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NIH statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day - May 18, 2018 | National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Institute/Center
NIAID Office of Communications(link sends e-mail)
NIH statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day - May 18, 2018
Needle syringe with a vaccine bottle.NIH
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., Director, NIH Office of AIDS Research
As a result of the many scientific research advances over 37 years, we now have highly effective methods of HIV treatment and prevention. These tools have allowed us to make important strides in reducing the burden of HIV in the United States and globally.
Daily antiretroviral treatment keeps those living with HIV healthy, and also prevents sexual transmission of the virus when it is durably suppressed in the HIV-positive partner. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is highly effective at preventing HIV acquisition when HIV-negative people who want to protect themselves take one pill daily as directed. Other proven methods of HIV prevention, including medical male circumcision, condom use and needle exchange programs, are helping reduce the rate of new HIV infections around the world.
However, HIV remains a burden to individuals and communities in the United States and abroad, with 1.8 million new infections globally in 2016. Mathematical models suggest that even with scale-up of the currently available and highly effective prevention and treatment tools, the rate of decline of new infections is not adequate to bring the pandemic to an end. To truly end the HIV pandemic, we must develop a safe and effective vaccine.
NIAID-supported scientists in clinics and laboratories around the world are following two complementary paths to expedite the development of an HIV vaccine. The empirical approach relies on building upon prior partial success with additional observation and experimentation to advance vaccine candidates into human clinical trials. Scientists also are pursuing a second, theoretical approach that designs vaccine candidates based on the reasonable assumption that a certain type of immune response would protect against HIV infection.
The empirical approach was reinvigorated in 2009 when results from the large RV144 clinical trial in Thailand showed for the first time that an investigational vaccine regimen could confer a degree of protection, albeit modest, against HIV. Today, NIH and our global partners are continuing to build upon the findings from RV144 and other HIV vaccine studies.
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2018
Two large HIV vaccine efficacy clinical trials are now ongoing in southern Africa. HVTN 702 launched in late 2016 and is designed to determine whether an experimental vaccine regimen based on the one used in RV144 can safely prevent HIV infection among adults in South Africa. The study team is enrolling 5,400 HIV-negative, sexually active men and women aged 18 to 35 years at 15 sites, and results are expected in late 2020.
In late 2017, NIAID and partners launched HVTN 705/HPX2008, also known as Imbokodo, a large proof-of-concept clinical trial in southern Africa to assess whether an experimental vaccine regimen is safe and able to prevent HIV infection. This regimen includes a "mosaic" vaccine designed to induce immune responses against a wide variety of global HIV strains. The investigators aim to enroll 2,600 HIV-negative women, and results are expected in 2021.
The theoretical approach to developing an HIV vaccine involves studying the immune response to HIV infection and finding ways to generate and enhance that response through vaccination. Some of these strategies aim to prevent HIV infection by developing broadly neutralizing antibodies, better understanding the structure of the virus, and generating a protective cellular response.
Researchers are studying the passive transfer of broadly neutralizing antibodies that could provide people with long-acting protection against HIV infection. This concept is being tested in two large clinical trials in the Americas and Africa to determine whether giving people an intravenous infusion of the antibody VRC01 every eight weeks is safe, tolerable, and effective at preventing HIV infection.
Other powerful antibodies also may provide protection against HIV. In September 2017, NIAID scientists and partners from the Paris-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi reported that a three-pronged antibody made in the laboratory protected monkeys from infection better than did the individual antibodies from which the engineered antibody is derived. This new antibody binds to three different sites on the virus, in contrast to natural, single-site antibodies, which could make it more difficult for HIV to escape. Plans are underway to conduct early phase clinical trials of this "trispecific" antibody in the expectation that it could eventually be used for long-acting HIV prevention and treatment.
These advances and ongoing investigations provide cautious optimism that the development of an HIV vaccine is making headway. With each new finding, and with gratitude to those who volunteer for HIV vaccine clinical trials, we move further along the pathway toward a vaccine. On this HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, we are encouraged by the progress that has been made, and pledge to continue our pursuit of the goal of developing a safe and effective HIV vaccine that could help end the HIV pandemic.
NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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Less than a 20-minute walk from the Hellenic Seaways and Peiraias Metro Station, the Savoy Hotel Piraeus provides guests with a convenient base while in Athens. This modern hotel is situated in Piraeus District.
Facilities at the Savoy Hotel Piraeus include an express check-in and check-out feature, a ballroom and free parking. The hotel staff are available 24/7 and can book tours and tickets. The hotel's multilingual staff will be glad to provide dining suggestions and assist you in organising your stay in Athens.
The comfortable rooms offer a mini bar, a private bathroom and a refrigerator. Amenities featured in the rooms include complimentary toiletries, a flat-screen TV and a hair dryer. Internet access is also provided.
Guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast every morning, before a day of sightseeing in Athens. If you choose to eat at the hotel, the on-site restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Guests can enjoy drinks at the hotel's bar.
The Savoy Hotel Piraeus is conveniently situated for sightseeing in Athens with the Port of Piraeus within a 10 minute walk. The National Archaeological Museum and Syntagma Square are around a 20-minute car ride from the hotel.


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UNDP Launches $ 10 Million Development Project in Somalia
By admin on November 12, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )
Mogadishu(SD)-The Somali government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have launched a climate adaptation project to help rural communities access adequate water.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled (Khadar) and UNDP Representative for Somalia, Jocelyn Mason signed the project together.
The new four-year project will be led by the Prime Minister's Office and implemented by the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. The project will cost $ 10 million, of which $ 8.5 million is provided by the World Environment Fund, with the remaining 1.5 million being provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Every two or five years, Somalia faces problems caused by global climate change including floods, hurricanes and droughts, which contribute to community displacement, and raise competition for water and land.
The impact of climate change that has reduced water resources in the already fragile waters could cause further violence in the community.
Pastoralists are most vulnerable to climate change because their livestock depend on grazing on the rainforest, most of them do not have their own grazing land, and are often overwhelmed by water disputes.
The project, which works closely with the community, provides flood management and water conservation training.
Tagged as: Somalia
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Immigration innovation in Bermuda
Published: 4 Jul 2018
First Published in The Bermuda Chamber Of Commerce, Legal Corner, July 2018
Rachel York
Paralegal: Bermuda
E Email Rachel
The financial services industry is being impacted by fintech, or financial technology, which is transforming the way we do business and interact with customers particularly in relation to banking, trading, financial advice and products. This emerging sector is attracting capital to fintech start-ups and has created many opportunities. Bermuda has recently introduced two Acts namely: Companies and Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin Offering) Amendment Act 2018 (ICO Act) and Digital Asset Business Act (DABA). These changes will regulate initial coin offerings and digital asset business carried out in or from within Bermuda. This is part of Bermuda's plan to develop a globally recognised standard for regulating the fintech sector in Bermuda.
To compliment Bermuda's efforts to become a fintech hub, the Island has been quick to introduce business-friendly immigrations policies for reputable fintech companies seeking to do business in or from within Bermuda.
"The Expected Fintech Business Permit Policy" closely mimics Bermuda's existing "New Business Work Permit Policy". Following vetting and approval of the Fintech business' business plan by the FinTech Advisory Committee, the company will be able to apply for a Fintech Business Permit (Permit) using the relevant application form. A certificate of incorporation, and the date the company expects to commence operating in Bermuda, must be included with the Permit application.
Once the initial Permit has been approved, the company will receive automatic approval for five additional work permits. These must be applied for within the first 6 months of the initial Permit. Work permit terms can be granted for up to five years and regular statutory council referral rules apply. Jobs categorised as closed, restricted, or are entry level in nature, cannot be filled using the Permit.
Upon expiry of the initial Permit term, the entity will be obligated to apply for a Standard Work Permit if they desire to continue doing business in Bermuda, which will be subject to Bermuda's regular advertising and recruitment requirements.
How will the new work permit policy benefit Bermuda?
Fintech is a new specialised industry, and the Government is keen to tie industry development with the investment and training of local talent. Where a company would like to apply for more than five Fintech Business Permits, the company will need to submit a business plan outlining how they anticipate hiring Bermudians long-term. Indication of an intention to enlist the services of local providers is also encouraged.
Bermuda is already reaping the initial benefits of efforts in this space. On 27 April 2018 Bermuda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Binance worth $15 million, inclusive of an earmarked $10 million for university training for Bermudians, and $5 million to be invested directly into local Blockchain companies. Shyft Network Inc. also signed a similar MoU worth up to $10 million with a pledge to create 30 Bermudian jobs.
