text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jan 8, 2008
|Filing date
|Sep 27, 2005
|Priority date
|Nov 21, 2002
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Scott Jay Gilbert
|Original Assignee
|Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (24), Non-Patent Citations (7), Referenced by (8), Classifications (7), Legal Events (8)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/302,104, filed Nov. 21, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,636.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to osmotically controlled implantable delivery devices, and more particularly to a delivery device having a two-way miniature valve and a dynamically self-adjusting flow channel for the regulation of back-diffusion and fluid delivery rate in an osmotically driven delivery system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Controlled delivery of beneficial agents, such as drugs, in the medical and the veterinary fields has been accomplished by a variety of methods, including implantable delivery devices, such as implantable osmotic delivery devices. Osmotic delivery systems are very reliable in delivering a beneficial agent over an extended period of time, called an administration period. In general, osmotic delivery systems operate by imbibing fluid from an outside environment and releasing controlled amounts of beneficial agent from the delivery system.
Representative examples of various types of delivery devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,987,790; 4,865,845; 5,059,423; 5,112,614; 5,137,727; 5,213,809; 5,234,692; 5,234,693; 5,308,348; 5,413,572; 5,540,665; 5,728,396; 5,985,305; and 5,221,278, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. All of the above patents generally include some type of capsule having walls, or portions of walls (for example, semi-permeable membranes) that selectively pass water into the interior of the capsule. The absorption of water by a water-attracting agent contained within the capsule creates an osmotic pressure within the capsule, which then causes a beneficial agent within the capsule to be expelled. Alternatively, the water-attracting agent may be the beneficial agent being delivered to the patient. However, in most cases, a separate agent is used specifically for its ability to draw water into the capsule.
When a separate osmotic agent is used, the osmotic agent may be separated from the beneficial agent within the capsule by a movable dividing member such as a piston. The structure of the capsule is generally rigid such that as the osmotic agent takes in water and expands, the capsule itself does not expand. As the osmotic agent expands, the agent causes the movable dividing member to move, discharging the beneficial agent through an orifice or exit passage of the capsule. The beneficial agent is discharged through the exit passage at the same volumetric rate that water combines with the osmotic agent through the semi-permeable walls of the capsule.
In some known implantable delivery devices, the orifice or exit passage of the capsule is permanently open and thus allows for unimpeded discharge of the beneficial agent. This results in a direct fluid communication between the beneficial agent and water in the surrounding tissue of the patient. Thus, back-diffusion of the water into the beneficial agent reservoir may result. One way in which back-diffusion of water has been reduced is by providing a long orifice or exit passage that can be a variety of shapes, such as straight or spiral.
In other known implantable delivery devices, the orifice or exit passage of the capsule is covered with a stretchable or elastic member or band, to reduce back-diffusion of water into the beneficial agent reservoir. The stretchable or elastic band allows discharge of the beneficial agent once a threshold pressure has been overcome. The stretchable or elastic member or band closes the orifice when the pressure in the device is less than the threshold pressure. However, in these types of devices there is little or no control of the pressure that can build up as the device adjusts to changes in temperature and/or internal or external pressure.
In still other known implantable delivery devices, the orifice or exit passage is at least partially made of a stretchable or elastic material that acts to reduce back-diffusion of water into the beneficial agent reservoir. This stretchable or elastic material deforms once a threshold pressure has been achieved in the device to allow discharge of the beneficial agent. The stretchable orifice material closes when the internal pressure in the device is less than the threshold pressure. However, in these types of devices there is little or no control of the pressure that can build up as the device adjusts to changes in temperature and/or internal or external pressure.
In general, osmotic delivery systems rely on the flow of interstitial body fluid across a rate-limiting membrane (also known as a semi-permeable membrane) to drive the osmotic agent expansion that in turn drives the delivery or discharge of the beneficial agent. During the period immediately following implantation, this interstitial fluid may also diffuse into the beneficial agent via a beneficial agent delivery channel (also known as an orifice or exit passage). Such diffusion is undesirable because it results in an uncontrolled dilution of the beneficial agent formulation.
In those prior known designs which attempt to limit or prevent back-diffusion without covering the orifice or exit passage, one limitation has been that a relatively long diffusion path is required to prevent or impede back-diffusion of the fluid into the beneficial agent compartment. The long orifice, diffusion path, or exit channel in these known designs has been formed by molding intricate detail into plastic or by machining high tolerance surfaces into metal. These approaches are costly to manufacture and occupy a relatively large volume, causing the implant to have an increased size.
A further drawback of known implantable delivery devices is that these devices do not compensate for variations in temperature and internal pressure that can cause the implantable delivery device to deliver beneficial agent temporarily at high or low rates. Typically, an implantable, osmotically driven delivery system will have been stored at ambient room temperature (approximately 20 to 22� C.) prior to implantation into a patient. Within a few hours following implantation, the system will subsequently come to thermal equilibrium with the patient (approximately 37� C.). This increase in temperature may cause the beneficial agent formulation within the implantable device to expand, which may result in a pressurization of the system and a rapid, short-duration delivery of beneficial agent often referred to as a start-up "burst." This burst is typically followed by a short period of somewhat low agent delivery (typically lasting from less than one day to 5 days) during which time the osmotic pressure is increased to a degree equal to that of the piston friction. As the internal pressure of the implantable device increases, the rate of beneficial agent delivery will rise until it obtains a steady state. Since it is the purpose of an osmotic delivery system to deliver a defined concentration of beneficial agent at a fixed rate, both the start-up "burst" and the subsequent "lag" in delivery are undesirable.
A further aspect of an implantable, osmotically driven beneficial agent delivery system is that it is subject to external pressure or temperature changes (e.g., scuba diving, a hot bath, or temperature cycling during shipping) which may, in turn, result in transient spikes in the beneficial agent delivery profile.
It is possible with the current designs to develop high enough pressures within the implantable osmotic delivery device that one or more of the implant components fails or is expelled. In an effort to reduce the possibility of component failure or expulsion, previous designs have provided grooves in the reservoir walls and/or ribs in the semi-permeable membrane or holes in the wall of the device which are open if a component of the device moves out of position. These approaches add cost to the device by requiring additional machining to the part designs.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to minimize the start-up "burst" by containing the beneficial agent with a spring-loaded valve until the internal, osmotic-induced pressure is great enough to overcome the applied spring force, thereby opening the valve and allowing controlled release of the agent. It is also an objective of this invention that the post-start-up "lag" in beneficial agent delivery be minimized or eliminated as a further result of the elimination of the initial agent "burst." A further consequence of this minimization of start-up "burst" and post start-up "lag" is that the system may achieve the desired steady-state performance significantly sooner than in known implantable agent delivery devices.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide for the elimination of back-diffusion in a relatively inexpensive manner and without requiring a relatively large or long orifice, diffusion path, or exit channel.
An additional objective of the present invention is to provide an implantable osmotic delivery device capable of containing the total osmotic pressure that can develop within the device without requiring relatively expensive and sophisticated fluid flow bypass pathways.
In accordance with the present invention, an implantable drug delivery system for use in mammals (preferably in humans) includes a capsule having an impermeable outer layer. The capsule has a beneficial agent delivery end and a fluid uptake end that are spaced apart from each other, but not necessarily located on opposite ends of the capsule. In addition, the capsule comprises a reservoir containing a beneficial agent; a movable dividing member separating the reservoir from the osmotic engine; and an osmotic engine. The delivery system includes a means for controlling beneficial agent flow through the beneficial agent delivery end that substantially prevents flow of beneficial agent out of the capsule when pressure within the capsule is above an upper predetermined pressure and prevents flow of fluid into the capsule through the beneficial agent delivery end when the pressure within the capsule is below a lower predetermined pressure. However, beneficial agent is substantially allowed to flow out of the capsule through the beneficial agent delivery end when the pressure within the capsule is between the lower and upper predetermined pressures.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a device for dynamically regulating the flow of a beneficial agent from a pressurized beneficial agent delivery system includes a hollow body having a lower port and an upper port. The device also includes a means for controlling flow of interstitial fluid through the hollow body when pressure by the beneficial agent acting upon the means for controlling flow is below a lower predetermined pressure. The device also includes a means for controlling beneficial agent flow out of the device when the pressure in the device is above an upper predetermined pressure. The beneficial agent is substantially allowed to flow out of the device when the pressure in the device is between the lower and upper predetermined pressures.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of variably controlling the delivery of a beneficial agent from an implantable drug delivery system includes the steps of providing a capsule having a beneficial agent delivery end and a fluid uptake end, an agent reservoir containing a beneficial agent, an uptake reservoir containing a fluid attracting agent, and a movable dividing member between the agent reservoir and the uptake reservoir. The beneficial agent reservoir and the uptake reservoir are positioned adjacent the beneficial agent delivery end and the fluid uptake end, respectively. The method also includes the step of substantially preventing the flow of fluid into the capsule when a pressure within the capsule is below a lower predetermined pressure and flow of beneficial agent out of the capsule when a pressure within the capsule is above an upper predetermined pressure. The method still further includes the step of variably controlling the flow of the beneficial agent out of the capsule when the pressure is between the lower and upper predetermined pressures.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method of variably controlling the delivery of a beneficial agent from an implantable osmotically driven delivery system includes the steps of displacing a movable closing member of a valve assembly with respect to a lower port via application of fluid pressure thereon from a beneficial agent reservoir to thereby create an opening between the closing member and the lower port. The method also includes the steps of increasing the size of the opening via increased pressure from the beneficial agent reservoir and allowing a beneficial agent from the beneficial agent reservoir to pass through the lower port and through the valve assembly. The method further includes the step of variably controlling the beneficial agent flow through the valve assembly such that the beneficial agent flow is directly proportional to the pressure applied by the beneficial agent against the movable closing member until the pressure approaches a predetermined maximum pressure, at which time the beneficial agent flow becomes more restricted as the pressure increases.
The present invention substantially prevents back-diffusion during the start-up phase by causing the spring-loaded valve to be closed during this time, effectively preventing fluid communication between the beneficial agent and interstitial fluids until the system is sufficiently pressurized, with the beneficial agent pumping at a sufficient rate, to disallow diffusion by the body fluid into the beneficial agent reservoir.
The present invention also provides the advantage of eliminating the need for a relatively long orifice, diffusion path or exit channel to prevent back-diffusion in an implantable osmotically driven delivery device.
In addition, the present invention provides an implantable osmotically driven delivery device which has the capability to withstand and contain the full system osmotic pressure, an especially critical consideration with any highly potent beneficial agent, without requiring relatively expensive and sophisticated fluid flow bypass pathways.
Furthermore, the present invention eliminates the need for and cost of a separate fluid bypass pathway.
The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like elements bear like reference numerals, and wherein:
The present invention relates to a pressure activated, two-way valve and self-adjusting flow channel for use in regulating fluid flow in an implantable osmotically driven beneficial agent delivery system. The components of the two-way valve and self-adjusting flow channel are designed to substantially prevent the passage of interstitial fluid therethrough when the pressure within a beneficial agent reservoir is below a lower predetermined pressure and prevent passage of beneficial agent therethrough when the pressure within a beneficial agent reservoir is above an upper predetermined pressure. This is accomplished by the narrowing of the fluid flow channel when the pressure within the beneficial agent reservoir is either below a lower predetermined pressure or above a higher predetermined pressure. At exceptionally high pressure, the valve can be designed to close altogether at the orifice end, or it can provide a minimal leak path so that a maximum fluid flow is never exceeded. At zero or very low pressures, the valve will close completely or provide a minimal leak path at the beneficial agent reservoir end, thereby substantially isolating the agent formulation from external fluid infiltration and eliminating diffusion of external fluid into the beneficial agent formulation. While these performance criteria can be achieved with various discrete components (e.g., relief valve, flow restrictor, check valve), this invention combines all the desired performance with a single, simple, and low cost mechanism.
While it is impractical to expect that external effects, such as external pressure or temperature changes, on the delivery system may be regulated or eliminated, the present invention minimizes the error contribution of them by requiring a significant increase in the overall pressure at which the system still dispenses beneficial agent. By forcing the system to pump or deliver beneficial agent at higher pressures, there is a reduction in overall variability of the pumping or delivery rate. As an example, a 0.01 psi (pounds per square inch) pressure increase will contribute substantially more error to a system dispensing at a nominal pressure of 0.10 psi than a 0.10 psi increase will to a system dispensing at 3 psi (10% vs. 3%).
