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Lady Wildcats win fourth straight district championship
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won their fourth straight district basketball championship with a 47-40 win over Campbell County at Karns on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KARNS—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won their fourth straight district basketball championship with a 47-40 win over Campbell County at Karns on Tuesday.
The girls rallied from a nine-point 24-15 deficit in the second quarter to take a lead that they didn't give up at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Cougars 10-5 in the final quarter to expand their margin.
Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn was named most valuable player of the District 3-AAA tournament, which was played at Karns High School. Guinn has been named district tournament MVP three of the past four years: 2016, 2018, and 2019.
"It feels good," Guinn said after the Tuesday night win. She said the competitive Campbell County game helped prepare Oak Ridge for the next level, which includes the Region 2-AAA tournament that starts today (Friday, February 22). [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: basketball, Bri Dunbar, Campbell County, David Clary, District 3-AAA tournament, district basketball championship, district tournament MVP, Farragut, Haley Comer, Jada Guinn, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Madison Brady, Oak Ridge, Paige Redman, Region 2-AAA tournament, Skylar Boshears, William Blount
Guinn scores 32, but Oak Ridge loses at Campbell County
JACKSBORO—Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn scored 32 points in a 49-48 loss at Campbell County on Friday night, a district basketball game that ended with a battle of free throws.
Guinn, who has signed to play basketball at Tennessee Tech, scored more points than the top two Lady Cougars combined. She had two-thirds of the Oak Ridge offense and made a crucial three-point shot with about 30 seconds remaining.
Campbell County was led by 6-foot-2 junior post Madison Brady, who scored 20 points. That included seven points in the close fourth quarter, when Brady was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Brady and Guinn each went to the free throw line three times in the final 38 seconds. Each made five of their six shots. It was another battle between the two teams that have finished in the top two spots in the district in each of the past three seasons. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports Tagged With: basketball, Blair Medley, Bri Dunbar, Campbell County, Haley Comer, Jada Guinn, Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Madison Brady, Oak Ridge, Paige Redman, Skylar Boshears
Basketball photos: Oak Ridge vs. Campbell County in girls' district championship
Oak Ridge pulled away from Campbell County in the second half to win its third straight district championship, 60-38, in the girls' basketball tournament at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Oak Ridge junior Jada Guinn (24), who was named most valuable player of the tournament, led in scoring with 23 points. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
HALLS—Oak Ridge pulled away from Campbell County in the second half to win its third straight district championship in the girls' basketball tournament at Halls on Saturday. They Lady Wildcats beat the Lady Cougars 60-38.
Here are photos from the game. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Bri Dunbar, Campbell County, Desiree Bates, District 3-AAA basketball tournament, district championship, girls basketball tournament, Jada Guinn, Jaymi Golden, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Madison Brady, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge, Paige Redman, Skylar Boshears
Basketball: Lady Wildcats win third straight district championship
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA basketball tournament championship for the third year in a row with a 60-38 victory over Campbell County at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Feb. 25.
HALLS—Oak Ridge pulled away from Campbell County in the second half to win its third straight district championship in the girls' basketball tournament at Halls on Saturday.
The Lady Wildcats led by just six points, 25-19, at halftime in the District 3-AAA tournament championship. But they outscored the Lady Cougars 35-19 in the second half to beat Campbell County 60-38.
Oak Ridge junior Jada Guinn, who was named most valuable player of the tournament, led in scoring with 23 points. Twelve of those were in the fourth quarter.
Oak Ridge senior Mykia Dowdell added 17.
Campbell County junior Skylar Boshears, who scored 11 points for the Lady Cougars, was hurt less than a minute into the second half and had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room. But she was back in the game a few minutes later. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports Tagged With: Brad Honeycutt, Campbell County, Clinton, Desiree Bates, District 3-AAA, District 3-AAA basketball tournament championship, District 3-AAA tournament championship, district championship, girls basketball tournament, Jada Guinn, Jaime Golden, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Madison Brady, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge, Powell, Region 2-AAA tournament, Skylar Boshears
With win over Cougars, Lady Wildcats now the only undefeated team in district
Posted at 11:24 am January 12, 2017
Oak Ridge junior Destiny Kassner (30), who scored 13 points, plays defense against Campbell County sophomore Lexy Richardson (24) during a 56-39 win for the Lady Wildcats in Jacksboro on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats became the only undefeated team in District 3-AAA with a 56-39 win over Campbell County in Jacksboro on Tuesday.
Both basketball teams were undefeated before the game.
The Lady Cougars (13-5, 6-1 District 3-AAA) led or were tied with the Lady Wildcats for much of the first half, and Oak Ridge trailed 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.
But the Lady Wildcats (15-2, 7-0) led 24-21 at halftime and never trailed again. Oak Ridge outscored Campbell County 21-9 in the fourth quarter.
Oak Ridge Paige Green called it a huge win. Campbell County has shooters and players who can drive to the basket, and the team is well-coached, she said. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Bella Luna, Brianna Dunbar, Campbell County, Courtney Ellison, Desiree Bates, Destiny Kassner, District 3-AAA, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Lexy Richardson, Madison Brady, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge, Paige Green, Sarah Cain, Skylar Boshears
Led by Guinn's 21 points, Lady Wildcats are district champs for first time since 2010
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship for the first time since 2010 in a 52-34 win over Campbell County at Anderson County High School on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
CLINTON—Led by the 21 points of freshman Jada Guinn, the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship for the first time since 2010 in a 52-34 victory over Campbell County on Tuesday.
Guinn, a point guard, was named the most valuable player of the district tournament, which was played at Anderson County High School. Her game-high 21 points on Tuesday was a career high.
The Lady Wildcats (24-4) played with intensity on Tuesday, when Oak Ridge won its third game this season against the Lady Cougars, the second seed in District 3-AAA. Campbell County's only two district losses during the regular season were to Oak Ridge.
"Coach (Paige) Green told us to come out with a lot of energy," Guinn said after the district championship win on Tuesday. "It'll help our defense, and our defense can help with offense."
Of her tournament MVP award, Guinn said: "I just feel happy because I'm a freshman, and I'm just really excited." [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports Tagged With: Anderson County, Bearden, Brooke Huffaker, Brooklin McCoy, Caelyn Thompson, CampbellCounty, Carla Beams, Courtney Ellison, Desiree Bates, District 3-AAA, District 3-AAA championship, district tournament, Haley Schubert, Hardin Valley, heritage, Jada Guinn, Jaymi Golden, Maddie Sickau, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats, Paige Green, Powell, Region 2-AAA, Region 2-AAA tournament, Sarah Cain, Skylar Boshears, tournament MVP, Trinity Fisher, Wildcat Arena, William Blount
Updated: Lady Wildcats, Campbell Co. to play for District 3-AAA championship Tuesday
Sophomore post Mykia Dowdell (34) led the Lady Wildcats with a game-high 16 points in a 54-28 win over Anderson County in a District 3-AAA semifinal on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Dowdell is guarded here by Anderson County freshman Brooklin McCoy (34). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m.
CLINTON—Oak Ridge and Campbell County will play for the District 3-AAA girls basketball championship on Tuesday.
Campbell County beat Powell 47-42 to advance to the championship in a semifinal game at Anderson County High School on Saturday, and Oak Ridge defeated Anderson County 54-28 in the other semifinal.
Oak Ridge, which was led by sophomore post Mykia Dowdell with 16 points on Saturday, won both matches with the Lady Cougars this year.
Tuesday's final starts at 6 p.m. at Anderson County High School. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County High School, Brooklin McCoy, Caelyn Thompson, Campbell County, Courtney Ellison, District 3-AAA, District 3-AAA basketball tournament, Haley Schubert, Jada Guinn, Kaitlyn Lentz, Klarissa Roberts, Lady Mavericks, Lady Wildcats, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge, Paige Green, Powell, Region 2-AAA tournament, Skylar Boshears
Undefeated in district, Lady Wildcats win regular season district championship
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats, who are undefeated in District 3-AAA, won the regular season district championship 47-32 at Campbell County on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, and they enter next week's district tournament as the top seed. The Lady Wildcats and Coach Paige Green are pictured above during a Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, game against Karns at Wildcat Arena. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 2:50 p.m. Feb. 13.
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats, who are undefeated in District 3-AAA, won the regular season district championship 47-32 at Campbell County on Friday.
Down by five points at halftime, Oak Ridge (22-3, 16-0 District 3-AAA) rallied in the second half to defeat the Lady Cougars and will enter next week's district tournament as the top seed.
The Lady Wildcats were led by freshman point guard Jada Guinn, who scored 17 points. Junior guard Courtney Ellison had 10, sophomore post Mykia Dowdell added nine, and senior forward Caelyn Thompson scored seven.
Campbell County (23-5, 14-2) only lost two district games this year and both were to Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Caelyn Thompson, Campbell County, Courtney Ellison, District 3-AAA, district championship, Jada Guinn, Jaymi Golden, Lady Cougars, Lady Wildcats, Mykia Dowdell, Oak Ridge, Paige Green, Sarah Cain, Skylar Boshears
Lady Wildcats now the only undefeated team in district after win over Cougars
Posted at 9:52 am January 13, 2016
By John Huotari 1 Comment
Oak Ridge freshman point guard Jada Guinn (24) led the Lady Wildcats with a game-high 14 points during a 47-31 win over Campbell County at home on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Lady Wildcats are now the only undefeated team in District 3-AAA after beating Campbell County, which had also been undefeated, at home on Tuesday. The final score was 47-31.
Campbell County only scored two points in the second quarter, and Oak Ridge (14-3, 8-0) had a 22-9 halftime lead.
But the Lady Cougars outscored Oak Ridge by 14-9 in the third quarter to narrow the lead to eight points.
But the Lady Wildcats then held Campbell County (15-4, 7-1) scoreless for the first several minutes of the fourth quarter to widen the lead. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Slider, Sports, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Caelyn Thompson, Campbell County, Clinton, Cougars, Courtney Ellison, District 3-AAA, Jada Guinn, Lady Dragons, Lady Wildcats, Oak Ridge, Paige Green, Sarah Cain, Skylar Boshears


