prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: How can you level up in the early levels?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 1: What is this game all about? (short version) Do you like the board game RISK®? Then chances are you’ll like QONQR  Your job is to join a faction and help your faction (team) take over the world  QONQR is an artificial intelligence that appeared on the Internet  We don’t know where it came from, or its purpose, but we know it is powerful  The Legion want to destroy QONQR because they believe it will enslave and exterminate humanity  The Swarm believe QONQR will advance the human race, and we should protect it  The Faceless don’t care, and want to steal the technology for their own uses  Pick a side, recruit your friends, and help your faction capture the towns and cities in which you live, work, and play  What is this game all about? (long version) Right now an invisible war is raging all around you  At stake: the Past, Present, and Future  A rogue Artificial Intelligence has been detected infiltrating the world’s networked infrastructure  Initial hacking of the source code has revealed incredible new technology  It is not certain whether this AI seeks to enhance or destroy humanity  It is only certain that it is here, and that is has a name: QONQR Those who first detected the presence of QONQR on the global networks have argued fiercely over its intentions  They have split into viciously rival Factions, each co-opting the known QONQR technologies for their own ends  Even now the Factions battle over the entire globe seeking to gather resources and prepare for the coming power struggle  Whether you accept it or not, the war is here  Your survival, prosperity, and even glory depend on the choices you make and the skill you demonstrate from this point forward  You will be asked to join one of three Factions  The choice should not be made lightly  Your Faction Alignment will define your place in the war over QONQR  THE LEGION unite under the shared goals of destroying QONQR and saving humanity by crushing the nascent AI before it can mature  They are led by AGENT SUNDAY, a former commander of the NSA's Turing Task Force which has been valiantly stamping out dangerous AIs for years  THE SWARM are convinced that QONQR promises an era of unprecedented technological advancement and human prosperity  Nanobot weaponry expert KIMYO NAGUMO leads this faction in the battle to defend QONQR and assemble its future tech, accelerating humanity's path into the future  THE FACELESS are a loosely organized faction of militant hackers who want QONQR's technology for their own ends, but want to prevent the unavoidable nightmare of human slavery they believe it portends  When they choose to communicate, they do so through an anonymous vigilante who goes by the name PROMETHEUS    What do I do first? Create a base, then launch  Launch nanobots until your fingers hurt  How do I create a base? On iOS there is a Base icon in the menu bar  For Windows Phone, you will find a bases button on the home screen  These take you to the Base Screen where you can see how many bases you have available to you  Once you create a base, be sure harvest often by returning to the list of your bases  You can see how full each base is by checking the fill percentage icon  Bases stop collecting once they are full  What is the point of creating bases and harvesting resources? You need bases to earn money  Bases collect rare elements over time which you can then harvest for your faction in exchange for qredits  Qredits can be used to purchase ordinance (like nanomissiles) and upgrades which will help you capture and hold battle zones more easily  What do you mean, “launch nanobots?” Nanobots are the invisible soldiers generated by your device (which has been transformed into “Scope” by advanced QONQR technology)  Nanobots fight for control of the battle zones around you   From the home screen click “Current Zone”  Once you have selected your zone, you will be able to deploy nanobots there   Initially, you are just a level 1 recruit  You are only going to get a small attack formation with a limited range   Other solders have to practice with rifles before they get tanks; you are no different  Once you prove your mettle, you’ll get access to bigger weapons  Soon you’ll be lobbing missiles hundreds of miles  How do I capture a zone? If you play for the Legion and are launching nanobots into a zone controlled by the Swarm, you will capture the zone for the Legion as soon as you have destroyed enough of the enemy that your nonbots outnumber theirs  If you are the person who causes the zone to change control to the Legion, you will be listed as the Capturer of the Zone  The Person with the most nanobots in the zone is the zone leader  What is my current zone? How do you know? Your current zone is determined by your proximity to the nearest zone center  So, while you might be inside the governmental boundaries of a city, your scope (phone) could tell you your current zone is a different city, if that city’s center is closer  So I just keep deploying? Yes, in the early levels of the game, just keep deploying and harvesting your bases  You will earn XP (experience points) proving your loyalty to your Faction 	You will level up quickly and soon have access to many more options  So all I can do is just attack? You only get assault bots to start  They are the most basic type of nanobot formation  As you level up you will get many more options, including bots that are good at defense, energy attacks, long-range deployments, formations that will buff the shields for all your faction-mates in the zone, and many more  My faction already controls this zone should I still attack? Yes, assault bots won’t attack your friends  You will increase the bot counts for that zone, which will deter opponents  Attack bots can defend your zone; they just aren’t very good at it  As you level up you will unlock defensive formations that are better for deploying if your faction already holds the zone  I’ll never knock out my enemy at this rate! In the first few levels your impact might feel minimal, but every deployment helps you gain experience  It won’t take long to level up if you keep at it  If you are unlucky enough to be in a zone where someone has already built up huge defenses, you may be in for a long fight  But remember, your scope moves with you  Go explore the world and find softer targets  Once you level up, it won’t seem like a toy gun against a battleship  You’ll get your big weapons once you prove yourself  We have already seen operatives brag about taking down 1,000,000 nanobots in just a couple days  Nothing is impossible  How do I attack a different zone? As you level up you will unlock more and stronger formations  Those new formations will have range  While at the early levels you can only attack nearby zones, as you level up your attacks will go 10-20 miles (roughly 15-30 Km) and you will eventually gain access to nanomissiles that can go hundreds of miles  What should I buy in the depot first? The smallest thing to buy is a refresh  We give you some of these as you level up so you can try them out  Refreshes will refill (or partially fill depending on the size of your tank) your bot bar or your energy bar  But after that, it depends on your goals  There is much to choose from  Do you want to be able to deploy more nanobots on every launch? Do you want to boost your offensive or defensive bots? Do you want to be able to launch missiles into towns far away? All of these things are possible  Look through the depot and see what you like  Most of the time you will need to buy an upgrade before you can buy the ordinance  For example, missiles are fairly inexpensive, but you need to buy the MX Rack Missile Launcher before you can launch them  Buy the upgrade first  What is the difference between qredits and cubes in the depot? A qredit (aka: credit, which looks like the child of a Q and € ) is the type of currency you earn in the game by harvesting your bases  Cubes (aka: power cubes) are purchased with real money in the Bank section of the Depot  We want everyone to be able to do everything in the game for free, by earning qredits, but for those who want to move a bit faster, you can purchase cubes to speed things along  Purchasing cubes is how QONQR makes money  We very much appreciate your support  Every purchase you make helps us to keep making improvements in the game  Future enhancements will enable you to earn cubes in game  Why can’t I create another base? Additional bases become available as you level up  At the start, you will get a new base every 5 levels  If you don’t have any more bases available to build, you will need to level up  If you have a base available, but aren’t allowed to use it, it is because you already have a base in that zone  You can only have one base in a zone  Get yourself to another zone, then create your base there  My bases are collecting credits at different rates  Your bases collect resources faster if your faction controls the zone  Do your best to either put your bases in zones you can control by yourself, or find zones with strong players in the same faction and put your bases there to maximize your credit collection  The game says I’m in a town that doesn’t exist  QONQR tracks almost 3 million battle zones of varying strategic value in 250 countries  Sometimes those zones include locations that haven’t existed for over 100 years  That’s pretty cool if you ask us  If you find a zone that looks like a duplicate or is just plain wrong, however, let us know on the forums under “Zone Corrections”  How do I move my current position on the map? You might need to take a car, bus, plane or train depending on which zone you are trying to get to, but if you want to move on the map, you need to move in the real world  QONQR is a location-based game, which means you play where you are  However we don't want to make you move to play, we want you to plan when you move  QONQR goes with you as you move through the daily activities in your life  Where do I find the Strategy Guide? Here: http://community qonqr com/index php?/topic/1191-the-official-qonqr-strategy-guide/ How do I win? That is for you to decide  There is still much to discover  We don’t even know if QONQR is good or evil  Why is it here? What is its purpose? Help your faction further its goals and unlock all the secrets of QONQR!
Congratulations to the Swarm on their overwhelming victory in Atlantis in May 2015 -- taking and retaining all Atlantis zones from beginning to end is hard to argue with -- most convincing -- well done Swarm!
Rumor has it that the Duggers have 20 scopes  Some families really do have a wife and ten kids    Ha Anyways     Multi scoping is generally not encouraged, usually if you mention that you do it on the forums or in groupme your not going to be a very liked person, even within your own faction  What tends to happen is if you start multiscoping then your enemies start doing it, then you get into a war where ever person has 6 phones and nobody is happy  I've seen or heard about situations like this in a lot of different locations 
Great job, faceless! It was actually an exciting Atlantis and I prefer it that way  Way to bring your A game 
You know what we need in this game? Nano-Nukes!!
Attention (insert faction here), We, the (insert faction here) are tired of the way you constantly (circle one)   A  Cube rage us B  Bully us with numbers C  Talk mean to us It hurts our feelings because (circle one)   A  We don't cube B  We don't have as many allies C  We have no sense of humor and/or no backbone Please refrain from participating in the above selected actions for above selected reasons so as the game is enjoyable for (insert faction here)  Regards, (insert name and faction here) There we go   this should streamline the entire complaint process of the forums  Copy and reuse as needed  You're welcome 
Silver, you mentioned in a blog that there are levels beyond 150, is it safe to say there is no level limit anymore or is that for us to discover? Another question, I'm not sure if I'm the only one noticing this but it seems like bot decay doesn't work against Zone Assault bots  I've hit two players I know have been inactive for well over 6 months but my attack had the same effect it did yesterday before the update  However I did notice against Deflection bots I am getting 2x the kill power  Also in response to decontaminatoR  Paid gaming isn't just something for adults  When I was 13 the best options for handheld gaming was GameBoy or GameGear and the games at the time cost anywhere between $29-$39 dollars  I had a paper route to pay for my games  So, no offense, but you can afford $0 99 for a game  You don't even need a paper route, just check under your couch cushions and I'm sure you'll find a few quarters 
I want to start by thanking Faceless  This round of Atlantis, Legion and Faceless were doubled in sized and probably spending by Swarm  I contacted some great players from the other side and put together a nonaggression pact, this pact was one of the most impressive agreements I've seen in the more than two years of playing  Hundreds of people worldwide stuck to this agreement and put past feelings behind us  It was awesome to see both sides stick so closely to each other in fighting against Swarm  I want to really thank everyone who showed honor by standing behind me and the faceless command when we suggested that, the people who really gave it a chance and then most importantly, to all the players who honored it  Faceless, thank you very much! We stood no chance of winning without you! The battle came down to literally one launch in one of three zones  I'd say that with that being said everyone fought incredibly hard, so I want to give Swarm the respect they deserve  You guys really show out and play to win  Good game, 2 against 1 is not easy, no matter how large your crew is  And Legion, we had many late, late nights, many very long days  You guys killed it this month! We didn't take home a trophy, but I would say we all have something to be proud of! The other leaders who helped me coordinate everything were awesome! So many great people kept everything moving forward 24 hours a day for the whole week  Thank you to everyone who gave it your all for the whole week even when we saw that Swarm had 4x our bots at the end of just one day  Many people would have given up, but we held in and **** near won! I've won Atlantis battles with Faceless and with Legion but I will say, nothing was as fun or incredible as this round! You guys are fantastic and I can't wait to do it all again next month! Hopefully we have more Legion and Faceless show up for the next round, but I know that even if we don't, we will figure out a way, just as warriors do  PEW! PEW! PEW!
