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I can hear the collective groan from here. Our floundering Mayor, already on the hunt for someone who can do government, now seeks “input” on how to solve this most pressing of issues: parking.

Most of the groaning comes from people already sick of Amateur Hour at City Hall. But the other half comes from people tired of the conversation about “lack of parking” in Downtown Rochester. It is, after all, demonstrably untrue as indeed Rochester Subway has pointed out many times.

But as a country kid who lived in Rochester for ten years, learning its byways, who then left to start a family, I can actually see where people who complain about parking downtown are coming from. Or rather, I can see that they’re misdiagnosing a real issue. Rochester is a very driveable city, it’s just not a very stoppable one.

Our Drivable Downtown

Main Street is a four lane highway, built to be traversed. Downtown is bookended by the Chestnut St and Plymouth Ave deadzones, where speeds easily top 40 mph. Confused visitors are overtaken by commuters for whom Downtown is an afterthought. If they blink, they’ve overshot their mark. Our poor confused visitor will have to turn around and try again.

And as RocSub notes, who the hell wants to park their car on Plymouth and take their chances walking into Downtown? It’s cold, windy, potentially dangerous (who knows, if you’re not from around here?) and oh, shit! What if you were wrong and have to walk back?

So you can park where you damned-sure don’t want to stop, and you want to stop in places where there really is no apparent place to park. Or you can just leave. And many people choose to just leave. Because there’s “no place to park.”

What, then, is the answer? I don’t recommend more parking downtown and don’t hold much hope for deadzones and parking lot landscape transformation. Part of the solution might be to adopt the same shuttle lines that the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival employs during it’s brief two week stay.

No, I don’t mean the Resurrection of the EZ Rider.

EZ Rider was a lot like many of the big projects under Mayor Johnson: a great idea – maybe even the right idea – but terrible execution. EZ suffered from two principle flaws that the XRIJF shuttles did not: first, that it was one continuous circuit and second that it billed itself as a way to get around to see night life, then shut service down at 11pm.

It was great that one continuous loop of busses went around Rochester if you were waiting for the bus: one would be by in the next twenty minutes or less. But once you were on the bus, you weren’t getting off any time soon, depending on what side of the loop you were on. The Jazz Fest bus routes were split into two separate routes, which meant that you didn’t have to sit on a bus all night long to go home.

I can certainly understand the City not wishing to take on the extra liability of driving drunkards to their cars. But the EZ Rider made a specific claim about being able to go see shows, then shut down at 11pm. That left a whole lot of stranded, confused party-goers in it’s wake. If a Downtown shuttle system was implemented, it wouldn’t need to be associated with night life. The focus would be on daytime park-and-ride access to Downtown for convenience sake.

The key, for both the Jazz Fest shuttles and a hypothetical Downtown Shuttle, is focusing on transferring people from large parking locations into a few key locations in our very small Downtown.

Yeah, but who’s paying for it?

I don’t begin to know what it would cost to setup a shuttle service – either through RGRTA or some other means – in Downtown Rochester. If you told me “a lot,” I’d probably take your word for it.

Whatever the cost, it has to be compared against other options, all of which will have their own price tags. And unlike other options, you might be able to recoup some if not all of the cost with a modest rider fee. Would people pay a few bucks to go Downtown? As someone who has done quite a few baffled laps around the Inner Loop in his teens, I think it would be worth a few cents to avoid the hassle.

If not a shuttle, what would those other solutions be?

Better signage for downtown parking would be a good idea. But we’ve had color-coded signs Downtown for decades.

New parking is just a non-starter. The last thing we need is more holes in the skyline, such as it is.

I can almost guarantee that a new solution that involves a lot of expensive construction is waiting in the wings. But costly new contracts and years of disruption are probably not any more cost-effective over ten years than a park-and-ride shuttle service.

One extra advantage for the entire community would be concentrating parking at the edges of Downtown and eliminating a lot of the side street parking congestion. Another would be relieving the driving congestion. Once again, visitors can concentrate on their destination, not the cars.

We can muster forth any number of solutions, and all of them may have some merit. In fact, many of them may have more merit in combination than a One-Size-Fits-All solution. But until such time as some declarative vision comes out of the Mayor’s Office – a blight therein for which Mayor Lovely Warren is far from the only culprit – we’ll likely just have a brief and animated discussion on social and nothing more.

Whatever the solution if there is to be any, my hope is that we can make small steps that add up to a large accomplishment. Our City has too often fallen victim to a dichotomy of “Big Thinkers” and “Penny Pinchers,” where someone dreams up something bat-shit crazy only to be chipped away at by the eternally pessimistic.

To be clear, there is as yet no evidence of criminal activity in the PAETEC / Windstream deal. Which is not surprising. There is also nothing in the deal which, in terms of gross corporate governance, violates any maxim of ethics. Also not surprising.

But is that and should that be the limit of our concern? The Rochester Business Journal seems to think so:

After Paetec, Rochester Business Journal:

But either way, the first obligation of Paetec’s board is to its shareholders. Anyone who thinks otherwise has forgotten that Paetec is publicly held-and has not been paying attention to what Mr. Chesonis has said a number of times since 2007.

This same basic idea is echoed, ad nauseum, by Rochester’s own Corporate Council Mayor Tom Richards. But is that and should that be the limit of our concern? I’ve made the point in the past that getting indignant about the situation isn’t going to make it any better. But somewhere between screeching about Bob Duffy needing to get involved and the bland corporate boilerplate response is what is probably a better position for the leader of a city about to lose its shirt. Again.

No, there may in fact be nothing wrong here, in terms of the rules of the game that lawyers and judges have setup for lo this many centuries. But this is somebody’s home. This is Rochester. And if Midtown wasn’t what we remember its former glory to be, prior to being knocked down, it is still our pride and the center of the town we call our home… even if we’re really from East Rochester or Gates. Business is not just business for us.

We do not need to be told that we lost fair and square. We don’t need “funeral chatter” about how Midtown “isn’t suffering anymore” or “has gone to a better place” or that the result was always a risk with such a tricky procedure. We need someone to stand up with an ounce of pride and, without groveling and insisting “we’ll do all we can to keep them here,” get in the game and find out what it takes to make the sale. Are we really going to beg a company from fucking Arkansas to stay in New York State? Is that the level of pride we’ve been reduced to? Because our leadership can’t come up with anything better?

And lets be fair: I’m not talking to Mayor Richards myself. I’m not a journalist; I’m not interviewing him or watching him be interviewed or editing interview film. I have no first-hand knowledge of how he feels about anything. Perhaps the news media, in its panic to cover such a big story, is missing the nuance of the Mayor’s position. Maybe the effervescent positivity corporate lawyers are so famous for isn’t coming through.

But then, the news media is hardly anyone’s only outlet, is it? Pretty sure that, even in these hard economic times, Blogger accounts are free.

Rachel Barnhart discusses the “Headquarters Curse,” as it applies to Paetec’s recent dismal reporting.  As yes, just what we need: yet another thing we have going for us in Rochester.  I’ll be honest: the thought occurred to me as well.  I mean, seriously, what does the Paetec plummet mean for their downtown headquarters and will people still be able to get cheap smokes there in the meanwhile?  She misses a big one in the pantheon of failed enterprises in downtown, which is Frontier / Global Crossing.

If this sticks, we should probably just focus on exporting serial killers. . .


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Close-up TV News - Prolotheray lecture

Reversing Hypertension

Heavy Metals and all diseases

Close-Up TV News - Dr. Calapai's approach

News 12 Interview: Parkinson’s Disease, Glutathione and Chelation Therapy

News 12 Interview: Platelet-rich plasma therapy

Prolotherapy Interview News 12

News 12 Interview: Diabetes and Weight Loss
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Treatment for Ischemic Heart Disease in Patients with No Option of Revascularization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To evaluate bone marrow stem cell treatment (BMSC) in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and no option of revascularization.

Autologous BMSC therapy has emerged as a novel approach to treat patients with acute myocardial infarction or chronic ischemia and heart failure following percutaneous or surgical revascularization, respectively. However, the effect of the treatment has not been systematic evaluated in patients who are not eligible for revascularization.

MEDLINE (1950–2012), EMBASE (1980–2012), CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 8) and ongoing trial databases were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials. Trials where participants were diagnosed with IHD, with no option for revascularization and who received any dose of stem cells by any delivery route were selected for inclusion. Study and participant characteristics, details of the intervention and comparator, and outcomes measured were recorded by two reviewers independently. Primary outcome measures were defined as mortality and measures of angina; secondary outcomes were heart failure, quality of life measures, exercise/performance and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Nine trials were eligible for inclusion. BMSC treatment significantly reduced the risk of mortality (Relative Risk 0.33; 95% Confidence Interval 0.17 to 0.65; P = 0.001). Patients who received BMSC showed a significantly greater improvement in CCS angina class (Mean Difference −0.55; 95% Confidence Interval −1.00 to −0.10; P = 0.02) and significantly fewer angina episodes per week at the end of the trial (Mean Difference −5.21; 95% Confidence Interval −7.35 to −3.07; P<0.00001) than those who received no BMSC. In addition, the treatment significantly improved quality of life, exercise/performance and LVEF in these patients. Conclusions

BMSC treatment has significant clinical benefit as stand-alone treatment in patients with IHD and no other treatment option. These results require confirmation in large well-powered trials with long-term follow-up to fully evaluate the clinical efficacy of this treatment.