Bermuda has positioned itself to be at the forefront of this fast growing, niche industry. The Fintech Work Permit Policy is a crucial step towards the Island becoming more attractive to investors, while creating unique opportunities for Bermudians to flourish in this innovative space.
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Home » British attorney » Clive Stafford Smith (2017)
Clive Stafford Smith (2017)
Clive Adrian Stafford Smith OBE is a British attorney who specialises in the areas of civil rights and working against the death penalty in the United States of America.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Stafford_Smith
About the Clive Stafford Smith Interview
I began my career doing capital defence cases in the American South. In 1999, I founded the human rights charity Reprieve and as part of my work there represented 85 men in Guantanamo Bay.
Right now I'm representing Kris Maharaj, a man sentenced to death and imprisoned 30 years ago for murder in Florida. I'll soon be going to court to present evidence that Kris was framed and the murders were actually a hit by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. It's a story so unbelievable that I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't literally written the book on it.
You can find out more about Kris's case and our other work on Reprieve's website: Reprieve.org.uk
Proof: https://twitter.com/CliveSSmith/status/885523622370193408
Clive Stafford Smith Jul 13, 2017
Who was the most intimidating inmate you've come across? And what were his past charges that got him in that position?
WhiteHairedWidow
I am not sure I have ever had an intimidating prisoner, but I have had one occasion when I have been attacked in the visitors room. That was by a very mentally ill person, and it was very sad as it gave the rather nasty warden of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center the excuse to kick me out of the prison.
Clive Stafford Smith
Can you even discuss your clients clases freely? Where does the client/lawyer privilege end or how can you work around it?
flotador7
Privilege depends on what the client wants. With many issues, the client wants me to advocate for him or her in court and also in the court of public opinion, so that is easy. Sometimes that is not the case. For example, in the US it is often not at all in the client's interest to be public about anything and then I'd be a fool to say much. But it is ultimately all up to the person involved. I can't say I have ever found it much of an issue…
What is your success rate with death row inmates cases? What is considered a success then?
RedditsLord
That is a good question. In theory, I have been involved in about 400 cases now, and have lost 6 of my own clients. But others have died when I have been helping on the case too, so that would take it up to maybe 12. That might still sound like a good success rate (388 out of 400), but that is misleading. I used in the past to agree to sentences that were horribly long for people in order to avoid the death sentence, and I now view that as a death sentence carried out in a slower way. And one person I represented at trial was innocent yet he got convicted even if he got life rather than death (thankfully he is out now). Then there are people like Kris who I got off death row, but he is clearly innocent, so that is a dreadful loss. And so forth.
Hi there. My boyfriend is in the army and about to be deployed to Guantanamo Bay. What should he expect as far as that viewpoint is concerned?
How will he be expected to treat/handle situations? And how severe can it affect the solider's psyche compared to the prisoners?
woodenair
I feel sorry for your boyfriend going to Gitmo. I will say I have found a lot of the soldiers there delightful and most have been really nice to me. They get filled up with nonsense about the prisoners though. One woman there had been told that my client, Moazzam Begg, was Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter, and would bite his way through the bars. He ended up making friends with her, and they are still in touch now that he is home safe in England. Anyway, I hope to meet your boyfriend when he is down there and I visit. But be kind of him and send him lots of care packages, get him on Skype every day, and make sure he has something interesting to do in his spare time - it is a dull place for the soldiers, though I kind of enjoy it now that I only go for a week at a time.
How many muslim men are thrown in Guantanamo with 0 evidence?
NBAContracts
In response to how many Muslim men are thrown into Gitmo with no evidence - sad to say a huge number. There have been 779 people there and now we have 41, so that means 738 (95% or so) have been released, and in each case there have been a number of US intel agencies who have found the person to be "no threat to the US or its allies." So in that sense there was no evidence against any of them in any sensible sense. But mostly there as "evidence" in the form of tortured statements or "snitches" who would make up stories in exchange for benefits (often in the so-called Love Shack that is being closed in Gitmo now, though they are not being too open about that!)
So, the British aren't coming?
StrayaMate2000
You are right. The British are not being very helpful to some of our British clients, though I do think they will intervene legally, if not financially, for Kris Maharaj. It does make you think though. Kris was a millionaire back in the day, and paid lots of taxes, and now that he is destitute and was facing the electric chair, you might think the Brits would do what the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians, the Mexicans, and others do, and help prisoners get meaningful representation. They should not leave it just to do-gooders like us!
Wow, that is sad. Thanks for answering.
XxMONKABONKAxX
Sadly there are many other stories like that. If ever there were proof that someone was disabled, it would be with Jerome Bowden who was told that he would avoid execution if he scored below 65 on the test, so he tried, got just above it, felt great that he had passed the test, and then said of his final meal that he would save his pecan pie dessert for later.
There was also Jerome Holloway, who was tormented by one unpleasant guard who would repeat over and over how the electrocution would go, so that he would be able to answer all the questions and be found competent to be executed. Fortunately, after describing how he would be shaved, strapped in the electric chair, have 2500 volts put through him three times, and so forth, he was asked what would happen next, and he said "I guess that is when they would let me go home." We did get him off death row.
How did you learn about Kris' case?
Frajer
I learned about Kris' case from the British consulate in Atlanta. It is a rather sore point, as the nice chap there asked me to help Kris. I went to do that, and naturally said yes, as it is always so hard to say no. And then when we needed financial help to get experts and witnesses, the British government denied that they had asked me to help him. So Reprieve ends up in a big financial hole on it all, and I am a tiny bit pissed off at the Government for reneging on a promise they made at one time to help him by giving him a loan to get his witnesses.
When did you first discover the Cartel connection in Kris's case? How did the prosecutors not know from the start?
unachance
The government had to know about the cartel connection in Kris's case as the Feds had an indictment out on the guy in Room 1214 (across the hall from the murders, with blood on the door) which was returned just before Kris' trial. I suspected it when I saw that a guy from Colombia was across the hall, and when I learned the victims were laundering FIVE BILLION dollars around the Caribbean - I learned that in 1995. But I did not find out what the government knew until around 2012. And I know they are still hiding a lot, which we are trying to get now in court.
Are you familiar with the case of Joe Arridy? He had an IQ of 46 and was executed for the murder and rape of a fifteen year old girl. In 2011 the governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter, formally pardoned Joe. What are your thoughts about this case and, more specifically, the execution of mentally handicapped people?
Yes, I have naturally heard of poor Joe Arridy, who was a mentally disabled 23 year old with an IQ allegedly 46. With most of the tests we used to use in the US, you get 45 for taking the test, so that is really only one point above the table on which you are working. Such instances are terribly sad. I had a series of seriously mentally disabled people facing execution and in more than one case the guy was IQ 49. Getting across what kind of limitation that was was hard. The judge said 49 is half 100 so he is half as intelligent as an average person. In the end, I had to get him to confess to assassinating (a word he did not understand) Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy and Reagan to show how limited he was. And the one thing he did understand was that people were laughing at him, which was dreadfully sad. The legal system is not a good way to deal with disabled people or, indeed, all kinds of unique individuals.
What's the love shack? The rape room?
HateIsStronger
The Love Shack is where prisoners who were willing to inform on other prisoners would be allowed to have cigarettes and porn movies. I suppose it is understandable that a small number of prisoners would say anything to get a benefit - there was one person who informed on literally hundreds of his co-prisoners, making things up that were patently false, but that led to people being held for months and years without trial. The guy said, for example, of one detainee that he had seen the man in Al Farouq Training Camp in Afghanistan and one honest solider investigated all the classified (then, not now!) evidence and figured out that of the 16 people the man said he'd seen there, none had even been in Afghanistan at the time…
What made you want to take on this kind of career? Also what made you want to represent DR inmates? I know the justice system is broken and is really really flawed. If you can discuss it, what is the most broken rule you've run across?
OneKardia
I went to the US to do death penalty work as when I was 16. I was so shocked that it was still being used, so I thought (in the arrogant way of youth!) that I could persuade everyone it was wrong… But I do think my mother's advice was very good - that if we all work to help those less fortunate than ourselves, then everyone is better off. So I decided at some point that if you look around the world at the people who are most hated, and have least power on their side in a dispute with the government, and get between them and the ones doing the hatred, you can't really go wrong. And believe me there is no moment, I think, when the imbalance of power between the Government and the individual is more stark than when the Government wants to kill you (and sacrifice you to some mythical god of deterrence).
Dear Clive.
Thank you for all the great work you do. I remember the utter desperation I felt just watching "14 days in May" and the memories still almost move me to tears.
How do you deal with the pain and what case hurt you the most?