I must start with an announcement: Camels are not the only animal in the middle east  You have overused it already  It's saddens me that anyone would still find it funny  Get a bit of originality  For anyone not wanting to read all this drivel, skip to the end (hint: Bold stuff)  At what point have I bullied anyone? When was the last aggressive or threatening message you or any of your members received from me? Never  Legion and Swarm (in the UK) have teamed up because Faceless are dominating in London  That makes sense  It's a three sided fight and if one force becomes too powerful, the other two can join forces to try and take them down  But: We are dominating in the London area while your alliance is attacking players outside of that area  Then you expect me to sit back and do nothing  You are specifically using me as an excuse for why you have teamed up but then you're attacking players outside of my reach, sometimes with Europe involved  If that is not reason enough to attack you then I'm not sure what is  You lot cube, multiscope and have multi faction accounts and still complain  I don't complain about anything you do  Play the way you want to, ill do the same  I am never rude to anyone, always polite no matter what the message is, never brag about what I do, can do or have done, never threaten anyone, try and keep in touch with the few swarm or legion who are civilised to me, listen to any message form any side and if I can help in any way, I try my best to  Formed agreements with enemy (that I didn't need to) that ended up slapping me in the face  I have even in the past taken the time to find out who some of the younger players are so I know to avoid them  When I'm in a different country I try and find who the bullies are  Those players who threaten and brag and laugh at others  Those are my targets (if they exist in those areas)  I don't see how anyone can think I'm a bully  Is it your money? Its none of your business how I spend it  Either way your numbers are way off  700 dollars a day? Did you just decide to blindly strike the number pad to come up with that figure? Best part of one of your posts is saying that the devs should worry about my welfare  What concerns you about me spending my money? Maybe I'll self harm due to overspending? I wont have enough to buy food because I bought too many cubes? I don't understand what they are supposed to worry about  I have issues? At what point did you deduce this oh mighty psychologist? Wait a minute are you my bank account manager? What do you know about how much I can or cant afford? Random guy spends money on something he enjoys  The end  Told you last time to give up on all the drama but I guess thank you for the concern  You play to make me spend more? And? What do you think that accomplishes? In fact how do you even make me spend? You don't even attack me  You sulk when I'm in the UK and when I fly out and you find out, you call in Europe to help you take an zone or two  As they say, whatever floats your boat  As for Atlantis: Please try again  I quit Atlantis when we were winning  I have on occasion involved myself after I was asked to help out but on the whole I give it a miss  The last time (months ago) was the last 10 minutes of Atlantis and Legion fought hard  We lost  I was not the only Faceless player to quit Atlantis  Quite a few of us thought it lasted too long and had too many zones to fight over  I hear the duration has been reduced  You can't honestly believe I changed my sleeping pattern for the game  I was in California for a month  I was jet lagged  My sleeping pattern was a bit off when I got back  You're not even accurate about when I deploy  Pay attention  You should know this by now: I play as and when I want, sometimes every 20 minutes and sometimes I do long stretches and sometimes I'm busy and don't deploy for hours  You wont always win, and nor will I  Try and get satisfaction form at least trying to win or putting up a good fight  About the limit on cubing  Please  I suggested that last year  Twice  Unfortunately multiscoping is allowed and so prevalent that it kind of ruins the idea  These are the facts: YOU and YOUR side threatened Faceless members who support London  One of the members threatened is actually London based  What do you expect him to do while his city is under attacked? A few of your members don't know when to keep quiet  They sent messages to us threatening specific players and telling them their zones will be dropped just because they have helped London  Basically if they help London then they get their zones wiped  And you have the cheek to call me a bully? We stood up to your members specifically because they were trying to bully  That is the reason we went strong months ago and took those big zones  How is this me bullying you? This is me answering your threats  I didn't attack those zones "just because i can", it's just because I should  Because of your threats  You can blame your members for the loss of those 2 or 3 big zones  These are the basics: You attack one of our zones  We look at the list of attackers and pick one of the players who deployed the most, find a zone of his or hers and attack it  We don't need to justify our attacks with "because there are Faceless players within 30 miles"  What, every time we attack a zone we need to send some letter explaining why? You attack us or we attack you, for any reason  That's the game  When some of you were cheating and you could not win you complained, when you cube and lose you complain, when you invite all of Europe to attack and win you still complain  I just think you like to make a fuss  Last words (for now): You think I attack zones as a means of getting attention? I get enough of it form your threads  The only attention seeker here is you with your victim attitude and pity us posts 
I've had some very angry emails today from a couple users who are upset their rival achieved the ability to switch factions freely having played for one of the factions for only 1 hour  I've been accused of doing favors, changing the rules, and various other backhanded deals  It appears it comes down reading the rules  You do not have to play for every faction for 60 days in order to earn free switching status  Here is a common scenario many players have used to achieve free switching status and avoiding playing for one faction they despise  1  Start with Swarm 2  Switch to Legion (earn Spy) play for 60 days 3  Switch back to Swarm (earn Double Agent) play for 60 days 4  Switch to Faceless (earn Mercenary) immediately switch back to Swarm or Legion Below is the complete text on the switch nanobots screen  It is the same text that has been there from Day 1 with the exception of the level 100 rules that went into place earlier this year, where you could switch as much as you want before level 100 , but those switches don't count towards the medals  This text has been part of this description since Jan 15, 2013  "Players that earn all three spy awards, may once again switch factions at any time as they could during the training levels 1 through 99 " Prior to Jan 15, the text said this  "Players that earn all three awards may be given the opportunity to switch factions more quickly in future updates (contact support for more information)" I pulled that right out of source control, which includes the entire change history  Here is the complete text from this page  http://portal qonqr    r/SwitchFaction WARNING: Defection has consequences! Self-destruct will be initiated on all your nanobots  Without the self-destruct, you would be required to battle against your former self to regain control of your zones  You will lose the capture and leadership of any zones you currently hold  Lifetime captures will be unaffected  If you are still completing the training levels and have not reached Level 100, you may switch as often as you like to find the faction that suits you best  Once you have reached Level 100 switching factions has rewards, but also has additional consequences beyond the self-destruct of all your nanobots  Defection will usually result in a demotion in rank  This is accomplished through awards with negative rank points  Those awards are: Spy - First switch to an opposing faction (-20 points) Double Agent - Return to a faction from which you had previously defected (-20 points) Mercenary - Become a member of all three factions (-20 points) Other Faction Change Details: You may not switch factions again until at least 60 days have passed since your last faction switch  Defection point penalties are applied only once per award Players that earn all three spy awards, may once again switch factions at any time as they could during the training levels 1 through 99  The decision to switch factions is one that must be made with strong determination  Nanobots cannot be reanimated once destroyed  You will retain your earned experience, level, formations, qredits, cubes, and upgrades  However, as far as your zones go, you will be starting over 
   has got to be one of the funniest moments I've seen in qonqr yet lol 
The **** change operation was a success!
As a relatively new player for faceless in a region dominated by swarm i can understand the OP  However, judging from the numbers i see here on a regular basis i think you are asking a bit much  My idea would be the opposite approach  Why not add a weapon with extremely short range, let's say like 5km that acts like a bomb and make it much stronk? That would add some serious home advantage  Or alternativley make attack formations lose power over range (exclude nanos and plasma)  Maybe something like that would allow newcomers to at least get a foothold in their homezones  It's just an idea, maybe i overlooked something?
This is by design  Some day it is possible (I said someday) we could offer skins for your scope  So we will need a uniform color scheme  You can tell the formation families based on the shape of the box  Trapezoid is attack, diamond is defense, and octagon is support  It will take some time to get comfortable with the change 
Geophysical based game  Anyways, probably not a bad idea but, considering the issues with the three platforms and the development of blue for those platforms, I doubt the resources are available for development on a new platform  Seen the blog? Its Qonqr meets wheel of fortune!
I am happy to announce that today I both completed the training and captured my first zone 
^THIS so now that qonqr has been thoroughly funded, can we have blue now? Or is that not happening still lol 
Atleast I am not legion and there for we can have this intelligent discussion rather than just compete over who has the best words XD ohhhhh someone bring the bill to legion cuz someone just served them extra double order of stir fried SNAPPPPPP If the devs wont make zone dueling for us I hope out there somewhere are those who would empty a zone and challenge one on one to a local battle  I'd like to see the transcript of deployments made / moves made as well that would be neat I think such events would be cool  I suppose if people give up on atlantis as it works now they can schedule their own tournements in empty atlantis zones   have a team clear the zone   put 1 vs 1 or teams vs teams   like fisticuffs challenges   find out what these warriors are really made of!
@Qonqrd everyone you know must face palm every time you make a post  Its embarrassing  Mega cubers or whatever you want to call them are not great for the opposing team surrounding them but are great for the game itself (money) and for the team they are part of  Multiscopers are not not great for the opposing team surrounding them and bring nothing to the game but are great for the team they are part of  Both have a negative impact on enemy teams/players but only one benefits the game itself  Both can make people want to quit out of frustration  And that's not great for the game  @OP unlimited refresh is over powered  Its frustrating to fight against a ridiculous amount of refreshes  Unfortunately i dont see anything changing unless this game gets a lot more people playing  More people might mean more money for the company from various sources  More money from various players might mean they can limit the players who spend a ton and still generate a healthy income  The main issue i see with limiting refreshes is someone multiscoping and spending money  He now has two, three, four accounts to refresh with and gets the advantage  Its tricky 
ey dun new ho to yet it uff 
Yet you complain almost everyday here, on your website, Twitter, and YouTube channel that the game needs to change because cubing has such an impact 
It was fun  Swarm had me scared at first, but it turned into kind of a bullying match between us and legion  Last hour became p obvious which way it was gonna go  Legion rly stepped up their game in the end there, respect 
We are investigating this  Here is what we know: Several of the accounts used the same password  Most of the accounts belonged to people who knew each other personally  The accounts were all switched from the same IP Addresses  The person who logged in, got into each account on the first attempt, so they knew the password for each account  What you should know: QONQR never stores passwords, not even in the logs  Passwords are hashed (one way encrypted) and can never be decrypted When you authenticate to our servers, we hash the password you gave us and compare it to the encrypted password in the database to see if they match  Access to our database in the could is restricted tightly and we are confident no one breached the system  What you should do: Don't use the same password as other people you play with  Don't share your password with anyone 
I heard all the French players fled to the UK after one German player accidentally shot a single missile into France 
Most factions now use GroupMe or Line as their means of communication, the forums are too slow as a means of communication and insecure for specific faction conversations  Think of the forums are more of a gaming information resource rather than a means of communication  Contact the top players of your faction in the leader boards of your state and they will likely point you in the right direction to chatting with your local faction  The developers are also building some sort of new chat system into the game, we don't know much about it but apparently beta testing for the chat will be happening very soon (next couple of weeks) according to their timelines 
A way to honor the dead? Nah, how bout a way to dishonor the dead 
Could just build it up and retain their capture  Remember Bizzy, staq to the heavens 
I just read this entire thread  I am now tuckered 
Does anyone know if Bot Booster has an effect on Seekers and how much dmg they do to attacking players? Also on the topic of seekers, does the amount of skeers in a battlefield have any effect on how much damage they do?
Interactive map of real-time zone captures 
You know that is something I didn't factor in there  Time  The player who can consistently and constantly launch wins against the guy who casually picks up the phone on occasion or has to work away from a cell phone for 8 hours  Good point  And yes I can't argue skill doesn't factor in, it just seems like less of a factor than other games is all 
I cant see why a closed forum, open only to registered Qonqr accounts, cant be used  **** spammers!
