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Behind the Red Light District
A real-life Romanian prostitute working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Blogging the truth about prostitution, human trafficking, pimps and politics.
Tours & Guides
Felicia Anna
Every day hundreds of people are led past my workplace in the Red Light District. Groups ranging from 10 to even 50 people are being led by tour guides through the small streets, to take a look at the window brothels and the women that work there. Apparently it's big business, because it's not just one group, but day and night countless amount of groups are being led past our windows, day after day, with a tour guide explaining them things. They explain things about the history of the Red Light District, about the laws here in Holland, about our work and of course about us.
Unfortunately however not every tour guide is knowledgeable about the realities of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Often I hear tour guides mentioning things which simply aren't true. For example they tell people that most, or sometimes even all, of the prostitutes are forced here. Or that organized crimes is running these brothels, using prostitution as a way to launder money. Some of these tour guides tell such complete bullshit, with all those tourists just believing it because the 'expert' it claiming it.
But fact is that most tour guides have no fucking clue what they're talking about. They're just repeating what they heard from others or from the media. Stories such as 'most women are forced here' or 'organized crime are running these brothels, or even 'money laundering is what keeps this business going', are all arguments the city government has used in the past to justify their gentrification project, to 'clean up' the Red Light District from 'organized crime', by kicking out sex workers on the street and closing down their only legal workplaces. And if you're wondering how many criminal organizations the city government has caught with this, well the answer is zero, nothing! It was just a lie they used so they could sell the buildings to companies with a lot of money.
Each day I see these groups wandering through the Red Light District, groups of 10, 20, 30 sometimes even 50 people(!), paying someone to tell absolute nonsense about us, while profiting from our existence. And while they're getting payed to tell bullshit about us, we get nothing from all of that money. But of course the worst thing is that these people are falsely informing hundreds of tourists a day, and there's little to nothing we as sex workers can do about it.
The groups are sometimes so large, that there's often not enough room for everyone, meaning they stand in front of our windows, blocking us from doing our job. They scare away the clients, who don't want to be seen by people going inside (especially not a large group of 50 people), because of the social stigma on clients of sex workers. And they make it impossible for us to make eye contact with our customers and to call them, making it impossible for us to do our job. Sometimes it's even the tour guide himself who's blocking us from doing our job. So while he's making money over our profession, he's blocking us from doing ours, plus he's telling bullshit about us. Thank's a lot!
Sometimes it also makes you feel like you're an animal in the zoo, with all those groups passing you. We don't mind people visiting the Red Light District, after all, it's part of our job. But when each day groups of 50 people are just coming to stare at you, and have no interest in you besides that, it starts to become annoying.
And it's not even the men that annoy us that much. After all, we understand that men like to see a beautiful sexy woman, it's only natural. No, the worst are the women, who are often without a complete lack of respect for us, stare at us, and make pictures of us. Some tour guides warn their groups before about taking pictures, but often they don't do anything about it when people take pictures, not showing a lot of respect for us. And from a man I can still understand why he would want to make a picture of a beautiful sexy woman, but a woman herself? What the hell does she need a picture of me for? She doesn't have a mirror at home to see how a woman looks like?
I don't mind the fact that they have tours being led around through the Red Light District, don't get me wrong. But the groups are getting too big, too much and are often being led around by people who lack any kind of respect for us or, despite the fact that we're the reason they have a job. And the worst part if that they're often talking complete bullshit about us and our job, because they simply lack the knowledge. They've never even talked with a single sex worker, they've never been inside, and they have no expertise whatsoever or any experience they're speaking from. They simply copy what they've read somewhere, or heard, without checking if it's actually true what they're talking about.
The groups are too big for the relatively small area and small alleys of the Red Light District, and too large for one tour guide to handle. And the tour guides also show a lack of respect towards us, by sometimes even blocking us from doing our jobs, by standing in front of us, and not acting when people are taking pictures of us.
There should be something like a permit. A permit for tour guides. Window brothels need permits, street artists need permits, so why not tour guides? After all, tour guides have a huge influence on how people think about the Red Light District, Amsterdam, sex work and more importantly, us! They influence the minds and opinions of hundreds of people each day by what they're telling them, and without the proper information, this could simply lead to a false image about a job which already suffers from a mostly false image which people have about it.
Without this permit it should be illegal to do any tours. And they should only allow a maximum amount of permits to tour guides, to ensure the area doesn't get overrun by tour groups like how it is right now. They should put a maximum on the amount of people a tour guide can lead around at a time. And they should do an exam about the Red Light District, the sex workers and the work itself, before being allowed to get a permit, to ensure that these people aren't going to tell complete bullshit like how some are doing right now.
Fortunately there are also some good tour guides. People who have knowledge about the area and the work, people who know what they are talking about. Probably the best place to take the tour, is from the PIC (Prostitution Information Center), run by former sex worker Mariska Majoor. Mariska is a former sex worker who used to work behind these windows, so she knows what she's talking about, and she knows the women that are currently working behind the windows. She's been running the PIC for more than 20 years in the heart of the Red Light District, and she's a personal good friend of mine. And more recently she founded the new Dutch union for sex workers, PROUD, of which I'm also a member.
And it's not because I'm friends with her that I'm saying this. It's simply because she's one of the few people who know the realities about the Red Light District, and personally knows the sex workers working here, that caused me to recommend her as a tour guide. And when you finally talk with people that truly understand your reality, with so few people around who know about it, it easily creates a bond.
Unfortunately however, there is no such thing as an exam or a permit for tour guides, and there are far too few people like Mariska Majoor who know about the realities of the Red Light District. And thus every idiot that wants to make some money, profiting from our existence and our job, is allowed to call him or herself a tour guide, and spout whatever nonsense they can about the Red Light District and the sex workers that work there. I have another word for profiting over the backs of people, while those people don't get anything in return for that, and that's called exploitation. Unfortunately there are many organisations and people who exploit us in this way, while telling bullshit about us. They lead people to believe things which are just incorrect, and they bring it home with them and talk with their friends about it, who in turn also believe it. And this is exactly how it comes there are so many bullshit stories out there about the Red Light District and sex workers in Amsterdam.
Mariska Majoor uses the income she generates from the tours she gives to run the PIC, to inform people correctly about the Red Light District and sex work in Holland. But at the PIC sex workers can also receive help if they have any problems with things, or can get information about their job, which makes it beneficial for both tourists and sex workers. Much more profitable than people who are just trying to profit from us, while talking bullshit, making our job more difficult and not giving us anything in return for it, just so they can make a lot of money for themselves.
I personally took one of these "tours" first time I was in Amsterdam. It wasn`t until I visited PIC(and later actually visiting a window girl) I actually started to understand what it was all about.
At first I just felt sorry for the Girls , and I still do but for other reasons. It can`t be easy beiing looked at as an attraction for tourists with old couples taking photos and pointing at you.
It`s good that you write these articles so that more people can hear your story and not just what the media and the goverment says.
Cliente X Says:
Past week Marjan Wijers was giving a conference here in Madrid. I wonder if it could be possible to bring Mariska Majoor to speak about the red light district and ur fights against the city council. Ur bf has my email, if u have any interest u can write me.
I have contacts in several universities here, between them the Complutense of Madrid, the Univerity of La Laguna in Tenerife, the Univeristy of Jaén, The University of Lugo and the University King Juan Carlos also in Madrid.
I agree with u in that is very important for us to tell the people what is really happening, to confront the sex workers reality with the myths that are usually spread by people that are not in contact with us.
Felicia Anna Says:
@Cliente X
I have good contact with Marjan Wijers, trust me, she's telling the same things Mariska Majoor would say.
Curvaceous Kate Says:
Just an idea and it may get no where but... if you can find out who organises these tours, could you give them the true information to give to their tourists? Seriously, write it down like you have your blog, with the truth. Tell them that you have noticed many errors and in the interests of their continued success you would like to help them.
You never know, it might work if they have a script to use.
Thank you for sharing and I agree that the lies and stories that people keep spouting out to gain money at our expense is frustrating.
@Curvaceous Kate
Yes, that's a bit of the problem, there are so many organisations and tour operators, it's almost impossible to do that. Besides, I really have no idea who organizes even half of these tours. They just show up with a huge group of people (last week I've even seen groups of 60-70 people pass by my window), and I have no idea who they are, where they're from, or what the fuck they're talking about.
MigGames Says:
I suppose it's bad enough standing there being treated as a animal in the zoo but women treating you with such disdain is disgusting.
I believe there should be routes worked out and the tour guides should go around before the tour and talk to the girls and get their permission before profiting of their existence.
That way if you don't give your permission they should move on past your window and make sure they are deterring customers or breaching your privacy.
Personally I would also, along with getting permission to stop, maybe see if some girls would open the door and have a short interview of 3 to 4 minutes (nothing personal or distasteful?) return for a fee that way you are making money and customers are getting the real picture rather than these tour guides who know nothing.
alia12 parker Says:
Hire a travel companion and enjoy your tour. Tour is not just a tour it is more than this. Because a tourist tour place only for get knowledge about the place and they tour more fun. They want both and a guide can give you both of them So do not think that much visit travel companion for hire and hire the best guide for you.
How to become a prostitute
Triodos Bank refuses PROUD but accepts brothel
The prostitution entry program
Prostitutes occupy closed window brothels
Red Light United - Union for Red Light District window workers
PROUD - Dutch Union for Sexworkers
PIC Amsterdam (Prostitution Information Center)
Prostitution in The Netherlands
Zondares - Blog of a Dutch prostitute (Dutch)
Utrecht Krijgt Spijt - Blog about prostitution in Utrecht (Dutch)
Tweets by @feliciaanna27