8000meters
In terms of the cases that really hurt, yes that is hard. When they killed Nicky Ingram in 1995, it really effected me. I had known him for years, and I liked Nicky. He was tortured to death in front of me in the Electric Chair. Long story. But if I close my eyes now, 22 years later, I can see the black and white negative of Nicky on the electric chair. It is a bit of PTSD I suppose. Though I do try to keep the focus on the fact that it was Nicky being killed, not me. And one thing he said to me just before they did it has always stayed with me - he said thanks for working for him, but that I had to keep on fighting for all the other guys, and not be too broken up about him. So I guess I took that to heart.
Will Kris get compensation if found innocent?
Jsy444
It is very unlikely that Kris will get compensated if he is exonerated. Frankly, I just want to get him out of there. My bet is that no matter what we come up with, the State is not going to back down, and even when we prove him totally innocent they will come to us with a deal where they do not want Kris totally exonerated. That is going to be tough, as Kris does not want it, but I don't want him to die there (and at 78 years old he does not have long to live if treated the way he is treated). And there is his wife Marita, who is 77 herself and who needs to get home. But we will have to cross that bridge when we reach it.
Hi Clive, thanks a lot for taking part and for doing your admirable work.
For your successful cases, do the families of the victims normally accept the verdict (either that the person is innocent, or that the death penalty is not a humane punishment)?
squiglydigly
I try to talk to the victim's family always. There are very very few cases where that has not been the case, as I hate the pain they go through, and often the lies they are told. Kris' case is one of the very few where the (sad to say, nasty) prosecutor at the time of the hearing in 1995 said she would have me prosecuted if I tried to talk to the victims, which was very sad, and I am sure they hate me for not talking to them. I wish I could share things with them. More often than not, though, I have had a really good relationship with the victim's family, and I hope sometimes have been able to help them with their suffering. It is really important to help people understand (where possible) why someone they loved got senselessly killed.
Have you at any point defended someone you weren't 100% sure that they were innocent? Have you defended someone, got them released or sentence extended, then found that they were guilty?
thatcuntholesteve
I have often represented people who are guilty. I much prefer it. I don't really like defending innocent people. To me, the essence of the human condition is that we are all better than the worst 15 minutes of our lives, and the most important questions are to understand why bad things happen, and then try to deal with them in a compassionate way.
Wowww I really appreciate this!! I already have lots of plans for care packages and stuff. I hope this isn't crossing the line (I won't ask about your clients as I understand there's lines and things) but can I PM you some more specific questions about the base in general? Mostly just stuff about the soldiers there.
Drop me an email! clive@reprieve.org.uk
What is your work week like, and how do you find any joy in the downtime you have?
throwawaymnmnmn
Hey, I would have a TGIM sign if I had anything (Thank God Its Monday!). But I don't really believe in that. I only wish the day had 72 hours. I keep time sheets for everything for years and years, because I am a nerd. So I can tell you I used to average about 100 hours a week, and am now down to about 75 of what we call work. But I don't think of it as work because I love it. At the same time, it has always been a principle of mine that we should work hard and play hard, so I used to insist in the US that people took at least 6 weeks holiday a year, as compared to most people in the US getting a few days. Myself, I adore the cricket season (big win for my team, the Mapperton Marauders, last night and I am going on a cricket tour of Pakistan in September where we will be thrashed by much younger and fitter players). I also love building, though this week has involved digging a hole - that involved shifting 18 tonnes of earth - with a single spade, for a secret present for my lad Wilf, who is aged 9 tomorrow.
What is your opinion on some of the documentaries done on Guantanamo Bay?
JustHereT0Havefun
I've not seen a decent documentary on Gitmo. You should do one. The real problem is when people think they are going to see anything useful when there. The key to Gitmo is that they only show you the propaganda tour (I got in trouble for coining that phrase!) and nothing about the reality. So the real documentary of Gitmo will be the one where they go and ask to do all the things they cannot do - interview prisoners, see a force feeding, etc. - and make a film about what they are not allowed to do.
What would you say to a law student seeking to get in your line of work today?
MountainBlitz
If you are a law student, I would say why on earth would you do anything but the kind of work I get to do? Working in corporate law is just soul destroying, and the main part of your work is just pretty pointless. Working for those who really need it is incredibly rewarding and I love almost every minute of it!
What is the most interesting case you've worked on?
zrh3000
In terms of the most interesting case I have ever had, I would have to decline to answer in a sentence. I have had so many, so varied, so fascinating. I could list thirty that would tie for the top one. I guess one day I need to describe all of them in a book.
How does one get their feet into the work you are doing?
Send me an email and we'll talk: clive@reprieve.org.uk. I do have a talk (a rant!) that I give on how to create the job that you really want to do for the next 50 years. It is more than I can say in a brief thing here, but glad to talk about it…
Hi Clive, I'm a UK qualified solicitor based in the US, and have been an admirer of Reprieve's work for years. I was wondering what advice you have for getting into your line of work?
passarsson
Again, get in touch! My email is clive@reprieve.org.uk
A force feeding? How do they manage to do that?
WormWizard
The force feeding is pretty horrid. General Branz Craddock did not like the fact that the hunger strikers were getting publicity, so he said (in the NY Times) that he would make it "less convenient" for them to do it. So they use tubes that are too big (painful!) and instead of leaving the 110 cm tube in after a feeding, they pull it out each time and force it back in. They force the liquid in too fast. And they have done it to Ahmed Rabbani, for example, every day for the past four and a half years. It is illegal (you are not allowed to force feed a competent hunger striker) but there is no legal system that will stop it…
Just reading up on Kris' case.. why do you think he was framed?
clnthoward
In terms of Kris being framed, there was just a system for it back then. A former police officer told me, and then testified under oath, that they had a deal with the Cartel that when the Cartel wanted to kill someone they would have a cop on duty at the scene to make sure they did not get into trouble. The officer gave me a list of 17 homicides where a corrupt element of the police had been involved. I tried to get the FBI to do something about this, but they showed no interest. Sadly, there was so much drug money around that a cop could make a year's salary by turning a blind eye, and that was a big temptation. In 1985, fully ten percent of the whole police force there was arrested or fired for corruption!
Did you attend your unsuccessful clients' executions? Has any client ever made this request? If so are there any last words that have stuck with you?
Sasarai
I have always attended the executions of my clients. It is (in my view, but not in the view of everyone) the last duty I have for people I represent. There are two reasons: one, sometimes you can get a stay even in the middle of the process. Larry Lonchar got a stay with 58 seconds left before his execution. Another person (who I was not representing) got a stay a year back during the execution, as it was botched. But equally, I want to be there so there is someone who gives a damn for the person being killed. It would be very lonely to be all alone. With one of my guys, for example, he had a running joke with me that he would fire me if I did not get his case stopped. And when he was on the gurney he turned to me, smiled goodbye, and mouthed, "You're fired!"
How can the federal, state, or local government prove that they have jurisdiction over us. What evidence shows that we must follow their statutes. In reference to anything that is a vicitimless crime. In other words as long as we aren't hurting anybody else or their property what gives government the right to infringe on our rights?
jferrd
In terms of "victimless crimes" - look I am not a fan of the so-called justice system in any way. Certainly there are things that should not be prosecuted under any circumstances. Drugs are one good example. Criminalising them is just stupid. But I have a bigger problem with the whole definition of crime. I do like to ask people what the most dreadful thing that they have ever done is (we have all done something of which we are greatly ashamed - I am writing a book that includes something terrible I said about my Dad); what the pain was that this caused; how that almost certainly is not something that is criminalised under our strange system; and yet how much more pain we caused than was inflicted on us by the worse crime committed against us. A long conversation, and not always true, of course, but more often than not it is. So the whole justice system is riddled with problems.
Roughly, what percentage of the people you represent are non-white?
-politik-
Over the years, about 70% of the people I have represented have been non-white. On death row in the US, for example, while the general population is 13% black, the death row population is 42% black. In Guantanamo, the non-white Muslim population was 777/778 (I guess the exception would have been David Hicks from Australia), so all of my clients have been non-white.
How many death row inmates did you represent that are now free today?
LifeOfLila
In terms of how many of my clients are free - actually an amazing number. Not all of them made it as far as death row, but the state was trying to send them there. One astounding sequence involved 171 capital cases in Orleans Parish (New Orleans) back in 1999-2003, where we managed to free 126 of the people. The conservative story here is that they had the wrong person in 74.9% of the time, so that the real killer was still out there. The liberal story was that the whole police system was profoundly dysfunctional if they were arresting the wrong person that often.
Hi Clive,
I went to the same school as you (& you were the same social and time as my father!) and I distinctly remember you coming back to do a talk (maybe 5 years ago?) about your work and it massively changed my outlook on a lot of what I saw growing up in the bubble (which you can probably relate to). Thank you very much for that.