Gotta love synclock! I suspect linjin has a problem  Maybe the dvs should look into it 
No, Naamah   I clearly understood what you were trying to convey  I'll even go as far as to agree that what your facing now is, while fully allowed and deemed completely acceptable by the developers, unbalanced and wrong  However  the imbalance isn't in the game and isn't something that, from a business standpoint, is likely to be regulated  The game is fair  the advantages are provided to all players  It's the players themselves that throw the balance into chaos because, as you've said, not everyone can afford spending several thousand bucks a year in only one game  Truthfully, in my opinion, the moment you admitted to buying cubes yourself your complaint became silly  because I'm sure there's a player out there, who has bought NO cubes, who can make this same complaint about you that you are making about others here  I know these things because I've read them so   many   times in this forum  There was likely a time, ages ago when I was a young Massune, that I even posted a few myself  That was the purpose of my post  I was poking fun at addition of yet another cuber/bully/trash talk complaint on the forum  It wasn't directed at your personal plight so much as the idea that someone, yet again, finds it necessary to lobby for a spending cap on the only real way for this game to make money  As to your specific problem  you, like all those that have raised this topic before you, have few options to rectify the issue  Here are a few that seem to have worked for others  fight harder, recruit better, spend less time complaining and more time organizing, budget for more cubes or quit  I'd rather not see you opt for the latter  but to each their own 
I agree, we should find a way to honor the dead, but I don't think keeping their towers infinitely is necessarily the solution  The game must go on  I'm pretty sure the point of bot decay was to clear the game of inactive player bots so that new players can have a chance to rise up, not to dishonor the bots of dead players 
The following are frequently asked questions about the new server update (so far) It still says Training Complete on my iPhone  -	Download the update from iTunes It still says Training Complete on my Android  -	Sorry, Android will not be updated again until the QONQR Blue beta is released My XP per launch keeps going down -	This is XP throttling and is intended to limit the ability for people to leve1 from 1 to 100 in a single day through heavy cubing  The XP throttle was introduced with the original version of QONQR in 2012,and the throttle formula is the same for levels above 100  The throttle resets at midnight UTC every day  How do I buy the Bot Regeneration Accelerator? -	Currently the Bot Regen Accelerator can only be purchased through http://portal qonqr com  Go to the Depot and review your scope upgrades  The new QONQR Blue clients will allow for this purchase to be made in the app using your mobile billing  I don’t have a PayPal account -	For users interested in purchasing the Regen upgrade, but who do not have a PayPal account, PayPal does give you the option to checkout using your billing information without creating an account  PayPal is not allowed in my country, or I don’t have a credit or debit card -	Please contact support@QONQR com for alternate options Is Bot Regen Accelerator counted as part of the 100% scope upgrades? -	Yes, but there is a bug that does not increase scope upgrade percent when you purchase this upgrade, that will be fixed in the coming days  For all other questions, please read the 7 blog posts prior to 7/29/2015 for information on what was included in the update today 
Bye Fack, its been a pleasure being allied and against you 
The two big issues that are both killing the game slowly and keeping it from growing exponentially are cube injustice and new player ramp  The game obviously also needs to provide a consistent and growing revenue stream as well  I think Silver needs to rethink how revenue is generated if he is going to address cube injustice and new player ramp  For revenue generation I would suggest a model that doesn't give a significant combat advantages  Download and play for free from level 0-99 Pay small monthly fee to get full functionality or play for free at 50% of offensive/defensive funtionality Still buy cubes, but cubes are used for following: - Credit Boost: harvest more credits for a period of time - Range Extension: ability to use standard attack/defense formations at extended ranges - Base Share: get 100% credit attainment even in bases owned by another faction - Purchase additional ordinance - Zone Name Change - ability to customize zone names  "Breggland" - Faction Change with Bots - pay for the ability to keep up to 50% of your bots with faction change - Experience Boost: %increase in experienced gained while leveling - Other: anything that helps grow a player or provides enjoyment, but doesn't tip the battle capability of a scope  New Player Ramp/Integration into Game - Offer paid immediate ramp package: one price to become 100 with full upgrades - Like the changes in Blue - Create new zones in Metro areas that only 0-99 level can launch into, with statewide ranges Understand that catering to those who have money and like to use it for an advantage is a good business model and for those people it might be ok to offer very expensive options: - Shield generators: temporary energy shield that adds X% increase to defense or stops X% of damage - EMP's: turns Absorbs off for X minutes  Does not destroy, just turns off - Chain Lighting: Does damage across multiple players in a zone From a development standpoint I have no idea what is possible, easy or hard, but the general idea is to make the playing field more fair for the standard player while maintaining and growing a business revenue stream 
You need to come to the Northeast US  We handle our business like no other 
Context 2: Thalassaemia minor | definition of Thalassaemia minor by Medical dictionary
Thalassaemia minor | definition of Thalassaemia minor by Medical dictionary
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Related to Thalassaemia minor: thalassaemia major
Thalassemia describes a group of inherited disorders characterized by reduced or absent amounts of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein inside the red blood cells  There are two basic groups of thalassemia disorders: alpha thalassemia and beta thalassemia  These conditions cause varying degrees of anemia, which can range from insignificant to life threatening 
All types of thalassemias are considered quantitative diseases of hemoglobin, because the quantity of hemoglobin produced is reduced or absent  Usual adult hemoglobin is made up of three components: alpha globin, beta globin, and heme  Thalassemias are classified according to the globin that is affected, hence the names alpha and beta thalassemia  Although both classes of thalassemia affect the same protein, the alpha and beta thalassemias are distinct diseases that affect the body in different ways 
Beta thalassemia may be the most best-known type of thalassemia and is also called Cooley's anemia  It is caused by a change in the gene for the beta globin component of hemoglobin  Beta thalassemia causes variable anemia that can range from moderate to severe, depending in part on the exact genetic change underlying the disease  Beta thalassemia can be classified based on clinical symptoms  Beta thalassemia major usually causes severe anemia that can occur within months after birth  If left untreated, severe anemia can result in insufficient growth and development, as well as other common physical complications that can lead to a dramatically decreased life-expectancy  Fortunately, in developed countries beta thalassemia is usually identified by screening in the newborn period, before symptoms have developed  Children who are identified early can be started on ongoing blood transfusion therapy as needed  Although transfusion therapy prevents many of the complications of severe anemia, the body is unable to eliminate the excess iron contained in the transfused blood  Over time, the excess iron deposits in tissues and organs, resulting in damage and organ failure  Another medication must be administered to help the body eliminate the excess iron and prevent iron-over-load complications  Beta thalassemia intermedia describes the disease in individuals who have moderate anemia that only requires blood transfusions intermittently, if at all 
Alpha thalassemia is the result of changes in the genes for the alpha globin component of hemoglobin  There are two main types of alpha thalassemia disease: hemoglobin H disease and alpha thalassemia major  The two diseases are quite different from beta thalassemia as well as from one another  Individuals with hemoglobin H disease can experience events of hemolytic anemia—anemia caused by the rapid breakdown of the red blood cells  These events are thought to be triggered by various environmental causes, such as infection and/or exposure to certain chemicals  Hemoglobin H disease is in most cases milder than beta thalassemia  It does not generally require transfusion therapy  Alpha thalassemia major is a very serious disease that results in severe anemia that begins even before birth  Most affected babies do not survive to be born or die shortly after birth 
The thalassemias are among the most common genetic diseases worldwide  Both alpha and beta thalassemia have been described in individuals of almost every ancestry, but the conditions are more common among certain ethnic groups  Unaffected carriers of all types of thalassemia traits do not experience health problems  In fact, the thalassemia trait is protective against malaria, a disease caused by blood-borne parasites transmitted through mosquito bites  According to a widely accepted theory, most genetic changes—mutations—that cause thalassemia occurred multiple generations ago  Coincidentally, these mutations increased the likelihood that carriers would survive malaria infection  Survivors passed the mutation onto their offspring, and the trait became established throughout areas where malaria is common  As populations migrated, so did the thalassemia traits 
Beta thalassemia trait is seen most commonly in people with the following ancestry: Mediterranean (including North African, and particularly Italian and Greek), Middle Eastern, Indian, African, Chinese, and Southeast Asian (including Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Singaporean, Filipino, Cambodian, Malaysian, Burmese, and Indonesian)  Alpha-thalassemia trait is seen with increased frequency in the same ethnic groups  However, there are different types of alpha thalassemia traits within these populations  The frequency of hemoglobin H disease and alpha thalassemia major depends on the type of alpha thalassemia trait  The populations in which alpha thalassemia diseases are most common include Southeast Asians and Chinese (particularly Southern Chinese) 
It is difficult to obtain accurate prevalence figures for various types of thalassemia within different populations  This difficulty arises due to testing limitations in determining exact genetic diagnoses, as well as the fact that many studies have focused on small, biased hospital populations 
Two studies reflect prevalence figures that can be helpful counseling families and determining who to screen for beta thalassemia  Between the years of 1990 and 1996, the State of California screened more than 3 1 million infants born in the state for beta thalassemia  Approximately 1 in 114,000 infants had beta thalassemia major, with prevalence rates being highest among Asian Indians (about one in 4,000), Southeast Asians (about one in 10,000), and Middle Easterners (about one in 7,000)  Another type of beta thalassemia disease, E/beta thalassemia, was represented in approximately one in 110,000 births, all of which occurred in families of Southeast Asian ancestry  Among Southeast Asians, the prevalence of E/beta thalassemia was approximately one in 2,600 births  This is in keeping with the observation that hemoglobin E trait carrier rates are relatively high within the Southeast Asian population: 16% in a study of 768 immigrants to California, and up to 25% in some specific Southeast Asian populations such as Cambodians  While these California studies address some of the limitations of earlier population studies, the pattern observed in California is expected to be different in other areas of the United States and the world  For example, Italians are underrepresented in this population when compared to the population of the East Coast of the United States 
Determining prevalence figures for alpha thalassemia is even more difficult due to increased limitations in diagnostic testing  All types of alpha thalassemia disease are most common among people of Southeast Asian and Chinese descent, for reasons that become clearer with an understanding of the underlying genetics of alpha thalassemia  One study of 500 pregnant women in Northern Thailand estimated a frequency of one in 500 pregnancies affected by alpha thalassemia major, for example  Prevalence of alpha thalassemia disease is significantly lower in the United States primarily because of immigration patterns; although at least one state, California, has observed growing hemoglobin H disease incidence rates that are high enough to justify universal newborn screening for the condition 
Humans normally make several types of the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin  An individual's stage in development determines whether he or she makes primarily embryonic, fetal, or adult hemoglobins  All types of hemoglobin are made of three components: heme, alpha (or alpha-like) globin, and beta (or beta-like) globin  All types of thalassemia are caused by changes in either the alpha- or beta-globin gene  These changes cause little or no globin to be produced  The thalassemias are, therefore, considered quantitative hemoglobin diseases  All types of thalassemias are recessively inherited, meaning that a genetic change must be inherited from both the mother and the father  The severity of the disease is influenced by the exact thalassemia mutations inherited, as well as other genetic and environmental factors  There are rare exceptions, notably with beta thalassemia, where globin gene mutations exhibit a dominant pattern of inheritance in which only one gene needs to be altered in order to see disease expression  Scientists continue to study the causes  For instance, a new mutation for alpha-thalassemia was discovered for the first time among Iranian patients in 2004 
BETA-THALASSEMIA  Most individuals have two normal copies of the beta globin gene, which is located on chromosome 11 and makes the beta globin component of normal adult hemoglobin, hemoglobin A  There are approximately 100 genetic mutations that have been described that cause beta thalassemia, designated as either beta0 or beta + mutations  No beta globin is produced with a beta0 mutation, and only a small fraction of the normal amount of beta globin is produced with a beta + mutation 
When an individual has one normal beta globin gene and one with a beta thalassemia mutation, he or she is said to carry the beta thalassemia trait  Beta thalassemia trait, like other hemoglobin traits, is protective against malaria infection  Trait status is generally thought not to cause health problems, although some women with beta thalassemia trait may have an increased tendency toward anemia during pregnancy 
When two members of a couple carry the beta thalassemia trait, there is a 25% chance that each of their children will inherit beta thalassemia disease by inheriting two beta thalassemia mutations, one from each parent  The clinical severity of the beta thalassemia disease—whether an individual has beta thalassemia intermedia or beta thalassemia major—will depend largely on whether the mutations inherited are beta0 thalassemia or beta + thalassemia mutations  Two beta0 mutations generally lead to beta thalassemia major, and two beta+ thalassemia mutations generally lead to beta thalassemia intermedia  Inheritance of one beta0 and one beta + thalassemia mutation tends to be less predictable 
Although relatively uncommon, there are other thalassemia-like mutations that can affect the beta globin gene  Hemoglobin E is the result of a substitution of a single nucleotide  This change results in a structurally altered hemoglobin that is produced in decreased amounts  Therefore, hemoglobin E is unique in that it is both a quantitative (i e  thalassemia-like) and qualitative trait  When co-inherited with a beta thalassemia trait, it causes a disease that is almost indistinguishable from beta thalassemia disease  Large deletions around and including the beta globin gene can lead to delta/beta thalassemia or hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH)  Interestingly, delta/beta thalassemia trait behaves very similarly to beta thalassemia trait in its clinical manifestations  However, HPFH trait does not tend to cause hemoglobin disease when co-inherited with a second thalassemia or other beta globin mutation 