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This example shows how you can render and hydrate a simple Riot.js application using [`deno`](https://deno.land/).
**This demo works only on V8 based browser because [`importmap` is not yet 100% supported](https://caniuse.com/import-maps)**

## Run locally

Download or clone this repo.
Install packages.

```bash
$ npm install
```
And then run the oak server using

```bash
$ npm start
```

Use the following command to watch the frontend files and update
```bash
$ npm watch
```

Notice that Deno dosn't support (hmr) livereload yet

- Open [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Prince Jelleh - Hail Down - Duration: 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
Prince Jelleh - Layla (Findus Tour 2018) - Duration: 4 minutes, 38 seconds.
Prince Jelleh - Antarctica II (Curling Session) - Duration: 3 minutes, 31 seconds.
Prince Jelleh - Norah the Polar Bear - Duration: 4 minutes, 59 seconds.
Prince Jelleh - Light - Duration: 3 minutes, 24 seconds.
Prince Jelleh - Layla (Open Window Session) - Duration: 3 minutes.
Prince Jelleh - Winter (Live Session) - Duration: 5 minutes, 6 seconds.


The Competition Law Association (CLA) is holding a forthcoming event under the title "Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Practice". The speakers on this topic are IPEC's Judge Richard Hacon himself, District Judge Melissa Clarke and Angela Fox (RGC Jenkins & Co, author of this book on the subject). Despite its misleading name, the CLA is an organisation that brings together IP lawyers and competition lawyers on matters that ideally should be of mutual interest.
The date of this event is Monday 18 May, 2015, 6 pm. The venue: Courtroom 1, Competition Appeal Tribunal, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, London WC1A 2EB.
This blogger remains highly impressed with this court, and thinks that it is substantially underused. He also has the impression that some potential litigants assume that it has no jurisdiction to deal with patent matters -- something that is true only for the IPEC's Small Claims Track (see Guide to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track, here, at p 4).
If you are planning to attend this event, click here for details.
Disclosure of commercial licences: a new strategy for dealing with non-practising entities?
In what the judge, Arnold J, himself characterises as unprecedented, a company accused of infringing a patent (Big Bus) applied to the High Court for the owner of the patent (Ticketogo) to disclose the commercial contracts it had with existing licensees under the patent before court proceedings were brought. It sought this information in order to assess whether it should defend the claim (which would be expensive) or to seek a commercial settlement in advance of legal action. The judge agreed that the owner of the patent (Ticketogo) should disclose the licence agreements.
The Big Bus Company operates open-top bus sightseeing tours. Ticketogo has a ticketing system patent which provides a method of issuing tickets over the internet using a barcode in an image file format. Ticketogo does not conduct any business except patent licensing. Who are we to say that Ticketogo might be a patent troll?
In October 2012, Ticketogo contacted Big Bus notifying it of the existence of the patent, saying that Big Bus's ticketing system infringed its patent and offering to license the patent to Big Bus if commercial terms could be agreed. Big Bus denied that its ticketing system infringed the patent.
All went quiet for a while but, in February 2015, new solicitors instructed by Ticketogo (Taylor Wessing) wrote again saying that Ticketogo believed that Big Bus, "requires a licence of the patent. Many others have decided to take a licence," and attached a current list of 43 licensees. To many, including the judge, this would appear that Ticketogo was threatening litigation -– and the licences were relevant to its claim. Accordingly, Big Bus sought pre-action disclosure (under suitable confidentiality provisions) of the patent licences previously granted by Ticketogo in order to help it quantify the value of the claim for patent infringement that could be brought against it by Ticketogo. Big Bus said that, because of the potential irrecoverable costs it might incur even if it was successful in any patent infringement proceedings, it was willing to resolve the dispute through a commercial agreement. However, to do so it needed first to establish the value of Ticketogo's claim.
Big Bus applied to the High Court of Justice (Patents Court) asking for Ticketogo to be required to disclose commercial details of the licences it had granted to others using its patent in advance of infringement proceedings that Ticketogo might pursue against Big Bus. The judge decided that this pre-action disclosure should be made.
The case is The Big Bus Company v Ticketogo Ltd  EWHC 1094 (Pat). It's not yet on BAILII but should be. Ian Wood acted together with David Fyfield on behalf of Big Bus; Taylor Wessing acted for Ticketogo.
In the nearly three months since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that subsidiary factual findings in claim construction proceedings must be reviewed for clear error, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has decided a handful of cases requiring it to review claim construction rulings by a district court or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Federal Circuit has declined to extend deference in any of those cases, and by all indications it is unlikely to do so in many future cases.
Prior to January 20, 2015, the Federal Circuit reviewed claim construction rulings – including subsidiary factual findings – de novo, without affording any deference to the findings or reasoning of the lower court. See Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (en banc). In Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., ___ U.S. ___ (Jan. 20, 2015), the Supreme Court held that district court factual findings based on extrinsic evidence are subject to "clearly erroneous" review under Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(6). This more deferential standard applies even if the fact finding is "nearly dispositive" of the ultimate legal question of claim interpretation.
The Teva Court indicated that in reviewing claim construction rulings, the Federal Circuit should review the ultimate ruling on claim construction de novo. If the district court only considered intrinsic evidence (the claim language, specification, and prosecution history), then the entire question of claim construction is subject to de novo review. If, however, the district court ventured into extrinsic evidence (such as expert or inventor testimony), then those specific factual findings are entitled to deference and must be reviewed for clear error. Despite that deference, however, the Federal Circuit still reviews the ultimate claim construction ruling de novo.
In practice, Teva's effect on Federal Circuit review of claim construction rulings may prove to be limited. The appeals court has held that extrinsic evidence – the only type of finding now afforded any deference – is much less significant in the claim construction analysis than intrinsic evidence. See Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2005) ("We have viewed extrinsic evidence in general as less reliable than the patent and its prosecution history in determining how to read claim terms"). In fact, the Federal Circuit has rarely, if ever, expressly relied on extrinsic evidence when interpreting a claim. It is not likely to start relying on extrinsic evidence following Teva. A review of Federal Circuit cases since Teva illustrates the decision's limited impact to date.
The Federal Circuit has addressed Teva in two cases arising from ex parte appeal proceedings before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In In re Imes, 778 F.3d 1250 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 29, 2015), the Federal Circuit reversed a PTAB ruling cancelling claims in a reexamination. The court rejected the USPTO's construction of the term "wireless" based on an express and unambiguous definition of the term provided in the specification. As a result, the court noted that, "Nothing in this case implicates the deference to fact findings contemplated by the recent decision in Teva[.]" 778 F.3d at 1252 n.1.
In a more recent case involving an ex parte appeal from a final rejection, the Federal Circuit also stated that its review of the USPTO's claim interpretation did not implicate the Teva standard. In re Bookstaff, No. 2014–1463 (Mar 26, 2015). The court reversed the USPTO's construction of the term "data that is indicative of a gratuity to be charged" based on the specification and disclosed embodiments, without considering any extrinsic evidence.
In two appeals from district court judgments, the Federal Circuit also declined to apply Teva's clearly erroneous standard. In Fenner Investments, Ltd. v. Cellco Partnership, 778 F.3d 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2015), the court noted the Teva standard, but affirmed the district court's construction of the term "personal identification number" based on the specification and statements made in the prosecution history.
In Teva, the Court established that, when construing claims, appropriate deference must be given to the findings of the district court. The district court received some conflicting testimony, along with concessions on cross-examination, from which the court concluded that "at least one component" may include "the whole signaling moiety." My colleagues show error of neither fact nor law in the court's findings and conclusions.
It is difficult to predict the long-term impart of Teva based on the limited number of Federal Circuit decisions applying it. The cases suggest, however, that the Federal Circuit likely will continue to apply de novo review when it resolves claim construction issues based on intrinsic evidence. In addition to situations where the USPTO or district court only considered intrinsic evidence, this approach may extend to situations in which courts considered extrinsic evidence, including expert testimony, but the Federal Circuit views the evidence to be insubstantial to the claim construction analysis.
Prior to last year's U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Octane Fitness LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc, 134 S. Ct. 1749 (2014) and Highmark, Inc. v. Allcare Health Mgmt. Sys., 134 S. Ct. 1744 (2014), district courts in the United States awarded attorney fees in patent cases only in extreme circumstances. In Octane, however, the Court lowered the bar for fee awards. Furthermore, in Highmark, the Court made it clear that district court judges have broad discretion in awarding fees for litigation misconduct.
The Octane Court focused on the plain meaning on 35 U.S.C. § 285, which simply states that, "The court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party." The Court noted that, "This text is patently clear. It imposes one and only one constraint on district courts' discretion to award attorney's fees in patent litigation: The power is reserved for 'exceptional' cases." 134 S. Ct. at 1755-56. In turn, the Court held that an "exceptional" case within the statute is "simply one that stands out from others with respect to the substantive strength of a party's litigating position (considering both the governing law and the facts of the case) or the unreasonable manner in which the case was litigated. District courts may determine whether a case is 'exceptional' in the case-by-case exercise of their discretion, considering the totality of the circumstances." Id. at 1756.
The combination of Octane and Highmark has had a significant effect on attorney fee awards in patent cases. According to a recent report by the Federal Circuit Bar Association submitted to Congress earlier this year, motions for fees filed by accused infringers were granted 36 percent of the time following Octane, compared to only 13 percent of the time in the one year prior to the decision. In addition, Octane apparently has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of fee motions. In the one year prior to Octane, accused infringers filed an average of approximately four fee motions per month. That rate increased to over seven motions per month in the months following the decision.
The new Octane standard's effect on attorney fee awards is illustrated by a recent Federal Circuit decision, Olpus Technologies, Ltd. v. Vizio, Inc., Case No. 2014-1297 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 10, 2015). In Olpus, the district court granted summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of the defendant-alleged infringer. The defendant then moved for an award of attorney fees under § 285, 28 U.S.C. § 1927, and the district court's inherent equitable powers, citing a long pattern of vexatious conduct by the patentee prior to and during the litigation. The district court reviewed the parties' conduct and found that, among other things, the patentee had engaged in an "abusive discovery strategy," had used "inappropriate, unprofessional, and vexatious" litigation tactics, and had manipulated its expert testimony and infringement contentions so that the defendant faced "a frustrating game of Whac-A-Mole throughout the litigation." Nonetheless, under the pre-Octane standard, the district court declined to award fees, mainly because case had "been fraught with delays and avoidance tactics to some degree on both sides" and the court could not say that the patentee's tactics resulted in increased legal costs.