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Arts & Humanities Career Guide: Graduate School
CAA Directory Graduate Programs in Art Education - Humanities Reference N 88 .G73x 2011
CAA Directory Graduate Programs in Art History - Humanities Reference N 385 .G73x 2011
CAA Directory Graduate Programs in Arts Administration - Humanities Reference NX 760 .G57x 2011
CAA Directory Graduate Programs in Curatorial & Museum Studies - Humanities Reference AM 7 .G57 2011
CAA Directory Graduate Programs in the Visual Arts - Humanities Reference N 328 .G73x 2011
College Guide for Performing Arts Majors - Humanities Reference NC 303 .P54 2010
College Guide for Vistual Arts Majors - Humanities Reference NX 303 .P53 2010
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Testing & Education Reference Center (Gale)
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@sanha Kyuhyun was on a bit of an aggressive roll, or it could be said way, either way he was letting his competitive side take over. He had been gaming for a couple of hours now and still hadn't quite managed to pull off his plan to beat this guy with a character he'd been practising with... so what better way to ensure victory by making him face his other character instead? It wasn't his main character, just something he had a bit more practice on and may have been a little stronger in general. 'I am so not sorry for what's about to happen to you~' Kyuhyun said in his head, that usual grin spreading onto his face as he went in for an attack. He wasn't about to admit defeat at all, even if it had been unfair. A win was a win no matter the cost to get there.
He took a moment to type away on the keyboard, the smugness was thick right now as he looked at the text he just sent into the chat.
How bold of you to say that..
@baekhyun ( sh ) The only time my gets whooped is durin ..
Hmm you want me to decide what the loser gets to do? Haha I feel like if I say something the tables will end up turning with me losing * laughs* lets just keep it a secret on what to do to hulimiate the other. Now shall we start with the racing game?
Ok Hyung well thank you for spending your saved money here ..
Ok I like it so bet to both ..
So you pick the first one and whoever loses has to do all those things Hyung !
Alright alright what kind of bet though Hyung ..
Dance dance revolution sounds like fun and fighting games. Oo those are fun too! Hey how about we have a competition playing those games. We could make a bet.
Alright mr rich with his credit card ..
So what kind of arcade games you like Hyung..
I enjoy those racing once and a little bit of the shooting ones ..
@baekhyun ( sh ) Hmmm~ exactly ..
What no ones listening and switch hmm I could see that.
Well.. I love strawberry's ..
What are you the dominate daddy type.. * chuckles softly as I lean forward once again resting my chin in the palm of my hand relaxing * the get on your knees for me baby.. * grins as I tease a bit * but damn that would be hot seeing you as the daddy type .. or maybe that's my kink.. * mumbles to myself as I grab another dumpling * ahh whatever I'm not the only one that likes the daddy type ..
* stuffs the dumpling into my mouth and chews before smiling at you sweetly * I'm glad I get to see this side of you Hyung .. it's cute ..
It is seriously my favorite dessert Hyung I live for strawberry's especially chocolate covered ones..
* smiles at you * you are so adorable Hyung ..
You have to fill up your tumtum! * picks up one of the tempura and brings it over to you* do you like it?
@baekhyun ( sh ) Sweet..
Chocolate covered strawberry's Hyung.. you gonna pay for those ..
@namjoon Ah.. I see * press my lips together with an apologetic look knowing your words are true* if that is your decision then alright. Even if I want to prevent you from leaving, I dont want you to stay and feel unhappy or ignored by any other.


Content Description Front view of center elevation of the Sanctuary Residence Hall looking west. The main entrance in the center of the picture. The building view is partially obstructed by trees. Fragment of N. Sheffield Avenue and the sidewalk with pedestrians are also in the picture.


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1 Comment January 26, 2006 at 5:07 pm
More Musical Matchups Please
By Ron Nurwisah, Boy Reporter
Torontoist enjoyed Stuart Berman's interview in this week's eye, pitting Max McCabe-Lokos (the Deadly Snakes) and Bry Webb (the Constantines).We're not taking sides in this little "tiff" but we'll gladly go and watch either band this weekend at the Horseshoe. But enough of the friendliness of Canada's indie scene, we think that underneath all this collegiality and 'pat-on-the back' we're all in this together joviality there's some real rage.
1) Sarah Slean vs. Sarah Harmer
Sarah McLachlan is in virtual retirement so the title of this country's most important musical Sarah is up for grabs. Sadly Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara is disqualified for not having an 'H.'
2) Sloan vs. Blue Rodeo vs. the Rheostatics
Ah three stalwart Canadian bands. But every year members of these three bands take the ice for Exclaim!'s hockey tournament so there's got to be some competive spirit there. Rheostatic Dave Bidini might've had the most international experience, but no word on whether he's actually a good hockey player and can take a check.
3) The Arcade Fire vs. Broken Social Scene vs. The New Pornographers vs. The Hidden Cameras
Remember the Royal Rumble, that silly WWF event that had 30 wrestlers duking it out until one is left standing. Well, this would be our equivalent. New Pornographer AC Newman and BSS's Brendan Canning squelched rumours that there was a rivalry between the two bands but really who knows? Win Butler, at six-foot-five would tower over pretty much everyone in the ring but don't count out the steely Neko Case and the Hidden Cameras have such a huge rotating membership that there's no reason why they couldn't recruit a ringer.
Photo borrowed from eye
Filed under Arcade Fire, Blue Rodeo, Brendan Canning, Dave Bidini, Deadly Snakes, Hidden Cameras, Neko Case, New Pornographer, New Pornographers, Sarah Harmer, Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Slean, Stuart Berman, The Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, this week, Win Butler, Broken Social Scene, Canada, Fire, hockey, music, Rodeo, the hidden cameras
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A Bangor University student who graduates this week has developed such a passion for her subject that she cycled across Vietnam in its name.
Ceri Williams, from Holywell, undertook the 400 mile, 12 day challenge to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society, having juggled her studies in Health & Social Care and Criminology & Criminal Justice with working for a health care agency.
View a short interview with Ceri.