The capsule 2 must be sufficiently strong to ensure that it will not leak, crack, break, or distort so as to expel its beneficial agent contents under stresses it would be subjected to during use while being impermeable. In particular, it should be designed to withstand the maximum osmotic pressure that could be generated by the water-swellable osmotic agent in reservoir 52. Capsule 2 must also be chemically inert and biocompatible, that is, it must be non-reactive with the beneficial agent formulation as well as the body. Suitable materials generally comprise a non-reactive polymer or a biocompatible metal or alloy. The polymers include acrylonitrile polymers such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer, and the like; halogenated polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene, polychlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene polyimide; polysulfone; polycarbonate polyethylene; polypropylene; polyvinylchloride-acrylic copolymer; polycarbonate-acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene; polystyrene; and the like. The water vapor transmission rate through compositions useful for forming the reservoir are reported in J. Pharm. Sci., Vol. 29, pp. 1634-37 (1970); Ind. Eng. Chem., Vol. 45, pp. 2296-2306 (1953); Materials Engineering, Vol. 5, pp. 38-45 (1972); Ann. Book of ASTM Stds., Vol. 8.02, pp. 208-211 and pp. 584-587 (1984); and Ind. and Eng. Chem., Vol. 49, pp. 1933-1936 (1957). The polymers are known in The Handbook of Common Polymers by Scott and Roff, CRC Press, Cleveland Rubber Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Metallic materials useful in the invention include stainless steel, titanium, platinum, tantalum, gold and their alloys as well as gold-plated ferrous alloys, platinum-plated ferrous alloys, cobalt-chromium alloys and titanium nitride coated stainless steel. A reservoir made from titanium or a titanium alloy having greater than 60%, often greater than 85%, titanium is particularly preferred for most size-critical applications.
The osmotic agent reservoir 52 may contain any suitable osmotic agent, examples of which include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile water soluble osmagent, an osmopolymer which swells on contact with water, or a mixture of the two. Representative osmagents or osmopolymers are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,413,572 and 6,270,787, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Osmotic agents, such as sodium chloride with appropriate lubricants, binders, and viscosity modifying agents, such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose or sodium polyacrylate can be prepared in various forms. Sodium chloride in tablet form is a preferred water swellable agent as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,396, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The osmotic agent should be capable of generating between 0 and 5200 psi.
Materials for the fluid permeable membrane 56 are those that are semipermeable and that can conform to the shape of the reservoir upon wetting and make a water tight seal with the rigid surface of the reservoir. The semipermeable membrane expands as it hydrates when placed in a fluid environment so that a seal is generated between the mating surfaces of the membrane and the reservoir. The polymeric materials from which the membrane may be made vary based on the pumping rates and device configuration requirements and include, but are not limited to, plasticized cellulosic materials, enhanced polymethylmethacrylate such as hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and elastomeric materials such as polyurethanes and polyamides, polyether-polyamide copolymers, thermoplastic copolyesters and the like. Further semipermeable compositions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,413,572 and 6,270,787, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The movable dividing member can be of any shape that isolates the water-swellable agent from the beneficial agent formulation, including, but not limited to, a sheet or a piston 54. The movable dividing member isolates the water-swellable agent in reservoir 52 from the beneficial agent formulation in reservoir 50 and must be capable of sealably moving under pressure within capsule 2. The movable piston 54 is preferably made of a material that is of lower durometer than the capsule 2 and that will deform to fit the interior of the capsule 2 to provide a fluid-tight compression seal with the capsule 2. The materials from which the movable dividing member or piston is made are preferably elastomeric materials that are impermeable and include, but are not limited to, polypropylene, rubbers such as EPDM, silicone rubber, butyl rubber, and the like, fluoro elastomers, perfluoro elastomers, and thermoplastic elastomers such as plasticized polyvinylchloride, polyurethanes, Santoprene�, C-Flex� TPE, a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymer (Consolidated Polymer Technologies Inc.) and the like. The movable dividing member, or movable piston, may be of a compression-loaded design.
Implantable drug delivery devices of this invention are useful to deliver a wide variety of active agents. These agents include, but are not limited to, pharmacologically active peptides and proteins, genes and gene products, other gene therapy agents, and other small molecules. The polypeptides may include, but are not limited to, growth hormone, somatotropin analogues, somatomedin-C, Gonadotropic releasing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, LHRH, LHRH analogues such as leuprolide, nafarelin and goserelin, LHRH agonists and antagonists, growth hormone releasing factor, calcitonin, colchicine, gonadotropins such as chorionic gonadotropin, oxtocin, octreotide, somatotropin plus an amino acid, vasopressin, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, epidermal growth factor, prolactin, somatostatin, somatotropin plus a protein, cosyntropin, lypressin, polypeptides such as thyrotropin releasing hormone, thyroid stimulation hormone, secretin, pancreozymin, enkephalin, glucagons, endocrine agents secreted internally and distributed by way of the bloodstream, and the like. Further agents that may be delivered include α1 antitrypsin, factor VIII, factor IX and other coagulation factors, insulin and other peptide hormones, adrenal cortical stimulating hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone and other pituitary hormones, interferon including, but not limited to, α,β, and δ, erythropoietin, growth factors such GCSF, GMCSF, insulin-like growth factor 1, tissue plasminogen activator, CD4, dDAVP, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, tumor necrosis factor, pancreatic enzymes, lactase, cytokines, interleukin 2, tumor necrosis factor receptor, tumor suppresser proteins, cytotoxic proteins, and recombinant antibodies and antibody fragments, and the like.
The above agents are useful for the treatment of a variety of conditions including, but not limited to, hemophilia and other blood disorders, growth disorders, diabetes, leukemia, hepatitis, renal failure, HIV infection, hereditary diseases such as cerebroside deficiency and adenosine deaminase deficiency, hypertension, septic shock, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Graves disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, shock and wasting disorders, cystic fibrosis, lactose intolerance, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and gastrointestinal and other cancers.
The active agents may be anhydrous or aqueous solutions, suspensions or complexes with pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles or carriers such that a flowable formulation is produced that may be stored for long periods on the shelf or under refrigeration, as well as stored in an implanted delivery system. The formulations may include pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and additional inert ingredients. The active agents may be in various forms, such as uncharged molecules, components of molecular complexes or pharmacologically acceptable salts. Also, simple derivatives of the agents (such as prodrugs, ethers, esters, amides, etc.) which are easily hydrolyzed by body pH, enzymes, etc., can be employed.
Referring now to
Spring 24 is preferably made of spring steels including stainless steel or beryllium/copper or injection molded polymer or plastic. The spring material should provide dimensionality while having a wire thickness that can be manufactured and inserted into the valve. More preferably spring 24 is made of stainless steel for a fine wire spring or a suitable plastic for a thicker wire spring. The profile of spring 24 may be round, square, or any other appropriate shape. Spring 24 provides the fluid path from reservoir 50 through upper port 22.
Stem 46 and guide post 48 may be made of the same materials as valve body halves 30 and 32, or elastomeric materials such as fluoro elastomers, perfluoro elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers such as C-Flex� or Santoprene�, hard plastics, or the like. Stem 46 and guide post 48 are preferably made of thermoplastic elastomers, perfluoro elastomers, or hard plastic.
In operation, fluid from the exterior of the capsule 2 passes through the membrane 56 and into the capsule 2. Some of the fluid is then absorbed by the osmotic agent in reservoir 52, thereby causing the osmotic agent to swell. As the osmotic agent swells, the increased volume thereof causes the movable piston 54 to push the beneficial agent housed in the beneficial agent reservoir 50 to be dispensed through the valve assembly 10 and into the patient's body (
As can be seen in
The valve body 12 preferably includes two identical halves 30 and 32. The valve assembly 10 further includes a lower port 20 and an upper port 22. A lower fluid chamber 60 is positioned adjacent to and in fluid communication with the lower port 20. An upper fluid chamber 70 is positioned between and in fluid communication with the upper port 22 and the lower fluid chamber 60.
The lower fluid chamber 60 includes a first surface 62 having a conical frustum shape and a second surface 64 having a cylindrical shape. The diameter of the lowermost portion of the first surface 62 is smaller than the diameter of the lower port 20. The diameter of the uppermost portion of the first surface 62 is substantially the same as the diameter of the second surface 64. The lower fluid chamber 60 also includes a third surface 66 that is substantially perpendicular to the second surface 64.
A passageway 74, formed at the intersection of the third surface 66 and the upper fluid chamber 70, is provided between the upper and lower fluid chambers 70, 60. The diameter of the upper port 22 is substantially smaller than the diameter of the upper fluid chamber 70 and a top surface 72 (also substantially perpendicular to second surface 64) is provided therebetween.
As illustrated in
The movable closing member 40 can be moved from a lowermost position substantially adjacent the first surface 62 to an uppermost position substantially adjacent the third surface 66. The conical frustum 42 of the closing member 40 is shaped to substantially mate with the first surface 62 when the closing member 40 is in the lowermost position. Additionally, the upper surface 90 of the closing member 40 is also shaped to substantially cover the third surface 66 of the lower fluid chamber 60 when the closing member is in the uppermost position. When the movable closing member 40 is in either of the above described positions, the flow of beneficial agent from the beneficial agent reservoir 50 through the valve assembly 12 is substantially impeded.
A spring 24 is provided around the cylindrical stem 46 and between the top surface 72 and the upper surface 90. The spring 24 is preferably a helical compression spring and is shown as such in
At zero or low pressures (0.5 to 10 psi, for example), such as can be expected during storage or initial pump startup, the spring 24 maintains the closing member 40 in a position to substantially prohibit fluid flow in either direction of the valve assembly 10. Cylindrical seal 44 prevents fluid flow across the lower port 20 such that there is substantially no fluid communication between any beneficial agent contained within the beneficial agent reservoir 50 and, once implanted, interstitial fluid present at the upper port 22. Further, as can be seen in
The pressure necessary to either keep valve assembly 10 in the closed position (as illustrated in
The psi (pounds per square inch) range from low to high pressure (from valve open to valve closed) needs to be very narrow, but could be anywhere in the range of about 0.1 to about 2000 psi. Preferably the range is about 0.5 to about 100 psi.
The valve assembly 10 is fabricated by positioning the helical compression spring 24 over the cylindrical stem 46 of the movable closing member 40. The assembly 10 is subsequently captured between the two valve body halves 30 and 32 with the conical frustum 42 and cylindrical seal 44 oriented to engage the first surface 62 of lower fluid chamber 60 and the lower port 20, respectively. The resulting assembly will cause the spring 24 to be under a compressive load, forcing the conical frustum 42 to seal against the first surface 62 at lower fluid chamber 60. Consequently, the valve assembly 10 is normally closed to fluid flow at the lower port 20. The body halves 30 and 32 can be sealed together in any of a number of ways known in the art. For example, using adhesives, ultrasonic welding, or mechanical mating.
The spring 24 defines a spiral fluid flow path through the upper fluid chamber 70. The spring 24 compresses as the movable closing member 40 is forced upward by the flowing agent. Consequently, as the fluid pressure inside the beneficial agent reservoir 50 and the chamber 60 increases, the lower port 20 opens more fully while the fluid flow path progressively narrows, thus becoming more restrictive. Normal flow will cause a balance between the opposing forces of the spring and the fluid pressure while low fluid flow will typically be completely impeded by the compression spring 24 causing lower port 20 to be closed by the movable closing member 40. On the other hand, high fluid flow will typically be substantially impeded by the upper surface 90 of the movable closing member 40 substantially closing off the passageway 74. Compression of spring 24 reduces the flow path between lower fluid chamber 60 and upper port 22.
The above detailed description refers to a particular embodiment of the present invention. However, it should be obvious from the above disclosure that a broad range of materials, fabrication technologies, and alternative embodiments can be readily achieved. One further embodiment of this invention includes a separate small fluid bypass channel that can be formed by either a small hole through movable closing member 40 or a notch formed in one edge of movable closing member 40.
As an example,
Furthermore, while the above description has described application to an osmotically driven agent delivery system in particular, it should be obvious that the present invention may be applied to any pressurized fluid delivery system.
The above-described exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative in all respect, rather than restrictive, of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is capable of many variations and detailed implementation that can be derived from the description contained herein by a person skilled in the art. All such variations and modifications are considered to be within the scope and the spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
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|Citing Patent
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|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Oct 26, 2007
Owner name: INTARCIA THERAPEUTICS, INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ALZA CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:020035/0441
Effective date: 20071022
|Sep 8, 2010
Owner name: OXFORD FINANCE CORPORATION, VIRGINIA
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:INTARCIA THERAPEUTICS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:024953/0525
Effective date: 20100831
Owner name: SILICON VALLEY BANK, CALIFORNIA
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Effective date: 20100831
|Jul 8, 2011
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Effective date: 20110923
|Nov 14, 2012
Owner name: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGEN
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:INTARCIA THERAPEUTICS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:029299/0678
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|Mar 23, 2015
Owner name: ALZA CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:GILBERT, SCOTT J.;REEL/FRAME:035233/0636
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|Fee payment
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Owner name: INTARCIA THERAPEUTICS, INC., CALIFORNIA
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Effective date: 20150813