Although the award of fees is clearly within the discretion of the district court, when, as here, a court finds litigation misconduct and that a case is exceptional, the court must articulate the reasons for its fee decision. In light of the court's fact findings regarding the extent of harassing, unprofessional, and vexatious litigation, the change in legal standard by the Supreme Court, and the lack of sufficient basis to deny fees under § 285, we vacate and remand for the district court to consider whether and the extent to which fees are warranted.
The Olpus case is a clear example of circumstances where a fee award now is likely, even though the district court's denial of fees would not have been disturbed prior to Octane. Although attorney fee awards are not available in all cases, district courts and the Federal Circuit have greater power under Octane to award them in cases involving bad conduct by either party, including vexatious litigation tactics and unfounded claims.
The decision T 0049/99 relates to a patent application relating to a method for modelling a physical system in a computer. Inputs are various data describing the physical system and the output is an object-oriented model thereof.
The question arose under which conditions such kind of information modelling may contribute to the technical character of the invention and consequently be accounted for when assessing the inventive step.
Information modelling is an intellectual activity and should be treated like any other human activity in a non-technical field, which is, as such, not an invention for the purposes of Article 52(1) EPC. Only the purposive use of information modelling in the context of a solution to a technical problem may contribute to the technical character of an invention.
While the first sentence is not very surprising, the second sentence might be a pointer to what could have been patentable if properly claimed.
The claimed invention, however, is not restricted to power systems; as expressly indicated in the description the invention may be applied to various types of systems, "large, complex systems" including manufacturing plants and other physical systems (see description, page 30, lines 10 ff.). Claim 1 uses the generic expression "physical system", which is actually a term including any real world system, even business and administrative organisations.
In the light of the broad meaning of the expression "physical system", information modelling in terms of the first part of claim 1 has to be construed as an abstract non-technical activity using abstract constructs like objects, types, attributes, and relationships.
Eventually, a more specific definition of the purposive use would have helped to classify the feature as a technical one.
Everseal Stationery Products Ltd v Document Management Solutions Ltd & Others  EWHC 842 (IPEC) is a decision of Judge Hacon in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, England and Wales, dating back to the beginning of this month.
Everseal had a patent for a product which still has some currency, even in the age of the internet: this product was a "mailer", this being a business communication which was folded, sealed by an adhesive around its periphery and sent through the terrestrial post. Claim 1 of Everseal's patent disclosed a mailer including an adhesive which self-sealed irreversibly under "finger pressure" namely pressure of 500 kPa or less. Claim 7 disclosed a mailer in which the adhesive was a natural rubber latex adhesive stabilised with ammonia.
DMS developed mailers which were referred to in the judgment as Mailer 1, Mailer 2 and Mailer 3. Everseal sued DMS for infringement of its patent; DMS counterclaimed for invalidity. The court had to decide whether (i) DMS's mailers fell within claims 1 and 7, and in particular whether DMS's adhesives sealed "irreversibly" and (ii) whether the patent was invalid for lack of novelty or inventive step over three pieces of prior art (Viking mailer, Faltin, and Johnsen).
* an adhesive self-sealed "irreversibly" if the recipient, receiving the mailer, could tell from both the adhesive structure and the appearance of the base material that it had previously been opened. If the fact that it had previously been opened was not betrayed by each of those criteria taken separately, the adhesive did not self-seal irreversibly when the mailer was first closed.
* it could be assumed that anyone who had previously opened the mailer without permission would have taken some limited effort to hide the fact that he had done so.
* the seals on Mailer 1 were irreversible within that meaning; mailer 1 infringed claim 1 of the patent.
* infringement of claim 7 would have required Everseal to show that the adhesive used for Mailer 1 was a natural rubber adhesive stabilised with ammonia, but there was no evidence to that effect.
* experiments carried out by DMS did not enable the court to reach any conclusion as to whether opening Mailers 2 or 3 resulted in the disruption in the mailer's base material so as to demonstrate that their adhesives sealed irreversibly, and Everseal had chosen not to conduct its own experiments.
* the burden rested on Everseal to prove infringement, but it had not done so regarding Mailers 2 and 3.
* turning now to the counterclaim, claim 1 of the patent lacked novelty over the Viking mailer which had an irreversible seal and had self-sealed under finger pressure. Claim 7 did not however lack novelty over the Viking mailer.
* where lack of novelty turned on whether an alleged prior use had particular features, it was sufficient to adduce evidence which proved, on the balance of probabilities, facts establishing that the prior use had those features. In contrast, where the court was invited to infer that prior use had one or more features on the basis of primary facts proved, the invention would lack novelty only if the inference was inevitable. Here the evidence -- that it was likely that the adhesive in the Viking mailer was a natural rubber latex stabilised with ammonia -- was not enough to establish lack of novelty regarding claim 7.
* the patent did not lack novelty over Faltin or Johnsen, since neither of them explicitly disclosed an irreversible seal.
* Claim 1 did however lack inventive step over Faltin and Johnsen, and over the Viking mailer if it did not anticipate the invention. Everseal had suggested no technical prejudice which would have deterred a skilled team, working prior to the claimed invention, from using an adhesive which self-sealed under finger pressure to create an irreversible seal.
* Claim 7 also lacked inventive step, the evidence being that a skilled person would have been expected to find a suitable formulation without difficulty.
This is a curious case, in that the litigation over this patent was commenced in the Patents County Court (PCC) in February 2010, before that court's rules were radically overhauled with effect from 1 October. The PCC then gave separate rulings on two preliminary points; the ownership of the patent was disputed; there were also a Tomlin Order, allegations of unlawful threats and two separate applications to amend the patent before the infringement action was finally heard by the IPEC. One might be tempted to wonder whether the sequential segmenting of issues is always more efficient than trying to hear as many things as possible all in one go.
Etichette: infringement, invalidity, litigation history, meaning of "irreversibly"
The appeal in the case T 0972/13 has been held inadmissible because the grounds were considered insufficiently substantiated.
The appellant had filed grounds of appeal merely stating "We disagree with the OD [Opposition Division] in that ..... " followed by a repetition of the reasons of the decision given by the Opposition Division. No whatsoever reasons for the disagreement were given. The board concluded that the statement of the grounds of appeal did not comply with Rule 99(2) EPC because no reasons (other than plain disagreement) why the decision should be set aside were given.
After the decision reported here, the decision T 0972/13 puts further emphasizes the importance of discussing the reasons given the decision impugned in detail and not to merely re-iterate one's own arguments from the first instance or state one's dissatisfaction with the reasons.
A further interesting point in this decision is that an order on apportionment of costs was issued, which is a fairly rare event. The appellant had indicated that it would not be represented in the oral proceedings without withdrawing its request to hold oral proceedings. This left open whether the appellant would attend to the oral proceedings without being represented by a representative or whether the appellant would not attend at all such that the defendants had to prepare and attend to the oral proceedings as a matter of due diligence. The board found that this justified an order that the appellant had to bear the costs for the defendant's preparation and attendance to the oral proceedinsg for reasons of equity (Art. 104(1) EPC).
The Enlarged Board of Appeal has written a new chapter in the Tomato- Broccoli Saga and confirmed the narrow interpretation of Art. 53(b) EPC.
In the referral cases G 2/12 and G 2/13, which were considered in consolidated proceedings, the Enlarged Board of Appeal has decided that the exclusion of essentially biological processes for the production of plants in Article 53(b) EPC does not have a negative effect on the allowability of a product claim directed to plants or plant material such as a fruit or plant parts. This applies even if the only method available at the filing date for generating the claimed plants or plant material is an essentially biological process for the production of plants, and also if the claimed product is defined in terms of such a process (product-by-process claim). In this context it is of no relevance that the protection conferred by the product claim encompasses the generation of the claimed product by means of an essentially biological process for the production of plants. Product claims or product-by-process claims directed to plants or plant material other than a plant variety thus are not excluded from patentability under Article 53(b) EPC and are allowable if they fulfil the formal and substantive requirements of the EPC (emphasis added).
(c) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.
Importantly, this definition excludes hybrid seed or plants lacking stability in some trait or generation as well as plant cells which can be nowadays cultured like bacteria and yeasts.
The full text of the decisions can be found here and here.
"Parallel patent proceedings between the European Patent Office and UK courts" is the title of a recent article by Paul England (Taylor Wessing) in the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (2015). The print version is not yet out but you can access it online via the JIPLP website. Subscribers to the online edition can access it as part of their subscription, while non-subscribers can purchase limited-time access from the same site.
In the European patent system, proceedings concerning patent validity can run concurrently in both the European Patent Office (EPO) and a number of national courts. In the UK, a number of cases have addressed the details of how the relationship should be managed between the courts and the EPO when such parallel proceedings are on foot.
Until recently, this had appeared to be settled by rules and guidelines that were logical, if not ideal in all their implications. However, a series of recent cases concerning the revocation and amendment of patents in the EPO have now posed difficult questions for judges at first instance and on appeal.
The solutions have required a significant shift in the UK and EPO relationship and raise awkward questions of their own about the possibility of patents being re-litigated between the same parties. This matters at another level, because the UK experience may inform the relationship between the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the EPO in similar circumstances.
the European Patent Office lacks judicial responsibility, in contradiction of the Rule of Law.
Responding to feedback from petitioners and patent owners, the USPTO disclosed a plan to revise the procedural rules governing post grant proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA"). USPTO Director Michelle K. Lee announced that although most modifications are still under consideration and will be implemented only after formal publication of proposed revised rules and a public comment period, the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") will increase the page limits for some filings effective immediately.
The AIA created three new post-grant review proceedings that allow members of the public to challenge the validity of issued patents in trial-like proceedings. One of the review procedures, Inter Partes Review ("IPR"), has proven to be unexpectedly popular with challengers, with over 2,600 petitions filed through March 19, 2015. In response to the USPTO's June, 2014 request for public input, attorneys representing both petitioners and patent owners provided comments on ways to improve the proceedings. Director Lee responded to those comments in a March 27, 2015 USPTO blog posting by announcing new "quick-fix" improvements to the PTAB rules. The full post is available HERE.
The page limit for petitioner reply briefs will be increased to 25 pages. (The current rules limit petitioner reply briefs to 15 pages).
Briefs in support a patent owner's motion to amend claims will be expanded to 25 pages, plus a claims appendix, with a "commensurate amount of additional pages" for the petitioner's opposition to the motion to amend and the patent owner's reply. (The current rules limit motions and opposition to 15 pages and limit replies to five pages).
Revised Trial Practice Guide guidelines to ensure that sufficient discovery is available for parties challenging petitions based on the absence of the real party in interest.


The strategies that are used by online users to search for business firms has experienced dramatic change even as technology continues to grow in leaps and bounds. What has informed the upsurge in popularity for these search options is the accessibility that have been provided by diverse communication gadgets.
Not wanting to be left behind in this wave, enterprises that use the internet as a trading platform have devised strategies to make their online visibility more prominent. An effective approach that majority of establishments have resorted to is the adoption of SEO in a bid to enhance activities on their websites. Any company that does not the earliest chance and adopt this strategy should know that the days of its presence in the business sector are numbered.
People who resort to SEO systems have been primarily motivated by the success rate that the method attains in increasing traffic on their websites If your business is displayed on the front pages of search engines ,it stands a higher chance of being clicked by the people doing the search which translates to higher profitability for your business. SEO works by optimizing your business website and content through use of keywords that are of high quality which in essence means that your potential leads find it less difficult to find the products and services that you are offering for sale.
The only you can entirely reap the advantages of SEO approach is by engaging a competent firm to help drive the vision of your business entity forward. The market is flooded with these entities each claiming to have the capability of offering excellent services. It is vital to engage in a cautious search if you intend to hire the most suitable company that fits the bill.
The first consideration you will look into in the suitable SEO company is the optimization strategy that they employ to know if it suits you. The most used methods are the white hat SEO and black hat SEO. Needless to say, you should opt for a company that uses the white hat SEO method as it is considered more professionally and recommended by most reputable search engines. Going for a company that uses the black hat option is risky as it is viewed as unauthorized and uses shortcut methods to get your results on the front of search results.
Ensure that you find out how much the SEO company will charge for the services they are providing. Usually this method is not quite costly as most would think and you should expect to be charged lower than other techniques used in internet marketing. You should be wary of extra charges that come up later and were not on the original quotation.
Although your employees are happy with their paychecks, you need to file all their paperwork correctly. With pay stubs, you can prove that payments were made to employees. Employees also understand their salaries. However, you need quality pay stubs by finding a qualified generator by using the guidelines explained below.
You should choose to hire pay stub generators with a guarantee of security. When creating pay stubs, you will avail a lot of information to generators in regard to your employees. In case this information gets accessed by unauthorized parties, it may be used against your business. Before making any move towards hiring a pay stub generator, you should ask for a security guarantee to make sure that confidentiality is maintained.
You should factor customer reviews. Customers do not shy away from sharing their experiences with their fellows and this can be a helpful source of knowing the most suitable pay stub generators. You can have a look at the webs of diverse pay stub generators as well as other platforms while taking note of those with satisfactory comments. Ensure you gather more details about the pay stub generators you list in order to get the best.
You should check customer support. Customer support is a very crucial factor of consideration in that it enables you to know how the process of pay stub generating goes like. Since you are not particular about the time you will be completing the process, customer support should be available the whole day. In case the support is only available at specified hours; you may be kept on hold for long to get through the process. It may also require that you stop other businesses for pay stub generation.
You should consider the payment methods and cost. Although there are pay stub generator tools that are free, they may have the features you need. When making a comparison of the prices of different pay stub generators, ensure you check their features that will satisfy your needs. You should also be attentive to the methods of payment to ensure the method you use does not attract fraudsters by showing information of your accounts.
Check money back guarantee. A pay stub generator can praise the way they do things but you have no reason to believe their words. A good pay stub generator opts to give a money back guarantee so that if their pay stubs are not as per the agreement, you can get back all or a portion of the money. very few creators willingly issue money back guarantee hence making those doing so without being coerced to be seen as those who know customers will get satisfied with their pay stubs.
owning a house is an excellent thing on can ever dream. Houses are of great benefit to us. We shelter and secure ourselves in the houses. Many people desire to build nice looking houses. All these can be possible when one seeks construction services from the company. One has to go through many challenges when seeking construction services from the best company. This is due to the many construction companies in the industry.One has to consider a number of factors. Some of the factors one need to consider are discussed below.
Secondly, one should be keen on the references. One need to know first the kind of construction services the company provides. A well reputable construction company will give their customers a list of references. After going through the references and contacting them, one should make the right decision.One can also trust referrals that are available One will be confident on the referrals done by relatives and close friends. The services the company provides will be well known when one will take both references and referrals seriously.
The price of getting construction services should be considered. The price quote differ from one company to another. Affordability should guide an individual who needs construction services. One therefore should have his or her budget first. It will be cheap to land on the best construction company when one has a clear budget. The construction company cost must fit ones budget. This will prevent much straining. Inquiry on how they will charge you before hiring them. This will prevent one from incurring unnecessary costs. The tips above will guide one in need of construction services.
There are actually many people that do their own fencing, which is, installing their own fences around their homes, gardens, etc. However, fencing is actually a lot harder than you probably expect. But the great news is that you can actually hire a fencing contractor to do the job for you. There are actually quite a lot of benefits that fencing contractors can offer for you. Before you hire a fencing contractor, you might first want to understand some of the greatest benefits that they can provide for you. In this article, we are going to mention 3 of the best benefits to fencing contractors. So out of all the great benefits offered to you, here are only the top 3 benefits.
The first great benefit that fencing contractors will provide for you is their great knowledge and experience in fence installment. One reason why doing your own fence installment is so difficult is because it actually requires a great deal of knowledge and experience. If you try, then you just might cause damage to the fence or your ground. But you can be sure that your fences are installed to perfection if you let fencing contractors use their experience and knowledge for the job. So this is the first great benefit that fencing contractors can provide for you.
For another thing, fencing contractors can provide great convenience. If you do your own fence installment, then you will actually have to face so many different inconveniences. If you are busy at work and still try to find time to install your fences, then you will face even greater inconveniences. You can be sure that, if you hire fencing contractors, they will be the ones to do the installment, thus replacing your inconveniences with great conveniences. So the convenience that they provide is another of the great benefits that you will surely receive and enjoy from hiring a fencing contractor.
The tools they provide is yet another of the great benefits that you will receive from fencing contractors. It is really important that the right tools are used for fence installments or else something could go really wrong. You can never really install a fence rightly without the needed tools, which means that you will have to buy your own if you want to install your fence by yourself. But you can be absolutely sure that the right tools will be used to ensure your fence when you let fencing contractors do the installment for you. So the using of the right and best tools is yet another of the greatest benefits that you will surely receive and enjoy if you hire fencing contractors to do the fence installment for your home.
Whether you are looking for someone who will assist you in Wisdom Teeth Removal or to fix a broken jaw, it is essential you choose a reliable oral surgeon. You need to find an oral surgeon whom you will partner with for a long time if you are looking for one. Before choosing an oral surgeon, you need to conduct thorough research on the best one available within your area. A person may find it difficult hiring a good oral surgeon due to the availability of many of them in the market. In this article, the tips on that will guide one to choosing an oral surgeon are discussed.
Before selecting an oral surgeon, you should ensure you check on the rates they charge their clients. Different oral surgeons will charge their client differently due to factors such as labor costs. You should ensure that the oral surgeon you are to choose will explain to you the features they look at when pricing their clients. You should ensure you choose an affordable oral surgeon whose fees you can easily afford. When looking for an oral surgeon, you should ensure you choose an affordable one without compromising their quality of services.
The next factor to consider when choosing an oral surgeon is the experience level of the surgeon. You will be able to know the experience level of an oral surgeon by checking the number of years they have been in business. Experienced surgeons such as an oral surgeon in phoenix az will have many years of working experience as compared to less experienced ones. You will be guaranteed quality services if you hire an experienced oral surgeon because they have an easy time understanding their client's demands.
Before choosing an oral surgeon, you should ensure you check on their status in the business industry. When checking the reputation of an oral surgeon, you can look at their online reviews from their website and social media handles. If an oral surgeon has many online reviews on their social media account and site, then they will be more prominent than the ones with a few reviews. By hiring a reputable oral surgeon, you will be assured quality services as the surgeons will want to maintain their high standards in the market.
The licensing and certification of an oral surgeon should be considered before choosing one. The certificates and license of an oral surgeon will help you check if they are approved to run dentistry health services. A licensed and certified oral surgeon will have a high level of professionalism and this will make them deliver quality services to clients.
Having a good looking home is the dream of every person. The yard is one of the things that you have to ensure that they have the best shapes. Do not just plant flowers and trees and then call it a day, you need to do in manner that will see that design viable for a long time. Professional landscaping service is what you need. As per the experience of this personnel and the experience they have you are sure you will get a good looking home. When you cannot afford to look at your yard twice because of how it looks worn out you need to get these services.
The shapes and the plant that you will end up getting will definitely fit. If you have trees that are posing risk at the electricity lines then will work them out for. The trees will be removed using good tools that will help you reduce the risk. Sometimes you need the work done and you are not available, they will structure the yard for you and then execute the plans after you have approved. Sprinkler services can also be added to your yard.
Everyone knows that the winter will bring but at times it will go beyond that. The snow is what everyone waits but the levels will always differ. The pedestrians and the drivers will always be affected by this. It doesn't matter whether you are on commercial or on a residential location you will be affected. The best way to deal with it is to call for a company that specializes in these services. the company requires to have all pieces of equipment that one will require to deal with the snow. These companies have well-trained personnel that you can rely on and have gained the required experience. Before getting a company that will deal with the situation for you, it is important to ensure that you are working with the best company.
The details of the company will require to be well studied to ensure they got all you need. Before reaching on the agreement you have to ensure that it is a strong one if possible make the agreement written. There are rules that have to be followed as the snow removal is to be done. This will be different and you have to ensure that as per location you understand them well.
Ensure that the budget will be affordable. The budget that you have prepared is very important, ensure that you always work within the budget. It is very necessary to ensure that you have a company that will be able to respond to the situation in a good time. Go for experienced and well-equipped companies.
Tree trimming services are much helpful. You may assume these services to be simple, but they are not. You will get that some places require to be trimmed for the known reasons. To choose the service provider also requires you to take some time. You need to bother to find a good service providers due to the reason being the services are risky. You will find that these services are can cause to accidents. You should inspect the service providers that you may require before you select them. You can contact your friends on other terms before you choose the service providers. Below are the tips that you need to contemplate when choosing the tree trimming service providers.
You need to contemplate the experience. These services require an experienced service provider. You should know their experience for efficient services. You can ask them to explain how they have been doing the previous jobs. You will verify this from their past records of their job. You should consider a service provider that has been working for several years. They must have done the trimming for a long period. This will assure them experience. When you ask the service providers to come and investigate, they should advice you on what next to be done. You require some tactics for you to listen what they tell you.
You need to consider their services. Make sure that their services are reliable. They should be able to handle any task given efficiently. It is good to consider if their services are harmless. You should be able to contemplate how they respond to the given calls. It is good for you to select a contractor with hard working workers. The workers who are willing to work can save you a lot. It is fine if you can inspect the means which the service providers employ when handling their task. Consider a company that is very hardworking in this case. Efficient services of a company play an important role in marketing the services of the company.
You need to deliberate on the company that uses quality equipment. You require to choose a company that works in equipment's which are of high technology as well. The excellent tree trimming service providers are knowledgable. If you have trees which have to be trimmed may be within a town where there are buildings, it can be risky. You need to consider getting a service provider who are in position to do this job efficiently. It can be dangerous if you hire the unexperienced tree trimmers. You should be focused when you are selecting service providers.
You will note that when it comes to the business that you have, it will be better to have the right kind of branding. It is essential to note that when it comes to the world of today, the branding is one of the things that will matter much in your venture.
When it comes to the market, you will note that having the proper kind of the branding will be one of the things that will be able to work well with the needs that you have more so the differentiation.
When it comes to the needs that you have in branding, getting that perfect technique of doing the same will be an important thing to consider. You should know that there are many kinds of methods that you can use when it comes to branding.
When it comes to the needs that you have, it will be a good idea to note that you will have to get the methods that will work well with your corporate branding needs.
It is important to note that when it comes to branding, you will have the lanyards, custom name tags and many more choices that you can use for your needs. You will note that when it comes to the branding, you will note that creativity will be one of the things that will matter much.
More so you should know that you will have to make sure that you have something unique as well. It is good to understand that considering the whole idea about the business will be one of the thigs that you will need to consider when it comes to the branding issues.
It is great to note that when it comes to the corporate branding, it will be better to note that the use of the best branding will be a beneficial thing to do when it comes to the business. It is essential to note that having a good branding will be one of the things that will matter much.
Here are the things that will make you to have the top corporate branding methods. Having the right corporate image will be one of the things that you will be able to get.
The use of the best kind of the picture will be one of the things that will determine how well your corporate will perform. For the best kind of the business awareness, the use of the branding activities will be an important aspect to consider.
More so having the best branding will be able to market the business even further. You should know that when it comes to branding, you will note that it will be essential for your operations.
Insuring your home is a good move since you will have a stress-free life knowing that everything that may happen to your home will be under control, that is you do not have to worry since what you would have lost will be paid. There are many advantage's that one should expect from the home insurance though many homeowners do not see it a worthwhile exercise. Do not consider the cost over your home that should not be used as a comparison point as everything will be well with your home. When it comes to home insurance then you will find that it does not only insure your home but also all your belongings, this helps you get compensation even when a third party brings about your property damage. There are numerous things which will dictate the type of policy that you are going to get from the home insurance like location as well as the number of years that your home has been in existence and also how it has been constructed. Home insurance policy rates is determined by many factors, such factors will determine how the policy is going to be.
A home which has recently been build will not be so much exposed to risks which are considered when it comes to home insurance, this will mean that such will attract a cheaper price when it comes to insuring it. If some of the risks are beyond your control then consider these factors to find for the cheaper home insurance since they can be very helpful in your search.
Makes sure that if your house is at areas which are disaster-prone you consider getting modifications which can be added to your home consequently decreasing the amount of premium which you are supposed to pay each time. The other key way through which you can consider to ensuring that you get affordable home insurance is shopping around. You can even consider the online websites as well as tools as they can be very helpful in finding the best home insurance policy, you will also be well placed to make comparison of the policies online from the different insurers thus been able to pick the best which is cheaper.
Bundle your policy, this is another way through which you can land a cheaper home insurance policy, and it entails insuring your property with the similar provider like an insurer for your car or even life insurance, if you consider insuring from such existing insurance provider then you are well placed to getting a discount thus being a cheaper exercise. It is advisable to insure what you think is at more risk of damage, don't just consider getting optimum protection if there are risks which seem to be minimal and you can control, through that you will find a cheaper insurance policy for your home.
Plumbers are the skilled personnel that can be able to handle complex systems regarding the piping systems and also their maintenance. Having a good piping system in a residential house prevent a lot of inconvenience and safety is also enhanced. The drainage pipe systems, the water supply systems, cooking gas piping, and sewer system are among the major piping systems found in many homes. The plumbers are the ones responsible for designing such systems in any construction site. Having a hitch in any of the systems can create a big problem and also requires a plumber to diagnose and fix them.
A professional plumber can be able to handle any duty that revolves around their career. Such professionals plumbers can handle the problems ranging from laying out the piping systems to serve a wide residential area or even a city to fixing small mishaps to the leaking pipes. Therefore, having such plumber around can be beneficial to the people around the area since they are capable of receiving quality services when a problem arises or even during a new residential house construction. Here are the benefits of having such kind of a plumber around.
First, the cleaning activities can be conducted easily without any problem. Cleanliness is a vital thing in a residential home since it is a place where to spend time for whole life. Cleaning enables keeping off any material or substances that can bring the pest infestation inside the house bringing further problems. Therefore, any problem arising from a constant supply of water in a house requires being fixed by a professional plumber to prevent such problems.
More often, when a professional plumber is involved in a given plumbing project, it is most likely that the owners will spend much less on maintaining the system for a long period of time. This is because such plumbers are able to conduct their activity with competence and their services are high quality not to experience problems more often. Furthermore, a professional plumber make use of the right work equipment to deliver the quality work.
Having a good plumber around also prevent breaking out of infections and diseases due to unhygienic conditions. The plumbers can manage to fix the blocked and broken drainage and sewer pipes that can bring such a case in the house. Therefore, for better and effective piping systems it is good contacting a professional plumber who can handle the work with a high level of competence.


text:
Facebook, Twitter find no evidence of Chinese meddling in midterms: report
By Megan Keller - 10/24/18 09:48 AM EDT
© iStock illustration
Facebook and Twitter say they have not found evidence of Chinese meddling in the 2018 elections, according to a Bloomberg report.
Company officials told Bloomberg that they have not found evidence of Chinese campaigns so far, though they have identified misinformation campaigns that seem to come from Russia and Iran.
Other tech firms, namely cybersecurity companies FireEye Inc. and Symantec Corp, have said they have found no evidence linking China to election meddling.
Twitter confirmed to The Hill that the company hasn't found evidence of Chinese meddling so far, but emphasized that it is extremely difficult to determine with certainty where disinformation originates.
Facebook could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Justice Department, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement last Friday that they are concerned about "ongoing campaigns" from China to spread "disinformation" and "foreign propaganda" heading into the elections.
"We are concerned about ongoing campaigns by Russia, China and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies," the statement said. "These activities also may seek to influence voter perceptions and decision making in the 2018 and 2020 U.S. elections."
President Trump Donald John TrumpCNN's Camerota clashes with Trump's immigration head over president's tweet LA Times editorial board labels Trump 'Bigot-in-Chief' Trump complains of 'fake polls' after surveys show him trailing multiple Democratic candidates MORE accused China specifically of meddling in the midterm elections last month.
In October, Vice President Pence tore into China for carrying out "an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion, the 2018 elections, and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections" to hurt Trump and the GOP.
China has repeatedly denied interfering in U.S. elections.
Neither the White House nor the agencies who issued the joint statement could be reached for immediate comment at the time of publication. The Justice Department declined to comment.
—Updated at 10:49 a.m.
Tags Donald Trump 2018 midterm elections cybersecurity election interference election meddling misinformation Disinformation China Twitter Facebook

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Simplest way to use jQuery to access an input via a label jQuery object Let's say that you have the following code:
<input name="my-input' id="my-input-id" />
<label for="my-input-id">

There's a click event attached to the label, like so:
$("label[for='my-input-id']").click( function() {
    var myLabel = $(this);
}

What's the easiest/simplest way to get a jQuery object of the input via the myLabel jQuery object?

A: in your case
$("label[for='my-input-id']").click( function() {
    var myLabel = $(this);
    var input = $('#' + myLabel.attr('for'));
});

A:

$("label[for='my-input-id']").click(function() {
  var input = $('#' + this.htmlFor);
  input.css('outline','1px solid red');
})
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
<input name="my-input" id="my-input-id" />
<label for="my-input-id">a</label>

A: $("label[for='my-input-id']").click( function() {
    var myLabel = $(this);
    var input = $('input[id=' + myLabel.attr('for') + ']');
}

A: If input will be immediately in preceding position to label i.e myLabel in this case then you can also use JQuery .prev() that is Traversing. Have a look in below js code
$("label[for='my-input-id']").click( function() {
  var myLabel = $(this);
  var input = $(this).prev();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


One or two tropical systems may develop over the next 10 days from the central Gulf of Mexico to the central Caribbean Sea.
Because of the proximity to land, people may have little time to react and prepare for a tropical storm or hurricane.
AccuWeather meteorologists are homing in on an area for tropical development late this week into early next week.
"A tropical system may bud near or just north of the Yucatan Peninsula," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.
The next name on the list of tropical storms in the Atlantic for 2017 is Nate.
"Any feature that develops in this area is likely to drift toward the north or northeast," Kottlowski said.
Should a storm form and drift in the area aforementioned, Gulf Coast areas from Florida to Alabama, Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana could be at risk for damaging winds, coastal flooding, rough surf and beach erosion by early next week.
"Should the system develop just east of the Yucatan Peninsula, where waters are the warmest, we could have a powerful hurricane on our hands," Kottlowski said.
People from Belize, the Cayman Islands, southeastern Mexico and western Cuba to the United States' northern and eastern Gulf Coast should keep up to date on the situation.
If the system waits to develop much farther to the north, over the northeastern Gulf Coast, where waters are cooler and disruptive winds are present, a tropical storm or depression may struggle to strengthen.
However, even a weak tropical system could bring torrential rainfall and flash flooding.
"In lieu of a strong tropical system or flooding, beneficial rain may extend across the interior eastern U.S. next week, which could ease abnormally dry and building drought conditions in some locations," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun.
Areas from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Central America and the islands in the central and western Caribbean will experience rounds of showers and thunderstorms, due to a broad area of disturbed weather over the next couple of weeks.
In addition to the risk of tropical storm formation near the Yucatan Peninsula, there is another area to watch.
"We will be monitoring the southern and central Caribbean for possible development around the third week of October," Kottlowski said.
Any system that forms in that part of the Caribbean would move toward the very warm water and likely strengthen just east of the Yucatan Peninsula.
"The Atlantic basin may yield one more major (Category 3 or stronger) hurricane, which would bring the 2017 seasonal total to five," Kottlowski said.
The Atlantic basin includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
AccuWeather is projecting a total of 17 tropical storms, which includes 11 hurricanes, through December 2017 in the Atlantic. Hurricane season officially ends at the end of November.
Including Maria, there have been 13 tropical storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes thus far.


text:
Short-Term Weight Changes in Treated Primary Hypothyroid Subjects
Volume 4, Issue 1, March 2019, Pages: 1-5
Received: Dec. 15, 2018; Accepted: Dec. 28, 2018; Published: Jan. 29, 2019
Abul Kalam Mohammad Aminul Islam, Department of Endocrinology, Colonel Abdul Malek Medical College, Manikganj, Bangladesh
Abul Bashar Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Department of Endocrinology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Moinul Islam, Department of Endocrinology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammad Asaduzzaman, Medicine Outpatient Department, Shaheed Sheikh Abu Naser Specialized Hospital, Khulna, Bangladesh
Mohammad Rafiq Uddin, Department of Endocrinology, Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Shiropa Islam, Department of Dermatology, Kurmitola General Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammed Fariduddin, Department of Endocrinology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Weight loss due to diuresis is an early clinical response of treatment with levothyroxine in primary hypothyroidism. The objective of this study was to evaluate weight changes in patients with primary hypothyroidism after 6 weeks of initiation of treatment with levothyroxine. This prospective observational follow up study included 99 newly diagnosed primary hypothyroid patients of 18-60 years of age of both sexes. The weight and height of each patient were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated both at the time of enrollment and at the end of 6 weeks of treatment with levothyroxine, and variables at the baseline and at follow up were compared. 93 patients out of 99 completed follow-up at 6±1 weeks. There were significant reduction in TSH level (85.1±51.6 vs. 1.87±0.9 µIU/mL, mean±SD) and increase in FT4 level (0.49±0.19 vs. 1.4±0.78 ng/dL, mean±SD) at follow up in comparison to their baseline values. Among the participants, 90.3% lost body weight while 5.4% gained weight and 4.3% of subjects didn't show any change in their weight at the end of the study. The mean body weight and mean BMI after levothyroxine replacement were significantly lower (weight 62.2±13.7 vs. 59.0±12.1 kg, BMI 25.1±4.6 vs. 23.8±4.1 Kg/M2, mean±SD) than the pretreatment values. The mean changes in body weight and BMI were 3.19±0.32 Kg (mean±SEM) and 1.31±0.14 Kg/M2 (mean±SEM) respectively. The mean changes in body weight and BMI did not differ significantly among subjects with different TSH categories. No statistically significant effect of any individual predictors like age, gender, and socioeconomic status, weight at baseline, baseline TSH, baseline FT4 and presence of thyroid autoimmunity was observed on weight change. Levothyroxine replacement was associated with a significant reduction of mean body weight and BMI at short-term follow up in our study, though not all patients experienced weight loss.
Body Weight, Body Mass Index, Primary Hypothyroidism, Levothyroxine Replacement
Abul Kalam Mohammad Aminul Islam, Abul Bashar Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Moinul Islam, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, Mohammad Rafiq Uddin, Shiropa Islam, Mohammed Fariduddin, Short-Term Weight Changes in Treated Primary Hypothyroid Subjects, International Journal of Diabetes and Endocrinology. Vol. 4, No. 1, 2019, pp. 1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.ijde.20190401.11
D. S. Cooper and P. W. Ladenson, "The Thyroid Gland," in Greenspan's Basic & Clinical Endocrinology, 9th Edition, D. G. Gardner and D. Shoback, Eds. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007, pp. 163-226.
Canaris, G. J., Manowitz, N. R., Mayor, G., & Ridgway, E. C. (2000). The Colorado thyroid disease prevalence study. Arch Intern Med, 160, 526-34.
Hollowell, J. G., Staehling, N. W., Flanders, W. D., Hannon, W. H., Gunter, E. W., Spencer, C. A., et al. (2002). Serum TSH, T (4), and thyroid antibodies in the United States population (1988 to 1994): National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 87, 489-99.
Hoogendoorn, E. H., Hermus, A. R., de Vegt. F., Ross, H. A., Verbeek, A. L., Kiemency, L. A., et al. (2006) Thyroid function and prevalence of anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies in a population with borderline sufficient iodine intake: Influences of age and sex. Clin Chem, 52, 104-11.
Unnikrishnan, A. G., Kalra, S., Sahay, R. K., Bantwal, G., John, M., & Tewari, N. (2013). Prevalence of hypothyroidism in adults: An epidemiological study in eight cities of India. Indian J Endocr Metab, 17, 647-52.
Fish, L. H., Schwartz, H. L., Cavanaugh, J., Steffes, M. W., Bantle, J. P., & Oppenheimer, J. H. (1987). Replacement dose, metabo¬lism, and bioavailability of levothyroxine in the treatment of hypothyroidism. Role of triiodothyronine in pituitary feedback in humans. N Engl J Med, 316, 764-70.
Roos, A., Linn-Rasker, S. P., van Domburg, R. T., Tijssen, J. P., & Berghout, A. (2005). The Starting Dose of Levothyroxine in Primary Hypothyroidism Treatment. A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind. Arch Intern Med, 2005, 165, 1714-20.
Karmisholt, J., Andersen, S., & Laurberg, P. (2011). Weight loss after therapy of hypothyroidism is mainly caused by excretion of excess body water associated with myxoedema. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2011, 96, E99-103.
Sahu´n, M., Villabona, C., Rosel, P., Navarro, M. A., Ramo´n, J. M., Go´mez, J. M., & Soler, J. (2001). Water metabolism disturbances at different stages of primary thyroid failure. J Endocrinol, 168, 435-45.
Park, C. W., Shin, Y. S., Ahn, S. J., Kim, S. Y., Choi, E. J., Chang, Y. S., & Bang, B. K. (2001). Thyroxine treatment induces upregulation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system due to decreasing effective plasma volume in patients with primary myxoedema. Nephrol Dial Transplant, 16, 1799-806.
Parving, H. H., Hansen, J. M., Nielsen, S. L., Rossing, N., Munck, O., & Lassen, N. A. (1979). Mechanisms of edema formation in myxedema: increased protein extravasation and relatively slow lymphatic drainage. N Engl J Med, 301, 460-5.
Plummer, W. A. (1940). Body weight in spontaneous myxedema. Trans Am Assoc Study Goiter, 88-98.
Hoogwerf, B. J., & Nuttall, F. Q. (1984). Long-term weight regulation in treated hyperthyroid and hypothyroid subjects. Am J Med, 76, 963-70.
Lee, S. Y., Braverman, L. E., & Pearce, E. N. (2014). Changes in body weight after treatment of primary hypothyroidism with levothyroxine. Endocr Pract, 20, 1122-8.
Lomenick, J. P., El-Sayyid, M., & Smith, W. J. (2008). Effect of levo-thyroxine treatment on weight and body mass index in children with acquired hypothyroidism. J Pediatr, 152, 96-100.


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#7038 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (1970) | Matthijs van Wageningen's Photo Gallery
#7038 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (1970)
Lamborghini Miura P400 S (1970) at the Technik Museum Sinsheim (Germany)
The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with René Bonnet's Matra Djet, introduced in 1964. This layout has since become the standard for high-performance sports and supercars. When released, it was the fastest production road car. The Miura was originally conceived by Lamborghini's engineering team, which designed the car in its spare time against the wishes of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, who preferred powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari. The Miura's rolling chassis was presented at the 1965 Turin Auto Show in Italy, and the prototype P400 debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. It received stellar receptions from show-goers and the motoring press alike, each impressed by Marcello Gandini's sleek styling and the car's revolutionary mid-engine design. The letter "S" (short for Sport) was added for later high performance variants. The P400 S Miura, also known as the Miura S, made its introduction at the Turin Motor Show in November 1968, where the original chassis had been introduced three years earlier. It was slightly revised from the P400, with the addition of power windows, bright chrome trim around external windows and headlights, new overhead inline console with new rocker switches, different camshaft profiles, and notched trunk end panels (allowing for slightly more luggage space). About 338 P400 S Miura were produced between December 1968 and March 1971. The above Lamborghini Miura P400 S was built in 1970, finished in a Giallo Miura (Yellow/Orange) exterior and
a Skay Nero (Black) interior and has only run 20.000 km (about 12427 mi) and is in almost new and original condition.
The Technik Museum Sinsheim (Sinsheim Museum of Technology) is a technology museum with a strong emphasis on motorized means of transport.
It has been located in the town of Sinsheim (south-east of Heidelberg) in the German state of Baden-Württemberg since its opening in 1981. The two supersonic airliners Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144, which are standing together, are the most striking attraction, but the museum has several collections. The collection includes: aircraft, classic vintage cars, racing- and classic motorcycles, racy sports cars, Formula One legends, extensive militaria, mechanical, rarities and fashions. The museum was founded by car enthusiasts, with the entrepreneur Eberhard Layher as initiator. In addition, the museum also features an IMAX 3D cinema with state-of-the-art 4K technology and a 22x27 metre (about 72x88 ft) projection screen. The museum is connected to the Technik Museum Speyer (Speyer Museum of Technology) in the city of Speyer, which is 34 kilometres (21 mi) to the west.
Matthijs van Wageningen
car, Germany, Lamborghini, Miura, museum, Sinsheim, Sinsheim Museum of Technology, sports car, supercar, Technik Museum Sinsheim
Events / 2016 Speyer and Sinsheim Museum of Technology (Germany)
Aperture Number
yes, mode: compulsory
White Balancing


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Phyllanthus artensis är en emblikaväxtart som beskrevs av Maurice Schmid. Phyllanthus artensis ingår i släktet Phyllanthus och familjen emblikaväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Data and cyber breaches: a new risk landscape
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/data-and-cyber-breaches-a-new-risk-landscape
Not all 2018 data protection planning was about GDPR compliance programs.
France: Data breach - feedback and good practices
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2018/france/violations-de-donnees-retour-d-experience-et-bonnes-pratiques
Since the entry into force of the GDPR, the CNIL has received nearly 800 data breach notifications concerning nearly 34 million natural persons in France and abroad.
Marriott International Facing Class Action In Addition to Potential GDPR Fine
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/uk/marriott-international-facing-class-action-in-addition-to-potential-gdpr-fine
Marriott International announced a significant data breach two years ago following which the UK's data protection regulator, the ICO, issued a statement in July 2019 citing an intention to fine Marriott £99.2 million ...
Information Commissioner fines British Airways plc £20 million in relation to its 2018 data breach
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/information-commissioner-fines-british-airways-plc-20-million-in-relation-to-its-2018-data-breach
The Information Commissioner had originally served a Notice of Intent to fine BA £183.39 million. The final fine would have been £30 million but was reduced by 20% to £24 million to take account of mitigating factors, ...
UK: Analysis of Information Commissioner's £1.25 Million fine for Ticketmaster personal data breach
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/uk/analysis-of-information-commissioners-1-25-million-fine-for-ticketmaster-personal-data-breach
On 13th November 2020, the UK Information Commissioner fined Ticketmaster £1.25 Million for a personal data breach involving skimming credit card data from its website.
British Airways: the need to find blame
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2018/uk/ba-the-need-to-find-blame
BA's confirmation last week that hackers had accessed customer data by breaching its website and mobile app security has brought a host of unwelcome media attention on the airline and set off a flurry of pointing ...
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Home / Books / Architecture / Jigsaw City
Jigsaw City
AECOM's Redefinition of the Asian New Town
SpecificationsSKU: 90268Size: 10 x 10″ Square Pages: 300 Binding: Trade Paper Publication Date: February 2016 ISBN: 978-1-935935-5-20 World Rights: Available
Jigsaw City quantity
Categories: Architecture, Books, Urban Design Tag: Large
Jigsaw City explores the phenomenon of urbanization in Asia through the lens of AECOMS's work in planning, designing, and building cities of varying scales. From Hong Kong to Singapore, from mainland China to the Philippines, the projects examined include regional infrastructure corridors, transit-oriented city extensions, downtown redevelopments, new communities, mixed-use open space districts, environmental conservation frameworks, and ecological restorations. On display are the efforts of strategic planners, environmental and ecological planners, masterplanners, urban designers, landscape architects, and civil engineers to deliver the places and infrastructure needed by rapidly growing populations and economies. At stake is quality of life for millions of people, the rise of a new Asian middle class, and the question of whether frenetic growth can be brought into balance with natural systems already strained to the breaking point.
The premise of the book, and of AECOM's work in the region is that an interdisciplinary city making approach centred around people holds the best hope for tackling challenges of such magnitude. Increasingly relevant in this work is the need to build sustainable cities that could reflect their social heritage, and with which inhabitants can feel proud. Jigsaw City is a collection of case studies chronicling efforts over the past four decades— looking to see what has been accomplished and what can be learned for the future as we continue to create the Asian new towns.
Daniel Elsea is Creative Director for AECOM's planning, design + development group. Daniel's interests lie in contemporary urbanism— in particular, the branding and (re)packaging of cities and urbanization in the developing world. With expertise in messaging, art and editorial direction, architectural criticism and graphic design, Daniel blurs the lines between marketing and practice. His job is to conceive, lead and lend his writing and graphic design skills to special initiatives that enhance AECOM's reputation, expand its remit, and support the company's broader strategic objectives. Based in London and an associate of the American Institute of Architects, Daniel has published numerous articles, reviews and essays on issues related to the built environment in publications such as Topos, Architectural Record, and Print.
Clare Jacobson is a Shanghai-based design writer, editor, and curator. She is the author of the book New Museums in China and co-author of Karlssonwilker Inc.'s Tell Me Why: The First 24 Months of a New York Design Company. She is a contributing editor to Architectural Record, and her articles have also appeared in Engineering News Record, Randian, Architectural Review Asia Pacific, Azure, Landscape Architecture, and other magazines. As editor and editorial director at Princeton Architectural Press for twenty-one years, she originated, acquired, and developed more than 120 books on architecture, graphic design, landscape architecture, photography, and visual culture.
PressRelease_JigsawCity_V4
10 x 10" Square
978-1-935935-5-20


