text:
| | Other topics
News articles on jeremy hance
Mongabay.com news articles on jeremy hance in blog format. Updated regularly.
Animal picture of the day: the world's biggest cat
(02/07/2013) The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Siberian tiger, is the world's biggest cat. An adult male weighs on average about 390 pounds (176 kilograms). The largest yet recorded weighed 460 pounds (207 kilograms), although there are reports of considerably larger animals in the past.
Over 11,000 elephants killed by poachers in a single park [warning: graphic photo]
(02/06/2013) Surveys in Gabon's Minkebe National Park have revealed rare and hard data on the scale of the illegal ivory trade over the last eight years: 11,100 forest elephants have been slaughtered for their tusks in this remote protected area since 2004. In all, poachers have cut down the park's elephant population by two-thirds, decimating what was once believed to be the largest forest elephant population in the world.
Over 1,500 wolves killed in the contiguous U.S. since hunting legalized
(02/06/2013) Hunters and trappers have killed approximately 1,530 wolves over the last 18 months in the contiguous U.S., which excludes Alaska. After being protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for 38 years, gray wolves (Canis lupus) were stripped of their protected states in 2011 by a legislative rider (the only animal to ever be removed in this way). Hunting and trapping first began in Montana and Idaho and has since opened in Wyoming, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Head of IMF: climate change is 'the greatest economic challenge of the 21st century'
(02/06/2013) Climate change not debt or austerity is "the greatest economic challenge of the 21st Century," according to Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Lagarde painted a stark picture of the challenges the world faces when up against rising temperatures.
U.S. proposes to list wolverine under Endangered Species Act
(02/05/2013) Arguably one of the toughest animals on Earth, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) may soon find itself protected under the U.S.'s Endangered Species Act (ESA) as climate change melts away its preferred habitat. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced it was proposing to place the world's largest terrestrial mustelid on the list. Only 250-300 wolverines are believed to survive in the contiguous U.S.
EU pushes ban on pesticides linked to bee downfall
(02/05/2013) Following a flood of damning research on the longterm impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee colonies, the EU is proposing a two year ban on the popular pesticides for crops that attract bees, such as corn, sunflower, oil seed rape, cotton. The proposal comes shortly after European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a report that found neonicotinoid pesticides posed a "number of risks" to bees.
Sri Lanka to give poached ivory to Buddhist temple, flouting international agreements
(02/05/2013) The Sri Lankan government is planning to give 359 elephant tusks to a Buddhist temple, a move that critics say is flouting the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The illegal tusks were seized in Sri Lanka last May en route to Dubai from Kenya; they are believed to stem from hundreds of butchered elephants, including juveniles, inside Africa, possibly Uganda. The decision comes after a high-profile National Geographic article, Ivory Worship, outlined how demand for ivory religious handicrafts, particularly by Catholics and Buddhists, is worsening the current poaching crisis. In 2011, it was estimated that 25,000 elephants were illegally slaughtered for their tusks.
WWF and National Geographic ask: 'How much stuff do you need?'
(02/04/2013) Seven billion people inhabit the planet and all require food and water, but less than one percent of the water found on the planet is fresh and accessible and 70 percent of that goes to growing crops. Meanwhile temperatures are rising worldwide due to the overuse of fossil fuel energy. Given these issues, a new series of videos by WWF and National Geographic, entitled Make Choices Count, aims to get people thinking about the environmental impact of commonly used items. The first video (see below) focuses on one of our most ubiquitous items: the cotton T-shirt.
Vatican condemns elephant poaching, pledges steps
(02/04/2013) Responding to an investigative report by National Geographic, the Vatican has condemned elephant poaching for ivory and pledged three steps to help in the battle to save the world's elephants. The National Geographic article Ivory Worship, by Bryan Christy, looked at how religions—specifically religious items for Christians and Buddhists—were playing in the growing demand for black-market ivory, which is currently resulting in the violent deaths of tens-of-thousands of endangered elephants every year.
From slash-and-burn to Amazon heroes: new video series highlights agricultural transformation
(01/31/2013) A new series of short films is celebrating the innovation of rural farmers in the Manu region of Peru. Home to jaguars, macaws, and tapirs, the Manu region is also one of the top contenders for the world's most biodiverse place. It faces a multitude of threats from road-building to mining to gas and oil concessions. Still the impact of smallscale slash-and-burn farming—once seen as the greatest threat to the Amazon and other rainforest—may be diminishing as farmers, like the first film's Reynaldo (see below), turn to new ways of farming, ones that preserve the forest while providing a better life overall.