Most beer styles are, in one way or another, connected to their past. Collectively, the roots are ancient; stylistically, more modern. Even today's nouveau styles are based on traditional beers. Only two reference their antiquity in their name, the British old ale, and the German ale known as altbier. Altbier, meaning old beer, is so called because of the reverential grasp its brewers have maintained on Rhineland brewing traditions. Indigenous to Düsseldorf, altbiers are top-fermented, full of hops, and with a winsome copper color. Altbier, or simply alt, bridges the chasm between ales and lagers in a manner that flatters both.
In Europe during the Middle Ages, most of the brewing was done in private households and by monasteries. Monks in particular were rather adept at brewing, and took an analytical approach to the craft. Eventually, it was almost universally agreed upon that malted barley, bittered with hops, made the best beers. It can also be assumed that all beers, except those brewed in the coldest of climates, were top-fermenting ales. Most were also quite dark.
Despite the improved deftness of many brewers of the time, sub par beers were still common. The now-famous beer purity law, the Reinheitsgebot, drafted in Bavaria in 1516, was an attempt to discourage the production of poor-quality beer. The brewers of the Rhineland were not bound by this decree. This is not to say that there were necessarily more undrinkable beers in the northwest of Germany, but it nevertheless allowed the brewers there to assert some individuality based on this independence.
The cooler climate also allowed Rhineland brewers to brew throughout the year; which was illegal in Bavaria. These factors contributed to a separate brewing culture in the northwest that is very much alive today in Düsseldorf and Köln.
The radical changes that occurred in brewing circles in the early part of the 19th century improved beer quality immeasurably. Lighter, softer malts that produced golden-hued beers, and the isolation of bottom-fermenting lager yeasts, led to the production of crystal-clear, golden lager beers known as pilsner, brewed first in Plzen, Czechoslovakia and embraced shortly thereafter in Munich. Brewers in continental Europe adopted these innovations and it wasn't long before similar beers were produced everywhere.
The indirect result of improved malting technology was that traditional darker malts could be produced that were more consistent. In Bavaria, old-style dark beers like Munich dunkels and bocks were not abandoned, but refined with better malt and lager fermentation technology.
In the northwest, the brewers of Düsseldorf adopted the malting technology, but eschewed lager yeasts, thinking them unnecessary. It is easy to see how the altbiers of today are the way the are based both on this history and a resistance to the most sweeping changes.
Altbier brewers employ the same elegant malts that German lagerbier brewers do. Generally the grist is composed of pilsner malt, Munich malt, and a small measure of a dark variety such as caramel or black malt. Pilsner malt provides a crisp backbone to the beer. It has a high degree of fermentability and contributes a little body. Munich malt is modified a bit beyond the pilsner variety by toasting. Its footprint on the wort is a malty flavor and aroma, a bit more residual, or dextrinous, character, and an engaging copper/bronze color. The dark malts, used in very small quantities, are used to color the beer only and perhaps add a little more body. The malts are mashed in such a manner that helps create a dry-finishing product.
Authentic altbiers are among the more heavily-hopped beers. In fact, the quantitative measure of an altbier's bitterness would seem to be at a level more befitting an IPA. A taste, however, will reveal a dry, lingering bitterness that is not at all lopsided. This seemingly reckless use of hops is tempered marvelously by the qualities of the German malt, and a period of post-fermentation conditioning at cold temperatures that reduces the bitterness to a very noticeable, but less sharp edge. Hop additions for flavor and aroma are kept to a minimum. Of course traditional German varieties such as Hallertau, Tettnang, Perle and Spalt hops are used, with Spalt being the signature hop in the more traditional recipes.
Altbiers are top-fermented. But because they were brewed in the cool climate of the lower Rhine, conditions dictated that a yeast tolerant of lower temperatures was needed. Slow and steady workers, the altbier yeasts work at temperatures in the range that generally separates the usual ale and lager fermenters. The result is an ale that presents little of the estery, fruity character of other ales. Instead, there is a soft, lightly malty, sweet, toasty aroma that is clean and inviting. Altbier yeast is also special in that it is very aggressive in its ability to attenuate wort. In other words, the beer is fermented quite completely, leaving it fairly dry.
Altbiers are also unusual ales in that they undergo a period of cold-conditioning, or lagering, to help round out the beer. In fact, the designation obergärige lagerbier (top-fermented lager beer) can be found on some labels. A fully mature altbier is a beautifully round package of clean, malty flavor produced by tempered and full fermentation, and hopped copiously, then finished with a mellowing spell of lagering. Most are in the range of 4.5 to 5% ABV. A beer unlike any other.
To experience a slice of altbier heaven, one would have to travel to Düsseldorf. There are several famous altbier breweries within the city limits. A sampling of them would reveal subtle differences, but all exhibit the glistening bronze or burnished-copper color, the lingering bitterness, and the light, malty background. The area of the city known as the Altstadt (Old Town) has within its confines three altbier brewpubs (Zum Uerige, Im Füchschen, and Zum Schlüssel). Scattered around the city are a few others. Most bars feature one of the many locally made alts.
The style is also represented in some of the surrounding cities in the Rhineland. Breweries in The Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland make their own interpretations.
The brewpubs and taverns in Düsseldorf have a reputation of being busy and eclectic. Coupled with some world-class beer, this would make for some fine entertainment. Often altbier is dispensed from wooden casks by gravity and is always served in small, cylindrical glasses. The bright, crystal-clear altbier supports a fine, stiff head that is typical of beers made with the protein-rich German malt. Occasionally, a stronger altbier, known as Sticke (secret), is brewed to honor the regular patrons.
Some brands of altbier manage to make their way to North America. A recent addition to the shelves is Frankenheim alt, a brew that does the style fine justice. Diebels Alt, Bolten Alt, and Schlosser Alt are all worth trying if you are lucky enough to encounter them. From The Netherlands, Grolsch produces a beer known simply as Amber, that is an altbier and is balanced a bit more toward malt rather than hops.
The American landscape is far from barren with regard to altbier offerings. The reigning king of the style in North America is Widmer Alt from Portland, OR. The highly-acclaimed Southampton Secret from Long Island is an exemplary altbier that is a bit bigger than most and fits into the Sticke mold. Otter Creek Copper Ale is wonderfully dry, lightly hopped, full of flavor, and widely available. Boston Beer Co. produces a Stock Ale that is made with German hops and is cold-conditioned. It is clean and malty, and could rightly be considered altbier. Alaskan Amber from the Alaskan Brewing Company in Juneau is a malty version of altbier that should definitely be tried if available.
Altbier is an esoteric brew because of its ale/lager nature and a lack of availability. It might be thought that altbier brewers ply their trade with just a nod to tradition. One could argue against that notion, however, because their beer has in recent history remained unchanged. Altbier is a tangible symbol of the Altstadt and demonstrates that the status quo is often enduring perfection.
K. Florian Klemp is an award-winning beer writer who draws a paycheck from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.


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artists // Andrew Wan //
Andrew Wan //
Andrew Wan was named concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2008. As soloist, he has performed worldwide under conductors such as Maxim Vengerov, Vasily Petrenko, Bernard Labadie, Carlo Rizzi, Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern and James DePreist and has appeared in recitals with artists such as the Juilliard Quartet, Vadim Repin, Marc-André Hamelin, Daniil Trifonov, Menahem Pressler, Jörg Widmann, Emanuel Ax, James Ehnes, and Gil Shaham. His discography includes GRAMMY and JUNO award-nominated releases on the Onyx, Bridge, and Naxos labels with the Metropolis Ensemble and the JUNO and Opus-award winning New Orford String Quartet. In the fall of 2015, he released a live recording of all three Saint-Saëns violin concerti with the OSM and Kent Nagano under the Analekta label, garnering a Prix Opus and an ADISQ nomination. Mr. Wan graduated from The Juilliard School with three degrees and is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Director of the Soloists of the OSM and Artistic Partner of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.


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Is it Time for Arsenal to Wave Goodbye to Aubameyang and Lacazette?
Apprentice beats master: when Cesc humiliated Vieira at Highbury
Abou Diaby – How Good Was He?
Roy Keane vs Patrick Vieira – The Premier League's Greatest Rivalry
David Rocastle – Remembering a True Arsenal Legend
Home > Opinion Pieces (Page 2)
Arsenal, Caviar & The Road to Top 4 Recovery
"If you eat caviar every day, it's very difficult to return to sausages". This was Wenger's famous reaction to fans agitation after a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in 1998. During that epoch, the benchmark for success was finishing above Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United team, anything contrary was considered substandard by Arsenal fans. A move to Emirates Stadium while not forgetting an influx of foreign moolah into the Premier League weakened the club financially and competitively - Chelsea and Man City had come to the trophy party. Arsenal had migrated from title contenders to title pretenders, thus finishing 4th was now considered a trophy. After all, there was a reward of playing in the Europe's elite competition (The Champions League). The
Sven Mislintat – The Guy to Help Arsenal Win the League?
The Premier League title drought is all too real down at the Emirates, 14 years and counting. Yeah, Arsenal have won an FA Cup or four since Arsene Wenger led his team through the 2003-2004 season unbeaten. Establishing both the club and himself to the top table in English football but Arsenal missed out on the Champions League for the second season in a row and with Spurs finishing above them again, those days of the Invincibles seem a long time ago. But with Arsenal recruiting Sven Mislintat as chief scout they're future in the transfer market looks a lot brighter. Sven Mislintat wasn't a talented footballer, didn't have a good career and came into the role of head scout at Dortmund more else
Will Henrikh Mkhitaryan Suit Arsenal?
In Janaury 2018, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was involved in one of the most-profile swap deals in premier league history. Going from Manchester United to Arsenal in exchange for Chilean, Alexis Sanchez. During his time at Man United, he failed to live up to high expectations he garnished for himself at previous clubs Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund. Arriving at the Westfalenstadion in 2013 after an impressive season with the Ukrainian champions, Mkhitaryan thrived, benefiting from the coaching of Jürgen Klopp and then Thomas Tuchel. Under Tuchel in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga season, the attacking midfielder had his most impressive season to date. Scoring eleven, assisting 15 and posting career best statistics in shots and key passes per 90 minutes categories. His performances
Top 5 Arsenal Blogs for Die Hard Fans!
When you're a football fan, it's important to stay in the know and what is even better than reading news is covering opinions too. It's been a turbulent 2018 for Gooners everywhere, with a lot of change taking place in the Arsenal ranks; both on and off the pitch. From the arrival of club record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January to the departure of Arsene Wenger over the summer and, most recently, the confirmed exit of club CEO Ivan Gazidis. With all this going on, it's the perfect time to stay informed; so here are the top five Arsenal blogs for you to read. 1. Arseblog Arseblog is one of the longest running and highly regarded Arsenal blogs out there. Established in
Tagged A Cultured Left Foot Arseblog
Opinion Pieces (14)


