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Dead Sea Cosmetics
We present our Dead Sea Cosmetics collection with leading Israeli Dead Sea product manufacturers, known for their quality skin products, body care and day creams which boast heavenly smells and enriched minerals and vitamins straight from the Dead Sea. From natural mud masks, to Dead Sea salt scrubs and soaks, this gallery also offers a variety of products for everyday use including hydrating creams, lotions, bath & shower gels, shampoos & conditioners all containing the highest quality Dead Sea minerals.The products are made from Cellvitin which is a combination of Dead Sea minerals as well as vegetable oils, pomegranate, almond and grape seed oil. A lot of the cosmetics and products contain Aloe Vera, germ seed oil, avocado and anti-aging properties which boost rehydration, revitalization and rejuvenation, leaving the skin radiant, smooth, youthful and soft. The products are paraben and SLS free and have been approved by health industries such as US Pharmacopoeia, Canadian Health-Canada agency and their natural products fit the requirements to make them EEC and International CTFA appropriate.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. Measuring at 33.7% salinity it is one of the world's saltiest seas. For thousands of years people have flocked to the Dead Sea to take advantage of its unique health and skin benefits. Dead Sea salts and muds are rich in minerals such as magnesium, calcium, chloride, bromide, potassium as well as many other beneficial minerals.
The Dead Sea minerals are known for their healing properties to combat aging toxins, repair the elasticity of the skin, relax muscles and tension, activate the blood circulations and system, heal metabolic and rheumatic disorders and to enrich the layers of the skin by seeping deep into the pores for nourishment and enhancement of the skin's cellular activity. The Dead Sea contains over 45 000 million tons of mineral and vitamin rich salts and is one of the saltiest beds of water in the world. The salt contains 26 essential minerals, twelve of which can only be extracted from the salts in this water, making these products unique, desirable and useful. People often visit the Dead Sea to place the black mud all over their bodies and faces to heal scars, wounds and to just provide an overall skin-enriching treatment.
The packages of the cosmetics, body care and day creams arrest the eye with simple boxes, tubes, bottles, tubs and packets with all the ingredients, directions, functions, use and benefits, names and precautions of the individual product written clearly so that the experience can be totally transparent and enjoyable. These products enhance beauty and fix problematic skin in a totally natural and organic manner and leave one smelling fresh and dreamy.
To get these wonderful Dead Sea beauty products, day creams, body care and cosmetics in an array of Israeli brands for a wide selection to meet your preferences, browse the Body Care gallery.


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Treat yourself to an afternoon of Tea-taking and discover the story of a much-loved tradition that ignited wars and inspires peace.
Hop on to start your journey through the fascinating world of tea and History.
From Asia to Britain with a halt in the Middle-East, discover what has made and continues to make tea- taking a timeless and much-loved tradition accross the world.
Treat yourself to an afternoon of tea, scones, cakes and more as you travel places and times you didn't think could be reached in York.
An afternoon of tea drinking, treat-eating and History 'tasting' in unique settings awaits!
Every tour includes:
Full 3.5 hour guided tour of York and it's best places for tea. Lead by 'archaeologist in the making' for full historical interest.
Full access to exclusive digital content to read through before, during and after the tour!
Gift bag to pursue the experience once the tour ends!
Full tea and cheese pairing workshop (yes, exciting!).
Visits to three unique venues and two top tea retailers and importers.
Sweet and savoury treats, including full afternoon tea, Middle-Eastern delicacies and the best scones in York!
'Platefuls' of insightful information on the fascinating histories of Tea and York.
We look forward to welcoming you at our table!

subset: commoncrawl


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Earth Island Institute
Home › Programs › Restoration Initiatives
Restoration Initiatives
Supporting community-based wetland restoration initiatives
90% of Southern California's wetlands are gone.
Find out how we can work together to bring them back.
Click on the bird to watch a video about the Community Wetland Restoration Grant Program
Community-Based Wetland Restoration Grants
The application deadline for the 2015-16 program has passed. We expect to circulate the next round of Request for Proposals in January of 2016.
