text:
World Bank finances innovation in Kazakhstan
The World Bank approved an $88 million loan on Monday that would support Kazakhstan's efforts to facilitate commercially and socially viable innovation in technology. Read More »
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
The World Bank approved an $88 million loan on Monday that would support Kazakhstan's efforts to facilitate commercially and socially viable innovation in technology. Read More »
In a intergovernmental commission between Armenia and Turkmenistan, Armenian Prime Minister, Hovik Abrahamyan welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan, Sapardurdy Toyliev on Tuesday. Read More »
In an address to member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO,) Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko stated that Belarus has been and will continue to be committed to the treaty organization on Tuesday in Moscow. Read More »
Promsvyzbank (PSB) named Pavel Sokolov, of St. Petersburg, the winner of its mobile app competition on Tuesday. Read More »
The European Union (EU) recently reiterated that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan hold the exclusive rights to lay the Trans-Caspian Pipeline. Read More »
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said Tuesday that it will lend $2 million to the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) to help facilitate energy-efficiency projects. Read More »
Vozrozhdenie Bank (VB) said Tuesday that its investor relations (IR) case placed second in the seventh international IR cases contest. Read More »
Standard & Poor's (S&P) Rating Services gave B&N Bank a "B" rating for both its long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on Wednesday. Read More »
Representatives from the governments of Armenia and Georgia signed an agreement on Wednesday to construct a bridge over the River Debed, which would connect the two countries at the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo State border checkpoint. Read More »
Rosbank announced that it has strengthened its position in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in their first nine month report of 2014, they bank said Thursday. Read More »
Promsvyazbank announced on Thursday that it is breaking into the factoring market by financing suppliers to a company in Belarus that is supplying goods to Russia. Read More »
During the "Market of Printed Products Amidst Integrated Economy" -- an international conference of publishers, printers and publication distributors held in Minsk -- printing experts on Wednesday praised the printing and distribution practices of Belarus. Read More »
The World Bank has disbursed a $75 million loan to the Republic of Armenia to fund the implementation of reforms to help its macroeconomic climate on Tuesday. Read More »
The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) of Russia has designated Otkritie FC Bank as an investor to help rehabilitate Trust Bank, the financial institution announced on Dec. 26. Read More »
The Russian Central Bank and domestic banks will use an alternative to the international Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a nongovernmental interbank communication line based in Brussels, Belgium, the Central Bank said. Read More »
In a Saturday address, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said personnel changes within his administration aim to improve the nation's economic climate. Read More »
Representatives from Armenia's energy sector discussed proposals for improving energy infrastructure in a Saturday consultation hosted by Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. Read More »
Representatives from Turkey and Kyrgyzstan recently signed a memorandum of understanding to increase trade volume between both countries to $1 billion, the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry said. Read More »
Newly appointed Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said reducing unemployment and under-employment is a top priority for the government in 2015. Read More »
VTB Bank opened two new branches in Georgia on Monday. Read More »


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 1, 2003
|Filing date
|Jan 8, 2002
|Priority date
|Jan 8, 2002
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Valeri S. Chekanov
|Original Assignee
|Heart Care Associates, Llc
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (9), Referenced by (45), Classifications (4), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for treating congestive heart disease and related valvular dysfunction. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an adaptive cardiac constraint having an outer non-extentible device and a pair of inner inflatable members for preventing over-extension of the heart during diastole.
Congestive heart disease is a progressive and debilitating illness. The disease is characterized by a progressive enlargement of the heart. As the heart enlarges, the heart is performing an increasing amount of work in order to pump blood each heart beat. In time, the heart becomes so enlarged the heart cannot adequately supply blood. An afflicted patient is fatigued, unable to perform even simple exerting tasks and experiences pain and discomfort. Further, as the heart enlarges, the internal heart valves may not adequately close. This impairs the function of the valves and further reduces the heart's ability to supply blood.
Causes of congestive heart failure (CHF) are not fully known. In certain instances, CHF may result from viral infections. In such cases, the heart may enlarge to such an extent that the adverse consequences of heart enlargement continue after the viral infection has passed and the disease continues its progressively debilitating course.
With initial reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A, a normal, healthy human heart H′ is schematically shown in cross-section and will now be described in order to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the heart H′ is shown during systole (i.e., high left ventricular pressure). In FIG. 1A, the heart H′ is shown during diastole (i.e., low left ventricular pressure).
The heart H′ is a muscle having an outer wall or myocardium MYO′ and an internal wall or septum S′. The heart H′ has four internal heart chambers including a right atrium RA′, a left atrium LA′, a right ventricle RV′ and a left ventricle LV′. The heart H′ has a length measured along a longitudinal axis BB′-AA′ from an upper end or base B′ to a lower end or apex A′.
The right and left atria RA′, LA′ reside in an upper portion UP′ of the heart H′ adjacent the base B′. The right and left ventricles RV′, LV′ reside in a lower portion LP′ of the heart H′ adjacent the apex A′. The ventricles RV′, LV′ terminate at ventricular lower extremities LE′ adjacent the apex A′ and spaced therefrom by the thickness of the myocardium MYO′.
Due to the compound curves of the upper and lower portions UP′, LP′, the upper and lower portions UP′, LP′ meet at a circumferential groove commonly referred to as the A-V (atrio-ventricular) groove AVG′. Extending away from the upper portion UP′ are plurality of major blood vessels communicating with the chambers RA′, RV′, LA′, LV′. For ease of illustration, only the superior vena cava SVC′, inferior vena cava IVC′ and one of the left pulmonary vein LPV′ are shown as being representative.
The heart H′ contains valves to regulate blood flow between the chambers RA′, RV′, LA′, LV′ and between the chambers and the major vessels, aorta and preliminary artery. For ease of illustration, not all of such valves are shown. Instead, only the tricuspid valve TV′ between the right atrium RA′ and right ventricle RV′ and the mitral valve MV′ between the left atrium LA′ and left ventricle LV′ are shown as being representative.
The valves are secured, in part, to the myocardium MYO′ in a region of the lower portion LP′ adjacent the A-V groove AVG′ and referred to as the valvular annulus VA′. The valves TV′ and MV′ open and close through the beating cycle of the heart H.
FIGS. 1 and 1A show a normal, healthy heart H′ during systole and diastole, respectively. During systole (FIG. 1), the myocardium MYO′ is contracting and the heart assumes a shape including a generally conical lower portion LP′. During diastole (FIG. 1A), the heart H′ is expanding and the conical shape of the lower portion LP′ bulges radically outwardly (relative to axis AA′-BB′).
The motion of the heart H′ and the variation in the shape of the heart H′ during contraction and expansion is complex. The amount of motion varies considerably throughout the heart H′. The motion includes a component which is parallel to the axis AA′-BB′ (conveniently referred to as longitudinal expansion or contraction). The motion also includes a component perpendicular to the axis AA′-BB′ (conveniently referred to as circumferential expansion or contraction).
Having described a healthy heart H′ during systole (FIG. 1) and diastole (FIG. 1A), comparison can now be made with a heart deformed by congestive heart disease. Such a heart H is shown in systole in FIG. 2 and in diastole in FIG. 2A. All elements of diseased heart H are labeled identically with similar elements of healthy heart H′ except only for the omission of the apostrophe in order to distinguish diseased heart H from healthy heart H′.
Comparing, FIGS. 1 and 2 (showing hearts H′ and H during systole), the lower portion LP of the diseased heart H has lost the tapered conical shape of the lower portion LP′ of the healthy heart H′. Instead, the lower portion LP of the diseased heart H dilates outwardly between the apex A and the A-V groove AVG. So deformed, the diseased heart H during systole (FIG. 2) resembles the healthy heart H′ during diastole (FIG. 1A). During diastole (FIG. 2A), the deformation is even more extreme.
As a diseased heart H enlarges from the representation of FIGS. 1 and 1A to that of FIGS. 2 and 2A, the heart H becomes a progressively less efficient pump. Therefore, the heart H requires more energy to pump the same amount of blood. Continued progression of the disease results in the heart H being unable to supply adequate blood to the patient's body and the patient becomes symptomatic of cardiac insufficiency.
For ease of illustration, the progression of congestive heart disease has been illustrated and described with reference to a progressive dilation of the lower portion LP of the heart H. While such enlargement of the lower portion LP is most common and troublesome, enlargement of the upper portion UP may also occur.
In addition to cardiac insufficiency, the enlargement of the heart H can lead to valvular disorders. As the circumference of the valvular annulus VA increases, the leaflets of the valves TV and MV may spread apart. After a certain amount of enlargement, the spreading may be so severe the leaflets cannot completely close. Incomplete closure results in valvular regurgitation contributing to an additional degradation in cardiac performance. While circumferential enlargement of the valvular annulus VA may contribute to valvular dysfunction as described, the separation of the valve leaflets is most commonly attributed to deformation of the geometry of the heart H.
Patients suffering from CHF are commonly grouped into four classes (i.e., Classes I, II, III and IV). In the early stages (e.g., Classes I and II), drug therapy is the most commonly prescribed treatment. Drug therapy treats the symptoms of the disease and may slow the progression of the disease. However, drugs may have adverse side effects. There is no cure for CHF; even with drug therapy, the disease will progress.
CHF is encountered with increasing frequency. Most of this increase can be attributed to the aging population. An estimated 4-5 million people in the United States have CHF with 400,000 new cases annually. This is an estimated 2,000 new cases annually per 1.5 million people. For those with advanced CHF, mortality is at an extremely high level with a 1-year mortality rate of 66%, and a 2-year mortality rate of 82%. The survival rate in patients with new onset heart failure after acute myocardial infarction is even lower, with only a small minority remaining alive after five years.
Thirty years ago, surgeons began actively developing techniques to treat pre-end stage CHF. Between 1967 and 1980, three unique clinical techniques were developed: heart transplantation, a mechanical assist system, and the artificial heart. The only permanent treatment for congestive heart disease is heart transplant.
Between 1985 and 1998, three other clinical options were developed: cardiomyoplasty, partial left ventriculectomy, and mechanical support devices such as plastic ventricular binding. Cardiomyoplasty is a treatment for earlier stage congestive heart disease (e.g., as early as Class III dilated cardiomyopathy). In this procedure, the latissimus dorsi muscle (taken from the patient's back) is wrapped around the heart and chronically paced synchronously with ventricular systole. Pacing of the muscle results in muscle contraction to assist the contraction of the heart during systole.
Even though cardiomyoplasty has demonstrated symptomatic improvement, studies suggest the procedure only minimally improves cardiac performance. The procedure is highly invasive requiring harvesting a patient's muscle and an open chest approach (i.e., sternotomy) to access the heart. Furthermore, the procedure is expensive, requires costly cardiomyostimulators, and is complicated. For example, it is difficult to adequately wrap the muscle around the heart with a satisfactory fit. Also, if adequate blood flow is not maintained to the wrapped muscle, the muscle may necrose. The muscle may stretch after wrapping, reducing its constraining benefits. Further, the muscle is generally not susceptible to post-operative adjustment. Finally, the muscle may fibrose and adhere to the heart causing undesirable constraint on the contraction of the heart during systole.
Partial left ventriculectomy is a surgical technique that includes dissecting and removing portions of the left ventricles in order to reduce heart volume. This radical new and experimental procedure subject to substantial controversy. Furthermore, the procedure is highly invasive, risky and expensive, and commonly includes other expensive procedures such as a concurrent heart valve replacement. This treatment is limited to Class IV patients, and accordingly, provides no hope to patients facing ineffective drug treatment prior to Class IV. If the procedure fails, emergency heart transplant is the only available option.
Despite the recent innovations, cardiac transplantation remains the technique of choice for the treatment of CHF. To qualify, a patient must be in the later stage of the disease (e.g., Classes III and IV, with Class IV patients given priority for transplant). Such patients are extremely sick individuals. Class III patients have marked physical activity limitation, and Class IV patients are symptomatic even at rest. Unfortunately, there is an inadequate supply of transplantable hearts for CHF patients. This increases the need for treatments that can bridge heart function between the time a heart is needed to the time a transplantable heart is available.
Mechanical support devices such as prosthetic heart binding are primarily used in intermediate procedures for treating congestive heart disease. Prosthetic cardiac binding is a procedure for applying a girdle to support a dilated heart. While still experimental, cardiac binding has promise for CHF patients.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,343, dated Dec. 30, 1997, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,528, dated Sep. 1, 1998, teach a passive jacket to constrain cardiac expansion during diastole. These cardiac constraint devices can be placed on an enlarged heart and snugly fitted during diastole. However, such bindings are non-flexible and compress the diastolic heart at a constant pressure. If the diastolic heart is too tightly compressed during a single step procedure, it will likely arrest. Alternatively, if the diastolic heart is too weakly compressed during the single step procedure, initial positive results will revert to baseline heart failure after only several days. Performing multiple heart surgeries to gradually increase the pressure is not feasible.
A more flexible device is that seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,648, dated Feb. 27, 2001. This device is a knit "jacket" that can be loosely slipped onto the heart. The heart may be pre-shrunk prior to placement of the device, or the device may be fitted on the heart without pre-shrinking the heart. The device is adjusted to a snug fit on the heart during diastole. Even though the device is more flexible, the disadvantage of this device is that it cannot be readjusted at a later date.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,820 dated Mar. 27, 2001, to Kazi, discloses a device for supporting cardiac function that is adaptable to the hemodynamic changes of the heart after surgery. However, this device is limited to only a selective part of the left ventricle of the heart, and only assists the heart during ventricle systole (contraction). The Kazi device does nothing for a failed heart during ventricular diastole because it cannot provide compression during diastole.
Accordingly, a need exists for a heart-binding device that can incrementally add compression to a failed heart during diastole to adjust to the hemodynamic changes of the heart over time.
A surgical method and device are disclosed for treating congestive heart disease. In general, an adaptive constraining device is placed on the heart. The device is a binding that covers the left and right ventricles, and which has an expandible chamber adjacent to each ventricle. The device allows the gradual increase of compression on the dilated heart while administering separate loads on the left and right ventricles. The gradual increase allows the heart to be hemodynamically remodeled so that the blood flow through the heart becomes more normal without the problems associated with the application of one-step compression.
By improving the hemodynamic function of the diseased heart by one-third to one-half, a reduction in the rate of one-year mortality for the patient is expected. In addition, days of hospitalization per year, and costs to government health systems for these patients, may be decreased by 75% or more due to reduced dependence on expensive drug therapy, improved mental function, and improved lifestyle.
While the present invention is particularly useful for case of heart failure, other applications are possible and references to use with diastolic heart failure of the ventricles should not be deemed to limit the application of the present invention. The present invention may be advantageously adapted for use where similar performance capabilities and characteristics are desired. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional front view of a normal human heart during systole;
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional front view of the human heart of FIG. 1 during diastole;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of a human heart during systole and deformed by congestive heart disease;
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional front view of the human heart of FIG. 2 during diastole;
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the adaptive device of the present invention fit onto a human heart;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view with the device shown in FIG. 3 opened to reveal the treated heart;
FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the open device shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the open device shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of an evenly-inflated device wrapped around a heart; and
FIG. 8A is a schematic side elevation of the open device shown in FIG. 4, and equal pressure exerted by each chamber;
FIG. 8B is a schematic side elevation of the open device shown in FIG. 8A with a greater pressure on one chamber;
FIG. 8C is a schematic side elevation of the open device shown in FIG. 8A with a greater pressure on one chamber;
FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 7, wherein one chamber of the device is inflated more than the other chamber;
FIG. 10 is an alternative embodiment of the invention having a single ventricular chamber;
FIG. 11 is a chart showing left ventricular ejection fraction versus various levels of ventricular compression;
FIG. 12 is a chart showing left ventricular end diastolic volume versus various levels of ventricular compression;
FIG. 13 is a chart showing left ventricular end diastolic area versus various levels of ventricular compression;
FIG. 14 is a chart showing left ventricular end systolic volume versus various levels of ventricular compression;
FIG. 15 is a chart showing left ventricular end systolic area versus various levels of ventricular compression; and
FIG. 16 is a chart showing right atrium pressure versus various levels of ventricular compression;
A treatment method and device for the treatment of CHF are described. The cardiac constraint device 10 shown in FIG. 3 is an adaptive binding of biologically compatible material, such as plastics used for surgical grade tubing, intravenous bags or the like. The device 10 partially covers the left and right ventricles, and gradually increases compression on the dilated heart by applying separate loads on the left and right ventricles. The device 10 is generally sized for the heart H′ to be constrained within a particular volume 16. The device 10 can be wrapped around the heart H′ and sutured together as described herein.
With reference now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the cardiac constraint device 10 is shown as a jacket 12 of flexible yet non-distendible, biologically-compatible material, such as the type of plastic used in surgical implants or intravenus bags. The shape of device 10 can be varied widely, and should not be limited to the shape shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The interior side 14 of device 10 is an inner distendible membrane or wall 16. Wall 16 is divided by a seam 17 to create two separate chambers, namely a left chamber 18 and a right chamber 20. Each of a pair of supply tubes 22 a, 22 b is attached to respective chambers 18, 20. These supply tubes 22 a, 22 b allow liquid to be selectively introduced to or removed from one or both chambers 18, 20. A margin 32 is provided around the outer edges 30 of each chamber, to permit adjustability of size of the device upon installation. In the most preferred embodiment, the margin 32 is about 3 cm. wide. This margin 32 is preferably neither inflatable nor stretchable to any significant degree. Margin 32 is trimmable and allows the device to be custom fit with respect to a heart H to be treated.
Referring now to FIG. 4, each chamber 18, 20 is positioned to wrap around and over each ventricle so that in use, the left chamber 18 is adjacent to left ventricle LV and the right chamber 20 is adjacent the right ventricle RV. The device 10 has a length L between the upper end 40 and lower end 42. The upper end 40 of the device 10 preferably extends to the A-V groove, AVG. The lower end 42 preferably extends to a position in the lower portion LP to at least partially constrain the lower ventricular extremities located beyond dashed line LE′.
Referring now to FIG. 7, each chamber 18, 20 is in fluid communication with a respective non-distendible bladder 50 a and 50 b by means of respective supply tubes 22 a and 22 b. Each bladder 50, supply tube 22 a, 22 b and chamber 18, 20 are completely filled with a liquid, preferably sterile saline, so that no air bubbles are present. The bladders 50, 50 b are located inside the patient's body, just underneath the skin. Thus, the pressure that device 10 can exert on a heart can be adjusted by injecting additional liquid or removing a desired amount of liquid from one or both of the bladders 50 a, 50 b. The biologically compatible material from which bladders 50 a, 50 b are constructed is self-sealing so that a puncture from a hypodermic needle stick will not cause the bladder contents to leak into the patient's body.
In operation, the differing stiffness and distention of the inner wall 16 of each chamber and the jacket 12 enables "heart remodeling." Once device 10 is wrapped around the heart to match the heart's initial volume and sutured together, the jacket 12 does not distend, but rather acts as an unyielding barrier to prevent any heart dilation. The distendible inner wall 16 conforms to the heart's surface. One or both chambers are filled with increasing amounts of liquid to exert increasing pressure on the heart. The outer, non-distensible wall of jacket 12 resists the additional pressure, while the inner, distensible walls of chambers 18, 20 distend with each selective increase or decrease in pressure on the walls of right and left ventricles.
The binding device 10 is installed surgically, preferably with a medial sternotomy without bypass. Opened jacket 12 is placed behind the heart with the left chamber 18 close to the left ventricle LV and the right chamber 20 close to the right ventricle RV. Jacket 12 is then wrapped about the heart and the two adjacent margins 32 sutured together using sutures 58 to compress the heart just above the anterior border between the left and right ventricles. Any excess material from margin 32 can be trimmed off after suturing is complete, leaving edges 60, 62 (FIG. 3).
Referring now to FIG. 9, after the jacket 10 is positioned on the heart H, the upper edge 40 of the device 10 is preferably secured to the pericardium (not shown) using sutures (or other fastening means such as staples). Specifically, device 10 is preferably sutured to the pericardium at suture locations S circumferentially spaced along the upper end 40. While a surgeon may elect to add additional suture locations to prevent shifting of the device 10 after placement, the number of such locations S is preferably limited so that the device 10 does not restrict contraction of the heart H during systole.
Once in place, the decrease of left and right ventricular end-diastolic volume is monitored by echocardiography, or the like. Next, liquid is introduced into one or both of the bladders 50 a, 50 b and consequently into chambers 18 and/or 20 to change chamber pressure according to the hemodynamic data and cardiac function.
Using pulmonary vein pressure, central venous pressure, and right and left ventricular end-diastolic volume and pressure as indicators of the amount of heart compression, both chambers 18, 20 of the device 10 are filled with the appropriate amount of liquid. After several days, as the heart adapts to the compression applied by device 10, it tends to shrink, which has the effect of reducing the pressure exerted by the device 10 on the heart H. Thus, filling of one or both of the chambers 18, 20 is repeated to further decrease heart dilatation. Each subsequent filling will re-exert pressure on the right and left ventricles, which will allow for the heart's adaptive cardiac remodeling to a heart sized in the normal range. Adaptive cardiac remodeling is achieved by filling the chambers repeatedly to decrease the heart's dilatation gradually.
In another embodiment of the present invention, designated as device 100 in FIG. 10, there is a single ventricular chamber instead of two. The nondistendible jacket 102 has at least a partial trimmable margin 104 on the jacket edges. As in the other embodiment, the jacket 102 is adapted to wrap around a heart so that the ventricular chamber is adjacent to at least one ventricule of the heart. A bladder 106 has a communicable connection to the ventricular chamber 108 that is formed by a distendible membrane. A liquid supply can flow from the bladder to the ventricular chamber to increase or decrease pressure applied to the heart by the device 100. The same materials may be used to manufacture this embodiment as in the previous embodiment of device 10. Device 100 operated essentially the same as device 10, any may have chambers that cover both the right and left ventricles, or just one ventricle.
A model of biventricular heart failure was created by adminstering arteriovenous anastomosis ("AVA") and/or doxorubucin ("DEX") injection to dogs. The adaptive binding technique of the present invention was performed after hemodynamic examinations confirmed congestive heart failure in the dogs.
Arteriovenous anastamosis is created in a dog using the following procedure. An incision (10 cm) is made on the right side of the dog's neck just above the clavicle along the sternocleidomastoiodeus muscle. The right jugular vein and right common carotid artery is isolated, and a side-by-side anastomosis (8-10 mm) is created. Patency of the anastomoses is evaluated by auscultation (to detect continuous systolic/diastolic murmur) and palpation (to detect systolic thrill).
Cardiac binding is preferably performed eight weeks after the creation of the arteriovenous anastomosis. To perform cardiac binding, the animal is preferably placed in a supine position and a medial sternotomy is performed. The pericardium is opened and the heart and may be suspended in a cradle. A device 10 is shaped and sized to fit the heart by trimming margin 32. The heart is lifted gently and the device 10 wrapped around both the ventricles, preferably up to the pericardial reflection. As previously described, the left chamber is placed close to the left ventricle, and the right chamber close to the right ventricle. Two lateral ends of device 10 are sutured together to compress the heart just above the anterior border between the left and right ventricles. Preferably, the binding is made tight enough to follow the contour of the heart without altering hemodynamic parameters, and the free upper edge of the pouch is sutured to the pericardial flap.
The subject's heart is compressed gradually with a series of recompressions. A series of hemodynamic examinations may be performed after every heart recompression (preferably with two-dimensional echocardiography).
FIGS. 11-16 show experimental data collected from 6 dogs having a cardiac binding device 10. All data is represented as an average with a standard deviation. After the onset of heart failure (referred to as the baseline), the dogs demonstrated a considerably decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (from 0.61�0.03 to 0.28�0.04, p<0.05), increased left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV) (from 19.7�4.8 ml to 38.2�3.1 ml, p<0.05) and left ventricular end diastolic area (LVEDA) (from 8.6�1.5 cm2 to 16.6�2.4 cm2, p<0.05). Also demonstrated was an increased left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV) (from 7.6�0.9 ml to 27.5�3.1 ml, p<0.05) left ventricle end systolic area (LVESA) (from 3.5�0.6 cm2 to 12.6�1.4 cm2, p<0.05); and increased right atrium pressure (RAP) (from 7.1�0.5 mm Hg to 14.3�2.2 mm Hg, p<0.05).
30 minutes after cardiac binding was placed on the dog's heart, the LVEF improved to 0.35�0.04, LVEDV decreased to 34.7�2.6 ml, LVEDA decreased to 15.1�1.9 em2; LVESV decreased to 22.5�2.4 ml, LVESA decreased to 10.3�1.1 cm2, and RAP decreased to 13.1�1.9 mm Hg (for all parameters, p was >0.05).
Sixty minutes after a total amount of 70 ml of solution was added to chambers 18, 20, the LVEF increased to 0.42�0.02 (p<0.05 vs. binding only and vs. heart failure), LVEDV decreased to 30.1�3.6 ml (p>0.05 vs. binding only, but p<0.05 vs. heart failure), LVEDA decreased to 13.1�1.6 cm2 (same p value), LVESV decreased to 17.4�2.0 ml (p<0.05 vs. binding only and heart failure), LVESA decreased to 8.0�0.7 cm2 (same p value), and RAP decreased to 10.8�0.9 mm Hg (p>0.05 vs. binding only, but <0.05 vs. heart failure). This data demonstrates that the improvement of LVEF is achieved by improving systolic function rather than diastolic function.
Sixty minutes after adding another 30 ml of liquid to chamber 18,20, all of the hemodynamic parameters improved. However, the results were statistically insignificant (p>0.05 vs. 60 ml liquid): 0.47�0.04 (LVEF), 27.2�2.3 ml (LVEDV), 12.1�0.9 cm2 (LVEDA), 14.4�1.8 ml (LVESV), 6.6�1.0 cm2 (LVESA), and 10,7�1.3 mm Hg (RAP). However, diastolic function was improved as compared to the initial binding (p<0.05).
An additional 20 ml of liquid was added to chambers 18, 20 liquid for a total of 120 ml. After sixty minutes, the additional liquid also improved all hemodynamic parameters, but was statistically insignificant (p>0.05) as compared to the previous administration of liquid.
Yet another 30 ml of liquid was added to chambers 18,20 for a total 150 ml. Sixty minutes after this liquid was added, the hemodynamics parameters of the dog's heart changed. Compression of the heart caused a decrease in the LVEDV (22.9�2.7 ml) and LVEDA (9.9�1.6 cm2). However, the systolic function and RAP showed a reverse in the previous improvement: the LVESV increased to 15.1�2.1 ml, LVESA increased to 6.9�1.3 cm2, and RAP increased to 13.6�1.8 mm Hg. The impaired systolic function immediately influenced the LVEF which decreased up to 0.34�0.06 (same as after binding only). Thus, compressing the heart very rapidly (over several hours) can lead to deterioration of heart function. It is preferable that the adaptive heart remodeling be performed over a period of weeks after the heart binding is placed in the heart.
Despite the deterioration due to rapid compression, the hemodynamic parameters substantially improved when 30 ml of liquid were removed from chambers 18, 20, so that only 120 ml remained therein. Generally, the data is similar to when 120 ml was first applied to the chambers. Thus, the hemodynamic parameters may show improvement after over-compression of the heart has occurred using the heart binding.
Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is perceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments set forth above. Accordingly, it is recognized that modifications may be made by one skilled in the art of the invention without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention and therefore, the invention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to the subject matter of the appended claims.
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|Jarvik; Robert
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|Shape memory devices and methods for reshaping heart anatomy
|Jul 30, 2007
|Jan 18, 2011
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for the modulation of cardiac end diastolic volume
|Jul 3, 2007
|Jan 25, 2011
|Micardia Corporation
|Methods and systems for cardiac remodeling via resynchronization
|Apr 6, 2006
|May 3, 2011
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for proactive modulation of cardiac strain patterns
|Jun 27, 2003
|Jun 7, 2011
|The General Hospital Corporation
|Systems for and methods of repair of atrioventricular valve regurgitation and reversing ventricular remodeling
|Jan 11, 2007
|Jan 31, 2012
|Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
|Method and apparatus for a fastener and a fastener cover including a sealable opening
|Sep 30, 2008
|May 29, 2012
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for proactive modulation of cardiac strain patterns
|Aug 1, 2003
|Oct 23, 2012
|Levine Robert A
|Cardiac devices and methods for minimally invasive repair of ischemic mitral regurgitation
|Jul 28, 2008
|May 21, 2013
|National Cheng Kung University
|Dual-pulsation bi-ventricular assist device
|Jul 28, 2008
|Aug 6, 2013
|National Cheng Kung University
|Ventricular assist device
|Jun 18, 2010
|Sep 3, 2013
|National Cheng Kung University
|Cardiac compression system
|Jul 22, 2010
|Feb 3, 2015
|The Texas A&M University System
|Biphasic and dynamic adjustable support devices and methods with assist and recoil capabilities for treatment of cardiac pathologies
|Dec 19, 2014
|Feb 16, 2016
|The Texas A&M University System
|Biphasic and dynamic adjustable support devices and methods with assist and recoil capabilities for treatment of cardiac pathologies
|Oct 17, 2012
|Dec 6, 2016
|The Texas A&M University System
|Deployment methods and mechanisms for minimally invasive implantation of heart contacting cardiac devices
|Feb 4, 2015
|May 9, 2017
|The Texas A&M University System
|Diastolic recoil method and device for treatment of cardiac pathologies
|Aug 13, 2003
|Jun 24, 2004
|The General Hospital Corporation
|Cardiac devices and methods for percutaneous repair of atrioventricular valves
|May 31, 2005
|Jan 19, 2006
|Micardia Corporation
|Shape memory devices and methods for reshaping heart anatomy
|May 31, 2005
|Jan 19, 2006
|Micardia Corporation
|Magnetic devices and methods for reshaping heart anatomy
|Aug 1, 2003
|May 4, 2006
|The General Hospital Corporation
|Cardiac devices and methods for minimally invasive repair of ischemic mitral regurgitation
|Apr 6, 2006
|Nov 8, 2007
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for proactive modulation of cardiac strain patterns
|Jul 30, 2007
|Jan 24, 2008
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for the Modulation of Cardiac End Diastolic Volume
|Oct 22, 2007
|Feb 14, 2008
|Micardia Corporation
|Shape memory devices and methods for reshaping heart anatomy
|Jul 3, 2007
|Feb 28, 2008
|Micardia Corporation
|Methods and systems for cardiac remodeling via resynchronization
|Jan 11, 2007
|Mar 13, 2008
|Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
|Method and apparatus for a fastener and a fastener cover including a sealable opening
|Oct 11, 2006
|Apr 17, 2008
|Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
|Method and apparatus for passive left atrial support
|Jul 28, 2008
|Dec 4, 2008
|Pong-Jeu Lu
|Dual-Pulsation Bi-Ventricular Assist Device
|Jul 28, 2008
|Dec 11, 2008
|Pong-Jeu Lu
|Ventricular Assist Device
|Sep 30, 2008
|Feb 5, 2009
|The Texas A&M University System
|Device for Proactive Modulation of Cardiac Strain Patterns
|Sep 7, 2007
|Jan 21, 2010
|Fruland Benjamin R
|Method and apparatus for a two-way torque limited wrench
|Mar 16, 2009
|Sep 16, 2010
|Pacesetter, Inc.
|System and method for controlling rate-adaptive pacing based on a cardiac force-frequency relation detected by an implantable medical device
|Jun 18, 2010
|Oct 7, 2010
|Pong-Jeu Lu
|Cardiac Compression System
|Jul 22, 2010
|Jan 27, 2011
|The Texas A&M University System
|Biphasic and Dynamic Adjustable Support Devices and Methods with Assist and Recoil Capabilities for Treatment of Cardiac Pathologies
|Jul 22, 2010
|Mar 10, 2011
|The Texas A&M University System
|Biphasic and Dynamic Adjustable Support Devices and Methods with Assist and Recoil Capabilities for Treatment of Cardiac Pathologies
|Mar 15, 2013
|Jul 10, 2014
|Stephen Manuel Wildhirt
|Supporting a heart
|Jun 27, 2003
|Oct 5, 2005
|J. Luis Guerrero
|Systems for and methods of atrioventricular valve regurgitation and reversing ventricular remodeling
|Jun 27, 2003
|Jul 11, 2007
|Gen Hospital Corp
|Systems for and methods of atrioventricular valve regurgitation and reversing ventricular remodeling
|Jun 27, 2003
|Jan 8, 2004
|Levine Robert A
|Ventricular remodeling for artioventricular valve regurgitation
|Jun 27, 2003
|Jul 28, 2005
|J Luis Guerrero
|Ventricular remodeling for artioventricular valve regurgitation
|Apr 6, 2006
|Nov 22, 2007
|Texas A & M Univ Sys
|Device for proactive modulation of cardiac strain patterns
|Jul 30, 2008
|Feb 5, 2009
|The Texas A & M University System
|Device for the modulation of cardiac end diastolic volume
|Jul 30, 2008
|Apr 2, 2009
|Texas A & M Univ Sys
|Device for the modulation of cardiac end diastolic volume
|Jul 22, 2010
|Jun 30, 2011
|The Texas A&M University System
|Biphasic and dynamic adjustable support devices and methods with assist and recoil capabilities for treatment of cardiac pathologies
|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Jan 8, 2002
Owner name: HEART CARE ASSOCIATES, LLC, WISCONSIN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CHEKANOV, VALERI S.;REEL/FRAME:012473/0244
Effective date: 20020102
|May 15, 2006
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Nov 8, 2010
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Apr 1, 2011
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|May 24, 2011
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20110401