What is included in the Academy tuition and travel fees?
Academy's goal is to be open, honest and upfront about the costs associated with playing for our club. Tuition costs between $500 and $1,750. Tuition covers: administrative costs, practice fees, gym rental, insurance, uniforms, coach fees, LISF training fees and position clinics. Travel fees range from $0-$2,000. Travel fees include: hotels for players and coaches, tournament entry fees and coaches travel expenses.
No. Academy provides a unique club experience for players and parents, but it is definitely not for everyone. Our philosophy has a foundation that is built on training. We want to work with athletes who take this sport seriously and want to learn and compete at the highest level. Our practices are intense and fast-paced with a focus on each athlete receiving the maximum number of repetitions. Our travel schedule is demanding. Our season is longer than most other clubs in the area. If you or your child are interested in a less demanding training and travel experience, we can recommend a number of other clubs in our area which will provide a great experience.
Does Academy allow players to play multiple sports?
Yes. Academy allows multiple sport athletes. In fact, at the younger age we strongly encourage the girls to participate in multiple sports. Our training roots are based in athletic movements. We believe that all sports encompass the same basic principles that we strive to teach. However, as athletes reach the older age groups, the demands of weekly practices and travel schedules can make participation in multiple sports a challenge.
Where are the practice Facilities?
At Academy, we are very proud of the fact that we are a club that spans Long Island. We have athletes from Nassau County to the Hamptons. Many other clubs on Long Island are based in a local school district and only draw athletes from that local community. Our practice facilities are located at: Connetquot School District, Sachem School District, Smithtown School District, and Smithtown Sports Arena.


It was our fourth year travelling to Puy St Vincent with Snowbizz and there is a reason we and so many others go back year after year. A lot of people wouldn't even consider a family ski holiday, but once you have tried it, you may well find yourself hooked. We battle through the early morning airport meltdowns and the hyperactive toddlers on the flight because when we arrive in the snow covered resort, everything is so easy, so relaxed and just so much fun.
The fresh mountain air is cold and takes a while to adjust to, the snow is unfamiliar to little hands but soft enough to sink into and the views . . . I don't think I could ever not be in awe of the snowy mountains that dominate the horizon in every direction. The first day is always put aside for adapting, for preparing, for collecting our hired boots and skis, for take away pizza and early nights.
The next day however is a different story. Dylan and Archie were skiing for the third year and Archie has in the yellow group at ski school with Jean-Paul whilst Dylan was in the orange class with Benjamin. They were up and dressed in their thermals and salopettes and raring to go. Dropping them at ski school was as easy as walking down one flight of stairs as we are directly above it (I didn't even put my shoes on some days), and they can sledge and play outside or chill out with games in the lounge before their lesson starts. It is a little further to drop off Finn and Cora but I can probably do the walk with both of them on foot in two minutes still. We leave our apartment block, cross in front of a shop and we are at the welcoming Snowbizz creche where the pink ladies greet them every morning with smiles and cuddles. There are always toys laid out inviting them to play and a craft or painting set up on the tables.
And then we can ski, or read a book, or go for a walk, or eat a fresh croissant bought from the bakery next to the creche. The morning is ours and we love the freedom, the rest, the adult time.
Our week is always a mixture of family time, adult time, skiing and some one on one time with the little ones. We follow their lead and take it day by day and it works so well for us. We love sledging and the creche has plenty of sledges that you can borrow to take to the little sledging hill next to the playground. The restaurants all have tables outside so we can play in the snow as we wait for our lunch, and hot chocolate will never taste quite as good as it does from the Creperie after an afternoon sledging.
We had snow, so much snow and we had sunshine. It snowed for about 24 hours straight with around 60cm laying just over night. The next morning the sun shone, the freshly pisted slopes could not have been more inviting and we couldn't resist stomping in the fresh powder snow, watching it rise up our legs, rolling around in it and throwing it up in the air. We could not have asked for better weather and I will always remember Finn's face as the snow fell, the excitement and awe, the desperation to be out in it and the sheer joy as he ran through it with his tongue out to catch the falling flakes.
Dylan gained even more confidence skiing and on the last day we could barely keep up with him as he skiied down the blue slopes without fear. For a child that has never been very physically confident, it is amazing to see how much he loves this sport, how well he is improving and the experiences it gives him. Archie was the smallest in his class and needed extra help at the beginning of the week but we took him up on the lifts at the end of the week and were amazed at how well he could ski down, never falling over or struggling and smiling and laughing the whole way.
Ed and I tackled harder red slopes, improved our skills and took in the views from the very top of the mountain where we really did feel on top of the world. We made friends as did the children and it felt like we had our own little community by the end of the week. Being a smaller resort, the children really make great friendships as do the adults and we all found ourselves seated together on the plane on the way home too.
The boys loved the kids clubs in the evenings and award night at the end saw Finn awarded the 'Shining Star' for 'brightening up our day' whilst Cora got the 'Haribo' award for 'being a sweetie'.
and we are already looking into booking for next year!
I have been stalking your photos on social media regarding your ski trip. You look like you had an amazing time. Skiing isn't something we have considered doing with the children, but I think that's more down to the fact that we're so uncoordinated.


See the gallery for tag and special word "Early Mornings". You can to use those 8 images of quotes as a desktop wallpapers.
But for me, I thought you made a record, you got on a bus, went out and played your shows and made a lot of money. That was the way it was supposed to go down. But there's a lot more to it than that. There are a lot of early mornings, late nights, a lot of traveling, a lot of being away from home, being away from your family.
Also, I walk and hike in several different nearby parks near our home several early mornings a week.
More of quotes gallery for "Early Mornings"


Graham Thorpe continued his fine form while wicketkeeper Geraint Jones pressed his Test claims as England turned the screw on day two of their three-day tour match against a Carib Beer XI.
Thorpe, top scorer with 90 in the second Test victory over West Indies earlier this week, top-scored again with 88 while Jones made 66 as England made 347 in their first innings, a lead of 218.
In reply, the Carib Beer XI were 51 for one at the close, 167 behind.
Resuming on 121 for three, Test wicketkeeper Chris Read, in the side as a specialist number five batsman, fell for nine.
But Thorpe and Jones then added 117 for the fifth wicket before the left-handed Thorpe was caught off medium-pacer Tonito Willett. He hit eight fours and one six.
Jones recovered from an uncertain start, smashing five fours and three sixes before he was the first of four victims for fast bowler and West Indies Test hopeful Jermaine Lawson.
All rounder Rikki Clarke plundered 35 while Ashley Giles made 22.
In reply, James Anderson gave England the perfect start when he removed Xavier Marshall for four.
But Carib XI captain Daren Ganga, drafted into the West Indies Test squad on Saturday as cover for Devon Smith who has a finger injury, survived on 17 not out while Sylvester Joseph made a quick-fire 25 not out.


