KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Relatives of the young Afghan star of "Buzkashi Boys" expressed more pride than disappointment upon learning on Monday that the Oscar-nominated movie didn't win.
Fawad Mohammadi and Jawanmard Paiz, both 14, donned tuxedos for the ceremony after traveling from Kabul to Los Angeles for a trip down the red carpet.
The 28-minute movie is about two penniless young boys ? a street urchin and a blacksmith's son ? who are best friends and dream of becoming professional players of buzkashi, a particularly rough and dangerous game that somewhat resembles polo: Horseback riders wrangle to get a headless goat carcass into a circular goal at one end of the field.
Fawad's brothers got up early to watch the show, which began at 6 a.m. Monday in Kabul, on an Internet feed provided by The Associated Press. They didn't flinch as actor Jamie Foxx announced that "Curfew" was the winner in the live action short film category.
"Although the movie didn't win, I'm very happy that Fawad made it to such a place. I'm very happy for him. At the same time he is my brother and I miss him," said Fawad's 19-year-old brother, Ahmad Jawad Mohammadi.
"Buzkashi Boys" was directed by Sam French, a Philadelphia native who has lived in Afghanistan for about five years, and funded in large part with a grant of more than $200,000 from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as part of an effort to encourage Afghans to see the parts of their country that aren't mired in conflict.
Jawanmard, who has been acting since he was five, played the street peddler while Fawad was the blacksmith's son.
The movie ? the first installment in a project aimed at training local film industry workers ? gained international attention when it received an Academy Awards nomination.
Fawad's story got special attention because he was discovered by French while peddling maps to foreigners in the Afghan capital, one of an untold number of Afghan youths hustling in the streets to help earn money for their families.
He started selling chewing gum when he was about seven years old and soon expanded his trade to maps and dictionaries, learning to speak English during his interactions with foreigners on Chicken Street, an area in Kabul with shops selling multicolor rugs, crafts and souvenirs. He was even able to enroll in a private school, thanks to the generosity of some other foreigners unrelated to the film project.
His brother-in-law said it was an important first step for Fawad to act in such a high-profile film and appear among the rich and famous at the Oscars.
"Fawad is not only my relative ... he is a source of pride for Afghanistan. This time he made it to the Oscars. Maybe next time he will win," Mohammad Fahim Nadri said.
French raised nearly $12,000 in an effort to get the boys to Hollywood, but Turkish Airlines and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul stepped in to cover travel costs so he is putting the money instead into a college fund for Fawad.
Antioxidant improves donated liver survival rate to more than 90 percentPublic release date: 25-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley
Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results published in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used.
A 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that 22,000 liver transplants were performed worldwide, with nearly 18,500 from deceased donors. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) close to 16,000 U.S. patients are currently on the waiting list for a liver. Nearly 18,500 deceased donor transplants were performed between January and October 2012 in the U.S. OPTN reports that roughly 7,000 livers were recovered from deceased donors during the same time period.
"Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for end-stage liver disease," explains lead author Dr. Francesco D'Amico from Padova University in Italy. "Antioxidants such as NAC could potentially reduce damage to deceased donor livers, improving graft function." Studies have shown that ischemia-reperfusion injury (IFI)damage to the liver tissue when blood supply returns to the liver after lack of oxygen (ischemia)often occurs during storage and preservation of donated livers, and impacts early graft function post-transplantation.
For the present study researchers assigned 140 organs to adult candidates with liver disease undergoing their first transplant. An NAC infusion of 30 mg/kg was administered to one hour prior to liver procurement and another infusion of 300 mg (150mg/kg liver weight) through the portal vein before cross-clamping. There were 69 transplant candidates who received an NAC infused organ and 71 patients who had a standard transplant without NAC.
Results indicate that graft survival rates at 3 and 12 months were 93% and 90%, respectively, for patients receiving NAC infused livers; rates were 82% and 70% in the control group. Post-transplant complication rates were 23% for the NAC group and 51% in the control group. Analysis of the 61 patients receiving suboptimal livers the incidence of organ dysfunction was lower in the NAC group compared to controls at 15% and 32%, respectively.
Dr. D'Amico concludes, "Our study was the first randomized trial to investigate the use of NAC antioxidant infusion during the liver procurement procedure. We propose that NAC be used during organ harvesting to improve liver transplantation outcomes, particularly with the increased use of suboptimal organs. NAC has a good safety profile and the very low cost per patient, make this protocol highly cost-effective in consideration of grafts survival, length of hospital stays and post operative complications. Moreover we are performing further analyses to determine beneficial effects on the other organ procured with NAC protocol."
In a related editorial published this month in Liver Transplantation the authors from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and OneLegacy (Organ Procurement Organization, Los Angeles) highlight the importance and rarity of deceased organ donor research, such as the study by D'Amico et al., despite the fact that randomized clinical trials are essential to evidence-based medicine. Dr. Claus Niemann from the Department of Anesthesia and the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation at UCSF said, "Well-controlled deceased donor research is crucial to uncovering superior clinical practices that improve organ utilization and transplant outcomes. However, researchers are currently operating in a regulatory and legal vacuum since no review and oversight policies are established."
###
For a copy of the study and editoral, please email sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.
