A Prophet

It's been a while since i watched this masterpiece directed by Jacques Audiard.The director's previous movies were highly praised :Read My Lips(2001),The Beat Of My Heart Skipped(2005)

Plot Summary :


Nineteen year-old Franco-Arab Malik El Djebena is just starting his six year prison sentence in Brécourt. Although he has spent the better part of his life in juvenile detention, this stint is his first in an adult prison. Beyond the division of Corsicans and Muslims in the prison (the Corsicans who with their guard connections rule what happens in the prison), he has no known friends or enemies inside. He is just hoping to serve his time in peace and without incident, despite having no prospects once he's out of jail since he's illiterate and has no support outside of the prison. Due to logistics, the head of Corsican inmates, a sadistic mafioso named César Luciani, co-opts Malik as part of the Corsicans' activities, not only regarding what happens inside the prison, but also continued criminal activities outside. The innocent Malik has no idea what to do but cooperate. This move does not sit well with the other Corsicans, who only see Malik as a dirty Arab, and the Muslims who now mistrust him. But as time goes on, Malik works to save himself while in prison, while setting up his life post prison on his own terms. Both his demon and his salvation in prison is the specter of one of the first people he really got to know during his incarceration,


My Analysis :


The movie presents  a very deep wide critical aspect of modern culture complexities.
-First.  it's a wise image of new-age mob culture ;  the professional connections are pretty well depicted.Unlike old fashion gangster type Family honor,Faith ,Lyalties,...modern age gang follows  hazy streaks .It's not easy  to find principles behind orders.
-Second.  it's an intelligent picture of social-ethnical conflicts as the protaganost Malik is suspended between arab-corsican malevolent division.Malik experiences a severe identity crisis.As he serves for a corsican crime organization he feels the hateful attitude of the members.
-Third.  Morality : i think Malik is introduced as a person thrown to modern life scene before forming any kind of faith or moral system which is allegorically pointed out by the jailer .Malik is morally blank and obviously in prison the main priority is survival at any cost. It's astonishing a person like Malik with his morally blank, experiences fuzzy consciousness about murdering another  arab prisoner (named Reyeb).The task is absolutely brutal and Malik tries different tricks to avoid it.I believe the Audiard is absolutely sucessful showing a man struggling not to exit the circle of humanity.Finally Malik found himself powerless ,surrendered by ruthless boss Luciani.
Luciani's inmates control almost everything in the prison.In this mobster underworld Right and Wrong decision making is next to nothing.That's what Malik bitterly studies .
-Fourth.  Prison vs An Effective Rehabilitation Program:
6 years of prison sentence makes Malik a mobster boss .There's a memorable sequence in which the officers give back Malik his pre-jail assets...
6 years of incarceration made a fully-authorizer gang boss out of Malik.


Awards:


-Won Grand Prize Of The Jury Cannes Film Festival 2009
-In home country the movie was nominated record-tying of 13 cesar awards and eventually won 9.
-Nominated for the best foreign language film  Oscar 2010.


Conclusion : 


a solid performance , and one of the best movies i watched in these years






Pedram 
August 22 2010

Imaginary Pillar

Life has its ups and downs;
It's interesting how things change;my self-psychoanalysis progresses everyday in a hasty fashion.I assume it's been an enthrallingly productive summer in terms of self-assessment .
Once highly applauded imagination turned out to be the direct factor of failure.How could i ever imagine day like this?
Disproportionate growth leads to trouble.


Pedram
August 18 2010

Invasive Coronary Angiography vs Coronary CTA

Borrowing a technique from the virtual colonoscopy playbook, researchers from South Carolina and Germany found that coronary CT angiography (CTA) is better than previously thought compared to catheter-based coronary angiography -- in fact the two tests are essentially equivalent, they said.

The comparison was obtained following the development of an enhanced reference standard known as segmental unblinding, which compares the results of two tests to each other rather than to a so-called "gold standard" modality -- which often tends to be at least slightly tarnished.

Perhaps the biggest problem with gold standard tests -- whether used for optical colonoscopy, catheter angiography, or any other exam -- is that they inherently limit the success of any new test to which they're compared, said U. The study was presented last month at the 2010 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography meeting (SCCT) in Las Vegas.