text:
Journal of Ovarian Research
December 2020 , 13:6 | Cite as
Performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) in diagnosis of ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Kexin Li
Yuqing Pei
Yi Guo
Wei Cui
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for ovarian cancer.
A thorough research was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and Embase (until November 2018) to identify studies evaluating the accuracy of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer. Using Meta-Disc1.4, Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.1 software to analyze the pooled results: sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC) and area under the curve (AUC) show the overall performance of MALDI-TOF-MS.
Eighteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Methodological quality analysis of the included studies showed that these articles were at low risk of bias and applicability concerns in total. Summary estimates of the diagnostic parameters were as follows: sensitivity, 0.77 (95% CI: 0.73–0.80); specificity, 0.72 (95% CI: 0.70–0.74), PLR, 2.80 (95% CI: 2.41–3.24); NLR, 0.30 (95% CI: 0.22–0.40) and DOR, 10.71 (95% CI: 7.81–14.68). And the AUC was 0.8336. Egger's test showed no significant publication bias in this meta-analysis.
In conclusion, MALDI-TOF-MS shows a good ability for diagnosing ovarian cancer. Further evaluation and optimization of standardized procedures are necessary for complete relying on MALDI-TOF-MS to diagnose ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among the gynecological malignancies in women [1]. High malignant degree and heterogeneity, occult location and vague clinical symptoms in the early stage are the chief clinical characteristics [2]. Moreover, metastases have occurred before clinical symptoms in most ovarian cancer patients. Thus, it's not until advanced that ovarian cancer has been diagnosed. 70% of diagnosed patients are at FIGO stages III and IV, in which the 5-year survival rate is under 30%. Fortunately, if it is detected earlier, the survival rate will reach into 90% at FIGO stage I [3]. Hence, early diagnosis is highly significant to improve prognosis and increase the survival rates.
Nowadays, the common clinical diagnostic biomarkers of OC include cancer antigen 125(CA125), human epididymis protein4 (HE4) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The sensitivity of CA125 in early ovarian cancer is less than 50%, and HE4 combined with CA125 can discriminate cases of endometriosis cyst and ovarian cancer [4]. CEA is a broad-spectrum tumor marker that can increase sensitivity and specificity in combination with CA125 and HE4 in postmenopausal women [5]. But the sensitivity and specificity cannot meet the clinical demand. In addition, the expression of tumor markers in different historical types and disease stages may change. For this reason, researchers focus on the identification of blood markers that express at the different stages, multiple tumor markers are needed to improve accuracy. Therefore, it is necessary to develop sufficient diagnostic markers and methods.
Recently, the development of proteomics and detection equipment and technology of MS are increasing rapidly, the number of studies of proteins and peptides also increases gradually. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), as a new mass spectrometry technology, can successfully detect multiple biomarkers related to diseases, especially in the aspects of diagnosis and treatment of tumor [6, 7, 8]. It also can quickly detect some specific phase protein expression in the blood and other body fluid and assist in establishing therapeutic schedule, predicting the outcome of treated patients, and estimating the possibility of recurrence [9]. By this technology, many studies showed that detecting the multiple peptides can improve the diagnosis and prognosis in colorectal cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer and prostate cancer [10, 11, 12].
Now, several studies that have reported the diagnostic value of this method for ovarian cancer show controversial results. So, we propose to evaluate the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer through meta-analysis.
Search strategy and inclusion /exclusion criteria
We conducted a search in PubMed, Web of Science and Embase (until November 2018) to identify studies that evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer. The search terms included "MALDI-TOF-MS" or "Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Mass Spectrometry" or "Laser Desorption-Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Matrix-Assisted" or "Mass Spectrometry, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization" and "ovarian cancer" or "ovarian neoplasm" or "ovary cancer" or "cancer of the ovary". We manually searched the reference lists of retrieved articles to identify trials.
All studies were included if they met the following inclusion criteria: (1) Studies of people were diagnosed with histopathology; (2) The measurement of distinguishing ovarian cancer from benign or healthy controls is MALDI-TOF-MS; (3) The sufficient data to calculate the diagnostic parameters (sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio) or allow construction the 2 × 2 tables. Animals or cell studies and duplicated studies were excluded.
Data extraction and quality assessment
Data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers from eligible studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The third reviewer resolved the disagreements through a discussion when the two authors had differences of opinion. Data collection from each study were extracted: first author; region; year of publication; the number of subjects; age of subjects; specimen type; screening method; statistical software or statistical algorithm; and the number of true positive, false positive, false negative and true negative. QUDAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2) was used to assess the quality of included studies [13]. The quality assessment of studies is divided into two parts: risk of bias and applicability concerns.
Two authors used standard methods recommended for meta-analysis of the diagnostic studies independently. We used Meta-Disc1.4, Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.1 software to analyse the result: sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC) and area under the curve (AUC) show the overall performance of the test. The Spearman correlation coefficient is used to analyse and calculate the threshold effects or non-threshold effects. Also, by plotting the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, the result that observed as a "shoulder-arm" distribution indicated no threshold effects. The heterogeneity of this study was calculated by inconsistency index I2: if I2 > 50%, it turned out to be significant heterogeneity in the study, then we used the random-effects model to calculate the combined statistics; otherwise, a fixed-effect model was implemented. When the heterogeneity effect of this study was present, we performed meta-regression to analyse the source of heterogeneity and conducted the subgroup analysis. Egger's test was used to analyse the publication bias [14].
Included studies and characteristics
Seven articles were included in the meta-analysis [15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21], according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The flowchart summarized the process of selection (Fig. 1). From these articles, we extracted the data from eighteen studies, including 592 samples (224 cases and 358 controls). The specimen included serum and plasma. Control group consisted of health or benign ovarian disease patients. Otherwise, Swiatly et al. used the patients with hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy as the control. The number of subjects ranged from 20 to 188. And the histopathological type was epithelial ovarian cancer. Among these, Zheng et al. used high-grade-serious ovarian cancer and the patients of ovarian cancer in Ali et al. were selected with CA125 > 30-U/ml. In all eligible studies, MALDI-TOF-MS was used to distinguish the patients from the people by measuring the expression of proteins or peptides. These studies also performed the extraction of low abundant proteins or peptides through MALDI-TOF-MS coupled with magnetic beads, such as magnetic beads based weak cation exchange (MB-WXC), C18 Zip Tip, Hydrophobic interaction chromatography magnetic beads C8 (MB-HIC C8) and Cu-immobilized metal affinity chromatography magnetic beads (IMAC-Cu MBs). The characteristics of these studies and patients are listed in Table 1 in detail.
Open image in new window
Flow diagram of study selection
Characteristics of included studies in the meta-analysis
case/control(n=)
Histological type
Screening method
Zheng, Z.G.
High-grade-serous ovarian cancer
MB-WCX
Wu, S
Health and benign
Swiatly (a)
Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
C18 ZipTip
Swiatly (b)
Swiatly (c)
Periyasamy(a)
Serous epithelial ovarian cancer
MB-HIC C8
Periyasamy(b)
Periyasamy(c)
Periyasamy(d)
Periyasamy(e)
Periyasamy(f)
Periyasamy(g)
IMAC-Cu MBs
Periyasamy(h)
Periyasamy(i)
John F. (a)
John F. (b)
Lee, J. H.
Ali Tiss
OC of CA125 > 30 U/mL
Abbreviations: EOC Epithelial ovarian cancer, OC Ovarian cancer, MB-WCX Magnetic beads based weak cation exchange, MB-HIC C8 Hydrophobic interaction chromatography magnetic beads C8, IMAC-Cu MBs Cu-immobilized metal affinity chromatography magnetic beads, NA Not available, TP True positive, FP False positive, FN False negative, TN True negative
The quality assessment of these studies was used by Review Manager 5.3 software. Methodological quality analysis of the included studies showed that these articles were at low risk of bias and applicability concerns in total. Although most of the included studies were case-control studies, in the patient selection domain, they enrolled patients consecutively or random samples. Moreover, they avoided inappropriate exclusions. The index tests were performed after the results of the reference standard, otherwise, conducted in double-blind. Some studies' thresholds were not preset which may affect the interpretation of the results. The risk of the flow and timing domain were at a low level. The summary of the quality assessment was listed in Fig. 2.
Methodological quality graph (a) and summary (b)