Published on 02-27-2017
Authors: Sheila A. Fisher, Carolyn Dorée, Susan J. Brunskill, Anthony Mathur, Enca Martin-Rendon

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

A Witchhunt on Homeopathy

Attacks on Homeopathy

Ever since it inception in 1810, homeopathic medicine has endured periods where it has been ridiculed, insulted and generally lambasted. Such periods tend to alternate with times in which it enjoys widespread support. At the moment it is enduring a sustained attack in the media generally supported by eminent scientists whose rhetoric treats homeopathy’s practitioners and supporters with total contempt. The question that needs to be asked is:Why is this happening now?

Determinism, Mechanism, Dawkins and God

This is no place to have a discussion about philosophy of science. Suffice to say that we (in the West) live in a time of determinism, mechanistic thinking and naïve realism in which anything intangible or occult, those things that cannot be touched or seen, are said not to exist. Those who believe in such phenomena are fair game for attack. Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion is one of the attackers. What is remarkable about Dawkins is simply why he thinks he is saying anything new. Believers in things that cannot be grasped by the senses have always been attacked – at least going back to the Enlightenment. Having pronounced his judgment on God, Dawkins goes on to attack homeopathy. As a homeopathic physician, all I can say is that at least we are in good company!

The Enlightenment and its Critics

In my view the Enlightenment was enlightening but not that enlightening. Criticism of many aspects of it appears in many parts of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. People like Dawkins would have found themselves satirically attacked by Swift. Alas we have no Swift today, no John Kennedy Toole, no Bill Hicks and particularly no Lenny Bruce to say that everywhere ‘people are leaving the temples and returning to God’.

The Professors that hit below the belt

So in this time of naïve realism, a gang of mainly retired doctors have decided to mount a new form of attack on homeopathy. In a letter to Patient Care Trusts (PCTs) they pompously dismissed homeopathy and urged all PCTs to prevent GPs in their areas from referring patients to medical qualified homeopathic doctors working at NHS homeopathic hospitals. In other words they urged bureaucratic non-doctors in positions of power to prevent doctors referring patients to other doctors! This is the pernicious point that none of the media coverage picked up on. Baum, Ernst, Tallis and fellow enlightened luminaries are entitled to their opinion. They are entitled to form an organisation to perpetrate their view. But in my opinion to seek to influence non-medical bureaucracy to prevent doctors referring patients to other doctors is a cynical, pernicious and underhand exploitation of one of the worst aspects of the ‘nanny state.’ This position taken by these eminent professors generated a media storm in which newspapers such as The Guardian (in particular articles by the ranting radical rationalist, Ben Goldacre) seemed to delight in giving space to. But why do I use the word pernicious? Because there was an honourable course of action that could have been taken by these professorial doctors and scientists that would have been more academically honest. They could have written to every GP in the country and exhorted them not to support homeopathy in any way. The could have written a joint article in the British Medical Journal or any journal read by doctors with the same message. But I think they feared that doctors would still ‘irrationally’ support homeopathy by sending patients to other homeopathic doctors. So they had to go above the heads of GPs and try to win the battle at a bureaucratic level instead. This in my view was underhand and pernicious and nobody seems to have picked up on this.

The Truth about Homeopathy and NHS Homeopathic Hospitals

The simple fact is that since 1948 when homeopathic hospitals in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Tonbridge Wells and Bristol chose to become part of the NHS, hundreds of thousands of patients have been help by going to those hospitals. Many of these patients are ‘difficult cases’ that have not been able to be helped by conventional medicine. How exactly they were helped may or may not be a moot point, but to claim as the government ‘advisor’ Sir David King claimed that homeopathy was of no medical use whatsoever and that it even put lives at risk. Such a comment of complete balderdash is unworthy of a knight, never mind a top scientist. Even homeopathy’s worst enemies do not claim that it is completely ineffective. They claim that it works by the placebo effect or suggestion, that homeopathic doctors get results because of their superior bedside manner or that they give patients more time. Why non-homeopathic doctors are unable to get similar results simply by ‘talking to patients’ remains a mystery. And if they say they haven’t got time to talk to patients and help them get better by doing so – then this is a tragedy for both patients and doctors. Analyses of trials of homeopathic medicines remain controversial. My personal opinion is that most meta-analyses show that homeopathic medicines do work over and above the placebo effect but nobody can doubt that patients benefit from seeing homeopathic doctors.

A significant minority of taxpayers want homeopathy to be available on the NHS. Over 200 MPs have signed an early day motion on their behalf. But the witchhunt continues. Let us hope that good old British common sense prevails here and homeopathy remains available on the NHS for those who want it. Patients who feel better after receiving homeopathic treatment are like any other patients who feel better after medical attention. Whether Sir David King or any of the enlightened professors who wrote to every PCT in the country understand exactly how these patients got better is simply not the point.

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Homeopathy on Trial: The Debate and The Letter

On Monday night, the 20th October 2008, I will attend a debate at University College London at 7.00 pm. The motion is: 'This House believes homeopathy should not be available on the NHS’ The debate is free and open to all and this is how you get there.

Speaking against the motion: Dr Peter Fisher - doctor, specialist physician,chief consultant at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and homeopathic physician to the Royal Family.

Speaking for the motion: Simon Singh - author, journalist and TV producer

But fear not for the intrepid Singh! It is he who has home ground advantage for UCL is the spiritual home (okay really sorry to use that word to describe disciples of Scientism - but you know what I mean) of four of the authors of a famous/notorious letter attacking the provision of homeopathy on the NHS, Professor David Colquhoun, Professor Lewis Wolpert, Professor Michael Baum and Professor Peter Dawson.

I have referred to this letter before in these pages and accused it of trying to thwart the wishes of Britain's GPs. Homeopathy is only available on the NHS if your GP refers you to an NHS homeopathic clinic. But Coquhoun, Wolpert, Baum, Ernst and co. (see below) did not address this letter to GPs; they wrote to Patient Care Trusts (PCTs) essentially appealing to them to prevent GPs in their areas from sending patients to NHS hospitals. Although some would describe such an action as patronising and condescending to GPs, they were quite successful with some PCTs banning GPs from referring patients for homeopathy! GPs are quite at liberty to send patients for all sorts of unproved orthodox interventions of course. Anyone reading these notes knows that huge swathes of conventional medicine are far from being evidence based. I've used a pie from the BMJ's Handbook of Clinical Medicine many times to illustrate this.

Their letter was an open one so I thought it opportune to re-publish it here and annotate it.

We are a group of physicians and scientists who are concerned about ways in which unproven or disproved treatments are being encouraged for general use in the NHS. We would ask you to review practices in your own trust, and to join us in representing our concerns to the Department of Health because we want patients to benefit from the best treatments available.

As a physician myself, I wholeheartedly concur with this opening statement. We need to have a way of accurately assessing whether a treatment is proven or unproven. May I suggest this immaculately constructed diagram that appears in the British Medical Journal’s Handbook of Clinical Evidence as a guide to making such assessments.

This will enable us to categorize any form of medical intervention in terms of how well it has been proven. I feel confident that learned physicians such as yourselves will agree that assessing any intervention ‘alternative’ or ‘orthodox’ needs just such an objective assessment of its proven efficacy.

There are two particular developments to which we would like to draw your attention. First, there is now overt promotion of homeopathy in parts of the NHS (including the NHS Direct website). It is an implausible treatment for which over a dozen systematic reviews have failed to produce convincing evidence of effectiveness. Despite this, a recently-published patient guide, promoting use of homeopathy without making the lack of proven efficacy clear to patients, is being made available through government funding. Further suggestions about benefits of homeopathy in the treatment of asthma have been made in the ‘Smallwood Report’ and in another publication by the Department of Health designed to give primary care groups “a basic source of reference on complementary and alternative therapies.” A Cochrane review of all relevant studies, however, failed to confirm any benefits for asthma treatment.

Fellow physicians, I do not think it becoming of us to focus on or attack any one form of intervention in isolation as this may invite criticisms of inherent bias. It is incumbent upon us to agree on standards of proven efficacy and then objectively rate each intervention. The BMJ’s pie cited above, could be used until the appearance of a better objective methodology of assessment. May I respectfully suggest that our opinions (necessarily subjective) of what is ‘implausible’ are somewhat less important than objective assessment.

Secondly, as you may know, there has been a concerted campaign to promote complementary and alternative medicine as a component of healthcare provision. Treatments covered by this definition include some which have not been tested as pharmaceutical products, but which are known to cause adverse effects, and others that have no demonstrable benefits. While medical practice must remain open to new discoveries for which there is convincing evidence, including any branded as ‘alternative’, it would be highly irresponsible to embrace any medicine as though it were a matter of principle.

I absolutely agree that adverse effects of any medical intervention are a major concern for us all. Thus surely any form of treatment that is included in the repertoire of NHS doctors should not only be given its rightful place in the pie diagram but also be included in another diagram constructed to show all documented risks and side effects. In this way physicians and patients will be able to make accurate efficacy versus risk assessments on any treatment in any condition. Obviously the same criteria should be used objectively for all forms of interventions otherwise we risk being seen as biased in favour of treatments that we subjectively consider ‘plausible’.

At a time when the NHS is under intense pressure, patients, the public and the NHS are best served by using the available funds for treatments that are based on solid evidence. Furthermore, as someone in a position of accountability for resource distribution, you will be familiar with just how publicly emotive the decisions concerning which therapies to provide under the NHS can be; our ability to explain and justify to patients the selection of treatments, and to account for expenditure on them more widely, is compromised if we abandon our reference to evidence. We are sensitive to the needs of patients for complementary care to enhance well-being and for spiritual support to deal with the fear of death at a time of critical illness, all of which can be supported through services already available within the NHS without resorting to false claims.