My question: What do you think about the military bases such as Diego Garcia and do you think they're being used as a more secretive version of Guantanamo Bay?
one_semaphore
Tell your dad to get in touch! (I should add that I am not a fan of private schooling, but neither you nor I had the choice!) In response to your question, though, yes I am certain that Diego Garcia was used for torture flights and so forth, the evidence is very strong. It is pathetic that the UK has not come clean on it. But it is far worse that we would kick all the people off their islands and not allow them back, so the US could have a military base. That is colonialism of the very worst kind, and I cannot believe there is not more of a fuss made about it.
I'm sure you have a unique perspective on this - what's your stance on shutting down Guantanamo Bay? Specifically, if you're in favor of closing it (which I'm guessing you are), what should we do with the people in it?
FastEddieTheG
Shutting Gitmo is a no brainer. There are 41 people in it. Perhaps 10 would face trial - and they can, as someone like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed boasted on video that he was behind 9/11 so why not just put him on trial. The ones who cannot be tried should not be tried - that has been the rule since 1215, just 802 years ago, when we decided we should give people trials. Why should we change it now?
How important is your innocence? It seems like today, it doesn't matter if you did it or not. Once you are accused, unless you have money or someone who takes an interest, you will lose against a system with incredible resources.
Florgio
There is a lot of interesting stuff about innocence. One thing to bear in mind is how self-destructive innocent people are in the legal system. One, they are no help to me (who did it? I don't know anything about it!). Two, they make terrible decisions. They are 110% sure they did not do it, so they cannot fathom how a jury of 12 people can find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Kris is an example here. He knows nothing about who did the crime. He hired the lawyer who said he would do it for $20K rather than $250K as he felt it would be easy to find him not guilty. He wanted to rush to trial. He agreed to his (dreadful) lawyer's (dreadful) advice not to put on his 6 alibi witnesses, or to testify. Etc. Etc. I am not blaming him, but the system does not realise the true impact of innocent clients.
In Guantanamo, is there a town outside of the prison? If so, what is it like?
thehawk329
Yes, there is a town around Guantanamo. It is a bit of an irony free zone. There is Recreation Road, that leads down past the Guantanamo Golf Course to the cells. There is McDonalds, where I first encountered the bizarre rule that soldiers had to salute officers, and say "Honor Bound, Sir!" The officer saluted back and said, "To Defend Freedom, soldier!" I thought it was a joke, when first I heard it, and I laughed. But they were serious. I wrote about all this in "Bad Men", there is rather a lot to tell!
Do you think the death penalty is a better alternative to natural life? I have two friends who are currently serving life sentences. I have had this discussion with my friends many times and they say that they would prefer to die sooner than know they are going to only see the inside of the walls for the rest of their time on earth. They are both guilty, so maybe their regret sways them. I on the other hand do not believe in the death penalty at all, though I can see how somebody actually in that situation may feel like it's not worth it.
sweetie1605
On death versus life without parole: I wrote something on this in the TLS a couple of months back or three. I hate LWOP. It is a slow death penalty. Yet I am partly responsible for the number of people who face this nightmare, and it is perhaps the thing I feel the most guilty about. Back in the 1980s, we were trying to stop the death penalty, and I figured out that jurors were only voting for it because they did not believe life meant life. So I wrote what was, sadly, a rather influential law review article on how we should make life mean life. It may have saved a few people from death, but it earned a lot more people LWOP. I hate that I did that and I apologise unreservedly for my error. I did a not-too-scientific study and figured out that this has perhaps meant that people have spent 2 BILLION extra days in prison in the last 30 years in the US…
Why do you include your middle name?
SmokinDroRogan
Why do I include my middle name? I don't! It is Adrian, and I hate it. My last name is Stafford Smith, without a hyphen, because my Dad changed it way back when, and was too cheap to pay the extra £3 to put a hyphen in. He wanted to call me Adrian, whereupon the initials would have been ASS, entirely appropriate perhaps, but not nice for me. So my Mum noticed, and now I am just Clive ASS…
Hey Clive! Your current case sounds interesting, and I'll try to follow it and see where it goes.
How do you go about finding these clients, and how do you decide their case is worth taking?
I've not got just one case, there are lots going on. But Kris is taking up a lot of my time. I've never really "chosen" cases. It used to be just the next guy facing execution. Nowadays, it tends to be someone who is caught up in something really terrible. So one thing we recently brought against Trump was his current effort to assassinate two journalists. He has an assassination list, started by Obama. Lots of people on it. It is mad. It is like we are in the time of the Borgias. Another demented policy decision in response to the "War of Terror" (as Borat calls it).
Why are there so many innocent people in Guantanamo bay and why hasn't it been shut down already?
Captain_Obvious22
Gitmo has only not closed because Obama did not force the issue. The Republicans have no more interest in justice there, than they have in the past justice for people on death row. It is all a political issue, designed to be divisive, and make the Democrats look weak. Very sad.
I've read that the defense attorneys in capital cases will often hold back an issue or two at each level of appeal, in order to purposefully stretch out the litigation. Do you think that attorneys who do that should be sanctioned?
Opheltes
No lawyer holds back issues on appeal, that is just silly. On the other hand, the first appeal may take ten years, and by then the world has changed, and we have all learned a lot, so there is never a time when I have worked on a case and lost the first round and cannot come up with new issues for the second round of appeals. But it is getting very very hard now, under the "Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act" (which is not effective!). Kris Maharaj's recent victory, being allowed a hearing in federal court on a successive appeal, is a very rare event.
Because of a place like Gitmo, would you say America is no better than their enemies?
rolexus2017
I'm not really going to get into better or worse. There are many great things about the US (the US Constitution is a fantastic document). There are many decent people in the US. The current president of the US should never have been elected. There are many things about the policies of the US that are simply despicable and I, as an American, strongly disapprove of them and spend my life trying to right them. But I don't pass judgment against a country any more than I do against a person.
Have you ever refused a case because of the severity/nastiness of the crimes committed?
osama_is_dead88
I have never refused a case because the facts were too bad. Indeed, the worse the facts, normally the more compelling the reason why it happened. But I have refused a case where the individual had money. So I was asked to take on Saddam Hussein's case and I have no problem with him getting effective representation - his hanging was a sorry reflection on humanity no matter what he did. But he had money and could get others to do it, so I would rather focus on those who have no money.
This may not be something you've followed at all, but do you have any thoughts on Omar Khadr's settlement?
commaspace1
I met Omar Khadr in Gitmo and he was originally just 15 when taken there. He was abused horribly and the things he was said to have said were all abused out of him. What would any of us want to be paid to have our youth taken away from us from 15-25, and to be tortured? I don't know. I never think money is the answer to these things, the real answer is to stop people doing them. But I don't have a problem people being compensated.
I think with a tube? Mos Def tried to do it as a demonstration but he stopped before things got too far because it was too much for him. I think you can find that on YouTube...
Ombortron
Reprieve helped organise that - you can find it on our youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hQ5xz_5to4
Where did you practice in the South? How does in compare to other jurisdictions?
mhhmget
I worked in the Deep South because that was the Death Belt. Sadly, it is not possible to do death penalty trials in Paris, much as I would have liked to…
I must add I loved working in Mississippi and Louisiana. Trying a capital case is fascinating. All 12 jurors have to have sworn that they would execute someone if the facts merit it, which means that 52% of all British people would not even make it to jury selection. So you are faced with 12 people who have said they will do it, and you have to get them not to. It is not hard. There is good in everyone, and in the jury selection process you get to know the jurors a lot. So it mostly comes down to the jurors' religion. I always ask them what their favourite bible verse is, or whatever, and it comes down to Matthew Chapter 5 verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." If you do what the prosecution wants (don't show mercy) you go to hell; if you show mercy you don't. Pretty simple really.
Im beginning to research and really think about becoming a lawyer or something in the field of justice and law. I'd appreciate it greatly if you could tell me how your average days are while working on a case vs. while not working on a case. Which cases have you worked on that have really hit home hard? Anything you remember?
jakalakatack
This is a BIG question and I can't do justice here. But if you want to think about being a lawyer, come and volunteer at Reprieve and you will see what it is like. I like to think you will come away from it wanting to do something like that for the next 50 years or so!
What's your opinion or thoughts on the Omar Khadr case?
freedomfilm
Answered this here -https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6n2gw5/i_am_clive_stafford_smith_a_lawyer_who_has/dk6dcoh/
Have you ever represented a serial killer? What personality traits did they have if so?
ItheIthe
Well yes, I have helped on such a case. I am loath to name names, as it was someone you would have heard of so I am not going to say who. But he was frankly totally mentally ill. He really didn't even understand that he was on death row. I always think that being a serial killer has to be prima facie evidence that someone is deeply mentally ill, don't you? Why would someone do that?