The Spearman correlation coefficient is 0.403 (P = 0.097), and the shape of ROC show no typical shoulder arm distribution, the result showed that no threshold effect. Using Meta-Disc1.4 software, we conducted the forest plot of sensitivity and specificity. The I2 of those parameters were more than 50%, it indicated significant heterogeneity among the meta-analysis. Therefore, we pooled the combined data by the random-effects model. Summary estimates of the diagnostic parameters were as follows: sensitivity, 0.77 (95% CI: 0.73–0.80); specificity, 0.72 (95% CI: 0.70–0.74) (Fig. 3), PLR, 2.80 (95% CI: 2.41–3.24); NLR, 0.30 (95% CI: 0.22–0.40) and DOR, 10.71 (95% CI: 7.81–14.68) (Fig. 4). And the AUC was 0.8336 (Fig. 5). It demonstrated that the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer was a good level of overall accuracy.
Sensitivity (a) and Specificity (b) of the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer
PLR (a), NLR (b) and DOR (c) of the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer
SROC of the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer
Meta-regression analysis and publication bias
To explore the source of the heterogeneity, we conducted meta-regression analysis based on five variables: region (Asia and others), control (health and others), sample (> 100 and < 100), screening methods (MB-WCX and others) and quality (high and low). Table 2 showed that no source of heterogeneity was observed.
Meta-regression analysis of the included studies
Covariates
number (n=)
Co-eff
RDOR 95%CI
1.59(0.73–3.47)
1.23 (0.61–2.48)
−0.012
> 100
Abbreviations: MB-WCX Magnetic beads based weak cation exchange
Considered of the number of included articles, the assessment of publication bias was performed by Egger's test. The results show no significant publication bias in this meta-analysis (P = 0.162) (Fig. 6). The results and discussion may be presented separately, or in one combined section, and may optionally be divided into headed subsections.
The Egger's test of the included studies in the meta-analysis
Nowadays, clinical routine early screening methods involve transvaginal ultrasound examinations (TVUs) and serum CA125 in ovarian cancer. Only 30–40% positive rate still limits the clinical effect [22, 23]. Hence, more efforts are needed to enhance the diagnosis accuracy. Several studies have applied MALDI-TOF-MS to the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer [24, 25, 26]. MALDI-TOF-MS is a new type of soft ionization biological protein spectrum technology, which has been developed rapidly in recent years. The stable molecular ions are generated by the soft ionization method, which could not break the measured molecules, and mass spectrometry is carried out by the time of flight mass analyser. The molecular mass of the charged molecules is determined based on the time of arrival at the detector, and a specific fingerprint is performed by special software analysis [27, 28]. Compared with the traditional protein detection technology, the advantages of MALDI-TOF-MS are high sensitivity and accuracy, few sample sizes, short testing periods and varied sample types, such as serum, plasma, tissue, and cerebrospinal fluid [29, 30, 31]. It has been used to identify the bacterium in clinical, and then its ability to explore the biomarkers have been gradually developed. MALDI-TOF-MS can also detect the chemotherapy drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis of ovarian cancer [32, 33, 34].
The thorough research included seven articles and contained eighteen studies. In this study, we synthesized the overall diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS for ovarian cancer. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 77 and 72%, respectively, which indicated that 23% of patients could be missed and the rate of misdiagnosis was 28%. Compared with CA125 and HE4, the sensitivity and specificity showed moderate performance. The result suggested that multi-marker diagnostic strategies can be used to improve the efficiency. The positive likelihood ratios > 10 and negative likelihood ratios < 0.1 are considered as a significant indicator to judge a diagnosis [35]. In the present meta-analysis, the pooled results that PLR and NLR were 2.80 and 0.30 suggest that the ability of MALDI-TOF-MS may not strong enough to discriminate the ovarian cancer patients from the controls. Lee et al. showed that the best PLR and NLR was respectively 44.17 and 0.13. The reason why the result showed the good performance is that low-mass-ion (LMI) profiling was constructed to screen for OC with the removal of high-abundant peptide and protein [20]. Therefore, the high-abundant protein in serum or plasma should be separated to improve the discovery of meaningful markers when MALDI-TOF-MS is used to differentiate the ovarian cancer. The diagnostic odds ratio [36], a single indicator that shows the degree of association between diagnostic tests and diseases, was 10.71, indicates that MALDI-TOF-MS may be used as an auxiliary rather than independent detection method. The SROC AUC was 0.8336. These results indicated that this technology shows a good ability for diagnosing ovarian cancer and should be used in combination with other markers to improve the accuracy for early diagnosis.
In fact, MALDI-TOF-MS is also used to investigate the abnormal changes of N-glycan modifications on proteins of ovarian cancer. Biskup et al. reported that GLYCOV (a change in serum polysaccharide group in advanced epithelial tumors) can distinguish advanced epithelial ovarian cancer from benign tumors and early epithelial ovarian cancer in more sensitive and specific compared with CA125 [37]. In addition, serum peptide information with CA125 can improve the detectable time for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer [25]. In 2016, OVA2, a second-generation multivariate index FDA-approved assay for ovarian cancer monitor, has already applied in clinical screening for determining the OC risk by clinical information [38]. Ivanova et al. reported that it is necessary to identify the structure of peptide between the patients and other diseases for differential diagnoses [39]. In order to determine the detection threshold better and improve the diagnostic performance, Swiatly et al. found that iTRAQ (isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantification) coupled with MALDI-TOF-MS was as an appropriate method for identifying different protein expression in serum to improve the ability to discriminate benign tumors from malignant tumors [40].
According to the involved studies, Tiss et al. reported that CA125 showed the good performance in the diagnosis of invasive ovarian cancer and MS profiling have limitation as a diagnostic tool in 2010 [21]. However, with the continuous maturity and improvement of mass spectrometry technology, MS has showed its specific ability in the diagnosis of cancer. Periyasamy et al. reported that the plasma of patients with serous adenocarcinoma can minimize the variability and homogeneity, and the results suggested that MALDI-TOF-MS showed higher sensitivity than specificity in discriminating healthy controls and women with serous adenocarcinoma, the most common type of epithelial ovarian cancer [18]. Swiatly et al. pointed out that the combination of solid phase extraction technology and MALDI-TOF-MS was used to analyse the serum samples. In order to select the best diagnostic model, external validation was implemented with three classification algorithms, including supervised neural network (SNN), genetic algorithm (GA), and quick classifier (QC). In addition, Swiatly et al. showed that SNN was associated with the best differentiating capabilities and satisfactory [17]. Therefore, for the OC patients, the method choosing the solid phase extraction technology and the algorithm choosing SNN may improve the values of sensitivity and specificity when MALDI-TOF-MS are used to diagnose the ovarian cancer.
In this study, we cannot find the source of heterogeneity from five variables. There is no significant publication bias in the meta-analysis. There are only seven articles in this study, and three of them contain more than one study. In particular, one included article contains nine studies, using different statistical algorithms and screening methods to obtain different results [18]. We selected studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria as long as the research design is consistent in spite of the type of chips, samples, and algorithms. Thus, any of these may be the source of heterogeneity and affect diagnostic accuracy. As a high precision and extremely sensitive technology, MALDI-TOF-MS has some problems with repeatability. Many factors could affect the stability of the results. From samples collection, experiment operation to data analysis, operators need to control the biased of results within an acceptable range. How to optimize the selection of instrument parameters, standardize of operation produces and reference standard, reduce the difference of various batches is a development path to be a diagnostic tool in the early stages of tumor. Based on the included literature and related reports, if we use MALDI-TOF-MS to diagnose cancer in the early stage, it is necessary to construct a diagnostic model based on statistical algorithms for large sample size firstly. Subsequently, the model should be verified by blind methods. Ultimately, the cut-off value is established in the research results. There are some limitations about this study. The number of included literatures is small, and some of those are included in more than one study, which leads to the loss of diversity of results. Moreover, it is essential that large prospective studies should be determined in order to ensure the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF-MS in clinical application. Therefore, higher quality trails with large samples and longer following-up are proposed. We believe that MALDI-TOF-MS will show great application prospect and be a powerful tool for early diagnosis of cancer in the future.
In conclusion, MALDI-TOF-MS shows a good ability for diagnosing ovarian cancer. However, further evaluation and optimization of standardized procedures are necessary for complete relying on MALDI-TOF-MS to diagnose ovarian cancer.
KXL and YQP performed independently the data extraction, and YW resolved the disagreements through discussion when the two authors had different opinions. YG contributed to statistical analysis. WC revised the manuscript and funded the study. All authors agree to be responsible for all aspects of the work.
The project was supported by CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS) (Grant No. 2017-I2M-3-005), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81772272).
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© The Author(s). 2020
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
1.State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Clinical LaboratoryNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
Li, K., Pei, Y., Wu, Y. et al. J Ovarian Res (2020) 13: 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13048-019-0605-2
Received 14 October 2019
Accepted 23 December 2019
Publisher Name BioMed Central