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We love cupcakes just as much as you do. They are perfect for birthdays, dinners & parties. Cupcakes can be placed as special orders, the minimum is 1/2 dozen per flavor. Please place orders at least 24 hours in advance. Vegan and gluten free options are available too! There is a 20% cancellation fee for all cancelled orders. Cupcakes are $3.75/each and upcharges will occur for vegan and gluten free flavors. Flavors with a * can be made gluten free and flavors with ** can be made vegan and gluten free.
**Birthday Cupcake | Yellow cupcake with chocolate malt buttercream frosting & rainbow sprinkles.
**Bubblegum | Yellow cupcake with bubblegum buttercream frosting & rainbow sprinkles.
**Carrot | Our famous carrot cupcake with vanilla bean buttercream.
*Caramel Chocolate Peanut | Yellow cupcake with chocolate buttercream, chopped peanuts and caramel.
*Chocolate Banana Caramel | Chocolate cupcake with banana buttercream & caramel.
**Chocolate Coconut | Chocolate cupcake with coconut buttercream topped with fine shred coconut.
**Chocolate Lemon | Chocolate cupcake with lemon buttercream & lemon zest.
**Chocolate Peanut Butter | Chocolate cupcake with peanut butter buttercream.
Chocolate Stout | Chocolate stout cupcake made with June Lake Brewing Company's Rockin' Milk Stout,
*Chocolate Zucchini | Chocolate zucchini cupcake with dark chocolate buttercream, milk chocolate ganache & walnuts.
**Coconut | Coconut cupcake with vanilla buttercream & fine shred coconut...lots and lots of coconut.
Cookies 'N Cream | Chocolate cupcake with vanilla bean buttercream, chocolate graham cracker cookie crumble & chocolate ganache.
*Cookie Dough | Yellow cupcake, cookie dough buttercream & chocolate ganache.
**Cinnamon Roll | Yellow cupcake with brown sugar & cinnamon swirl and vanilla buttercream.
*Double Chocolate Salted Caramel | Chocolate cupcake with dark chocolate buttercream & salted caramel.
*German Chocolate | Chocolate cupcake with dark chocolate buttercream, coconut, pecans & caramel.
**Lemon Blueberry | White cupcake with fresh blueberries & lemon buttercream.
*Mint Chocolate Chip | Chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream and chocolate ganache.
**Peanut Butter | Peanut butter cupcake with peanut butter buttercream & peanuts.
*Pistachio Caramel | Yellow cupcake with pistachio buttercream, pistachio crumble & caramel.
*Salted Caramel | Yellow cupcake with caramel buttercream frosting and salted caramel.
*Salted Caramel Latte | Coffee cupcake with a coffe caramel buttercream and salted caramel.
**Snickerdoodle | Yellow cupcake with cinnamon buttercream & cinnamon sugar dusting.
**Vanilla Chai | Chai spiced cupcake with vanilla bean buttercream.