The Community Wetland Restoration Grant Program (CWRGP) provides funding for community-based restoration projects in coastal wetlands and watersheds in the southern California region. The purpose of the Program is to build local capacity to plan and implement wetland restoration projects; promote community involvement in wetland restoration activities; and foster education about wetlands ecosystems. The Program is funded and administered by Earth Island Institute
Each January we solicit proposals for the Community Wetland Restoration Grant Program. Nonprofit organizations, university departments, and local agencies are eligible to apply. Proposals are reviewed by a committee that includes a representative from each of the five county task forces. Typically projects are selected by early summer and can begin receiving funds by late summer.
for more information please contact:
Ariana Katovich at 510-859-9154
Shawn Kelly at (805) 984-9531
Streets Alive
Earth Island Institute works with the community to support increasing nature and art in Berkeley.
Streets Alive! aims to engage and inspire communities and decision makers about the concepts and application of Sustainable principles. By using art as the platform for storytelling and communication, Streets Alive! will turn neglected urban landscapes and infrastructure into vibrant art pieces and community gathering spaces.
Restoration Networks
Earth Island is working to support networks of watershed groups to tell the story of restoration and conservation
- Re-Seed California
Support our efforts.


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Austin01 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 18 designs submitted by 4 freelance designers.
Twenty20 Ventures
Twenty20 Ventures is a dynamic business that focuses on identifying talented entrepreneurs with exciting, innovative business ideas. We review a significant number of prospective new start-ups and decide upon a shortlist to work with. We work with them to produce a world class business plan, invest our own seed money, then train, mentor and advise them to build a robust, scalable company. We also help raise additional 2nd and 3rd round funding to enable fast growth .
We work with start-ups in different industries, including technology, cleantech, real estate and talent management.
We want our brand to project professionalism, but also to show that we are dynamic and forward thinking.
Our audience consists of entrepreneurs, business angels, investors, venture capitalist firms, banks, asset management firms, universities, etc.
We are looking for a logo that conveys an established, but modern brand. It must imply that we are approachable, professional, credible, successful, trustworthy, dynamic, have vision.
At this stage, we are flexible on what case is used for the logo, whether it is all upper case, all lower casr or a mix.
We will consider an icon along with the text if it enhances the logo.
The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)
We are flexible with colour, at this stage.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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An invitation to Agus Suwage's "Still Crazy After All These Years" (Selected Works: 1985 - 2009), curated by Enin Supriyanto, will be officiated by Biantoro Santoso on opening night Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 7.30pm, and held at Jogja National Museum. The exhibition is organized by iCAN, and will run until July 31, 2009. You could click on the image above, or here to read the details. I was told this major exhibit will occupy the whole 3-level of Jogja National Museum. It's surely an exhibit you wouldn't want to miss. So be there! ;-)
update (July 18, 2009): For those who can't visit the exhibition, Agus Suwage's website is now up for you to enjoy! yay! :) Click here to view the exhibit.


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Short piano & strings theme with minimal but very effective arrangement.
While listening to this track I can picture two lovers being separated or going different ways but they still love each other. Bass guitar brings out the warmth, cosy feeling of the track while piano adds some colder tones, like raindrops falling on your shoulder.
This one will surely evoke romantic feelings so it can be perfect in projects with similar theme. Loops perfectly
Thanks for stopping by and check out more high quality royalty-free music in my portfolio
If you are using my tracks I would appreciate to let me know how & where. Besides being plain curious, maybe it will help me deliver higher quality audio in the future. Your satisfaction is my main goal. Thanks!


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Back Home Charles County MD - A-Z Directory ("A"= Attorney "C"= Church "R"= Restaurant) Add Your Business
Location: Thurmont, Maryland, Fredrick County, USA
A presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of northern Maryland north-northwest of Washington, D.C. It was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 as Shangri-La. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it Camp David in honor of his grandson.
Camp David is a Presidential weekend retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. Originally a military base, it was turned over to the White House during the Great Depression and was named Shangri-La by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David for his grandson David. It consists of 180 forested acres, protected by a ring of three fences and marine guard patrols. It is maintained by 150 naval personnel and, when the President is in residence, by 250 other support staff. It contains a number of residence cabins for the President and his guests, who often include foreign heads of state. Camp David also has a heated pool, skeet range, tennis courts, and horseshoe pit. It has a conference center where administration officials can meet with the President when he is on a "working vacation." Expenses for Camp David are part of the Navy Department budget.
Click Here for a diagram of Camp David's layout.
Click Here for a full-screen slideshow (many photos)!
Camp David (or Naval Support Facility Thurmont) is a United States Navy installation. The Camp is commanded by an O-5 (Commander's Rank.) Sailors are mostly Seabees and most officers are in the civil engineering field. The Navy Seabee Detachment does maintenance and beautification. The sailors must attain "Yankee White" security clearance, the highest level clearance in the Department of Defense (DOD). The sailors are hand picked for their service at Camp David and represent the best of the U.S. Navy. Some of the sailors include: grounds and maintenance personnel, electricians, carpenters, corpsman, and the President's cooks (mess specialists).
Video Channel - Presidential History of Frederick County including Camp David:
Video clips include Mark Hudson of the Historical Society of Frederick County at the Thurmont Regional Library.
The Camp is alleged to be one of the most secure facilities in the world, as reported by a Department of Defense journal in 1998. The Facility is guarded by one of the United States Marine Corps' most elite units, MSC-CD (Marine Security Company, Camp David). Each Marine is hand picked from the infantry and sent through a battery of psychological and physical tests. He then must undergo specialized security training at the Marine Corps Security Forces School, in Chesapeake, Virginia. The Marines then report to Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. Assuming the Marines successfully complete all their schooling, they still must attain "Yankee White" security clearance. Only then will the Marines be eligible for the assignment at Camp David. After 12 months of service at Camp David, a Marine is awarded the Presidential Service Badge. Typically tours at Camp David are 18-24 months.
President Carter described the retreat: Camp David is trully beautiful, with the cottages (all named after trees) and paths snuggled on top and down one side of a small mountain and sheltered by a thick growth of stately oak, poplar, ash, locust, hickory, and maple trees. A security fence encompasses about 125 acres of rocky terrain, and the close proximity of the living quarters engenders an atmosphere of both isolation and intimacy, conducive to easing tension and encouraging informality. A few golf carts and bicycles were available, but most of the time people walked among the cottages and meeting places.
Also see our article regarding the Camp David Museum at the Cozy in Thurmont.
To prove that there is no such thing as a secret a quick google search turned up the following information regarding many government compounds including Camp David:
One article titled Bunkers Beyond the Beltway included:
The federal government back-up system - The centralization of the federal government at Washington DC has its obvious drawbacks from a security standpoint. Despite a reportedly extensive underground bunker network in the Capitol region (underground command centers with multiple levels have been built under the East Wing of the White House and under the Pentagon, for example), the federal government has maintained the strategy that, in the event of a truly serious situation, its best to head for the hills.
Duplicating and securing the federal government beyond the beltway initiated an underground building boom that began in the 1950's, and lead to the creation of almost a hundred "continuity of government" locations within the Federal Arc, a 300 mile radius around the capitol, according to published reports in the press.* These facilities were built to house representatives of nearly all the branches of government, in underground shelters, to sit out the fallout from a nuclear war, and to be able to continue the operations of a federal government once the bombardment stopped.
As important as maintaining personnel to carry out the command of government, is the ability to know what is going on in the country and the world, and to be able to communicate, internally and externally. Therefore, a lot of the effort to build back-up systems for the federal government in the event of a nuclear war involved the creation of invulnerable communications systems.
Much of this infrastructure, built in the Cold War, is still in use today, with renewed importance in the terrorism era. Some of it is operated by the Defense department, some by secretive intelligence organizations, and some is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The two biggest and most important federal bunkers beyond the beltway are Mount Weather and Raven Rock, in Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. Site R, as Raven Rock is often called, is the alternate command center for the Pentagon. Mount Weather is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's primary hub. Both have somewhere in the neighborhood of 600,000 to 700,000 square feet of underground space, though Raven Rock may be slightly larger. Together, these two facilities function as the main relocation sites for the highest level civilian and military officials, and what is called, seemingly interchangeably, the "Continuity of Government" and the "Continuity of Operations Plan" (COOP). The present day version of this plan, when it is activated, as recent articles in national newspapers have claimed, calls for 75 to 100 government workers to be kept in one of two underground locations, briefed daily and prepared to take over if the active, elected government is wiped out. COOP was activated hours after the attacks on September 11, and since that time these unknown individuals have been serving in rotations lasting up to three months, in Raven Rock and Mount Weather.
Raven Rock gets its name from the hill where it is located, a 650 surface acre site in southern Pennsylvania, next to the Maryland state line. It was first hollowed out in the early 1950's, and went on line in 1954. Its officially stated function is as the Alternate Joint Communications Center, and a contingency relocation site for the Joint Staff Support Center, a division of the Pentagon.
For much of the Cold War, Site R is said to have had a full-time staff of 350, including representatives of the major military departments and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with space enough for an additional 2,600 people. Site R was supported by nearby Fort Ritchie, Maryland, a 638 acre Army post, with over 2,000 employees, that closed in the 1990's. It is now administered out of Fort Detrick, Maryland. The Defense Information Systems Agency, Western Hemisphere, a military division that calls itself the "Guardians of the Rock," operates the communication and command center located in the bunker. This is the underground site that is reportedly most favored by Vice President Dick Cheney.
The other major Continuity of Operations Plan site is the Mount Weather complex, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. While Site R is dominated by its role as a Department of Defense command facility, Mount Weather is a "civilian" command facility, the center of operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For its FEMA role as the National Emergency Coordinating Center, it has extensive communication facilities that link it to the nationwide network of FEMA bunkers, relocation sites, and to the White House Situation Room. Underground, there are sleeping accommodations for 2,000, including private sleeping quarters for the President, Cabinet, and the Supreme Court, as well as all the functions required to support large numbers of people underground for considerable periods, such as 500,000 gallons of water that are stored on site, a hospital and a crematorium. The blast door for the main tunnel portal weighs 34 tons and is 5 feet thick. On the surface, the site covers 434 acres, and has several large buildings, including conference and training buildings for FEMA.
The government first used the site in 1903 as a weather station. Tunnel boring began in the 1950's, by the Bureau of Mines and the Army Corps of Engineers, and cost as much as $1 billion in today's dollars. The number of people on site fluctuates from a few hundred to over 1,000, depending on alert status.
The most famous of the federal "retreats" is Camp David, located in Catoctin Mountain Park, a National Park Service area near Thurmont, Maryland, and only a few miles from Site R, and the Federal Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg. The rustic cabins at the camps have been replaced over the years with semi-rustic-looking bungalows that have the luxuries demanded of heads of state. Approximately 50 buildings are clustered around the highest point in the park, within a 125 acre fenced area, designated as Department of Defense property within the park. Reports about the extent of the underground bunkers at Camp David vary, but there is known to be an underground communications center and a VIP bomb shelter, constructed in 1959. Rumors abound about more extensive facilities, including a tunnel connecting Camp David to Site R. The surrounding park is open to the public, and has a few other "camps" with clusters of buildings, some clearly in use by military personnel, such as the sailors and marines that protect and maintain Camp David.
A few miles from Site R and Camp David, the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is a training campus for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Center was established in 1979, at a 107 acre site originally occupied by St. Joseph's College, a liberal arts college which closed in 1973. Classrooms and some field training facilities are located on site. The emphasis is training for civilian emergency professionals, such as fire fighters, and emergency response managers and coordinators. A sample of training course titles includes: "Advanced Radiological Accident Assessment - Post-Plume Phase," "Use of Auto-Injectors by Civilian Emergency Medical Personnel to Treat Civilians Exposed to Nerve Agent," and "Mass Fatalities Incident Course." Thousands are trained here every year, and an increase in terrorist related curricula is drawing more students from all over the country.
Part of the communication infrastructure designed to support the federal government, is the mysterious and extensive complex known as the Warrenton Training Center (WTC), located in rural Virginia. Warrenton's, Station B, the largest of the four locations that make up the WTC, is a 346 acre communications center operated by the Defense Department, with underground bunkers, of unknown extent, for the protection of federal communications infrastructure and for the personnel assigned to protect it (and possibly for other purposes as well). Officially, WTC is administered by the Army to support the National Communications System, an entity established by President Kennedy, that is mandated to provide communications for the federal government, under any circumstance, including those following an all-out nuclear attack. This infrastructure links all the federal emergency bunkers, and provides service for most of the major federal governmental departments, from Agriculture and Energy, to Defense and the NSA. Little is officially released about the function of WTC, though the Federation of American Scientists states that "there are a large number of multi-story buildings" at Station B, "including a number of buildings constructed in the late 1980's."
Warrenton, Station A is an administrative, training, and residential compound, located close to the town of Warrenton. There are numerous buildings on site, from residences to brick office-type buildings. Station C and D are more remote, and seem to be primarily vast antenna sites. At least one of the two are suspected to have other functions as well, including as "numbers stations" for the CIA, transmitting coded signals for the federal intelligence gathering infrastructure.
The Olney Federal Support Center, near Laytonville, Maryland, is a communications and data network site, with known and unknown functions. Located at a former Nike missile base, this location consists of a vast field of antennas, with several surface buildings. It is next to a National Guard detachment, and a large landfill, which has helped fuel suspicions that extensive digging has taken place at the site (the disposal of the dirt from secret subterranean excavation projects is always an issue for the builders of these sites, according to some underground researchers). It is known to be part of FEMA's National Radio System, a high-frequency radio network that links FEMA's emergency operations centers. Rumors about multiple levels underground have been circulated primarily by UFOlogists and conspiracy theorists.
A number of the original continuity of government sites were closed in the 1990's. The most well known of these secret bunkers was code-named Casper, and was kept prepared for congressional members (most of whom were unaware of its existence). This 112,000 square foot bunker, 64 feet underneath the posh Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia, opened in 1962. It had dining facilities (with landscapes painted behind fake windows), a hospital, beds for up to 1,000 people, and separate chambers for the House and the Senate. As recently as 1992 it was staffed by a crew, masquerading as a television repair company, which even kept a current supply of the prescription drugs used by the individual members of Congress, in case the site was activated, according to a CBS news story on the bunker that aired after it was officially decommissioned in 1995.
Mount Pony is another major underground federal bunker which is no longer in use as part of the continuity of government plan. This 140,000 square foot, hardened underground complex, near Culpeper, Virginia, opened in 1969, and was used until 1992 by the U. S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. Until 1988, over a billion dollars in currency was stored here to resupply the nation in the event of a devastating nuclear attack, much of it in the form of two dollar bills. For many years it was also the location of the Culpeper Switch, the principal hub of the Federal Reserve's 40,000 mile secure communications system, that routed the trillions of dollars that pass through the Feds electronic systems annually. (The Federal Reserve is said to have had bunkers for nine of the system's 12 regional branches, including a 44,000 square foot bunker in western Massachusetts that served the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, acquired in 1992 by Amherst College.) Until 1992, as a government relocation center, the Mount Pony facility had a regular staff of 100 on hand to care for selected government officials who would flee to the site in the event of nuclear war. In 1997, the site was transferred to the Library of Congress for use as an archival storage facility called the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, scheduled to open in 2005.
While many of the continuity of government sites established during the Cold War were designed for existing departments and divisions of the federal government (Congress, Treasury, the Supreme Court, etc.), some facilities housed new and lesser known federal entities, that would gain importance in the event of an emergency, such as a nuclear war. A now unoccupied bunker below the basement of the Lewis Hall of Science at Western Maryland College is an interesting case in point. This 6,000 square foot chamber, accessed by elevator, and equipped with a broadcast facility connected to FEMA's communications infrastructure, was for the leaders of the United State Office of Censorship, later renamed the Wartime Information Security Program. In the event of a war, a group of eight appointed individuals, and a staff of 40, were to convene at this location to assume their duties leading the national censorship of news broadcast and print media, according to federally mandated emergency guidelines, listed in manuals and code books stored in the bunker. One of the directors of this program was the Vice-President of CBS.
In a society such as ours, it is common to have murky alliances between the federal government and private companies that manage systems critical to defense and commerce. Corporations such as AT&T, for example, have continuity of operations plans and underground back up control centers of their own. If the variety and extent of known underground facilities maintained by the federal government in the Federal Arc is any indication of the pervasiveness of this form of architecture, an inventory of America's underground spaces would be nearly impossible to compile. The depth and breadth of this subsurface layer of the built landscape will most likely remain obscure, as it was intended to be.
Also see our article regarding the Camp David Museum at the Cozy in Thurmont.
Original article URL = http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/lotl/v23/v23c.html


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We are always looking for new sounds, styles and trends
in the world of electronic music. We like to deal with the mass without fear of new artistic and musical experimentation.
We are always looking for new talents who want to deal with the public showing their wares and skills. Also our aim is becoming a hub for producers that want to collaborate with us by releasing remixes or new projects. We focus on house, techno and deep electronic music sounds. test yourself.


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NEWTON, Mass. — In a non-conference field hockey showdown between Lasell College and MIT, the visiting Engineers triumphed over the Lasers, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon at Grellier Field. MIT remains undefeated at 3-0 this season, while the Lasers drop to 0-2.
MIT produced a slight advantage in shots in each period, 7-4 in the first half, and 8-6 in the second, while also holding a significant edge in penalty corners in the contest, getting nine chances to Lasell's two.
MIT got on the board after ten minutes elapsed in the contest in a play that began with Katie Kauffman tearing down field on a breakaway. Kauffman challenged Lasell's goalkeeper Christine Thornton who made a kick save, however, MIT's Kameron Klauber was in position for the rebound and scored off the deflected save. Klauber's goal was scored at 9:41, giving the Engineers a 1-0 lead.
Alex Wright sent up the Engineer's second goal at 18:01. Wright developed the play from the right side of the field, unloading a pass to Kauffman who netted her first goal of the game. The Engineers went into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Lasell closed the gap to just one goal at the beginning of the second half as Hannah Cebry scored her second goal of the season just 1:43 into the period. Cebry was set up by freshman forward Sam Smithers who snuck a pass through MIT's defense to a waiting Cebry on the left end line. Cebry quickly released on the pass to find the back of the Engineer's net.
Less than one minute later, MIT's Klauber struck again giving the Engineer's back the two goal lead, followed by a Kauffman connection at 44:19, for a three goal MIT advantage. Kauffman's goal would complete the scoring in the contest.
Both Kauffman and Klauber ended the contest with four points having scored two goals apiece. Kimberly Barker, Erin Kenney, and Wright each notched a point apiece from helpers.
MIT's senior goalkeeper Keri Dixon secured her third victory of the season, making five stops in the net. Thornton collected six total saves in the setback.
Lasell is set for Thursday, September 9th, at 4:30 p.m. on Grellier Field, when they will host Wheelock College. The Engineers are back in action on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when they travel to Simmons.


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June 6, 2005
With water becoming a scarce commodity, the aging U.S. water infrastructure is a cause for much concern. Although government spending in this sector is substantial, the infrastructure requires urgent restoration for compliance with updated water safety standards. What remains is a gap between budgeted and required investments. Remedial action on this front will give water equipment companies the necessary impetus to grow at a faster rate.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, U.S. Municipal Water Equipment Market: Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities, reveals that revenue in this market (excluding the pipes and fittings sector) totaled $4.09 billion in 2004 and projects to reach $5.22 billion by 2011.
The municipal water sector accounts for 40% of the total water usage in the U.S. While water safety and quality concerns are the primary drivers for many investments made at the municipal level, the need to disseminate drinking water efficiently through structured water mains is drawing considerable industry focus.
"Water, a basic necessity, is turning out to be an investment necessity," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Santosh K. Ejanthkar. "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that heavy investments will be required in the U.S. to upgrade or replace the water infrastructure to ensure compliance with the safety standards prescribed by the Safe Drinking Water Act."
In order for water equipment manufacturers to take advantage of the increasing opportunities in the municipal water treatment and distribution sector, they must develop new technologies to treat emerging contaminants.
While developments in ozone and ultraviolet (UV) technologies are expanding the application areas of these technologies, membrane technology may eventually replace conventional filtration equipment, due to its increased reliability financially viable technology. By upgrading aging infrastructures with membrane treatment systems, municipalities can achieve cost savings in the long run.
However, advanced water treatment systems are relatively capital intensive, which affects public municipalities who often have limited funding.
Nonetheless, the current state of water municipalities and increasing public awareness on drinking water quality standards will force federal agencies to implement corrective action at a quicker pace.
As the government looks to increase its focus on improving the national water infrastructure, water equipment vendors stand to benefit from resultant opportunities and display solid growth. Water meter companies may fare even better on account of the increased demand for advanced meter reading equipment.
"Until recently, the water sector had been largely ignored by the financial community," Ejanthkar says. "However, with conglomerates buying out smaller companies and a growing number of investors eyeing this sector, the water equipment market promises healthy opportunities for vendors."