Here i found interesting tips on how not to fall into the scammer trap, how to recognize/detect possible scam.
2. A deal too good to be true?
4. Under pressure to respond quickly?
6. Spelling and grammatical errors?
7. Asked to keep it quiet?


The Complainant is Top Driver, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 140 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, United States of America, represented by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP of United States of America.
According to Go Daddy Software, Inc.�s WHOIS database, the Respondent in this administrative proceeding is an entity named "Benefits Benefits," with an address at P.O. Box 2418, Marbledale, CT 06777, United States of America.
The disputed domain name is <topdriver.com> (the "Domain Name"). The Domain Name is registered with Go Daddy Software, Inc. ("Go Daddy").
The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") received the Complaint on October 19, 2002, by email, and October 21, 2002, in hardcopy. On October 22, 2002, the Center transmitted by email to Go Daddy a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On October 22, 2002, Go Daddy transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that Respondent Benefits Benefits is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the administrative, billing, and technical contacts.
The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules"), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Supplemental Rules"). The Panel agrees with the Center that the Complaint satisfies the requirements, except with respect to the naming of more than one Respondent (an issue discussed in detail below); with respect to that issue, the Panel requests that the Center consider, in connection with its administration of future cases, whether it is appropriate to require Complainants to amend any Complaint that names more than one Respondent.
In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center attempted to notify the Respondent of the Complaint on October 25, 2002, by email (to two email addresses � one from the Registrar Verification and a second that was provided by Complainant), fax (though the telephone number did not connect to a working fax line), and Federal Express (to Respondent�s address listed in the Registrar Verification: P.O. Box 2418, Marbledale, Connecticut, 06777, USA).
In accordance with paragraph 5(a) of the Rules, the due date for a Response was November 14, 2002. On November 5, prior to the deadline for Respondent�s Response, the Complainant submitted supplemental materials to the Center by email; a hardcopy followed on November 8, 2002. The Complainant states that it sent a copy of these supplemental materials by U.S. Express Mail to Respondent�s post office box address, but these materials (along with the earlier served Complaint) were "unclaimed" by Respondent.
The Respondent did not submit any Response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent�s default on November 15, 2002. On November 22, 2002, the Center appointed David H. Bernstein as the sole panelist in this matter (the "Panel"). The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as is required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7.
On December 10, 2002, the Panel issued Procedural Order No. 1 to resolve two outstanding procedural issues: first, whether to accept Complainant�s supplemental materials, and second, whether Respondent was properly notified of the instant proceeding.
Complainant�s supplemental submission, entitled "Affidavit of Adam E. Kraidin," contains documents that, Complainant has certified, were not available to Complainant at the time the Complaint was filed. Given that these documents could not have been submitted with the initial Complaint, the Panel will accept this submission. Cf. Parfums Christian Dior S.A. v. Jadore, WIPO Case No. D2000-0938 (November 3, 2000) (one basis for the acceptance of supplemental materials is if the information was not available at the time of the Complaint).
In the interest of fairness, though, and in recognition of the obligations imposed by Rule 10(b), the Panel deems it appropriate to allow Respondent an opportunity to respond to this submission. See Pacific Fence & Wire Co. v. Pacific Fence and Jim Paradise, WIPO Case No. D2001-0237 (June 11, 2001). Accordingly, the Center shall send a copy of this Order, along with a copy of the Affidavit of Adam E. Kraidin, to the Respondent. As discussed in greater detail below, Respondent shall submit any response it may have to these materials on or before December 24, 2002.
Pursuant to Rule 2(a)(ii), the Center sent the notification of complaint by email to Respondent. The email notifications did not bounce back, and thus there is every indication that Respondent did receive actual notice of the Complaint by email. Because Respondent has not replied, though, the Panel cannot be assured that Respondent received actual notice. In light of this uncertainty, the Panel has carefully examined whether the additional notification by post of the Complaint, as required by Rule 2(a)(i), was effective. That notification was sent to Respondent�s post office box address by Federal Express, but was returned to the Center due to an "incorrect address." Federal Express has confirmed to the Center that it is able to deliver packages addressed to a United States post office box address as long as it also is provided with a valid telephone number of the consignee. Presumably, given that Federal Express cannot get access to post office boxes, it is able to effectuate delivery by calling the consignee to obtain a street address for delivery.
In this case, although the Federal Express package was ultimately returned to the Center, it appears that the Center has discharged its notice obligations. It provided notice by email, and provided notice by post via Federal Express. Though Federal Express is not the best method for sending material to a post office box, it can be effective if accompanied by a telephone number, and here, the Center did provide Federal Express with the Respondent�s telephone number (derived from the Registration Verification). Though the Panel cannot be certain that the telephone number was operational, it is Respondent�s obligation to ensure that its contact information is accurately listed in its WHOIS information.
Moreover, in this case, there is evidence in the record that Complainant provided actual service of both the Complaint and Supplemental Materials by Express Mail, a delivery method that does deliver directly to post office boxes. If Respondent failed to receive those service copies, it is Respondent�s fault by virtue of its failure to claim these packages at the post office. Certainly, the Complainant and the Center both used reasonable means to provide Respondent with notice at the addresses it provided in its registration materials.
In any event, given that the Panel has agreed to accept the supplemental submission in this case and to grant Respondent a right of reply, the Panel has an additional opportunity to ensure that Respondent receives actual notice of this proceeding. Accordingly, when it sends this Order and the supplemental submission to the Respondent, the Center should also include in the package a copy of the Complaint and original Notification of Complaint. That package should be sent both by email and by United States Express Mail (or the Swiss equivalent that delivers through United States Express Mail) or some other process that can ensure delivery to a United States post office box, regardless of the presence or absence of a telephone number for the addressee. In light of the procedural posture of this case, the Panel will accept any Response that Respondent cares to file, whether to the Complaint and/or to the Supplemental Submissions, provided that it is sent to the Center (and served on Complainant) by December 24, 2002. Respondent should ensure that it sends any such Response by email and hardcopy, and that it certifies the Response, as required by Rule 5.
Pursuant to Rule 10(c), the Panel hereby resets the deadline for issuing a decision in this matter until January 7, 2003.
In compliance with Procedural Order No. 1, the Center sent a copy of the Order, along with a copy of the Complaint, Notification of Complaint and Affidavit of Adam E. Kraidin, to Respondent by email and by Swiss Post, registered mail on December 11, 2002. As before, the email notification did not bounce back; in addition, the copy delivered by Swiss Post registered mail was not returned. To date, and despite these additional efforts to provide actual notice to Respondent, Respondent has not submitted any response.
Before turning to the merits of this case, the Panel notes that Complainant has improperly named two separate parties as Respondents: Benefits Benefits, the official registrant of the Domain Name, and Jeff Schaengold, the individual listed as the technical and administrative contracts for the Domain Name. Neither the Policy nor the Rules provide for the naming of multiple Respondents. Rather, the Rules are quite explicit that the Respondent in a UDRP proceeding is the registrant of the domain name at issue. Rule 1 ("Respondent means the holder of a domain-name registration against which a complaint is initiated.") There is no provision for naming as additional respondents any third parties, such as administrative contacts or officers of the registrant. AFMA, Inc. v. Globemedia, WIPO Case No. D2001-0558 (August 23, 2001); Plaza Operating Partners, Ltd. v. Pop Data Techs., Inc. and Joseph Pillus, WIPO Case No. D2000-0166 (June 1, 2000).
Here, only Benefits Benefits, the Domain Name registrant, is a proper Respondent. Accordingly, the Panel dismisses Jeff Schaengold as Respondent. This ruling, however, has no practical effect as the only remedies available in a UDRP proceeding are the transfer or cancellation of the domain name registration, both of which are only available against the registrant. Policy 4(i); Rule 3(xiv) (specifying that the Complainant must agree "that its claims and remedies concerning the registration of the domain name . . . shall be solely against the domain name holder").
Although Jeff Schaengold is dismissed as a Respondent in this action, the Panel finds that Schaengold has at all relevant times acted as Benefits Benefits� agent (if not alter ego) in relation to the Domain Name, such that Schaengold�s actions may be imputed to Benefits Benefits. As discussed in more detail below, it was Jeff Schaengold who registered the Domain Name on behalf of Benefits Benefits. Moreover, the Registrar Verification confirms that Jeff Schaengold and Benefits Benefits share the same email address, postal-mail address and phone number. At the very least, the evidence before the Panel demonstrates that Jeff Schaengold has been acting as Benefits Benefits� agent; more likely, Benefits Benefits is not a legally cognizable entity, but rather is Jeff Schaengold�s alter ego. Either way, the Panel attributes Schaengold�s activities to Respondent Benefits Benefits for the purposes of this proceeding.
Because Respondent has failed to file a response in this case, the Panel accepts as true all statements of fact made by the Complainant in its submissions. Talk City Inc. v. Robertson, WIPO Case No. D2000-0009 (February 24, 2000); EAuto, L.L.C. v. EAuto Parts, WIPO Case No. D2000-0096 (April 9, 2000).
The Complainant, a Delaware corporation, was founded in 1994 by Daniel L. Davidson ("Davidson"). The Complainant sells pre-recorded video and audio tapes, test booklets, test preparation materials and workbooks nationwide on the topic of driver education and driver safety; grades and scores driver education and safety tests through mail-in submissions and on-line in real time via its website; and operates ninety-one driving schools in nine states.
In 1998, Davidson assigned Complainant the U.S. trademark registration and goodwill of the mark "TOP DRIVER" for pre-recorded videotapes and audiotapes featuring instruction in the fields of driver training and driver safety. In addition to using the TOP DRIVER mark on videotapes and audiotapes, Complainant offers its other products and services under the TOP DRIVER name, which is featured on Complainant�s products and in its advertising.
Although Complainant changed its name to DriveOne, Inc. on January 31, 2002, and announced a re-branding initiative in April 2002, Complainant continued to use the TOP DRIVER name in connection with its goods and services. In September 2002, Complainant decided to switch back to TOP DRIVER as its primary designator.
On or about October 29, 1995, Davidson registered the Domain Name in the name of a company called Group Seven, of which Davidson was the sole shareholder. On or about February 22, 1996, Davidson changed the registrant of the Domain Name to Complainant. From 1996 through April 2002, Complainant used the Domain Name as the address for the home page of its website. Beginning in April 2002, the Complainant used the Domain Name to redirect Internet traffic to its new site, located at "www.driveone.com".
Jeff Schaengold began working for Complainant on February 5, 2001, as its Executive Vice President � Technology. Schaengold�s responsibilities included maintaining the Company�s website and its content.
On or about February 25, 2001, Schaengold modified the Domain Name registration by substituting himself as the administrative, technical and billing contacts. Schaengold gave only a personal e-mail address as his contact information. In addition, at some point during his employment, Schaengold switched the hosting server for the Company�s website to a different server that he personally controlled.
In or about October 2001, when the Domain Name registration came up for its annual renewal, Schaengold switched the Domain Name�s registrar from VeriSign to Go Daddy, and switched the listed registrant from Top Driver, Inc. to "Benefits Benefits." Nothing is known about "Benefits Benefits" other than the fact that it has the same contact information as Schaengold.
On July 10, 2002, without knowledge of the foregoing, Complainant terminated Schaengold�s employment. Since that day, the Domain Name has been disabled and no longer resolves to Complainant�s website.
Complainant contends that the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant�s TOP DRIVER mark because the Domain Name merely removes the space between "Top" and "Driver" and adds ".com" to the end of the trademark.
Complainant contends that Respondent lacks any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. As an initial matter, Complainant alleges that "Benefits Benefits" is merely a sham entity that cannot be distinguished from Schaengold. Complainant states that Schaengold has no association with the name "Top Driver" other than his short tenure as an employee of the Complainant. According to Complainant, Schaengold substituted himself as the registrant and switched the registrar for the Domain Name without Complainant�s knowledge or permission, an act which constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of company property.
Complainant alleges that Respondent registered and used the Domain Name in bad faith because Schaengold "stole" the Domain Name from Complainant and is now preventing the Complainant from using it. According to Complainant, the website formerly accessible at "www.topdriver.com" is dead. Complainant contends that Schaengold is not using the Domain Name in connection with any legitimate business purpose, but rather is holding onto the Domain Name for leverage in order to exact a favorable severance package from Complainant. Finally, Complainant alleges that Schaengold has been accused of hijacking domain names in the past.
There can be no question but that the Domain Name is identical to Complainant�s TOP DRIVER mark for the purposes of the Policy. The Domain Name incorporates in its entirety the TOP DRIVER mark, which is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and thus is entitled to a presumption of validity. EAuto, L.L.C. v. Triple S. Auto Parts, WIPO Case No. D2000-0047 (March 24, 2000). The Panel agrees with Complainant that the addition of a gTLD such as ".com" and/or the elimination of spaces are without legal significance in determining identity or similarity. See, e.g., J.P. Morgan v. Resource Marketing, WIPO Case No. D2000-0035 (March 23, 2000).
The Panel finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name.
Complainant alleges (a) that Respondent�s only association with the name "Top Driver" was Schaengold�s short tenure as an employee of Complainant, (b) that during this tenure Schaengold substituted Benefits Benefits as the registrant and switched the registrar for the Domain Name without the Complainant�s permission or knowledge, (c) that Respondent is not using the Domain Name in connection with any legitimate business purpose, and (d) that the Domain Name does not resolve to an active website.
Complainant has made a prima facie showing that Respondent has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name. Respondent, having submitted no Response, has failed to rebut this showing. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has satisfied the second element of the Policy.
The Panel finds that the Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
(iv) by using the domain name, Respondent intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to Respondent�s website or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant�s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of Respondent�s website or location or of a product or serve on Respondent�s website or location.
Complainant has established that Respondent registered the Domain Name in order to prevent the Complainant from reflecting its trademark in the corresponding domain name, and that Respondent has engaged in a pattern of such conduct, thus meeting the criteria for paragraph 4(b)(ii).
The uncontested evidence demonstrates that Respondent�s intent was to prevent Complainant from reflecting its trademark in the corresponding domain name. Although aware of Complainant�s ownership and use of both the trademark TOP DRIVER and the corresponding domain name, Schaengold surreptitiously and without permission altered the registrant, contact information, registrar and hosting server associated with the Domain Name. The result is that the Complainant no longer has control over the domain name associated with its trademark, and Complainant�s website formerly located at "www.topdriver.com" is no longer accessible. Significantly, there is no evidence before the Panel that Respondent has any association with the TOP DRIVER mark other than Schaengold�s short tenure as Complainant�s employee, or that Respondent has made or intend to make any good faith use of the domain name.
The evidence also suggests that Schaengold has engaged in a pattern of such conduct. In October 1998, Jefferson Smurfit Corporation and Stone Container Corporation filed an action in federal court alleging that Schaengold registered the domain names <smurfitstone.com> and <smurfit-stone.com> through a Hong Kong Internet service provider on Monday, May 11, 1998, just hours after the plaintiffs announced a planned merger and while it was still Sunday, May 10 in the United States. See Jefferson Smurfit Corp. v. iCommerce.com Corp., Case No. 98-1213-CIV-ORL-18A (M.D. Fla. October 30, 1998). In their complaint, plaintiffs alleged that Schaengold had registered over fifty other domain names, including many consisting of well-known trademarks with which Schaengold had no authorized affiliation.
The Panel finds that the above evidence is sufficient to establish bad faith under paragraph 4(b)(ii) of the Policy.
In addition to satisfying paragraph 4(b)(ii), the Panel notes that Complainant likely meets the criteria set forth in paragraph 4(b)(i) of the Policy as well. Although Complainant�s allegations in this regard are thin, the evidence before the Panel does support the conclusion that Respondent acquired the Domain Name primarily for the purpose of transferring the Domain Name registration for valuable consideration in excess of Respondent�s out-of-pocket costs directly related to the Domain Name. First, the evidence demonstrates that, at the time Schaengold surreptitiously switched the registrant of the Domain Name to Benefits Benefits, he had knowledge both of Complainant�s mark and of Complainant�s rights in and use of the Domain Name. Specifically, Schaengold was well aware that (a) Complainant utilized the mark TOP DRIVER, (b) Complainant had registered the domain name <topdriver.com>, and (c) Complainant used this domain name as the address for the homepage of its website. Second, the record is utterly devoid of evidence of any actual or contemplated good faith use of the Domain Name by Respondent. Based on these two factors, it is logical to conclude that Respondent acquired the Domain Name primarily as leverage in order to extract a favorable severance package, a "consulting fee," or some other form of increased compensation from Complainant.
For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraph 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain name < topdriver.com> be transferred to the Complainant.