ALPHA-THALASSEMIA  Most individuals have four normal copies of the alpha globin gene, two copies on each chromosome 16  These genes make the alpha globin component of normal adult hemoglobin, which is called hemoglobin A  Alpha globin is also a component of fetal hemoglobin and the other major adult hemoglobin called hemoglobin A2  Mutations of the alpha globin genes are usually deletions of the gene, resulting in absent production of alpha globin  Since there are four genes (instead of the usual two) to consider when looking at alpha globin gene inheritance, there are several alpha globin types that are possible 
Absence of one alpha globin gene leads to a condition known as silent alpha thalassemia trait  This condition causes no health problems and can be detected only by special genetic testing  Alpha thalassemia trait occurs when two alpha globin genes are missing  This can occur in two ways  The genes may be deleted from the same chromosome, causing the 'cis' type of alpha thalassemia trait  Alternately, they may be deleted from different chromosomes, causing the 'trans' type of alpha thalassemia trait  In both instances, there are no associated health problems, although the trait status may be detected by more routine blood screening 
Hemoglobin H disease results from the deletion of three alpha globin genes, such that there is only one functioning gene  Typically, this can occur when one parent carries the silent alpha thalassemia trait, and the other parent carries the 'cis' type of the alpha thalassemia trait  In this situation, there is a 25% chance for hemoglobin H disease in each of such a couple's children 
Hemoglobin H disease-like symptoms can also be a part of a unique condition called alpha thalassemia mental retardation syndrome  Alpha thalassemia mental retardation syndrome can be caused by a deletion of a significant amount of chromosome 16, affecting the alpha globin genes  This is usually not inherited, but rather occurs sporadically in the affected individual  Affected individuals have mild hemoglobin H disease, mild-to-moderate mental retardation, and characteristic facial features  This syndrome can also occur as a sex-linked form in which a mutation is inherited in a particular gene on the X-chromosome  This gene influences alpha globin production, as well as various other developmental processes  Individuals affected with this form of the syndrome tend to have more severe mental retardation, delayed development, nearly absent speech, characteristic facial features, and genital-urinary abnormalities  The remaining discussion will focus only on aspects of hemoglobin H disease 
Alpha thalassemia major results from the deletion of all four alpha globin genes, such that there are no functioning alpha globin genes  This can occur when both parents carry the 'cis' type of the alpha thalassemia trait  In this situation, there is a 25% chance for alpha thalassemia major in each of such a couple's children 
Beta thalassemia major is characterized by severe anemia that can begin months after birth  In the United States and other developed countries beta thalassemia is identified and treated early and effectively  Therefore, the following discussion of symptoms applies primarily to affected individuals in the past and unfortunately in some underdeveloped countries now  If untreated, beta thalassemia major can lead to severe lethargy, paleness, and delays in growth and development  The body attempts to compensate by producing more blood, which is made inside the bones in the marrow  However, this is ineffective without the needed genetic instructions to make enough functioning hemoglobin  Instead, obvious bone expansion and changes occur that cause characteristic facial and other changes in appearance, as well as increased risk of fractures  Severe anemia taxes other organs in the body—such as the heart, spleen, and liver—which must work harder than usual  This can lead to heart failure, as well as enlargement and other problems of the liver and spleen  When untreated, beta thalassemia major generally results in childhood death, usually due to heart failure  In 2004, the first known heart attack associated with beta thalassemia major was reported  Fortunately, in developed countries diagnosis is usually made early, often before symptoms have begun  This allows for treatment with blood transfusion therapy, which can prevent most of the complications of the severe anemia caused by beta thalassemia major  Individuals with beta thalassemia intermedia have a more moderate anemia that may only require treatment with transfusion intermittently, such as when infections occur and stress the body  As a person with beta thalassemia intermedia gets older, however, the need for blood transfusions may increase to the point that they are required on a regular basis  When this occurs their disease becomes more similar to beta thalassemia major  Other genetic and environmental factors can influence the course of the disease as well  For example, co-inheritance of one or two alpha thalassemia mutations can tend to ameliorate some of the symptoms of beta thalassemia disease, which result in part from an imbalance in the amount of alpha- and beta-globin present in the red blood cells 
Hemoglobin h disease
Absence of three alpha globin genes causes an imbalance of alpha and beta globin proteins in the red blood cells  The excess beta globin proteins tend to come together to form hemoglobin H, which is unable to release oxygen to the tissues  In addition, hemoglobin H tends to precipitate out in the cells, causing damage to the red blood cell membrane  When affected individuals are exposed to certain drugs and chemicals known to make the membrane more fragile, the cells are thought to become vulnerable to breakdown in large numbers, a complication called hemolytic anemia  Fever and infection are also considered to be triggers of hemolytic anemia in hemoglobin H disease  This can result in fatigue, paleness, and a yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of eyes called jaundice  Usually, the anemia is mild enough not to require treatment  Severe anemia events may require blood transfusion, however, and are usually accompanied by such other symptoms as dark feces or urine and abdominal or back pain  These events are uncommon in hemoglobin H disease, although they occur more frequently in a more serious type of hemoglobin H disease called hemoglobin H/Constant Spring disease  Individuals effected with this type of hemoglobin H disease are also more likely to have enlargement of and other problems with the spleen 
Alpha thalassemia major
Because alpha globin is a necessary component of all major hemoglobins and some minor hemoglobins, absence of all functioning alpha globin genes leads to serious medical consequences that begin even before birth  Affected fetuses develop severe anemia as early as the first trimester of pregnancy  The placenta, heart, liver, spleen, and adrenal glands may all become enlarged  Fluid can begin collecting throughout the body as early as the start of the second trimester, causing damage to developing tissues and organs  Growth retardation is also common  Affected fetuses usually miscarry or die shortly after birth  In addition, women carrying affected fetuses are at increased risk of developing complications of pregnancy and delivery  Up to 80% of such women develop toxemia, a disturbance of metabolism that can potentially lead to convulsions and coma  Other maternal complications include premature delivery and increased rates of delivery by cesarean section, as well as hemorrhage after delivery 
Thalassemia may be suspected if an individual shows signs that are suggestive of the disease  In all cases, however, laboratory diagnosis is essential to confirm the exact diagnosis and to allow for the provision of accurate genetic counseling about recurrence risks and testing options for parents and affected individuals  Screening is likewise recommended to determine trait status for individuals of high-risk ethnic groups 
The following tests are used to screen for thalassemia disease and/or trait:
hemoglobin electrophoresis with quantitative hemoglobin A2 and hemoglobin F
free erythrocyte-protoporphyrin (or ferritin or other studies of serum iron levels)
A complete blood count will identify low levels of hemoglobin, small red blood cells, and other red blood cell abnormalities that are characteristic of a thalassemia diagnosis  Since thalassemia trait can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from iron deficiency, tests to evaluate iron levels are important  A hemoglobin electrophoresis is a test that can help identify the types and quantities of hemoglobin made by an individual  This test uses an electric field applied across a slab of gel-like material  Hemoglobins migrate through this gel at various rates and to specific locations, depending on their size, shape, and electrical charge  Isoelectric focusing and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) use similar principles to separate hemoglobins and can be used instead of or in various combinations with hemoglobin electrophoresis to determine the types and quantities of hemoglobin present  Hemoglobin electrophoresis results are usually within the normal range for all types of alpha thalassemia  However, hemoglobin A2 levels and sometimes hemoglobin F levels are elevated when beta thalassemia disease or trait is present  Hemoglobin electrophoresis can also detect structurally abnormal hemoglobins that may be co-inherited with a thalassemia trait to cause thalassemia disease (i e , hemoglobin E) or other types of hemoglobin disease (i e , sickle hemoglobin)  Sometimes DNA testing is needed in addition to the above screening tests  This can be performed to help confirm the diagnosis and establish the exact genetic type of thalassemia 
Diagnosis of thalassemia can occur under various circumstances and at various ages  Several states offer thalassemia screening as part of the usual battery of blood tests done for newborns  This allows for early identification and treatment  Thalassemia can be identified before birth through the use of prenatal diagnosis  Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can be offered as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy and involves removing a sample of the placenta made by the baby and testing the cells  CVS carries a risk of causing a miscarriage that is between 0 5%-1%  Amniocentesis is generally offered between 15 and 22 weeks of pregnancy, but can sometimes be offered earlier  Two to three tablespoons of the fluid surrounding the baby is removed  This fluid contains fetal cells that can be tested  The risk of miscarriage associated with amniocentesis ranges from 0 33-0 5%  Pregnant woman and couples may choose prenatal testing in order to prepare for the birth of a baby that may have thalassemia  Alternately, knowing the diagnosis during pregnancy allows for the option of pregnancy termination  Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a relatively new technique that involves in-vitro fertilization followed by genetic testing of one cell from each developing embryo  Only the embryos unaffected by sickle cell disease are transferred back into the uterus  PGD is currently available on a research basis only and is relatively expensive 
Individuals with beta thalassemia major receive regular blood transfusions, usually on a monthly basis  This helps prevent severe anemia and allows for more normal growth and development  Transfusion therapy does have limitations, however  Individuals can develop reactions to certain proteins in the blood—called a transfusion reaction
Context 3: HOFFMAN: I'm delighted to introduce the chair of the last session, Mara Liasson from the National Public Radio  Mara is Congressional correspondent for NPR, and covers activities in Congress in D C  Right now, this week, she has been covering the tax bill, which people currently are going at hot and heavy  She took time off from her busy schedule to come here to help us sort out some of these key issues for today, and more importantly, for what happens in the next decade and beyond  I'll turn it over to Mara to get the panel going 
LIASSON: Thank you very much  I am probably the only person here who has absolutely no background in technology  Anyway, I am the only one who does not understand what the panelists are going to be talking about (laughter), and although they have already told me that they do not appreciate people who think that that's a great quality and look down on people who are technical, and I certainly do not, I will reserve the right to insist that they all talk in terms that people like me can understand, since there is more of me out there than you, although not in this room today  (laughter) What we are going to do is introduce each panelist, and each one will make a short three- to five-minute presentation  Then my instructions say that we are going to have a McLaughlin Group discussion, which I guess means lots of yelling and screaming and talking at once  (laughter) After that's over, about 4:10, we'll open up the panel for questions from the audience 
To my left is Peter Denning, who is Chairman of the Computer Science Department at George Mason University and also the associate dean for computing  He is the program chair of this conference, has also served as the president of ACM, and he is currently the editor of Communications 
Simon Davies, to my right, also wears blue suits, but you can tell him from Mitch, because he wears a white hat  (laughter) He is from Sydney, Australia, and is the Director General of Privacy International, which is an international network of privacy advocates  He is also an author, a journalist, and radio commentator 
To his right is Roland Homet  He is an information policy writer and thinker who recently opened his own public policy writing firm here in Washington -- it's called Executive Ink, not Inc , as it is written in your programs, so you can scratch that out 
Esther Dyson, at the end of the panel, is among the most respected commentators on developing technology trends in the personal computer business  She publishes two newsletters, Release 1 0 and Rel-EAST  She has also been one of the driving forces promoting East-West relations through computer networks  She is a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation as well 
I'll ask Peter to start 
P  DENNING: Thank you  Starting around 1850, people of many countries looked to their governments to regulate commerce, erase inequities, and build societies of better human beings  For over a hundred years, many people, from peasants to intellectuals, had faith that strong governments would bring them a better life  This faith was part of the clearing in which Communist governments flourished; although the United States took an anti-Communist stand, the same faith fostered a strong government that promised salvation by great national programs including Social Security, welfare, food stamps, the War on Poverty, and the Great Society  This faith is now shattered  People no longer trust that powerful government can deliver a better life 
The dramatic collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union illustrates this, as does the growing disillusionment of the American people for federal, state, and local governments  The poor track record of government is not the only reason for the shift  Information technology has accelerated the process  Communications that took weeks in the last century now take fractions of a second  Business success depends on what happens around the globe, not only on local conditions  Radio, TV, fax, and now E-mail are common worldwide, so much so that not even a powerful government can control what information its citizens have  Because the space of opportunity for people to engage in transactions with each other has been so enormously enlarged during the past decade, faith in marketplace democracies is on the rise worldwide; correspondingly faith in central management mechanisms is on the decline  This shift has brought with it a shift of the power of institutions  Government institutions tend to try to hold onto their power by regulatory coercion to enforce the old ways  This can produce big tensions and even promote breakage 
Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the cryptographic area which we have just been talking about in the previous hour  This technology, cryptography, produces mechanisms for digital signatures, authentication, electronic money, certificates, and private communication -- all offering a way for standard business practices now based on paper to be shifted into the electronic media  The success of worldwide enterprises depends on this shift being completed rapidly and effectively  As more people realize this, the momentum for incorporating cryptographic technology into the information infrastructure is accelerating 
In this country, the National Security Agency has long been given the authority to regulate cryptography  This authority was granted in another time when the success of the country depended upon the ability of its government to gather intelligence and communicate in secret  These premises made sense in a world where most of the power resided in governments, but the world is changing  Much economic power is now accumulating in large apolitical transnational corporations  These corporations place their own concerns and strategies ahead of those of governments of the countries in which they do business  Like governments, they are interested in gathering intelligence about competitors and in conducting business in private  Unlike governments, they want open access to the technologies of authentication, electronic money, digital signatures, and certificates that will allow them to conduct business transactions across the network  So it is no longer true that national power and national security are increased when government has the sole right to gather intelligence and encipher communications  Now the strength of a country depends not only on its government, but also on its corporations  The old premises have fallen away in the new reality, but the old policy remains  It's time to rethink the policy, before tensions between a threatened government and corporations produce significant social tension and perhaps breakage 
Well, digital media -- computer-based communications -- are the printing press of the 21st century, and as the printing press transformed society, created the modern individual, gave rise to the basis of the democratic state and to the notion of individual rights, I suspect that we will see a similar, radical transformation of the very constitution of global society in the next century, facilitated by this enabling technology  I would be the last person to try to sketch out the details, or tell you what the issues are going to be, but I want to share with you some feelings about what is really going to matter, as we go about this -- and I'll start with something about myself 
You see a guy wearing a suit; most of you know I have a lot of money -- I'm a successful businessman  God knows what images propagate around the media and settle in people's minds, but I've always seen myself, and felt myself to the core of my being, as an outsider, every bit as much as a self-proclaimed outsider, as Tom Jennings -- who spoke so eloquently about this at the Pioneer awards* yesterday -- was  *The Electronic Freedom Foundation presented its first awards at a related, adjacent reception which was not formally a part of the conference 
I think we are all outsiders; we are all different, all unique  We're not the same  We share an underlying common humanity, but we should not be asked to subjugate ourselves to some form of mass society that causes us each to become indistinguishable from one another  I believe that computer- based communications technology is an enabling technology to liberate individuals and to free us from the oppressive influence of large institutions, whether those are public or private  And I am talking about an economic restructuring that results in a much more decentralized society, and social restructuring in an affirmation of the simple right to be left alone  I think Cyberspace is good for individuals, and I think that's important  I also think that the flip side of the coin, the creation of community, which we so sorely lack in this country today, can be facilitated through these technologies 
I have experienced that for myself, as many of you have on your various computer networks on conferencing systems like the WELL  It is enormously liberating to overcome the artificial boundaries of space and time  We are prisoners of geography in the physical world, and our communities are largely a product of who we can see face to face each day, even though our real comrades and colleagues may be scattered all over the world and our interests -- whether they are hobbies or political interests or religious interests, whatever they might be -- can be facilitated if we are able to get in touch with, to form bonds with, to exchange views and ideas with other kindred spirits  And I believe this technology is an enabling technology for the formation of community  My hope is that we will have the wisdom to create policies which enable individuals to flourish free from the chains of mass society, and which enable voluntary communities of people, individuals, groups who come together to be with each other and to work together  I hope both of those become possible 
DAVIES: I feel very warmed by the various visions of the future that have come out of this conference, but I am a cynic, and cynicism is good, because it adds fiber  (laughter) How nice the world would be if everyone was like Mitch, but they're not, because the future is in the hands of ruthless, greedy little men 
I want to paint the vision of the future that I have, and I hope it's not too depressing because there is a future, a good future    possibly  I agree, as many of you do, that the future is going to be like some giant informational Yggdrasil* *Reference from Old Norse mythology -- the Yggdrasil was a giant ash tree whose roots held together the universe   We'll all be part of interconnectivity, the likes of which we can scarcely imagine right now  I imagine it will be like an organism where we're independent and interdependent, and so it's like a two-edged sword  That's all very nice, and we can see that we form part of that new community  But, I see a world with 15 billion beings scrambling for life, where four-fifths of the world lives on half a liter of water a day, where people grow up to see their children dying, where new political frontiers are destroying freedoms and the democracy that we have developed over the last two centuries  I see a world where there is very little hope for nearly everybody on the planet, except for the elite -- that's us -- except for those of us who are plugged into the informational Yggdrasil 
What I see is that 14 of those 15 billion people are a lot of pissed-off people who have their eyes set on what they see, not as a wonderful informational community, but as the beast  And they see that that is where the resources are, and that's where the opportunities are, and that's where the political power is  I can't see a future for us in a world where ultimately the great demon becomes information  It might be good for us, but for the disaffected four-fifths of the world, information is going to be something which, frankly, we can do without, because in a world with almost no resources left, surely information is selfishness 
HOMET: Thank you  I'm grateful to the organizers for including me in these proceedings -- they are reminiscent for me of some information policy conferences that I organized 15 to 20 years ago for the Aspen Institute  The particulars have certainly changed, but the dynamics remain much the same  For me, these are well-represented by Peter Denning's image of a changeable clearing in the woods  At any given time, as I see it, the clearing is an acceptable standoff between the forces of modernization and of traditional culture, between freedom and discipline, between structure and spontaneity  Now we voice these as opposites, but in fact, they need each other  It is the creative tension between technological innovation and established order that allows society to hold together and progress to take place  Take away freedom and order will be overthrown -- witness the Soviet Union  Take away tradition, and modernization will be crushed -- witness Iran  The clearing must be respected and it must move  Just as Benjamin Cardozo of the U S  Supreme Court said 65 years ago, the genius of the American system is its penchant for ordered liberty  When both halves of the equation work against each other and together in Hegelian terms, the clearing that they produce is, at any given time, a prevailing hypothesis, which is challenged by a new antithesis  Together they can produce a fresh synthesis  And all that is very familiar  What is new and trying is the sweep and pace of innovation today, plus -- and this is what we sometimes forget -- the political volatility of the value systems that this can induce  If you doubt that, consider the Buchanan campaign and what's been going on with the Endowment for the Arts and public broadcasting  These are signs of people running scared, and they can cause damage 
So the answer for the 21st century is to proceed under power, but with restraint, to practice what Mitch Kapor in another connection called toleration for opposing forces and perspectives  We need each other to keep the enterprise together and on course  For computer practitioners represented in this room, this means restraint from provoking unnecessary and damaging social backlash  A good example might be New York telcos offering free per-call and per-line blocking with this caller identification service  For regulators and law enforcers, restraint means asking, "Do you know enough to freeze emerging conduct in a particular form or pattern?" I was very taken by the role reversal exercise organized by Michael Gibbons on Wednesday night  It led me to wonder what might have happened to the government's wiretapping and encryption proposals had they been subjected to a comparable advanced exercise before introduction 
Sixteen years ago in Aspen, Colorado, I convened a gathering of federal policymakers and invited them to consider a suggested matrix of policy values and processes in the information society  The first two of those values -- it will not surprise you to know -- were freedom of discourse and individual privacy  But there were more: freedom of economic choice is one; the general welfare another; popular sovereignty, worth pausing on, I described as avoiding concentrations of economic and political power in any sector of industry or government that impinge unduly on the freedoms or welfare of the citizenry  And then there is progress, social progress, the fostering, I said, of market incentives and opportunities for technological and service innovations and for widened consumer choice among technologies and services  Now obviously if you give just a moment's thought to it, you will recognize, as I think we have in this conference, that these values can collide with each other at key points, and therefore accommodations must be made  For that we need processes of accommodation  I also suggested some of those  After you identify the relevant values and goals, you then should ask yourself about the necessity and the appropriateness of having government make any decision on the matter  And this has to do with such things like the adequacy of decision-making standards, the availability of adequate information, and the adequacy of personnel resources to deal with it  Then you get into dividing up the possible roles of the various elements of government -- the regulatory agencies, the Executive Branch, the Judiciary, and the Congress  It doesn't stop there, because you need to ask about international implications, which we have done some of here  And federal/state implications -- very often allowing the state to make a stab at social ordering in the first instance is, as Justice Brandeis often said, the best way, through the social laboratory technique, to try out what is the right answer, without endangering the whole society  And as we have heard today, we need also to think about the availability of non-coercive instruments of accommodation, like a federal data protection board 
DYSON: I want to just say one thing about this business of crypto technology -- it is a very simple sentence, and everyone seems to slip slightly by it; that is, if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns  Crypto technology is fundamentally a defensive weapon  It may protect murderers and thieves, but it is not a weapon that murders, kills, does anything bad; and so it is a very different kettle of fish from any other kind of weapon  The whole point is that information is powerful, and that the free flow of information, privacy-protected, empowers the powerless and is dangerous to the powerful -- and that's why we need our privacy protected 
Now let me just talk a wee bit about the future  A couple of days ago, a reporter called me and asked what the EFF stood for  I kind of floundered around and said, "Well, we want privacy, we want good hackers to be protected and bad crackers to be punished  We want people to understand the difference, and we want all these good things, but we really don't want to grab power " The guy kept on not quite getting it  The real answers were pro choice  We don't want someone else to make all these decisions for anybody  We don't even want the majority to rule  In every way that is possible, we want the minorities to control their own conditions in their own lives  There are very few things that are the province of government, but way too many things nowadays are being given to the government carelessly, fearfully, whatever  In my terms -- and I happen to be a right-wing person in terms of the economy and private freedoms -- I want more markets and fewer governments  Markets give choices to individuals  They let people trade what they don't want for what they do want  Again, to the extent possible, they want people to make individual choices 
What worries me is large concentrations of power, making choices for people  Big business, big government, even big media  The media until now have mostly been our protectors, because they go out and produce information, they use anonymous sources where necessary, and they make that information free  What protected global networking is going to do is give more and more of that power to individuals, and help reduce the power of big institutions of any kind  We are going to have small businesses flourishing, because it is easier for them to collect resources  You don't need to have a giant monolithic corporation to be efficient any more, and so a lot of marketplace economies of scale will even disappear, as we have better networking, better coordination  We have markets like the American Information Exchange, and if you don't know what that is, come and see me, or Hugh Daniel, or a couple of other people 
On the social side, I think 20 years ago    when you mentioned 15 years ago, I thought, Yes, that must have been about 1940  Then I realized    Anyway, some time ago there was all this talk about the global village  We're going to have mass broadcasting, we're going to have mass E-mail, we're going to have this global village  We don't  What we have is a lot of global villages, but as Mitch said, they're no longer geographical, physical villages  They're small, geographical villages of people with like interests  The big question becomes, How do we avert tribalism? It might not be nation against nation any more, but it certainly will be rich against poor, and franchised versus disenfranchised 
LIASSON: Thank you all very much  Now we can all try to stir up the pot a little bit  Somewhere between Mitch's paradise and the Simon's apocalypse is probably what's really going to happen  I want to just jump off from what Esther said about you all being in a minority and what kind of responsibility you owe to the rest of the world  We're in the midst of a presidential election and not one single candidate has said anything about Cyberspace  I am wondering if you think they should, and what are the kinds of extremely important issues that you think should be discussed? Should they be discussed in a kind of mass, political forum? Or should they be left to an elite like you to discuss and decide, and not really spend a whole lot of energy trying to translate or disseminate them to the great masses of people? I guess what I am wondering is, if you were an advisor to one of the presidential candidates, or a candidate yourself, how would you go about interjecting these things? Or wouldn't you bother at all?
DYSON: Does he want to get elected, or does he want to make a point?