U.S. Municipal Water Equipment Market: Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities, part of the Financial Benchmarking & Analysis in the Water Industry subscription, provides insight into the various segments of the municipal water markets: water treatment equipment, water meters & accessories, water pumps & components, and water pipes & fittings. The study provides a comprehensive financial analysis of leading U.S. water equipment firms to support the investment and financial analysis needs of decision makers in the water arena. Executive summaries and analyst interviews are available to the press.
Frost & Sullivan's Business and Financial Services group serves clients around the world in all aspects of financial analysis, market research and monitoring, due diligence, idea generation, opportunity analysis, investment valuation, and other proprietary research.


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Shameful: US Secrecy Holding Up Treaty To Help Blind Access Copyrighted Works
from the more-of-the-same dept
Over at WIPO, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) conference is ongoing, and one of the agenda items is this treaty for the blind. One of the key points that have held up negotiations is whether or not this should really be a "treaty." As I understand it, copyright maximalists are scared silly of creating an actual treaty that is focused on "exceptions and limitations," because that might make people realize that exceptions and limitations are a thing they can create whole treaties around... and thus we'd start seeing a lot more of that.
And, in fact, on the agenda at SCCR are two other potential agreements (which are much newer) discussing the possibility of exceptions and limitations in two other areas: education and libraries. As this video, shot by Jamie Love at KEI of Alan Adler, the VP of the Association of American Publishers, shows, he's against these kinds of treaties because the publishers believe that exceptions and limitations are an attack on their rights, and they don't want to support that kind of thing.
There's no way to describe this other than absolutely shameful on the part of the US government and the Obama administration. It's dragged its feet for years on helping the blind over this issue, even while trying to rush through all sorts of copyright treaties that favor Hollywood. And now, despite all of that, having the US (once again) keep the text a secret... it's just shameful.


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Bay Area Hospital strives to improve the health of our community every day.
Bay Area Hospital is a tobacco-free campus.
We provide some of the most advanced and compassionate care in the region.
Whether you are receiving care or visiting a loved one, our goal is to make your stay with us a positive one.
Bay Area Hospital offers a wide variety of support groups and programs to improve the health of our community.
We are continually looking for opportunities to improve our organization and keep our community informed.
Coronary angioplasty and stents — Overview covers definition and results of this heart procedure.
Coronary angioplasty (AN-jee-o-plas-tee), also called percutaneous coronary intervention, is a procedure used to open clogged heart arteries. Angioplasty involves temporarily inserting and inflating a tiny balloon where your artery is clogged to help widen the artery.
Angioplasty is often combined with the permanent placement of a small wire mesh tube called a stent to help prop the artery open and decrease its chance of narrowing again. Some stents are coated with medication to help keep your artery open (drug-eluting stents), while others are not (bare-metal stents).
Angioplasty can improve symptoms of blocked arteries, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Angioplasty can also be used during a heart attack to quickly open a blocked artery and reduce the amount of damage to your heart.
Angioplasty is used to treat a type of heart disease known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the slow buildup of fatty plaques in your heart''s blood vessels. Your doctor might suggest angioplasty as a treatment option when medications or lifestyle changes aren''t enough to improve your heart health, or if you have a heart attack, worsening chest pain (angina) or other symptoms.
Angioplasty isn''t for everyone. If the main artery that brings blood to the left side of your heart is narrow, if your heart muscle is weak or if you have multiple diseased blood vessels, then coronary artery bypass surgery may be a better option than angioplasty. In coronary artery bypass surgery, the blocked part of your artery is bypassed using a blood vessel from another part of your body.
If you have diabetes and multiple blockages, your doctor may suggest coronary artery bypass surgery. The decision of angioplasty versus bypass surgery will depend on the extent of your heart disease and overall medical condition.
Although angioplasty is a less invasive way to open clogged arteries than bypass surgery is, the procedure still carries some risks.