"Whatever results you accomplish with the newer test, the best possibility is that it is as good as the traditional test, but it can never be better and typically it's worse than the traditional test in your analysis," said Schoepf, who is a professor of medicine and radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston.
Principal investigator Matt Kerl, MD, along with Schoepf and colleagues, followed almost exactly the segmental unblinding method used by Pickhardt et al in their landmark 2003 virtual colonoscopy trial (New England Journal of Medicine, December 4, 2003, Vol. 349:23, pp. 2191-2220).

The essential difference was the group's focus on coronary artery segments rather than colon segments.

Pickhardt and colleagues used optical colonoscopy followed by virtual colonoscopy (also known as CT colonography or CTC). But instead of simply comparing the virtual colonoscopy results to optical colonoscopy and expressing the VC sensitivity as a percentage of the optical colonoscopy sensitivity, the researchers took the extra step of doing the comparison in reverse.

In other words, after the colonoscopy interpretation, they went back to compare VC to the colonoscopy results, pointing out apparent lesions optical colonoscopy may have missed and enabling the gastroenterologists to recheck those segments for possible missed lesions. The resulting enhanced gold standard was a fairer comparison of the techniques, delivering for VC higher sensitivity compared to conventional colonoscopy than it would otherwise have achieved.

In the cardiac study from MUSC and the University of Frankfurt, the researchers followed the same method but with coronary artery segments, Schoepf said.

"We had two cardiologists interpret those catheter angiographies blinded, then based on result of coronary CT angiography, we alerted those same interpreters to areas that looked funny on CTA -- and we asked them to have a second look to see if there was something they had missed. And that was indeed so in a number of cases," Schoepf said.

The researchers from MUSC and the University of Frankfurt prospectively compared the per-segment and per-patient accuracy of coronary CTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) for diagnosing significant stenosis using composite findings from both tests as an enhanced reference standard.

A total of 113 patients underwent both coronary CTA and invasive angiography, and the researchers assessed the per-segment and per-patient accuracy of coronary CTA compared with initial angiography interpretation. Angiographers were then unblinded to the coronary CTA results to re-evaluate angiography with knowledge of the coronary CTA findings -- the enhanced reference standard.

Using the enhanced reference standard instead of the initial angiography interpretation alone, accuracy of coronary CTA for identifying segments (patients) with 50% or greater stenosis increased from 97.7% (96.5%) to 98.1% (98.2%).

Per-segment/per-patient sensitivity rose from 90.5% (100%) to 90.8% (100%), and per-segment/per-patient specificity increased from 98.4% (94.3%) to 98.9% (97.1%).

Coronary CTA found six segments and two patients with stenoses of 50% or greater that had been missed on initial angiography. The diagnostic accuracy between the tests was not significantly different (p = 0.87).

Using the enhanced referenced standard shows that "these two tests are not that much different," Schoepf said. The results convey a couple of messages about the tests, he said.

"Catheter angiography is a good gold standard, but it may not be the best because of limitations this test has which we all know about," Schoepf said. For one thing, angiography has trouble depicting a key coronary artery, the left main, because it's typically tortuous and complex anatomy is not well-suited to catheterization.

A current article in Circulation describes problems with the projection angles in catheter angiography, Schoepf said. Depending on the angle, a minor slit stenosis can appear quite significant at angiography, leading to false positives and potentially needless intervention.

"If you take vertical projection images of that it may look perfectly fine, but if you're angulated by 90°, you see a significant stenosis all of the sudden," he said.

Of course, coronary CTA has its own limitations, which include difficulty visualizing the smallest and most distal lesions. But the take-home message for the study is that nothing beats the power of an enhanced gold standard, Schoepf said.

"What we recommend is that people abandon the idea of using catheter angiography as the gold standard for measuring the performance of coronary CTA because of the known limitations that are inherent to catheter angiography," he said. "Approaches such as ours -- which create more-independent reference standards by combining results from both tests -- may be more valuable and accurate in describing the performance of a test."