Gorilla paradise: new park safeguards 15,000 western lowland gorillas
(01/31/2013) In 2008 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced a jaw-dropping discovery: remote swamp forests in northern Republic of Congo contained a stunning population of 125,000 western lowland gorillas that had somehow gone unnoticed by scientists. At the time the President of WCS, Steven E. Sanderson, called the area the "mother lode of gorillas," and expressed hope that the discovery would lead to a new park. Well, late last year, a park was finalized.
14 Bornean elephants found dead, likely poisoned
(01/31/2013) Wildlife officials in the Malaysian state of Sabah have found the bodies of 14 Bornean elephants in Gunung Rara Forest Reserve, and suspect that more may be found dead. While tests are pending, they believe the elephants were likely poisoned due to damage in the animals' digestive tracts. Only around 2,000 Bornean elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) are left on the island of Borneo with the vast bulk found in Sabah.
China responsible for 46 percent of global coal consumption
(01/30/2013) A new chart by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows how China's coal habit has grown to such an extent that it now accounts for 46.9 percent of the world's consumption. In 2011 coal consumption hit 3.8 billion tons in China, making up nearly half the world's coal use of 8.1 billion tons. Coal comes with a number of environmental issues—including toxic air and water pollution—but the most pressing globally is climate change.
Featured video: the miracle of mangroves
(01/30/2013) Mangroves are among the most important ecosystems in the world: they provide nurseries for fish, protect coastlines against dangerous tropical storms, mitigate marine erosion, store massive amounts of carbon, and harbor species found no-where else. However, they are vanishing at astonishing rates: experts say around 35 percent of the world's mangroves were lost in just twenty years (1990 to 2010).
Controversial research outlines physics behind how forests may bring rain
(01/30/2013) It took over two-and-a-half-years for the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics to finally accept a paper outlining a new meteorological hypothesis in which condensation, not temperature, drives winds. If proven correct, the hypothesis could have massive ramifications on global policy—not to mention meteorology—as essentially the hypothesis means that the world's forest play a major role in driving precipitation from the coast into a continent's interior. The theory, known as the biotic pump, was first developed in 2006 by two Russian scientists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva of the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics, but the two have faced major pushback and delays in their attempt to put the theory before the greater scientific community.
Beyond the resorts: traveling the real and wild Dominican Republic (photos)
(01/29/2013) For its stunning variety of ecosystems, the Dominican Republic is like a continent squished into half an island. Lowland rainforests, cloud forests, pine forests, dry forests, mangroves, savannah, coastal lagoons, salt lakes, a rift valley, karst land formations, four mountain ranges—including the highest mountain in the Caribbean—and not to mention some of the best beaches, snorkeling, and scuba diving in the hemisphere can all be reached within just a few hours drive of the capital, Santo Domingo. Yet, bizarrely, most tourists who visit the Dominican Republic never venture out of their all-inclusive resort, missing out on some of the most stunning landscapes—and accessible wildlife viewing—in the Caribbean.
Miners win ruling over indigenous groups in Guyana
(01/29/2013) A judge in Guyana's high court has ruled that indigenous groups do not have the right to expel legal miners from their land. The judge, Diana Insanally, found that if the miners in question held a government-approved license than the local community had no right to dispute the mining. The ruling has sparked protests by indigenous groups and is expected to be appealed.
New palm oil concession imperils orangutan population in Borneo
(01/28/2013) Three conservation groups warn that a proposed palm oil plantation puts a significant Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) population at risk in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The plantation, which would cover 400 hectares of private forest land, lies adjacent to Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, home to 480 orangutans.
Popular pesticides kill frogs outright
(01/28/2013) Commonly used agrochemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides) kill frogs outright when sprayed on fields even when used at recommended dosages, according to new research in Scientific Reports. Testing seven chemicals on European common frogs (Rana temporaria), the scientists found that all of them were potentially lethal to amphibians. In fact, two fungicides—Headline and Captain Omya—wiped out the entire population of frogs at the recommended dosage. The study warns that agricultural chemicals could be having a large-scale and largely unrecorded impact on the world's vanishing amphibians.