subset: commoncrawl


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We are a husband and wife team that are passionate about breathing new life into anything old and discarded. There is also a strong possibility that we are hoarders lol. Ron is a master carpenter jack of all trades. I'm the dreamer/visionary. As a team we are able to tackle just about any project.
My name is Medina Grillo and I love all things DIY, DECOR and DESIGN related. I am a mother to a fantastic little boy and wife to an amazing husband who puts up with my crazy ideas and insane creative mood swings ( the best part is, he has a secret talent for woodwork but shhh you didn't hear it from me!). I am the creator of this website and co-owner of the Grillo Designs Home Decorating Upcycling and DIY Facebook group.
I'm a wife and a boys mom. I left the corporate world years ago and found my "salvation" in hoarding and painting old furniture. I live with my family in a very green area of Connecticut, USA, where I work from home, more precisely, from our garage. My business is called The Wood Spa.
We are a husband and wife team that are passionate about breathing new life into anything old and discarded. There is also a strong possibility that we are hoarders lol. Ron is a master carpenter jack of all trades. I'm the dreamer/visionary. As a team we are able to tackle just about any project.
Julie Oxendine
Julie is a wife of almost 24 years, mother of 4, and in the last few years has become a wreath designer and stay at home "MOM-prenuer". After years of taking care of the needs of her family she decided to take on a new adventure in her life and started Julie's Wreath Boutique, a business with steady growth which offers unique and custom designs perfect for each season. Julie's work began its debut on Grillo Designs and then has been on sites like Good Housekeeping Magazine, online site Hometalk, and was published last winter in Country Samplers Christmas Decorating Magazine. You can follow Julie on Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, and her website to see her newest original designs in her boutique. She also has tutorials on YouTube in efforts to help others learn how to make their front doors the most welcoming doors in their community.
Jen Holz
My name is Jen, and I'm a fan of all things crafty. A computer programmer by day, I find crafting to be relaxing and inspirational in a way that web design can't compare to. I have a passion for recycling old home decor to give it a new life, and consistently try to find ways to transform what some people consider trash into unique, functional pieces of art. I'm inspired by vintage/shabby chic design elements and always try to pair these styles with my quirky personality to create original treasures to display in your home. :)
Grillo Designs (IT)
Jolene is a wife, DIY addict & cat lover who writes from her home in Los Angeles. She adores everything historical & vintage, and could happily wander through a used book store for hours without even buying anything. Grab a cup of tea & feel free to visit her blog Create Pray Love, which features unique home decor ideas, DIY project tutorials, and tips on budget living.


text: recently (couple weeks ago) I purchased a new vortex scope, the 4x16x50 PST from europtics online. Their website is very nice and clear and shipping was very fast. Great prices too, I couldn't find better anywhere in Ohio. Iirc they're out of Pennsylvania somewhere. And I got to support Rainier Arms, they're great with customer service, fast shipping and a great product. (Their own brand 16 inch ultra match .223 Wylde barrel). I'll defenatlly be buying from them again.


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Player of the Year: Troy Leaf, Foothills Christian
Name School Ht. Yr.
Angelo Chol Hoover 6-9 Jr.
Troy Leaf Foothills Christian 6-3 Sr.
Chen Cai Maranatha Christian 6-8 Jr.
Joe Hudson Escondido 6-1 Sr.
Tanner Clayton Rancho Bernardo 6-10 Sr.
Victor Dean Lincoln 6-6 Sr.
Nick Kerr Torrey Pines 6-3 Jr.
Norman Powell Lincoln 6-3 Jr.
Dame Ndiaye Hoover 6-5 Jr.
J'Vonte Brooks Foothills Christian 6-7 Sr.
Name School Ht. Yr.
Maliik Love Bishop's 6-4 Sr.
Dillon Doria Eastlake 6-4 Sr.
Deon Randall Francis Parker 5-9 Sr.
Kalob Hatcher Foothills Christian 6-0 Sr.
Derrick Thompson Mission Bay 5-10 Sr.
Andre Lewis Granite Hills 5-9 Sr.
James McCann La Costa Canyon 6-0 Sr.
Max Heller Torrey Pines 5-8 Jr.
Terrence Ingram Hoover 6-0 Sr.
Harry Brazelton Mount Miguel 6-1 Sr.
Coach of the Year: Jim Choe, Rancho Bernardo
Player of the Year: Ariana Elegado, La Jolla Country Day
Name School Ht. Yr.
Ariana Elegado LJCD 5-6 Sr.
Y'vonte Neal Mount Miguel 5-8 Sr.
Tia Dixon San Diego 5-7 So.
Ashlee Guay Our Lady of Peace 5-7 Jr.
Katie Kuklok Poway 5-10 Jr.
Marilyn Naderhoff West Hills 5-8 Sr.
Jen Dumiak La Costa Canyon 5-10 Jr.
Alissa Campanero Bishop's 5-3 Jr.
Maya Hood LJCD 5-10 So.
Danielle Miller Mount Miguel 5-8 Jr.
Name School Ht. Yr.
Kate Holiday Poway 5-10 Sr.
Heather Serven Torrey Pines 5-10 Sr.
Sabrina Jimenez Granite Hills 5-9 Sr.
Melissa Peng Westview 5-4 Jr.
Briteesha Solomon La Jolla CD 5-8 Fr.
Ashleigh King Kearny 5-6 Sr.
Brittany Lusain Mater Dei Catholic 5-8 Fr.
Elaina White Bishop's 5-10 Sr.
Sherika Miller West Hills 5-11 Sr.
Amie Callaway San Diego 6-1 So.
Coach of the Year: Lonnie Jones, San Diego
Numbers are an integral part of basketball and those put up by Foothills Christian's Troy Leaf and La Jolla Country Day's Ariana Elegado are impressive.
The two seniors were selected San Diego Section Players of the Year by area sportswriters and coaches through the auspices of the San Diego Hall of Champions. Rancho Bernardo's Jim Choe and San Diego's Lonnie Jones, whose teams won section Division I titles, were named Coaches of the Year.
Troy Leaf, Foothills Christian
Headed for UC Santa Barbara in the fall, the 6-foot-3 Leaf will take with him the section career scoring record, becoming the first local player to surpass 3,000 points.
Leaf finished with 3,318, third in state history, according to Cal-Hi Sports. He left previous record-holder and current San Diego State player Tyrone Shelley (2,962 with Christian and Crawford in 2004-2007) well in his wake.
Leaf also was credited with 609 assists (seventh in section history), 374 steals (seventh), 284 three-point field goals (third) and 870 rebounds.
"I didn't realize until the end of last year that I had a chance at the (scoring) record," said Leaf, 18. "I'm proud of that record. But even better was playing on a team with Kalob (Hatcher) for four years and J'Vonte Brooks. We won four straight section (Division V) titles and no one can ever do better than that."
Ariana Elegado, La Jolla Country Day
There were athletes who scored higher, dished out more assists and had a larger number of steals, but no one was a more complete player than Elegado, who will continue her education at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall.
For the year, the 5-foot-6 guard averaged 14.2 points, 6.5 assists and 2.2 steals a game, but, showing her propensity for stepping up for big games during the playoffs, those numbers expanded to 17.8 points, 6.8 assists and 2.1 steals as the Torreys marched to the section Division IV title.
"It was a huge surprise for us to go that far into the playoffs (Southern California Regional semifinals)," said Elegado, who turns 18 in June. "We had a 23-game winning streak, and, while it was disappointing not to still be playing (in the state championships), I was very pleased we won the Arizona and Beverly Hills tournaments.
"I'm really more of a playmaker than a scorer, so I never thought I'd score 1,000 points in my career (1,145). That was a major but unexpected achievement."
Jim Choe, Rancho Bernardo
Lonnie Jones, San Diego
Few would have believed before the 2009-10 season that Rancho Bernardo and San Diego High were going to win the section Division I titles.
But that's what happened.
Choe, in his third year, brought his team along perfectly, peaking in the playoffs despite being seeded sixth. The Broncos (21-12) upset No. 3 La Costa Canyon and No. 2 Eastlake before downing No. 5 El Camino for the title.
Jones' Cavers (29-6) got a little more respect, earning the No. 2 section seed, but it was their stunning 43-42 win over state Top 10 Fullerton Troy in the first round of the Southern California Regional playoffs that earned San Diego the most recognition statewide.
Selected by a panel of media, coaches and advisers under the auspices of the San Diego Hall of ChampionsCopyright © 2017, The San Diego Union-Tribune


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This photo is of John Frusciante's studio, from his article "Foregrow". If you look to the far right hand side of the desk, below the two knobs underneath the right hand side meter, you can see a piece of tape with the writing "EMT 252".more
With an Equipboard account you can rate this item, add it to your collection, submit a review to discuss what you like and dislike about it, and associate EMT 252 Digital Reverb to artists that use it. Create an account!


