other hand, it seemed pretty clear to me (and I assume to others knowledgeable in the field) that the one thing stem cell transplanters couldn't do was culture stem cells because of two of the above FDA restrictions: First, expanding the original cells over many days or weeks sure seemed like the original cells were being "more than minimally manipulated." Second, it would be hard to argue that reinjecting all those expanded cells a week or two after removal was during the same surgical procedure.
By the late mid to late 2000's stem cells became a big thing. Of course, there were many clinical studies, but the private clinical practice of stem cells really took off. Organizations like A4M were doing modules and training on clinical stem cell use. All kinds of physicians were offering stem cell treatment for many medical conditions, especially muscle, joint and ligament problems. Even then Texas Governor Rick Perry received stem cell treatment, illegally I might add, as his cells were expanded.
And the clinics kept pushing the envelope. The folks who (in my view) pushed it too far was the Colorado clinic (Regenerative Sciences) that treated orthopedic patients with cultured stem cells.
That was a bridge too far. The FDA had enough of the Wild West stem cell medicine business. The proponents made too many unsubstantiated claims and were using stem cells as therapeutic drugs without going through the FDA drug testing program (INDs or Investigational New Drug Applications).
In 2008 the FDA sent Regenerative Sciences a warning letter telling the company that what it was doing was illegal. Specifically, it was violating the FDA drug trifecta: the material was an unapproved new drug, it was misbranded and adulterated. The Feds also had problems with the company's non-compliance with cGMP standards. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ComplianceActivities/Enforcement/UntitledLetters/ucm091991.htm
Yes, the material started out and ended up as the person's own stem cells (the new ones were daughter cells), and yes the original cells were originally part of the person's body. So how could that material be a drug? Logic is logic, and fair is fair, but FDA law and regulations have a logic unto itself, and as unintuitive as it seemed, under FDA law, something that was literally removed from a person's body could be converted by regulatory definitional magic into an adulterated, misbranded, unapproved and legally dangerous new drug.
The Company had two arguments. First, the FDA didn't have jurisdiction over the practice of medicine because only the states can regulate medical practice. Second, the company argued that there was no jurisdiction because the treatment was given in Colorado, so there was no interstate commerce which is a requisite for the FDA to act.
After receiving the warning letter which told the company to stop violating federal law, it followed the usually wise precept that the best defense is offense. The company sued the FDA in Colorado federal court for declaratory and injunctive relief using the two argument.
What did the court say about these arguments? Nothing. The court only decided that the company didn't have a right to bring a lawsuit. And herein lies the unfair federal government sleight-of-hand. Even though the FDA told the company that what it were doing was illegal; the feds did it via a "warning letter." In a move only a regulator would have the temerity to concoct, the feds argued that a warning letter is not "final agency action" and "confers no rights." It's just the agency's current informal thinking on the matter, and that the agency's thinking could change. The federal courts have accepted this nonsense before, and the Colorado district court did so in this case. So like in other cases, the judge dismissed the company's lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds.
But the FDA didn't change its mind, it just wanted to have the case heard in the DC circuit. It didn't take the FDA long to file an action against the company in DC federal court, seeking basically the opposite of what the company sought, a declaration that what the company was doing was illegal and an injunction stopping the treatment. But this time the FDA was the plaintiff and the case was in the court which spends much of its time on administrative law cases.
Litigating in court against an administrative agency is sometimes a frustrating exercise. In a regular civil or criminal case, the judge decides the law and how it is interpreted. This gives both parties an equal shot at convincing the judge what a law means. It doesn't work that way when one of the parties is an administrative agency. Both federal and state courts stack the deck in the agency's favor in a variety of ways. One way is that when an agency is a party and the case involves the interpretation of a statute or regulation which the agency oversees or enforces, the judge does not have the latitude to make independent and neutral rulings concerning the meaning or interpretation of the statutes or rules. Instead, an administrative agency's interpretation of its own statute and rules is given deference (The Feds call it the Chevron doctrine). Unless an agency's interpretation is self-contradictory, makes no sense or is irrational, the agency's interpretation of its laws and rules will be followed by the court.