I agree that funds should only be automatically available for treatments based on ‘solid evidence’. I take it that you would agree that only the sector of the BMJ’s pie representing the 13% of orthodox interventions that have been proved to be beneficial, qualify for automatic funding by the NHS. It is vital that funding for anything lying outside this segment be decided by objective assessment on a level playing field and not ‘plausibility’ which is highly subjective. Some may suggest that the medically uneducated general public should have a say about which – if any – of the treatments (both orthodox and alternative that do not have ‘solid evidence’ behind them) should be funded by their taxes. This would be consistent with the current zeitgeist where the people are promised ‘choice’ in their lives. So perhaps we could have a ‘People’s Choice’ segment of the pie representing funding. Or perhaps the power of decision should always remain with physicians who are better qualified to speak about the health and taxes of the people than they are themselves.

May I also respectfully suggest that the term ‘spiritual support’ is unbecoming of gentlemen of your standing in the medico-scientific community, has none of Popper’s falsifiability and therefore should be considered somewhat less than scientific. Therefore it is my humble opinion that it should not be used in discussions of this kind. Even if (in a bad case scenario for medical science), ‘spiritual support’ was shown to be evidence based medicine, surely we physicians are at least as capable of administering it as uneducated ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ practitioners?

These are not trivial matters. We urge you to take an early opportunity to review practice in your own trust with a view to ensuring that patients do not receive misleading information about the effectiveness of alternative medicines. We would also ask you to write to the Department of Health requesting evidence-based information for trusts and for patients with respect to alternative medicine.

Gentlemen physicians, I could not agree more that these matters are not trivial. But may I respectfully request more respect for our colleagues on the coalface of primary medical care – our NHS general practitioners. I accept that until we have constructed a new pie showing which treatments not in the crucial 13% segment of the BMJ pie, should be funded for various reasons such as patient demand (however irrational that can be at times) we leave such decisions to our hardworking GPs and not to non-medically qualified people in administration who may not find it easy to make objective assessments about complicated but profound medical issues. In addition our noblest efforts on behalf of the public risk being seen as patronizing and condescending by our tireless GPs who will soon be consulting on weekends.

Primum non nocere.

Your colleague,
Dr Brian Kaplan

Finally for the record, these are the doctors that signed the open letter to Patient Care Trusts (PCTs - which comprise mainly non-medical people) in order to persuaded them to thwart GPs in their areas from referring patients to NHS homeopathic physicians.

Yours sincerely

* Professor Michael Baum, Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University College London
* Professor Frances Ashcroft FRS, University Laboratory of Physiology, Oxford
* Professor Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology, Queen Mary, London
* Professor Gustav Born FRS, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, Kings College London
* Professor Sir James Black FRS, Kings College London
* Professor David Colquhoun FRS, University College London
* Professor Peter Dawson. Clinical Director of Imaging, University College London
* Professor Edzard Ernst, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter
* Professor John Garrow, Emeritus Professor of Human Nutrition, London
* Professor Sir Keith Peters FRS, President, The Academy of Medical Sciences
* Mr Leslie Rose, Consultant Clinical Scientist
* Professor Raymond Tallis, Emeritus Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Manchester
* Professor Lewis Wolpert CBE FRS. University College London

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01 DEC 2016

Community Healthcare in Paignton

Kevin Foster MP and I joined a meeting to discuss whether any other proposals could be explored to improve community healthcare in Paignton. The public consultation on the future of community services, including the proposal to close Paignton Community Hospital has now closed and the responses are being analysed by Healthwatch.

No decisions have been made and at the start of the meeting we both repeated our previously stated concerns about the future of services provided by Paignton Hospital. The meeting was held with representatives from across commissioners and providers of healthcare, the League of Friends, local GPs, Torbay Development Agency, Healthwatch and South Devon College to discuss the current and future challenges for primary and community care. The recent Care Quality Commission report and action to place Mears into special measures has highlighted the need to focus on recruiting, training and nurturing our health and care workforce and to make sure that all possible sites and opportunities are explored and considered.

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SPA Soccer

Availability: Available for immediate download to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad!

Price: $1.99

Product Details

Category: Sports
Updated: Jun 29, 2011
Version: 1.00
Size: 2.0 MB
Language: English
© 2011 Advanced Human Performance Systems

Product Description

Do you want to take your soccer game to the NEXT level?

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What you get with the Sport Performance Assessment - Soccer (SPA-Soccer):

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Showing posts with label WO 2013138200. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WO 2013138200. Show all posts

Monday, 15 December 2014

Green chemistry synthesis of the malaria drug amodiaquine and analogs thereof WO 2013138200 A1

An exemplary method for producing amodiaquine is:
Figure imgf000006_0001
[0013] In an aspect, analogs can be suitably prepared, such as by using a different secondary diamine. For example, an exemplary di-alkyl analog of amodiquine is a di- isopropyl analog that can be prepared using di-isopropyl amine instead of di-ethylamine, and such di-isopropyl analog is represented by the formula:
Figure imgf000007_0001
[0014] A di-aryl substituted analog can be prepared in a similar fashion using an aryl- substituted secondary amine instead of a secondary di-alkylamine. An exemplary di-aryl analog of amodiquine can be prepared using a di-aryl amine, such as diphenyl amine instead of diethylamine, and such diphenyl analog is represented by the formula:
Figure imgf000007_0002
It will be appreciated that different alkyl-substituted or aryl-substituted analogs of amodiaquine can be prepared by selecting a suitable secondary amine.
[0015] Another illustrative synthesis involves using a 3-aminophenol. For example, such a synthesis can be illustrated as follows:
Figure imgf000008_0001
1. Acetic acid, reflux, 3 h
2. CH20, iPr2NH, acetic acid, 14 h
Figure imgf000008_0002
[0016] In a similar fashion, an analog having a di-aryl phenyl group is obtainable as follows:
Figure imgf000009_0001
Figure imgf000009_0002
[0017] In one of its aspects, an illustrative one-pot synthesis is described in Example 3.
[0018] In one of its aspects a method described herein advantageously utilizes a one- pot process for preparing a compound, or its pharmaceutical salts, and preferably the compound is represented by the formula:
Figure imgf000010_0001

[0074] To a mixture of 4-aminophenol (11.4 grams, 0.104 mol) and 4,7- dichloroquinoline (19.8 grams, 0.10 mol), acetic acid was added (60 ml, 3.0 volumes w/v relative to 4,7-dichloroquinoline) with stirring at room temperature and the resulting mixture was heated with stirring at 110°C for about one hour. The mixture was cooled to 20°C and formaldehyde (14.06 grams of a 32% aqueous solution, 0.150 mol, 1.5 mol eq) and diethylamine (10.95 grams, 0.150 mol, 1.5 mol eq were sequentially added to the same reaction vessel). The reaction mixture was then heated and reaction occurred at 50°C for four hours. The mixture was cooled in an ice water bath and 22 mL of 37% aqueous hydrochloric acid solution (containing 0.264 mol of HC1) was added at a rate so that the internal temperature did not exceed 40°C. Stirring was continued for an additional 2 hours to complete the precipitation of the desired product as yellow crystals The precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and dried at room temperature to a constant weight to obtain 42.7 grams of amodiaquine dihydrochloride dihydrate (92% yield) in a purity of greater than 99% as determined by HPLC analysis. [0075]

WO2011073322A1 *Dec 16, 2010Jun 23, 2011Institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale (Inserm)7-chloro-quinolin-4-amine compounds and uses thereof for the prevention or treatment of diseases involving formation of amyloid plaques and/or where a dysfunction of the app metabolism occurs
US3855286 *Sep 27, 1972Dec 17, 1974Ciba Geigy CorpN-carboxymethyl-n-(2-hydroxybenzyl) aspartic acid and derivatives thereof

1*DELARUE-COCHIN ET AL.: 'Synthesis and antimalarial activity of new analogues of amodiaquine' EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, [Online] vol. 43, 2008, pages 252 - 260 Retrieved from the Internet: <> [retrieved on 2013-05-07]
GUO ET AL.: 'Chiral Bronsted Acid-Catalyzed Direct Asymmetric Mannich Reaction' J. AM. CHEM. SOC., [Online] vol. 129, 2007, pages 3790 - 3791 Retrieved from the Internet: <URL:> [retrieved on 2013-05-07]

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Berinert and Breastfeeding

The manufacturer of Berinert recommends that breastfeeding women should only receive this drug if it is clearly needed. It is currently unknown whether the medication would pass through breast milk. Because every woman's situation is different, talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of using this drug while breastfeeding.

Can Breastfeeding Women Use Berinert?

Berinert® (C1 esterase inhibitor) is a prescription medication used in the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE), a genetic condition that can cause sudden episodes of swelling in the body. Berinert is approved to treat these sudden swelling attacks when they occur. It is not known whether the drug passes through breast milk.

More Information on Berinert and Breastfeeding

Berinert has not been adequately studied in breastfeeding women. Therefore, it is not known whether the drug passes through breast milk or if it would harm a nursing child.