Venezuelan government officials say that two explosions at a military assemblage in Caracas on Saturday was in fact an attempt on President Nicolas Maduro's life using bomb-carrying drones – and though the exact nature of just what happened is still being disputed, the idea that it indeed involved bomb drones isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.
... Firefighters at the scene of the blast disputed the government's version of events. Three local authorities said there had been a gas tank explosion inside an apartment near Maduro's speech where smoke could be seen streaming out of a window. They provided no further details on how they had reached that conclusion.
Maduro, who has held office since 2013 after taking over from predecessor Hugo Chávez, has increasingly turned to authoritarian tactics as his country grappled with a devastating economic crisis. He was re-elected earlier this year, though amid poor poll showings, widespread allegations of fraud, and a general lack of faith in the democratic process.
According to the AP, another little-known group called Soldiers in T-shirts took responsibility, saying that they had flown two drones laden with C4 explosives at Maduro but government sharpshooters had taken the drones down. It's not clear what that group is or whether the claim of responsibility was a hoax.
According to the Washington Post, one "military expert and former member of the armed forces" said that the event was real and not staged by the government. Control Ciudadano head Rocio San Miguel, another military expert, told the paper she believed it was probable that the government had simply lost control of one of their own drones and destroyed it before it could hit the presidential podium.
Washington Office on Latin America regional expert David Smilde told the AP initial signs were that the attack was not staged, because the images of Venezuelan soldiers running for cover and Maduro being swarmed by bodyguards made his already unpopular government look weak.
If true, the attack would have ample precedent. The U.S. military has long used drones for targeted assassinations, and an increasing number of other militaries have begun to deploy their own drones of varying levels of sophistication. More similar to the Venezuelan government's description of the incident are the drones used by terror group ISIS, which has infamously deployed off-the-shelf consumer drones strapped with explosives for years, as well as operated entire workshops dedicated to building or retrofitting unmanned vehicles capable of carrying deadly payloads in Iraq.
Per Wired, virtually all of the methods for defending against drones come with some caveats. Radio frequency jammers that interfere with operator control also potentially interfere with other radio communications. Geofencing, or software restrictions on where drones can be flown, can be bypassed simply by installing modified firmware. A Dutch trial to train eagles to capture rogue drones failed when the birds did not always follow their training, and could have simply resulted in serious injuries to the eagles involved anyways. Just shooting the things is always a possibility – and the U.S. Navy has been testing lasers that do that – but does require someone with really good aim be on hand.


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The extensiveness of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander suicides – 1 in 20
This child of the Kimberley region of Australia could well ask what future lays ahead for me – Photo, Gerry Georgatos
Whereas it was reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that for the period 2000 to 2010 one in 24 of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths were by suicide, in the period since this rate has increased to one in 20. The suicide rate is even higher than is reported. But this already high frequency of reported suicide as a cause of death has a traumatic effect on peoples who already endure a disproportionately overwhelming burden of bereavement stress because of the high rate of premature and unnatural deaths. In some communities, life expectancy is thirty years lower than the national average and one in three of their people are dead by 45 years of age. Child mortality rates are double and triple the national average.
One in 20 of all deaths by suicide is a phenomenally high rate and bespeaks of community distress, identity crises and a contagion of unhappiness. The one in 20 suicide death rate is a disproportionately high rate but it is also clearly lower than what it really is. Because of various classifications dependent on findings, because of reporting failures, because of jurisdictional differences in coronial processes and of the various uncertainties at familial, community and police levels in aggregating evidence as to the cause of death, I estimate that the suicide rate among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples is more likely double – but previously I have estimated one in 12.
This is catastrophic.
Whereas in the first ten years of this millennia there was an average of 100 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander suicides per year, this has increased to an average 130 suicides. In 2012, there were 117 Aboriginal suicides, which represented 5 per cent of all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander suicides in that year – and therefore translates to one in 20 deaths by suicide. The period 2008 to 2012, where there were about 600 suicides is tragically an increase on the period 2000 to 2007, where there were about 700 suicides. The suicide rate has increased from marginally less than 100 suicides per year on average to 120 suicides per year.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Western Australia leads the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide rates, with 35.8 per 100,000 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population. The Northern Territory has a similar suicide rate – 35.2 suicides per 100,000 people. These rates are three times the suicide rate of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in NSW, and twice the Queensland rate.
Of the 117 reported Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander suicides in 2012, 34 occurred in Western Australia, 29 in Queensland, 27 in the Northern Territory and 20 in NSW. Queensland and NSW have more than double the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander populations of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Both WA and the NT have Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander populations around 80,000 each while Qld and NSW each exceed 160,000 in their population counts.
The Queensland Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander suicide rate peaked around the end of the century, then dropped and then reached near its peak levels in 2001 and 2002 and has decreased slightly since. The Western Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander suicide rate was significantly high in 1998, higher than most of the jurisdictional and regional rates around the nation at the time and of many currently. But the higher than usual rate increased every year to 2006, by which time it had doubled. Subsequent the spike in 2006, the rate began to decrease but never falling below the 1998 rate. In recent years the rate has increased again, with 2011 reaching close to the 2006 rate. Therefore, Western Australia is the worst of the suicide crisis among the descendants of the First Peoples, although the Northern Territory tragically competes with Western Australia. But why is it that these two jurisdictions with half the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander populations of Queensland and NSW are faring so badly?
The Northern Territory has generally maintained a horrific suicide rate among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples at 35 per 100,000 since 2007. But it was worse for the Territory at the beginning of this new millennium, with a peak of 50 per 100,000 in 2002, decreasing to less than half that by 2006. In that year the Federal Government's Emergency Response ('The Intervention') was launched. In subsequent years the suicide rate increased to thereabouts 35 per 100,000 where it has remained since. In 2002, 33 lives were reported lost to suicide in the Territory, decreasing to 16 lives reported lost to suicide in 2006, but increasing to 29 in 2007. In both 2011 and 2012, 27 lives were reported lost to suicide in the Territory.
The majority of suicides among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are before 35 years of age, with just about all of them before 45 years of age. The highest risk group is the 25 to 30 year old males but high risk groups are found in the 15 to 20 year old age group and within the 20 to 35 years age groups. For the non-Aboriginal Australian population highest risk groups are well above 50 years of age, with the highest risk group above 80 years of age.
For every suicide there are many more attempted suicides, and hundreds of incidences of self-harm. To some extent the estimations of the number of incidences of intentional self-harm are measured by the number of hospitalisations. The hospitalisation rate for intentional self-harm for non-Aboriginal Australians stands currently at 142 per 100,000 people but for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians the rate is 379 per 100,000. The hospitalisation for intentional self-harm for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people has increased from about 260 per 100,000 in 2004 to 379 today. Whereas Aboriginal males are nearly three quarters of all Aboriginal suicides, intentional self-harm hospitalisation rates are higher for Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women endure hospitalisation rates of 440 per 100,000 as opposed to 320 per 100,000 for their men.
Australia cannot continue turning a blind eye and deaf ear to these catastrophic suicide and self-harm rates. We were not put on this earth to bury our children – but we do. We were not put on this earth to betray one another – but we do. I will continue with my mantra – that there are no greater legacies any Government can own than to help first its most vulnerable, to improve lives to the point that lives are saved. Governments will fail in many of their prescribed and intended objectives but the one objective they must not fail at is in the saving of lives. The saving of lives must be at the top of the national agenda. When it is, lives shall be saved and we shall all be the better for it.
Preventing suicide – "no greater legacy" | The Stringer
Suicides, high among overseas born and second generation Australians
Child suicidal ideation on the increase
Categories : Aboriginal Specific News - Australia


Colourful Tulips look amazing in a pretty rustic style jug.
Bright Tulips fill a rustic style jug. These beautiful flowers are a favourite all year round ,and therefore the stunning rich tones of this display will brighten up any kitchen window sill. A little decorative heart tied around the jug just finishes it off perfectly.