text:
At a time when so much attention is focused on the Bay Area's future, Emma Donoghue's new novel Frog Music, set in San Francisco at the tail end of the Gold Rush, looks far back into the city's early history. The book, Donoghue's first since her bestselling novel Room, is based on a true and curious crime that took place in the Oceanview district on September 14, 1857: the murder of Jeanne Bonnet, a woman who preferred dressing as a man and was repeatedly jailed for her sartorial transgressions.
Bonnet made her living catching frogs in the ponds near Lake Merced and selling them to French and Chinese restaurants downtown. She was shot through the window of a room she was sharing with a burlesque dancer and prostitute named Blanche Beunon at a boarding house near San Miguel Station, which, in the San Francisco of today, is just about where San Jose Avenue intersects with Alemany Boulevard under the 280 freeway.
Portsmouth Square in Chinatown, San Francisco, 1851, via Wikipedia
Whether the crime is stranger than fiction or simply more colorful than anything a writer would dare to invent, the true story of Jeanne Bonnet is a scandalous delight, and Donoghue is not the first to be sucked into this mystery. Paul Drexler, an expert in the history of Bay Area crime, has also written about Bonnet, whom he dubbed "the little frog-catcher." Drexler is the proprietor of San Francisco's Crooks Tours, a venture he started ten years ago with Kevin Mullen, the former deputy police chief of San Francisco. The pair began sharing their vast knowledge of local criminal history through walking tours of the notorious streets of the Barbary Coast. Drexler consulted with Donoghue when she was researching Frog Music, and he offered some details about the case that Mullen culled from police files and news reports.
"It's still technically an unsolved crime," Drexler says. "There were so many mysteries, so many potential suspects." Even in her youth, Bonnet had frequent brushes with authority and spent time at the San Francisco Industrial School, a reform school that was where City College is now. ("It has always been a city-owned something," Drexler notes.) She snuck into the boys' dormitory and beat them up just to prove that she could, and reports after her death noted that she often tried to help prostitutes escape from their pimps. She had more than a few enemies.
Bonnet was the child of a family of wayward French theater performers, which Drexler says is characteristic of the era. There was a large influx of French immigrants to the city during the Gold Rush, he explains, due in part to a national lottery organized by the French government in 1850. Known as the "Lottery of the Golden Ingots," the grand prize was an actual hunk of gold worth 400,000 francs, a fortune at the time. Tickets cost just one franc, so were affordable even to the poorest families. The government's scheme was to use the profits from ticket sales to give 5,000 French citizens a one-way passage to California. Ostensibly this was to give the deserving poor a chance to start a new life in an American boomtown, but Drexler points out that it was also a convenient way to rid the country of the undesirable elements of its population. The lottery brought 4,016 French citizens to California, 3,293 of whom disembarked in San Francisco, and among them were a great number political dissidents, petty criminals, and prostitutes. Hence Jeanne Bonnet and Blanche Beunon, who, in Frog Music, live in a French-speaking, frog leg-eating San Francisco that appears to be a tattered version of Paris.
Photo courtesy of Paul Drexler
One of the most enjoyable parts of learning Barbary Coast history from Drexler is understanding how much of the city's character was formed by that debaucherous era. "Certainly, the acceptance of eccentricity was there and is still there," Drexler says. "We celebrate that part of our character a lot more than most cities." The Barbary Coast was dangerous, dirty, lawless, and lewd, but it was fabulous, and the wealthy and famous came from around the world to visit. The culture of the period is the origin of what Drexler calls the "glamorous depravity we're so fond of here."
On Drexler's Crooks Tours, he projects images of the city as it looked in the 1850s onto the buildings of today, so the tours give a real sense of the city that was. He leads explorations of Chinatown and the Barbary Coast that are rich with intrigue, bad behavior, and profound cultural insight into the Bay Area. To join a 90-minute walking tour that will change the way you see this town, click here.


text:
Hello, Kitty:
I've been dating my girlfriend for more than a year, and lately she has been acting funny. In the beginning of our relationship, we would go out, talk all the time over the phone, and if we didn't talk over the phone, we would text each other. But ever since I came back from doing my summer internship with an NFL football team outside the state, we haven't spent time with each other, let alone talk or text. Whenever I call her, she tells me she will get back to me, but she never does. I mentioned that I think the reason she's being so distant is because of some other guy she probably met while I was away, but of course she denies it. Please, Kitty, you gotta help me out with this one.
N. Denile
she's just not that into you
If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.
You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!
Hey, Mr. Denile:
I (kinda) hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you never talk to, text, or actually see this girl, she's not your girlfriend. She's your ex. Hell, I correspond with the broad at Pizza Hut more often than you speak with your own gf! I'm no Cleo, but I'm pretty sure your lady found another dude to hang out with while you were off at your fabulous internship. I guess you're writing to ask what you should do, but I can't tell you to do any more than you already have. If you've tried to contact her, stayed faithful, and written to me, there's nothing more to be done. Unless she gave you a good pull-back excuse like "I'm studying for the bar" or "I just got my throat and fingers removed," there's really no good reason for her lack of communication. Some people — and relationships — just aren't strong enough to withstand the distance. It's understandable, but that doesn't let her off the hook for not giving you a clue to what's going on. After a year, you deserve either the truth or an acceptable lie. For her to simply not answer calls and texts is a bitch move. She was dead wrong to not shoot you a Dear John e-mail or give you the truth once you told her your suspicions. Trust me, if you've been trying to reach out to her, you've done all you can do. If you're truly trying to keep this going, you're nothing more than a fool. A fool in love, but a fuckin' fool nonetheless. Let her go, babe. Meow.
Got a question? E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com, or visit blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/magic_city_kitty

subset: commoncrawl


text:
What happens if your sharing plan is going great and you would like to invite others to join? In the spirit of sharing, some groups have a tendency to grow. Whether your group hopes to take over the whole neighborhood or you simply want to add a member or two, there are a handful of key issues to discuss.
The first topic of discussion is whether your group wants to grow at all. Does everyone agree on how large the group should be? If one member wants to keep the group small and another has plans to include every house on the street, you'll need to come to some agreement before you move on to discuss how to admit new members. (For more information on group size, see Question 4, above).
Once you've resolved the issue of how large you want your group to be, you'll need to consider how you'll choose new members. What criteria, if any, must new members meet? Under what circumstances can new members join? Only when another member leaves? Should the decision to involve new members be unanimous? If it's a small group where people must interact and work together, it's probably best that the decision be unanimous. If the decision requires only the vote of a majority, some people could be left feeling uncomfortable with each other. However, in the case of a large sharing group, where people may never have to see each other or cooperate (like a neighborhood tool sharing group), it's probably fine to have just a majority vote or designate a committee or individual to be responsible for admitting new members.
If your group's members have paid into the group (to buy shared items or cover ongoing costs, for example), you should consider what financial requirements new members will have to meet. Will new members have to make an initial contribution? How much does it cost to join? Will the new member own a portion of the shared item? Will current members have to sell part of their share to the new member?
Other issues are new member orientation, creating handbooks or other written materials for new members, and developing documents for new members to sign.
What about temporary members or guests? A sharing group may have a core group of regular members, but also leave open the possibility that guests may take part on an occasional basis. This can help to lessen costs for the group and build community with a broader range of people. For example, Larry, Pam, and Steve have a three-unit condo with a laundry room. They decide to allow friends to come in and use the laundry machines if they pay for each use. Or, a group that has started a community garden might allow other neighbors to join in several times a year.
No matter how you envision allowing nonmembers to participate, your group should discuss the issue and make sure all of you agree on whether and how other people will be included.


text:
Bucharest (Jan. 14)
The alleged interview with King Carol circulated by the German World Press Service of Hanover in which the King is supposed to have spoken of the Galician and Russian Jews as usurers who are themselves to blame for the disturbances in Roumana, is emphatically denied in official circles here. The J.T.A. representative has been told that the King has made no statements of the kind attributed to him.


text:
It's about 8 a.m. and everyone is milling about waiting for today's hearing on whether accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan to begin. The media presence, though increased, is not as large as I expected. However, enough reporters signed up that only a select few will be allowed in the courtroom. I will be in there today.
We have been given instructions as to what to do should an "event" happen, meaning some sort of bombing. It's slightly unnerving, but expected.
For a brief on what to expect today check here. But the bottom line is, no one knows really what to expect.
At the end of that article, I mention that the judge may prevent a defendant from representing them self if he or she "is disruptive or fails to follow basic rules of decorum and procedure." This could come into play if Hasan chooses to use the courtroom as a forum for political speech.
Given the unpredictable turns this case has taken in the year and a half I've covered it, you'll get no predictions from me.
Area coverage:
WFAA (D-FW ABC affiliate) has a round-up story quoting a a former lead defense attorney in the U.S. Marine Corps who says of Hasan's request to go pro se: "I sort of see it as an act of defiance against the trial process."
Reuters via Yahoo has another story with mostly background information that briefly touches on the connections between Hasan and Anwar al'Awlaki.
Associated Press via KTRK (ABC Houston) has a very brief article about the hearing.


text:
Deborah Baker on why she wrote about an unusual American convert to Islam.
Hassan Abbas suggests five books that he feels are critical to understanding and solving the issues that hinder reform in Pakistan.
©2017 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | About AsiaSociety.org | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact
Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government. All views expressed in its publications and on its website are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.


text:
Sunil Bhatia
Associate Professor of Human Development, Director of the Holleran Center
Postcolonial Diasporas and Globalization: Reconstructing Culture, Identity, and the Practice of Psychology
We live in an age where transnational immigration, border crossings, and global media are proliferating at an increasing rate. Discussions about the self—which are further intensified by issues of gender, class, race, and nationality—challenge the grand narratives of the bounded Cartesian self. Acquiring knowledge about issues of self and identity becomes all the more critical in the face of sweeping demographic changes in the United States and Europe where encounters with diverse histories, languages, religions, and ethnicities have emerged as central to the daily lives in many urban, metropolitan cultural spaces (Bhatia, 2007, 2009). There are two central objectives of the paper. First, I analyze the transformations of identity that have emerged in the transnational diaspora communities. The second objective of the paper is to show how studying the practices of global cultural flows and transnational diasporas has important implications for reconstructing knowledge about: 1) the concept of culture, 2) identity and self; and 3) the larger discipline of psychology (Hall, 1991, Gilroy, 1993, Bhatia, 2009). In particular, I analyze two examples of how racial identity and concepts associated with modes of belonging are strategically reconstructed in the diasporic practices of Indian immigrants and some African-American communities in the U.S. I explain how these postcolonial practices involve appeals to constellation of transnational spaces, colonial histories, racial formation and ancestral geographies, and how these global cultural flows compel us to reconfigure the practice and knowledge of psychology.
Robert T. Craig
Professor of Communication, University of Colorado at Boulder
Practical Disciplines: Praxis, Inquiry, Metadiscourse
This paper advances a concept of practical discipline to serve as a normative model for intellectual disciplines that are centrally engaged in the cultivation of particular fields of social practice. The idea of practical discipline was originally proposed as a methodological rationale for a certain kind of disciplinary coherence in my own field of communication studies, but my purpose here is to introduce the idea in more general terms and with an eye to its potentially broader relevance. The paper develops three main points. The first point is that Aristotle's division of human knowledge and activity into theoretical, practical, and productive spheres, while outdated in key respects, still has heuristic value for distinguishing the practical disciplines from other forms of knowledge and knowledge-generating enterprises. Practical knowledge involves irreducible aspects of embodied experience, critical reflection, deliberation, and judgment that must be understood and cultivated in their own terms. Although practical knowledge cannot be reduced to theory, there is a limited role in a practical discipline for theory that clarifies, with as much precision as the subject allows, goals that we should strive for in practice. A methodology for the practical disciplines requires more than categorical distinctions among forms of knowledge, however; it also must situate forms of knowledge within a process-logic of inquiry. My second point, which addresses the problem of theory and practice in a methodology for the practical disciplines informed by Dewey, is that theory in a practical discipline is best understood as a (provisional) rational reconstruction of practices within an ongoing process of action and reflective inquiry; and my third point is that this reflective process of theorizing social practices is mediated by metadiscourse. Within any significant social practice there naturally develops a metadiscourse, a practice of reflexive talking about the practice in which practical norms are continually negotiated. A practical discipline cultivates a field of social practice by cultivating theoretically reconstructed forms of metadiscourse in the field. The paper concludes by considering the potential relevance of practical discipline as a methodological model for psychology and other professions and human sciences.
Daniel Hutto
Professor of Philosophy, University of Hertfordshire, U.K.
Rethinking the Cognitive Revolution
The cognitive revolution deposed behaviourist thinking (in both philosophy and psychology) and licensed a return to active theorizing about mental states and their place in nature. Promoting representational theories of mind, many researchers in diverse fields have assumed that the contentful properties of such mental states play critical causal roles in enabling intelligent activity. Initially, it was thought that this proposal did not conflict with a mechanical-computational understanding of the mind. But serious problems have been identified with the very idea that contentful mental representations (of the kind that might do such work) exist. Moreover, new, non-representationalist approaches in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science – enactive, embodied approaches – have emerged and are growing in popularity. These developments suggest that the time is ripe for a complete re-think of the cognitive revolution. Against this backdrop, and taking a cue from Bruner, I will describe why and how giving attention to narrative practices is required if we are to make sense of certain centrally important human activities, such as our everyday capacity to make sense of reasons for action and self-development.
Na'ilah Suad Nasir
Associate Professor, African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Social Opportunity and Learning Trajectories: Experience, Identity, and Knowledge in Socio-political Context
Many scholars interested in learning, especially those grounded in sociocultural theory, have moved from thinking about knowledge as existing purely "in the head" to considering how one's experiences in the world and one's identity are part and parcel of knowledge construction and learning. These new ways of understanding learning consider the ways that the cultural and social context, and cultural practices, norms, and artifacts shape both who one is and what one learns. However, such frameworks for understanding learning do not yet offer explanatory power for understanding systemic, societal level differences in learning and educational trajectories by virtue of class and race. It may that what we need is a hybrid theory, one that offers accounts from multiple levels—a theory of learning married to a social theory—that will help us elucidate the ways in which learning pathways are cultural/social pathways, deeply influenced by one's experience and access to the 'culture of power' and it's knowledge base. In other words, we need a theory that allows us to keep in view both the local learning context and the broader socio-political context simultaneously. In this paper, I explore the possibilities for such a theory and compare its usefulness with the alternative of keeping our analyses of learning separate from our analyses of social stratification and educational trajectories.
Kevin O'Connor
Assistant Professor, University of Rochester
Index Formation: Assembling Knowledge and Identity, on and off the Rails
Psychological approaches have traditionally taken knowledge and identity to be located in individuals as part of a mental core that underlies and even causes action in the world. In contrast, social practice theories as developed in sociology, anthropology, and psychology take action, or practice, to be primary, with individual or social structuring understood as a contingent outcome of embodied engagement. However, much of this latter work, by relying on images of social worlds as relatively bounded and stable, reintroduces some limitations of individualist psychological approaches. This paper attempts to move beyond such accounts by drawing on work that considers knowledge and identity as contingent outcomes of the assembly of networks that extend broadly across space and time. It first develops an account of knowledge production as involving simultaneous work both to make 'facts' fit with phenomena and to assemble sociotechnical infrastructures to receive these facts. Second, it draws on data from a longitudinal ethnographic study of engineers-in-the-making to show that while there are multiple knowledge and identity practices that might potentially be relevant to the discipline, only some of these have the infrastructure in place to make them recognizably valued forms. The paper argues that by recognizing knowledge and interests as formed and framed within extensive networks, questions about access to powerful social practices can be shifted from individual capacities to the work of building networks, thus redirecting discussions of values in educational practices.
Bill Penuel and Philip Bell
Penuel: SRI International
Bell: Associate Professor, University of Washington
Bringing Selves to the Science Curriculum: Transforming Identity Trajectories as a Goal for Educational Design and Evaluation
Educational researchers typically evaluate curriculum in schools by measuring how much knowledge students learn from engaging with materials. This paper explores the idea that a goal of educational evaluation should be to assess how well programs help to transform the identity trajectories of students who participate in educational experiences. By identity, we refer to the work young people and others in their networks do across a range of contexts to develop and pursue interests that allow them to project themselves into the future. Identity formation is fundamentally a social activity: identity trajectories depend on the development of relationships with others who can recognize emerging interests and broker access to opportunities to develop those interests and have them rewarded and sustained. In this context, two central questions for evaluation of curriculum are: How well can curricular experiences support young people in becoming who they imagine they could be? How well do curricular experiences help others in schools and other contexts support the development of those interests and connect them to the people that can advocate for them in the next stage of the young people's participation in particular practices and learning? In this paper, we explore how these questions could organize an evaluation of an elementary science curriculum unit, Micros and Me, which has as an aim bringing students' home and community experiences into the classroom so that they become central to the experience of teaching and learning science.
Henderikus Stam
Professor of Psychology, University of Calgary
Where Knowledge is Incomplete, Practice Imperfect and Experience only Dimly Known: The Self and its Narration
After more than a century of institutionalized psychology, psychoanalysis, and social science more generally, the self has remained a resilient and popular topic. While eluding objectifications, it has nonetheless been continuously reformulated throughout psychology's history as a necessary standpoint that connects the psychological subject to the popular and commonplace discourses of everyday life. Like the return of the repressed, it continues to move through the concerns of contemporary cognitivism and neuroscience just as it is an implied topos in the social, developmental and applied subdisciplines of psychology. Contemporary movements that re-articulate a dialogical, social self, narrative traditions of the self or a situated, embodied form of the self, have in their recollection and revision of older intellectual traditions implicitly put the lie to contemporary functional accounts of self-like structures in psychology. Here I take up several strands of this discussion, particularly the issue of the "knowability," subjectivation and ethics of the self.
Cynthia E. Winston
Associate Professor of Psychology, Howard University
The Cultural Motion of the Meaning of Race within Lives: Guided Autobiography as a Tool for Building Knowledge and Practice Bridges in Psychology
The field of psychology, like the United States of America, has a self-contradictory record in its theory and praxis of race. In light of dramatic demographic shifts on a global scale, this is an important historical moment to develop tools for a cultural understanding of race as a psychological and social phenomenon. Although "racial studies" have been a notable element of the research literature of the social and psychological disciplines since their origin, there has been surprisingly little attention given to the meaning of race as a cultural object of experience. Similarly, the narrative processing of the meaning of race has also been ignored in psychological theory and research. Yet, the storied aspect of human thought is fundamental for personality development. On the one hand, narrative theories of personality explain the storied nature of human thought in terms of autobiographical memories and narrative identity (see McAdams, 2001; Singer, 1995). On the other hand, theories of the psychological significance of race typically focus on racial identity, racism and differential experience (see Boykin, 1986; Cross, 1991; Lewis, 2004; Jones, 2003; Harrell, 1997; Sellers et al., 1998). However, theory and research in these two areas are, for the most part, isolated and do not inform one another. The theory of race self complexity is a new narrative theory of personality that describes and explains the nature, form, and psychological function of race narratives within lives and society (Winston et. al., 2004; Winston, 2008). Building on Wortham's (2009) idea of cultural motion, this paper focuses on the circulation of the meaning of race across time and space. It also advances the idea that guided autobiography can be used as a tool to bridge knowledge and practice relevant to the multiple meanings of race within lives and society. This is a new and authentic center of inquiry. The pragmatic applications of cultural theories of race, with guided autobiography strategies of inquiry, offer the promise of capturing the density of the meaning of race in human science and society. The occasion for which this paper is written is also significant in the development of the field of psychology. In 1917, with the help of G. Stanley Hall, Francis C. Sumner came to Clark University and in 1920 became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology. He later went to Howard University where he established the institution's independent Department of Psychology and was responsible for the training of the field's most influential African American scholars and teachers of psychology including Kenneth B. Clark, James A. Bayton and Leslie H. Hicks. It is in this tradition of intellectual synergy between Clark University and Howard University that this paper is written for discussion at Clark University, interrogating the field of psychology's treatment of the meaning of race.
Stanton Wortham
Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Traversing the Gap between Knowledge and Practice
Many contemporary accounts of knowledge have become sociocentric, arguing that human cognitive accomplishments involve people participating together with others, objects and tools in larger systems that make successful action possible. Two aspects of this view are crucial: knowledge extends beyond the individual and it is embedded in practice. More familiar accounts of knowledge which construe it as representations located within an individual have generated puzzles or gaps, like the gap between theory and practice. This paper asks: if we adopt a more sociocentric account of knowledge, what happens to the theory/practice gap? The gap does not disappear, but it must be reformulated as a matter of moving representations and habitual actions across types of activities, often from academic or bureaucratized activities to more action-oriented ones.


text:
MikaelaBrianne's review of Revlon ColorStay Makeup [Reformulated Early 2013]
4505 reviews
70% would repurchase
Package Quality: 2.8
Price: $$
Package Quality: 2.8
Price: $$
INGREDIENTSActive Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (7.3%) Inactive Ingredients: Aqua/Water (Water), Cyclomethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Boron Nitride, Dimethicone, SD Alcohol 40B, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Nylon 12, Tribehenin, Isododecane, Polyisobutene, Sodium Chloride, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Bisabolol, Serica (Silk Powder), Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Malva Sylvestris Flower Extract (Mallow), Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract (Lily), Lactobacillus/Eridictyon Californicum Ferment Extract, Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Alumina, Polydimethylsiloxane/Polymethysilesquioxane Copolymer, Ethylene Brassylate, Methicone, Trisiloxane, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, May Contain (+/-): Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499)
REFORMULATED. Please see http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=153868/ColorStay-Makeup-%2824-hour-formula---2012/2013%29/Revlon/Liquid
Age: 18 & Under
Skin: Combination, Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Hazel
I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! It feels like butter on my skin! It's light & super smooth. I does last a really long time too. The only thing is that is doesn't have a pump & it's a glass bottle. I've also read of it breaking out people's skin, but that hasn't happened to me. Best foundation I've ever used.
Read all 4505 reviews of ColorStay Makeup [Reformulated Early 2013]
Popular Liquid Foundations
Double Wear Stay in place Makeup
1516 Reviews
1516 Reviews
Luminous Silk Foundation
1309 Reviews
1309 Reviews
FIT Me Foundation (Matte + Poreless)
818 Reviews
818 Reviews
Infallible Pro-Matte 24HR Foundation
820 Reviews
820 Reviews
Face and Body Foundation
1383 Reviews
1383 Reviews
Teint Idole Ultra 24h
598 Reviews
598 Reviews


text:
Tips for CSE students to get a big job!!
Computer Science Engineering and Information Technology are the top and most opted branch by the students. The main reason behind this is a huge job vacancies in this sector and really good money. But, believe me to get all those luxuries and perks, one has to work really hard. So there are few points which one should follow for getting their dream jobs:
- You have already learnt basics in your 1st year and 2nd year. Now all you need is to apply what you've learnt till now.
- If you haven't started doing competitive coding then start doing it (I am assuming that you are talking about coding based jobs). There are number of sites are there where you can start it like Code Chef, Hacker Earth etc.
- With this start improving your concepts on the topics...


text:
Chevrolet Repair Questions? Ask a Chevy Mechanic for Answers ASAP
If there are 2 cylinders missing all the time then possible the ICM.
Those are only codes. Does it show the MAP readings, TPS readings? engine temp readings and so on?
Your reading on the fuel is good, it is before the regulator that is needed, which you indicated you did.
OK, the short term fuel trim is concerning, it should be near 0. This means it is seeing too much fuel, but could be due to the misfire.
Using insulated plies, pull the plugs off one at a time, plug wires that is, and see if one or 2 don't spark or cause the engine to run differently.
I have to agree, this is a head scratcher. Injectors could, but so could the PCM and the timing chain. If the chain has jumped, the only way to know for sure is to remove the timing cover and inspect. Testing the PCM is difficult, but given the location, wiring in that area can be bad. Often the PCM is the last guess.
$60 for the programming is not bad at all. I think if you are wanting to try a PCM, this is a valid option.
Ok, The injectors may be leaking but they may be over-fueling because of a false reading. Have you tried to run it with the oxygen sensor unplugged?
OK, I have asked another experts opinion to see what we are missing and he suggest checking the Map sensor seal, the injector seals and lastly the head gasket.
Not often is there a post this long, but I have had a couple that were more than 60 replies.
You have paid and thank you.
I have to agree, not only because of the fact we have looked at most everything else, but because of the piston to lifters.


text:
HotSpotCollectionEditor Class
Assembly: System.Design (in system.design.dll)
The HotSpotCollectionEditor class provides a user interface for editing the HotSpot elements of the HotSpotCollection object that is embedded in an ImageMap or a similar control.
The HotSpotCollectionEditor is invoked by selecting the ellipsis button (…) on the HotSpots property in the visual designer's Properties grid.
The CanSelectMultipleInstances method always returns false to indicate that only one object can be selected at a time in the editor. The CreateNewItemTypes method returns an array of types that the editor can create. The HelpTopic property returns the name of the Help topic that the editor displays.
Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition
The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.


text:
TREND ENTERPRISES Wipe Off Blank Calendar, Trimmed W/Seasonal Symbols, 28x22Item#: YYSP-TEPT1170 | Model#: T1170
Currently Out Of Stock!
CHART,CALENDAR,WIPEOFF Product Details
Manufactured by: Trend Enterprises
Warranty provided by: Trend Enterprises
UPC No: 078628940282
Mfg Part No: T1170
Box Size:
( Length:0, Width:28, Depth:22)
Shipping Weight: 0.2400 pound(s)
Click here for full warranty and support information
- Trend Enterprises logos are registered trademarks of Trend Enterprises. All others trademarks and copyrights mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.


text:
Patent application title: Prosthetic Intervertebral Discs Having Balloon-Based Fillable Cores That are Implantable By Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques
Thomas A. Afzal (Menlo Park, CA, US)
Thomas A. Afzal (Menlo Park, CA, US)
IPC8 Class: AA61F244FI
USPC Class:
623 1716
Class name: Bone spine bone including spinal disc spacer between adjacent spine bones
Publication date: 2009-03-19
Patent application number: 20090076610
Sign up to receive free email alerts when patent applications with chosen keywords are published SIGN UP
Inventors list
Agents list
Assignees list
List by place
Classification tree browser
Top 100 Inventors
Top 100 Agents
Top 100 Assignees
Usenet FAQ Index
Other FAQs
Patent application title: Prosthetic Intervertebral Discs Having Balloon-Based Fillable Cores That are Implantable By Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques
Thomas A. Afzal
Wheelock Chan LLP
Spinal Kinetics, Inc.
Origin: PALO ALTO, CA US
IPC8 Class: AA61F244FI
USPC Class:
623 1716
The described devices are spinal implants that may be surgically implanted
into the spine to replace damaged or diseased discs using a posterior
approach. The discs are prosthetic devices that approach or mimic the
physiological motion and reaction of the natural disc.
1. A prosthetic intervertebral disc, comprising:a first end plate;a second
end plate;at least one core member comprising a fillable member,
positioned between said first and second end plates; andat least one
fiber extending between and engaged with said first and second end
plates; andwherein said end plates and said core member are held together
by said at least one fiber.
2. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 wherein the fibers have been placed to extend between the first end plate and said second end plate in a form including the fillable member.
3. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 further including an amount of at least one curable polymer system, curable within the fillable member.
4. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 further including an amount of at least one hydrogel.
5. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 wherein the fillable member comprises a pre-formed balloon.
6. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 wherein the fillable member comprises a pre-shaped balloon.
7. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 1 wherein the fillable member comprises a noncompliant balloon.
8. The prosthetic intervertebral disc of claim 7 wherein the noncompliant balloon comprises a member selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyimides, polyolefins, and polyethylene-block amides.
9. A kit for surgically replacing a disc in a spine with a posterior approach, comprising exactly two of the prosthetic discs of claim 1.
10. The kit of claim 9 further comprising at least one cannula suitable for a posterior approach configured to access a disc to be replaced and to bypass the spinal cord and local nerve roots and further sized for passage of at least one of the prosthetic discs of claim 1.
11. The kit of claim 10 wherein the first and second end plates of each of the prosthetic discs have a length and a width, and wherein the length is greater than the width.
12. The kit of claim 11 wherein the first and second end plates of each of the prosthetic discs have a length:width aspect ratio of the first and second end plates is in the range of about 1.5 to 5.0.
13. A kit for surgically replacing multiple discs in a spine with a posterior approach, comprising at least four of the prosthetic discs of claim 1.
14. The kit of claim 13 further comprising at least one cannula suitable for a posterior approach configured to access a disc to be replaced and to bypass the spinal cord and local nerve roots and further sized for passage of at least one of the at least four of the prosthetic discs of claim 1.
15. The kit of claim 14 wherein the first and second end plates of each of the at least four of the prosthetic discs have a length and a width, and wherein the length is greater than the width.
16. The kit of claim 15 wherein the first and second end plates of each of the at least four prosthetic discs have a length:width aspect ratio of the first and second end plates is in the range of about 1.5 to 5.0.
[0001]This application claims benefit from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/909,443, filed Mar. 31, 2007, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
[0002]The described devices are spinal implants that may be surgically implanted into the spine to replace damaged or diseased discs using a posterior approach. The discs are prosthetic devices that approach or mimic the physiological motion and reaction of the natural disc.
[0003]The intervertebral disc is an anatomically and functionally complex joint. The intervertebral disc is composed of three component structures: (1) the nucleus pulposus; (2) the annulus fibrosus; and (3) the vertebral end plates. The biomedical composition and anatomical arrangements within these component structures are related to the biomechanical function of the disc.
[0004]The spinal disc may be displaced or damaged due to trauma or a disease process. If displacement or damage occurs, the nucleus pulposus may herniate and protrude into the vertebral canal or intervertebral foramen. Such deformation is known as herniated or slipped disc. A herniated or slipped disc may press upon the spinal nerve that exits the vertebral canal through the partially obstructed foramen, causing pain or paralysis in the area of its distribution.
[0005]To alleviate this condition, it may be necessary to remove the involved disc surgically and fuse the two adjacent vertebrae. In this procedure, a spacer is inserted in the place originally occupied by the disc and the spacer is secured between the neighboring vertebrae by the screws and plates or rods attached to the vertebrae. Despite the excellent short-term results of such a "spinal fusion" for traumatic and degenerative spinal disorders, long-term studies have shown that alteration of the biomechanical environment leads to degenerative changes particularly at adjacent mobile segments. The adjacent discs have increased motion and stress due to the increased stiffness of the fused segment. In the long term, this change in the mechanics of the motion of the spine causes these adjacent discs to degenerate.
[0006]Artificial intervertebral replacement discs may be used as an alternative to spinal fusion.
[0007]Prosthetic intervertebral discs and methods for using such discs are described. The subject prosthetic discs include an upper end plate, a lower end plate, and a compressible core member disposed between the two end plates. The compressible core comprises an inflatable member or balloon filled with an elastomeric material or a hydrogel. The described prosthetic discs have shapes, sizes, and other features that are particularly suited for implantation using minimally invasive surgical procedures, particularly from a posterior approach.
[0008]In one variation, the described prosthetic discs include top and bottom end plates separated by one or more compressible core members. The two plates may be held together by at least one fiber wound around at least one region of the top end plate and at least one region of the bottom end plate. The described discs may include integrated vertebral body fixation elements. When considering a lumbar disc replacement from the posterior access, the two plates are preferably elongated, having a length that is substantially greater than its width. Typically, the dimensions of the prosthetic discs range in height from 8 mm to 15 mm; the width ranges from 6 mm to 13 mm. The height of the prosthetic discs ranges from 9 mm to 11 mm. The widths of the disc may be 10 mm to 12 mm. The length of the prosthetic discs may range from 18 mm to 30 mm, perhaps 24 mm to 28 mm. Typical shapes include oblong, bullet-shaped, lozenge-shaped, circular, rectangular, or the like
[0009]The described disc prosthetic structures may be held together by at least one fiber wound around at least one region of the upper (or first) end plate and at least one region of the lower (or second) end plate. The fibers are generally high tenacity fibers with a high modulus of elasticity. The elastic properties of the fibers, as well as factors such as the number of fibers used, the thickness of the fibers, the number of layers of fiber windings in the disc, the tension applied to each layer, and the crossing pattern of the fiber windings enable the prosthetic disc structure to mimic the functional characteristics and biomechanics of a normal-functioning, natural disc.
[0010]A number of conventional surgical approaches may be used to place a pair of prosthetic discs. Those approaches include a modified posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and a modified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedures. We also describe apparatus and methods for implanting prosthetic intervertebral discs using minimally invasive surgical procedures. In one variation, the apparatus includes a pair of cannulae that are inserted posteriorly, side-by-side, to gain access to the spinal column at the disc space. A pair of prosthetic discs may then be implanted by way of the cannulae to be located between two vertebral bodies in the spinal column.
[0011]The prosthetic discs may be configured by selection of sizes and structures suitable for implantation by minimally invasive procedures.
[0012]Other and additional devices, apparatus, structures, and methods are described by reference to the drawings and detailed descriptions below.
[0013]The Figures contained herein are not necessarily drawn to scale, with some components and features being exaggerated for clarity.
[0014]FIG. 1 shows a method for placement of prosthetic intervertebral discs using a posterior approach.
[0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a variation of my prosthetic disc in a collapsed form.
[0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the FIG. 2 prosthetic disc in an inflated form.
[0017]FIGS. 4 and 5 show the production of two variations of my prosthetic disc.
[0018]FIGS. 6A and 6B schematically illustrate a method for implanting the described prosthetic discs.
[0019]Described below are prosthetic intervertebral discs, methods of using such discs, apparatus for implanting such discs, and methods for implanting such discs. It is to be understood that the prosthetic intervertebral discs, implantation apparatus, and methods are not limited to the particular embodiments described, as these may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used here is only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
[0020]Insertion of the prosthetic discs may be approached using modified conventional procedures, such as a posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). In the modified PLIF procedure, the spine is approached via midline incision in the back. The erector spinae muscles are stripped bilaterally from the vertebral lamina at the required levels. A laminectomy is then performed to further allow visualization of the nerve roots. A partial facetectomy may also be performed to facilitate exposure. The nerve roots are retracted to one side and a discectomy is performed. Optionally, a chisel may then used to cut one or more grooves in the vertebral end plates to accept the fixation components on the prostheses. Appropriately-sized prostheses may then be inserted into the intervertebral space on either side of the vertebral canal.
[0021]In a modified TLIF procedure, the approach is also posterior, but differs from the PLIF procedure in that an entire facet joint is removed and the access is only on one side of the vertebral body. After the facetectomy, the discectomy is performed. Again, a chisel may be used to create on or more grooves in the vertebral end plates to cooperatively accept the fixation components located on each prosthesis. The prosthetic discs may then be inserted into the intervertebral space. One prosthesis may be moved to the contralateral side of the access and then a second prosthesis then inserted on the access side.
[0022]It should be apparent that we refer to these procedures as "modified" in that neither procedure is used to "fuse" the two adjacent vertebrae.
[0023]FIG. 1 shows a top, cross section view of a spine (100), sectioned across an intervertebral disc (102). This Figure depicts a minimally invasive surgical procedure for implanting a pair of intervertebral discs in an intervertebral region formed by the removal of a natural disc. This minimally invasive surgical implantation method is performed using a posterior approach, rather than the conventional anterior lumbar disc replacement surgery or the modified PLIF and TLIF procedures described above.
[0024]In FIG. 1, two cannulae (104) are inserted posteriorly, through the skin (107), to provide access to the spinal column. More particularly, a small incision is made and a pair of access windows created through the lamina (106) of one of the vertebrae (108) on each side of the vertebral canal (110) to access the natural vertebral disc. The spinal cord (112) and nerve roots are avoided or moved to provide access. Once access is obtained, the two cannulae (104) are inserted. The cannulae (104) may be used as access passageways in removing the natural disc with conventional surgical tools. Alternatively, the natural disc may be removed prior to insertion of the cannulae. The cannulae are also used to introduce the prosthetic intervertebral discs (114) to the intervertebral region.
[0025]The described prosthetic discs are of a design and capability such that they may be employed at more than one level, i.e., disc location, in the spine. Specifically, several natural discs may be replaced with my discs. As will be described in greater detail below, each such level will be implanted with at least two of my discs. Kits, containing two of my discs for a single disc replacement or four of my discs for replacement of discs at two levels in the spine, perhaps with sterile packaging are contemplated. Such kits may also contain one or more cannulae having a central opening allowing passage and implantation of my discs.
[0026]Once the natural disc has been removed and the cannulae (104) located in place, a pair of prosthetic discs (114) is implanted between adjacent vertebral bodies. The prosthetic discs have a shape and size suitable making them suitable for use with (or adapted for) various minimally invasive procedures. The discs may have a shape such as the elongated one-piece prosthetic discs described below.
[0027]A prosthetic disc (114) is guided through each of the cannula such that each of the prosthetic discs (114) is implanted between the two adjacent vertebral bodies. The two prosthetic discs (114) may be located side-by-side and spaced slightly apart, as viewed from above. Optionally, prior to implantation, grooves may be formed on the internal surfaces of one or both of the vertebral bodies in order to engage anchoring components or features located on or integral with the prosthetic discs (114). The grooves may be formed using a chisel tool adapted for use with the minimally invasive procedure, i.e., adapted to extend through a relatively small access space (such as the tunnel-like opening found in through the cannulae) and to chisel the noted grooves within the intervertebral space present after removal of the natural disc.
[0028]These discs may be used as shown in FIG. 1 or they may be implanted with an additional prosthetic disc or discs, perhaps in the position shown for auxiliary disc (116).
[0029]Additional prosthetic discs may also be implanted in order to obtain desired performance characteristics, and the implanted discs may be implanted in a variety of different relative orientations within the intervertebral space. In addition, the multiple prosthetic discs may each have different performance characteristics. For example, a prosthetic disc to be implanted in the central portion of the intervertebral space may be configured to be more resistant to compression than one or more prosthetic discs that are implanted nearer the outer edge of the intervertebral space. For instance, the stiffness of the outer discs (e.g., 114) may each be configured such that those outer discs exhibit approximately 5% to 80% of the stiffness of the inner disc, perhaps in the range of about 30% to 60% of the central disc (116) stiffness. Other performance characteristics may be varied as well.
[0030]This description may describe a number of variations of prosthetic intervertebral discs. By "prosthetic intervertebral disc" is meant an artificial or manmade device that is so configured or shaped that it may be employed as a total or partial replacement of an intervertebral disc in the spine of a vertebrate organism, e.g., a mammal, such as a human. The described prosthetic intervertebral discs have dimensions that permit them, either alone or in combination with one or more other prosthetic discs, to substantially occupy the space between two adjacent vertebral bodies that is present when the naturally occurring disc between the two adjacent bodies is removed, i.e., a void disc space. By "substantially occupy" is meant that, in the aggregate, the discs occupy at least about 30% by surface area, perhaps at least about 80% by surface area or more. The subject discs may have a roughly bullet or lozenge shaped structure adapted to facilitate implantation by minimally invasive surgical procedures.
[0031]The discs may include both an upper (or top) and lower (or bottom) end plate, where the upper and lower end plates are separated from each other by a compressible element such as one or more core members, where the combination structure of the end plates and compressible element provides a prosthetic disc that functionally approaches or closely mimics a natural disc. The top and bottom end plates may be held together by at least one fiber attached to or wound around at least one portion of each of the top and bottom end plates. As such, the two end plates (or planar substrates) are held to each other by one or more fibers that are attached to or wrapped around at least one domain, portion, or area of the upper end plate and lower end plate such that the plates are joined to each other.
[0032]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of one variation of my prosthetic intervertebral disc (200) in a collapsed form. This variation comprises an upper end plate (202) and a lower end plate (204) separated by a compressible core (206). As discussed below in more detail, the compressible core (206) may comprise one or more inflatable core members (not shown) and be bounded by one or more fibers (210) extending between the upper end plate (202) and the lower end plate (204). Also shown in this Figure is inflation line (212) through which the inflation material may flow. The upper and lower end plates (202, 204) may include apertures (208), through which the fibers (210) may pass. Other components (woven or nonwoven fabrics, wires, etc.) may be used in functional substitution for the fibers (210).
[0033]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the disc (200) shown in FIG. 2, but in an inflated, post-implantation condition. The fill line (212 in FIG. 2) has been removed and the balloon sealed (214). Shown in both FIGS. 2 and 3 are openings (216) useful in cooperative attachment with an implantation tool and attachment features or components (e.g., "keels") (218) for permanent attachment to vertebral bone.
[0034]The end plates are typically generally planar substrates having a length of from about 12 mm to about 45 mm, such as from about 13 mm to about 44 mm, a width of from about 11 mm to about 28 mm, such as from about 12 mm to about 25 mm, and a thickness of from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm, such as from about 1 mm to about 3 mm. The top and bottom end plates are fabricated or formed from a physiologically acceptable material that provides for the requisite mechanical properties, primarily structural rigidity and durability. Representative materials from which the end plates may be fabricated are known to those of skill in the art and include, but are not limited to: metals such as titanium, titanium alloys, stainless steel, cobalt/chromium, etc.; plastics such as polyethylene with ultra high molar mass (molecular weight) (UHMW-PE), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), etc.; ceramics; graphite; etc.
[0035]The discs may also include fibers (207) wound between and connecting the upper end plate (202) to the lower end plate (204). These fibers (207) may extend through a plurality of openings or apertures (208) formed on portions of each of the upper and lower end plates (202, 204). Thus, a fiber (207) extends between the pair of end plates (202, 204), and extends up through a first aperture (208)in the upper end plate (202) and back down through an adjacent aperture (208) in the upper end plate (202). The fibers (207) may not be tightly wound, thereby allowing a degree of axial rotation, bending, flexion, and extension by and between the end plates. The amount of axial rotation generally is in the range from about 0° to about 15°, perhaps from about 2° to 10°. The amount of bending generally has a range from about 0° to about 18°, perhaps from about 2° to 15°. The amount of flexion and extension generally has a range from about 0° to about 25°, perhaps from about 3° to 15°. Of course, the fibers (207) may be more or less tightly wound to vary the resultant values of these rotational values. The balloon-based core members (not shown) forming compressible core (206) may be provided in a collapsed form for implantation. An annular capsule may be included in the space between the upper and lower end plates (202, 204), surrounding the compressible core (206).
[0036]FIGS. 4 and 5 show step-wise construction of my prosthetic intervertebral discs. Specifically, FIG. 4, in step (a), shows a form (300) specifically constructed (size, angle, etc.) to produce a prosthetic disc that, when inflated, has the same angle between the upper end plate (202) and the lower end plate (204) as does the form (300). The upper end plate (202) and lower end plate are mounted on the form (300). A small balloon or inflatable member (302) having an inflation port and line (304) is selected to fit in the region between the upper and lower end plates (202, 204). In this version, the end plates are situated at an angle such that, when the fill line (304) is placed anteriorly, the resulting disc results in a lordotic angle between the adjacent vertebrae. The balloon is inflated with a generally inert gas (e.g., nitrogen, etc.) to an appropriate pressure. The balloons may generally be made from any appropriate polymer, but the materials used in making angioplasty or stent delivery balloons are quite good. Although materials used in making compliant and semicompliant balloons may be used in such balloons, polymeric materials used to make high pressure, noncompliant balloons are a better choice. Noncompliant balloons have typically been made of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) with or without various other copolymers (e.g., polylactone). The balloon may comprise a member selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyimides, polyolefins, and polyethylene-block amides. Multilayer balloons having significant puncture resistance are available.
[0037]With the balloon (302) inflated to size, as shown in step (b), the fibers (210) are then woven through the apertures (208 in FIGS. 2 and 3) to form a network of fibers that distribute force about the disc as force is applied to one of the end plates.
[0038]Finally, as shown in step (c), the balloon (302) with its associated fiber matrix (210) is deflated. The deflated disc (230) may be removed from the form (300). The disc (230) is ready for implantation. The deflated disc (230) may be compressed further before implantation.
[0039]FIG. 5 shows the same set of steps as in FIG. 4 with the exception that the fill line (310) is situated on the opposite side of the balloon (312).
[0040]FIG. 6A shows placement of a deflated disc (400) into the intervertebral space (402) between an upper vertebra (404) and the adjacent lower vertebra (406). The placement tool with fill line (408) is shown schematically. The compressed disc (400) has been passed through the cannula (410) to the implantation site.
[0041]FIG. 6B shows the disc (402) after a filler material has been introduced into the balloon and the disc (402) inflated. The filer tube (408) is tied off or otherwise closed to prevent loss of filler into the body. Suitable filler materials are discussed below. The cannula (410) and the placement tool/ filler line (408) are shown being removed.
[0042]Generically, at least two groups of materials are suitable as fillers for this balloon-based core: polymer systems that are curable after placement of the balloon to produce a compressible core and hydrogels. Physical mixtures of the two are also suitable.
[0043]The curable polymer system, for instance, may be a curable polyurethane composition comprising a number of components capable of being sterilized, stored, and mixed at the time of use to provide a flowable composition and initiate curing. The parts may include: (1) a prepolymer component comprising the reaction product of one or more polyols (e.g., polyether or polycarbonate polyols), and one or more diisocyanates, and optionally, hydrophobic additives, and (2) one or more curing components, e.g., one or more polyols, one or more chain extenders, one or more catalysts, and if desired, antioxidants and dyes. The composition, after mixing, will flow well enough to allow delivery to the balloon under pressure. These materials will also cure under physiological conditions.
[0044]Hydrogels are water-swellable or water-swollen polymeric materials typically having structures defined either by a crosslinked or an interpenetrating network of hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers. In the case of physical crosslinking, the linkages may take the form of entanglements, crystallites, or hydrogen-bonded structures to provide structure and physical integrity to the polymeric network.
[0045]Suitable hydrogels may be formulated from a variety of hydrophilic polymers and copolymers including polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyethylene oxide, polyacrylamide, polyurethane, polyethylene oxide-based polyurethane, and polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate, and copolymers and mixtures of the foregoing.
[0046]Silicone-base hydrogels are also suitable. Silicone hydrogels may be prepared by polymerizing a mixture of monomers including at least one silicone-containing monomer and or oligomer and at least one hydrophilic co-monomer such as N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), N-vinylacetamide, N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide, N-vinyl-N-ethyl acetamide, N-vinylformamide, N-vinyl-N-ethyl formamide, N-vinylformamide, 2-hydroxyethyl-vinyl carbonate, and 2-hydroxyethyl-vinyl carbamate (beta-alanine).
[0047]Each of the described prosthetic discs depicted in the Figures has a greater length than width. The aspect ratio (length:width) of the discs may be about 1.5 to 5.0, perhaps about 2.0 to 4.0, or about 2.5 to 3.5. Exemplary shapes to provide these relative dimensions include rectangular, oval, bullet-shaped, lozenge-shaped, and others. These shapes facilitate implantation of the discs by the minimally invasive procedures described above.
[0048]The surfaces of the upper and lower end plates, those surfaces in contact with and eventually adherent to the respective opposed bony surfaces of the upper and lower vertebral bodies, may have one or more anchoring or fixation components or mechanisms for securing those end plates to the vertebral bodies, e.g., (218) in FIGS. 2 and 3. The anchoring feature may be one or more "keels," a fin-like extension often having a substantially triangular cross-section and having a sequence of exterior barbs or serrations. This anchoring component is intended to cooperatively engage a mating groove that is formed on the surface of the vertebral body and to thereby secure the end plate to its respective vertebral body. The serrations enhance the ability of the anchoring feature to engage the vertebral body.
[0049]Further, this variation of the anchoring component may include one or more holes, slots, ridges, grooves, indentations, or raised surfaces to further assist in anchoring the disc to the associated vertebra. These physical features will so assist by allowing for bony ingrowth. Each end plate may have a different number of anchoring components, and those anchoring features may have a different orientation on each end plate. The number of anchoring features generally ranges in number from about 0 to about 500, perhaps from about 1 to 10. Alternatively, another fixation or anchoring mechanism may be used, such as ridges, knurled surfaces, serrations, or the like. In some variations, the discs will have no external fixation mechanism. In such variations, the discs are held in place laterally by the friction forces between the disc and the vertebral bodies.
[0050]Further, each of the described variations may additionally include a porous covering or layer (e.g., sprayed Ti metal) allowing boney ingrowth and may include some osteogenic materials.
[0051]As noted above, in the variations shown herein, the upper end plate and lower end plate may each contain a plurality of apertures through which the fibers may be passed through or wound, as shown. The actual number of apertures contained on an end plate is variable. Increasing the number of apertures allows an increase in the circumferential density of the fibers holding the end plates together. The number of apertures may range from about 3 to 100, perhaps in the range of 10 to 30. In addition, the shape of the apertures may be selected so as to provide a variable width along the length of the aperture. For example, the width of the apertures may taper from a wider inner end to a narrow outer end, or visa versa. Additionally, the fibers may be wound multiple times within the same aperture, thereby increasing the radial density of the fibers. In each case, this improves the wear resistance and increases the torsional and flexural stiffness of the prosthetic disc, thereby further approximating natural disc stiffness. In addition, the fibers may be passed through or wound on each aperture, or only on selected apertures, as needed. The fibers may be wound in a unidirectional manner, where the fibers are wound in the same direction, e.g., clockwise, which closely mimics natural annular fibers found in a natural disc, or the fibers may be wound bi-directionally. Other winding patterns, both single and multi-directional, may also be used.
[0052]The apertures provided in the various end plates discussed here, may be of a number of shapes. Such aperture shapes include slots with constant width, slots with varying width, openings that are substantially round, oval, square, rectangular, etc. Elongated apertures may be radially situated, circumferentially situated, spirally located, or combinations of these shapes. More than one shape may be utilized in a single end plate.
[0053]One purpose of the fibers is to hold the upper and lower end plates together and to limit the range-of-motion to mimic or at least to approach the range-of-motion of a natural disc. The fibers may comprise high tenacity fibers having a high modulus of elasticity, for example, at least about 100 MPa, perhaps at least about 500 MPa. By high tenacity fibers is meant fibers able to withstand a longitudinal stress of at least 50 MPa, and perhaps at least 250 MPa, without tearing. The fibers 140 are generally elongate fibers having a diameter that ranges from about 100 μm to about 1000 μm, and preferably about 200 μm to about 400 μm. The fibrous components may be single strands or, more typically, multi-strand assemblages. Optionally, the fibers may be injection molded or otherwise coated with an elastomer to encapsulate the fibers, thereby providing protection from tissue ingrowth and improving torsional and flexural stiffness. The fibers may be coated with one or more other materials to improve fiber stiffness and wear. Additionally, the core may be injected with a wetting agent such as saline to wet the fibers and facilitate the mimicking of the viscoelastic properties of a natural disc. The fibers may comprise a single or multiple component fibers.
[0054]The fibers may be fabricated from any suitable material. Examples of suitable materials include polyesters (e.g., Dacron® or the Nylons), polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, low-density and high density polyethylenes, linear low-density polyethylene, polybutene, and mixtures and alloys of these polymers. HDPE and UHMWPE are especially suitable. Also suitable are various polyaramids, poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide (e.g., Kevlar®), carbon or glass fibers, various stainless steels and superelastic alloys (such as nitinol), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylic polymers, methacrylic polymers, polyurethanes, polyureas, other polyolefins (such as polypropylene and other blends and olefinic copolymers), halogenated polyolefins, polysaccharides, vinylic polymers, polyphosphazene, polysiloxanes, liquid crystal polymers such as those available under the tradename VECTRA, polyfluorocarbons such as polytetrafluoroethylene and e-PTFE, and the like.
[0055]The fibers may be terminated on an end plate in a variety of ways. For instance, the fiber may be terminated by tying a knot in the fiber on the superior or inferior surface of an end plate. Alternatively, the fibers may be terminated on an end plate by slipping the terminal end of the fiber into an aperture on an edge of an end plate, similar to the manner in which thread is retained on a thread spool. The aperture may hold the fiber with a crimp of the aperture structure itself, or by an additional retainer such as a ferrule crimp. As a further alternative, tab-like crimps may be machined into or welded onto the end plate structure to secure the terminal end of the fiber. The fiber may then be closed within the crimp to secure it. As a still further alternative, a polymer may be used to secure the fiber to the end plate by welding, including adhesives or thermal bonding. That terminating polymer may be of the same material as the fiber (e.g., UHMWPE, PE, PET, or the other materials listed above). Still further, the fiber may be retained on the end plates by crimping a cross-member to the fiber creating a T-joint, or by crimping a ball to the fiber to create a ball joint.
[0056]The annular capsule may be made of an appropriate polymer, such as polyurethane or silicone or the materials discussed above, and may be fabricated by injection molding, two-part component mixing, or dipping the end plate-core-fiber assembly into a polymer solution. The annular capsule may be oblong with straight sidewalls or with one or more bellows formed in the sidewalls. A function of the annular capsule is to act as a barrier that keeps the disc materials (e.g., fiber strands) within the body of the disc, and that keeps potential, natural in-growth outside the disc.
[0057]Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value within the range, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit (unless the context clearly dictates otherwise), between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is described. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in the smaller ranges is also described, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also described.
[0058]Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the medical devices art. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described here may also be used in the practice or testing of the described devices and methods, the preferred methods and materials are described in this document. All publications mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference to disclose and describe the methods and/or materials in connection with which the publications are cited.
[0059]It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0060]As will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of the individual variations described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be readily separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of this disclosure. For example, and without limitation, several of the variations described here include descriptions of anchoring features, protective capsules, fiber windings, and protective covers covering exposed fibers for integrated end plates. It is expressly contemplated that these features may be incorporated (or not) into those variations in which they are not shown or described.
[0061]All patents, patent applications, and other publications mentioned herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The patents, applications, and publications discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that contents of those patents, applications, and publications are "prior" as that term is used in the Patent Law.
[0062]The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles otherwise described here and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended to aid the reader in understanding the described principles of my devices and methods. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and variation as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
User Contributions:comments("1"); ?> comment_form("1"); ?>
Inventors list
Agents list
Assignees list
List by place
Classification tree browser
Top 100 Inventors
Top 100 Agents
Top 100 Assignees
Usenet FAQ Index
Other FAQs
Patent applications by Thomas A. Afzal, Menlo Park, CA US
Patent applications by SPINAL KINETICS, INC.
Patent applications in class Including spinal disc spacer between adjacent spine bones
Patent applications in all subclasses Including spinal disc spacer between adjacent spine bones
User Contributions:
Comment about this patent or add new information about this topic:


text:
The Irish have a way with words. How else can one explain the massive amount of fantastic literature turned out by Irish writers over the years? From Jonathan Swift, the satirical author of "Gulliver's Travels," to William Butler Yeats, who single-handedly reinvented poetry. And of course there's James Joyce, who may just be the greatest Western writer since William Shakespeare, not to mention Elizabeth Bowen, Seamus Heaney, John Banville and Roddy Doyle! These men and women have proved that the little Emerald Isle has a whole lot to say, and there's no better way to say it than in a strong brogue.
So in honor of St. Patrick's day, enjoy these 20 of the best Irish sayings, quotes and wit we could find. Some are poignant, others are laugh-out-loud funny, many are warm and all are inherently Irish, down to their green roots. Use them for your many toasts, or have them printed on promotional products or personalized gifts. Inkhead has got a whole range of great St. Patrick's Day products, from custom beer mugs to promotional green shirts!
Enjoy this collection of Irish blessings, witticisms and observations? Perhaps you've got a few of your own to share with us. Let Inkhead know what great Irish toasts you'd love to have printed on a custom pint glass!


text:
BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation announced that it has completed a transaction with Gordon Brothers Group to launch Gordon Brothers Finance Company.
NewPark Mall in Newark, Calif., announced the upcoming addition of two new food court eateries: Taqueria La Tita and Crepe Bar are slated to open in August.
NewPark Mall, in Newark, Calif., has opened an in-house cultural arts center, the NewPark Mall Cultural Corner.


text:
A STRONG currency represents a strong economy and vice versa. Pakistan's currency has promptly been depreciating since the 1970s.
In the year 1970, Pakistani Rs10 or less was equal to a US dollar. In December last Rs98 was equal to a dollar.
It is expected that very soon it will cross two digits and further deteriorate the economy. The question arises: why is Pakistani currency quickly depreciating?
Why are our economic woes increasing day by day? Why is the rate of poverty increasing? Why the standard of living of the poor in Pakistan is getting worse instead of increasing?
The reply of all these questions can be summed up into two words 'injustice' and 'imbalance' that is leading the economic turmoil: injustice in the way of economic decisions and imbalance in the way of public expenditure.
These two core deficiencies are becoming the cause of economic issues such as fiscal problem, lack of generation of tax revenues, slippages on domestic debt leading to crowding out of private sector credit needs, lack of dams and other power-generating gears leading to acute shortage of power and shortage of production, as well as increasing unemployment and inflation.
Huge imports are creating a weak external account position, trade deficit and causing reduction in foreign exchange reserves.
MANAZIRUL HAQ Karachi


text:
Buy Panerai Replica Watches Sale Online, Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Seal Watches
Buy Cheap Luxury Replica Watches, Top Designers Watches Online Outlet Store Sale
AAA+ Quality Swiss Watches, Fast Shipping And No Sale Tax. Omega Replica Watches - Rolex Replica Watches - Panerai Replica Watches - Breitling Replica Watches - Tag Heuer Replica Watches - Cartier Replica Watches - IWC Replica Watches - Audemars Piguet Replica Watches - Bell & Ross Replica Watches - Hublot Replica Watches. Then don't miss our site.
Buy Panerai Replica Watches Sale Online, Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Seal Watches
Replica Watches Online panerai Replica panerai Replica Watches replica Watches discount Panerai Replica Watches OnlineRadiomir Black Seal Watches as the Replica Watches unique Breitling are the fundamentally planned for
Panerai Replica
Replica Replica Watches Online Watches the pilots other than they are lengthily posh and thus Panerai Replica Watches simply within achieve of the lofty class persons, other Panerai Replica Watches than were impractical Panerai Replica for
Replica Watches Online
the Replica Watches Online regular set of Panerai Replica person. Therefore, for these Panerai Replica followers of the Replica Watches Online fashion cannot pay Panerai Replica Watches for to purchase these classy stylish Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Replica Watches OnlineSeal Watches watches the Breitling Replica Watches were manufactured. In this time the Breitling Replica watches are supposed as the lonely of the very brilliant Replica Watches Online watch Replica Watches corporation in the world. The Replica Breitling Panerai Replica watches are Panerai Replica Watches observed as the Replica Panerai Replica Watches very popular and familiar for the people who are in the aviation Replica Watches business because their major task desires completely thoroughness. With the prevalence of original
Panerai Replica Watches
designer Omega watches, these replica Omega watches also enjoy great popularity in the market in recent years. Most people always admire some famous stars and several big shots who can afford Panerai Replica Watches the fabulous designer watches while the common people can only go for the replica Omega watches to make their dream of purchasing the finest watch at affordable rates come true. In these circumstances, nobody is Replica Watches making Panerai Replica a sole decision alone and similarly, they must not think that Replica Watches Online their products are not worth the same elegance as owning a new watch. If that would have been possible, everybody would have Panerai Replica Replica Watches them but unfortunately, the prices of Rolex watches are too Panerai Replica Watches high Panerai Replica and hence, are affordable only by Replica Watches a fortunate few. We just want the world to Panerai Replica know the injustice being perpetrated by Muslims cabal in Nigeria. One of the soldiers wore a Replica Panerai Replica Panerai Replica Watches Watches Liard-an Islamic armband charm. These soldiers shot at the door and broke windows louvers before gaining access to house to arrest these Christians young men. Best service Panerai Replica you will receive from us. Any question please contact with us, we are happy to service for you,/p, The next modernism in the Breitling era came courtesy of renowned Replica Watches Online astronaut Scott Carpenter, who visited the corporation in Panerai Replica 1960 and Replica Watches Online recommended that they must incorporate a twenty Replica Watchesfour hour clock face instead of Panerai Replica their customary twelve hour dial. For Carpenter, like an originality was a requirement, as he was the best original astronaut in the space Mercury course and needed a watch that runs despite of whether it was day
Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Seal Watches
or night, as space journey removed the division between the
Replica Watches
two. Breitling watches sale are so accepted in the timepiece market that a lot of persons like them. Adhering to the improvement and inventive, Breitling brand has residential more and more Replica Watches famous. This brand attracts a lot of customers to purchase them, and Panerai Omega Replica Replica they Panerai Replica are the one of most excellent sellers. More and Panerai Replica Watches more persons like them, since they are brief appearance, spotless and neat, at the identical Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Seal Watches time, they have exclusive design Discount Panerai Radiomir Black Seal Panerai Replica Watches Watches Replica Watches Panerai Replica Watches Panerai Replica Replica Watches Online


text:
Apple U.S. PC Market Share Up .5% to 5th Spot, Study Shows
TMO Reports - Apple U.S. PC Market Share Up .5% to 5th Spot, Study Shows
by , 4:00 PM EDT, April 15th, 2005
Apple Computer took a jump from 3.2% to 3.7% in U.S. PC market share for the first quarter of 2005, according to the Gartner Dataquest research firm. The increase in shipments of Macs now puts Apple in fifth place among the top manufacturers.
Apple shipped 571,000 Macs to capture 3.7% of the market share, compared to 393,000, or 2.6% in the same quarter a year ago. Compared to the previous quarter, Apple market share expanded 0.5% from Q4 of 2004.Compared to a year ago, Apple unit shipments jumped 45.1% -- more than any of the top five U.S. PC makers, Gartner said.
"It was a great quarter for Apple," Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide Group, told The Mac Observer Friday. "It was driven primarily by sales of the consumer iMac category, which includes the Mac mini. They also had strong PowerBook sales as well."
Apple announced the Mac mini on January 11 and began selling it on Saturday, Jan. 22 in the U.S. and worldwide on Saturday, Jan. 29.
With only 69 days to sell the Mac mini in the fiscal second-quarter instead of 90 days, Mr. Smulders said the increase in market share, together with the popularity of the Mac mini was "impressive," but didn't want to crown the newest consumer Mac a success just yet.
"I remember the first quarter of sales for the Mac Cube were good too," he commented. "I think if we get a continuing increase in market share and units shipped this quarter and in the third quarter as much as we did in the calendar first quarter, I think we can then say the Mac mini is a success. This report is like the first weekend of a new movie. We've got to see if it's still popular next week."
Among other PC makers, Dell remains in the number one position, having sold 4.87 million PCs in the U.S. for a 32.0% share -- an 8.5% improvement for the same quarter a year ago. HP was second at 2.6 million units shipped, or a 17.2% market share. Gateway was third with a market share of 5.4% and IBM was fourth at 4.1%.
Of interest: Mr. Smulders said there had been "extremely strong demand" for laptop PCs in the first quarter across the U.S. and that was certain to have helped Apple's 3.7% market share. In the U.S. market, lower pricing drove sales of notebooks in the first quarter, however it was not enough to offset the declines in desktop PC shipments.
Preliminary market share figures for worldwide were also released, but Apple did not make the top five.
Dell was first worldwide, shipping 8.52 million units for a 16.9% market share. HP was second, shipping 6.99 million for a 13.9% share, IBM was third at 2.3 million units, or 4.6% share, and Fujitsu/Siemens was fourth with 2.0 million units shipped, or a 4.1% market share.
A final list for worldwide and U.S. will be released by Gartner in mid-May. The firms numbers are preliminary results and include the Americas segment of North, South and Central America. PCs in this category include deskbased PCs, mobile PCs and x86 servers.
Mr. Smulders noted that Dell's worldwide growth rate fell below 20% for the first time in 10 quarters, pulled down by weaker performance in the U.S. market. Still, Dell's shipments grew faster than the market average of 13.7%.
"I think Dell's drop off in growth is due to their reliance on the U.S. market, which was weaker, together with a greater focus on maintaining profitability rather than share during the quarter," Mr. Smulder commented. "I think this development will spur more discussions as to whether the direct sales model can compete with the low end of the PC market, such as say the Apple Mac mini."
Recent TMO Headlines - Updated September 25th
- Mon, 2:34 PM
- Siri Web Search Will Switch to Google From Bing
- Mon, 2:32 PM
- Time Machine and APFS: What You Need to Know
- Mon, 2:21 PM
- Preparation Guide For macOS High Sierra Installation
- Mon, 1:42 PM
- Get Ready for macOS High Sierra - TMO Daily Observations 2017-09-25
- Mon, 1:11 PM
- Apple Releases macOS High Sierra
- Mon, 11:59 AM
- Stargate Command Offers 354 Episodes of Stargate Streaming Plus Stargate Origins Prequel
- Mon, 11:05 AM
- PHOOZY Capsule Protects Your iPhone from Hot and Cold, and it Floats: $29.99
- Mon, 10:49 AM
- iFixit Apple Watch Series 3 Finds LTE with Series 2 Guts
- Mon, 10:45 AM
- iStat Menus 6 Adds Notification Center, Notifications, and More
- Sun, 12:22 PM
- The Truth is in The Cloud – Mac Geek Gab 676
- Fri, 7:02 PM
- The Intriguing Design of The Steve Jobs Theater Explained
- Fri, 5:45 PM
- Anki OVERDRIVE Adds Fast & Furious Edition


text:
Create an online review and share your thoughts with other customers
|Sort by:
5.0 5.0
5.0 5.0
Things I liked: These fit my KWC S&W 1911 Which until I saw them on the site here I was pulling my hair to try and find. They worked without any problems, I could not be any happier.
Things I would have changed: Nothing. They are clear, the color I wanted. The price here beats out any other site I checked. The cheapest I saw elsewhere was 9 bucks which was 2 dollars more then here.
What others should know: These work for many other models then Cybergun. The picture is a match for the clips that you get. The package said Colt but they worked just fine. A great Value!


text:
BECOME A PREFERRED SUBSCRIBER+ Get 15% off Your Next Order
The BEST deals come to your inbox. Sign up for GEMPLER'S emails to get exclusive offers and first dibs on hot new products!
View other products by ARS
Replacement Bolt and Nut for ARS Heavy-duty Hand Pruners
Replacement bolt and nut for for ARS Heavy-duty Hand Pruners, item numbers 171431, 171432 and 171433.
See all pruning equipment


text:
John Denver, a legend of the music industry although left on a jet plane to never come back but his music is still alive. The artist of the seventies has contributed big hits such as Country Road, Take Me Home, Thank God I am a Country Boy and others. The music industry is paying tribute to the artist by celebrating his 15th anniversary and John Denver Tribute: A Rocky Mountain High Concert tickets are available now. This event will be a live touring experience of John Denver's music and will feature videos of his performance along with the backing of a small string section and his original touring band.
Buy John Denver Tribute A Rocky Mountain High Concert Tickets
Alex- Houston, Texas.
Sarah Joseph- Tampa, FL.
Linda- Tennessee.
Hilarie- South Salem, Ohio.
Lucas- Wayland, Michigan.
Henry- Phoenix, AZ
Linda- California
Policies | Contact Us | Terms
© Copyright 2009-2017


text:
WARSAW (Nov. 3)
The Polish Red Cross and the Jewish Health Society (TOZ) worked side by side today in an effort to forestall an epidemic among the 5,000 Polish-Jewish deportees from Germany who are still quartered under canvas and in stables at the frontier city of Zbonszyn. Within 24 hours, physicians and emergency workers administered medical treatment to some 1,300 of the exiles. All were inoculated against typhoid fever and supplies of aspirin were distributed to check influenza.
Officers of the Joint Distribution Committee here meanwhile approached Jewish industrialists in Warsaw, Bialystok and Bielsk on the question of supplying the refugees with clothes warm underwear and kitchen utensils. Four soup kitchens were sent from Cracow.
Relief officials today unfolded the tragic story of a group of 37 of the deportees, including a 65-year-old man and many women and children who, because their papers were found to be not in order, were being shuttled back and forth between Germany and Poland, both countries refusing them admission. Twenty-seven German nationals, victims of the Polish Government's reprisal deportations, are also among those stranded at Zsonszyn.
Jewish journalists have decided to contribute at least one day's wages to the countrywide relief campaign inaugurated yesterday by Jewish newspapers from the relief of the refugees. Slawoj-Skladkowski today to discuss the plight of the deportees.


text:
On the Motion to Table S.Amdt. 4895: Motion to Table Mikulski S.Amdt.4895; To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into or carry out a contract for the performance by a contractor of any base operation support service at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital pursuant to a private-public competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 that was initiated on June 13, 2000, and has the solicitation number DADA 10-03-R-0001.
Result: Agreed to (50-48, 2 members not voting, 1/2 threshold)
Details: [click here]
This Month


text:
Your ship is trapped inside the heart of a nuclear reactor - a reactor whose core is rapidly approaching meltdown. Time is running short and you must act quickly. As nuclear particles bombard your craft, you fight to blast them and destroy the reactor's control rods. If you succeed, the core will shrink. But if you don't...
Game List Statistics
Now Playing
0 Users
Wish List
4 Users
Hot List
0 Users


text:
Events for August 29, 2017
Day Navigation
8:15 pm
A Right Royal Variety!
August 29 @ 8:15 pm
£8 - £40
Trapdoor Productions, with Comedy Host, Grant Martins, return to The Royal Hippodrome Theatre for their 5th year. 'A Right Royal Variety!' will take you on a trip down memory lane, revising the highlights of the Royal Variety Show past and present. With musical delights, exciting dance numbers and laugh out loud comedy - as well


text:
Enough already.
That's the message from several Vista residents upset over the way sewer bills are calculated and years of annual fee hikes that have more than quadrupled charges in the past 10 years for some areas of the city.
"This isn't right," said a discouraged Jean Barnebee after the Vista City Council decided Tuesday night against any changes in how it calculates its bills.
The council also approved a plan that will hold rates at $639 annually for most Vista residents for the next two years — then raise them by 3 percent in each of the following three years to keep up with inflation.
By the summer of 2018, annual sewer fees at single-family homes served by the city will have reached almost $700.
In 1998, the average annual fee was $175, City Manager Patrick Johnson said. Barnebee said she was paying $136 just 10 years ago.
(The plan approved Tuesday held rates steady for five years in Buena Sanitation District, a smaller sewer system serving the south part of town and adjacent unincorporated area. City residents served by that district pay $632 annually, while customers in the unincorporated area pay $711 annually.)
Still, several Vista residents said during and after Tuesday's meeting that they're fed up with how the city handles sewer rates.
Residents also are miffed over how sewer fees are calculated. The rate for single family homes does not allow for differences between huge homes with spacious yards and cramped condos surrounded by asphalt. Some people want the city to charge customers by how much water they use, and thus how much water they flush into the sewers.
City Attorney Darole Pieper noted, however, that a substantial part of what customers pay has nothing to do with water flow, but rather has everything to do with maintenance of the system.
"There are no simple fixes," he said.
In fact, city officials say Vista once had a flow-based rate system, but it caused administrative headaches that resulted in unnecessary costs.
Cody Campbell wasn't convinced. He was the only councilman voting against the five-year plan that maintains the current billing calculus. "I'm not a fan of the flat rate system" he said. "A house with 10 people is paying the same as a condo with one person."
That's how Shadowridge resident Donna Wetheringon feels. She lives in a one-bedroom, 689-square-foot condominium in the Aspens.
"And I am being taxed the same as a home that may be 6,000 square feet," she said. "This is totally inequitable."
Councilman Dave Cowles found the proverbial silver lining in the Tuesday night action, saying "The good news for everybody is there is no increase in rates."
At least not for two years, anyway. And the respite, many noted, comes only after five successive years of 5 percent increases for residents served by the city sewer system.
Officials across the county say rate hikes are necessary to pay for maintenance projects and keep up with inflation. Fees pay to operate the sewer system and for any upgrades. The Vista Sanitation District estimates the increased rates will bring in an additional $1.7 million or so by the end of the 2017-'18 fiscal year, raising total revenue to $21,234,910.
In a somewhat related move, the council on Tuesday voted to boost by 25 percent the fee EDCO pays to pick up trash in the city. The city now charges EDCO an 8-percent franchise fee, which will go up to 10 percent by July of 2014. Assuming EDCO passes the added cost to consumers, the monthly amount single family homeowners pay to have their trash hauled away could go from $19.22 to $19.73.
The increase means EDCO will be paying an additional $220,000 annually into city coffers by the end of the time the. The city now collects about $875,000 in Solid Waste Franchise Fees, which helps pay for such things as public safety, recreational programs and road repairs.


text:
FRIDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Obese black children have significantly higher blood pressure (BP) than their white peers of the same age and with the same body mass index (BMI), according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions, held from Sept. 19 to 22 in Washington, D.C.
Tamara Hannon, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues conducted a study involving 821 obese children seen at a tertiary care center-based obesity clinic to evaluate whether there are racial differences in the effect of BMI on BP.
Among the cohort, the mean age was 11.72 years, mean BMI was 36.22 kg/m², and mean systolic and diastolic BP were 109.36 and 69.99 mm Hg, respectively. Compared with white children, the researchers found that black children had statistically significantly higher mean BMI (37.32 versus 35.34 kg/m²) and higher systolic BP percentage (58.71 versus 50.72 mm Hg). Age and BMI correlated with systolic BP in both white and black children; however, black children had significantly higher BP percentage values than white children of the same age and BMI.
"In conclusion, among children referred for treatment of obesity, there are race-dependent differences in the effect of BMI on blood pressure," the authors write. "Black children are at a significantly greater risk for having elevated BP as compared with their white peers of similar age and severity of obesity."
Press Release
More Information
Powered by
Join NursingCenter on Social Media to find out the latest news and special offers
Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+ and YouTube
Copyright © 2017, Wolters Kluwer – Terms & Privacy – Disclaimer -- v6.8.1


text:
What You will Experience at Date with Destiny® 2013
Day 1 - Prepare For Massive Change
Understand the forces that control everything you think, every emotion you experience and every action you take. You can expect to learn about:
Day 2 - Integrate Foundations of Emotional Fitness
Discover once and for all what shapes your decisions and your destiny. Identify what creates pain and pleasure in your life and learn to create more pleasure. Develop the emotional muscle that will feed and strengthen your ability to meet your deepest needs.
Day 3 - Navigate Toward New Horizons
Become acutely aware of old conditioning and emotions that are causing you to veer "off track" and learn how to instantly vanquish them and replace them with new, empowering emotional states. Learn what motivates you and what holds you back (you might be surprised). You can discover:
Day 4 - Embrace Your Transformation
Discover exactly what you need to achieve your highest values -- then develop a step-by-step process for aligning your beliefs, values, and experiences in a way that pulls you in the direction of your ultimate vision.
You will:
Day 5 - Embody Your Destiny
Imagine living every day with unbelievable clarity -- when everything you think, say, believe, feel, want and do is directed toward one powerful end. Imagine feeling that you are the master of your experience, totally in control of your life, each moment.
You will, when you learn how to:
Day 6 - Revolutionise Your Relationships
Learn about the force that controls all relationships, how to bond at a deeper level than ever before, and how to either find and create a passionate relationship or reignite the passion in a relationship you already have.
You can discover:


text: Lecturing Activity: Students will learn to convert a scanned image of a clean pencil or inked line drawing into a inked and painted digital image to be used in an animation production or sequence. Inking and painting frames and backgrounds is a big portion of traditional hand drawn animation production. The process involves using some type of image editing software or an animation software with paint capabilities. The goal of this lesson is to understand the process of how to import, digitize a line drawing, and create a saved palette for painting a character, background, or asset to be used in a composited scene or sequence.