The most common angioplasty risks include:
Other rare risks of angioplasty include:
Before a scheduled angioplasty, your doctor will review your medical history and do a physical exam. You''ll also have an imaging test called a coronary angiogram to see if your blockages can be treated with angioplasty. A coronary angiogram helps doctors determine if the arteries to your heart are narrowed or blocked. Liquid dye is injected into the arteries of your heart through a catheter — a long, thin tube that''s fed through an artery from your groin, arm or wrist to arteries in your heart. As the dye fills your arteries, they become visible on X-ray and video, so your doctor can see where your arteries are blocked. If your doctor finds a blockage during your coronary angiogram, it''s possible he or she may decide to perform angioplasty and stenting immediately after the angiogram while your heart is still catheterized.
You''ll receive instructions about eating or drinking before angioplasty. Typically, you have to stop eating or drinking six to eight hours before the procedure is scheduled. Your preparation may be different if you''re already staying at the hospital before your procedure.
Whether the angioplasty is pre-scheduled or done as an emergency, you''ll likely have some routine tests first, including a chest X-ray, electrocardiogram and blood tests.
The night before your procedure, you should:
Your body isn''t cut open except for a very small incision in the skin over a blood vessel in the leg, arm or wrist through which a small, thin tube (catheter) is threaded and the procedure performed. Angioplasty can take 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the difficulty and number of blockages and whether any complications arise.
Angioplasty is performed by a heart specialist (cardiologist) and a team of specialized cardiovascular nurses and technicians in a special operating room called a cardiac catheterization laboratory. This room is often called the cath lab.
Angioplasty is commonly performed through an artery in your groin (femoral artery). Less commonly, it may be done using an artery in your arm or wrist area. Before the procedure, the area is prepared with antiseptic solution and a sterile sheet is placed over your body. A local anesthetic is injected to numb the area where the catheter will be inserted. Small electrode pads are placed on your chest to monitor your heart during the procedure.
General anesthesia isn''t needed. You''ll be sedated but awake during the procedure. You''ll receive fluids, medications to relax you and blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants) through an IV catheter. Then, the procedure begins:
If you have several blockages, the procedure may be repeated at each blockage. Because the balloon temporarily blocks blood flow to part of your heart, it''s common to experience chest pain while it''s inflated.
Stent placement
Most people who have angioplasty also have a stent placed in their blocked artery. The stent is usually inserted in the artery once it is widened by the inflated balloon. The stent supports the walls of your artery to help prevent it from re-narrowing after the angioplasty. The stent looks like a tiny coil of wire mesh.
Here''s what happens:
After your stent placement, you may need prolonged treatment with medications, such as aspirin or clopidogrel (Plavix) to reduce the chance of blood clots forming on the stent.
You''ll probably remain hospitalized one day while your heart is monitored and your medications are adjusted. You should be able to return to work or your normal routine the week after angioplasty.
When you return home, drink plenty of fluids to help flush your body of the contrast dye. Avoid strenuous exercise and lifting heavy objects for several days afterward. Ask your doctor or nurse about other restrictions in activity.
Call your doctor''s office or hospital staff immediately if:
Blood thinners
It''s important that you closely follow your doctor''s recommendations about your treatment with blood-thinning medications — aspirin and clopidogrel or similar medications.
Most people who have undergone angioplasty with or without stent placement will need to take aspirin for life. Those who have had stent placement will need a blood-thinning medication such as clopidogrel for a year or longer in some cases. If you have any questions or if you need noncardiac surgery, talk to your cardiologist before stopping any of these medications.
Coronary angioplasty greatly increases blood flow through the previously narrowed or blocked coronary artery. Your chest pain should decrease, and you may be better able to exercise.
Having angioplasty and stenting doesn''t mean your heart disease goes away. You''ll need to continue healthy lifestyle habits and take medications as prescribed by your doctor. If your symptoms return, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, or if other symptoms similar to those you had before your procedure occur, contact your doctor. If you have chest pain at rest or pain that doesn''t respond to nitroglycerin, call 911 or emergency medical help.
To keep your heart healthy after angioplasty, you should:
Successful angioplasty also means you might not have to undergo a surgical procedure called coronary artery bypass surgery. In a bypass, an artery or a vein is removed from a different part of your body and sewn to the surface of your heart to take over for the blocked coronary artery. This surgery requires an incision in the chest. Recovery from bypass surgery is usually longer and more uncomfortable.
If you have many blockages or narrowing of the main artery leading to the heart, reduced heart function, or diabetes, your doctor may recommend bypass surgery instead of angioplasty and stent placement. In addition, some blockages may be better treated with bypass surgery.