By : Eric Barnes 

Image :Invasive coronary angiography and coronary CTA studies in a 62-year-old woman. Significant stenosis of the mid left anterior descending coronary artery (arrows) just proximal to the second diagonal branch was missed during initial interpretation of invasive coronary angiograms (upper left) due to superimposition of vessels. The lesion was detected on coronary CTA, displayed as curved multiplanar reformat (right). Re-evaluation of invasive coronary angiography (lower left) after unblinding of coronary CTA results confirms lesion in a single angiographic projection. Images courtesy of Matt Kerl, MD, and U. Joseph Schoepf, MD.

My Author of The Month(July)

                Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-1973)



Once again a short story from my german collection stunned my mind.
Story named "Everything" depicts a father's emotinoal twist at the dawn of his son's birth.
A relentless  rewinding of life in a  farther's eye. Doubts and  fears about a new being .
I didn't know Bachmann till last month;i searched about her and i found her philosophical view quite amazing .
"Her works primarily focuses on themes like personal boundaries,esteblishment of the truth,and philosophy of language,the latter in the tradition of austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.Her doctoral dissertion expresses her growing disillusionment with Heidegerrian Existentialism,which was in part resolved through her growing interest in Wittgenstein whose Tractus Logico-Philosophicus significantly influenced  her relatioinship to language."from Wiki


I highly enjoyed the idea of "Everything" .
Need to mention excellent translation of Ali Asghar Haddad.

Charity Shield,Ozil Saga,Rooney and Scholes Phenomenon

Sir Alex Ferguson refused to confirm or deny his interest in signing Germany star Mesut Ozil following Manchester United's Community Shield victory.

United boss Ferguson was at Craven Cottage on Saturday, when Ozil's Werder Bremen side were playing Fulham in a pre-season friendly.

Ferguson hinted he was an admirer of the 21-year-old midfielder - one of the best players at this summer's World Cup - but asked if he was interested in bringing the playmaker to Old Trafford, he replied cryptically: "I don't know."

He added: "I think a lot of clubs would be interested in Ozil.

"At the moment, I think we've got a great squad. I don't need to add to it - that's my opinion. I trust them.

"But, as I said, there are a lot of clubs interested in him."

Ferguson was happy with United's performance against Chelsea this afternoon, which saw them run out 3-1 winners at Wembley.

But he was even more pleased with being able to give a number of his players a much-needed run-out, including Wayne Rooney.

The England striker put his World Cup misery behind him to impressive in a 45-minute cameo that saw him lay on United's opener with an inch-perfect cross for Antonio Valencia.

Ferguson said: "The making of the goal, marvellous run and first-time ball; I don't think Antonio could've missed it. It was a magnificent ball in."

The United boss was also effusive about Rooney's half-time replacement, Javier Hernandez, who marked his debut with a bizarre goal.

The Mexico striker slipped trying to turn in Valencia's cross and ended up kicking the ball against his own face and into the net.

Salomon Kalou pulled a goal back for double-winners Chelsea, who also went close to levelling before substitute Dimitar Berbatov sealed the win in stoppage time.

Ferguson hit out at the critics who have questioned whether the Bulgarian has lived up to his £32million price tag since joining United.

But the United boss saved the biggest plaudits to the evergreen Paul Scholes, who gave a midfield masterclass to earn the man-of-the-match award.

Ferguson had to talk Scholes out of retirement at the end of last season, but admitted he had also considered putting the midfielder out to pasture.

"This time last season, he's saying to himself, 'This is my last season' - and a lot of people thought that," Ferguson said.

"It came across my mind also, simply because he's had a lot of injuries in his career. He keeps coming back; it's not easy to do that.

"It's a phenomenon that he goes out there, becomes man of the match, approaching his 36th birthday.

"He's just an incredible footballer."

Scholes was partnered by Michael Carrick, who was a shock starter two days after Ferguson had ruled him out for two weeks with an ankle injury.

"On Friday, I was certain he was out for two weeks," Ferguson said.

"He came in yesterday, says he was fit, wanted to train, trained, and wanted to play.

"The minute he says he's fit, we had to play him, simply because he needs game time."

Shannon Tavarez AML case

Hip-hop mogul 50 Cent is a nice guy after all. Just don't tell his nemeses Rick Ross and Fat Joe.