There are reported cases of breastfeeding women using the drug as needed to treat hereditary angioedema attacks. In these cases, no side effects were reported in the nursing infants.
Based on the properties of the drug, it is not expected to pass through breast milk in large amounts. In addition, any of the medication found in breast milk would likely be destroyed in an infant's stomach or intestines, and not absorbed into the infant's bloodstream.
The manufacturer recommends Berinert only be used in breastfeeding women if clearly needed. However, some experts consider C1 esterase inhibitors the medications of choice for treating and preventing hereditary angioedema attacks in women who are nursing.
If your healthcare provider recommends Berinert treatment while you are breastfeeding, make sure to watch for any possible side effects in your nursing child after you receive a dose. Potential side effects may include but are not limited to:
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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Food Prices (1980)

(1980) Dry Bones cartoon: Food Prices - tomatoes and strawberries.
Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 30 years ago in 1980.

Israel is a small country surrounded by markets that boycott our products and that won't sell us theirs. We are largely tied to the seasonal harvests in our own country as to what's in our vegetable shops and on sale in our open air markets. Thirty years ago we had a strawberry crisis.

Which was the reason for today's Golden Oldie.

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Chapter 23: Image Formation & Display

Images are a description of how a parameter varies over a surface. For example, standard visual images result from light intensity variations across a two-dimensional plane. However, light is not the only parameter used in scientific imaging. For example, an image can be formed of the temperature of an integrated circuit, blood velocity in a patient's artery, x-ray emission from a distant galaxy, ground motion during an earthquake, etc. These exotic images are usually converted into conventional pictures (i.e., light images), so that they can be evaluated by the human eye. This first chapter on image processing describes how digital images are formed and presented to human observers.


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Sunday 2nd September Phizz Fest

Sunday 2nd September Dublin Sketchers are going to dawdle around the Phizz Fest up in Phibsboro. Website is We'll meet at 2pm outside The Brian Boru pub and meet back there at 4pm for a drink and to check out each other's sketch books. There's loads of activity around the area and boats larking about on the Royal Canal.

If you've not been before, you'll spot a bunch of friendly looking folks holding sketch pads - stroll up and say hi... If you're a bit late, sure, don't worry, it's Sunday afternoon and we're all a bit late! Get stuck in with the drawing and meet at 4pm in the Brian Boru!

Sketches from Tall Ships Festival on Sunday 26th August 2012

Note:   Click on image to start slideshow!

By John C.

By Alex

By Catherine

By Jennifer S.

By Keith

Sketch 1 - By Colette

Sketch 2 - By Colette

Sketch 1 - By Des

Sketch 2 - By Des

By Maura

Sketch 1 - By Jasmine

Sketch 2 - By Jasmine

Sketch 1 - By Patricia

Sketch 2 - By Patricia

By Marta Sastre

By Maria Bonals

Sunday 26th Aug Tall Ships Festival

On Sunday 26th August the Dublin Sketchers are going to play at being pirates at the Tall Ships Festival. Plenty of activity and a party atmosphere to capture on paper, and only a 10% chance of rain! is the place to look for info.

If you're an early bird, there's a farewell parade of the ships along the Liffey from 11am - 2pm. The focus then shifts to Grand Canal Dock.

We'll meet at 2pm in front of the Bord Gais Energy Theatre (Grand Canal Theatre). We'll meet again at 4pm at The Ocean Bar for a coffee . Their website is

A couple of people each week kindly photograph everyone's work to put on the blog. Please help them out by PUTTING YOUR NAME on your sketch book or on EACH sketch you do! If you have a camera and want to help out with snapping people's work just step forward on a Sunday, or email to find out more.

Sunday 19th August - Greystones

John Conway

John Conway - 2 scenes in one!

Stephen Cavanagh

Anne - Beach Hotel

Who is this delightful boat by ?
And like wise who did this one of the people looking at the  harbour ?

John Kenny

Harbour by ?

Thanks to Elena for last week's idea to go the market in Newmarket.

This Sunday 19th August, we've been enticed to Greystones by John Kenny.

We will meet at Greystones dart Station entrance at 2pm and head out from there. It's the first time the Sketchers have been to Greystones, so come prepared for artistic adventure!

There's a harbour area and at the moment there is an Art and Photography exhibition. We will meet at 4pm at the Beach Hotel beside the harbour for coffee and chat.

According to the Dart Timetable there's a train leaving Pearse Street station at 12:57
which arrives at Greystones at 13:4. A later train leaves Pearse Street at 13:34 arriving at 14:25.

If you've not been before we'll be the people brandishing sketchpads at Greystones Dart Station at 2pm. If you are late just get sketching and find us at 4pm at the Beach Hotel.

Some pics from Wexford Plein Eire

 There were a decent number of Sketchers at the 2012 Art in the Open festival. As usual the Plein Eire South east crowd made us all very welcome. Thanks Kevin,Tony, Karen and Neill.

Edit: A few shots from me also (Tracy) - had a brill week and would recommend it to you all :-)

Sunday 12th August - Culture Market at Dublin Food Co-op, Newmarket

Chatty Woman by ?

Dee Daly

Florist by ?

Hi all,

This week we will be sketching painting at the  Fusion Sundays World Culture Market at Dublin Food Co-op, Newmarket

The CO-OP,
12 Newmarket,
Dublin 8.

Meet up at the entrance to the market at 2pm.

If it people want to draw outdoors weather permitting there is an alternative in the little park behind St.Catherine's Church on Thomas Street near to Arthur's pub. We can then meet for coffee at the Ferocious Mingle Market at 4pm for coffee.

If you are new to sketchers just show up with you sketchpads and get drawing and keep an eye out for other sketchers.

Dublin Sketchers

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Those damned Hobbies

What's Mallard raving about today?

Yeah, wasn't funny yesterday. Adding a whole bunch more words doesn't make the exact same "joke" funnier.

Leave the restaurant, Mallard. Problem solved.

dlauthor said...

Next up, Tinshley takes on the dastardly menace of ethnic food. It's not even made by white people! SOME OF THEM ARE BROWN! AND SPEAK SPANISH!

wv: one of the words was Gaia. I'm hoping that the presence such a crunchy-commie-librul word near his work made Tinshley break out in a rash without knowing why.

CW in LA said...

Looks like this week's hobby horse is the self-proclaimed anti-elitist reverse-snobbery typified by the Gorilla from Wasilla, that if Walmart, Taco Bell, and reality TV aren't your most favoritest things, you're not a Rill Amurkin.

At least this one apparently spares us the Duck Crotch.

Frank Stone said...

What's funny is that this is precisely the kind of high-minded, fancy-pants dining establishment where one would expect to find Mallard/Brucie's multimillionaire heroes Rush or Sean, topping off their delicately exquisite gourmet meals with insanely expensive bottles of wine.

I guess you're only really a snooty elitist foodie if you're a dirty librul, huh, Mallard?

rewinn said...

If this "comic" was something happening in reality, the waiter would be making a pretty decent joke, and the appropriate response would be a snicker from the diner.

But duck just does not get it. Is he stupid, or suffering from depression?

Bill the Splut said...

Just hours ago I was in a local restaurant and had a bison burger with aioli. I guess all we fancy-pants elitists drive Honda Fits and are lower-middle-class managers in liquor stores, huh Bruce?

My complaint here: the waiter did not have a clipboard. In fact, I have never in my life been in a restaurant where the waitstaff carried clipboards. And worse, this is the third time this week there has been a clipboard! (Check out Sunday's strip) WHERE IS OUR MOST BELOVED MALLARD CHARACTER OF ALL, "SHEAF OF PAPERS," BRUCE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SHEAF?!

Sorry about that. Bruce stopped reading at the word "liquor" anyway.

rewinn said...

This just occurred to me: the duck is in a restaurant that serves patrons who aren't wearing pants.

The waiter is male.

Now, there's nothing WRONG with this, but it's kinda raw for the newspapers, isn't it?

Or are there any print newspapers still printing this thing? The Seattle PI went out of print years ago - it's just a website now and, frankly, "publishing" something like this on a website is just setting up a data feed.

DiR said...

Mike: Say, Crow, do you ever consider a fantasy where you're happy and successful?

Crow: Naw, I like the 'Debbie' one better, Mike.


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No. 30 (2000): Flexible Equality: Men and Women in Employment in Japan

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Changes in the structure and regulation of employment in Japan differentially impact men and women. The labor force participation of Japanese women is increasing, but women's employment is concentrated in relatively deregulated and flexible forms of non-standard and precarious employment. Women and men have relatively equal levels of unemployment at present, but the flexibility which characterizes part-time and temporary work lands women into the ranks of the unemployed throughout their life course, while men are more likely to experience unemployment at the entry and exit points to the labor market. Unemployment measures are directed mainly at alleviating the sources of male unemployment. Employment deregulation in Japan embodies varying degrees of re-regulation depending on the gender composition of work types. Part-time work is undertaken primarily by women, and remains relatively deregulated and unprotected. Temporary work regulations vary according to whether the occupations are typically performed by women (deregulated temporary work) or men (tightly regulated temporary work). Working hours have been deregulated for both men and women, but coupled with the deregulation of temporary work in female-dominated occupations, the change poses a greater disadvantage for women. The recent reform of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in Japan, while responding in part to social demands for strengthening the regulation of equality, remains unenforceable. The analysis concludes that rather than more equality in employment, recent Japanese developments point to the institutional embedding of a gender segmented labor market, with men continuing in relatively protected and regulated standard employment and women relegated to flexible and deregulated employment.
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30-Day Poetry: 13

Day 13—Write a short poem that a child would like.

A short poem that a child would like

How does anyone know “what a child would like”?
For what child am I writing this poem?
Alice Liddell, the Gashlycrumb Tinies, or
Kevin McCallister?

I don’t think
that people—that is, adults—
really know what children like.
I didn’t like being a child myself

so why in hell would I want to
force that upon someone else
or tell the people who are still
children what they like or not?

