Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant.

Brendan Marrocco had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday. The 26-year-old Marrocco, who is from New York City, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.

He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel approach is aimed at helping his body accept the new limbs with minimal medication to prevent rejection.

The military is sponsoring operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in the wars.

"He was the first quad amputee to survive" from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there have been four others since then, said Brendan Marrocco's father, Alex Marrocco. "He was really excited to get new arms."

The Marroccos want to thank the donor's family for "making a selfless decision ... making a difference in Brendan's life," the father said.

Surgeons plan to discuss the transplant at a news conference with the patient on Tuesday.

The 13-hour operation was led by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, plastic surgery chief at Johns Hopkins, and is the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant done in the United States. Lee led three of those earlier operations when he previously worked at the University of Pittsburgh, including the only above-elbow transplant that had been done at the time, in 2010.

Marrocco's "was the most complicated one" so far, Lee said in an interview Monday. It will take more than a year to know how fully Marrocco will be able to use the new arms, Lee said.

"The maximum speed is an inch a month for nerve regeneration," he explained. "We're easily looking at a couple years" until the full extent of recovery is known.

While at Pittsburgh, Lee pioneered the novel immune suppression approach used for Marrocco. The surgeon led hand transplant operations on five patients, giving them marrow from their donors in addition to the new limbs. All five recipients have done well and four have been able to take just one anti-rejection drug instead of combination treatments most transplant patients receive.

Minimizing anti-rejection drugs is important because they have side effects and raise the risk of cancer over the long term. Those risks have limited the willingness of surgeons and patients to do more hand, arm and even face transplants. Unlike a life-saving heart or liver transplant, limb transplants are aimed at improving quality of life, not extending it.

Quality of life is a key concern for people missing arms and hands ? prosthetics for those limbs are not as advanced as those for feet and legs.

Lee has received funding for his work from AFIRM, the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a cooperative research network of top hospitals and universities around the country that the government formed about five years ago. With government money, he and several other plastic surgeons around the country are preparing to do more face transplants, possibly using the new minimal immune suppression approach.

Marrocco expects to spend three to four months at Hopkins, then return to a military hospital to continue physical therapy, his father said. Before the operation, he had been living with his older brother in a handicapped-accessible home on New York's Staten Island built with the help of several charities.

The home was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall.

Despite being in a lot of pain for some time after the operation, Marrocco showed a sense of humor, his father said. He had a hoarse voice from a tube in his throat during the long surgery, decided that he sounded like Al Pacino, and started doing movie lines.

"He was making the nurses laugh," Alex Marrocco said.

___

AP writer Alex Dominguez contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soldier-lost-4-limbs-double-arm-transplant-171015152.html

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Three killed during clashes with Iraqi army in Falluja

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least three people were killed on Friday when Iraqi troops opened fire during clashes in Falluja city with Sunni protesters rallying against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, officials and witnesses said.

It was the most serious violence since Sunni protesters began taking to the streets in late December to challenge Maliki's Shi'ite-led government and rally against what they see as the marginalization of their minority sect.

"We received three bodies with gunshot wounds in the abdomen, back and shoulder," a hospital source told Reuters.

A Reuters witness at the scene said troops initially fired in the air to disperse crowds, but later some soldiers fired shots at protesters who approached their military vehicles and set one of them on fire.

A local television channel showed demonstrators approaching the army vehicles and throwing stones and water bottles while troops tried to keep them away began firing in the air. But it showed at least one soldier aiming his rifle at demonstrators.

The demonstrations in Falluja, a predominantly Sunni city 50 km (30 miles) north of capital, were part of weekly Friday anti-government rallies in the Iraqi Sunni heartland of Anbar province and other mainly Sunni areas.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, many Iraq Sunnis feel they have been sidelined by the country's Shi'ite leadership and believe Maliki is amassing power at their community's expense.

(Reporting by Kamal Naama in Falluja and Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad; Writing by Patrick Markey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nine-wounded-iraq-troops-clash-sunni-protesters-091946441.html

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Tournament of THG Couples: Kim Kardashian & Kanye West vs. Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner!

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Mama | Movie Reviews | Kelly Vance | East Bay Express

A story within a story within a story. The main protagonists in Andy Muschietti's Mama are Annabel, a self-centered, tattooed bass player in a rock band, played by Jessica Chastain, and her mild-mannered boyfriend Luke (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a struggling illustrator. Annabel and Luke's existence, like their relationship, is muddling along unremarkably when we first meet them, but the nondescript slacker couple's lives are about to be turned inside out because of something that happened five years ago in the hills.

At that time, Luke's brother Jeffrey (also played by Mr. Coster-Waldau), fresh from running away in disgrace from his corporate job ? evidently a financial scandal ? murders his wife in front of their two toddler daughters, then hurriedly gathers up Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and her younger sister Lily (Isabelle N?lisse), flings them into the family car, and speeds into the twilight on a treacherous, snowy, mountain road as if he intends to kill himself and his family. They end up in the proverbial lonely, decrepit cabin in the woods, where strange things come to pass.

The balance of the unshakably creepy scenario ? written by Argentine-born, Barcelona-based international filmmaker Andy (aka Andr?s) Muschietti and his sister Barbara Muschietti with screenwriter Neil Cross, adapted from a short film by the Muschietti siblings ? shows what happens when little Victoria and Lily, after five long years living in the cabin, are rescued and come to stay with their Uncle Luke and "Aunt" Annabel, who win temporary guardianship of the girls over their stuffy maternal aunt (Jane Moffat). The girls don't seem to have grown at all during their time in the forest, perhaps because they survived on a diet of wild cherries, but we'll let that pass.

The kids are practically feral, with matted hair, dirty faces, and a built-in apprehension that causes them to stare off into the nearest dark corner ? there's always a dark corner nearby in this movie ? at the slightest provocation. Victoria, elder of the two, gradually readjusts to "normal" life and welcomes her new pair of eyeglasses. However Lily, the wilder sister, scuttles around on all fours like a crazy crab and seems to take her cues from an unseen presence in the shadows.

That's because the girls are haunted by the ghost of a "mad woman" who lost her child as well as her life in those same woods many years before. Mama ? a startlingly grotesque wraith who grows out of a mold spot on the wall, played by Spanish actor Javier Botet from the [REC] movies ? has adopted the abandoned girls, and wants them back. Woe to anyone who stands in her way or shows too much affection for Victoria and Lily. We're looking at a custody battle.

The Muschiettis, with presumed input from executive producer Guillermo del Toro, invest this seemingly routine spooked-children yarn with a bounty of narrative and visual refinements, not least of which is the unaccustomedly dark-haired Chastain's performance as the reluctant stepmom. Annabel's initial annoyed dismissal of the orphans gives way to a tenacious maternal devotion that adds real-world emotion to the fantastic goings-on. On the heels of Chastain's big-screen overexposure in the past year and a half, we were skeptical on seeing her name in the credits, but her acting and the role itself turn out to be unusually fine-grained, better than anything she did in either The Tree of Life or Zero Dark Thirty.

Filmmaker del Toro has always shown a preference for stories of lost children (The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth, and the upcoming Pinocchio), and to the tough-love scenario he and the Muschiettis bring a coat of classic gothic visual splendor ? la Murnau, Dreyer, Lang, and Lewton. The monochromatic night scenes in the forest and on the cliff are enthralling in their light-and-shadow poetry.

Someone needs to go out to that decaying cabin in the dead of night. Annabel is impelled to open that closet door in the dark bedroom where the girls play after midnight, instead of sleeping. Everything in a movie like this depends on the visuals, and when they're as sure-footed as this, the whole nightmare springs to life before our eyes. Parts of Mama are absolutely terrifying. It will take days, and long winter nights, for the tingle of this enthralling fantasy to fade away.

Source: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/mama/Content?oid=3441851

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NRA?s Nugent: Obama ?is an evil dangerous man who hates America and hates freedom? (Americablog)

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Invite People And Go Places With Video Conferencing, Hd Video ...

With the enhancement in technology, no place is too far when it comes for communication. Gone are the days when people used to write letters to each other and used to wait for replies. Emails have shorten the time limit and has further shrinked it to even fraction of a second.

Even people do not have to leave their place of residence to meet people in other places and take strenuous physical journey. The video conferencing, especially HD video communication has made it possible to talk to a person right in your drawing room.

Thanks to the ever developing and ever increasing mobile communication, now your business partner, your investors or the prospective client who is in overseas, is as close to you as if you are sitting in your board room and talking to them.

Technology behind Video Conferencing

The technology of video conferencing is a combination of audio and video, which connects two or more people sitting in two different locations on same platform. They can see each other in real time and can easily communicate. All it needs is a computer system fitted with a web camera, microphone and a speaker. It also need a connection to any communication system, may be a broadband internet connection or direct satellite connection. This lively steams yours content to the other person sitting on the other end of the system.

Profits of HD Video Communication

The HD video communication is the latest in the domain of video communications. HD stands for high definition, which means the direct and live communication carries the video with more clarity and preciseness. This has taken the world of communication with storm, as the video is far clearer than the previous experiences. It also enhances the pleasure of talking to the other person, as the video is clearer and livelier and also increases the time slot of such video callings.

On Email Management System

The email management system is a system, under which the emails received, sent and deleted by the employees of large corporations are captured centrally and are archived. Archiving of emails is very important from the point of view of legal litigations and investigation by any government organization. It also frees space from the email servers, which are otherwise filled with all types of emails from the employees. It also prevents the hacking and theft of important information from these servers, saving the intellect and process of the company.

About the Author:
For more information on video conferencing and HD video communication please visit http://www.qualitas-it.com/our-services/hd-video-communications/hire-facilities.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Invite-People-And-Go-Places-With-Video-Conferencing--Hd-Video-Communication--Email-Management-System/4388963

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National Sports Academy back from the brink

LAKE PLACID - The National Sports Academy, which has trained and educated 18 Olympians in its 35-year history, will remain open for the 2012-13 school year and beyond. That news followed weeks of hard work by parents, faculty and community leaders to overhaul the school's finances and establish a sustainable business plan for the future.

In a statement provided to the Enterprise, school officials said a "successful recapitalization and business plan" was completed earlier this week. The plan will keep the school open this year and into the future, and all academic and athletic programs will remain in place. As part of the restructuring, Academic Dean Kim Dow will take over as acting head of school, and three new faces - Brett West, John Peracchio and Don Simkin - will replace the outgoing Board of Trustees members who agreed to resign as part of the restructuring.

"National Sports Academy is a remarkable school which plays an important role in the town of Lake Placid and holds a distinctive niche among New York State independent schools," Dow said in a prepared statement. "I am very pleased that many talented people worked together to address the financial concerns of the past several months. Our new Board members - Brett West, John Peracchio and Don Simkin - asked me to gratefully acknowledge the time and dedication of the Village of Lake Placid, Mayor Craig Randall, NSA parents and staff - particularly Peter Fish and Bill Ward - at this time."

Article Photos

Lake Placid?s National Sports Academy offers athletic programs in Alpine and freestyle skiing, luge, and boys? and girls? hockey.
(Photo courtesy of Angela Price, NSA)

The Lake Placid-based private school, which was founded as a winter tutorial program for student athletes in 1977, had been struggling with financial difficulties brought on by a poor economy, decreased enrollment, increased financial aid and burdensome debt. The school had also grappled with a leadership transition following the resignation of its headmaster, Jeff Beedy, who replaced co-founder and longtime headmaster David Wenn last spring.

In December, school officials told the Enterprise that net assets decreased by about $170,000 in 2011. Expenses had also outpaced revenues by some $290,000, according to a copy of the school's federal 990 form for 2011, which was accessed on GuideStar, an online database of nonprofit organizations' financial documents.

The hardships led the school to establish a Short Term Support Fund to address cash flow issues. As of Wednesday, $180,000 had been pledged for the fund, and nearly all of that money had been collected. Dow said the school hopes to collect the remaining funds by the end of the week.

"That's an amazing amount of funding for a very small community, and it's mostly been parents and a few alumni and staff contributions through payroll," she said. "And it was parent run and mobilized, which is even better.

"It has also really been a springboard to develop a stronger partnership with our parent body. Our plan right now is to create a parent group so we can continue with that momentum."

NSA is also working on an application to the village of Lake Placid's Revolving Loan Fund. Mayor Craig Randall said the fund has been around for several years but hasn't been tapped into very often. He said it serves two purposes: to help establish new businesses and to retain jobs in the community. NSA currently employs approximately 25 full- and part-time workers.