Freelance Writers Wanted: Why Don't You Become One?
If you have a passion for writing and can see yourself writing everyday, then freelance writing might be for you. The good thing about freelance writing is that you can do it in your spare time, while also holding down a day job. Most freelance writers start out doing it this way until they find a steady freelance writing job. Most freelance writing jobs give you the option to name your own price for the jobs that you will be doing. Like any other job, you will have deadlines and obligations that you must meet to stay employed. It's is actually pretty easy to become a freelance writer, if you follow my suggestions, you will be hired as a freelance writer.
The first thing you can do to become a freelance writer is to learn as much as you can about the industry before you start applying for jobs. Having this know how will help you get better jobs and help you determine how much to charge for you services. You should also find out what you niche is and how you can use that to get a job.
Start building your portfolio, do this by first researching what kind of freelancing jobs are out there and start to write that kind of material for you portfolio. These samples should be high quality work because you potential clients will be looking at them.
Start looking for clients; you can do this on freelance sites, job sites, and social media, like LinkedIn. This is also where you can start to network with different people that can help you find clients or network with future clients.
Know what you specialty will be, such as article writing, blogs, ghostwriting, editing, and so on. Knowing what you specialty is will help you narrow down potential jobs and your search on freelance sites.
This last piece of advice is for anyone that wants to succeed in this industry. Don't expect to find a job in a day, you need to keep going and don't give up. Finding a job as a freelance writer is harder than keep a freelance writing job, unless you miss deadlines and don't give your clients your best work.
Freelance writing is for people that love to write and if you don't like to write then this isn't the job for you but if you love to write everyday, then become a freelance writer.


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text:
Q: How to stop reloading of a page if i'm using Tapestry? I'm using ITreeModel of Tapestry4.2,whenever i click on ITreeModel tree structure it refreshes/reloads a page which in turn results in resetting all other fields in html page to blank.I want to avoid this reloading of page so any one help me in this.
Thanks in advance

A: This is the kind of use case that prompted the creation of Tapestry 5. In your situation, you will probably want to locate an existing Ajax tree widget and find a way to provide it with data. Without significant more details and time, that's about as far as anyone can help you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange