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The invention provides synthetic metallic heart valves fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloys that are coated with blue-black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride to provide a surface that is hard, biocompatible, resistant to impact, cavitation, and microfretting wear and exhibits improved hemocompatibility.
1. A heart valve prosthesis, for implantation in body tissue of a patient, the heart valve having enhanced hemocompatibility and improved resistance to wear, comprising:
(a) a valve body fabricated from the metals selected from the group consisting of zirconium and zirconium-containing alloys for affixing the valve to the body tissue of a patient, said valve body having an aperture through which blood is able to flow;
(b) a flow control component fabricated from the metals selected from the group consisting of zirconium and zirconium-containing alloys able to move relative to the valve body to close the aperture in the valve body thereby blocking the blood flow through the aperture;
(c) means, attached to the valve body, for restraining said flow control component in close proximity to the aperture in the valve body; and
(d) a blood compatible coating selected from the group of coatings consisting of zirconium nitride, blue-black zirconium oxide and black zirconium oxide, said coating formed on at least surfaces of the valve flow control component and valve body in contact with blood and subject to impinging contact and fretting wear when the valve is in use.
2. The valve of claim 1 wherein the valve body comprises a ring and the flow control component is a disk able to close the aperture in the ring thereby blocking the flow of blood.
3. The valve of claim 1 wherein the valve body comprises a ring with an aperture for blood flow and the valve flow control component comprises a bi-leaflet able to pivot about a strut mounted diametrically across the ring to block the flow of blood.
4. The valve of claim 1 wherein the valve body comprises a ring with a periphery and an aperture for blood flow, a cage is attached to the periphery of one side of said ring, and the valve flow control component is a sphere, having a diameter larger than a diameter of said aperture, said sphere movably positioned within the cage and able to block flow of blood through the aperture in the valve body when the sphere contacts the ring.
5. The valve of claim 1 wherein the valve body comprises a ring with a periphery and an aperture for blood flow, a cage is attached to the periphery of one side of said ring, and the valve flow control component is a disk, having a diameter larger than a diameter of said aperture, said disk movably positioned within the cage and able to block flow of blood through the aperture in the valve body when the disk contacts the ring.
6. The valve of claim 1 wherein surfaces of the entire valve are coated with zirconium oxide selected from the group consisting of blue-black and black zirconium oxide.
7. The valve of claim 1, wherein the coating is from about 1 to about 5 microns thick.
8. The valve of claim 7, wherein the coating is blue black or black zirconium oxide formed by a process of in situ oxidation.
9. The valve of claim 7, wherein the coating is zirconium nitride formed by a process of in situ nitridation.
This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/557,173 filed Jul. 23, 1990 which is in turn a continuation in part of U.S. Ser. No. 385,285 filed Jul. 25, 1989, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,438.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cardiovascular implants fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloys that are coated with a thin layer of zirconium nitride or black or blue-black zirconium oxide to provide resistance to wear and enhanced biocompatibility. More specifically, the invention is of synthetic heart valves and artificial hearts fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloy coated with a thin layer of zirconium nitride or black or blue-black zirconium oxide to reduce wear and enhance blood biocompatibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cardiovascular implants have unique blood biocompatibility requirements to insure that the device is not rejected (as in the case of tissue materials for heart valves and grafts for heart transplants) or that adverse thrombogenic (clotting) or hemodynamic (blood flow) responses are avoided. For mechanical devices, properties such as the surface finish, flow characteristics, surface structure, charge, wear and mechanical integrity all play a role in the ultimate success of the device. When these implants are fabricated from natural tissue, known as bioprostheses, they can be affected by gradual calcification and the eventual stiffening and tearing of the implant. Surface charge has been shown to play a key role in the propensity of these bioprostheses to form calcium phosphate deposits
Non-bioprosthetic devices (mechanical) are fabricated from materials such as pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite, pyrolytic carbon-coated titanium, stainless steel, titanium alloys, cobalt-chrome alloys, cobalt-nickel alloys, alumina coated with polypropylene and poly-4-fluoroethylene. Typical materials used for balls and disks for heart valves include nylon, silicone, hollow titanium, TEFLON™, polyacetal, graphite, and pyrolytic carbon. Artificial hearts are fabricated from various combinations of titanium, carbon fiber reinforced composites, polyurethanes, BIDLON™ (DuPont), Hemothane™ (Sarns/3M), DACRON™, polysulfone, and other thermoplastics. One of the most significant problems encountered in both heart valves and artificial hearts is the formation of blood clots. Protein coatings are sometimes employed to reduce the risk of blood clot formation.
It has been found that stagnant flow regions also contribute to the formation of blood clots. These stagnant regions can be minimized by optimizing surface smoothness and minimizing abrupt changes in the size of the cross section through which the blood flows or minimizing either flow interference aspects. While materials selection for synthetic heart valves and cardiac implants generally is therefore dictated by a requirement for blood compatibility to avoid the formation of blood clots, cardiovascular implants must also be designed to optimize blood flow and wear resistance.
Even beyond the limitations on materials imposed by the requirements of blood biocompatibility and limitations to designs imposed by the need to optimize blood flow, there is a need for durable designs since it is highly desirable to avoid the risk of a second surgical procedure to implant cardiovascular devices. Further, a catastrophic failure of the device will almost certainly result in the death of the patient.
The most popular current heart valve designs include the St. Jude medical tilting disk double cusp (bi-leaf) valve. This valve includes a circular ring-like pyrolytic carbon valve housing or frame and a flow control element which includes pyrolytic carbon half-disks or leaves that pivot inside the housing to open and close the valve. The two leaves have a low profile and open to 85� from the horizontal axis.
Another popular heart valve is the Medtronic-Hall Valve wherein the flow control element is a single tilting disk made of carbon coated with pyrolytic carbon which pivots over a central strut inside a solid titanium ring-like housing. A third, less popular design, is the Omniscience valve which has a single pyrolytic disk as a flow control element inside a titanium housing. Finally, the Starr-Edwards ball and cage valves have a silastic ball riding inside a cobalt-chrome alloy cage. The cage is affixed to one side of a ring-like body for attachment to the heart tissue.
The St. Jude and Medtronic-Hall valves appear to be best suited to maximize hemodynamic performance from a design standpoint. However from the point of view of durability, these heart valves could fail from disk fracture related to uneven pyrolytic carbon coating, fracture of the ball cage, disk impingement, strut wear, disk wear, hinge failure, and weld failure.
A more recent heart valve, the Baruah Bileaflet is similar to the St. Jude design but opens to 80� and is made of pure zirconium. The valve has worked well over its approximately two year history with roughly 200 implants to date in India. This performance can be partly attributed to the lower elastic modulus of zirconium (about 90 GPa) and the resultant lower contact stress severity factory (Cc of about 0.28�10-7 m) when the disk contacts the frame. In contrast, pyrolytic constructions produce contact stress severity factors of about 0.54�10-7 m.
Although zirconium has worked well to date and can reduce contact stress severity, zirconium metal is relatively soft and sensitive to fretting wear. This is partly due to the hard, loosely attached, naturally-present passive oxide surface films (several nanometers in thickness) which can initiate microabrasion and wear of the softer underlying metal. However, this naturally present zirconium oxide passive film is thrombogenically compatible with blood and the design is acceptable from a hemodynamic standpoint. Therefore, while the zirconium bileaflet valve appears to meet at least two of the major requirements for cardiac valve implants, namely blood compatibility and design for minimum stagnant flow regions, the use of soft zirconium metal leads to a relatively high rate of fretting wear and leads to the expectation that the valve may be less durable than one produced from materials less susceptible to fretting wear.
There exists a need for a metallic cardiac valve implant that is biocompatible, compatible with blood in that it does not induce blood clotting and does not form a calcified scale, that is designed to minimize stagnant flow areas where blood clotting can be initiated, that has a low elastic modulus for lower contact stress severity factors to ensure resistance to wear from impact and that has a surface that is also resistant to microabrasion thereby enhancing durability.
The invention zirconium or zirconium alloy heart valves coated with a thin layer of blue-black or black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride provides heart valves that are biocompatible, compatible with blood, have low modulus of elasticity for lowered contact stress severity, and are also resistant to cavitation, microfretting and impact-induced wear due to their hard oxide or nitride surface. The thin surface coatings are formed in situ by oxidation or nitridation of the surface of a zirconium or zirconium alloy heart valve to form a continuum with the underlying metal so that there is no sharp line of demarcation between the metallic substrate and the coating, as may be found when other coating processes that involve application overlay coating techniques of various oxides or nitrides onto a variety of metal substrates.
The in situ surface-hardened oxide or nitride coatings of zirconium or zirconium alloys may be highly polished to a mirror finish to further improve blood flow characteristics of the valve. Furthermore, the oxide- or nitride-coated surfaces may be coated with substances to further enhance biocompatibility and performance. For example, phosphatidyl choline for reducing platelet adhesion to the surfaces of the valve, or boranated or silver-doped hardened surface layers to reduce friction and wear between contacting parts of heart valves, prosthetic artificial hearts, and other cardiovascular implants.
The thickness of the hard surface layer is preferably less than about 5 microns for optimal residual compressive stresses and minimal dimensional changes or distortion during oxidation or nitridation. Unlike solid pyrolytic carbon constructs, the zirconium or nitride surface layers on the metal substrate greatly improve the strength and ductility of the heart valve or other cardiovascular implants. Furthermore, the in situ type of hardening process provides a relatively uniform hard surface layer on all parts of the surface, including inside diameters and corners, unlike the line of sight type processes used to apply pyrolytic carbon or other ceramic-type overlay coatings, such as physical or chemical vapor deposition or ion implantation.
The inherently lower modulus of zirconium and zirconium alloys (about 13 million psi) provide a more flexible and forgiving construct for cardiovascular applications and improve contact stress levels, valve closure, and the ability of the valve leaves to self-align with blood to reduce thrombodynamic effects. While zirconium metal itself may be used, its alloys are also useful and are in many applications to be preferred. These alloys include all those zirconium alloys, which when subjected to an oxidizing or nitriding atmosphere, will produce a tightly adherent hard oxide or nitride coating that is less than about 5 microns thick. It is understood that when a zirconium alloy is used the oxide or nitride coating will also contain, to varying degrees, oxides or nitrides of the alloying constituents. In the specification and claims, such coatings are intended to fall within the definition of in situ formed zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride surface coatings.
Given the biocompatibility and blood compatibility of zirconium oxide and zirconium nitride coatings, it is expected that these materials will find use in other cardiovascular applications. For example, surface hardened zirconium wire may be braided into useful form for vascular grafts. Further, the metallic, carbon, and polymeric mechanical parts of artificial hearts such as heart pumps, valves, etc. may be fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloys which may be then be coated via in situ oxidation or nitriding to form a blue-black or black oxide of zirconium or zirconium nitride, respectively.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified representation of a ball valve like the Starr-Edwards valve.
FIG. 2 is a simplified representation of a disc valve.
FIG. 3 is a simplified representation of a tilting disc, single cusp valve like the Medtronic-Hall valve.
FIG. 4 is a simplified representation of a tilting disc, double cusp or bi-leaflet valve of the St. Jude or Baruah-type.
The invention provides zirconium or zirconium alloy heart valves that are coated with a thin layer of blue-black or black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride. These valves, with their hardened surfaces, are biocompatible, hemo-compatible, and have a low modulus of elasticity for reduced contact stress severity. Furthermore, the hardened surfaces of these valves are more resistant to microfretting and impact-induced wear than the underlying softer zirconium or zirconium alloy metal substrates. Therefore, the heart valves offer a significant improvement in terms of biocompatibility and longevity. In addition, the hardened oxide or nitride surfaces may be further modified with, for example, phosphatidyl choline for reducing platelet adhesion or by boranation or silver doping of the surface to further improve friction and wear characteristics between connecting moving parts.
In its simplest form, a synthetic cardiac valve includes a valve body for affixing the valve to the body tissue and through which blood flows, and a flow control element for allowing or blocking off blood flow. For instance, FIG. 1 shows a typical ball valve having a valve body that includes a ring-like housing 10 and valve struts 12. A flow control element, in this instance a ball 14, fits within the cage formed by the struts 12. The valve allows flow of blood in only one direction, from top to bottom as shown in FIG. 1. When flow is reversed, the ball is lifted upwards, contacts the interior perimeter of the ring-like housing 10, and blocks off the space within the ring through which blood flows. Thus, during normal operation, the ball moves upward and downward thereby impacting both the interior periphery of the ring-like housing 10 and also the struts 12. Consequently, it may be expected that signs of wear due to impact would appear at the struts and inner portion of the ring-like housing at those points where the ball contacts these elements in normal use. Invention heart valves of this type of construction would have the ring-like housing 1 and the struts 12 fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloy. These components would then be oxidized or nitrided, as explained below, to produce a thin surface coating, not more than about 5 microns thick of blue-black or black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride on the surface. When the ball then performs its normal flow control function, during which it impacts the struts and inner periphery of the housing 10, it would encounter a hardened surface with a low elastic modulus underlying metal substrate. As a result of oxidizing or nitriding the surfaces for hardening, impact wear would be significantly reduced. Further, since the modulus of elasticity of zirconium is about 90 Gpa, the resultant contact stress severity factor would be about 0.28�10-7 m. This is in sharp contrast to pyrolytic constructs which have contact stress severity factors of about 0.54�10-7 m.
FIG. 2 shows a disc-type valve, where the valve body includes a ring-like housing 20 to which is attached struts 22 which form a cage on one side of the valve. A flow control element, in this case a disc 24, is held in place in the cage formed by the struts 22. The valve is shown in the open position so that blood flows from the top to the bottom of the figure. When blood flow is reversed, the disc moves upward and contacts the lower face 26 of the ring structure 20 blocking off the aperture in the ring thereby preventing blood flow. Therefore, in normal operation, the disc will move upwards and downwards alternately contacting the cage formed by the struts and the lower surface of the ring structure 26. It may be expected that impact induced wear would commence at the points where the disc contacts the struts and the ring 26. In the invention valve, the struts 22 and ring 20 would be fabricated from zirconium or zirconium alloy having a low modulus of elasticity. These components would then be oxidized or nitrided to produce a surface coating less than about 5 microns thick, as described below. Optionally, the disc 24 may also be fabricated from zirconium or zirconium alloy and may also be surface oxidized or nitrided. These hardened oxidized or nitrided surfaces, when they are brought into contact in normal use, will suffer reduced impact-induced, cavitation, or fretting wear.
FIG. 3 shows a tilting disc, single cusp valve of the Medtronic-Hall type. This valve has a valve body including a ring-like housing 30 to which is affixed a strut 34 for controlling disc motion. The disc 32 is affixed to the housing 30 with hinge elements attached to the disc (leaflet). The flow control element of this valve is a single-cusp disc 32 which is able to tilt about the hinge and limited by strut 34 to open and close the opening in ring-like housing 30. The valve in FIG. 3 is shown in the open position with blood flowing from the top to the bottom of the figure. When flow is reversed, the disc 32 tilts upward and closes the aperture in the ring-like housing 30. The strut 34 is welded to the housing 30 and is subject to significant forces as the disc 32 moves to open and close the aperture in the valve. Similarly, the disc hinge element also experiences significant force. Consequently, it may be expected that the welded part of the strut or the hinge could fail. Further, the disc itself impacts the inside surface 38 of the ring-like housing 30 upon closing. Therefore, wear might be expected at the periphery of the disc and on the interior surface 36 of the housing 30. The invention tilting disc single-cusp valve is fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloy metal that is subjected to a surface oxidation or nitridation process, as described below, to provide a surface coating of less than about 5 microns thick. Because of the low modulus of elasticity of the zirconium-type metals used, the life cycle of the welded strut 34 may be expected to increase. Further, the hardened oxide or nitride coatings provide a surface less susceptible to impact, cavitation, or fretting wear so that both the hinges and fit between the disc 32 and inside surface 36 of the ring-like housing 30 may be expected to remain integral for a longer period of time. Therefore, the invention provides for a significant improvement in the longevity and efficiency of the Medtronic-Hall type valves.
FIG. 4 shows a St. Jude or Baruah-type valve having a valve body including an outer ring-like housing 40 with an inner ring 42 that has two flanges 44 each containing two slots for receiving hinges attached to leaflets. The flow control element of this valve comprises two leaflets 46, in the approximate shape of half discs, with hinge elements attached at diametrically opposite ends. These hinge elements fit within the apertures or slots in the flanges 44 of the inner ring 42 and are able to rotate through less than 180� in these apertures. Thus, in operation, the flow control elements are in the position shown in FIG. 4 with the valve open with blood flowing from top to bottom. When blood flow reverses and flows from bottom to top, the bi-leaflets 46 pivot about their hinges to close the apertures in the ring-like valve body. Consequently, there is a significant amount of movement about the hinge elements and slots where microfretting wear might be initiated. Furthermore, the bi-leaflet half disc flow control elements 46 may impinge upon the inner ring 42 of the valve body, thereby leading to cavitation or impact-induced wear. Invention valves of the St. Jude or Baruah-type have the same construction but are fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloys. These valves are coated with a hard outer surface coating of blue-black or black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride that is resistant to microfretting wear at the hinge points and impact wear at those locations where the flow control element impacts the valve body. Consequently, it might be expected that the invention valve would have a longer cycle life than the currently used St. Jude or Baruah valves. Indeed, as mentioned before, the Baruah valve is currently fabricated of zirconium or zirconium alloys and would therefore be subject to relatively rapid wear because of the relative softness of zirconium and its alloys, when used without the invention oxide or nitride coatings.
In order to form continuous and useful zirconium oxide or nitride coatings over the desired surface of the metal alloy prosthesis substrate, the metal alloy should contain from about 80 to about 10 wt. % zirconium, preferably from about 95 to about 100 wt. %. Niobium, tantalum, and titanium include common alloying elements in the alloy with often times the presence of hafnium. Yttrium may also be alloyed with the zirconium to enhance the formation of a tougher, yttria-stabilized zirconium oxide coating during the oxidation of the alloy. While such zirconium and zirconium alloys may be custom formulated by conventional methods known in the art of metallurgy, a number of suitable alloys are commercially available. These commercial alloys include among others Zircadyne 705, Zircadyne 702, and Zircalloy.
The base zirconium containing metal alloys are cast or machined from wrought metal stock by conventional methods to the shape and size desired to obtain a prosthesis substrate. The substrate is then subjected to process conditions which cause the natural (in situ) formation of a tightly adhered, diffusion-bonded coating of zirconium oxide on its surface. The process conditions include, for instance, air, steam, or water oxidation or oxidation in a fluidized or salt bath. These processes ideally provide a thin, hard, dense, blue-black or black, low-friction wear-resistant zirconium oxide film or coating of thicknesses typically less than several microns (10-6 meters) on the surface of the prosthesis substrate. Below this coating, diffused oxygen from the oxidation process increases the hardness and strength of the underlying substrate metal.
Unlike the prior art titanium oxides of, for example, Steinemenan's U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,658, the oxygen supplied to form the blue-black or black zirconium oxide coatings of the invention is a beneficial alloying component which improves the immediate substrate metal hardness which improves oxide attachment strength and durability and also improves the base-metal strength. Thus, the fatigue strength of the underlying zirconium metal is improved thereby increasing the potential life of the prosthesis. In contrast, oxygen in titanium alloys tends to stabilize the lower strength α-phase which significantly reduces the metal's fatigue strength.
The air, steam and water oxidation processes are described in now-expired Watson U.S. Pat. No. 2,987,352, the teachings of which are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth. The air oxidation process provides a firmly adherent black or blue-black layer of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) of highly oriented monoclinic crystalline form. If the oxidation process is continued to excess, the coating will whiten and separate from the metal substrate. The oxidation step may be conducted in either air, steam or hot water. For convenience, the metal prosthesis substrate may be placed in a furnace having an oxygen-containing atmosphere (such as air) and typically heated at 700�-1100� F. up to about 6 hours. However, other combinations of temperature and time are possible. When higher temperatures are employed, the oxidation time should be reduced to avoid the formation of the white oxide.
It is preferred that a blue-black zirconium oxide layer ranging in thickness from about 1 to about 5 microns should be formed. For example, furnace air oxidation at 1000� F. for 3 hours will form an oxide coating on Zircadyne 705 about 3-4 microns thick. Longer oxidation times and higher oxidation temperatures will increase this thickness, but may compromise coating integrity. For example, one hour at 1300� F. will form an oxide coating about 14 microns in thickness, while 21 hours at 1000� F. will form an oxide coating thickness of about 9 microns. Of course, because only a thin oxide is necessary on the surface, only very small dimensional changes, typically less than 10 microns over the thickness of the prosthesis, will result. In general, thinner coatings (1-4 microns) have better attachment strength, and more favorable residual surface stresses
The thickness of the blue-black or black zirconium oxide coatings on the invention prostheses provides a further distinction between the invention and the titanium oxide coatings of Steinemann U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,658. Titanium oxide films, whether prepared by high temperature (350� C.) oxidation or high current density anodizing, are thin, powdery and loosely adherent. This is because various forms of titanium oxide form as the oxide thickens. Consequently, these films can be more easily removed under fretting conditions in vivo exposing metal surface to bodily fluids with resulting metal ion release into the body tissue. The thicker, crystalline, more tightly adherent blue-black or black zirconium oxide films, by contrast, do not readily spall or separate from the alloy substrate and form essentially only one type of ZrO2 oxide as compared to the multiple oxides for Ti. It is speculated that the diffusion of oxygen into the underlying zirconium alloy provides a natural interlayer to which the zirconium oxide can adhere readily and tightly. Consequently, these zirconium oxide coatings provide excellent protection against corrosion by bodily fluids.
One of the salt-bath methods that may be used to apply the zirconium oxide coatings to the metal alloy prosthesis, is the method of Haygarth U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,824, the teachings of which are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth. The salt-bath method provides a similar, slightly more abrasion resistant blue-black or black zirconium oxide coating. The method requires the presence of an oxidation compound capable of oxidizing zirconium in a molten salt bath. The molten salts include chlorides, nitrates, cyanides, and the like. The oxidation compound, sodium carbonate, is present in small quantities, up to about 5 wt. %. The addition of sodium carbonate lowers the melting point of the salt. As in air oxidation, the rate of oxidation is proportional to the temperature of the molten salt bath and the '824 patent prefers the range 550�-800� C. (1022�-1470� C.). However, the lower oxygen levels in the bath produce thinner coatings than for furnace air oxidation at the same time and temperature. A salt bath treatment at 1290� F. for four hours produces an oxide coating thickness of roughly 7 microns. Residual contaminants in the salt bath may be inadvertently left on the treated implant surface and produce adverse clinical results. While some of these may be removed by polishing and washing, it is nonetheless preferred to use the gas (air) oxidation/nitridation processes which provides less possibility of contamination by other elements.
Whether air oxidation in a furnace, in a fluidized bed, or salt bath oxidation is used, the zirconium oxide coatings are quite similar in hardness. For example, if the surface of a wrought Zircadyne 705 (Zr, 2-3 wt. % Nb) prosthesis substrate is oxidized, the hardness of the surface shows a dramatic increase over the 200 Knoop hardness of the original metal surface. The surface hardness of the blue-black zirconium oxide surface following oxidation by either the salt bath or air oxidation process is approximately 1700-2000 Knoop hardness.
In situ air oxidation is the preferred method for producing the invention oxide coatings because it minimizes the potential for surface contamination, and allows oxygen diffusion into the metal substrate thereby allowing the formation of a tightly adherent oxide coating while also strengthening the zirconium metal.
While the above discussion has dealt mainly with blue-black or black zirconium oxide coatings on prostheses, zirconium nitride coatings are also effective in reducing wear on opposing surfaces and preventing corrosion of the underlying substrate by bodily fluids.
Even though air contains about four times as much nitrogen as oxygen, when zirconium or a zirconium alloy is heated in air as described above, the oxide coating is formed in preference to the nitride coating. This is because the thermodynamic equilibrium favors oxidation over nitridation under these conditions. Thus, to form a nitride coating the equilibrium must be forced into favoring the nitride reaction. This is readily achieved by elimination of oxygen and using a nitrogen or ammonia atmosphere instead of air or oxygen when a gaseous environment (analogous to "air oxidation") is used.
In order to form a zirconium nitride coating of about 5 microns in thickness, the zirconium or zirconium alloy prosthesis should be heated to about 800� C. for about one hour in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thus, apart from the removal of oxygen (or the appropriate reduction in oxygen partial pressure), or increasing the temperature, conditions for forming the zirconium nitride coating do not differ significantly from those needed to form the blue-black or black zirconium oxide coating. Any needed adjustment would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
When a salt bath method is used to produce a nitride coating, then the oxygen-donor salts should be replaced with nitrogen-donor salts, such as, for instance cyanide salts. Upon such substitution, a nitride coating may be obtained under similar conditions to those needed for obtaining an oxide coating. Such modifications as are necessary, may be readily determined by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Alternatively, the zirconium oxide or nitride may be deposited onto the zirconium or zirconium alloy surface via standard physical or chemical vapor deposition methods, including those using an ion-assisted deposition method. Techniques for producing such an environment are known in the art.
Regardless of how the zirconium oxide or nitride surface layer is formed on the zirconium or zirconium alloy substrate, the friction and wear (tribiological) aspects of the surface can be further improved by employing the use of silver doping or boronation techniques. Ion-beam-assisted deposition of silver films on zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic surfaces can improve tribiological behavior. The deposition of up to about 3 microns thick silver films can be performed at room temperature in a vacuum chamber equipped with an electron-beam hard silver evaporation source. A mixture of argon and oxygen gas is fed through the ion source to create an ion flux. One set of acceptable silver deposition parameters consists of an acceleration voltage of 1 kev with an ion current density of 25 microamps per cm2. The silver film can be completely deposited by this ion bombardment or formed partially via bombardment while the remaining thickness is achieved by vacuum evaporation. Ion bombardment improves the attachment of the silver film to the zirconium oxide or nitride substrate. Similar deposition of silver films on existing metal cardiovascular implants may also be performed to improve tribiological behavior.
An alternate method to further improve the tribiological behavior of zirconium oxide, zirconium nitride, or other metal cardiovascular implant surfaces is to apply boronation treatments to these surfaces such as commercially available boride vapor deposition, boron ion implantation or sputter deposition using standard ion implantation and evaporation methods, or form a boron-type coating spontaneously in air. Boric Acid (H3 BO3) surface films provide a self-replenishing solid lubricant which can further reduce the friction and wear of the ceramic substrate. These films form from the reaction of the B2 O3 surface (deposited by various conventional methods) on the ceramic (i.e., zirconium oxide) with water in the body to form lubricious boric acid. Conventional methods that can be used to deposit either a boron (B), H3 BO3, or B2 O3 surface layer on the cardiovascular implant surface include vacuum evaporation (with or without ion bombardment) or simple oven curing of a thin layer over the implant surface. The self-lubricating mechanism of H3 BO3 is governed by its unique layered, triclinic crystal structure which allows sheets of atoms to easily slide over each other during articulation, thus minimizing substrate wear and friction.
Although the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art may, upon reading this disclosure, appreciate changes and modifications which may be made and which do not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention as described above or claimed hereafter.
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Artist Aurora Cacciapuoti
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Aurora Cacciapuoti is a Sardinian illustrator currently based in Cambridge, UK. She splits her time between running art workshops and working as a freelance illustrator, and her clients have included several magazines and books, and Wordsation, a baby clothing shop online. Her recent projects have included drawing 365 faces in a year, inspired by real and imaginary people.
In 2012, she drew 52+2 book covers— one per week and then one for each extra day of the solar year. She chose her favorite books for the project.
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From the Publisher"We are indebted to the authors of these stirring essays for sharing with us their particular, courageous struggles to alloy profoundly personal experiences with their deep commitment as therapists to their patients' well-being and development."
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Tiger: Spy in the Jungle (2008)
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Mon-Fri: 7am-1am EST / Sat-Sun: 7am-11pm EST
ApplianceWhirlpool Washer
Level of DifficultyA Bit Difficult
Time to do repair1- 2 hours
Age of Appliance1 - 4 years
NutdriverPliersScrew driversSocket set
removed top,3 screws in back,lift up and pull back.removed soap dispenser.removed hidden torx screw on left side. removed screw top center of door opening,used putty knife to pop control panel off and laid on top of washer.used small screw driver to pop off front gasket spring and wire from left side.took gasket loose and remove door lock and let it hang there,took off kick panel and front then un screwed the inner gasket retainer,pulled off gasket.soaped up new gasket and reinsalled in reverse order..it took two of us to get the front spring and wire back on,that spring is tough and the gasket kept popping off,finaly got it,works fine
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This City Reads and the Cradle to Career Alliance
After 11 years of promoting reading in our community, the literacy alliance known as This City Reads will cease to exist in 2015. Instead, going forward, our community's collaborative literacy efforts will be led by the Summit Education Initiative and their Cradle to Career Alliance.
When This City Reads was formed in 2004, and we held the first annual Day of Reading, we hoped to build a coalition of agencies, organizations, and schools that would focus on promoting and improving reading in Akron and Summit County. We did that not by creating a new organization, but by agreeing to work together for a common goal; the relationships created via This City Reads have laid the foundation for what has followed.
In the last three years the emergence of SEI's Cradle to Career Alliance has clearly changed the local collaborative landscape. Essentially, SEI is doing exactly what This City Reads set out to do over a decade ago, but with sustainable funding, staff, and organizational support. Through the efforts of Derran Wimer and Matt Deevers, SEI is building work teams focused on six key transition points in a student's educational path. This work is profoundly data-driven, which has enabled SEI to connect dots in ways previously not seen, and develop innovative approaches that are now beginning to bear fruit.
So, as proud as we are of This City Reads, and its legacy of collaboration, the time has come to let go of that moniker, and put all of our efforts behind the significant and results-oriented work of SEI's Cradle to Career Alliance. If you are not familiar with SEI, here is a link to their website .
There will be no annual day of reading in 2015; this may return in 2016 with a different emphasis. However, we will continue to hold the annual Family Reading Festival in February at Main Library, and the Night Out with the RubberDucks book drive event this summer, but these will now be Cradle to Career Alliance events.
For more information about these events contact Carolyn Burrier at firstname.lastname@example.com
Thank you to all of our This City Reads partners for your tireless efforts to improve our community; to This City Reads founders, Bill Considine and Rev. Ron Fowler, for your vision of collaboration; to past co-chairs Sue Long and Sandy Auburn, for your leadership; and to Sue Lacy, for your skill in bringing us all to the table to work toward a collective goal.
In conclusion, we strongly encourage you to continue the efforts of This City Reads by joining the robust and growing Cradle to Career Alliance. You can join this effort by sending an email to Kaye Rowe at SEI, email@example.com or by clicking on this link: Join in!
In Akron and Summit County, thanks to all of you, the work continues.
David Jennings and Chris Yuhasz, This City Reads Co-Chairs


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Staff Reporter
Picks holes in Left party stand on various issues
Congress inclined to invite Raghavulu to a debate Proposed project near Kolkata poses threat to small, marginal farmers
VIJAYAWADA: Congress leader and VGTM-Urban Development Authority (VGTM-UDA) chairman Malladi Vishnu on Tuesday criticised the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s "double standards" in respect of several issues. He said the policies being practiced by the CPI(M) in West Bengal were the exact opposite of what the party was preaching here.
Mr. Vishnu said the Congress was inclined to invite CPI (M) State Secretary B.V. Raghavulu for a discussion on the comparison of the policies in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. While Mr. Raghavulu was opposing giving land to industries in the State, his party's Government in West Bengal was trying to give away 47,000 acres of agricultural land to industries for a song.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had run into trouble by giving land to an industrial group of Indonesia with doubtful credentials. The group would invest Rs. 250 crores in a plant near Howrah to produce 5,000 motorcycles every year.
Mr. Vishnu further alleged that the CPI(M) Government in West Bengal had tried to give away 1,100 acres of agriculture land near Kolkata to the Tatas while offering only one-fourth of market value as compensation. The farmers had refused to accept the amount, and the Government was using force to take land from them, he said. The project was going to render about 5,000 small and marginal farmers landless.
Under fire
The Congress leader said that the WB Government's "obstinate" stance of acquiring 5,000 acres in 24 Paraganas district for industries had led to much criticism, but the CPI(M) leaders in that State were defending the same by arguing that it was necessary for faster industrial growth.
Mr. Vishnu sought to know how the policies being followed in West Bengal were right but not so in Andhra Pradesh.


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Author(s): Thoreau, Henry David; Shanley, J. Lyndon; Updike, John
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Originally published in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature.
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Pressroom: Scania at IAA
Scania is presenting products and services at IAA that will contribute directly to improving bus and truck customers' profitability. For more information, visit the pressroom.
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Fart Letter
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Mt. Vernon, Illinois
Oddometer: 5,079
Originally Posted by
Thanks for sharing BigDog! I finally got time to finish this report and I have noticed a couple things. First, the donkeys in Mexico and bears Colorado have proven that Scott brings the best food. Second, you are never going to stray from your trusty WR and take the KTM...so, you should let me know the best time to come and get the 450 EXC. It is set up perfectly for my needs and I don't have a WR, so I wouldn't know what I was missing.
Mark, I know the ride was cut short (glad your ok Scott), but are you still going to do a movie?
Hi Fab,
Ya---oh Scott is a bear magnet----at least when we are in the states he's alway's got his 40 caliber on his hip.
He never travels without that thing on his side. He's so damn big when he stands up any grizzly would run off squeelin' like a pig.
Yes----you pretty observant about the KTM------same thing is going on right now--------I'm headed out West in just a few days to Dingweeds to start Mobius 11 with Dr. Rock and Francine---------------shined the KTM all up changed the oil and diddled with stuff---------then shoved it back in the corner as the WR is going again. For a 3,000 mile unsupported ride hauling camping and cooking gear it is so much better.
Maybe I better lock the KTM up while I'm gone in case you come snoopin' around.
I did make a movie---and it's a bit short as the ride was cut short-----it is really good but is only about 40 minutes long I think ?????? I hadn't planned on selling it and just really made it for me and Scott--------but if you want one send me a PM with your address and I'll get one to you. It really shows very well all the hard stuff we rode when Scott got hurt.
Here are the tracks of our upcoming ride with Dr. Rock and Francine--------it will encompass a lot of desert riding and get into Death Valley----which I've never been to. We'll start riding April 6th I think. It will be a little over 2 weeks of riding and about 2,500 miles---camping most of the time.
2008 Yamaha WR250R/2006 KTM 450EXC/2014 KTM690/2013 Husky 650 TR650
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I know this picture is a wrestling belt, but lets pretend it says Stoner Rapper Champion. There is and always will be conversations and sometimes arguments about who the best stoner/weed rapper is. Lenny took to Hail Mary Jane's facebook to find out what the fans thought. With over 60 different responses, I have come out with the top artists you stoners named. My personal favorite would have to be Curren$y or Smoke DZA. I do enjoy Cypress Hill and BTNH, but have been listening to that for years and years. If we have forgotten one, two, or three be sure to let us know.
420 Chan /woo/ I did not know you guys created this. I found it a very long time ago (Aug of 2009 to be exact). If you go and look at our other post you will see that we always cite back when we use a picture from somewhere else. I deeply apologize.
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OLSON, Marcia E., went to be with The Lord April 20, 2013. Born in Kittson County, Minnesota, August 29, 1922. Moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1960. She is survived by her son, Stephen Olson and his wife, Rosalie. She also leaves four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A graveside service will be held Friday, April 26, 2013 at East Lawn Cemetery at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers please send donations to Voice of God Recordings, P.O. Box 950, Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131. Arrangements by EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY.
OLSON, Marcia E.
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Man. Woman. Masculine. Feminine.
Eight years ago, if you asked local photographer Jana Marcus to reflect upon those words and deliver an explanation of how we identify ourselves and relate to each another, she would have been game to play along, but may have not have been prepared to truly elaborate on the subject matter and retrieve an esoteric summation.
But she is now.


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From the Publisher"....C. G. Prado offers a philosophical treatise of the reactions of loved ones (referred to as "survivors") of persons who elect to die due to terminal illness (referred to as "electors").... He explores how the surviving family and friends deal with the ill person's decision to die, particularly with regard to the severed relationships that result. The attention to survivors in this book is unique, and justified, according to Prado, because the survivor role is distinctive.... the book provides a helpful complement to the literature on decision making by the terminally ill, assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the grief process for survivors.... This book has the potential to be an essential reference for clinical ethicists, patients, and their families and friends...."
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With a $10,000 grant awarded to the Vermont Association of Wedding Professionals (VAWP) by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, the Green Mountain State will get even higher national visibility as a wedding, civil union, and honeymoon destination. The grant will help market Vermont to the growing population of couples looking to exchange vows in Vermont. VAWP is committed to being an inclusive Vermont wedding resource to help strengthen this growing trend and revenue builder throughout the state. Advertising and public relations efforts will be focused on several bridal-oriented publications especially Martha Stewart and Elegant Weddings. Vermont wedding displays will also be set up later this year at welcome centers throughout the state. The 125 members of the two-year-old non-profit, organization are united in promoting Vermont as an exceptional site for destination for couples. The group recently launched the web site www.yourvermontwedding.com for both wedding professionals and couples. The organization is made up of photographers, cake makers, officiates, florists, rental companies, jewelers, inns, caterers, hotels, and chambers of commerceeach with an eye towards inviting others to celebrate the special day in Vermont, a state rich in heritage, history, beauty, and romance.
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Case Studies in Dental Hygieneby Thomson, Evelyn
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- The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any CDs, lab manuals, study guides, etc.
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Completely updated in a new edition, this book features diverse case-based scenarios designed to help dental hygienists sharpen their critical decision- making skills and application of basic dental hygiene knowledge and skills--fromvariousdental hygiene disciplines--to client care. It will also help those preparing for the national, regional and state examinations which have a client-care focus. Each case contains a medical history, dental history, vital signs (including blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rates), radiographs, dental and periodontal charting, intraoral photographs, and photographs of study models, where applicable. Each case lists "deficits" that prompt decision-making opportunities regarding client care and treatment recommendations that promote oral health and prevent oral diseases.For Dental Hygienists and those preparing for the Dental Hygiene National Board Examination.
Table of Contents
|Pediatric Patient
|Adult-periodontal patient
|Geriatric patient
|special needs patient
|Medically Compromised patient
|Human Needs Conceptual Model to Dental Hygiene Practice
|Answers and Rationales
|Topic Index
|Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.


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Information about mysalemgastro.comThis is a report about domain mysalemgastro.com Analytics. The Data including : search engines keywords, google Page Rank: 0 Alexa Page Rank: 0,Google Index:853, yahoo Index:0. The domain hosting Location : Portland United States, IP Address:22.214.171.124. Estimated value: 310.
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4 replies Latest Post - 2013-01-08T10:09:09Z by SystemAdmin
Pinned topic Using old nmon data
Answered question This question has been answered.
Unanswered question This question has not been answered yet.
I'm working with nmon data that is several month old (All already recorded)I'm trying to merge up to a month of data to show some trending over longer periods of time, but run out of resources trying to run that much data. At the most, I've been able to merge about 7 or 8 days worth. Is there a way on the analyzer end to set it up to I guess graph that data at longer intervals instead of the 2 minutes which is pulled into the nmon data?
Updated on 2013-01-08T10:09:09Z at 2013-01-08T10:09:09Z by SystemAdmin
nagger 100000MRSJ1635 PostsACCEPTED ANSWER
Re: Using old nmon data2012-12-30T17:34:45Z in response to SystemAdminHi,
nmon is really for performance tuning but now you are trying to use it for capacity planning.
This data over load is the first problem - and it basically a Excel problem.
The next problem you will find is (even if you fix the merge 30 days) you would have 21600 data points on the one spreadsheet.
On my larger screen it has 1600 by 1200 pixels for it would be trying to display 13 data point on each pixel !!
Then the next problem is the days of the week - all would would see in the wildly fluxuating data is the weekdays are busier than the weekends.
I think you know this already.
I would decide which is your busy day of the week (say Friday) and then just graph those days (Fridays).
I hope this helps, Nigel
Re: Using old nmon data2012-12-31T11:00:02Z in response to SystemAdminHere is how I do it
I have a special version of the nmon2rrd where I have changed snapshot count from 1024 to 40000.
(+ some rrd graph tuning)
Then I run this nmon2rrd for the first dataset with execute option which creates the rrd files.
All datasets after that without execution and run separately these for each of them:
rrdtool - < rrd_update
rrdtool - < rrd_top
rrdtool - < rrd_graph
(rrd_create would create empty rrd files again, so its ignored)
Then I get longer, monthly trends updated daily. Unfortunately top process stats will not work for
obvious reason. See attached file for example.
nagger 100000MRSJ1635 PostsACCEPTED ANSWER
Re: Using old nmon data2013-01-08T09:31:45Z in response to SystemAdminI saw a forum entry somewhere but then failed to find it later
on how you changed to 40000 snapshots.
Can you let me know the details again - I would like to make that a command line option.
Cheers, Nigel Griffiths
Re: Using old nmon data2013-01-08T10:09:09Z in response to naggerSince I collect monthly data, I force rrd to print day of the month with --x-grid. But
I think its best to leave it to RRD to decide and not to adjust that along with snapshot counts.
And with snapshots getopt, I'd like to see "incremental" command line option too which should
be exclusive to the -x option. Incremental would not delete rrd files and executes all except
rrd_create. incremental works for all graphs but not for top processes.
RRD forced to draw day of month instead of long version which made the graph unreadable:
< "%s%s\" --start %d --end %d --width %d --height %d --title \"%s %s %s\" --x-grid DAY:1:
MONTH:1:DAY:1:604800:%%e ",
> "graph %s.gif %s -v \"%s%s\" --start %d --end %d --width %d --height %d --title \"%s %s %s\" ",
How many snapshots are stored in the rrd:
< fprintf(cfp," RRA:AVERAGE:0.5:1:%d\n",44640);
> fprintf(cfp," RRA:AVERAGE:0.5:1:%d\n",snapshots);
31d seconds backwards:
< utc_start = tarray[1]-2678401;
> utc_start = tarray[1]-1;
Hope this helps ;-)
PS: I still use rrd 1.2.30 since 1.4.x graph creation was **much** slower for me.


text:
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Author(s): Ahlquist, John S.; Levi, Margaret
ISBN 10: 0691158576. See all ISBN's
Publisher: Princeton University Press
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In the Interest of Others develops a new theory of organizational leadership and governance to explain why some organizations expand their scope of action in ways that do not benefit their members directly. John Ahlquist and Margaret Levi document eighty years of such activism by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States and the Waterside Workers Federation in Australia. They systematically compare the ILWU and WWF to the Teamsters and the International Longshoremen's Association, two American transport industry labor unions that actively discouraged the pursuit of political causes unrelated to their own economic interests.
Drawing on a wealth of original data, Ahlquist and Levi show how activist organizations can profoundly transform the views of members about their political efficacy and the collective actions they are willing to contemplate. They find that leaders who ask for support of projects without obvious material benefits must first demonstrate their ability to deliver the goods and services members expect. These leaders must also build governance institutions that coordinate expectations about their objectives and the behavior of members.
In the Interest of Others reveals how activist labor unions expand the community of fate and provoke preferences that transcend the private interests of individual members. Ahlquist and Levi then extend this logic to other membership organizations, including religious groups, political parties, and the state itself.
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text:
Members of an Iraqi Shiite fighters militant group called Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhadaa chant slogans against the Sunni-dominated Free Syrian Army rebel group and the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra as they carry the coffin of a Shiite fighter during a funeral procession in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. (AP Photo)
Secretary of State John F. Kerry urged Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday to step up efforts to ensure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry military aid to Syria. Only two planes reportedly have been inspected since July. (Associated Press)


text:
Law enforcement spent the day securing this area off S.C. 34 and meticulously searching until the suspects were apprehended.
The S.C. Highway Patrol and S.C. Transportation Police were among agencies helping with the search.
Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster addresses the media at one of several press conferences held throughout the day.
A member of the S.C. Transportation Police chatted with Todd Lever, right, as the day returned to normal after the arrests.
Todd and Will Lever, left, thank law enforcement for their assistance.
Will, Todd, Lynnette, and Shelby Lever were relieved once the manhunt ended and their rural life among their strawberry farm could return to normal.
Sheriff Lee Foster thanked the media for its role in helping with the search Thursday by keeping the public up-to-date.


text:
Nemanja Vidic isn't getting carried away with Manchester United's rich vein of form.
"We are stronger than last season," the Serbian said. "But... you know, sometimes you play well but you need a bit of luck to win - (maybe) in the last minute. Are we stronger than last season? We will see in the future."
Vidic also insisted that it will take a superhuman effort from United to win the Champions League if they also intend to successfully defend their Premiership title this season.
"Teams who don't have chance to win their own leagues play better because they have power and just focus on the Champions League," he said. "Last season Milan didn't play very well (domestically) but went to the final and won [it]."


text:
(Photo: Getty Images)
The Weekly Standard is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney displays in his home a chunk of the house that U.S. forces blew up to kill terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2006. Beyond its obvious morbidity, the memento seems a bit unseemly in view of reports that the White House repeatedly passed on opportunities to blow up Zarqawi's house before he killed thousands of people in Iraq and elsewhere.
According to former CIA agent Michael Scheuer, the agency was closely tracking Zarqawi's activities after the 9/11 attacks and continually made known to the White House that he was in a terrorist training camp in Iraq that could be taken out: "Almost every day we sent a package to the White House that had overhead imagery of the house he [Zarqawi] was staying in." At the time, Scheuer was told that the White House didn't want to pull the trigger "because they were wining and dining the French in an effort to get them to assist us in the invasion of Iraq," and were concerned about giving them the impression that we were "gunslingers."
As things turned out, we didn't get French support, we did get a damaging gunslinger reputation, and we didn't drop Zarqawi until he had already massacred thousands of people. But once you work past these huge failures, that rock at Cheney's house is clearly something that should be celebrated and admired.


text:
War on Soda Escalates
You didn't think sanctimonious moonbat totalitarians would quit with cigarettes, did you? Soda pop is under siege:
Soda and other sugary drinks have unsafe levels of high-fructose corn syrup or other added sugars, a consumer group says, and it's urging the government to determine a safe level to reduce Americans' "dangerously high sugar consumption."
The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a petition today with the Food and Drug Administration urging the agency to identify a safe level for added sugars in beverages. …
Beverage companies can use natural non-caloric sweeteners and sweetness enhancers instead, [CSPI Executive Director Michael] Jacobson says.
How generous of him. However, there is no guarantee that a jihad against artificial sweeteners won't follow. Forcing a rat to eat a pound a day of aspartame could be found to cause health problems (not that aspartame would count as "natural" anyway).
Self-righteous health initiatives like the War on Soda are popular because they achieve two of liberals' main objectives: control for the sake of control, and confiscation of other people's wealth through punitive taxation:
The state Senate judiciary committee has pushed forward a proposal to add a fee to sugary beverages in Hawaii.
The judiciary committee's vote Tuesday came just a day after the Senate health committee approved the same bill.
Moonbat Governor Neil Abercrombie will eagerly sign the bill, in order to "fight obesity" and more importantly rake in $38 million in revenue with which to buy votes from society's barnacles.
Even the health fascists of the FDA recognize staples of our diet like sugar and corn syrup as perfectly safe. But nothing is safe if you consume enough of it. A woman who died of a heart attack after drinking an astonishing two gallons a day of Coca-Cola has been seized upon as evidence that bureaucrats must regulate our soda drinking for our own good.
The beverage industry will be tempted to pour every penny it can scrape up into the Democrat Party in hopes of bribing it to call off the attack dogs. This won't help. Next will come lawsuits from greedy parasites sniveling that Pepsi made them fat. Eventually soda will be either prohibitively expensive or illegal.
Next to be taken away from us will be… hot dogs? Pie? Potatoes? Who knows? All we can say for sure is that liberals will never stop boxing us into an ever smaller space.
On tips from Jimbo, Robert B, Wiggins, and johnnosk. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.
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text:
A central Ohio village that lost a major part of its revenue stream when the state abolished mayor's courts for some small villages has a new system for collecting money from traffic fines.
The number of traffic and misdemeanor cases being heard in mayor's courts is at a new low.
Four of the six villages whose mayor's courts would be dissolved Friday under a new state law have filed a lawsuit in Franklin County seeking to keep them operating.


text:
I love you...
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Posted by Anonymous
on January 23rd, 2013 at 6:28 PM
I would love to tell you one day.... I will tell you one day, but for now, Il tell you in my dreams. If only you could hear my heart.
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Today is someday. Do it now. Don't miss the moment. Life is precious, today is all we have.
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text:
The spate of atheists on the bestsellers list dismiss Christianity as irrational. They exude a palpable condescension. But what they ignore or are unaware of is that some of the most significant thinkers in western civilization have been Christians. Stringent rationality and Christianity have found harmony in the minds of some of the most lettered people in our history books.
I noticed something stunning a few years back while paging through Frederick Coppleston's landmark work, A History of Philosophy, for a class. Virtually every major thinker in the history of western civilization since Aristotle was a deeply committed Christian theist.
The list is impressive: Irenaeus, Eusebius, Augustine, John Duns Scotus, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Rene Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz. It isn't until the Enlightenment that God and the Bible are not a standard part of the philosophic equation.
For 18 centuries, those who thought deeply and carefully about reality did so with the conviction that God was real, that Jesus was His messiah, and the Gospel was the power of God to change lives.
Let me tell you why this discovery was so important to me. As you may know, I used to think I was too smart to be a Christian. As an Honors College student in pre-law at Michigan State University, I thought Jesus was for socially unacceptable fools who needed someone to do their thinking for them.
So when I was drawn into the Kingdom, it was an epiphany of sorts to realize how wrong I was. Early on I discovered Francis Schaeffer and his seminal trilogy—The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, and He Is There and He Is Not Silent. Then there was C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, J.P. Moreland, and a host of others since.
These luminous minds convinced me that Christianity is worth thinking about. It's a phrase I use often. I open my talks at radically liberal schools like Cal Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA, and Ohio State with those words.
It's become almost synonymous with STR. In fact, I frequently use both phrases together: "Stand to Reason—Christianity worth thinking about."
Even with the popularity of the so-called "new atheists" – Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins— it's clear to me that it's no leap of faith to believe in God. In fact, the more we learn about science, the more credible Christianity becomes. Recently the number one philosophical atheist in the world, Antony Flew, did a dramatic about-face and embraced theism—against his will, as it were—on the strength of the scientific evidence for a designer.
Gregory Koukl is founder and president of Stand to Reason, an organization devoted to a thoughtful and engaging defense of classical Christianity in the public square. He is also a radio talk show host and author of Relativism—Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air.
Be the first to read Gregory Koukl's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox.
Awkward: CIA Shuts Down Climate Research Program After Obama Frames Climate Change as National Security Threat | Leah Barkoukis
Clinton Foundation: Oh, We Made Additional $12-26 Million From Speeches Given By the Former First Family | Matt Vespa


text:
Real Couples #2, S02
JuicyBoys.com presents scene two from Pantheon Men's "Real Couples #2". Four more sexy couples get down and dirty in our second feature-length DVD celebrating sex between real-life couples. Watch as Ted tops his younger beau Chris, hung and uncut men Larry and Jag get very oral with each other, James tops his *********** Dennis, then Dennis turns the tables and gives James his fill with a big dildo, and see Stephen in heaven getting fucked by his huge-hung and uncut older partner Jon. Real couples. Real sex.
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Added: 11 Jan 12
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Views: 9860


text:
Staff Reporter
Left party dubs the move to hand over work to a private agency "hasty"
PUDUCHERRY: The Oulgaret Municipality's decision to construct a modern shopping complex at a cost of Rs.58.65 crore on a build-operate-transfer basis appears to have run into rough weather with the Communist Party of India dubbing the move to hand over the work to a private agency "hasty".
At an emergency meeting of the Municipal Council on August 24, as many as 21 resolutions, including the market complex at Pakkamudiyanpet on the East Coast Road, were passed.
As per the proposal, the site, five acres of a temple land acquired by the Government about a few years ago, to shift the Periyakadi market, will be given to a private agency to construct the complex.
The decision to hand over the project to the contractor, without having any debate in the council, drew criticism from four councillors belonging to the CPI. They had protested against the move at the council meeting and staged a walk out.
Councillor Sekar, who represents Brindhavanam Ward, said they were informed about the meeting only a day before. As a routine practice, the agenda for the council meeting should have been conveyed to the councillors at least two days in advance. At this particular meeting, the agenda was circulated just minutes before the council met, he said.
"What was the necessity for such an urgent meeting, especially when a decision pertaining to a major project was a subject" he asked.
The CPI would oppose the decision to hand over construction of the complex to a private builder at every forum. The original plan was to construct the complex using Government funds, he noted.
He urged the authorities to withdraw the decision and to have a full-fledged discussion on the issue.
CPI councillor of Vinobha Nagar K. Sudha said the project could bring revenue to the municipality if it was constructed by the Government.
However, Local Administration Director E. Vallavan said the project had been agreed in principle only. "There are many other formalities to be completed before even choosing the private agency," he noted.
The resolution passed by the council said that a committee would be formed to set the norms before it was allotted to the builder.


text:
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Posted February 14, 2012
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The biography of Fay Zwicky. This page has biographical information on Fay Zwicky, one of the best poets of all time. This PoetrySoup page also provides access to the poet's poems, best poetry, quotes, and video biographies...if available.
Fay Zwicky (born 4 July 1933 in Melbourne ) is a contemporary Australian poet, short-story writer, critic and academic primarily known for her autobiographical poem Kaddish which deals with her identity as a Jewish writer.
Sorry, no poems have been posted.
More Fay Zwicky Information


text:
Daily Health Tips update for February 15:
Vitamin D's role in bone health is well known, but scientists continue to look at its role in boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation and supporting muscle health. How does vitamin D work? It's created in the "body from exposure to sunlight, traveling through the bloodstream to become a potent hormone that wakes up receptors in your intestines to start absorbing calcium." Now, research indicates that other organs and muscles are equipped with these receptors as well.
So how much do you need each day? The recommended daily allowance is 600 IU for everyone under age 70, but this is based on bone health support and assumes minimal sunlight. Many nutritionists and physicians believe that is not enough due to the recently discovered receptors mentioned above; they now recommend 1,000 to 3,000 IU per day.
What's the best way to get enough vitamin D? Sun exposure is tricky, especially if you live in the northern latitudes. Plus, the need for sunscreen inhibits the amount of vitamin D the body can absorb. Thankfully, dietary supplements can help you get the right amount of vitamin D. Choose the cholecalciferol version (D3), which is more bioavailable than ergocalciferol (D2).
Source: Runner's World