Over $8 billion invested in watersheds in 2011
(01/28/2013) Unlike cars, hamburgers, and computers, clean drinking water is a requirement for human survival. In a bid to safeguard this essential resource, more and more nations are moving toward protecting ecosystems, such as forests, wetlands, and streams. In fact, according to a new report by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace, nations spent $8.17 billion in 2011 to secure freshwater by conserving watersheds.
Scientists could name every species on Earth in 50 years
(01/28/2013) A bold new paper in Science argues that the world's species could be named and described before they vanish into extinction, though the threat of eventual extinction will remain for many, especially as climate change worsens. The scientists say that contrary to popular belief, there are more taxonomists working than ever before and there are likely less species on Earth than often reported, making finding and naming the world's species within reach this century.
Cute koalas have become 'urban refugees'
(01/28/2013) According to Susan Kelly, koalas have become "urban refugees," under siege by expanding cities that bring with them deforestation, dogs, traffic, and other ills for native wildlife. Director of Global Witness, and writer, producer and director of the new documentary Koala Hospital, Kelly has spent 3 years working to understand the rising threats to one of the world's most beloved marsupials. While Koala Hospital highlights the many perils facing koalas, including climate change due to record fires across Australia, it also looks at the efforts of individuals who work to save koalas one—by—one at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, taking in patients who have been orphaned, hit by cars, scarred in fires, or attacked by dogs.
Typhoon Bopha decimated coral reefs
(01/24/2013) When Typhoon Bopha, also known as Pablo, ran ashore on Mindanao, it was the largest tropical storm it ever hit the Philippine island. In its wake the massive superstorm left over 1,000 people were dead and 6.2 million affected with officials saying illegal logging and mining worsened the scale of the disaster. However, the Category 5 typhoon also left a trail of destruction that has been less reported: coral reefs.
Forests in Kenya worth much more intact says government report
(01/24/2013) Kenya's forests provide greater services and wealth to the nation when they are left standing. A landmark report by The Kenyan Government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) addresses the importance of forests to the well-being of the nation, putting Kenya among a pioneering group of countries that aim to center development plans around nature-based assets.
Illegally logged trees to start calling for help
(01/24/2013) Illegal loggers beware: trees will soon be calling—literally—for backup. The Brazilian government has begun fixing trees with a wireless device, known as Invisible Tracck, which will allow trees to contact authorities after being felled and moved.
Scientists point to research flaw that has likely exaggerated the impact of logging in tropical forests
(01/23/2013) The impact of logging on tropical forest species has likely been exaggerated by statistical problems, according to a new study in Conservation Biology. Reviewing 77 studies on how logging affects tropical biodiversity, scientists found that 67 percent were flawed by a technical problem known as 'pseudoreplication.' The debate over logging in tropical forests has garnered significant attention recently as some scientists argue that well-managed logging areas can actually retain impressive numbers of species, while others say logging does irreparable harm to the ecosystem's ecology.
Photos: Scientists discover tapir bonanza in the Amazon
(01/22/2013) Over 14,000 lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), also known as Brazilian tapirs, roam an Amazonian landscape across Bolivia and Peru, according to new research by scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Using remote camera trapping, thousands of distribution records, and interviews, the researchers estimated the abundance of lowland tapirs in the Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape Conservation Program made up of three national parks in Bolivia (Madidi, Pilón Lajas and Apolobamba) and two in Peru (Tambopata and Bahuaja Sonene).
Climate change melting glaciers in the Andes
(01/22/2013) Glaciers are melting faster than ever in the tropical Andes, warns a new study published in The Cryosphere, which puts the blame for vanishing glaciers squarely on climate change. The study — the most comprehensive to date — found that since the 1970s glacier melt in the region has been speeding up, threatening freshwater supplies in Peru and Bolivia.
Save Lolita: new film urges release of captive killer whale
(01/22/2013) Through his new 90-second PSA, Save Lolita, filmmaker Daniel Azarian wanted to connect people to the plight of Lolita on a deeply human level; the only problem: Lolita is an orca, also known as a killer whale. But the stark, moving PSA succeeds, given the sociability of an individual—human or orca—who was stolen from her family and held in captivity for the past 42 years at Miami's Seaquarium.
Obama: 'We will respond to the threat of climate change'
(01/21/2013) In Obama's second inauguration speech today, the newly re-elected president of the U.S. reaffirmed his commitment to taking action on climate during his second term. Noting that ignoring climate change would "betray our children and future generations," Obama argued whole-heartedly for a transition to clean energy.
Three developing nations move to ban hunting to protect vanishing wildlife
(01/21/2013) Three developing countries have recently toughened hunting regulations believing the changes will better protect vanishing species. Botswana has announced it will ban trophy hunting on public lands beginning in 2014, while Zambia has recently banned any hunting of leopards or lions, both of which are disappearing across Africa. However, the most stringent ban comes from another continent: Costa Rica—often considered one of the "greenest" countries on Earth—has recently passed a law that bans all sport hunting and trapping both inside and outside protected areas. The controversial new law is considered the toughest in the Western Hemisphere.
Telling the story of the father of sea turtle conservation
(01/21/2013) In 1959, visionary Archer Carr founded the world's first conservation group devoted solely to sea turtles. Working with these marine denizens in Costa Rica, Carr was not only instrumental in changing local views of the turtles—which at the time were being hunted and eaten at unsustainable rates—but also in establishing basic practices for sea turtle conservation today. Now a new film by Two-Head Video, Inc. tells the story of Carr's work and the perils still facing marine turtles today.
Fish unable to pass through dams in U.S. presents 'cautionary tale' for developing world
(01/17/2013) Dams create a largely impenetrable barrier for fish even when the dams were installed with specially-built passages, according to a new study in Conservation Letters. The scientists found that migrating fish largely failed to use the passages in the U.S., resulting in far fewer moving through the state-of-the-art hydroelectric dams than had been promised. The researchers say that their findings are a "cautionary tale" for developing nations.
Presence of trees may mitigate cardiovascular and respiratory disease
(01/17/2013) Scientists with the U.S. Forest Service have observed a link between human health and trees, implying that trees may actually mitigate both cardiovascular and lower respiratory disease. Although the researchers do not yet put forward a reason why or how the presence of trees save lives, they are convinced there is a link.
Asia's third largest animal may be on the rebound
(01/17/2013) Unlike Asia's largest animal (the elephant) and its second largest (the rhino), the wild yak—the third largest animal on the world's biggest continent—rarely makes headlines and is never paraded by conservation groups to garner donations. Surviving on the top of the world, in the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, the wild yak (Bos mutus) lives it life out in such obscurity that even scientists know almost nothing about it.
Bloodsucking flies help scientists identify rare, hard-to-find mammals
(01/16/2013) Last year scientists released a study that is likely to revolutionize how conservationists track elusive species. Researchers extracted the recently sucked blood of terrestrial leeches in Vietnam's remote Annamite Mountains and looked at the DNA of what they'd been feeding on: remarkably researchers were able to identify a number of endangered and rarely-seen mammals. In fact two of the species gleaned from these blood-meals had been discovered by scientists as late as the 1990s. In the past, trying to find rare and shy jungle animals required many man hours and a lot of funding. While the increasing use of remote camera traps has allowed scientists to expand their search, DNA sampling from leeches could be the next big step in simplifying (and cheapening) the quest for tracking the world's mammals.
New website tracks protected areas under attack
(01/16/2013) The struggle to safeguard wild lands and species doesn't end when a park or protected area is created. In fact, social scientists and conservationists are increasingly uncovering a global trend whereby even long-established protected areas come under pressure by industrial, governmental, or community interests. This phenomenon, recently dubbed PADDD (which stands for Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement), includes protected areas that see their legal status lowered (downgraded), lose a section of their land (downsized), or are abolished entirely (degazetted). Now, a new website from WWF seeks to track PADDD events worldwide.
Cute animal picture of the day: white-cheeked gibbon baby
(01/16/2013) A northern white-cheeked gibbon pair (Nomascus leucogenys) at the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Bronx Zoo have given birth to a brand new infant. This is the mother gibbon's 11th infant.
Rhino wars: documenting the poaching crisis in South Africa
(01/16/2013) In 2012 a record 668 rhinos were slaughtered by poachers in South Africa for the horns, which are used as scientifically-debunked medicine in Asia. Rhino poaching has hit record levels worldwide over the past few years, but no where is the carnage greater than South Africa, which houses well over half of the world's rhinos. Thus it's no surprise that when student filmmaker, Anne Goodard, arrived in South Africa to film zebra behavior, she quickly became enthralled by the dark and tragic drama surrounding the country's rhinos.