Hello Clive,
Why is Reprieve's management staff (about half a dozen people) all white women?
It doesn't make sense that an organization that represents marginalized communities (usually Muslim men) has none of its members involved in steering the non-profit.
s_baron
It is not true to say that the management staff at Reprieve are all white women. As founder, I dare say I am not one! More to the point, our Casework Director is non-white. 32% of Reprieve staff are from BAME communities and we're really proud of the diversity of our staff.
It is true to say that there are many more women than men at Reprieve, which many would celebrate. I tend to wonder why men are so much less willing to devote themselves to a charity cause than (it seems) women…
Seems a bit disingenuous to imply all those released were held unjustly given how many returned to terror upon release.
bmwhd
With respect you are wrong here. To be sure, some (a very small number) have committed bad acts upon release (interestingly far lower numbers than the recidivists - genuine recidivists - in US prisons). But that does not mean they "returned" to terror from Gitmo. There was no evidence those people had been involve in it before. Because I have sadly talked to so many people who have been tortured by my government, I am actually amazed that more have not done dreadful things upon release.
Thank you for the response. It reminds me why you're a good attorney: avoiding the point on a technicality :)
The facts remains that all of your directors (inc deputies) are women. If they were all men, people would rightly complain. An organization thrives when there is diversity, not just at the worker level (which is where you get your ethnic % figure) but at the management level too.
I'm not sure how our Finance and Governance Deputy Director would feel about being told he's not a man.


Nestled in the heart of Avalon Bay, our boutique hotel pairs local charm with island sophistication. Brought to fruition during an age of big bands, prohibition and the art deco movement, The Edgewater's vast history and prime location is sure to please. You will find Catalina to be everything you want and more, providing you with exquisite dining, exciting adventures, relaxation, shopping and lasting memories.
Please note that Santa Catalina Island is under a severe drought. Due to water preservation, The Edgewater has a double to triple occupancy policy depending on room type.


He is a certified and licensed Canadian Immigration Consultant. He is a member in good standing of the Immigration Consultant of the Canadian Regulatory Council (ICCRC) and of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC).
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants are legally authorized to advise candidates for Immigration to Canada. They are trained and regulated to assist clients on immigration application. We will help you to get our-self verified, from the Canadian Government website live in seminar.


Recipe notes: What you will need: 1-qt Mason jar, very sharp paring knife, and strainer. Active time peeling and trimming pith, 1 hour. Inactive time: 30-60 days for infusion. Difficulty: Easy-moderate. Yields 750ml.
Using sharp paring knife, peel limes, being careful to avoid white part. What ever white part remains needs to be peeled away as seen in picture (2-3). Otherwise, if left, pith (white under of skin) will cause the tequilla to become bitter.
Hold sharp edge of knife at a slight 90 degree angle between pith and skin, and shave pith in strips. It may take a few tries to remove it entirely. I know what a tedious task it is— having made several of these citrus infusions—which is why I turn on the stereo and take a sit at the kitchen table with a small cutting board for this project. But In the end, it's worth it to put out a quality product. Something you will be proud to pour, and display as your personal reserve.
Push peelings to bottom of jar with food processor plunger.
Pour in tequilla making sure peelings are completely submerged.
Secure lid, and store in pantry to infuse.
Freeze and transfer cubes to ziplock bag and reserve for mixer.
Strain infusion and transfer to desired bottle.


The mobile Bonsaii 3S23 Shredder will destroy up to 14 sheets of 80 gram paper including staples and small clips to a commercially secure 4x35mm cross-cut particles meeting security level P4 plus will also destroy into strips media like CD, DVD's, Blue Ray disks plus credit cards through a separate cutting slot. Shreds are collected in a fully interlocked 23 litre, removable waste collection bin which can hold about 200 sheets of shredded paper, whilst a separate media collection box segregates the plastic waste for easy recycling.
The 3S23 provides continuous non-stop shredding for up to 2 hour, with a 30 minute cool down period due to special patented cooling fan technology, and over-heating protection which allows all S series Shredders to work much longer than other similar products. The 3S23 has an overloading protection, automatic start and stop, and reverse in case of a paper overload.
The use of a P-4 shredder such as the Bonsaii 3S23 will aid your GDPR compliance.


text:
Phoenix Theater: An Eccentric History
Scottsdale Community College
Read more about Scottsdale Community College's Theater Department
PHOTOGRAPHS, CLIPPINGS, PRODUCTION NOTES, EVENTS & REVIEWS
October 2011, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Director: Randy Messersmith. Cast: Andy Cahoon, Sasha Wordlaw, Ryan Letter. Scenic Design: Kimb Williamson. Lighting: Paul Black. Costumes: Elizabeth Petersen. Movement: Karryn Allen. Masks: Maren Maclean. The production is set in ancient India.
The young lovers in Scottsdale Community College's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (Photo credit not provided.)
NOVEMBER 1977, "The House of Blue Leaves," play by John Guare. Directed by Pamela Fields with Richard Glover, Robyn Ferracane, John Cox, Rachel Courtney, others.
SCC debuted its new Performing Arts Center in 1977 with this production. Included in the cast were some young actors who would become well-known in Valley theater, among them Robyn Ferracane and Richard Glover. It was directed by Pamela Fields, who also carved out a niche for herself as actress, director and teacher.
Clipping from The Scottsdale Daily Progress.
SCOTTSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Artists Creating Theatre
I Never Saw Another Butterfly, April 2014
Randy Messersmith (far left), Cast and Production team.
Kyle Lawson's guide to the Phoenix area's theaters and performers
News from the wings
A Southern childhood
Natalie Charle Ellis
Copyright 2016 by Kyle Lawson. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Is there any legal requirement to use the phrase "you've been served", as seen on television and in movies?
Many American television shows and movies who have a character who is being served some kind of legal documents will have them handed some papers and then being told "You've been served".
Is this a required part of the process service process? What laws regulate the wording that should, or must be used, when serving documents?
united-states process
jimsugjimsug
Not to be confused with "You got served", which is to be said under entirely different circumstances. – Nate Eldredge Aug 3 '15 at 16:00
Service of process is jurisdictional, but specific phrasing isn't typically specified by statute. For example, here's the Illinois statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-203(a):
Except as otherwise expressly provided, service of summons upon an individual defendant shall be made (1) by leaving a copy of the summons with the defendant personally, (2) by leaving a copy at the defendant's usual place of abode, with some person of the family or a person residing there, of the age of 13 years or upwards, and informing that person of the contents of the summons, provided the officer or other person making service shall also send a copy of the summons in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid, addressed to the defendant at his or her usual place of abode, or (3) as provided in Section 1-2-9.2 of the Illinois Municipal Code with respect to violation of an ordinance governing parking or standing of vehicles in cities with a population over 500,000. The certificate of the officer or affidavit of the person that he or she has sent the copy in pursuance of this Section is evidence that he or she has done so.
The key is that the service of process be completed. Legally, this implies that the server will file an affidavit that describes the circumstances of the legal completion of service. For example, here is a sample affidavit.
Like any other trade, process servers have an association that offers training, publishes a policy manual, and abides by certain best practices.
All that said, the best practices don't specify any specific verbiage. Rather they elaborate a preference for the methods of service (e.g. personal vs. drop) and the like.
Pat W.♦Pat W.
I found on the internet this list of process service requirements by state.
I briefly skimmed it and didn't see any requirements for specific words to be spoken.
MowzerMowzer
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged united-states process or ask your own question.
Plaintiff didn't respond to discovery - and later settled - can I get any legal fees back?
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What types of questions can I legally ask in a technical interview without violating Title VII
Police, Evidence and Conflict Of Interest
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Have there ever been examples of public school's restriction of community service being unlawful?
Legal requirements for video game accessibility in the USA
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Can the plaintiff in a civil case change the requested damages after the defendant has already been served the summons?


Peter Bansch, M.D., Ph.D.; Svajunas Statkevicius, M.D.; Peter Bentzer, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University of Lund and Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden (P. Bansch, S.S., P. Bentzer); and Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (P. Bentzer).
Submitted for publication October 30, 2013. Accepted for publication June 4, 2014.
Address correspondence to Dr. Bansch: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. peter.bansch@med.lu.se. Information on purchasing reprints may be found at www.anesthesiology.org or on the masthead page at the beginning of this issue. Anesthesiology's articles are made freely accessible to all readers, for personal use only, 6 months from the cover date of the issue.
Background:: It is believed that the effectiveness of colloids as plasma volume expanders is dependent on the endothelial permeability for macromolecules. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the plasma volume expanding effect of 5% albumin relative to that of a crystalloid solution is reduced if microvascular permeability is increased.