LIASSON: I think he wants to make a point  If he wants to get elected, I think the discussion would stop right now 
DYSON: Let me just try a serious answer  I think what a candidate could say is, "I'm no longer going to protect the textile industry, the peanut butter interests, the sugar guys, the antediluvian steel mills  If I'm going to have an industrial policy and help anyone, it's going to be new technology  I'm going to focus on investment in R&D  I am going to create a national infrastructure for telecommunications, just the way we created a highway system years ago  I'm going to put people to work doing these things " I think that would go over reasonably well  I think it's something most of us would agree on  (laughter) We have an industrial policy -- we might as well acknowledge it, and we might as well have it be forward-looking 
KAPOR: Now there is something about the question as to whether this is presidential material that I think is ironic, given that most people really want to vote for "none of the above " We know in our hearts that we have come to a particular period in history in which the presidential spectacle seems to be particularly irrelevant to whatever set of problems we have on our minds  As a great believer in democracy, I think this is incredibly lamentable  We need to do something about this, because there are a lot of issues, but Cyberspace is not ready for prime time  It would be trivialized -- I have seen what Geraldo did to hackers, and I don't need to see any more 
It seems to me that the presidential candidates are really not the leaders that they ought to be, but are always putting their finger to the wind to see if they can detect some current of values or beliefs that can help get them elected  And I think that -- I'm not espousing utopian vision -- there needs to be an utopian vision out there, so people have something to give them some inspiration  But values are a lot more important than technology  There are some values in this community -- and I'm not sure if it's an elite or a minority or both -- but it's really in the propagation of a sense of values about openness and tolerance, acting on that basis and living one's life, and saving capitalism from itself and things like that where we can make a difference  If some of the expressions are technological, that's fine  We are living in an era where people like buttons, and so on  If we do that well, the presidential candidates are going to be coming to us 
LIASSON: You talk about Cyberspace not being ready for prime time -- I still want a definition of Cyberspace in 25 words or less -- but I think you want to transform prime time to a certain extent 
DYSON: Mostly I agree with this, but the press does have two roles: one is collecting information and uncovering things, and the other is setting the agenda  If 12,000 voices are crying out, who's going to listen to them? Who's going to notice when they do discover that the President did something wrong? Again, it's a check and balance sort of thing, but there is a certain community that is created by collective media 
KAPOR: Esther, what makes you believe that in Cyberspace Mara won't have two hours a day of her own that everyone listens to  (laughter) She might get more time than she gets today, because people trust her 
DYSON: But then she becomes prime time 
LIASSON: But you said before that instead of one global village, we have a lot of little global villages  I'm wondering if instead, we won't have millions of little huts  I mean individual huts  There are just so many different choices 
LIASSON: What I'm wondering is, if everybody becomes their own producer, publisher, what does that mean for the future?
KAPOR: I think we'll get a much more fluid, self-organizing state  I don't think in practice everybody is going to be what we think of today as a broadcast publisher  I just want things to be able to sort themselves out in a much more equitable fashion  We have this enormous, artificial scarcity today over the means of communication, because the government awards licenses which self-perpetuate  They are about to do the same thing, and give every broadcast television station another license for HDTV



ground_truth: Keep deploying and harvesting your bases to earn experience points and level up quickly.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What are the symptoms of alpha thalassemia major?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 2:  This can make locating appropriately matched donor blood more difficult  Although blood supplies in the United States are very safe, particularly relative to the past and to other areas of the world, there remains an increased risk of exposure to such blood-borne infections as hepatitis  Additionally, the body is not able to get rid of the excess iron that accompanies each transfusion  An additional medication called desferoxamine is administered, usually five nights per week over a period of several hours, using an automatic pump that can be used during sleep or taken anywhere the person goes  This medication is able to bind to the excess iron, which can then be eliminated through urine  If desferoxamine is not used regularly or is unavailable, iron overload can develop and cause tissue damage and organ damage and failure  The heart, liver, and endocrine organs are particularly vulnerable  Desferoxamine itself may rarely produce allergic or toxic side effects, including hearing damage  Signs of desferoxamine toxicity are screened for and generally develop in individuals who overuse the medication when body iron levels are sufficiently low  Overall, however, transfusion and desferoxamine therapy have increased the life expectancy of individuals with the most severe types of beta thalassemia major to the 4th or 5th decade  This can be expected to improve with time and increased developments in treatment, as well as for those with more mild forms of the disease 
New treatments offer additional options for some individuals with beta thalassemia major  There are various medications that target the production of red blood cells (i e  erythropoeitin) or fetal hemoglobin (i e  hydroxyurea and butyrate)  Their effectiveness in ameliorating the severity of beta thalassemia is currently being investigated  Another promising new treatment is bone marrow transplantation, in which the bone marrow of an affected individual is replaced with the bone marrow of an unaffected donor  If successful, this treatment can provide a cure  However, there is an approximately 10-15% chance the procedure could be unsuccessful (i e  the thalassemia returns); result in complications (i e  graft-versus-host disease); or result in death  The risk for specific individuals depends on current health status, age, and other factors  Because of the risks involved and the fact that beta thalassemia is a treatable condition, transplant physicians require a brother or sister donor who has an identically matched tissue type, called HLA type  HLA type refers to the unique set of proteins present on each individual's cells, which allows the immune system to recognize "self" from "foreign " HLA type is genetically determined, so there is a 25% chance for two siblings to be a match  Transplant physicians and researchers are also investigating ways to improve the safety and effectiveness of bone marrow transplantation  Using newborn sibling umbilical cord blood—the blood from the placenta that is otherwise discarded after birth but contains cells that can go on to make bone marrow—seems to provide a safer and perhaps more effective source of donor cells  Donors and recipients may not have to be perfect HLA matches for a successful transplant using cord blood cells  Trials are also underway to determine the effectiveness of "partial transplants," in which a safer transplant procedure is used to replace only a percentage of the affected individual's bone marrow  Other possible treatments on the horizon may include gene therapy techniques aimed at increasing the amount of normal hemoglobin the body is able to make 
Hemoglobin H disease is a relatively mild form of thalassemia that may go unrecognized  It is not generally considered a condition that will reduce one's life expectancy  Education is an important part of managing the health of an individual with hemoglobin H disease  It is important to be able to recognize the signs of severe anemia that require medical attention  It is also important to be aware of the medications, chemicals, and other exposures to avoid due to the theoretical risk they pose of causing a severe anemia event  When severe anemia occurs, it is treated with blood transfusion therapy  For individuals with hemoglobin H disease, this is rarely required  For those with the hemoglobin H/Constant Spring form of the disease, the need for transfusions may be intermittent or ongoing, perhaps on a monthly basis and requiring desferoxamine treatment  Individuals with this more severe form of the disease may also have an increased chance of requiring removal of an enlarged and/or overactive spleen 
Anemia — A blood condition in which the level of hemoglobin or the number of red blood cells falls below normal values  Common symptoms include paleness, fatigue, and shortness of breath 
Bilirubin — A yellow pigment that is the end result of hemoglobin breakdown  This pigment is metabolized in the liver and excreted from the body through the bile  Bloodstream levels are normally low; however, extensive red cell destruction leads to excessive bilirubin formation and jaundice 
Bone marrow — A spongy tissue located in the hollow centers of certain bones, such as the skull and hip bones  Bone marrow is the site of blood cell generation 
Bone marrow transplantation — A medical procedure used to treat some diseases that arise from defective blood cell formation in the bone marrow  Healthy bone marrow is extracted from a donor to replace the marrow in an ailing individual  Proteins on the surface of bone marrow cells must be identical or very closely matched between a donor and the recipient 
Desferoxamine — The primary drug used in iron chelation therapy  It aids in counteracting the life-threatening buildup of iron in the body associated with long-term blood transfusions 
Globin — One of the component protein molecules found in hemoglobin  Normal adult hemoglobin has a pair each of alpha-globin and beta-globin molecules 
Heme — The iron-containing molecule in hemoglobin that serves as the site for oxygen binding 
Hemoglobin — Protein-iron compound in the blood that carries oxygen to the cells and carries carbon dioxide away from the cells 
Hemoglobin A — Normal adult hemoglobin that contains a heme molecule, two alpha-globin molecules, and two beta-globin molecules 
Hemoglobin electrophoresis — A laboratory test that separates molecules based on their size, shape, or electrical charge 
Hepatomegaly — An abnormally large liver 
HLA type — Refers to the unique set of proteins called human leukocyte antigens  These proteins are present on each individual's cell and allow the immune system to recognize 'self' from 'foreign'  HLA type is particularly important in organ and tissue transplantation 
Hydroxyurea — A drug that has been shown to induce production of fetal hemoglobin  Fetal hemoglobin has a pair of gamma-globin molecules in place of the typical beta-globins of adult hemoglobin  Higher-than-normal levels of fetal hemoglobin can ameliorate some of the symptoms of thalassemia 
Iron overload — A side effect of frequent blood transfusions in which the body accumulates abnormally high levels of iron  Iron deposits can form in organs, particularly the heart, and cause life-threatening damage 
Jaundice — Yellowing of the skin or eyes due to excess of bilirubin in the blood 
Mutation — A permanent change in the genetic material that may alter a trait or characteristic of an individual, or manifest as disease, and can be transmitted to offspring 
Placenta — The organ responsible for oxygen and nutrition exchange between a pregnant mother and her developing baby 
Red blood cell — Hemoglobin-containing blood cells that transport oxygen from the lungs to tissues  In the tissues, the red blood cells exchange their oxygen for carbon dioxide, which is brought back to the lungs to be exhaled 
Screening — Process through which carriers of a trait may be identified within a population 
Splenomegaly — Enlargement of the spleen 
Because alpha thalassemia major is most often a condition that is fatal in the prenatal or newborn period, treatment has previously been focused on identifying affected pregnancies in order to provide appropriate management to reduce potential maternal complications  Pregnancy termination provides one form of management  Increased prenatal surveillance and early treatment of maternal complications is an approach that is appropriate for mothers who wish to continue their pregnancy with the knowledge that the baby will most likely not survive  In recent years, there have been a handful of infants with this condition who have survived long-term  Most of these infants received experimental treatment including transfusions before birth, early delivery, and even bone marrow transplantation before birth, although the latter procedure has not yet been successful  For those infants that survive to delivery, there seems to be an increased risk of developmental problems and physical effects, particularly heart and genital malformations  Otherwise, their medical outlook is similar to a child with beta thalassemia major, with the important exception that ongoing, life-long blood transfusions begin right at birth 
As discussed above, the prognosis for individuals with the most serious types of thalassemia has improved drastically in the last several years following recent medical advances in transfusion, chemo-, and transplantation therapy  Advances continue and promise to improve the life expectancy and quality of life further for affected individuals 
"First Known Heart Attack Associated With Beta-thalassemia Major Reported " Heart Disease Weekly February 22, 2004: 10 
"Novel Alpha-thalassemia Mutations Identified " Hematology Week January 26, 2004: 19 
Children's Blood Foundation  333 East 38th St , Room 830, New York, NY 10016-2745  (212) 297-4336  cfg@nyh med cornell edu 
Cooley's Anemia Foundation, Inc  129-09 26th Ave  #203, Flushing, NY 11354  (800) 522-7222 or (718) 321-2873  http://www thalassemia org 
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation  1275 Mamaroneck Ave , White Plains, NY 10605  (888) 663-4637  resourcecenter@modimes org  http://www modimes org 
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute  PO Box 30105, Bethseda, MD 20824-0105  (301) 592-8573  nhlbiinfo@rover nhlbi nih gov  http://www nhlbi nih gov 
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)  PO Box 8923, New Fairfield, CT 06812-8923  (203) 746-6518 or (800) 999-6673  Fax: (203) 746-6481  http://www rarediseases org 
Bojanowski J  "Alpha Thalassemia Major: The Possibility of Long-Term Survival " Pamphlet from the Northern California Comprehensive Thalassemia Center  (1999) 
Children's Hospital Oakland, Northern California Comprehensive Thalassemia Center website  http://www thalassemia com 
Cooley's Anemia Foundation, Inc  website  http://www thalassemia org/gohome html 
Joint Center for Sickle Cell and Thalassemic Disorders website  http://cancer mgh harvard edu/medOnc/sickle htm 