How a text message could save an elephant or a rhino from a poacher
(01/15/2013) Soon a text message may save an elephant's or rhino's life. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is implementing a new alarm system in some protected areas that will alert rangers of intruders via a text message, reports the Guardian. Elephants and rhinos have been killed in record numbers across Africa as demand for illegal rhino horns and ivory in Asia has skyrocketed.
Landmines, chains, and hope: the elephants of Thailand
(01/15/2013) Few animals draw more compassion and awe from people than elephants. Highly intelligent, deeply social, and touchingly sensitive, elephants have much in common with human beings, despite their size and shape. Yet elephants around the world are still often abused and mis-treated, whether to entertain tourists or as victims of human strife. A new film, The Last Elephants in Thailand, sets out to document both the good and bad that elephants encounter in a world dominated by homo sapiens.
Gold mine approved in French Guiana's only national park
(01/15/2013) Tensions have risen in the small Amazonian community of Saül in French Guiana after locals discovered that the French government approved a large-scale gold mining operation near their town—and inside French Guiana's only national park—against their wishes. Run by mining company, Rexma, locals and scientists both fear that the mine would lead to deforestation, water pollution, and a loss in biodiversity for a community dependent on the forest and ecotourism.
In the kingdom of the black panther
(01/15/2013) The black panther has a mythical aura: Rudyard Kipling chose the animal for one of his heroes in the Jungle Book, in the 1970s it became the symbol of an African-American socialist party, while comic guru Stan Lee selected the stunning feline for his first black superhero. But the real black panther isn't an actual species, instead it's a rare dark pigmentation found most commonly in leopards, but also occasionally in jaguars and other wild cats. The rarity of the black panther—not to mention its striking appearance—has added to their mystery. However, recent studies have found that black panthers, in this case 'black leopards,' are astoundingly common in one part of the world: the Malayan peninsula.
Malaysian candidate pledges to drop controversial dam in Sarawak if elected
(01/14/2013) Malaysia's current opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has pledged to cancel the controversial Baram Dam in Sarawak if upcoming general elections sweep him into the office of Prime Minister. Ibrahim made the announcement while visiting the state of Sarawak, located on the island of Borneo, over the weekend, according to the indigenous rights NGO, Bruno Manser Fund.
Climate change already pummeling U.S. according to government report
(01/14/2013) Climate change is on the march across the U.S. according to a new draft report written by U.S. government scientists with input from 240 experts. It documents increasing and worsening extreme weather, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification among other impacts. Released Friday for public review, the report will be officially launched later this year or early in 2014.
NGOs call on Obama Administration to suspend Arctic oil drilling after series of blunders
(01/10/2013) A coalition of 17 conservation groups are calling on the Obama Administration to suspend offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic after Shell's attempt to drill there has been undermined by a series of mishaps. Shell's long stream of problems was capped this month when the company lost control of its drilling rig which ran aground on Sitkalidak Island in southern Alaska. Officials have now warned that up to 272 gallons of diesel fuel may have spilled from the rig's lifeboats.
Biofuel boom could lead to life-threatening ozone pollution
(01/09/2013) Not long ago biofuels were seen as one of the major tools to combat climate change, but a large number of studies in recent years have shown that many first generation biofuels may have little climate benefit—and some are actually harmful—and are also linked to rising food prices. Now, a new study in Nature Climate Change warns that biofuels using fast-growing trees (polar, willow, and eucalytpus) could also exacerbate ground-level ozone pollution.
Australia reels from record heatwave, fires
(01/09/2013) Yesterday Australia recorded its highest average temperature yet: 40.33 degrees Celsius (104.59 Fahrenheit). The nation has been sweltering under an unprecedented summer heatwave that has spawned wildfires across the nation, including on the island of Tasmania where over 100 houses were engulfed over the weekend. Temperatures are finally falling slightly today, providing a short reprieve before they are expected to rise again this weekend.