Methods:: A control group was resuscitated with either 5% albumin (8 ml/kg) or Ringer's acetate (36 ml/kg) immediately after a hemorrhage of 8 ml/kg (n = 29). In a second group, permeability was increased by inducing sepsis through cecal ligation and incision (n = 28). Three hours after cecal ligation and incision, the animals were resuscitated with either 5% albumin in a ratio of 1:1 relative to the volume of lost plasma, or Ringer's acetate in a ratio of 4.5:1.
Results:: In the hemorrhage group, plasma volumes at 15 min after resuscitation with albumin or Ringer's acetate had increased by 9.8 ± 2.6 ml/kg (mean ± SD) and 7.4 ± 2.9 ml/kg and were similar at 2 and 4 h. Plasma volume 3 h after cecal ligation and incision had decreased by approximately 7 ml/kg, and at 15 min after resuscitation with albumin or Ringer's acetate it had increased by 5.7 ± 2.9 and 2.4 ± 3.0 ml/kg, respectively (P < 0.05). At 2 and 4 h after resuscitation, plasma volumes did not differ between the groups.
Conclusion:: This study does not support the hypothesis that the plasma-volume-expanding effect of albumin relative to that of crystalloids is decreased under conditions characterized by increased permeability.
One group of animals was subjected to an 11% hemorrhage and then given either 5% albumin in a volume equal to the shed blood volume or Ringer's acetate at 4.5 times that volume. Another group of animals was subjected to abdominal sepsis and at 3 h, measured plasma volume loss was replaced with either 5% albumin or with Ringer's acetate in 4.5 times the measured loss. Plasma volume expansion with albumin relative to Ringer's acetate did not differ between the two groups despite different etiologies for the decrease in plasma volume.
MAINTENANCE of normal intravascular volume is universally considered to be a cornerstone in the treatment of hemodynamically compromised patients, but the optimal type of fluid used to reach this therapeutic goal has been debated for a long time.1,2 Proponents of colloids have argued that less volume is required for equal plasma volume expansion and that crystalloids may compromise organ function secondary to edema formation.
Based on these considerations, the current study was designed to test the hypothesis that the difference between the volume of a colloid and the volume of a crystalloid required for equal plasma volume expansion decreases under conditions that are associated with increased permeability. For this purpose, rats subjected to either a controlled hemorrhage or abdominal sepsis were randomized to receive resuscitation with either 5% albumin at a ratio of 1:1 relative to the lost volume of blood or plasma, or Ringer's acetate at a ratio of 4.5:1 relative to the lost volume of blood or plasma. Plasma volume was measured for up to 4 h after resuscitation by measuring the initial distribution volume of radiolabeled albumin.
Urine was collected in a glass vial placed at the external meatus of the urethra, from the end of the preparation until the end of the experiment, when the bladder was emptied by external compression. Urine production is presented in ml kg−1 h−1 (total production divided by the length of the collection period). After the experiment, the animals were killed with an intravenous injection of potassium chloride.
Plasma volume was estimated by determination of the initial volume of distribution for human serum albumin (CSL Behring, King of Prussia, PA) labeled with 125I as described in detail previously.11,12 This was accomplished by measuring the increase in radioactivity following injection of a known amount 125I-human serum albumin (approximately 75 kBq/kg and 0.05 mg of albumin per kilogram) by subtracting the activity in a 250-μl blood sample taken just before the injection from the activity 5 min after the injection. The administered dose was calculated by subtracting the radioactivity in the emptied vial, in the syringe, and in the needle from the total radioactivity in the prepared dose. The volume of distribution for the tracer was then calculated by dividing the administered dose by the resulting change in concentration. The amount of unbound radioactivity in the injected 125I-albumin was measured regularly after precipitation with 10% trichloroacetic acid and was found to be less than 1% in all experiments. All samples were counted in a gamma counter (Wizard 1480; LKB-Wallac, Turku, Finland).
Animals were randomized with regard to experimental conditions and resuscitation fluid after preparation, and an investigator blinded to the type of experiments performed the analysis of the data. The investigator performing the experiments was not blinded to group assignment or treatment.
In the hemorrhage group, animals were bled a total of 8 ml/kg in 5 min. They were then resuscitated with either 5% albumin (8 ml/kg) (CSL Behring: 155 mmol/l sodium, 4 mmol/l caprylate, 4 mmol/l N-acetyltryptophan, and chloride at approximately 150 mmol/l) or Ringer's acetate (36 ml/kg) (Fresenius Kabi, Uppsala, Sweden: 131 mmol/l sodium, 4 mmol/l potassium, 2 mmol/l calcium, 1 mmol/l magnesium, 112 mmol/l chloride, 30 mmol/l acetate; osmolality 270 mosmol/kg) during a 30-min resuscitation period. Plasma volumes were measured at baseline, 15 min after resuscitation was completed, and again 2 h later. Arterial blood gases, lactate, hematocrit, and electrolytes were measured at baseline, after hemorrhage, and 2 h after resuscitation. Plasma volumes directly after hemorrhage were calculated as follows: [Baseline value − (8 ml × (1 − hematocrit))]. MAP, CVP, and PPV were measured at baseline, after hemorrhage, 15 min and 2 h after resuscitation (fig. 1). On a post hoc basis, a second set of experiments were performed in animals subjected to hemorrhage, using an identical protocol except that the last plasma volume measurement was performed 4 h instead of 2 h after resuscitation (fig. 1).
Schematic diagram of the experimental protocol in the hemorrhage and sepsis groups. ABG = arterial blood gas; CLI = cecal ligation and incision; CVP = central venous pressure; PPV = pulse pressure variation; PV = plasma volume.
Following surgical preparation and baseline measurements as described above, animals were subjected to a cecal ligation and incision (CLI) procedure. This procedure has been described in detail previously.11,13 Briefly, following a 3- to 4-cm midline abdominal incision, the cecum was mobilized while carefully avoiding hemorrhage. It then was ligated with a 3.5 silk ligature and a 1-cm incision was made with a scalpel blade. The abdomen was closed with metal clips. Three hours after the CLI procedure, MAP, CVP, and PPV were recorded and blood samples for analysis of plasma volume, arterial blood gases, electrolytes, hematocrit, and lactate were collected. Plasma volume loss was calculated, and the loss was replaced with the same volume of 5% albumin or with 4.5 times this volume of Ringer's acetate over the next 30 min. Plasma volume was measured again at 15 min and at 2 h after completion of the infusion (fig. 1). MAP, CVP, and PPV were measured immediately before plasma volume measurements, and arterial blood gases were measured again at the end of the experiments. On a post hoc basis, a second set of experiments were performed in septic animals, using an identical protocol except that the last plasma volume measurement was performed 4 h instead of 2 h after resuscitation (fig. 1). The change in plasma concentration of 125I-human serum albumin from 15 min after resuscitation to either 2 h or 4 h after resuscitation was calculated to estimate differences in transcapillary leakage of albumin between the hemorrhage and sepsis groups.
A total of 29 animals were included in the hemorrhage groups. In the 2-h group, eight and nine animals were resuscitated with albumin or Ringer's acetate, respectively. In the 4-h group, six animals were included in each group. No animals died during the experiment. MAP decreased and PPV increased after bleeding in both groups. After resuscitation, MAP and PPV returned to baseline values. There was a slight decrease in hematocrit already 5 min posthemorrhage. No difference between the resuscitation fluids on any of the physiological or laboratory data shown in tables 1 and 2 could be detected. Urine production was 2.3 ± 1.0 ml kg−1 h−1 in the Ringer's acetate groups and 1.8 ± 0.6 ml kg−1 h−1 in the albumin groups (P < 0.05).
Plasma volume was 41.4 ± 2.5 ml/kg at baseline and decreased to 37.0 ± 2.4 ml/kg after hemorrhage in the albumin groups, and corresponding values were 40.5 ± 2.8 ml/kg and 36.1 ± 2.7 ml/kg in the Ringer's acetate groups. In the albumin groups, plasma volume was 46.7 ± 4.0 ml/kg 15 min after resuscitation, 45.7 ± 4.4 ml/kg at the end of the experiment in the 2-h group, and 46.7 ± 4.0 ml/kg at the end of the experiment in the 4-h group (fig. 2). In the Ringer's acetate group, plasma volume was 43.8 ± 4.5 ml/kg 15 min after resuscitation, 45.5 ± 6.2 ml/kg at the end of the experiment in the 2-h group, and 47.2 ± 4.8 ml/kg at the end of the experiment in the 4-h group (fig. 2). At 15 min after resuscitation, the mean difference (±95% CI) between the mean of the albumin and Ringer's acetate groups was 3.0 (±3.3), and corresponding values at 2 and 4 h were 0.2 (±5.6) and 0.2 (±7.2), respectively (fig. 3).