Prompts here

Thanks for rating this! Now tell the world how you feel - .
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dutcheez’s diary

Visitors to Japan #1 -- Your Journey in Japan Begins Like This / At the airport

Having almost no chance to speak and write English in my daily life, my willingness to train that "forgotten skill" has overwhelmed, so I took a chance to write an article in English. Please allow me if the sentences are poorly delivered. I know this writing experience will lead me somewhere. I just need to keep on trying to write in English every possible day....

Topic today:

Your Journey in Japan Begins Like This

-At the airport

If you are a Japanese person who are reading this, pretend you are a non-Japanese citizen who landed in Japan for the first time. Your pretending experience has to make your English guidances more friendly and efficient.

If you are somebody from outside Japan, the country welcomes you... like this. A sort of a pre-visiting experience is given here.

You (and your group) have landed at an airport in Japan.

Once outside the plane, you feel the humidity and the heat.

You went through passport control and customs and then claimed your baggage.

Look.... the caroussels are wavy to make it space efficient!  (Not at all airports)

See for yourself, mostly the luggage are lined up in the same direction; not randomly placed. How Japanese! Everything needs to be perfectly neat in this country.

Getting past a whole lot of people at the arrival floor of the terminal.... but nobody welcomes you. You get to the point where most travelers feel "Oh I came to another country," a feeling you might have been missing for over a long period of time.

You might be feeling sleepy / dizzy because of the jet lag. Suddenly some regret arises... for not having enough sleep during flight.

Your top priority for the first day in Japan?

1・Be Stuffed. Get proper food for you and your group.

2・Get a Good Sleep. Get to the hotel safely.

Airport should be the first place you look for varieties of food choices.... at any country, I guess.

OH! There's McDonald's! Problem one solved!

YES, there are McDonald's restaurants in Japan, along with Burger King, Subway, and Wendy's; Denny's, and COCO's just like in the other Americanized countries, but...

NO, credit card is not accepted as a method of payment in most fast food-style restaurants. Be sure to have CASH: Japanese Yen before getting into any of the restaurants. Restaurants with waiters/waitresses mostly accept credit cards.

If you pay with one of these...

you may expect a puzzled look on their faces. The 2000-yen note was issued in the year 2000 in order to make the "2" notation popular, but as far as I know, these are hidden in banks in- and outside of Japan.... A lady who sat next to me on a plane to Japan had a lot of these, saying that her local bank in Nevada handed her these in exchange to dollars.

Some smart vending machines for train tickets and meal tickets do accept 2000 yen bills, though. Compared to these vending machines in New York City,

that can only give up to $9 in change, you have to say these ticket vendors in Japan are really smart. (Again, credit cards are not accepted except for certain vendors for long-distance trains)

Feed them any bill that is noted on the machine: a ¥1,000, a ¥5,000, or even a ¥10,000, your correct change are given in notes and coins right away.

If you think you want to try Japanese food, Japanese hamburgers should not be your first choice. Typical airport restaurants should have a variety of these cuisines:

f:id:dutcheez:20160919194357j:plain   Ramen (typically served at a food court)

f:id:dutcheez:20160919194407j:plain  Sushi (the last-minute yummies before you leave)

f:id:dutcheez:20160919194440j:plain   Unaju (eel roast and rice, expensive but fantastic)

f:id:dutcheez:20160919194426j:plain　Ton-katsu (pork cutlet, check your calories)

f:id:dutcheez:20160919194510j:plain    Chinese (Available everywhere in the world)

f:id:dutcheez:20160919195400j:plain　Soba (Low-calorie noodle)

... along with American, Italian, and Starbucks-style coffee, you name it! Almost everything you want is at the airport! They are mostly located outside the security checkpoint, unless it is a major airport such as HND and NRT.

Okay, problem one solved. Finally.

I will leave the basic Japanese conversation for ordering things to books offered elsewhere. Restaurant workers at the airport, both full- and part-time, should like to speak English and other languages. Their English should be good enough to meet your needs; but once outside the airport.... don't count on it.

Before you leave the airport, or while dining within the airport, be sure to get all information over Free WiFi

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5． Hayao Miyazaki Animation Special DVD.....

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Product Information of 2 Broke Girls Season 6 DVD

Actors: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Garrett Morris, Jonathan Kite
Language: English
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Number of discs: 3
Condition: New
Region: Region Free
Weight: 0.4 kg
Format: Support both NTSC & PAL
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DVD Release Date: 2016

2 Broke Girls Season 1-6 2 Broke Girls Season 1-6

Summary of 2 Broke Girls Season 6 DVD

2 Broke Girls is an American television sitcom created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings, who also serve as executive producers. It airs on the CBS network. The series stars Kat Dennings as Max Black,2 Broke Girls Season 6 DVD who comes from a poor underclass family, and Beth Behrs as Caroline Channing, who was born rich but is now down on her luck, working together at a restaurant in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. Each episode ends with a running tally of the money earned out of the $250,000 the girls need to open a cupcake business, whether it increases or decreases.The series premiered on September 19, 2011. On March 25, 2016, the show was renewed for a sixth season by CBS,2 Broke Girls Season 6 which premiered on October 10, 2016.With the exception of "Pilot", all episodes start with the word "And", so the titles when combined with the series' name, read, "2 Broke Girls and the Break-up Scene", for example.

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Australia's SUNSET RIOT returns to the Legendary Dobbs 6/8/13

"We had the pleasure of having Australia's Sunset Riot perfom at The Legendary Dobbs for Mama Trash's US Trashfest in 2011. These guys came in and just destroyed the Dobbs stage with a high octane performance, killer stage presence and kick ass rock songs! I highly recommend if you like straight hard rock to come check out Sunset Riot, you won't be disappointed. They will be on the big with Philly's Powerhouse rock band MACH22!!!! So you know it's gonna be a Rcok Concert!!!"   - Jim Thorpe Dobbs/DVT

With a live show that is fast, explosive and raw and songs that are both meaningful and catchy, SUNSET RIOT are fast becoming a household name. After 2 years of relentless touring across Australia's eastern seaboard "Australia's number one party rock band" (Qwik Rock Radio Station, State College PA, USA) set their sights on the USA. In mid 2011 over the course of 70 days, SUNSET RIOT traveled 18,0...00kms from Los Angeles to New York and back again, playing 35 shows and seeing many sights along the way.

As 2012 peeks over the horizon these energetic western Sydney hard rockers have re-entered the studio to record a follow-up to their international recognized debut, self-titled EP (produced by Steve James-Screaming Jets, Airbourne). This time they have enlisted the help of legendary producer Mark Opitz (INXS, ACDC, Cold Chisel, Noiseworks, Kiss, Bob Dylan) as they seek to take the next step in bringing their music to the world! Thank you so much for being apart of the journey and make sure you spread the word...SUNSET RIOT is YOUR band and we are so grateful for your support!

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Welcome to the website of

The Lions Club of Calgary

The Lions Club of Calgary is always looking for people who are interested in making our community a better place to live by providing services to needy persons and financial support to worthy projects such as the Lions Sight Center at the University of Calgary.  If you are interested in serving your community The Lions Club of Calgary is the vehicle to help you do that.

For more information, please contact our membership CHairman, Lion Chris Clarke @ 403 286 3524.

Fund Raising

The word from the Barbecue Committee is that they are already signing up more customers for our catering service.

The Stampede Breakfasts that we cooked and served were very successful and contributed considerably to our fund raising bank accounts.  The Barbecue Committee thanks all of the members and their friends who pitched in for the events that ranged from 300 guests to more than 1,500 breakfast attendees.

The Club thanks Lion Jim Cameron, Lion Otto Strand and the rest of the committee for their hard work.  Now we have to begin the planning process for next year's Stampede.

Festival of Lights

For the 29th year Lion Otto Silzer led the efforts to update and erect the Christmas light display known as the Lions Festival of Lights.  Many man-hours were donated by members of our Club, members of other Lions Clubs and friends and local volunteers.

Early in November a host of volunteers gathered at Confederation Park on a cool but calm day to set up the Festival of Lights displays.  Then, on November 29th, in front of a crowd of about 1000 hardy souls, the Mayor of Calgary, the Honourable Naheed Nenshi threw the switch that energized the many thousands of lights and kicked off the opening fireworks display.  As is the tradition, hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, donated by Tim Horton’s, were provided free to all who attended.

Special thanks to Lion Otto for his tireless efforts and to those loyal individuals that work with him night after night until the display is finished.  A thank you goes also to the Enmax crews who brought the bucket trucks in their off hours to hang the large panels of lights.

The lights will be lit every evening from 6:30 to 11:00 PM during the month of December until January 6th.

In March, 2016 another large group of volunteers - Lions, family members, friends, and reliably the IBEW Enmax crews with thei bucket trucks - gathered at Confederation Park and dismantled the major parts of the lights display and stored them for another year at the FOL shack.

Past District Governor Lion Bill and his wife Lion Donna Baux again served up a delicious beef-on-a-bun lunch for the the volunteer horde.

Well done for the 29th time Lion Otto Silzer.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.

Lions Clubs International News
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EAAS Conference Travel Grants

EAAS and the Constanța conference organisers have established a fund to support broad participation at the Constanta conference by offering a number of small conference travel grants. The eligibility for these grants will be restricted to early career scholars and/or scholars from countries with a nominal GDP of less than 30,000 USD per capita. Please see the file below for application details.

EAAS_2016_small_travel_grants_final.pdf (pdf file).