[thal″ah-se´me-ah]
a heterogeneous group of hereditary hemolytic anemias marked by a decreased rate of synthesis of one or more hemoglobin polypeptide chains, classified according to the chain involved (α, β, δ); the two major categories are α- and β-thalassemia 
α-thalassemia (alpha-thalassemia) that caused by diminished synthesis of alpha chains of hemoglobin  The homozygous form is incompatible with life, the stillborn infant displaying severe hydrops fetalis  The heterozygous form may be asymptomatic or marked by mild anemia 
β-thalassemia (beta-thalassemia) that caused by diminished synthesis of beta chains of hemoglobin  The homozygous form is called t  major and the heterozygous form is called t  minor 
thalassemia ma´jor the homozygous form of β-thalassemia, in which hemoglobin A is completely absent; it appears in the newborn period and is marked by hemolytic, hypochromic, microcytic anemia; hepatosplenomegaly; skeletal deformation; mongoloid facies; and cardiac enlargement 
thalassemia mi´nor the heterozygous form of β-thalassemia; it is usually asymptomatic, but there may be mild anemia 
sickle cell–thalassemia a hereditary anemia involving simultaneous heterozygosity for hemoglobin S and thalassemia 
thal·as·se·mi·a
, thalassanemia (thal'ă-sē'mē-ă, thă-las-ă-nē'mē-ă),
Any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin metabolism in which there is impaired synthesis of one or more of the polypeptide chains of globin; several genetic types exist, and the corresponding clinical picture may vary from barely detectable hematologic abnormality to severe and fatal anemia 
[G  thalassa, the sea, + haima, blood]
/thal·as·se·mia/ (thal″ah-se´me-ah) a heterogeneous group of hereditary hemolytic anemias marked by a decreased rate of synthesis of one or more hemoglobin polypeptide chains, classified according to the chain involved (α, β, δ); the two major categories are α- and β-thalassemia 
α-thalassemia that caused by diminished synthesis of alpha chains of hemoglobin  The homozygous form is incompatible with life, the stillborn infant displaying severe hydrops fetalis  The heterozygous form may be asymptomatic or marked by mild anemia 
β-thalassemia that caused by diminished synthesis of beta chains of hemoglobin  The homozygous form is called t  major and the heterozygous form is called t  minor 
thalassemia ma´jor the homozygous form of &#x03B2;, in which hemoglobin A is completely absent; it appears in the newborn period and is marked by hemolytic, hypochromic, microcytic anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, skeletal deformation, mongoloid facies, and cardiac enlargement 
thalassemia mi´nor the heterozygous form of &#x03B2;, usually asymptomatic, although there is sometimes mild anemia 
(thăl′ə-sē′mē-ə)
An inherited form of anemia occurring chiefly among people of Mediterranean descent, caused by faulty synthesis of part of the hemoglobin molecule  Also called Mediterranean anemia 
thal′as·se′mic adj 
[thal′əsē′mē·ə]
Etymology: Gk, thalassa, sea, a + haima, without blood
production and hemolytic anemia characterized by microcytic, hypochromic red blood cells  Thalassemia is caused by inherited deficiency of alpha- or beta-globin synthesis  See also hemochromatosis, hemosiderosis 
Beta thalassemia, clinical thalassemia, Cooley's anemia, Mediterranean anemia, thalassemia major Hematology A group of genetic diseases by underproduction of hemoglobin due to mutations in the beta globin gene, which is more common in Mediterraneans Heredity Parents are carriers–heterozygotes; one in 4 children is homozygous for the mutation and thus has full-blown disease Clinical See Anemia  Cf Sickle cell anemia 
α-thalassemia
Hemoglobin Barts Hematology An inherited condition caused by a defect in the synthesis of the Hb α chain; Hb Barts hemoglobinopathy is characterized by the presence of 4 gamma chains; it is more common in southeast Asians; the most severe form of alpha thalassemia causes stillbirth due to hydrops fetalis Heredity Parents are carriers–heterozygotes; one in 4 children is homozygous for the mutation and thus has full-blown disease Clinical Pallor, fatiguability, FTT, fever, infections, diarrhea Management Transfusions
Thalassemia major Hematology A hemoglobinopathy caused by a defect in the synthesis of Hb β chain Clinical Pallor, fatigability, FTT, fever due to infections, diarrhea, bone deformities, hepatosplenomegaly Management Transfusions, but iron overload can damage the heart, liver, and endocrine systems, ergo iron chelation–early use of deferiprone, deferoxamine ↓ transfusion-related iron overload and may protect against DM, cardiac disease, early death
δ-thalassemia
Hematology A condition characterized by a defect of Hb A2–α2δ2; because Hb A2 comprises only 3% of the circulating Hb, even its complete absence; δ-thalassemia has little clinical or hematologic impact
γ-thalassemia
Hematology A condition characterized by a defect of gamma–γ Hb chains found in Hb F–α2γ2; because Hb F is present primarily in the fetus and newborns, it is rarely seen outside of the neonatal period, but may cause transient neonatal hemolytic anemia 
, thalassanemia (thal'ă-sē'mē-ă, -ă-să-nē'mē-ă)
Any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin metabolism in which there is impaired synthesis of one or more of the polypeptide chains of globin; several genetic types exist, and the corresponding clinical picture may vary from barely detectable hematologic abnormality to severe and fatal anemia  People of Mediterranean, extraction are more often affected than others by this type of anemia 
Synonym(s): thalassaemia, thalassanaemia 
Any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin metabolism with impaired synthesis of one or more polypeptide chains of globin; several genetic types exist 
<a href="https://medical-dictionary thefreedictionary com/Thalassaemia+minor">thalassemia</a>
Barts hemoglobin
beta hemoglobinopathy
beta-delta thalassemia
beta-thalassaemia
Bite Cell
black gallstone
I know of a couple, totally unrelated and unbeknownst to them, who are silent carriers of Thalassaemia minor 
Pakistan: Genetic factor: All in the genes
But, unfortunately, when one person with thalassaemia minor carrier happens to marry another with the same diagnosis, there is a strong possibility that their child would be thalassaemia major, as happened in the case of Taneja 
' My life depends upon a monthly blood transfusion '
0] thalassaemia demonstrates variable severity, ranging from a condition similar to [beta] thalassaemia minor to something approaching thalassaemia major 
A retrospective review of homozygous haemoglobin E patients
Thal, Alan P 
thalame
thalamencephalic
thalamencephalon
thalamic
thalamic fasciculus
thalamic nucleus
thalamic pain syndrome
thalamic peduncle
thalamic radiation
thalamo-
thalamocoele
thalamocortical
thalamocortical fibers
thalamogeniculate artery
thalamolenticular
thalamoperforating artery
thalamostriate radiation
thalamotuberal artery
Thalassaemia minor
thalassaemiaor Cooley's disease
thalassemic facies
thalasso-
Thalassobacter
Thalassobacter utilis
thalassoplankton
thalassoposia
thalidomide neuropathy
Thalidomider
thallium poisoning
Thalarctos
THALAS
Thalasaemia
Thalassaemia Association of Malaysia
thalassaemia major
Thalassaemias
thalassaemic
thalassanaemia
Thalassemia Action Group
Thalassemia Clinical Research Network
thalassemia syndrome



ground_truth: Severe anemia that begins even before birth.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who is the program chair of this conference?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 3:  So if you've got a license today, you get a second one; if you don't have one, you get nothing  That is going to be our policy about HDTV  I think it would be a lot better if we had more markets, more choices, and better values  I don't know how to do better values, but we know how to do more choices  So the point is, we'll wind up with some new regime which I don't think that we can particularly predict  I don't think that it is going to be chaotic or anarchic  I think there is something about people as social animals or creatures -- we will create some new forms of social organization  There will be information middlemen; there will be the equivalent of editors and packagers  There will be trusted intermediaries who help organize these new media  If you open it up and equalize things so that everybody can participate, you will get more diversity of points of view, you will get less homogenization  One of the reasons that tons of people have just dropped out, or are in terminal couch-potato-dom is that the sets of choices and the values that come across the tube are not ones that stir the human heart  And people know that  They can't figure out what to do about that, so they sort of fuzz out on drugs and alcohol  I say let's edit TV, which is the electronic drug  Let's do something about that 
DAVIES: I like your idea, Mitch  I think it's sweet  (laughter) The problem is that I really worry that the ultimate test of the future is going to be the outcome of the quest, the battle between those who are looking for the sort of vision you've got of the right of the individual, the individual being the producer  And that, probably, is the way we solve our problems on this planet  But there is the other side, and that's the planetary managers  Planetary management is the path of the least resistance  You know all the powermongers go for the planetary management model, because they all think they can clamber over the bodies to get to the top  Ultimately the test is going to be who comes out on the top, the individual rightist or the planetary managers  Unfortunately, I'm not a betting man, but at the moment I'd like to bet on the planetary managers 
DYSON: Part of this issue is reducing the value of incumbency, whether it's incumbency in prime time live, or incumbency in the government  There is much more fluidity of movement; you can't accumulate power because the unorganized forces have more power than you do 
P  DENNING: I feel a little strange being on the left end of the stage, because most people think of me as being on the far right sometimes, but right now I'd like to comment on something that is halfway between what Mitch is saying, and what Simon is saying  The way I hear what Simon is saying, is that there is a disease of today which I will call inward- centeredness  We are very worried about ourselves and our organizations  We find in that orientation a lot of instability of things and technologies that change rapidly  In order to achieve the world that Mitch is talking about, we need to cure the disease, and instead come from an orientation that we could call outward-centeredness, instead of inward-centeredness  The question is the shift from, How do we accumulate power? to, How do we help others accumulate power? How do we go from looking for stability in things to looking for stability in relationships? In watching my own children grow up, I am convinced that they know more about this than I do  In listening to some of the younger people here, I'm more convinced that they know more about this than I do  They know something about the outward-centeredness that I have yet to learn  Observing this among children and among students gives me a lot of optimism, as a matter of fact, against the apocalypse that Simon talks about, because Simon is talking about the world that would be created if we continued "us," and I think that the world that is being created by our children with their outward-centeredness is going to be the kind of world that Mitch is pointing towards  And I am much more optimistic about that than Simon is 
LIASSON: Roland, I wonder if we can interject you into this discussion a little bit  You have been a policymaker  What can be done to make sure that Simon's vision doesn't come true, and something a little closer to what Esther and Mitch describe does happen?
HOMET: I think we probably need both doom seers and paradise seekers  We'll always have them, and we should have them  It's between the swing of those two views that things happen  I think that this notion of replacing the gatekeepers and letting everybody perform his own dance, to the amusement of those who chose to tune in, is one that many of us were promoting 20 years ago  That's not 1940 -- that's 1970 (laughter), and we were quite convinced that was likely to happen by the end of that decade  Now it's 12 years beyond the end of that decade, and we're nowhere near having that happening  We just have newly-named controversies, and so, as you heard me say in my little short remark, I think that our objective ought to be more modest, and that is to keep the questions open, not let them be foreclosed -- certainly not prematurely, and not on the basis of inadequate evidence  I would say something about the apocalyptic view, which is, I think there is a difference between information policy questions and welfare questions  The poor we have always with us, as somebody once said, and whether information, Cyberspace -- whatever you want to call it -- is promoted or not, that is true  It may become more glaringly true in an advanced information society, in which case, more may be done about it  So I wouldn't despair about that, and I wouldn't hold back on the development of instruments of interconnection simply because we can see that there is and will remain an underclass  Perhaps if we do the one, we'll be better equipped to do the other 
LIASSON: In just a minute or two, we're going to open this up to your questions, but I want to try to end maybe with a discussion of something quite specific, which is, Who should own the new infrastructure and information systems? Should they be publicly owned? There are lots of conflicts even within the vision that you lay out 
KAPOR: The first point I'd make is let's not make the unnecessary mistake of betting on a single infrastructure  Technologically, we don't need to do that  In the 1930s, pre-digital, the old Bell system was the social contract  You get a monopoly, you have an obligation to provide universal service  We've learned a few things about how to do things with interoperable standards and how to interconnect multiple, independent providers and carriers  One of the fathers of the Internet, Vint Cerf, is sitting here in the front row, and he deserves an enormous amount of credit for insisting on this vision and promulgating it  A lot of the risks that come with private ownership of infrastructure go away when it's no longer a monopoly  The abusive problems that are sometimes experienced with local phone service and cable companies -- both of which are private sector monopolies -- I would say come more from not their private sector character, but from their monopoly character  If it is possible for there to be competition, that serves as the most effective check that we know of in this society against abuse  So I would opt for private infrastructure, but lots of it  Government has to make sure that everybody stays interconnected -- it's the referee that keeps the playing field level, doesn't let people cheat, and sort of bangs a few heads together when people get a little too greedy, or a little too selfish  If we do that, that will provide for the most choice and the most diversity 
LIASSON: Are we all in agreement on that?
HOMET: Not entirely  I think the question is less who should own infrastructure than how it should be classified  There may be a role for government in, for example, extending communication pipes to rural America for at least a period, as with the TVA  We have always had that question  There has always been a mixed economy with government doing some things and private sector others  It's a debate and should be a debate about who does what best  It should be revised from time to time, but the important question is, If we get a significant distribution system like cable television, how should we classify it? I speak here from the heart, because 20 years ago, I was trying to fasten onto, or gain the recognition for, cable as a broadband distribution system which was only trivially in the program production and publishing business, but was very much in the distribution business and ought to have been treated as a common carrier open to all information suppliers  Had that happened, we would have been very much further along in the vision that some of us had 20 years ago  (applause) It tends to support what I said about not going in for premature freezing or characterization of how things look  It was decided, because the broadcasters felt threatened, to treat cable as a species of broadcasting  That's the greatest frittering away of resources in my lifetime, and perhaps in the lifetime of the United States of America  Let's not make that mistake again  Let's be clear-eyed and ask the broad-scale questions about public use and benefit  Thank you 
LIASSON: Let's open it up to the audience  If you have any questions     oh my God, wrestle your way to the microphone!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Let us not forget the history of the commons in which a wealthy society creates in its overflowing abundance structures on which all people can participate  This was originally, back in medieval society, the structure that was created for the support of the poor  In the abundance of the land in which the overpopulation was not a question, and there was much agriculture to go around, and the poor were supported out of the commonly-owned things that were jointly owned by all society  That's all I have to say 
LIASSON: Who wants to start?
DAVIES: Sticking to my apocalyptic vision just for the moment, because that's how I'm characterized, what I would like to see, just as my own social experiment, if you like, is for the various groups that this room represents and groups that you are all involved in, is to actually set up the apocalyptic vision, and then see how you as part of the information technology community can utilize it, stop it, or reverse it  It's only when you see the vision and see your own part in it that we are actually going to set up solutions  I mean, that is a straight, outright homework assignment, and I think would be a great benefit for everybody  Then go on and publish them through the E-mail, or the Internet, whatever 
DYSON: Something along the lines of go find the most influential person you know well enough to influence, who you do not agree with -- assuming that you all agree with me, of course -- and attempt to win that person over to your point of view  In other words, don't stick to your own community  Don't just talk to the people who only agree with you  Go out and evangelize or proselytize to people who don't understand what this stuff is about  Do it in such a way that you are not superior or offputting; don't try to be right; try to win and expand this community, not in terms of pressure or rightness, but in terms of understanding what we are about  The biggest problem is ganging up on some of these politicians and having them think that this stuff is not cute, or weird, or colorful, or irrelevant, but incredibly important  Make the rest of the world know about us 
HOMET: I would like to second that motion  The story is told that when a beautiful woman comes out on a street in Paris, every man within eyeshot becomes in that instant much more intensively himself  (laughter) What I would suggest to you, if you are energized by this subject, is to be yourself  To thine own self be true, and perhaps to add to that the biblical admonition to the apostles -- if I remember it correctly -- and this picks up what Esther was saying -- to be wise as snakes, and cunning as foxes  Go out there to persuade 
P  DENNING: I'd like to add to that  It is not only within yourself that you have to look, it's within others  Don't assume that you know the answers, but go talk to people  Don't just talk to us, because we already know what "us" has to say, but go to talk to people that we haven't talked to and find out what concerns them 
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hi, my name is Lou Woleneck  I'm from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas  I'm a graduate student  I have a question, a general policy question, about how we should go about providing the information resources to the have-nots that the information elites have access to now  What sort of strategy that you all would have for that?
KAPOR: A 30-second or less answer, which is to set a national policy that updates a universal service for the 21st century that says everybody needs to have basic minimal access to a digital platform that reaches into every home, into every office and school in the country  We should focus our attention on how to put in place the least expensive amount of infrastructure that will produce that  What we find is, if we do that, then the overwhelming majority of American families will find it already within their budget to be able to do that, because it will be priced like basic phone service  To the extent that we need to continue or even slightly expand the kinds of lifeline programs that subsidize today's basic voice telephone service for a small percentage of the population, we should be prepared to renew that commitment  We don't need to bankrupt ourselves to give everybody access to a digital platform 
JIM WARREN: My name is Jim Warren  Two quick observations: there were several cynical comments during the last several days about a number of IRS people being here  It turns out, because they never had a platform to say this, that the whole crowd from the IRS who are here, as I understand it, are from the IRS privacy project, intent on developing policies to assure privacy protection for taxpayer information  So let us not be so cynical about their being here; otherwise, remember that they are simply doing what they are told to do by our representatives  (laughter and hisses) I was also bothered by both Simon's, and (my God!) Esther's comments on those evil little men, and the men in politics, etc  Gee, this is a modern age, let's say "men and women," for evil deeds, as well as good deeds 
DYSON: There aren't enough women in politics for there to be any evil ones 
WARREN: Well, I am sure that I can find some evil ones for you  (laughter) Anyway, to the main points: I would say that we are not so much elite, in that we are open to anyone who takes the initiative to join us, and many of us are active mentors in trying to get others to join us  I would say simply that we are a minority, and it occurs to me that revolution has always been a minority activity  It was not millions of Russians who opposed the attempted coup several months ago  It was ten, twenty, or thirty thousand in Moscow, with the aid of communications  It was not a massive movement, a populist movement, in America that resisted the Crown, two centuries ago  It was a small minority of activists and we are the activists here -- we are the revolutionaries  Freedom has always been a do-it-yourself activity, but the key syllable in that word activity is act  Let us reaffirm freedom of speech, press, assembly, security against undue search and seizure -- the basic constitutional freedoms and privileges  Let us demand that our politicians and our political candidates do the same in explicit formal commitments to act in behalf of protecting electronic civil liberties, just as they validate and speak favorably for traditional civil liberties  We can write our politicians, write our candidates and say, "Take a position in favor of civil liberties, regardless of the technology of the moment " Thank you 
GLENN TENNEY: Thank you for the introduction, Jim 
LIASSON: Are you from the IRS?
TENNEY: No  (laughter) My name is Glenn Tenney, and I have a question for you, Mara  I think that I have enough supporters on the panel  I'm not too curious about their views, but they are welcome to them  You questioned if the presidential election and race is ready for Cyberspace  What about Congress? I'm running for Congress -- is it ready for me?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Ms  Liasson, I believe that you have opened a can of worms called politics for this little hacker community  You certainly have with me in your comment about asking for comments for the Cyberspace era from presidential candidates  I have very strong reactions to that  I think that I am going to try to express them, as a pure statement, or maybe an actual story  Several years ago, I was discussing with a friend of mine the current presidential, the then-current presidential election  He was asking me why I wasn't rabidly supporting Jesse Jackson  I thought about it, and my first response was, "Well, let's talk about the other candidates for a second  What about -- and I'll take a random name -- Michael Dukakis?" And my friend looked at me and said, "Michael Dukakis, he's just an administrator, he's not a visionary " I thought about it, and I said, "Hold on, I'm an American, I'm not someone who's a slave of the Queen of England, or something like that  I'm my own visionary, I decide where I am going " I don't want the politicians walking around telling me that I am going to have an expressway system that's going to pave over all my favorite swamps to play in  I don't want the politicians walking around defining what I'm going to do in my life  I want to elect politicians to manage government for me, to provide the barest minimum necessities to keep us smoothly greased as individuals in living together, and I want those politicians to be of the people, and I don't want them to tell me what my opinions should be  Finally, I want to cap that off with when we have government deciding how our systems work for us, we can then end up with situations where we can say, "Oh yeah, that IRS guy or that government net guy, he was just doing his job when he banned cryptography," or something like that  That's not the sort of world that I want to live in  I want to live in a world, where each of us defines our little space in it  Thank you all 
LIASSON: I think we have time for just two more and then we'll have to wrap it up 
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hi, to the apocalypse types  I'd like to say just one thing that somebody said: The truth will make you free  In that this technology is a vehicle of communication, I believe that it is a vehicle of the truth, and as long as we keep it free, the truth will be heard that much more  Now I have kind of a question with a bit of a statement  I am a learning-disabled college student  I didn't ever finish high school  I had a freshmen education in high school, because of educational problems, and adjustment problems, I never really got too far beyond that  I write probably a fifth of the speed of anyone in this room and I have a real hard time doing math without a calculator  That's part of the reason why I wasn't able to do well in school  I read very well, fortunately, so I was able to go in when I was eighteen and take my GED just flat out without studying for it  I'm not dumb, or uneducated by any standards, but what has allowed me to get an associate's degree in college, and what has allowed me to approach graduation and get a bachelor's degree in college is the kind of technology that we are dealing with  I have never had easy access to that technology  The barriers that I have faced have been ones of order, regimentation, and where people try and say, "Oh well, you don't fit in, you're not a CS student, you don't need those resources " I'm good with computers, I do a lot with them, I spend a lot of time with them  I hack, I don't do anything illegal, but I took a hacksaw to the frame of my nasty little 8088 about two years ago to cram some RAM into it, because that was the only way I could get it to fit and I needed it  Now I'm in a little bit better shape  I'm approaching the point where I would like to see ISDN real soon, because I need that kind of connectivity  You know, I'm doing interesting things that I find absolutely wonderful, but the idea that the kind of technology that is available to us, that is just there for the using, could be limited and unavailable to people, or that people would have to go through some of the things that I have had to go through, not being able to do well on tests, because I had no word processor available to me  That type of thing, even though they are all over the place, elsewhere  It was just that that wasn't an acceptable solution  That type of policy planning, that type of government, that type of order scares me  And I have to ask, what is your answer to that?
DAVIES: The apocalyptic vision of a world in grief and individual rights in crisis has nothing to do with a Luddite mentality, and it would be very dangerous for the people in this room to link the two together  I, for one, believe in technology  I am very grateful for it, and I think the world is a better place for it  I have great faith in the future, but technology's not a silver lining for the future  It's not an El Dorado, it's more like plutonium  The very great thing that technology does for all of us can also be used by the people who would repress our freedoms and all I am saying is be aware of that  Let's not marginalize people like me, who are saying, Hey look, we are going to have 15 billion people on the planet  We are going to have a political inversion, you know, that is going to create massive tensions that are going to repress our rights, or at least create a tension that we have never known before  Don't marginalize me -- don't shoot the messenger  I believe in technology, so please don't equate the apocalypse with Ludditism -- the two do not match 
LIASSON: We're about out of time  I'm going to turn this over to Lance 
HOFFMAN: Thank you, Mara  I'm really unhappy that we are out of time, but I feel that we have a contract to those who want to leave in a moment or two  Those who want to stay, can stay up here, are welcome to continue, until the hotel throws us out  Since Lu Kleppinger is in the room at the moment, I don't know when that will be, but we can probably have it for a little while  I just want to make a couple of comments before I formally close this meeting 
We have seen an awful lot happen in these last three days and there has been building, and indeed we will be continuing to some extent the work that Jim Warren started at CFP-1 -- a sense of community  It has been increased by the participation of various diverse groups  My one hope is that you do not stop that here  When each and every one of you goes home, contact -- I don't care whether it's by letter, or electronic mail, or even telephone, if you must -- three people that you have met here that you didn't know, or didn't know very well before, or perhaps only knew electronically, and now you know them in person, and continue talking with them and to their friends and colleagues  If you do that, this will be a success 
The other comment that I want to make is that Bruce Koball is going to need a lot of help for CFP-3  Please talk to him -- he is listed in the roster  Or better yet, don't do that, talk to him here, and then give him a month to chill out in Berkeley before he has to start working real hard  Check the message board, there are some messages that have not been picked up  You have your evaluation forms  If you haven't filled them out and you would like to, please do and turn them in  I have nothing else, except to thank you all for being such a good group and, hopefully, we'll see you next year in California  Thank you very much 
Support efforts at engaging society and government on the appropriate legal and social uses of technology 



ground_truth: Peter Denning.