Randall said NSA approached the village about applying for a loan around Christmas.

"They have to demonstrate an ability to repay it, and there's other conditions that have to be met," he said. "The school is currently in the process of fulfilling all of the application requirements."

The Adirondack Economic Development Corporation will be the underwriting agent for the loan application, Randall said. Once complete, the village Board of Trustees will have to vote to approve it. Randall said it's too soon to say how much the loan will be for, although he expects it to be between $175,000 and $200,000.

"I think the community should know that we're not a lender of last resort, and we're not there just to bail out a troubled business," he said. "The program that we have is designed to fill a gap where otherwise the prospects for success would be there but, for one reason or another, there isn't adequate credit available."

An outside parent investor group also provided significant funding to the school, Dow said.

Dow said she's confident that the new business plan will put the school on a viable financial path for the future.

"We would not have opened our doors if we thought that this was just going to be a Band-Aid solution that was going to get us until the end of the year," she said. "The entire goal going into this, from the very beginning, was that we were going to create a long-term strategic plan that was going to put the school on better footing from a governance perspective, an internal management perspective, and the academic and financial pieces as well. It was never, at any point in the process, just a plan to get our graduating seniors to the end of the year."

"It's not a difficult business model," Peracchio said. "If we get students, the business model works. We are extremely close in coming to an agreement with a program that will help us secure a second girls' hockey team. That will help greatly. And we're considering adding a second boys' team as well."

Dow said recruiting for the second girls' hockey team - for girls under the age of 16 - is under way. The school already has an under-19 team.

Peracchio said he couldn't speak about the specifics of what led to NSA's financial troubles. He said that, moving forward, strict cost controls will be in place.

"Everything is going to be monitored more closely and run more like a business, and I think that's the part that was possibly missing," Peracchio said.

Dow, who joined NSA last July as academic dean, will serve as acting head of school for the foreseeable future - at least through the remainder of the school year. She said there are currently no plans to search for a new headmaster.

"I do believe that we will explore that possibility at an appropriate time," Dow said.

The 18 winter Olympians who have passed through the halls of NSA have competed in the Olympics a total of 31 times.

Vermontville native Bill Demong is one of the school's best-known alumni, having won gold and silver medals in his fourth Olympics, in 2010 in Vancouver, as a Nordic combined skier. He said in a phone interview that he was relieved to hear that the school will remain open.

"Hopefully, it will be a new and better path for them financially in order to be a viable school in the future," Demong said. "They have been such a powerful asset to the community, both as an educational facility but also as a resource for bringing high-level athletes to the community and also for our local athletes in order to fulfill their goals without having to leave the area.

"I think NSA fits a niche as part of the Olympic legacy that no other school really fills, in that it does cater to some of the smaller sports - be it ski jumping, cross-country skiing, biathlon, speedskating or luge - and keeps high-level athletes competing at the Olympic venues in Lake Placid."

Dow said the school community is relieved and energized following the recent uncertainty.

"I think one of the most important things that came out of this entire exercise is the fact that the school, in recent years, didn't have as deep of ties into the local community as it could have," she said. "I feel that we've begun the process of really rekindling the ties that the school really needs to have within the Lake Placid and surrounding community. It's essential for our survival."

Randall said that NSA has demonstrated "significant success" and is an important part of the Lake Placid community. He added that the school employs about 25 local people and that students and their families spend money that helps the local economy.

"There's an economic value to the school," Randall said.

NSA's enrollment is currently 62. A full year's tuition costs $30,740 for a boarding student and $14,340 for a day student, plus additional fees for athletes in specific sports programs. The school serves grade 8 through post-graduate students and currently offers programs in Alpine and freestyle skiing, boys and girls hockey, and luge.

In the past, the school has also catered to athletes competing in Nordic skiing, figure skating and biathlon.

Peracchio lives in New Jersey, and his daughter is a freshman at NSA. West's son is a senior at NSA and competes on the World Cup luge circuit, and Simkin's son is a former NSA student.

Students returned to class on Tuesday following winter break.

---

Contact Chris Morris at 891-2600 ext. 25 or cmorris@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.

Source: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/534946.html

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