(A) Absolute plasma volumes (PVs) at baseline, immediately following a controlled hemorrhage of 8 ml/kg, 15 min, 2 h, and 4 h after resuscitation with either 5% albumin or Ringer's acetate (n = 29 until 15 min after resuscitation, n = 17 for the 2-h group, and n = 12 for the 4-h group). (B) Plasma volumes at baseline, 3 h after cecal ligation and incision, at 15 min, 2 h, and 4 h after resuscitation with either 5% albumin or Ringer's acetate (n = 28 until 15 min after resuscitation, n = 16 for 2-h group, and n = 12 for 4-h group; *P < 0.05).
(A) Change in plasma volume (PV) in animals subjected to a controlled hemorrhage of 8 ml/kg at 15 min, 2 h, and 4 h after resuscitation with either 5% albumin or Ringer's acetate (n = 29 until 15 min after resuscitation, n = 17 for the 2-h group, and n = 12 for the 4-h group). Unadjusted P values for comparison between Ringer's acetate and albumin are P = 0.04 at 15 min, P = 0.86 at 2 h, and P = 0.54 at 4 h. (B) Change in plasma volume in animals subjected to cecal ligation and incision at 15 min, 2 h, and 4 h after resuscitation with either 5% albumin or Ringer's acetate (n = 28 until 15 min after resuscitation, n = 16 for 2-h group, and n = 12 for 4-h group; *P < 0.05). Unadjusted P values for comparison between Ringer's acetate and albumin are P = 0.006 at 15 min, P = 0.84 at 2 h, and P = 0.94 at 4 h.
A total of 28 animals completed the protocol and were included in the analysis. In the 2-h group, eight animals were included in each of the albumin or Ringer's acetate groups. In the 4-h group, six animals were included in each group. No difference in the effect of the resuscitation fluids on any of the physiological or laboratory data shown in tables 1 and 2 could be detected. Average MAP from the start of resuscitation until the end of the 2-h experiment was 107 ± 10 mmHg in the albumin group and 93 ± 12 in the Ringer's acetate group. The corresponding values for the 4-h experiments were 86 ± 12 mmHg and 87 ± 15 mmHg. Urine production was 0.8 ± 0.1 ml kg−1 h−1 in the albumin group and 0.9 ± 0.2 ml kg−1 h−1 in the Ringer's acetate group.
In the 2-h group, four animals (20%) died, and in the 4-h group nine animals (36%) died prior to completion of all measurements. The animals randomized to receive treatment with either Ringer's acetate (n = 7) or albumin (n = 6) that died prior to completion of the experimental protocol had a plasma volume loss of 9.7 ± 2.6 ml/kg and 7.9 ± 2.9 ml/kg, respectively, at 3 h after CLI. Plasma volume increased by 4.8 ml/kg to 36.3 ± 1.7 at 15 min after resuscitation with Ringer's acetate and by 5.6 ml/kg to 38.0 ± 1.8 ml/kg after resuscitation with albumin. Lactate in the Ringer's acetate group was 2.3 ± 0.2 mmol/l at baseline and 4.0 ± 1.0 mmol/l at 3 h after CLI, and corresponding values for the albumin resuscitated animals were 2.1 ± 0.3 at baseline and 3.5 ± 0.5 mmol/l. Data from the animals that died prior to completion of all measurements are not included in the analysis below.
Plasma volume in the albumin groups was 40.4 ± 2.1 ml/kg at baseline and decreased to 32.1 ± 3.4 ml/kg 3 h after the CLI procedure. Corresponding values in the Ringer's acetate groups were 39.6 ± 1.9 ml/kg and 32.7 ± 2.8 ml/kg. In animals resuscitated with albumin, plasma volume was 37.8 ± 3.6 ml/kg at 15 min, 29.6 ± 3.2 ml/kg at 2 h, and 27.4 ± 5.8 ml/kg at 4 h after resuscitation (fig. 2). In animals resuscitated with Ringer's acetate, plasma volume was 35.1 ± 2.5 ml/kg at 15 min, 30.6 ± 3.4 ml/kg at 2 h, and 28.3 ± 4.2 ml/kg at 4 h after resuscitation (fig. 2). The relative increase in plasma volume at 15 min postresuscitation by albumin was higher than after resuscitation with Ringer's acetate (adjusted P < 0.05). No differences between albumin and Ringer's acetate could be detected after 2 or 4 h (fig. 3). At 15 min after resuscitation, the mean difference (±95% CI) between the albumin and Ringer's acetate groups was 2.7 (±2.4), and corresponding values at 2 and 4 h were 1 (±3.5) and 0.9 (±6.5), respectively (fig. 3). Concentration of 125I-human serum albumin decreased faster in the sepsis groups than in the hemorrhage groups (table 3).
Plasma volume changes 15 min following completion of resuscitation with albumin differed between the hemorrhage and sepsis groups and were 122 ± 32% and 73 ± 30% of the infused volume, respectively (unpaired Student t test, corrected P < 0.05). Also in the animals resuscitated with Ringer's acetate, plasma volume changes at 15 min postcompletion of resuscitation differed between the hemorrhage and sepsis groups and were 22 ± 7% and 7 ± 9% of the infused volume, respectively (unpaired Student t test, corrected P < 0.05).
Our results show that resuscitation following hemorrhage with albumin or Ringer's acetate at 4.5 times the volume of albumin results in similar plasma volume expansion at 15 min, at 2 h, and at 4 h postresuscitation in rats. In sepsis animals, resuscitation with albumin or Ringer's acetate in the same ratio results in a higher plasma volume in the albumin group at 15 min, whereas plasma volumes at 2 and 4 h are similar. In sepsis, both albumin and Ringer's acetate are less efficient as plasma volume expanders at 15 min compared to the same time points after hemorrhage.
Plasma volume measurement using radiolabeled albumin is an established method, both experimentally and in clinical practice.11,12,15 As discussed previously, transcapillary escape of albumin will cause an overestimation of true plasma volume during conditions of increased permeability.12,16 By measuring plasma concentrations of radiolabelled albumin at the earliest time point at which complete mixing of tracer probably has occurred, this source of error is minimized.12 Based on our previous observation that trancapillary escape of albumin increases from approximately 15% per hour during basal conditions to approximately 20% per hour after the CLI procedure,11 it can be calculated that the overestimation of plasma volume is small and in the range of 1.25 to 1.75% under basal or septic conditions, respectively. This in turn means that only 0.5% of the difference in plasma volume between the hemorrhage and sepsis groups can be attributed to a measurement error due to increased leakage of tracer. Free iodine in the injected tracer solution will rapidly distribute in the extracellular space, which may cause an overestimation of plasma volume. Given that free iodine was found to be less than 1% on all experiments, this error will also be small and similar in both hemorrhage and sepsis groups. Taken together, these sources of error are small and will not influence the conclusions made below.
It could be argued that hemorrhage may have induced a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, which could have increased microvascular permeability. However, a hemorrhage of 8 ml/kg is only 11% of the total blood volume in the rat and is unlikely to have increased permeability to a major degree. Our finding that plasma volumes remained stable after resuscitation and that concentrations of radiolabeled albumin decreased at a higher rate in the sepsis groups supports this assumption and we conclude that the hemorrhage and sepsis groups differed with regard to permeability as intended when designing the protocol.
Our hypothesis that 5% albumin would be a relatively less potent plasma volume expander than a crystalloid in sepsis with increased plasma leakage compared to conditions with a normal microvascular permeability was not supported by our result that plasma volume was equal in the Ringer's acetate and albumin groups 2 h after resuscitation, and initially even higher in the albumin-treated animals. Based on the concern that 2 h was too short a time for an increased permeability to affect the plasma-volume-expanding properties of albumin, we added a second group of sepsis animals in which plasma volume was evaluated 4 h after resuscitation. Also the 4-h data failed to demonstrate a difference in plasma volume between the Ringer's acetate group and the albumin group. It could be argued that a difference in the plasma-volume-expanding effect might have been detected by measuring plasma volume at even later time points after resuscitation. However, given that more than one-third of the animals died before the end of the 4-h period, longer experiments were not considered feasible.