This sort of takes the desire out of litigating against an agency, which is probably the point or goal. Long story short, the district court agreed with the FDA on basically everything and entered an injunction against the clinic barring it from doing the procedure. The judge's decision was affirmed on appeal by the DC Court of Appeals.https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/947528CDDA0B9A5A85257C7500533DF4/$file/12-5254-1478137.pdf
The FDA had enough of the autologous clinical stem cell transplanters, so they did what comes naturally to regulators, they (belatedly) asserted jurisdiction and regulated the stem cell clinics, which in all practicality means the Feds are trying to put a stop to the therapeutic use of autologous stem cell transplant outside of clinical trials. They did it (or are in the process of doing it) via two administrative vehicles, warning letters and industry guidance documents.
In 2012, the FDA sent a warning letter to a New York company extracting stem cells (stromal vascular fraction) from fat and promoting their use for a wide variety of medical conditions.http://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/2012/ucm297245.htm).
In December 2015, the FDA sent a similar warning letter to a physician doing the same things in California and Florida. http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2015/ucm479837.htm
Same basic contention/finding in both instances: the cells were an unapproved new drug because the use was not homologous, the cells were more than manipulated ("your processing alters the original relevant characteristics of the adipose tissue" yada, yada) and of course the obligatory cGMP (current good manufacturing procedures) violations relating to the manufacture of the material.
Apart from lobbing warning letters at the unlucky who hit its radar screen, between late 2014 and 2015, the FDA also circulated specific draft industry guideline documents on the key regulatory points, basically making formal the principles and interpretations of the regulations set forth in the warning letters. Thus, there are draft guidelines on:
What constitutes the same surgical procedure.http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/Tissue/UCM419926.pdf
What is a homologous use of stem cells. (not much)http://www.fda.gov/downloads/biologicsbloodvaccines/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidances/tissue/ucm469751.pdf
And most importantly, what constitutes more than minimal manipulation. This was the biggest blow since the FDA is taking the position (or trying to) that separating the stem cell from its fat structure is more than minimal manipulation, and this pretty much kills the whole therapeutic use of stem cells outside of clinical trials, at least according to the FDA. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/CellularandGeneTherapy/ucm427692.htm
And in case the adipose stem cell transplanters had any doubts that the FDA were serious about stopping all the fat-based stem cell therapeutics, the FDA even put out a draft guidance specifically on HCT/P's from adipose tissue. http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidances/tissue/ucm427795.htm
Note, these are just "draft" guidelines ("guidance documents"). Under the arcane rules of administrative agencies, the agency publishes draft guidances and the public gets to comment on them. Then there is public hearing where stakeholders can comment to the agency face-to-face. The public hearing on these guidance documents was set for April 2016, but the FDA adjourned the hearing because of the intense public reaction to the guidelines. Supposedly the FDA wanted to give more time for stakeholders to comment. We'll see, and we'll also see if the public hearing will be longer than the one day previously scheduled. The FDA received over seventy written comments about these guidelines so far. But don't count on the FDA changing its mind, on any of the big issues anyway. Is it still worth submitting public comments? For sure. You never know. Maybe some congressional muscle might help as well. Ditto for a public ground swell, if such could be managed.
What can stakeholders do if the FDA adopts the draft guidance documents? Not much. But more of that once the guidelines are in final form. More to come.
Rick Jaffe Esq.
S 2689: Congress to the rescue on stem cells? (Not)
Board subpoenas , Yes (usually); De facto search warrants, No
4 thoughts on "Are stem cells over?"
Pingback: FDA Stem Cell Meetings Close at Hand: Stakeholders on Both Sides are Worried, but One Side Should be Really Worried. | Richard Jaffe, Esq.
folivita-52.com says:
With alternatives to hES cells now available, the debate over stem cell research is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
zzday says: