Welcome to the Love Ball! If you were expecting anything less than over-the-top decadence, royalty, and glamour, then you’ve come to the wrong place. As was expected, Natalia Vodianova’s Monaco-set affair brought a parade of romantic gowns (including Princess Charlene of Monaco’s dreamy Atelier Versace design and Princess Caroline of Hanover’s embroidered lace Chanel Haute Couture confection) for the gala dinner and auction – which brought in €3.2 million (about $4.2 million) to benefit the Naked Heart Foundation.
Inside the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, guests were treated to performances by Maestro Valery Gergiev and Diana Vishneva of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Orchestra and Ballet under the artistic direction of Vasily Barkhatov. Step inside, and enjoy the show!
Consider this your ticket to Natalia Vodianova’s ultraexclusive annual soiree: the Love Ball (and what better way to be invited than with Grace Kelly imagery and the grand beating of drums, might we add?). In a first-look video, the philanthropic model revealed plans for her July 27 Naked Heart Foundation benefit with all the pomp and circumstance that can be expected of a gala.
Telling Harper’s Bazaar of the Monte Carlo destination for her auction, dinner, and night at the casino, “We chose it for the interesting relationship this part of the world, the Riviera, has with Russia.” The location will not only shape the guest list – Princess Charlene and Prince Albert have been involved in the planning – but also the items up for bid: “This year, we have the story of a couple, in love, who are traveling to Monaco for the weekend. Everything we auction will be things that they would do.”
With a royal guest list slated to attend and memories of the last Love Ball in 2011, there will definitely be something to look out for the morning after, even if you don’t have an actual ticket for the opulent affair!
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Positive Interim Results from Open-Label Phase IIIb Study of ATX-101 at the 11thAnti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC)
Results featured in the “Innovations and Renewals” session
MONTE CARLO, Monaco–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAS: KYTH) today announced positive interim results from a Phase IIIb, multicenter, open-label study (ATX-101-11-26) of ATX-101 during the “Innovations and Renewals” session of the 11th Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC), April 4-6, Monte Carlo, Monaco. The study, presented by investigator Susan Weinkle, MD, FAAD, evaluated the safety and efficacy of ATX-101, a potential first-in-class, non-surgical, injectable drug in Phase III trials for the reduction of unwanted submental fat (SMF), commonly known as “double chin.” The results found that ATX-101 is well tolerated and may be effective in reducing SMF by both clinician- and patient-reported outcome measures. AMWC is the world’s largest event for global aging management, and attracts aesthetic dermatologists, surgeons and clinicians in the regenerative, preventative and anti-aging medicine industry from more than 95 countries.
“The positive interim results are consistent with previous ATX-101 studies,” said Weinkle, a board certified dermatologist and affiliate clinical professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla., U.S. “Worldwide, doctors are receiving requests from their patients for a non-surgical way to treat their double chin. The results of this study suggest that microinjections of ATX-101 have an acceptable safety profile and can reduce the appearance of a double chin with high patient satisfaction.”
ATX-101 is a proprietary formulation of synthetically-derived deoxycholic acid (DCA), a molecule found in the body that helps break down dietary fat. In this open-label Phase IIIb study, interim results three months after the last ATX-101 treatment are outlined below. Observations were made using validated rating instruments for which one-grade changes are considered to be clinically meaningful:
Reduction of submental fat
87 percent of patients achieved at least a one-grade improvement from baseline on the Clinician-Reported Submental Fat Rating Scale (CR-SMFRS)
Similarly, 83 percent of patients achieved at least a one-grade improvement on the Patient-Reported Submental Fat Rating Scale (PR-SMFRS)
96 percent of patients had unchanged or improved skin laxity based on the clinician rated Submental Skin Laxity Grading Scale (SMSLG)
When we saw that Speedycop and the Gang of Outlaws had raised the bar to stratospheric heights with their race car made from a Cessna 310 fuselage affixed to a Toyota Space Van chassis during the Southern Discomfort inspections on Friday, almost everybody at the track thought that the Spirit of LeMons would explode, or flip over, or something terrible as soon as its tires touched the race track on Saturday morning. Not so! As you can see in the above photograph of the Spirit of LeMons dueling with the Cessna-wing-equipped Our Lady of Perpetual Downforce Civic, this thing actually functions as a reasonably competent race car. Not fast, of course, but the Spirit of LeMons finished the day’s race session in 63rd place out of 86 entries. We’ll revisit this fine racing machine later on, but for now let’s take a look at the other cars that did well (and not so well) today.
When the checkered flag waved this evening, the P1 car was the extremely rusty G-body Monte Carlo of Molde Carlo racing. Yes, that’s no typo— a hideous, small-block-Chevy-powered car beat out all those BMW 325s and Acura Integras and Dodge Neons today. The Molde Carlo has done fairly well in past races here, finishing as high as second place in LeMons CMP events, but some nickel/dime problem has usually knocked the car out of the running at the last second. If they hold on to win on Sunday, it will be a hard-earned and well-deserved triumph for the Moldes Carlo team.
Just a single lap behind the Chevy is, fittingly enough, a Ford. The V6-powered Mustang of Grim Reaper Racing has been climbing the ranks of Southern LeMons racing for several years now. The Grim Reapers and their car were just terrible when we first met them, but they’ve gotten a little better with each passing race, and now they’ve parlayed error-free driving and a reliable car into contention against an extremely tough field. Once again, a team that’s paid its dues.
Two laps behind the Reapers, we’ve got the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth of Ziegel Scheisshaus Racing. Yes, you can get the price of a real 2.3-16 below 500 bucks if it starts out as a basket case… and you sell off the valuable interior parts for several thousand bucks. This car has always been quick, but busted parts have held it back in prior races.
Karl Lagerfeld has set the theme for this year’s Bal de la Rose du Rocher in Monte Carlo as “Belle et Pop,” which will combine the imagery and music of France’s Golden Age with the latest trends in rap, hip-hop, and soul. [WWD]
After previously showing in Milan, Burberry will present its next menswear collection in London. [Telegraph]
Macy’s latest brand literally comes straight from a magazine. Teen Vogue collaborated with the retailer on a collection that launches in stores and online today. [WWD]
Meanwhile, Lily Aldridge has teamed up with Velvet by Graham & Spencer on a 13-piece capsule collection, which reflects the model’s signature “boho rock-and-roll glamour” style. [Vogue UK]
The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum will explore the mystical role of shoes in mythology through its next exhibition, The Amazing Shoemaker – Fairy Tales and Legends About Shoes and Shoemakers. [WWD]
Condé Nast has premiered video networks for Glamour and GQ to kick-start the development of its newly created entertainment division. [Mashable]
Iris Apfel’s second collection of sunglasses for Eyebobs is now available. [SheFinds]
Nicholas Kirkwood looks to architecture to inspire his fancy footwear: “The curve, the line, the angles, all of it is close to the structure of a bridge, if not of a building in itself.” [AnotherMag]
A move by the online gaming giant Pokerstars to buy an Atlantic City casino could signal a gold rush for the gambling industry, according to industry watchers.
Online companies are expected to be scrambling for land and casinos in states like Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, which recently passed laws allowing online gambling if it is affiliated with in-state casinos. Similar bills have also been introduced in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Pokerstars, part of the online gambling corporation Rational Group, based in the U.K., struck a deal earlier this year to buy the Atlantic Club, an 800-room hotel and casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk, according to paperwork filed with the state’s division of gaming enforcement.
The move came after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Feb. 26 allowing online gambling for residents as long as the games were hosted by in-state casinos located in Atlantic City.
Sponsored Links
The company, which was previously indicted by the Department of Justice for offering online gambling to U.S. residents, wants to legally operate its website and the casino, according to its owners. They reportedly paid about $30 million for the casino.
“In a nutshell, the future of gaming will require a mix of online and offline expertise,” Eric Hollreiser, spokesman for Pokerstars, told ABCNews.com in an email. “We are the world’s largest online poker company and one of the largest producers of live poker tournaments in the world, which we produce in many of the world’s best known casinos.”
Hollreiser said that the proposed business model would help drive online gamers into casinos for live tournaments, and remind casino-goers to log on and game at home until their next visit.
“We drive traffic from our online tournaments to our major casino partners around the world. This drives a poker tourism business in cities such as London, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, (and) Rio,” he said. “The traffic runs both ways as we introduce new audiences to poker in these live tournaments.”
Precedent-Setting Decision
Pokerstars is awaiting approval from the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the state’s Casino Control Commission. If it goes through, it could represent the first time a gaming website has transformed into owning and operating a hotel and casino.
The development could send waves through the gaming industry.
“The casino-going population is older. You have this huge bubble of younger people who have never gone to a casino or intend to go to one, but spend half their waking life on smartphones or computers, playing games, social networking. So how does the gaming industry respond?” said Joe Brennan, director of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMega), who has studied the effects of disruption on the gaming industry.
1778 – Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes enlistment of slaves 1902 – Jules Massenets opera premieres in Monte Carlo 1956 – Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory 1988 – Yvonne van Gennip skates world record 5 km ladies (7:14.13) 1994 – Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand-gun, went into effect 2001 – The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.
1921 – Vladimir Sommer, composer 1950 – Ilene Graff, Bkln NY, actress (Marsha-Mr Belvedere) 1954 –Brian Billick, American football coach 1958 – Mark Pavelich, NHLer (NY Rangers) 1962 – Steve Tsujiura, hockey forward (Team Japan 1998) 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French racing driver
1573 – Jan “Hans” Liefrinck, Flemish engraver/publisher, dies at about 54 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, sci-fi author (Hugo, Deep Space), dies at 73 1984 – Leslie Walcott, cricketer (Test for WI v England 1930), dies 1987 – Nora Kaye, US ballet dancer, dies at 67 1990 – Tuppy Owen-Smith, South African cricketer (batsman v England 1929), dies 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (b. 1914)
In an article about to be published in European Physical Journal Plus, Daan Frenkel from the University of Cambridge, UK, outlines the many pitfalls associated with simulation methods such as Monte Carlo algorithms or other commonly used molecular dynamics approaches. Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