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Jodha Akbar 7th April written episode: Rukaiya and Maha Manga are too excited, as Akbar has told Jodha to leave the palace. They never expected such a quick result of the conspiracy. Jodha murmurs in her sleep that she should tell the truth to Akbar, that the man was her brother Sujhamal. Again she thinks that she will not break the promise that she has made to Sujhamal.
Jodha faces a conflict in herself. Once she accepts that she has started loving Akbar, again she denies it. She is questioned by herself, why she is tolerating the allegation against her, when for a Rajbanshi lady, her honour is the most precious thing.
Moti comes to Jodha and finds her sitting on the bed at night. She tells her that Akbar is extremely angry and Sujahmal will face a stringent punishment. She insists that Jodha should tell him the truth.
Also Read: Jodha Akbar: 8th April; Jodha, Jalal Kiss Away Misunderstandings And Tears
Jodha decides that she must solve the misunderstanding. She thinks that she cannot allow her character and her relationship with Sujhamal be blemished, to keep her word. Maha Manga stops her from meeting Akbar.
Maha Manga tells Akbar that Jodha wants to meet him. Akbar refuses to meet Jodha. Hamida Begum and Salima Begum strongly believe that Jodha is innocent. They think that the truth will be revealed soon.
Akbar is told that Dilawar has fled. He rushes to catch him. He sees a heap of dead soldiers outside and becomes desperate to kill the man. When Akbar follows Sujhamal and becomes isolated, Sharifuddin targets his life.
Jodha Not Given A Chance To Speak
Jodha would not be given a chance to explain herself. And since she has given her word to her brother she keeps the information to herself.
Jodha Says She Loves The Person
When Jalal asks Jodha to reply in one word if she loves the person who just left. She says yes. This brings out the worst in Jalal.
She Knows Him From Childhood
Jalal asks her if she knew the person before their marriage, Jodha says yes and that she knew him from her childhood.
Jodha's Internal Fight
Jodha would fight herself deciding whether to tell Jalal the truth about Sujhamal or not.
Maha Manga Stops Jodha
When Jodha tries to reach Jalal to confess the truth, Maha Manga stops her from doing it.
Jodha Stopped
Jodha tries desperately to reach Jalal but Maha Manga says she will talk to Jalal and calm him enough to talk to her.
Jalal Shocked
Jalal would be shocked to hear that Dilawar Khan has escaped. And when he sees the destruction he has caused, he would be shocked.
Dilawar Khan Escapes
Dilawar Khan would have killed hundreds of Mughal soldiers and would have escaped.


text:
Is it an unreasonable expectation to expect to find a towel hanging on the rod when you go into the bathroom to wash your hands? My husband says no. I say yes. In our home, with 4 boys, three who have ADHD, it is not reasonable to expect that this will occur.
Each boy in our family has his own "towel persona." The oldest, 19, cannot remember to take a towel into the bathroom when he showers. He will grab whatever is on the rod, use it and leave it either on the bathroom floor, in a kitchen chair, or on the floor of his bedroom. The next time he showers, he will need a new towel but will not realize this until after he is in the shower.
My 13-year-old always remembers to take a new towel in with him, but after the shower he will take it into his room and hang it on his closet. The next time he showers, he does not remember to take that towel in with him, but grabs a new one. After the shower, when he finds that he already has a towel on his closet door, the old towel ends up on the floor.
The 10-year-old needs supervision while he is in the shower, so his dad makes sure he reuses his towel and hangs it on the back of his bedroom door. The reason for the supervision is because when he was showering on his own, he would turn the water on, forget why he was in the bathroom, and either shave his hair with a razor, dump decorative rocks down the sink, etch a new pattern into the tile with a nail, or fill spare soap dishes up with water and put them in a drawer.
My 13-year-old stepson seems to be the only one who knows what to do with his own towel and the towel that belongs on the rack. Since he does not live here full-time, it is only when he is here that we can expect to find a towel on the rod.
Handwashing is another story. All of the children are sent in to wash their hands before meals. This is the point at which my husband finds that when he goes in after them, there is no towel on the rod.
1. There is no handwashing going on at all
2. Whatever towel that was on the rod gets used and tossed on the floor
3. The children are content to pick up a wet towel from the floor to dry their hands
4. They use their shirts and pants.
Since nobody who lives here will take responsibility for missing towels or those left on the floor, the children have concocted a story in which my stepson remotely controls the towel on the rack, much like 'log me in' on the computer, and through a hole in the wall, senses when a towel is on the rack, then knocks it off from his home, 45 minutes away.
Since I cannot see the forest through the trees, my friend suggested I buy the new Kleenex-brand paper towels. With this innovative invention, one can put the cleverly-shaped box of paper towels between the towel rod and the wall. A fresh paper towel is always ready when you need it! I decided to do this recently as a birthday surprise for my husband. On his birthday, when he went to wash up for dinner, he found this handy-dandy invention with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY sticker on it! We thought all of our problems were solved! Instead we found that the box lasted two days and instead of wet towels on the floor, we now have a pile of paper towels on the floor because there were too many to fit into the small bathroom trashcan and nobody was willing to empty the trashcan.
How do you handle the towel situation (and others like this) in your home? Anyone? Anyone?!
About Emmie
I am a mom of two boys, ages 16 and 22, both with ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression. I have remarried and my husband has 2 boys, ages 13 and 16. The 13 year old lives with us, and has some behavioral problems and attachment issues. There is always something happening at our house!


text:
Results 1 to 6 of 6
August 10th, 2002, 04:02 PM #1
- Join Date
- January 18th, 2005
- Posts
- 399
I'm not an aff so it wouldn't do me any good but I think it'd be useful to any aff who's considering bulk emailers - which are spammers, which aren't.
They ALL say they're opt-in but my experience is there are very few who are telling the truth about that.
Might save some aff from losing a big commission check for spamming if he had a list to check first.
August 10th, 2002, 04:07 PM #2
- Join Date
- January 18th, 2005
- Location
- The Swamp
- Posts
- 7,503
Also a list of merchants who are fronts for spam brokers. That would help aff's from unwittingly promoting a site whose true business is the selling of email addresses. Also wouldn't hurt to list those which bundle parasiteware also.
August 10th, 2002, 04:24 PM #3
- Join Date
- January 18th, 2005
- Posts
- 399
Haiko posted a list of *programs that carry* Parasiteware(TM) (am I supposed to or not supposed to say (TM)?) but it was in a thread somewhere so I have no idea where - I guess a search might find it, but it should be a "steady link" (if that makes sense, I may have just made up the term).
edited to add the ** stuff
[ 08-10-2002: Message edited by: jaybat ]
August 20th, 2002, 11:58 AM #4
- Join Date
- January 18th, 2005
- Posts
- 2,419
I'd like a new section added on this and other spamming topics in "the Academy" under "Email Spamming and Spammers".
I have seen several posts floating around on people having their email addresses ripped off their site by robots and used by spammers and now I'm looking for it. This is a topic many would greatly appreciate and benefit from.
One other topic I'd suggest for the academy would be "Counters and Web tracking". It also has various posts in multiple places. A dedicated section for it might deserve consideration.
August 20th, 2002, 02:00 PM #5
Here is one thread:http://www.abestweb.com/cgi-b in/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=25&t=000068
And here's a famous one:http://www.abestweb.com/cgi-bin/ ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=50&t=000002
I would love to see a reference to spamming/spammers. It would be a shame to see someone new here get cheated or used some list broker, rubbing his hands together in a dark corner somewhere.
September 2nd, 2002, 09:02 PM #6
Haiko
The secret of success is constancy of purpose. ~ Disraeli

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text:
VideoHive Boxes Showcase 162375
After Effects Project Files \ Video Displays \ Corporate
Boxes Showcase 162375 by sonorafilms @ VideoHive
After Effects Project Files \ Video Displays \ Corporate
After Effects Version: CS4, CS5 File Size: 11.6mb Frame Rate: 25, 29.97 Requires Plugins: No Resolution: 1280x720
This is a CS4 /CS5 project with a clean and readable design, ideal for video or photo presentations. Its well organized and very user friendly.
Main features
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Modular structure
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HD resolution (1280X720)
Free audio track
If you like my work please rate it and if you have any trouble customizing the template drop me an email through my profile page
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text:
We Are Messengers – Everything Comes Alive
Article data
Main article content
Irish act We Are Messengers currently have the #1 Christian song in Australia on the TCM Chart. The band's frontman Darren Mulligan skyped in to chat with Cam about the achievement and the impact the song has had around the world.
Listen as Darren also explains some of his personal journey turning his life around, and what it was like moving his young family from Ireland to the USA to pursue his musical dream.


text:
Holly Randell
(Scottish Photographer)
- Date of Birth:
- April 5, 1997
- Nationality:
- Scottish
- Quotes Submitted:
- 1
Holly Randell's favorite quotes
sorted by Date, Tag, Author A-Z, Submitted Quotes
- Alone
- Ambition
- Anxiety
- Beauty
- Childhood
- Confidence
- Death
- Depression
- Drive
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Einstein
- Evil
- Friendship
- Funny
- Funny Convince
- Generation
- Hollywood
- Human
- Idea
- Illness
- Imagination
- Imperfection
- Injustice
- Kurt
- Life
- Life Lessons
- Lives
- Loneliness
- Lost
- Love
- Lust Love
- Madness
- Makeup
- Marilyn Monroe
- Music
- Pain
- Peace
- People
- Poetry
- Protest
- Reasons
- Reign
- Responsibility
- Smile
- Time
- Ugly
- Vain
- Wander
- War
- World
"Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
"Imperfection is beauty. Madness is genius and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous then absolutly boring."
"Without depression and anxiety, I would not be who I am; a person who can see beauty and humour in the smallest and least likely of things; appreciating others kindness tenfold. When the black clouds of despair descend and life seems pointless I try to remember that one day in the future, perhaps this very day, a gentle breeze will blow the clouds away and allow the sunshine in. When that happens the world is a new and magical place and I wish to live forever."


text:
Hi Rinnie,
I have only been into hospital for CF three times? I don't think that any of the times were for actual CF, i've had phneumonia, osteomyletis, peri-arthritis and Sudamonus. I swim heaps and do lots of sport. I've just recently got off 7 months of antibiotics. It seems that one thing after another just keeps coming at me. I go into the hospital for a breathing test, weight, height and just general checkup every three months. The hardest part i find is how to tell people who ask what your taking tablets for! My closest friends know and they respect it and sometimes help me to remember to take my medicines...which is great! My parents always go on how lucky I am to have only had a couple of problems. I havn't done physio in a while because the swimming seems to clear out my lungs well. Well hope that this has helped.
I've had my fair share of hospital appointments and visits. I didn't cope well with shared care between hospitals, and much preferred it just going to an ordinary CF unit, even though it is 2 hours away. While I hate the wards in my hospital though, it's my only choice at the moment, as it's dangerous for me to do home IV's. Although for my last stay, I was totally self-medicating, which went very well.
I find living with CF hard, made harder by raised CPK levels, which is currently stood at me having some form of Muscular Dystrophy, until they get the full results from a muscle biopsy they took a while ago. I end up feeling guilty that it's not just me having to cope wth my CF, but my boyfriend too.
I'm actually currently waiting for a taxi to take me up to the hospital, as I have stomach ache. I'd usually just let it go away, but I've had it for a few months, and Paul (the boyfriend) has been so worked up about it, he's had a panic attack yesterday at work, due to stress. Meaning I now have to go have it checked out
My treatment annoys me, there's far too much, it consits of:
Creon 10,000 at meal times, flucloxacillin, sertraline, salbutamol, vitamins A,D and E, Ursodeoxychloric acid, Colostin(promixin/colomycin) INeb nebuliser, domperidone, omeprazole, fresubin, seretide and physio therapy using a PEP mask.
Erm, I hope this is the sort of stuff you wanted. I wasn't sure.
I could talk about my CF and everything for ages,if I had a subject to start it on
Post Edited (Darkies Gem) : 2/13/2007 5:32:37 AM (GMT-7)
Hi Everyone,
We are a market research company located in the San Francisco Bay Area and looking to get in touch with those also in the same area. We are conducting a paid opinion discussion session with cystic fibrosis patients. If you are interested or know of anyone who may be interested please contact us at (510) 794-2990.
Thank you.


text:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jamar Beasley was in the midst of wrapping up the indoor soccer season with the Rockford Rampage when he got a phone call.
On the other end of the line was Wizards' assistant coach Zoran Savic, who had coached Beasley while manager of the Kansas City Comets.
"He just said, 'Hey, after your indoor season, we want to take a look at you,'" Beasley said.
It wasn't a contract offer. It wasn't even a sure thing. But it was an opportunity, a chance for Beasley to return to Major League Soccer after a nine-year hiatus spent dominating indoor leagues across the United States.
After training with the club for nearly three weeks, Kansas City announced today that Beasley had agreed to terms on an MLS contract. Midfielder Igor Kostrov was released to make room for the 30-year-old midfielder, who played for the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire from 1998 to 2001.
"I'm just so happy right now," said Beasley, whose younger brother, DaMarcus, was named to the US World Cup roster on Wednesday.
Beasley left MLS in 2001 to join Italian club Atletico Puteolana, but he spent only one year in Italy before returning home to play indoor soccer. Because of the layoff between stints playing outdoor professionally, Wizards manager Peter Vermes said the coaching staff's primary objective was to help him reacclimatize to the outdoor game.
"He was doing almost like an interval," Vermes said. "You're on for 45 seconds or a minute, and then you're off. We're on for 45 minutes. There is a big difference between the two."
Prior to joining the Wizards, Beasley visited his brother in Scotland, where DaMarcus was playing for Glasgow Rangers. When Savic spoke to Beasley to express the Wizards' interest, he asked if the midfielder was going to train with the team while he was overseas.
That suggestion prompted a phone call to DaMarcus, who helped arrange an ideal venue for Beasley to prepare himself mentally and physically for a trial with Kansas City.
"At first I was a little nervous being on the field with some of the best players in the world and Scotland," Beasley said. "My brother told me to just go out there and play like I know how to play."
The Wizards hope Beasley's game translates from the cramped confines of the indoor game to the open space and constant running that he'll find in MLS. Vermes said he hopes the speed and shiftiness Beasley has shown so far in training can translate into another experienced attacking option.
Beasley acknowledged he still has some work to do to improve his fitness level and needs time to get more comfortable with his teammates. But for now, he is just excited to be back in MLS and ready to prepare for any opportunity that presents itself.
"I just want to be that guy that whenever I'm called upon to get it done, gets in there and does the job," Beasley said.


text:
by Ali Gauhar
Pakistan has a woeful track record in its treatment of minorities. More often than not, we hear the leaders of this country and read in our mainstream media stories about the horrific atrocities being carried out by the Indian Army in Kashmir (as it should be reported and highlighted), but we often forget about Pakistan's minorities who are living in constant fear. It is crucial that we continue to bring Pakistan's shortcomings to the public's consciousness. Without identifying our weaknesses, we cannot improve the human condition, which is the core tenet of any civilized society.
One of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities are the transgender, also referred to as Khwaja Sira. To say that they have been marginalized is a massive understatement. The transgender community in Pakistan has been subject to abuse and neglect. Blue Chip spoke to Bijli and Rohshni, two transgender individuals who are striving to make a difference. They identified some important issues the transgender community faces.
Identity Cards:
In 2011, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that transgender people should be given Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs). However, it has made very little difference, mainly because transgender people have trouble getting their birth certificate. Bijli and Roshni are lucky enough to have ID cards. However, most Khwaja Sira do not have ID cards as they are unable to get a hold of their birth certificates. Without an ID card, they cannot travel or receive medical treatment. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 90% of the people who are transgender do not possess a CNIC. This is either because they do not have their father's name, or there is no option in the form that identifies their gender. Many do not have any documents as they were abandoned by their families when they were very young.
It is crucial that we find a way for transgender people to get ID cards without an original birth certificate. Since many transgender individuals live in poverty and work as sex workers, they are prone to a number of diseases, which is why it is of utmost importance that they receive medical treatment without being hassled. Finding a solution to this problem is the responsibility of the State. Simply issuing ID cards is clearly not enough. There are many Khwaja Sira who do not have their original birth certificates, and it is unlikely they will get it. It is vital that the State creates a substantive policy to resolve these complications.
However, we must point out that progress has been made in this area. Mansoor Ali Shah, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, ordered the concerned authorities to include transgender people in the 2017 Population Census. On April 2nd, 2017 the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) announced that it has registered at least 1,681 transgender persons across Pakistan. This is an extremely heartening sign and a step in the right direction.
During our interview, Bijli and Roshni told us that members of the transgender community find it difficult to attain a job because of their gender. Bijli and Roshni state that people look at them and feel uneasy. If society accepted transgender people, they would not have to turn to degrading professions just to survive. Stressing further, Bijli said: "We understand that many people feel awkward around us, but if we are given a chance and brought into the mainstream, we can make valuable contributions. I do not enjoy begging for a living. Every time I beg for money it makes me sad, but what choice do I have." One often wonders why Pakistan's economy cannot take off. The core problem many argue is that women and minorities, including the transgender community, are kept away from the workforce. It really is a sad state of affairs when bigotry keeps a country's economy from flourishing.
Lack of Respect:
"It hurts when people make fun of us. The verbal abuse that we receive is just as bad as being physically abused. Those scars can never heal. All we are asking for is to be treated like human beings" said Bijli, who is deeply saddened by the fact that her community faces constant torment.
She further stressed that not every transgender is a sex worker. "I understand that there are many in our community who sell their bodies for money and behave in a certain way that many find uncomfortable. This is only because we have been marginalized, which forces us towards undignified jobs," she said. It is ironic that there is a large market for Khwaja Sira in the skin trade given the fact that many view them as vile creatures.
Roshni added that she fails to understand why transgender people cannot be treated like human beings. "I have no idea why so many people are afraid of us. We, like everybody else, were made by the Almighty. We worship the same God everybody else worships.
So I would like to know what excuse people have for treating us like vermin," she said. Adding on, Roshni lamented that she finds it strange that people treat their dogs better than they treat transgender individuals. "I find it funny that dogs are given more respect than us. We are treated worse than animals. I see people kissing their dogs and showing them so much love. It would be refreshing if we got half that amount of respect."


text:
The process to achieve the global type approvals and country–specific certification services can be complex, bureaucratic, time consuming and expensive. It requires planning, patience and understanding as regulations and approval schemes are constantly evolving.
Regulatory approvals are legally required and must be followed, and depending upon the country you want to market your products in, the approvals and process can change from basic self-declaration or type approval to other, more complex approvals.
Getting a product approved for one market or another means you must understand each country's regulatory scheme and related requirements. It is important to acknowledge and plan for product approvals as they may require specific product labels, translations and/or statements in the user manual. You may need importer or in-country local representatives. You may need factory or individual shipment inspections. Depending on the country, local importers, subsidiaries or representatives may need to be involved in the approval process. Finally, there may be test requirements that overlap with other countries allowing for test lab economies of scale. Not considering these variables could be costly and delay time to market, resulting in lost revenue and market share growth.
Mandatory product approvals are required for your products to clear customs and for you to obtain a license for operation in that country.
Voluntary product approvals are needed to meet customer, distributor, and/or retainer purchasing requirements. Voluntary approvals can also help you establish a marketing advantage over other suppliers as well as demonstrate proof of compliance.
NTS' Global Market Access services are a robust solution to support international compliance and regulatory objectives on behalf of the manufacturer's global marketing effort. With an established worldwide network supporting market certifications in the Information Technology, Wireless and Telecom sectors, NTS can quickly and efficiently achieve market approvals for your international product deployment.
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Your dedicated project manager will support your application, manage your documentation control, support all logistics and keep you informed of the status and timelines of your approval efforts. Additionally, the approval team works with the NTS test lab to ensure all test program efficiencies can be identified – saving time and money in the testing and approval process.
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Many residents of Fredonia and even graduates of Fredonia State go on never having a clue that the campus they walked upon so easily was hand designed by one of the world's most renowned architets. Above are some of the buildings that Pei designed for the campus. First is Maytum Hall, the campus residences with suite style dorm rooms. Second is the Williams Center, where Jenny and I attended our Winter Ball freshmen year of high school. Next is the Reed Library with its iconic tower with study rooms overlooking the campus. (Also provides an awesome skate spot for those looking in WNY.) Finally is Rockefeller Art Center one of the most acousticly sound buildings I have ever stepped into.
Below are some of Pei's better known works, the Louvre Pyramid, the National Gallery of Art East Building, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is currently working on the NASCAR Hall of Fame due to open in 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina.


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Local housing allowance
From January 2012 the Government changed the rules that apply to single people who are aged under 35 who rent from a private landlord (not from a Housing Association). People in this age group may only be entitled to the lower rate of Housing Benefit / Local Housing Allowance for a room in shared accommodation.
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a flat rate allowance based on the rent levels for the area in which the person lives and how many people live with them. It is not based on the actual rent charged.
Prospective tenants will be able to shop around with their allowance. If the tenant finds a property they like with a rent that is more than their LHA then they will know how much extra they will have to pay.
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Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore has announced the exam dates for Common Admission Test (CAT 2013), which will be conducted in October-November 2013. The CAT aptitude test will be held from Wednesday, October 16, 2013 to Monday, November 11, 2013.
Common Aptitude Test 2013 is conducted by IIM-Indore for taking admission to various management programs of IIMs.
Eligibility for CAT Exam 2013:
- The candidate must hold a bachelor's degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA awarded by any of the recognized universities or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
- Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply.
For more details and information on CAT exam eligibility, please visit their official website.
Application Procedure for CAT Exam 2013:
For details and information on how to apply, please visit their official website.
Paper Pattern for IIM CAT 2013:
- CAT examination comprises two sections that are separately timed.
- Each sections of CAT test will be 1 hour and 10 minutes (i.e. 70 minutes).
- There will be 30 questions in each section.
- The sections are (a) Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (b) Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning.
- Once a section ends, aspirants can no longer go back to it.
- Aspirants will be presented with the section on Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation first, followed by CAT Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning.
Important Dates:
- Start date for sale of registration CAT exam forms: Monday, July 29, 2013.
- Last date for sale of registration forms: Tuesday, September 24, 2013.
- Dates of CAT online test: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 to Monday, November 11, 2013.
- Date of IIM CAT Results: 2nd week of January, 2014.
For frequent updates you can share with your friends,
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For more details and information about online CAT exam, please visit here.
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The recent Court of Appeal decision in White v Johnston [2015] NSWCA 18 considers the application of section 3B of the Civil Liability Act in awarding exemplary damages for intentional torts.
Between June 2009 and December 2009 Ms Johnston ('Johnston') attended Ms White's ('White') dental practice to undergo treatment. Johnston alleged that the dental treatment performed by White was unnecessary and ineffective and that White was aware of this, such that the treatment constituted assault and battery.
Finnance DCJ held that the treatment provided to Johnston had no therapeutic purpose and that White had failed to prove that Johnston's consent was valid. Thus, the primary judge held that the treatment amounted to assault and battery and awarded Johnston damages in the sum of $330,397. This award included $150,000 for exemplary damages.
Leeming JA (with Barrett and Emmett JJA agreeing).
Three issues were raised on appeal, including that the award of exemplary damages was excessive. This analysis is limited to the award of exemplary damages.
In order to make an award of exemplary damages for assault and battery, the Court found that the primary judge should have considered and applied section 3B of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW). To grant an award of exemplary damages, the Court found that it is necessary to establish that the proceedings involved "an intentional act that is done by a person with intent to cause injury or death..." Applying this to the current facts, the Court determined that whilst White's conduct was intentional, there was no evidence to suggest that White intended to cause injury. Accordingly, the Court found that the primary judge erred in awarding exemplary damages [130] - [132].
The Court also referred to the judgment of Cowell v Corrective Services Commission of New South Wales(1988) 13 NSWLR 714 at 743, in which it was noted that "It is not a necessary element of assault that the defendant intended to injure the plaintiff" and as such the fact that an intentional tort is alleged and even proven does not automatically mean that section 3B applies.
The Court also considered the hypothetical situation that had White's appeal otherwise failed, were exemplary damages properly awarded. The Court noted that the objectives of exemplary damages are to punish, deter and condemn the defendant. It was further noted that an award of exemplary damages should be made after an award of general damages has been determined and should reference the amount of general and aggravated damages awarded. It was held that the primary judge erred in determining exemplary damages before determining aggravated damages and without making any reference to the general and aggravated damages awarded [145] - [146] and [152].
The Court further concluded that the primary judge erred in regarding Dean v Phung as "very similar" and awarding the same damages on this basis, as the cases were not comparable having regard to the extent of work carried out, seriousness of the harm and the differing financial positions of the practitioners [147] - [152].
Thus the Court concluded that had the other issues on appeal failed, the award of exemplary damages would have had to be set aside.
The Court's interpretation of section 3B of the Civil Liability Act and its finding that for an award of exemplary damages to be made, there must be "an intentional act that is done by a person with intent to cause injury or death..." has implications for the defence of intentional tort claims, as well as implications as to the assessment of quantum of same.
Evidence obtained in witness conferences will be crucial in determining the intention and may serve to extinguish a plaintiff's entitlement to exemplary damages.
An award of exemplary damages by a court will turn on the facts of the case, and needs to be determined after and with reference to awards for general and aggravated damages. It is not sufficient for a Court to accept that cases are similar and award exemplary damages accordingly.


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We will help you find a home biology tutor in Clitheroe and across the UK. Private biology tuition is an excellent way to boost confidence while increasing grades and doesn't have to be dull! Please use our service to search for Clitheroe biology tutors and select which best fits your needs.
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Welcome to my local: Hallett Cove Beach, South Australia.
Here on Adelaide's metropolitan coastline, residents are rewarded most nights with beautiful sunsets over the sea that saturate the sky with an array of warm colours. Hallett Cove, one of the southern suburbs, is best known for one of Australia's best known geological sites and has been placed on the Heritage Register for educational and scientific significance. Hallett Cove Beach has a bedrock that dates back 600 million years ago to the precambrian, with it's unique cliff shape and rock deposits created from glaciers in the Permian Ice age around 270 million years ago when this entire area was an ice age. At this time Australia was part of a supercontinent called Gondwana.
Amazing history, stunning coastline!
After years of being on the road, time finally came to spend some serious effort into photographing the beach I grew up on. So over the past several months throughout winter, I've visit this stretch of coastline several times a week, in an attempt to capture this unique coastline with some of that magic light. This would have to be the longest I've ever photographed a single location, and wow – have I learn A LOT! This brings up the point – you can never stop learning. I've been lucky enough to travel and photograph many countries throughout the world over the years, and each and every location has definitely had it's own challenges. But photographing a single area on assignment was new to me and brought a whole new bag of challenges with it. Because I knew this place well, I really wanted to do it justice and come away with some really nice shots. But to get those shots I had to learn patience, patience …and some more patience. Photography can be a tough gig at times; out in the middle of winter, freezing my absolute butt off and getting regularly soaked, for sunsets that often just did not happen. It can be demoralizing at times, but you push on through and when that magic happens, all that pain and effort you went through to bring you to this moment becomes worth it.
Photographing Hallett Cove Beach
It's up there amongst my favourite seascape photography spots I've visited. Unique rock formations with the addition of the sun setting over the sea in both summer and winter. No matter what time of the year it is, this place is great to get snap happy! However, it's also known for its strong currents and swells. Being a rocky beach with high cliff faces, the last thing you want to do is get stranded here at the wrong time (which has happened quite a few times to people over the years). If it's a calm summer day, you'll be right. However, if you're going out for dramatic stormy conditions – research the weather, tides and swell first! The floor is full of jagged edged bedrock, and scattered boulders, both above and below the water – so you'll definitely need something on your feet and watch your step. You can shoot at any focal length here, so bring your whole kit. Though with seascapes, my favourite is always towards the wide :-) Before setting up here, it's important to watch the waves first, as they come in hard and fast. The last thing you want is to have you or your camera gear getting dragged over a bunch of rocks from some freak wave. There's quite a few interesting places to shoot along this stretch, both north and south of the main beach. So once you've sussed out a spot, get into position and experiment with your shutter speeds. Regular waves rolling over the countless rock formations gives way to some really interesting water movement.


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Winstud Academy is an ISO 90012008 Certified Institute Established in July 2014. Winstud Academy has been Registered Under Governement of India, CIn No. U80300K12014PTC037089 on 13th Auguest, 2014.
Winstud is one of the best institution which is providing opportunities to the job seeker/ un-employed and the person who want to become entrepreneur, who want to do something of own, who want to enter in education sector.
Winstud Academy is providing affordable free admission process and also easy franchisee process. Any one can start Franchisee in any of the village of India, City of India, District of India easily and start earning from the first day.
At Winstud, our commitment to ethics and honesty requires that we engage in legitimate authorized institutions. We may never make a false representation on behalf of Winstud, whether verbally or in writing.
Mission Statement:
To provide innovative, cutting edge training through a series of engaging courses and extracurricular activities in the most open-ended environment available.
Vision Statement:
To successfully educate and prepare individuals to the broad opportunities for pursuit of a high end career graph and eventually help meet the growing demand for quality professionals.
Winstud Further seeks to
- Provide best quality education to all class of people and has a very affordable fee structure.
- Offer morethan 100 courses that includes courses related to computer, accounting, business management, fashion designing, music, beauty, civil and architecture etc...
- Assist with the job placement after successfull completion of career courses.
- Conduct events and other competetions for students development.
- Enable students to learn using their own styles.
- Arrange classes using our pool of well experianced and qualified certified trainers in the most optimised period of time.
- Offer vocational (summer camp) training programmes for school children.


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Report on the Stakeholder Consultative Round Table For the World Gold Council's Conflict-Free Gold Standard
Published 9th July 2013
Categories: Gold production, Supply
The Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility convened a group of stakeholders from business, NGOs, academia and government to discuss the World Gold Council's (WGC) development of standards for 'conflict free' gold production . This was the seventh and final stakeholder consultative round table held by the World Gold Council to capture feedback from key stakeholders on the Conflict-Free Gold Standard Exposure Draft. The event was chaired by Serena Lilywhite. Serena Lillywhite is the Mining Advocacy Lead at Oxfam Australia but was not representing Oxfam as the Chair. This report summarises the main themes discussed at the meeting.


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Announcing Gala After Party at the NYPL: April 28
April 12th, 2011, 5:13 pm
Come celebrate your love for New York City by dancing the night away with MAS!
Following the presentation of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to Diane von Furstenberg on Thursday, April 28, the MAS Urbanists are pleased to host the first annual MAS After Dark Benefit. This is the first time MAS will be extending the scope of the Gala evening to reach its dedicated, younger supporters. The event, featuring light fare, drinks and dancing, will support MAS's ongoing fight to make New York a more livable city for all.
The Urbanists are MAS members in their 20s and 30s who are passionate about New York City. They are committed to improving the quality of the city's built environment, preserving the best of its architectural and cultural past, and seek to educate themselves and others about the issues that will shape the city's future. The 2011 Urbanist Committee includes Andrew Dart, Rebecca Birch, April Bovet, Olivia Cipolla, Rebecca Dalzell, George de Brigard, Florian Feder, Caroline Finger, Emily Gold, Mark Hochberg, Jonathan Hoffman, Abe Jasinowski, Josh Levin, Lauren Manthripragada, Manasvi Menon, Julia Noran, Jessica Pleasants, Ash Williams, and Nancy Wong.
MAS After Dark Benefit
When: Thursday, April 28, 9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Where: Astor Hall in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at the New York Public Library.
Cost: Tickets purchased through April 22 are $95, tickets purchased after that date are $125.


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The first in a new feature reminding you that good music isn't dead. It's just buried and you gotta dig for it.
When you turn on the radio, the musical landscape seems to be nothing but a trainwreck, filled with ego over talent, image over lyrics and autotune over musicianship. But sometimes it takes another Trainwreck to remind you that music is very much alive. It's just sometimes buried under the debris and charred bodies that litters up the musical landscape. Since 2009, Los Angeles' Your Favorite Trainwreck has been reminding audiences what good music sounds like by bringing experience, musicianship and solid songwriting to the forefront. Comprised of veterans from the 90′s California power pop scene, Your Favorite Trainwreck was formed in 2009 by Gameface's Jeff Caudill, and Farside's Popeye V. Rounding out the band with Robbie Rist on drums and Geoff Holmes on bass, Your Favorite Trainwreck has been bringing the art of writing songs that matter back to a largely superficial industry, and teaching the kids what a real American rock n' roll band is supposed to sound like.
In late 2011, Your Favorite Trainwreck released a thought provoking video for Caudill's alternative country flavored song The Brilliance. Directed by Geordie Stephens, the video featured the antics of a young George Bush and his road from being a "good ol' boy" to the most powerful man in America in a dynmic, and sometimes disturbing spectacle of indulgence and explosions. On their web-site, Jeff Caudill explained The Brilliance by stating:
The Brilliance is less a political song than a story about a rich kid who became the most powerful man in the world– not for his steadfast righteousness, conviction, education or drive, but simply because he was next in line to inherit the throne. Maybe he didn't want to take this path. Maybe he didn't think he had a choice. Whether he wanted it or not, entitlement and privilege was his free pass to get away with some pretty questionable behavior. It's interesting what people will excuse or overlook for some, while they scrutinize and vilify others for insignificant or even imaginary reasons. They say that rock and roll is supposed to be dangerous. But it can never be as dangerous as politics.
With a new album soon to be released, Your Favorite Trainwreck is currently kicking it old school by releasing The Brilliance as a single on a German pressed 10" vinyl EP available via Coffeebreath and Heartache Records. Full of experience and insight as a result of over twenty years in the music industry, I had the pleasure to talk to Jeff about his roots in music, the changing musical landscape, Your Favorite Trainwreck and of course The Brilliance.
Sam Tweedle: So how long have you been involved in the music industry Jeff?
Jeff Caudill: I don't know if I'd call it the music industry, but I've been doing the band thing since I left high school. Gameface started in 1990. That's when I got in a band and started doing it for real.
Sam: Well what were some of the bands that you were listening to when you started to play for the first time, and inspired you to start writing music?
Jeff: When I was in junior high I was, of course, into metal and all the things the other kids were into, but when I stumbled across bands like R.E.M. and the college rock thing, it kind of became more clear that [R.E.M.] was the kind of band I wanted to start sometime. That led to punk rock and that sort of thing. When I hit high school it was about [bands like] Seven Seconds and Youth of Today and The Descendants and a lot of the straight edge hard core stuff. That lead to the kind of stuff that Gameface started to do in the 90's.
Sam: Now I was listening to some Gameface today but I couldn't just put my finger on where it fit in musically, and it is so different then the music you are making with Your Favorite Trainwreck. How would you define Gameface?
Jeff: We were like the power pop band that was from the punk and hardcore scene. We kind of had that punk rock ethos, but we were truly playing power pop. That set us apart from a lot of the bands that we were playing and touring with, but it also invited a lot of criticism. [People said] "These guys are a bunch of wusses" and "Why are they playing with punk music." But we crossed over a lot at that time. We could go play shows with punk bands, but then do the ska shows. We bounced around from scene to scene, which was fun and cool, but no one scene that embraced us. We were always the odd man out.
Sam: How long was Gameface together?
Jeff: Thirteen years. 1990 to 2003. We put out a fair about of albums and toured a lot. We did all we could in a really underground, independent world where we didn't have a band manager and booked all our own tours. We kind of did it our own way and we did it long enough to see younger bands doing the same thing, but doing it smarter. Thats just how it goes. We were done by 2003.
Sam: There is a real different sound between Gameface and Your Favorite Trainwreck. How did Your Favorite Trainwreck come together?
Jeff: The other singer in the band, Popeye, comes from the exact same scene as I did. His band was called Farside. Not to be confused by the hip hop group The Farside. We were on the same record label and we were friends from way back in the day. I was a real big Farside fan and we said that one of these days, when we get old, we'd` do a band together. A few years ago I did a few solo albums and had Popeye play and do a bit of singing on that, and from there we said, "Hey, fuck it. Let's just go for and start writing together." Writing together has been pretty gratifying and I've always looked up to Popeye as a song writer. We've finally put our talents together and it's been really great. I'm really proud of what we've done. [The songs} are definitely more mature because we are older and we are expanding our horizons a bit.
Sam: Do you and Popeye have a similar vision on what the current music scene is like?
Jeff: I think so. I feel like I'm a little bit more connected to it since I've been doing solo stuff and doing tours a bit. Popeye has been laying lower, but we certainly have the same past.
Sam: How did you hook up with Robbie Rist as the drummer for the group?
Jeff: Well, towards the end of Gameface a mutual friend of ours introduced us. I told the friend that I didn't know what I was going to do but I had a few songs that I wanted to just get in and record a solo album. He said "You ought to hook up with my buddy Robbie. He's an amazing musician. He's got a studio." So he put me in touch with Robbie and after meeting him for about an hour Robbie said "So when do you want to start doing this?" It happened quick and we got along really well really fast. So I've been working with him for seven years now. So we did the solo thing from 2004 to 2008 and then the Trainwreck started in 2009.
Sam: How did your bassist, Geoff Holmes, get involved with the Trainwreck?
Jeff: He's been kind of in and out of the scene and he shares our views. We are all a little older and a little removed from it, so it seemed right to have him there as well.
Sam: When you say "we're a little bit older and a little bit removed," how has the music scene changed since your days in the power pop/punk scene? What sort of shift has been made, and do you have a hard time relating to it?
Jeff: Yeah. I don't want to sound like the old jaded guy quite yet, but everything has changed. As I said before, we did tours of the States and Europe as a word of mouth thing. It was just way more driven by fans and friends. Now I see the business side of it put in front of the message and the creativity. I guess I saw that happen in the early 2000's. It became a real viable business. It just changed the ways that kids look at doing bands. The whole culture of that is a lot different.
Sam: Is the concept of the singer/songwriter dead, or are bands like Your Favorite Trainwreck bringing back a revival of that tradition?
Jeff: I don't think it has gone away, but the public interest has shifted. But I think its always been there.
Sam: I was talking to someone recently who made a statement that kids listening to the radio don't even know what real music sounds like anymore. Do you agree with that, or do you think its just a cynical statement?
Jeff: I can't say that kids aren't listening to real music. I can't really get on that bandwagon, but really, the internet and the airwaves are really flooded with shit. But that's not to say that there isn't great music being played, and some of that great music does trickle into the mainstream, but its overloaded with a lot of really terrible stuff.
Sam: Well it's always about weeding through the crap and finding the gems.
Jeff: Yeah, and that's how I felt about it growing up and finding the music the way I did. I didn't even have the internet when I was growing up to listen to three hundred bands in an hour, but I would go to the cool "mom and pop" record store and see who's seven inch was on the wall.
Sam: So late last year Your Favorite Trainwreck put out an amazing video for your single The Brilliance, which is about George W. Bush. It is an amazing video.
Jeff: Yeah. Honestly, I still watch it and I can't believe that we did it. It was a pretty amazing opportunity.
Sam: You wrote that The Brilliance is not a political song. Walk me through what The Brilliance is about.
Jeff: This is one of the first times where I stepped out and wrote about something that was not about anything in my life, but [something] I was really interested in it. I wrote the song maybe four years ago. I've had it kicking around for awhile. But I was thinking "How does this idiot become the President of the United States?" But the thing is, it was probably hard [for George W. Bush] to not, given the way he was brought up and the way he was groomed for it, and the sense of entitlement that he grew up with. That's what was intriguing to me. It was all kind of laid out for him and he had the key to do whatever the hell he wanted knowing that he was going to be okay. For me it was really more about the kid with this amazing sense of entitlement, rather then writing a political song. It is really more about "this guy."
Sam: The video for The Brilliance is really powerful. How long did it take for you guys to put it together?
Jeff: The video itself was shot in a twenty four hour period. Everything happened fast. It took a while to get things cleared and edited, but the production company who made it was all them. The director, and their company, really had their vision. The director is a friend of mine and said "I really, truly want to make a video for this song. I feel very strongly about it and I have this vision for it." They took it and ran with it. It was from a few weeks from hearing the song to having it fleshed out, and I said "Tell me when to show up and we'll be there." We were just blown away by the size of the production. Robbie has worked in film and stuff, so he is no stranger to it, but when I showed up I said "Oh shit. This is the real thing."
Sam: You've done other videos before.
Jeff: Well we've done other videos, but this is the only one which was that professionally done and everything about it was incredible.
Sam: What sort of response have you had to the video?
Jeff: The people who have seen it love it. Again, being a bit older now and being a bit removed from the music scene, I'm not the guy that's always out there peddling my stuff. I'm a terrible self promoter. In my heart I hope it does get seen by a wider audience. At the moment its kind of sitting with our fan base. People love it, and if it gets the opportunity to reach more people I think people would certainly talk about it.
Sam: To me, The Brilliance sounds like an Alternative Country tune. Is that the sound you were going for?
Jeff: It certainly is an Alt. Country thing. Popeye brings a little different thing to the table. We have a full length album in the can, but are waiting to work out some details before we put it out. There's a bit of variety on the record. There is a little bit of twang, but there is still a lot of that indie rock also. Some of Popeye's tunes have more of that classic power pop sound. Sort of an Elvis Costello feel. Its pretty eclectic.
Sam: If you had to put Your Favorite Trainwreck into a specific genre, what would you say you are? If I had to find you guys in a typical mall record store, where would you be?
Jeff: I don't even know the categories anymore. Everything has been so blurred. I guess we are just an American rock band.
With over two decades in the independent music scene, it is clear that Jeff Caudill knows a lot about being part of an American rock band. Although he often speaks in the terms of being "an old timer" in a scene where the youth market is primarily the focus, Your Favorite Trainwreck has an edge on the kids by being made up of professionals with years of experience. One of the best bands I've listen to in a long while, Your Favorite Trainwreck's new album will be out in mid-2012. For more on Your Favorite Trainwreck visit their official site at www.yourfavoritetrainwreck.com, or follow them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/yourfavoritetrainwreck. You can also preview their music at http://yourfavoritetrainwreck.bandcamp.com/ which has their 2009 EP Demonstration, as well as The Brilliance, available for immediate download. Finally, visit Coffebreath and Heartache Records to order your own copy of the 10" vinyl EP. Meanwhile, check out this space for more on Your Favorite Trainwreck for info on the new album as details are released.
1 comment
Trackback link: http://popcultureaddict.com/yourfavoritetrainwreck/trackback/
Great vocal. Great songs. Amazing video. Brilliant band. I hope these guys break big.