It could be argued that the lack of difference in plasma volume expansion between albumin and Ringer's acetate could be attributed to low statistical power. On average, sepsis animals were resuscitated with 8 ml/kg of albumin. If our hypothesis that the 1:1.4 ratio of albumin to Ringer's acetate observed in the "Saline versus Albumin Fluid Evaluation" study could be explained by a decreased plasma volume expansion by albumin this corresponds to approximately 6-ml/kg difference in plasma volume between animals resuscitated with albumin and animals resuscitated with Ringer's acetate. As can be seen from the 95% CI of the difference between the groups this is highly unlikely. However, we cannot exclude that a smaller change in plasma volume expansion by albumin could have been detected at 2 and 4 h after resuscitation if we had included a higher number of animals.
Our rat model differs from human sepsis in several aspects. We chose to fluid-resuscitate the animals at one single occasion according to measured loss of plasma in order to make the groups comparable and to isolate effects of fluid resuscitation on plasma volume. This contrasts to clinical practice in which plasma volume is rarely measured and fluid resuscitation is a continuous process with end points such as MAP, lactate, and central venous oxygen saturation and is often combined with the use of inotropes and vasopressors. The latter may influence permeability and transcapillary hydrostatic pressures, which in turn may differentially influence the plasma-volume-expanding properties of colloids and crystalloids.20 Normal transcapillary escape of albumin in humans is approximately 5% per hour in healthy subjects and is reported to increase to approximately 15% per hour in sepsis, and corresponding values in the rat are 15% per hour and 20% per hour, respectively.11,21 These differences in transcapillary escape of albumin suggest that also species differences may be of importance for the clinical relevance of this study.
The current study does not support the hypothesis that pathophysiological conditions associated with increased microvascular permeability change the plasma-volume-expanding properties of 5% albumin relative to that of crystalloids and indicates that also in severe sepsis the ratio of albumin to crystalloid for equal plasma volume expansion is approximately 1 to 4.5.
The findings indicate that mechanisms other than changes in permeability may influence the plasma volume expansion of albumin relative to that of crystalloids and further research in this area is warranted.
Supported by the Swedish Research Council (grant no. 11581), Stockholm, Sweden; the Medical Faculty of Lund University, Region Skåne (ALF), Lund, Sweden; and Anna and Edwin Berger Foundation, Lidingö, Sweden.
Peter Bansch, Svajunas Statkevicius, Peter Bentzer; Plasma Volume Expansion with 5% Albumin Compared to Ringer's Acetate during Normal and Increased Microvascular Permeability in the Rat. Anesthesiology 2014;121(4):817-824. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000363.


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Gary Oldman Will Be Honored at the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
Yes, you read that correctly.
By Sam Reed
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Gary Oldman and makeup may seem like an unlikely match — but that's precisely why his Distinguished Artisan Award at the the upcoming fifth annual Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards make so much sense. Often, you can't tell he's wearing any makeup at all.
Oldman is unrecognizable in some of his most iconic roles (Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, scruffy wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise) and, frankly, I didn't even know he was in Darkest Hour, the new Winston Churchill drama, because his transformation at the hands of Hollywood's most skilled makeup artists is that good. (See below for reference.)
Meghan Markle: Style Icon-in-Waiting
"We are thrilled to present our Distinguished Artisan statue to one of the most creative and celebrated actors of his generation, Gary Oldman," said IATSE president Susan Cabral-Ebert in a release. "Gary is known as a chameleon, an actor who changes his appearance, his voice, everything about himself from film to film. He has worked with the finest artisans in the world, he collaborates with the team and probably knows more about make-up and hair than any other actor."
Previous recipients of the Distinguished Artisan Award include Johnny Depp, American Horror Story and Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy and The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro.
The awards will take place at the NOVO theater in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2018.
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Home » News » Sandia Research Project turns Big Data into real-time, actionable intelligence
Sandia Research Project turns Big Data into real-time, actionable intelligence
October 15, 2019 by staff Leave a Comment
Sandia National Laboratories computer scientists Tian Ma, left, and Rudy Garcia, led a project to deliver actionable information from streaming data in nearly real time. (Photo by Randy Montoya)
Researchers at Sandia National Labs are leading a project to deliver actionable information from streaming data to decision makers. While social media, cameras, sensors and more generate huge amounts of data that can overwhelm analysts, the project looks to provide crucial insight in real time.
The amount of data produced by sensors and social media is booming — every day there's about 2.5 quintillion (or 2.5 billion billion) bytes of data generated," said Tian Ma, a Sandia computer scientist and project co-lead. "About 90% of all data has been generated in the last two years — there's more data than we have people to analyze. Intelligence communities are basically overwhelmed, and the problem is that you end up with a lot of data sitting on disks that could get overlooked."
Sandia researchers worked with students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, an Academic Alliance partner, to develop analytical and decision-making algorithms for streaming data sources and integrated them into a nearly real-time distributed data processing framework using big data tools and computing resources at Sandia. The framework takes disparate data from multiple sources and generates usable information that can be acted on in nearly real time.
To test the framework, the researchers and the students used Chicago traffic data such as images, integrated sensors, tweets and streaming text to successfully measure traffic congestion and suggest faster driving routes around it for a Chicago commuter. The research team selected the Chicago traffic example because the data inputted has similar characteristics to data typically observed for national security purposes, said Rudy Garcia, a Sandia computer scientist and project co-lead.
Drowning in data
We create data without even thinking about it," said Laura Patrizi, a Sandia computer scientist and research team member, during a talk at the 2019 United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's GEOINT Symposium. "When we walk around with our phone in our pocket or tweet about horrible traffic, our phone is tracking our location and can attach a geolocation to our tweet."
To harness this data avalanche, analysts typically use big data tools and machine learning algorithms to find and highlight significant information, but the process runs on recorded data, Ma said.
We wanted to see what can be analyzed with real-time data from multiple data sources, not what can be learned from mining historical data," Ma said. "Actionable intelligence is the next level of data analysis where analysis is put into use for near-real-time decision-making. Success on this research will have a strong impact to many time-critical national security applications."
Building a data processing framework
The team stacked distributed technologies into a series of data processing pipelines that ingest, curate and index the data. The scientists wrangling the data specified how the pipelines should acquire and clean the data.
Sandia National Laboratories is turning big data into actionable intelligence. (Illustration by Michael Vittitow)
Each type of data we ingest has its own data schema and format," Garcia said. "In order for the data to be useful, it has to be curated first so it can be easily discovered for an event."
Hortonworks Data Platform, running on Sandia's computers, was used as the software infrastructure for the data processing and analytic pipelines. Within Hortonworks, the team developed and integrated Apache Storm topologies for each data pipeline. The curated data was then stored in Apache Solr, an enterprise search engine and database. PyTorch and Lucidwork's Banana were used for vehicle object detection and data visualization.
Finding the right data
Bringing in large amounts of data is difficult, but it's even more challenging to find the information you're really looking for," Garcia said. "For example, during the project we would see tweets that say something like 'Air traffic control has kept us on the ground for the last hour at Midway.' Traffic is in the tweet, but it's not relevant to freeway traffic."
To determine the level of traffic congestion on a Chicago freeway, ideally the tool could use a variety of data types, including a traffic camera showing flow in both directions, geolocated tweets about accidents, road sensors measuring average speed, satellite imagery of the areas and traffic signs estimating current travel times between mileposts, said Forest Danford, a Sandia computer scientist and research team member.
However, we also get plenty of bad data like a web camera image that's hard to read, and it is rare that we end up with many different data types that are very tightly co-located in time and space," Danford said. "We needed a mechanism to learn on the 90 million-plus events (related to Chicago traffic) we've observed to be able to make decisions based on incomplete or imperfect information."
The team added a traffic congestion classifier by training merged computer systems modeled on the human brain on features extracted from labeled images and tweets, and other events that corresponded to the data in time and space. The trained classifier was able to generate predictions on traffic congestion based on operational data at any given time point and location, Danford said.
Professors Minh Do and Ramavarapu Sreenivas and their students at UIUC worked on real-time object and image recognition with web-camera imaging and developed robust route planning processes based off the various data sources.
"Developing cogent science for actionable intelligence requires us to grapple with information-based dynamics," Sreenivas said. "The holy grail here is to solve the specification problem. We need to know what we want before we build something that gets us what we want. This is a lot harder than it looks, and this project is the first step in understanding exactly what we would like to have."
Moving forward, the Sandia team is transferring the architecture, analytics and lessons learned in Chicago to other government projects and will continue to investigate analytic tools, make improvements to the Labs' object recognition model and work to generate meaningful, actionable intelligence.
We're trying to make data discoverable, accessible and usable," Garcia said. "And if we can do that through these big data architectures, then I think we're helping."
Source: Sandia National Laboratories
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Filed Under: Government, High Performance Analytics, HPC Software, Industry Segments, News, Research / Education, Visualization Tagged With: big data, cybersecurity, Hortonworks, HPDA, Sandia


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