Before she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, Tavarez had a co-starring role as young Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King.

Tavarez's story made 50 Cent think about his own child. "My son is just a couple years older than Shannon and I can't imagine if his life was needlessly cut short when there is someone out there that could save him," the rap star said in a statement.The tough-guy rapper, who just premiered his new film Twelve last week, recently registered as a bone marrow donor in an effort to help a young actress diagnosed with leukemia.

When 50 Cent heard that 11-year-old Shannon Tavarez needed a bone marrow transplant, he and G-Unit member Tony Yayoregistered with DKMS and were added to the Be The Match Registry.

DKMS is the largest bone-marrow donor center in the world, with more than 2 million registered donors. To sign up as a bone marrow donor visit GetSwabbed.org. Registrants have to be 18 to 55 years old and in good health.Tavarez's story made 50 Cent think about his own child. "My son is just a couple years older than Shannon and I can't imagine if his life was needlessly cut short when there is someone out there that could save him," the rap star said in a statement.

"Shannon's chances of finding a matching donor are slim because she's African American and Dominican and minorities are underrepresented in the national registry," he added. "Everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity deserves a fair chance at life. Registering to become a bone marrow donor starts with a cheek swab but it's more than that. It's a commitment to save a life."

                                                                                                            

pic : Shannon Tavarez

@YAHOO

Breaking His Boycott of the BBC?

Sir Alex Ferguson is considering abandoning his boycott of the BBC, thus ending one of the oldest grudges of his career, amid growing pressure from the Premier League and the League Managers Association (LMA). The Premier League has written to Manchester United explaining that Ferguson will face a sliding scale of punishments if he continues to ignore Match of the Day and 5 Live. Richard Bevan, the chief executive of the LMA, has had conversations with the Old Trafford manager to try to persuade him to put his grievances to one side.
The talks have been described as delicate and finely poised, with Ferguson dismayed by the idea that he may have to speak to the institution for the first time since a Panorama documentary in 2004, entitled Father and Son, about the business activities of his son Jason, then working as a football agent.
The Premier League has brought in a new rule stipulating that all managers must speak to the broadcasting rights-holders, which include the BBC, and there have been discussions behind the scenes, with Bevan acting as an intermediary to try to talk around one of the most famously stubborn managers in the business.
Ferguson's initial reaction was that he would ignore the new rule, regardless of the consequences, until his family received an apology from the BBC, which he has accused of "breathtaking arrogance".
Since then, however, there have been more high-level talks, with BBC officials and United's chief executive, David Gill, involved. The club are sympathetic to Ferguson's grievances but, behind the scenes, there is a feeling that it is becoming a battle he cannot win – at least if he wants to avoid a series of escalating fines.
In previous years Ferguson was immune to punishment because of a loophole in the rules, which requested that managers talk to the rights-holders under a "best endeavours" clause. Tightening it was specifically designed to tackle Ferguson's habit of dodging the BBC, the United manager usually sending his assistant, Mike Phelan, to answer their questions.
Ferguson did break the boycott to present Sir Bobby Robson with a lifetime achievement award on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards programme in 2007, but his opinion about the institution can be gauged from an interview earlier that year.
"The BBC is the kind of company that never apologise, and they never will apologise," he said. "They did a story about my son that was a whole lot of nonsense. It was all made-up stuff, brown paper bags and that kind of carry-on. It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that.
"But it is such a huge organisation that they will never apologise. They don't even care if you sue them or whatever, because they are so huge and have insurance. They carry on regardless and it's breathtaking."
The BBC has tried to initiate talks with Ferguson but with no success. Acutely aware of the delicacy of the situation, it does not expect to receive confirmation about his plans until United's first weekend match of the new league season, against Fulham on 22 August.
However, the Premier League has withdrawn its plans to introduce another rule that could have forced Ferguson to attend post-match press conferences.
For the past seven years Ferguson has been the only manager in the league not to talk to newspaper reporters after league games, giving interviews only to Sky and Manchester United's in-house television station, MUTV. The plan was to make it mandatory for a manager or senior member of the coaching staff to hold a press conference, but that will probably not be introduced until the 2011-12 season.