EAAS Biennial Conferences

Other Conferences

13th International Spanish Association for American Studies (SAAS) Conference

University of Extremadura. Cáceres (Spain), April 5 - 7, 2017.

Institute of English Studies, Jagiellonian University, Poland, April 20-22, 2017

Call for Papers: Deadline January 20, 2017

Belfast Campus, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 28-29, 2017
Call for Papers: Deadline January 19, 2017

Ankara, Turkey, 04-05 May 2017

European Journal of American Studies

The European Journal of American Studies is the official journal of EAAS. It welcomes contributions from Americanists in Europe and elsewhere and aims at making available state-of-the-art research on all aspects of United States culture and society.

Read more at http://ejas.revues.org/.

European Views of the United States

European Views of the United States is the official book series of the EAAS.9783825365783

We are proud to announce volumes 8, 9, 10 of the series:

Tanrisever, Ahu. Fathers, Warriors, and Vigilantes: Post-Heroism and the US Cultural Imaginary in the Twenty-First Century, vol. 10, 2016 (Rob Kroes Publication Award 2015).

Intercontinental Crosscurrents: Women's Networks across Europe and the Americas, eds. Julia Nitz, Sandra H. Petrulionis, and Theresa Schön, vol. 9, 2016.

America: Justice, Conflict, War, eds. Amanda Gilroy and Marietta Messmer, vol. 8, 2016 (The Hague Conference 2014).

Read more ...

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To the Children and Adults Who Have Been Teased, Picked On, or Bullied…

My heart goes out to the children and adults who have been bullied, teased or picked on because of their Microtia ears or crooked smiles…whether they have had surgery or not. I know all of us try to raise our children to be confident now and later in life, but sometimes no matter what you do, things will happen in life that will take away from what you have worked so hard at accomplishing with your child. Sometimes, all it takes is one bad bullying to scar someone for life. Every person is different and every community or school or situation that every person experiences is different. Even the reactions or the affect of being teased is different for everyone. Each one of us has a different chemical make-up for our personality, behavior, emotions, etc… How we respond emotionally is already predetermined and programmed into us. Yes, some of us who are bullied are able to bounce back and move forward, but some of us just don’t have the strength, courage, or coat of armor to do the same. Please remember that you have done nothing wrong and you do not deserve to be teased or bullied. You are still a person who loves, and lives and plays and sings…just like all of us. I can only hope that you find enough strength to go on and find a wonderful circle of friends who love you, enjoy you, and accept you for who you are as an individual. Be yourself and don’t ever let anyone get you down. The bullies are just not worth it. A little ear is no different than anyone who has a differently shaped nose or smaller or larger eyes, a high forehead, or two different colored eyes, or a receding hair line, and I could go on and on. If someone can not see past this, then they do not deserve to be your friend. Bullies or those who tease are just not worth it. You are better than them because no one likes a bully.

You are entitled to all the happiness in the world. So, please don’t let anyone try and tell you that you should keep your little ear because it is a part of you or because it builds character. If you do not believe this then begin doing your research. Especially, if you truly believe that you can be happier with a surgically reconstructed ear or a prosthetic ear. I know some of us would just like to be able to wear eyeglasses and sunglasses.

To the Children and Adults Who Have Thankfully Moved Past the Bullying…

Now, for the members in our group who have managed not to be bullied and who have managed to easily fit in…thank you for showing us that it can be done. I am relieved to know that many of our members have chosen to keep their little ears, like them them and are proud of them. I think my daughter’s ear is beautiful. It reminds me of a treble clef musical staff note. If you believe your little ear has given you character and has added to your personality, then it has. If your little ear does not bother you, then you are lucky to not be bothered by others comments because you are strong. If you like your ear, then have fun with it. Pierce your ear, show it off, be proud of your little ear. I will tell you, that there is no doubt in my mind that every one of us can become whatever we want to be in life. Little ears can not hold anyone back as long as you don’t let them. In fact, sometimes little ears can make you reach for even more in life and accomplish even the highest goals. There are members in our group who have Microtia and Atresia and who have not had surgery who have become surgeons, doctors, musicians and singers, founders and vice presidents of companies, attorneys, engineers, athletes, news anchors, teachers, and wonderful parents and such. All regardless of being bullied as they grew up. Below are just a couple of famous people who where born with Microtia and Atresia who have managed to make something wonderful of themselves:

Paul Stanley of KISS

Rock Star, Singer, Musician, Artist, and Public Icon

Paul Stanley, lead singer of the rock band KISS has Microtia and Atresia of his right ear. Paul had canalplasty (Atresia repair) and also wears a BAHA. Below is a video and an article of Paul Stanley speaking out about his experience with Microtia and Atresia:

Human Factor: KISS frontman Paul Stanley hears music differently

– Sourced from CNN Health, www.cnn.com, published by Universal Publishing, Narrated/interviewed by Sanjay Gupta on June 14th, 2011.

In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship –- they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed. This week KISS singer Paul Stanley explains how he became the frontman for one of the most successful rock bands in America, despite being born deaf in his right ear.

Paul Stanley, photo sourced from the “Doctors TV Show”, April 14th, 2011.

“I was born with a Level 3 Microtia, which is a congenital deformity of the cartilage of the outer ear, and occurs in approximately 1 out of every 8,000 to 10,000 births. There is no ear canal and no direct path to the inner-workings of the ear. Except for bone conduction, I’m virtually deaf on my right side, as there is no access for sound to enter.

I’ve had an implanted hearing aid for about two years now. This is a device that is usually given to children at an early age or to adults who have lost their hearing due to a medical condition. This has been an ongoing adjustment for me as my brain has never processed sound coming in from my right side. In the beginning, it was incredibly taxing and extremely confusing. It would be like you are suddenly developing an eye in the back of your head. That said, it has settled in quite a bit and I have to say, it has enhanced my day-to-day activities.

People often ask if my hearing problem has had any impact on my career. It’s sometimes hard for people to understand that you don’t miss what you’ve never had. When blind people speak about seeing or colors, it’s very personal to them.

In the same way, I may not hear music the way other people hear it, but I have nothing else to compare it to, or didn’t for most of my life. I haven’t felt at a loss for anything. I have no sense of the direction of sound, yet I have no trouble mixing a stereo album. I hear the expanse or width of sound but I can’t necessarily tell you where it’s coming from.

Times have changed greatly since I was a child. Medicine, particularly advancements in hearing health, has greatly evolved. If there is a way to improve your hearing, then by all means, take the initiative and do something about it.

Paul Stanley, KISS

To young and old alike, take care of your hearing because once you lose it, you can’t get it back. Use earplugs if you’re exposed to loud noise for prolonged periods of time including concerts. Keep personal listening devices to safe, acceptable levels. There are better ways to listen without sacrificing your enjoyment or your hearing health.

To those of you that suffer from some form of hearing loss, take comfort in the fact that many, many great people have succeeded in monumental ways without normal hearing, or any hearing for that matter.

Hearing loss may be a small pothole in the road, but that doesn’t mean it should stop you from getting where you want to go. I’m living proof!”

Sasha Gardner

Sasha Gardner, a British model from the UK. Below is an article explaining Sasha’s experience with Microtia and Atresia:

The below article explains Sasha Gardner’s story about her experience having Microtia:

U.K. Model’s Surprising Secret

– Sourced from ABC NEWS, by Emily Friedman, (@EmilyABC), Dec. 17, 2007.

Sasha Gardner

“At first glance it’s nearly impossible to tell that British-born model and reality television star Sasha Gardner was born with a serious facial deformity.

Gardner, now 25, was born without her right ear, a condition known as microtia. The Microtia-Congenital Ear Institute estimates that one in every 6,000 to 12,000 newborns is born with only one ear.

In place of an average-looking ear, Gardner was born with what she described to the U.K.’s Daily Mail as a “stump.” She was constantly teased by peers who called her “pizza ear” and “alien head.” Gardner was not available for comment for this story.

Gardner also had no hearing on her right side — she was born with no inner ear and no auditory canal — and due to the lack of an external ear, could not be fitted for a hearing aid, her doctor, David Gault, told ABCNEWS.com.

Before meeting Gault during her late teens, Gardner had reportedly shied away from corrective surgery — she was turned off by the prospect of being fitted with a prosthetic ear — an option many living with microtia choose.

But what Gault had to offer Gardner — and what he eventually performed for her — was something entirely different. In a procedure known as rib cartilage ear reconstruction, Gault crafted Gardner a new ear from cartilage taken from right above her rib cage.

Ear Reconstruction: Combination of Art and Science

There are several ways to reconstruct an ear, and using rib cartilage to form an ear has become the medical profession’s preferred method.

“Rib cartilage ear reconstruction has become the gold standard,” Dr. Sherill Aston, a N.Y., plastic surgeon, told ABCNEWS.com. “There are lots of nuances to an ear that you have to work out to make an ear that looks normal. No other tissue molds like rib tissue does — you can cut it strip, fold it and suture it in a precise position.”

The procedure is done in several steps, said Aston, who explained that first the cartilage must be harvested from the patient and then a mold of the good ear is made so that the surgeon has a template to follow while constructing the new ear.

A completed reconstructed ear could take several years depending on the length of the patient’s healing time.

Aston added that using rib cartilage is a lot safer than other methods, particularly ones that use plastic and synthetic materials, which may not agree with a patient’s body as well.

“Synthetic materials have no blood supply in them, and there is a high instance of infection because tissues can’t grow into them, and they have a tendency to erode,” said Aston. In addition, prosthetic ears can be removed — they are attached to the head by two posts — and that is often unappealing to patients.

The outcome of a reconstructed ear varies from patient to patient, and depends on, among other things, the skill of the surgeon and the pliability of the patient’s skin.

“Plastic surgery is part art and part science,” said Aston. “It’s like painting a picture — some people are going to make this thing look better than others and will have the aesthetic judgment. Lots of factors come into play, from the quality and the amount of skin to the deformity the person first presents with.”

If a surgeon is also attempting to restore a patient’s hearing, the entire procedure can take even longer, said Dr. John Canady, president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgery.

“Virtually everyone [with microtia] has some degree of hearing loss in that affected ear, and that hearing loss may or may not be reparable,” Canady told ABCNEWS.com. “If a CAT scan shows that the hearing is able to be reconstructed, then you’d combine those operations as part of the treatment planning.”

Gault said that Gardner’s surgery was performed purely for aesthetic reasons, and did not address her hearing loss.

When to Reconstruct

While Gardner waited until her late teens to get her own ear reconstructed, Canady said that determining when the best time for the surgery is function of a patient’s age and the amount of rib cartilage they have.

“Ears continue to grow until you’re about 5 years old,” said Canady. “And if you’re trying to match the size of the ear, which you are in this kind of surgery, then it becomes stable at around 5.”

“The other issue in terms of timing is, like this girl in England, is if the reconstruction method you chose is one that uses rib cartilage, you want to make sure you have the most cartilage you can,” said Canady.

The older you are, said Canady, the more rib cartilage you will have, which is why some people try to wait as long as possible before having the operation.

Besides the medical implications that accompany any surgery, Canady added that one of the biggest challenges he faces during ear reconstructions is with insurance companies, many of which often refuse to cover the operation if it’s only for aesthetic reasons, and makes no attempt to improve the patient’s hearing.

“This is more than just an apparent operation,” said Canady. “If you need to wear glasses or sunglasses or a hearing aid, you need to help retain the glasses better. [Insurance companies’ resistance] is very unfortunate, particularly for a kid who is being teased.”

The Movie: Finding Nemo

A favorite movie among many across the world is “Finding Nemo” about a young clown fish who was born with one fin that is smaller than the other fin. However, Nemo is accepted within his community just fine and the movie does not focus on his little fin being a disability, but as a part of Nemo’s character as getting along in the sea just as any other fish would. This movie is remarkable and allows viewers to see that a little fin or any related similarity does not have to affect your life and helps you realize that you can be anything you want to be in life. Below is an excellent movie review that discusses the wonderful characteristics of this movie and Nemo’s little fin.

Disability Studies Quarterly
Winter 2004, Volume 24, No. 1
Copyright 2004

by the Society for Disability Studies

“Other” Fish in the Sea: “Finding Nemo” as an Epic Representation of Disability

“Finding Nemo,” 2003. Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios. Directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrike. Written by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds; based on a story by Andrew Stanton. Produced by Graham Walters.

Reviewed by Ann Millett, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Nemo and his dad, Marlin

The animated feature “Finding Nemo” swept the box office last summer, and audiences of all ages and critics alike were overwhelmed by how a seemingly simple story had made such a splash. Recently having a second life on DVD, the film has become the most financially successful film of 2003 and the largest grossing animated feature of all time, outshining Disney/Pixar’s previous hits Toy Story I and II and Monsters, Inc., as well as its competing summer blockbusters. “Finding Nemo” surfaced as a characteristic Disney epic adventure and heart-warming coming of age tale with resplendent twists. The plot follows a young clown fish, Nemo (Alexander Gould), who is separated from his father, Marlin (Albert Brooks), by the human intervention of a scuba diver and held captive in the office fish tank of a Sydney, Australia dentist (Bill Hunter). Nemo is rescued through the joint efforts of exotic, yet familiarly goofy, ironically down-to-earth, and cleverly caricatured populations of marine creatures. Seagulls, pelicans, turtles, manta rays, jellyfish, squid, starfish, sharks, whales, lobsters, other curious crustaceans, and a glorious array of tropical fish in all configurations and designs animate the film’s lavish oceanic world. The creatures are not only strikingly heterogeneous in appearance, but also have international accents or dialects and personas that convey a variety of social styles. This cast of characters, their tongue-in-cheek, witty dialogue, and appropriately colorful depictions add to the appeal and smash success of the film, as vivid and illusionistic artistry positions the viewer as a visually awed undersea explorer.

I, too, was reeled in by the tempo, humor, and visual splendor of the film, as one who appreciates and studies visual culture. Further, as a disability studies-minded viewer, I saw far more beneath the spectacular surface. In “Finding Nemo”, I discovered sunken treasure—a multifaceted representation of disability. The protagonist, Nemo, displays a small, or “deformed,” fin that is a congenital result of a fatal attack on his mother and sibling eggs—a corporeal characteristic that the story surrounds, yet does not drown in. In an aquatic natural world where species maintain characteristic, standardized appearances, Nemo is marked as visually and socially different, yet hardly inadequate. He explains that he has a “lucky” fin when questioned by his classmates, who then offer their own explanations of distinctive physical quirks: a squid confesses to having a lazy tentacle, a seahorse boasts of his “H2O intolerance.” Nemo’s peers accept him, even admire his self-confident attitude and plucky spirit, because in this diverse “school” of fish, everybody’s different. Considering such characteristics as “disabilities” may seem absurd; however, this makes a valid parallel point about many physical differences and their assumed consequences.

There is suggestion in the film that Nemo may not be able to swim as well as other fish, particularly by his father, but no evidence supports this, or at least Nemo swims well enough with his own adapted methods to get where he needs and wants to go. In true to life fashion, Nemo continually negotiates and battles restrictive assumptions about him based on his impaired fin, to both positive and negative results. Disabled people are commonly underestimated, often most painfully by those who should have the most faith in us, who love us, and know us best, exemplified by Marlin’s loving, but potentially damaging overprotection of his son. Marlin smothers Nemo, sequesters him near their home, attempts to speak for him, and fears others’ condemnation to the point that he avoids social interaction. Marlin enacts his son’s social exclusion, continually embarrasses and frustrates the willful Nemo, and causes rifts in their relationship. To defiantly establish his independence, Nemo enters into the drastically deeper section of the sea surrounding his community termed the “drop off,” where he is captured. His disability plays a role in his fate, yet not because he is inherently deficient or vulnerable, and that same disability enables his return home, for his marking identifies him for those who search—it makes him memorable. Disability becomes part of Nemo’s personal history and social identity, visually marking him as a survivor.

“Finding Nemo” proves to be an unconventional, transgressive representation of disability. In conventional narrative, disability becomes the sole characteristic of one-dimensional characters that most often require physical change, repair, or elimination in order for the narrative to maintain a supposedly preferable state of social and psychic order, or “normality.” Such narratives tend to fall into generic categories that typecast disabled characters as misfortunate tragedies or sentimental, largely patronized heroes. Conversely, “Finding Nemo” paints disability as a flavorful ingredient in cultural diversity—both remarkable, yet necessarily everyday, perhaps even disguised in the tides of life. Indeed, to the mainstream audience, “Finding Nemo” isn’t “about” disability at all, because physical difference isn’t a glaring spectacle in the film that signals danger or elicits pity, as viewers may be more used to witnessing. Further, disability is presented as a socially constructed character quality, rather than a state of the body to which value judgments are assigned. The fact that the role of disability floats past the mainstream audience and most critics of “Finding Nemo” without notice perhaps attests on a metanarrative level to how disability may afford a privileged viewing perspective, such that “seeing” disability occurs more immediately for a disability-aware audience who identify with the characters and discover deeper layers of meaning in the film.

Ally and her Nemo Fishy “Lucky ears and lucky fins”

In addition to Nemo, various eccentric aquatic bodies and personalities flow in and out of the screen in harmonies of difference, many of which may be considered disabilities. Many of the characters’ humorous idiosyncrasies could be called “abnormalities.” Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a lively blue tang who becomes Marlin’s sidekick on the quest for Nemo’s rescue, has chronic short-term memory loss. The “reason” for this is not revealed, as the film unconventionally does not medicalize or otherwise attribute a cause for disability. Dory’s chronic condition causes pitfalls, yet she can also read written English and speak whale, and due to her openly sociable personality and penchant for adventure, Dory initiates communication with many other species that results in progress for the journey. Dory assumes agency in the plot, can remember through adaptive problem solving when it is vitally crucial, and displays her “abnormality” as comical charm. Further, she professes an overall consciousness for the film that life is inevitably a series of obstacles, as well as opportunities for adventure, and that one must, as Dory joyfully expresses in her repeated slogan, “keep on swimming.” In addition, she and Marlin meet sea turtles that are more than150 years old, but hardly suffer from their age—they ironically speak in the tongue of youthful beach bums, referring to Marlin as “dude” as they lead the duo to Sydney. Marlin proves emotionally disabled by the traumatic loss of his wife and chronic anxiety; vegetarian-aspiring sharks undergo a 5-step program; and in the Sydney fish tank, Nemo meets a very motley, some might call neurotically ill, group, including Gurgle (Austin Pendleton), a royal gamma obsessed with germ-free cleanliness and Deb (Vicki Lewis), a white humbug damsel fish who routinely misrecognizes herself in reflection from the tank wall as an imaginary twin sister, Flo. Their leader fish, Gill (Willem Dafoe), like Nemo, came from the sea, longs to return, and is physically distinguished—marked by scars. Also like Nemo, this trademark signifies wisdom, “street” smarts, and rites of passage. All of the remarkable, “abnormal,” even freakish characters in “Finding Nemo” swim with and against the undertow, and neither “overcome” their so-called physical and intellectual “problems,” nor prevail “in spite of” them, as conventional narrative and stereotypes would prescribe. And in graphic illustration, they far exceed even two dimensions.