Full citations: "Use of N-Acetylcysteine During Liver Procurement: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study." Francesco D'Amico, Alessandro Vitale, Anna Chiara Frigo, Donatella Piovan, Alessandra Bertacco, Domenico Bassi, Rafael Ramirez Morales, Pasquale Bonsignore, Enrico Gringeri, Michele Valmasoni, Greta Garbo, Enrico Lodo, Francesco Enrico D'Amico, Michele Scopelliti, Amedeo Carraro, Martina Gambato, Alberto Brolese, Giacomo Zanus, Daniele Neri and Prof. Umberto Cillo. Liver Transplantation; (DOI: 10.1002/lt.23527) Print Issue Date: February, 2013.
Editorial: "Deceased Organ Donor Research: The Last Research Frontier?" Thomas Mone, John Heldens and Claus U. Niemann. Liver Transplantation; (DOI: 10.1002/lt.23579) Print Issue Date: February, 2013.
About the Journal
Liver Transplantation is published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. Since the first application of liver transplantation in a clinical situation was reported more than twenty years ago, there has been a great deal of growth in this field and more is anticipated. As an official publication of the AASLD and the ILTS, Liver Transplantation delivers current, peer-reviewed articles on surgical techniques, clinical investigations and drug research the information necessary to keep abreast of this evolving specialty. For more information, please visit http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/livertransplantation.
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Antioxidant improves donated liver survival rate to more than 90 percentPublic release date: 25-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley
Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results published in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used.
A 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that 22,000 liver transplants were performed worldwide, with nearly 18,500 from deceased donors. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) close to 16,000 U.S. patients are currently on the waiting list for a liver. Nearly 18,500 deceased donor transplants were performed between January and October 2012 in the U.S. OPTN reports that roughly 7,000 livers were recovered from deceased donors during the same time period.
"Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for end-stage liver disease," explains lead author Dr. Francesco D'Amico from Padova University in Italy. "Antioxidants such as NAC could potentially reduce damage to deceased donor livers, improving graft function." Studies have shown that ischemia-reperfusion injury (IFI)damage to the liver tissue when blood supply returns to the liver after lack of oxygen (ischemia)often occurs during storage and preservation of donated livers, and impacts early graft function post-transplantation.
For the present study researchers assigned 140 organs to adult candidates with liver disease undergoing their first transplant. An NAC infusion of 30 mg/kg was administered to one hour prior to liver procurement and another infusion of 300 mg (150mg/kg liver weight) through the portal vein before cross-clamping. There were 69 transplant candidates who received an NAC infused organ and 71 patients who had a standard transplant without NAC.
Results indicate that graft survival rates at 3 and 12 months were 93% and 90%, respectively, for patients receiving NAC infused livers; rates were 82% and 70% in the control group. Post-transplant complication rates were 23% for the NAC group and 51% in the control group. Analysis of the 61 patients receiving suboptimal livers the incidence of organ dysfunction was lower in the NAC group compared to controls at 15% and 32%, respectively.
Dr. D'Amico concludes, "Our study was the first randomized trial to investigate the use of NAC antioxidant infusion during the liver procurement procedure. We propose that NAC be used during organ harvesting to improve liver transplantation outcomes, particularly with the increased use of suboptimal organs. NAC has a good safety profile and the very low cost per patient, make this protocol highly cost-effective in consideration of grafts survival, length of hospital stays and post operative complications. Moreover we are performing further analyses to determine beneficial effects on the other organ procured with NAC protocol."
In a related editorial published this month in Liver Transplantation the authors from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and OneLegacy (Organ Procurement Organization, Los Angeles) highlight the importance and rarity of deceased organ donor research, such as the study by D'Amico et al., despite the fact that randomized clinical trials are essential to evidence-based medicine. Dr. Claus Niemann from the Department of Anesthesia and the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation at UCSF said, "Well-controlled deceased donor research is crucial to uncovering superior clinical practices that improve organ utilization and transplant outcomes. However, researchers are currently operating in a regulatory and legal vacuum since no review and oversight policies are established."
###
For a copy of the study and editoral, please email sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.
Full citations: "Use of N-Acetylcysteine During Liver Procurement: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study." Francesco D'Amico, Alessandro Vitale, Anna Chiara Frigo, Donatella Piovan, Alessandra Bertacco, Domenico Bassi, Rafael Ramirez Morales, Pasquale Bonsignore, Enrico Gringeri, Michele Valmasoni, Greta Garbo, Enrico Lodo, Francesco Enrico D'Amico, Michele Scopelliti, Amedeo Carraro, Martina Gambato, Alberto Brolese, Giacomo Zanus, Daniele Neri and Prof. Umberto Cillo. Liver Transplantation; (DOI: 10.1002/lt.23527) Print Issue Date: February, 2013.
Editorial: "Deceased Organ Donor Research: The Last Research Frontier?" Thomas Mone, John Heldens and Claus U. Niemann. Liver Transplantation; (DOI: 10.1002/lt.23579) Print Issue Date: February, 2013.
About the Journal
Liver Transplantation is published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. Since the first application of liver transplantation in a clinical situation was reported more than twenty years ago, there has been a great deal of growth in this field and more is anticipated. As an official publication of the AASLD and the ILTS, Liver Transplantation delivers current, peer-reviewed articles on surgical techniques, clinical investigations and drug research the information necessary to keep abreast of this evolving specialty. For more information, please visit http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/livertransplantation.
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
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Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
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