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Voodoo Academy Trailer (2000)
"Getting in is tough. Getting out is HELL!" 01 August 2000 Fantasy, Horror, Thriller 92 mins
Young Christopher has just enrolled at the prestigious Carmichael Bible College, managed by the somewhat unusual Mrs. Bouvier. After some unexplained disappearances, Christopher does some exploring and discovers that Mrs. Bouvier and the Reverend Carmichael have some very unwholesome intentions for the young men of their school. Will Christopher graduate with his body and soul intact?
Watch the official Voodoo Academy 2000 trailer in HD below or find more Voodoo Academy videos on Vidimovie.


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In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 photo. South Korean Hwang Min-woo, the 7-year-old nicknamed "Little PSY," performs during a concert in Seoul, South Korea. Hwang on Wednesday, March. 6, 2013, said that he wanted to gain global fame like his "big brother," PSY during his press conference. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Han Jong Chan) KOREA OUT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The impish boy who showed off his dance moves alongside PSY in "Gangnam Style" is hoping to go viral, too.
The 7-year-old nicknamed "Little PSY" is releasing an electro pop song next week through iTunes. The boy, whose real name is Hwang Min-woo, says he wants to gain global fame like his "big brother," PSY.
Sporting a black suit and a sleek haircut, Min-woo performed at a news conference in South Korea on Wednesday. He is the latest recruit in the increasingly global K-pop industry.
Min-woo is a second-grader and his mother comes from Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the big PSY has released a "Gangnam Style" remix and is continuing his worldwide tour. The video released on YouTube in July has a record 1.39 billion views.


text:
Freedom Model Rocket
Availability: In Stock
Freedom Model Rocket
Fast and easy assembly make this a good choice for beginners. This rocket launches to over 1000 feet with a C engine. It features a durable plastic nose cone, easy-to-apply water-slide decals, and a quick-release engine mount.
Skill Level: 1
Rocket Specifications:
Length: 12"
Diameter: 0.976"
Weight: 0.8 oz.
Fins: Die cut balsa.
Recovery: 12" parachute.
Recommended Engines:
A8-3, B4-4, B6-4, C6-5, C6-7 (Engines Sold Separately)
Write a reviewYour Name:
Your Review: Note: HTML is not translated!
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Enter the code in the box below:


text:
Mini SNMP Daemon is a minimal implementation of an SNMP daemon. It is targeted for usage in embedded systems with limited disk and memory resources. All configuration is done using commandline arguments. It supports basic CPU, memory, disk, and network interface statistics.
|Operating Systems
|POSIX Linux
Release Notes: Support was added for compiling for IPv4-only kernels. Bugs with encoding integers with 24 significant bits were fixed.
Release Notes: This release adds support for IPv6.
Release Notes: This release fixes a bug that prevented updating the MIB due to an integer overflow in a timeout calculation.
Release Notes: This release fixes calculation of free inodes in percent for filesystems that don't support them.
Release Notes: This release adds an install target, developer documentation, and patches for FreeBSD support. It has minor bugfixes.
A Fluent OpenStack client API for Java.
A TWiki appliance that is easy to use and lightweight.


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Friday, November 30, 2007
A Man and His Pick-Up
That's a sacred bond right there, one I'm guessing a lot of men feel. My husband bought this very-used pick-up today for hauling stuff. The idea is to sell it when we're done with house projects, but check with me in five years...no, make that ten...to see if it's still in our possession.
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Mobile Minutes: Amazon, Facebook, BlackBerry, FCC, real-world search
Amazon introduces Fire phone
Amazon on Wednesday introduced its own smartphone ? a device optimized to allow customers to consume great amounts of video, books and music, preferably from Amazon.
Please click here to read more on NY Times
Facebook launches mobile app that does not require accounts in the social media site
Facebook Inc launched a smartphone app on Tuesday that will allow consumers to exchange disappearing photos and videos without requiring Facebook accounts, the Internet company's latest effort to develop mobile services beyond its core social network.
Please click here to read more on Economic Times
BlackBerry to announce app licensing deal with Amazon
BlackBerry Ltd is set to unveil a licensing deal with Amazon.com Inc that will allow the Canadian smartphone maker to offer about 240,000 Android apps from Amazon's app store on BlackBerry's new devices, according to sources.
Please click here to read more on Reuters
Democrats hope to push FCC to ban fast lanes online
Democratic lawmakers unveiled legislation Tuesday that would force the Federal Communications Commission to ban Internet fast lanes.
Please click here to read more on Boston Globe
Augmented reality?s next frontier is real-world search
There?s no question that Wikipedia has become the easiest way to find information about nearly any term or topic imaginable. But what if you need to know the details of ?that thing you?re looking at,? but don?t know its name?
Please click here to read more on Wired


text:
"Visit to produce easy read about A & E"
About: Leeds General Infirmary / Accident and emergency Leeds General Infirmary Accident and emergency Leeds LS1 3EX
Posted by JAB (as ),
Following a recent visit to A&E at the LGI I was asked by Ann, the lady I was with, to send some feedback. Sadie Dunne, Lead Nurse for Learning Disabilities, arranged the visit for us so that we could find out more about A&E and take some photographs for a possible easy read guide.
We were made very welcome by Karen Meroz, the Learning Disability A&E lead, who took us through an imaginary visit. She was both informative and extremely helpful in guiding us through the service. We met a variety of friendly and helpful staff, many of which, were even willing to pose for photographs for the easy read guide. As well as A&E we were well received everywhere from Ambulance through to CT scans and X-rays. This was an extremely reassuring visit in terms of assessing the attitude of the service towards people with learning disabilities and we look forward to producing a easy read guide that reflects this. Many thanks for a helpful and informative visit!
Response from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 3 years ago
Dear JAB
Thank you for your feedback regarding your visit to A&E at the LGI. We appreciate the time you have taken to do this. Your comments are valued and have been passed to Sadie Dunne, Karen Meroz and the other staff concerned.
Thank you once again
With kind regards
JAB thinks this response is helpful
{{helpful-1}} other {{helpful-1 == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} so too
Thank you for your feedback.
See more responses from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust


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Ken Sager - Here
By Mandolin Cafe
June 15, 2007 - 12:30 pm
Email article Printer friendly
Ken Sager - Here
Impressive first solo release from talented Salt Lake City, Utah resident Ken Sager.
Sager plays all instruments on the recording including mandolin, guitar, tenor banjo, tenor guitar and bass.
Selections include an electic mix of original material that reflects his interest in new acoustic music, swing/jazz, old-time and traditional fiddle tunes.
Good Night
Thursday Finger
Red Bow Tie
Liberty/Soldier's Joy
Black Nail
Red Haired Boy
Amber Sunset No. 22
Don't Tell Fuzzy
Forked Deer
St. Anne's Reel
Squirrel Hunters
Angeline The Baker
Your Eyes
Release date: June 16, 2007
Genre: Original and traditional
Label: Portable Goo Music
Purchase: From amazon.com


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The Arara Canindé (Ara ararauna), also known as the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw or Blue-and-Gold Macaw, is a member of the group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It breeds in forest and woodland of tropical South America. These birds can reach 76–86 cm (29.9-33.9 inches) long and weigh 900 to 1300 g (2-3 lbs). They are vivid in appearance with blue wings and tail, dark blue chin, golden under parts and a green forehead. Beaks are black, and very strong for crushing nuts. The naked face is white, turning pink in excited birds, and lined with small black feathers. There is little variation in plumage across the range. Some birds have a more orangey or "butterscotch" underside color, particularly on the breast. The Arara Canindé uses its powerful beak for breaking nutshells, and also for climbing up and hanging from trees. The Arara Canindé generally mates for life. It nests in a tree hole and the female typically lays two or three eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching.
Arara Canindé


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Thursday, 1 January 2015
2014 New Year Resolutions
6 comments:
I love your 2014 list, it looks so pretty! I've also written down all the positive things that happen a while ago, but kind of forgot about it. It's such a good idea though, it just makes you realise that not everything is that bad in the end! Happy New Year! :) xxReplyDeleteReplies
Happy New Year too you as well.Delete
Yeah, I do feel like I take for granted all the little things in life that are good, so it really helped me to appreciate them more :) xx
Good job for completing so many goals! I love Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children! Have you read the second one also?ReplyDelete
Thanks! I haven't yet, I still need to get round to buying it, but I will be doing so very soon! xxDelete
Love the last goal you put up there. I also worry too much, even about the littlest, simplest things. In the end, worrying wouldn't do us any good. So, we neeed to stop over-thinking the stuff that doesn't matter. Lovely post !ReplyDelete
Couldn't agree more! Thank you :) xxDelete


text: Once upon a time I owned a COLT Ser. 70 on which someone had thoughtfully installed MMC fixed sights. I liked them very much. Sadly that pistol is long gone. Recently I found and bought a very nice SA-GI 1911-A1. I've been thinking... about the sights. What I'm considering is having a set of more user friendly fixed low profile combat type sights installed. I would like them to be zeroed for standard ball type 230 gr. FMJ ammo. I have a nice RIA 1911 which one of our GT members kindly customized to better suit my needs. It has very low profile Millette sights with a adjustable rear sight that is very accurate and a real pleasure to use. So I do not have to be in a hurry about doing this. I figure over the next year I'll do a few things but nothing drastic. Suggestions, etc. will be appreciated.


text:
Click here to navigate the course.
Drag the edges to resize the window.
In Projects, you can keep track of your progress as you go throught the tasks. Check each item as you complete it!
You made it to the end of the first unit and this lesson! High five!
We learned:
In the next lesson, we will learn how to program JavaScript to make decisions for us and how to generate random numbers. Let's go!
Click 'Up Next' to continue.


text:
HOUSTON -- The way you look at the Houston Texans' handling of their quarterback situation in a 28-23 loss to the Oakland Raiders depends on your perspective about this season.
The advantage to pulling quarterback Case Keenum late in the third quarter and replacing him with Matt Schaub is that Keenum has played poorly in the second halves of each game he's started. Schaub isn't as good as Keenum is early, but he's better than Keenum is late.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak said after the game he thought the more experienced Schaub would be able to handle changes the Texans made in their protections to handle what the Raiders were doing better than Keenum would. Pressure in the second half of last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals got to Keenum, too.
Keenum said this about why he was pulled: "Not converting on third downs. As a quarterback, I think if you want to be a big time quarterback in this league and lead your team and be successful, you need to keep your offense on the field and get first downs."
That's true. But long term, benching Keenum was counterproductive. The move was a short-term fix in the hope that slightly better quarterback play would win the game. It felt very much like a desperation move from a coach under fire.
One victory today would bring the Texans closer to making a highly improbable playoff run, that likely would have taken winning the rest of their games this season. But is Schaub the quarterback to make that improbable playoff run? The fact that Kubiak went with Keenum a month ago, when there was much more on the line, indicates he doesn't think so.
In that case, why not let Keenum learn? The mistakes he's making now, the inability to recognize blitzes and adjust to changing pressure, aren't things he can learn from the bench. He's not a guy with a frail mental disposition whose confidence would shrivel from early struggles. One of Keenum's biggest strengths is the ability to move on from some of the costly mistakes he's made this season and play well afterward.
The best the Texans can do now is win eight games. Barring a complete collapse by the 7-3 Indianapolis Colts, an 8-8 record will not win the division.
An 8-8 record could be a wild card team in the weak AFC. Right now there's only one AFC team with a winning record who isn't leading its division -- the 8-1 Denver Broncos. The New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins lead the race for the second wild card spot, both at 5-5.
A win today might have helped the Texans chances of being that team. But if they struggled this much with the 4-6 Raiders, what evidence is there that they could beat the Broncos, Colts or Patriots, all teams with winning records remaining on the schedule?
Their only chance would be to improve, especially as an offense. That starts with the young quarterback. If you think he could be the future, he has to be in the game figuring out what works and what doesn't.
Kubiak didn't believe in Schaub enough to let him start after his foot and ankle healed. He should have trusted his instincts on Sunday.


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61 Illawarra Crescent Dandenong North 3175 VIC
Super Sized Family Home on 1000m2 (approx)
Its not often you come across a large family home, thats been revitalized with todays creature comforts and is pleasantly positioned on such a large sized block. Featuring sparkling timber floors, a spectacular kitchen with everything you could ever dream for, great sized bedrooms, ducted heating, evaporative cooling plus a spacious yard with undercover areas & double lock up garage with a toilet - this has everything. Ladies & Gents, this is your own slice of heaven, it's on almost a quarter acre and now it is s ready for your family to uncover and enjoy.
Perfectly positioned next to the park, this is a haven for any family. You have an abundance of space on your own parcel of land, but if you want to get out for a bit, head next door to enjoy the play area and green pastures. St Elizabeths PS and Silverton PS are both within walking distance plus there are plenty of secondary colleges nearby this is a familys dream location!
If you want space, this has to be the home for you. With dual living zones, a dining that can double as a study area and two undercover areas at the rear so you can entertain on any scale. Add in the spacious bedrooms, most with robes, the master complete with a WIR & en suite, plus a grand kitchen with a plethora of bench a preparation space, dishwasher & a 5 burner stove. To entertain, wine and dine and enjoy this exceptionally large home in a friendly pocket of Dandenong North, call us today!
Terms: 10% Deposit. Balance 30 / 60 Days.
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Agent Information
Barry Plant Noble Park
Noble Park VIC, 3174
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Real Estate For Sale in Dandenong North, VIC 3175 priced between $530,000 and $980,000


text:
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1.8 cm sterling silver pendant with Hebrew engravingsProduct ID: NCP-JA-8263
Temporarily out of stock
Sorry! The quantity is limited to two items only.
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1.8 cm sterling silver pendant with Hebrew engravings
This 1.8 centimeter sterling silver pendant with Hebrew engravings features the holy Jewish prayer of "Sh'ma".
Material Sterling silver 925
Dimensions 1.8cm
Estimated processing time: 8-12 Business Days.
Your order's processing time is the estimated number of days that it will take for your order to be prepared for shipment from our Israel-based fulfillment center.
1.8 cm sterling silver pendant with Hebrew engravings
This amazingly hewn pendant of sterling silver has been shaped to create a thick oval hoop that moves on a long narrow clasp with an engraved design of three stripes. The pendant has been carefully engraved with the holiest of prayers the "Sh'ma" written in Hebrew script. Add a sterling silver necklace for the perfect present for any loved one!


text:
Sea Cliff 76 Inc
Review for Sea Cliff 76 Inc
Mark S. on 11/05/2012
Mark said the business always takes good care of him. They always do a good job.
Vehicle: Nissan Maxima
Category: Service
Service Date: 11/01/2012
Review Created: 11/05/2012
This review was collected via phone interview by Customer Research Inc.


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Wicked Wednesday at the Tucson Botanical Gardens
Wednesday, January 26 at 4:30 pm (PT)
Looking for a way to entertain the kids during their holiday break? Come over to the Botanical Garden on the last Wednesday of the month to experience Wicked Wednesdays from 4:30 – 9:oo pm, with Dr. Ergot Ratbane. The doctor will thrill his young audiences with tall tales of devious, dangerous (and often deadly) plants! Following the storytelling, Dr. Ratbane will take his subjects on a flashlight tour of all the weird and wicked plants in the Gardens. You may even get a glimpse inside his famous laboratory.
Cost Included with admission: Adults $8 | Children 4-12, $4 | Children 3 and younger and Gardens' members are free.


text:
10" GalvX Drum Brake Assembly, L & R - Tie Down Engineering
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Does this come with the backing plate and everything?
The 10" GalvX, Part Number 81097, does come with the Shoe Lining Kit, L&R brake pads.
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An integral part of the Group's sustainability is the economic value generated from our operations. We are cognisant that our continued growth and economic performance is crucial to our many stakeholders and to each of the communities in which we operate.
In the financial year to 30 September 2016, UDG Healthcare added economic value of €583.8 million (being revenue of €1,625.9 million less €1,042.1 million of input costs paid to suppliers). Remuneration to employees of €462.0 million, corporate taxes of €21.5 million, interest paid to lenders of €12.7 million and dividends paid to shareholders of €27.4 million resulted in 90% of total value generated being redistributed to our economic community.


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Feb 22, 2000
|Filing date
|Feb 12, 1998
|Priority date
|Feb 21, 1997
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Arnoldus Petrus Maria Kusters, Bob Van Den Hoogen
|Original Assignee
|Aquilo Gas Separation B.V.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (29), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (24), Classifications (27), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
Compressed air which leaves a compressor is always wet and consequently will cause many inconveniences. For that reason compressed air dryers have been developed.
The first technology (about 1920) made use of the adsorption technology resulting in dried compressed air having a dew point of -20� C. or lower, for instance -30� C. or even -40� C. Typical adsorbents were porous materials having a high internal surface area on which the water vapour was absorbed. In this respect it is notable that the water absorbed by the adsorbents can be removed in a regeneration step by passing expanded compressed air over the adsorbent or directing a flow of very hot (�200� C.) air over the adsorbent.
The adsorption drying of compressed air was carried out by two main types of systems, based on the two ways of regenerating the saturated adsorbent i.e. with heat and without heat. Hot air drying systems used electrical heat or steam for regenerating the water saturated adsorbent. In this respect there are two types of heating, i.e.
the "Blower type" system comprising a dryer having an external heater and a ventilator, and
the "Internal Heater" system comprising a dryer based on an internal heater and purge air for removing the desorbed water.
More widely used are the so-called heatless systems, according to which a part of the dried air compressed is expanded and used for regeneration of the adsorbent. More particularly the principle of the heatless system can be explained as follows.
The drier is built with two pressure vessels, filled with an adsorbent (aluminium oxide or silica gel). The compressed air is led through one of the adsorber vessels to be dried. After drying, a part of the dried compressed air, in general 15%, is expanded to atmospheric conditions and then led through the second adsorber vessel in opposite flow direction. This dried expanded air will remove the absorbed water from the absorbent present in the second vessel. After every 2-5 minutes, the so-called cycle time, the flow of compressed air is changed from the first vessel to the second vessel wherein the compressed air is dried by the regenerated absorbent whereas the first vessel is now brought to atmospheric conditions and generated in the way, described above for the second vessel. Through interconnecting piping and valves the change over every 2-5 minutes is realized.
Compared to the above-described heat generated airdriers the heatless system has the advantage of being simple in operation. However, a disadvantage of the heatless system is found in the high operation costs, due to the use of 15% of the expensive compressed air for regeneration purposes of the adsorbents. Moreover each changeover of a pressure vessel under pressure to atmospheric pressure by blowing off compressed air incurs in a further loss resulting in a total loss of about 17% of the compressed air.
A second technology was developed in the early sixties. This technology uses a refrigeration system for cooling the compressed air to 3-5� C. Thereafter the water was removed by means of a water separator. The obtained cold air is reheated by means of heat exchange with the warm incoming compressed air. However, these second technology systems do result in compressed air having a dew point of +3� C., which is considered disadvantageous on account of the freezing of the water in such dried compressed air.
A third technology, i.e. the membrane technology, came up in the 1990's. The principle of this third technology may be elucidated as follows.
Wet compressed air is fed into a bundle of hollow fibers and is passed down the inside of said hollow fibers. The hollow fibers are present in a module. The water vapour passes the selective membrane wall much faster than air and the permeated water vapour is collected in the module shell. The driving force for this process is provided by the compressed air which flows on the permeate or shell side of the membrane wall. Further the permeated water vapour is preferably removed by means of a purge gas, for instance expanded compressed air, which is fed into the shell-side of the hollow fiber membrane module. This type of high selective membrane dryer may reach dew points of -60� C. depending on the compressed air loss which is normally between 15% and 40% of the incoming compressed air. Further it is also possible to apply a vacuum pump at the shell-side of the hollow fiber membrane module for exhausting the water vapour, permeated through the hollow fibers. However, such an embodiment requires the use of an extra exhaust system i.e. a vacuum pump.
Summarizing it is stated that the above-discussed adsorption technology and the current membrane technology are the only technologies which can reach dew points lower than the freezing point, i.e. below 0� C. Such a low dew point is a requisite if compressed air has to be used in outside environment application. In case the outside temperature may reach values below 0� C. the water in compressed air having a dew point above 0� C. will freeze and may cause corrosion and damage to the installation. However, both above technologies have the disadvantage of a high energy consumption, to be attributed to the loss of compressed air or the use of large electric heaters for heating the air for regenerating the adsorbents.
In view of the above it is referred to Derwent Publications Ltd., London, GB; Class J01, AN 91-225721. According to said reference water vapour containing gas is dehumidified by means of a gas-separator comprising a gas separation membrane. More in particular the water vapour containing gas is supplied in compressed state on one side of said membrane and simultaneously a compressed air in expanded state is supplied counter-currently as purge gas on the other side of said membrane. However, the use of compressed air in expanded state as a purge gas is rather expensive and therefore uneconomical.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,472 relates to a process for the removal of moisture from a moisture laden gas stream, utilizing both a membrane dryer and an adsorption dryer. According to this known process the membrane dryer, comprising a very specific water vapour permeating membrane, is used as a "predryer", whereas the adsorption dryer is used as the "final dryer". The purge gas for the membrane dryer unit is a nearly moisture-free waste gas, typically waste nitrogen from a cryogenic air separation plant (column 5, lines 27-29).
The aim of the invention is to develop a process and an apparatus respectively for drying compressed air to a dew point of less than 0� C., preferably less than -10� C. or even -20� C. at a low energy consumption.
The aim of the invention is achieved by a process which is characterized by
introducing compressed air into one end of a hollow fiber membrane unit, which membrane is selective for water vapour permeation;
introducing dry purge air, coming from an atmospheric adsorption dryer, into the permeate- or shell-side of the hollow fiber membrane unit;
introducing dry purge air, coming from the same atmospheric adsorption dryer as above, into the regeneration inlet of said atmospheric adsorption dryer; and
collecting the dried compressed air at the other end of the hollow fiber membrane unit as well as discharging the applied purge air.
Above system according to the invention represents an advantageous compressed air dryer system which has hardly any loss of compressed air and requires much less energy compared with the current technologies.
Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a compressed air drying apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an atmospheric adsorption dryer which can be used in the compressed air drying apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
The table below, illustrates the total specific energy consumption KW/Nm3 of dried air in four prior art processes and in two processes according to the invention. As may be seen from the Table, the total specific energy consumption is dramatically and surprisingly lower in the case of the embodiments of the invention than is the case in the prior art embodiments.
TABLE__________________________________________________________________________Capacity NM.sup.3 /hr Purge % of purge air, Energy Energy con- Total specific energy DewType of sumption in of consumption pointdryer Nm.sup.3 /hrir)*.sup.) compressed air purge air in kW kW (electric) kW/Nm.sup.3 of dried � C. Elucidation__________________________________________________________________________Blower317 1.0 0.3 4.0 0.1 0.013 -40� C. Dryer with ventilatortype and heatersystem(prior art)Internal Dryer with internalHeater heater and purge airsystem(prior art)Heatless Dryer with cold purgesystem air(prior art)MV Membrane with vacuum(prior art) pump 0.2 barM6 Membrane with. atmospheric dryerM6 Membrane with(NAK) atmospheric dryer + air/air heat exchange**.sup.)__________________________________________________________________________ *.sup.) For 317 Nm.sup.3 /hr a 37 kW compressor is needed **.sup.) Using heat of compressor
Depending on the inventive system embodiments the energy consumption, based on units of dried air is 50% up to 80% lower than the current prior art technologies. Further the loss of compressed air is generally at most 5%, preferably less than 3% and most preferably at most 1%, based on the inlet flow of the compressed air.
The hollow fiber membrane used in the process according to the invention is very selective for water vapour, i.e. the hollow fiber membrane has a high permeate rate for water vapour compared to the permeate rates for oxygen and nitrogen. Examples of such selective membranes are generally known in the art having H2 O/O2 selectivities higher than 100.
Further the ratio of the specific surface of the hollow fiber membrane and the flow of compressed air may range between wide limits. Generally this ratio ranges between 0,01-0.5 m2 per m3 of compressed air (pressure of compressed air: 1-16 bar).
The atmospheric adsorption dryer comprises a housing, provided with inlet and outlet openings and an adsorption wheel. The atmospheric adsorption dryer is known per se from the prior art. Examples of such atmospheric adsorption dryers are the marketed products Munster, Flair and Bry-Air.
More in particular the process and apparatus respectively according to the invention may be illustrated by FIG. 1:
Compressed air leaving a compressor is fed through line (1) into the hollow fiber membrane (2) present in housing (3). The dried compressed air leaves the hollow fiber membrane (2) through line (4) at the top of the housing (3).
Atmospheric air is fed through line (5) in the housing (6) of the atmospheric adsorbent dryer comprising an adsorbent wheel (7). The dried atmospheric air leaves the atmospheric adsorption dryer and is led in the form of purge air through line (8) in the shell-side (9) of the hollow fiber membrane housing (3). Finally the purge air is removed through line (10) and discharged into the open air. A part of the air (11) coming from said atmospheric adsorption dryer is led into the regeneration inlet of the atmospheric adsorption dryer.
The main driving force for the system according to the invention is created by the atmospheric air dryer which provides a flow of dried atmospheric air as purge air in the shell-side (9) of the hollow fiber membrane unit.
An example of an atmospheric air dryer (6) marketed by the firm Munters Nederland B. V., the Netherlands, is illustrated in FIG. 2. The atmospheric air is fed through line (5) in the adsorbent wheel (7) rotated by driving motor (14). The dried atmospheric air leaves the dryer by means of line (8). A part of said dried atmospheric air is used as regeneration air (11), which--after optionally passing a heating means (13) like an external heater or heat exchange means--is led into the regeneration inlet of the atmospheric adsorption dryer. After passing the adsorption wheel (7) the humidified air is discarded through line (12).
In case the atmospheric adsorption dryer (6) is saturated with ambient air humidity the adsorption wheel (7) can be regenerated by introducing ambient air heated up to for instance 130� C. through line (11). Said heated air may be obtained by applying external heat or by using heat generated by the compressor, i.e. by means of heat exchange between the dried compressed air and ambient air. After passing the adsorption wheel the air is removed through line (12).
For regenerating the adsorption wheel (7) it is also possible--but not recommended--to apply a small amount of the dried compressed air. After decompression the dried air is led through line (11) into the atmospheric adsorbent dryer and removed through line (12). Further a combination of above two methods may be used for regenerating the adsorbent wheel (7).
The following example, illustrates the present invention, but does not limit the scope of the invention.
Compressed air leaving a compressor at a pressure of 7 bar and a temperature of 35� C., i.e. 10� C. above the ambient temperature of 25� C., is used as feed for a hollow fiber membrane drier. The relative humidity of the ambient air is 50%, so the ambient dew point is 15� C. For the sake of clarity it is brought to the fore that a cubic meter of the compressed air, having a dew point of 35� C., contains 4 times the amount of water vapour present in a cubic meter of ambient air.
The compressed air having a dew point of 35� C. is fed with a flow rate of 317 Nm3 /hr through line (1) of FIG. 1 into a hollow fiber membrane (2) having a specific surface of 48 m2. The dried compressed air, removed through line (4) has a dew point of -20� C.
Atmospheric air having a dew point of 15� C. is introduced through line (5) in an atmospheric drier (6) comprising an adsorbent wheel (7) ("Munters Nederland B.V."). The dried atmospheric air removed through line (8) has a dew point of -25� C. and is used as purge air for the hollow fiber membrane drier (3). The purge air is introduced in the permeate or shell-side (9) of the hollow fiber membrane drier (3) and is removed through line (10) as air having a dew point of 27� C.
This dew point of 27� C. is 12� C. higher than the dew point of the ambient air. This means that the air having a dew point of 27� C. contains 60% more water vapour than the ambient or outside air.
In view of the above it is stated that by using outside air the system according to the invention is very efficient as the atmospheric adsorbtion dryer removes only the moisture in the outside air. This moisture amount in the outside air is only 50% of the water vapour removed from the compressed air leaving the hollow fiber membrane drier.
Referring to the system according to the invention it is emphasized that the system automatically creates a constant dryness, independently the outside conditions, as it will always remove more than 95% of the moisture in the compressed air.
to illustrate the above assertion two situations (in winter--and summer time) will be considered:
winter time: the outside temperature is 3� C. and the dew point of the outside air is -5� C. The compressed air has a dew point of 25� C. (pressure 7 bar). The system as illustrated in FIG. 1 will remove 98% of the moisture, so the dew point of the dried compressed air is -27� C.
summer time: the outside temperature is 25� C. and the dew point of the outside air is 15� C. The compressed air has a dew point of 35� C. (pressure 7 bar). The system as illustrated in FIG. 1 will remove 95% of the moisture, so the dew point of the dried compressed air is -7� C.
Summarizing the above, in both situations the compressed air produced according to the invention has a relative humidity of less than 5%, which is considered very dry.
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|Jan 9, 1973
|Munters C
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|May 29, 1973
|Perma Pure Process Inc
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|Gen Electric
|Sulfonated polyxylylene oxide as a permselective membrane for water vapor transport
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|Ube Industries, Ltd.
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|Aug 15, 1989
|Separation Dynamics, Inc.
|Separation of water from hydrocarbons and halogenated hydrocarbons
|May 12, 1989
|Jun 5, 1990
|Union Carbide Corporation
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|Union Carbide Corporation
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|Oct 9, 1990
|Separation Dynamics, Inc.
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|Union Carbide Corporation
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|The Dow Chemical Company
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|Union Carbide Industrial Gases Technology Corporation
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|Union Carbide Industrial Gases Technology Corporation
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|Amsted Industries Incorporated
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|Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
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|Permea, Inc.
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|Praxair Technology, Inc.
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|Title not available
|Ogasawara Yoshinari, JP3186315, Dehumidifier Device (Abstract), Aug. 1991.
|Citing Patent
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|Mallinckrodt Inc.
|Ventilator compressor system having improved dehumidification apparatus
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|Apr 1, 2003
|Amos Korin
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|Andrew Corporation
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|Hamilton Sundstrand Corp.
|Water recuperation for a carbon dioxide (CO2) removal system
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|Spencer W. Hess
|Diesel fuel heated desiccant reactivation
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|Dec 23, 2003
|Clearwater International, L.L.C.
|Gas dehydration using membrane and potassium formate solution
|Nov 14, 2001
|Mar 16, 2004
|Honeywell International Inc.
|Vapor membrane dehumidification for air cycle environment control system
|Dec 4, 2001
|May 25, 2004
|Amos Korin
|Membrane desiccation heat pump
|Oct 18, 2002
|Apr 19, 2005
|Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems Llc
|Membrane air dryer and method of mounting a membrane dryer to a vehicle
|Feb 20, 2004
|Dec 26, 2006
|Parker-Hannifin Corporation
|Processes for controlling regenerative sweep air for membrane systems
|Sep 24, 2004
|Feb 19, 2008
|The Boc Group, Inc.
|Method and apparatus for separation of moisture from fluids
|Dec 24, 2002
|May 18, 2010
|Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
|Fuel cell system and related method
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|Aug 24, 2010
|Inogen, Inc.
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|Mar 15, 2011
|Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
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|Imogen, Inc.
|Gas concentrator with improved water rejection capability
|Oct 18, 2002
|Apr 22, 2004
|Nichols Randall W.
|Membrane air dryer and method of mounting a membrane dryer to a vehicle
|Dec 24, 2002
|Jun 17, 2004
|Akihiro Asai
|Fuel cell system and related method
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|Sep 9, 2004
|Gerhard Schmitz
|Insulating arrangement for the inner insulation of an aircraft
|Feb 20, 2004
|Oct 7, 2004
|Dean Hoyt
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|Ravi Jain
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|Brenton Taylor
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|Sep 3, 2008
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|Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
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|Sep 23, 2009
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|Barba Willy Del
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|U.S. Classification
|95/52, 95/113, 95/123, 96/130, 96/8, 96/125, 95/99, 96/126
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Feb 12, 1998
Owner name: AQUILO GAS SEPARATION B.V., NETHERLANDS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KUSTERS, ARNOLDUS PETRUS MARIA;VAN DEN HOOGEN, BOB;REEL/FRAME:008983/0200
Effective date: 19980205
|Jun 30, 2000
Owner name: PARKER-HANNIFIN CORPORATION, OHIO
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:AQUILO GAS SEPARATION BV;REEL/FRAME:010937/0480
Effective date: 20000529
|Nov 9, 2000
Owner name: PARKER HANNIFIN CUSTOMER SUPPORT INC., CALIFORNIA
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Owner name: PARKER INTANGIBLES LLC, OHIO
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Effective date: 20030630
|Jul 13, 2007
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Year of fee payment: 8
|Aug 17, 2011
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


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Installing the 84-074 (N)
A home owner from New York says:
July 10, 2014
Do you have a video showing how to replace 84-074 screen door roller?
Dave Sr. from SWISCO responded:
July 10, 2014
I'm afraid we don't have a video at this time, but we can look into it for you. In the meantime, I can give you some basic instructions.
There should be three holes on the top or bottom edge of the door where these rollers attach. The two outer holes are where the mounting holes, which are used to attach the roller bracket. The middle hole is where the adjustment screw goes. That allows you to adjust the roller.


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Home / Baby Toys / Board Books
Shiver Penguin Board Book
Wander with this Winter wonder!
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For tales of ice that are really quite nice, it's the Shiver Penguin Board Book. Our little penguin becomes the star in this beautifully colourful Winter adventure. With strong board pages that are easy to hold, it's very friendly to little readers' flippers. Now, let's go meet some of the Antarctic's most distinguished characters!
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According to two research scientists the mystery of vanished ships and airplanes in the region dubbed "The Bermuda Triangle" has been solved.
The methane—normally frozen at great pressure as gas hydrates embedded within subterranean rock—can become dislodged and transform into gaseous bubbles expanding geometrically as they explode upwards. When these bubbles reach the surface of the water they soar into the air, still expanding upwards and outwards.


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Friday Pulse: Co-opetition, Affiliate Marketing Success, and Skills for Marketers
Working together is good and lucrative, the affiliate marketing model can work for your business, and the skills needed in this digital world – all things you need must read this week. So, here are the 3 most important things you need to know. You're welcome!
'Co-opetition' Comes to Affiliate MarketingRead more


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Thursday, March 07, 2013
I could tell you about my aches and pains (ooh, me knees), about the amount of sweat the poured off me in Body Step and Body Attack (buckets), or about the ups and downs of the past few days of exercise classes - kettlebells for instance was completely disrupted by two women who talked and moaned and held everyone up. Not beginners either - they've gone for a while, but one was in a bad mood and it quickly infected everyone.... Er, but I won't. It's a bit dull really.
In fact I'd rather change tack; talk about my day - assuming you don't mind. My day proved to be stupendous. I went to the ballet, for the first time, and was absolutely blown away by the creativity and ambition of Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty. My jaw dropped within the first few minutes and remained dropped through the entire performance.
I could barely believe it! I've never really been one for dance (perhaps because I have all the grace of an gassy elephant) but this production opened my eyes to what an expressive and powerful medium ballet can be. I watched the dancers bodies so closely that at times I felt quite the voyeur. During zumba I try and produce some semblance of form; mostly I fling myself about and pray the ungainly movements burn extra calories.
The guys on stage were ... incredible; they had such poise and control, and yes, I guess that's what ballet is all about, but I never really appreciated all the strength and finesse the dancers muscles and joints require; previously it all seemed a bit, well, fussy. I was wrong: to watch Aurora and her chap dance was to watch beauty itself become anthropomorphised. A compelling, anatomical beauty, and one that I appreciated all the more because it is so far beyond me, but yet so inspiring.
Don't get me wrong. I don't want to be a prima ballerina (good job too, because at 31 I think I'm a bit old for it), but I wouldn't say no to having more coordination and control. My balance has certainly improved since I started exercising regularly, and increased confidence means I'm less likely to flap about when stressed. But if it were possible to be able to move my body in such a lithe fashion... yeah, I'd like that.
Incidentally, I only went to the show on a whim; trying to do some new things, shake myself up - accompany the health and fitness stuff with more personal and creative development. It's certainly galvanised me! So if you're reading this and feeling in a rut or down on yourself; go out, try something new and see where it leads.
Now, I wonder where I could get hold of an elasticated tutu?
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You don't sound like a vapid wench from this blog post! Glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for the reminder to get out of our ruts every once in awhile!
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My daughter danced ballet for 10 years, I loved watching her.
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