Nemo Pez Dispenser

However, these aspects are greatly overlooked in the film, perhaps poignantly asserting the film’s largely unprecedented progressiveness. After all, more classic animated fairytales have been known for their dubious, and sometimes publicly criticized sexist and ethnocentric biases. The princesses are stolen property, properly saved and wed, while evil characters are laden with non-Western, non-white stereotypes. Further, malice is often embodied in physically “deformed,” and otherwise visually “abnormal” characters, marked, like Nemo, by displayable difference and often specifically placed on display to provide a counter-example to “normal.” By contrast, “Finding Nemo” brings elements of social and cultural diversity to life in educational marine biology lessons of visually distinguishable, sometimes competing, yet non-hierarchical species. One would have a difficult time differentiating which kinds of bodies are on display in this splendid spectacle, and to what significance. “Finding Nemo’s” success may have to do with its refreshing nature and escape from the typical good versus evil dichotomies in favor of flavorful cultural relativism. “Other” fish populate the sea. Nemo’s disability, visually defined by his unique fin, affects, yet does not dictate his daily life, and initiates moments of joy and self-discovery. “Finding Nemo” becomes an act of rescue, maturation, and acceptance of self and others for all the characters. Marlin learns to trust Nemo and his self-defined abilities, as prescriptive stereotypes of disability are tested and disproved and the protagonist’s triumph is enabled.

You may access this review at the following link http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/861/1036
or contact The Society for Disability Studies at http://disstudies.org/

Doraemon, the Japanese Robotic Cartoon Cat Without Ears

The following link contains an article about a Japanese robotic cat cartoon, named Doraemon, who has no ears, but is very brave helping portray courage and respect for elders wherever he goes. In the below article, Doraemon is enlisted as an ambassador by Japan’s foreign minister, Masahiko Komura.

Doraemon the Japanese robotic cat without ears (cartoon figure)

The series is about an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy named, Nobita Nobi. A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, global warming, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Miscellaneous educational topics such as dinosaurs, the flat Earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver’s Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children’s manga in 1982, and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan’s Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation’s first “anime ambassador.” Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture.” The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.

* The above paragraph providing Doraemon’s description is sourced from Wikipedia and can be accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon

An Example of Bullying

A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take out a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it and really mess it up, but not to rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty it was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now, even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bullies another child, they may say they’re sorry, but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.

Below is a touching story of a young man named Jim who recalls being bullied during his life. This young man had Microtia.

“Post by jim herting » Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:06 pm
I was born with rightside unilateral Microtia and as a consequence, suffered the usual bullying,name calling,spitefull remarks that you would expect from children during my school years.

A lot of the time other children would just stare and others would ask others what’s wrong with that boys ear? Well that wasn’t so bad, and if they actually asked me, then I would tell them all I could.
However…. others saw it as a sign of weakness and would use it daily to ridicule me and knock my self confidence severly!!

I never did extremly well at school but got by with the help of a few close friends who saw me for ME and not my disability 🙂

I never socialised much with others outside of school hours and stuck close to my few good friends doing what schoolkids do best.

By the time I had left school, I had never had a girlfriend or much to do with the oppersite sex at all due mainly to my lack of self confidence brought on mainly by the bullying at school, nowadays it wouldn’t be tolerated but 15 years ago was a different story!!(at least for me.)

A year or so later I started enquiries into having an operation to correct the Microtia and after initial consultations etc, I finally got to go to Mount Vernon hospital in Middlesex to see Mr David Gault who was one of, if not THE leading surgeon in the UK 😀

Eventually after 5 years from start to finish , I had the operation which was done in I think three stages(maybe two) and during the rib cartillidge removal stage-they ripped the lung membrane which was quite common aparrently!!

Since the op, and in the coming year or so-my self confidence SOARED!!! 😀 and I ended up a few years later meeting the one who I’m now engaged to and we have three kids together 🙂

I can’t help thinking that if it wasn’t for Mr Gault and his team, I would still be quiet,under confident and still single 🙄

I owe him so much as do other members on this forum.

The below statement comes from a white paper entitled “Congenital Ear Abnormalities (microtia): Position Paper ENT UK 2010” that is published by:
The ENT @ UK at The Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London WC2A 3PE
Tel: 020 7404 8373 Fax: 020 7404 4200
Email: admin@entuk.org Web: www.entuk.org

“Impact of the abnormality”
A congenital ear abnormality affects both the child and the family of the child. When a child with a congenital ear abnormality is born, the problem causes great concern, anxiety and indeed distress to the parents. As a child becomes older he or she develops an awareness of self-image, and a desire to be ‘normal’. Teasing and bullying are a well recognised phenomenon in children with congenital ear abnormalities and are often a motivation to seek surgery. Such an abnormality can have a negative impact upon a child’s psycho-social behaviour. 3 In the majority of cases children with microtia have reduced hearing, and this may also affect their educational performance and possibly their safety. 4,5″

ENT UK trading as British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology (BACO) and British Association of Otorhinolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (BAO-HNS)
Registered as a Company limited by Guarantee in England and Wales under Company No 06452601
Registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales under Charity No 1125524

Below is another video talking about bullying because of having Microtia. Also, please note under the video screen…an adult with Microtia made the following comment which just brought me to tears:

“Im so glad and God blessDr. Arturo Bonilla for helping allthose little kids! Im 35 yrs.Old and trust me I did suffer a lot of bully and up to this date I suffer from depression.”

Dr. Arturo Bonilla is an expert Rib Graft ear reconstruction surgeon for Microtia. Dr. Bonilla is the founder of the Microtia Congenital Ear Deformity Institute, www.microtia.net

Boy Born Without Ears Receives Gift of Sound

Diego Neumaier Ortiz, a 12-year-old boy born with deformed ears, can finally hear, thanks to a doctor’s gift.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on October 11 2010

Diego Neumaier Ortiz, a 12-year-old boy from Puebla, Mexico, was born with a condition called microtia, which left his ears almost completely undeveloped. Even with a hearing aid, sound was almost completely muffled for the young boy.

So Diego threw himself into a sport where he didn’t need to be conscious of his teammates’ calls: gymnastics. He learned to master the arts of vaulting, balance bars, and backflips. Recently, he became the junior gymnastics champion in all of Mexico. A visiting American doctor was watching from the bleachers, amazed by the child’s skill. He also noticed that Diego was deaf—and thought that something could be done to fix that.

The doctor contacted a well-known specialist in ear reconstruction, Dr. John Reinisch. He offered to take Diego’s complicated case for no charge.

In the operation, Dr. Reinisch and another surgeon, Dr. Joseph Roberson, created an outer ear for cosmetic purposes, then drilled a hole to access the inner ear and build an ear canal. The operation took nine hours, and the ear would require two weeks to heal.

When the doctors finally pulled back the gauze on Diego’s new ear, his mother praised the good work they had done. That was the first time Diego had heard her voice.

In return for the gift of hearing, Diego presented the doctors with a present of his own: his championship medals for his gymnastics wins.

“I don’t have anything to give them, but this is so valuable to me,” Diego told CBS. “I want to give them to Dr. Reinisch, because he is giving me something greater: two ears.”

Man Born With No Ears Qualifies for the American Idol Show With His Voice

Ramiro Garcia Sings “Amazing Grace” During the American Idol Season for Houston, TX Auditions held on January 26, 2012.  Ramiro Garcia was born without ears, but he had several corrective surgeries.  Doctors thought he would never hear, but his “Amazing Grace” cover wins over the judges and he earns a golden ticket.

Cited by Blake Wilford (American Idol, January 26, 2012) and Mike Larkin (Mail Online, January 27, 2012)

It seemed like Ramiro Garcia would be forced to learn sign language to communicate after being born with no ears. Doctors told his parents he would probably be deaf and dumb, but successful surgery allowed him to unlock the singer within, and he wowed the judges on American Idol tonight. His rousing version of Amazing Grace won universal praise from the judges, who had no hesitation sending him through at the Houston, Texas edition of the show. Steven Tyler said: ‘You know what man, I like what I’m hearing, I like your insight as well. ‘You are a power of example to say the least, and you can sing. I’m happy with you man.’ Stunned Randy Jackson simply said: ‘I love what you did.’ And Jennifer Lopez told him: ‘We are taking a leap of faith with you today.’ The 19-year-old worship leader was later seen running through the door into the arms of his family holding his approval letter. His father wept as he explained what the family had gone through as he grew up. He said: ‘I remember when the doctors say he no speak, he no hear. I am happy now.’ The joyful moment was all the more remarkable after he explained his story. He said: ‘Growing up was tough. I wasn’t born normal, I came out a bit different. I came out with no ears. ‘There was nothing at my left ear, and on my right there was just an earlobe. ‘They thought I was going to be mute and not able to speak,’But I had an inner ear canal and they discovered an ear drum and that there was a possibility I could hear. Beaming: Jennifer was overjoyed at Ramiro’s stunning performance of Amazing Grace on the show Gob-smacked: Steven Tyler and hunky Randy Jackson were also visibly touched by his performance ‘I remember going for another surgery and another surgery. It was intense.’ It was a fine way to end an episode that at one stage appeared to be descending into farce. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2092540/Americal-Idol-2012-auditions-Ramiro-Garcia-born-ears-sent-Hollywood.html#ixzz1km34gh1g

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