New giant flying frog discovered near city of 9 million
(01/09/2013) Jodi Rowley is no stranger to discovering new amphibians—she's helped describe over 10 in her short career thus far—but still she was shocked to discover a new species of flying frog less than 100 kilometers from a major, bustling Southeast Asian metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately, the new frog, dubbed Helen's tree frog (Rhacophorus helenae), may be on the verge of extinction, according to the description published in the Journal of Herpetology.
Giant squid caught on video
(01/08/2013) Last summer, after 55 dives, three scientists in a submarine off the coast of Japan encountered an animal people have mythologized and feared for thousands of years: the giant squid. According to the researchers with Japan's National Science Museum they managed to capture the first footage ever (see below) of a giant squid in its natural habitat, although photos were also released in 2005 of a giant squid feeding.
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 | Page 11 | Page 12 | Page 13 | Page 14 | Page 15 | Page 16 | Page 17 | Page 18 | Page 19 | Page 20 | Page 21 | Page 22 | Page 23 | Page 24 | Page 25 | Page 26 | Page 27 | Page 28 | Page 29 | Page 30 | Page 31 | Page 32 | Page 33 | Page 34 | Page 35 | Page 36 | Page 37 | Page 38 | Page 39 | Page 40 | Page 41 | Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 44 | Page 45 | Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 48 | Page 49 | Page 50 | Page 51 | Page 52 | Page 53 | Page 54 | Page 55 | Page 56 | Page 57 | Page 58 | Page 59 | Page 60 | Page 61


text:
Strasburg stands among the greatest
Whether he's the best ever is up for debate, but one thing is certain . . .
There apparently is little time to study history when you're busy making it.
Asked this week if he has given any thought to his place in college baseball history, San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg said, "Not at all."
Coming into his final regular-season home start tomorrow night against Air Force – a game that was declared a sellout on Monday – Strasburg (10-0) is among the nation's leaders in victories and ERA (1.38) and leads the country in strikeouts (147), strikeouts per nine innings (16.9) and strikeout/walk ratio (9.8:1).
Strasburg burst on the national scene with last season's 23-strikeout game against Utah, followed that by pitching on the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing and then created bigger buzz this year with a fastball that has been clocked as high as 103 mph. But he is much more than that.
"He's further along at 20 than any young pitcher I've ever seen," said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. "I didn't see some of the great, great ones, but for a 20-year-old junior to be recognizing that (hitters) are cheating on the fastball and just drop that slider right on them, then a change-up and then a 99 (mph fastball) on the black . . . "
Gwynn doesn't finish the thought – he doesn't need to – as he shakes his head.
It all begs the question: Is Stephen Strasburg the greatest college pitcher ever?
That depends on how greatness is measured.
It is impossible for today's college pitchers to rack up the victory totals of those from 20, 30 or 40 years ago. The NCAA's compressed schedule means Strasburg will get but 14 starts, counting the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Years ago, it was common for top pitchers to get more than 20 starts – which is how Hawaii's Derek Tatsuno (20-1 in 1979) and Florida State's Mike Loynd (20-3 in 1986) came to share the NCAA record for victories.
That gives Tatsuno and Loynd the most, but does it make them the best?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Elderly Animals Artist Statement
I am traveling to sanctuaries across the country to photograph animals who are elderly or at the end stage of their lives. I began this series shortly after I had spent a year in New Jersey helping my sister care for our mom who had Alzheimer's disease. The experience had a profound impact on me and forced me to confront my own mortality.
Many of the animals who were photographed for this project were reared on factory farms before they were placed into sanctuaries. Others were beloved pets who were well cared for since an early age. Some of the animals in these images appear to be quite frail; others seem youthful despite their advanced ages.
Defining the age at which an animal is considered elderly is not always clear-cut. Modern factory farm animals have been genetically engineered to mature faster and grow considerably larger than heirloom breeds. For example, chickens are slaughtered when they are around 42 days old so a rescued factory farm chicken is considered geriatric at only a year old even though heritage chickens can live up to 8 years old.
In order to achieve a sense of intimacy in these portraits, I spend several hours with the animals I photograph and I try to visit them multiple times. Depending on the animal, I may spend an hour or so simply lying on the ground next to the creature before I take a single image. This approach helps the animal acclimate to my presence and it allows me to observe the animal without being focused on picture taking. A difficult aspect of this project is that the animals I bond with and photograph usually die within weeks to months after I meet them. Grief inspired this project and it also has become an inherent byproduct of making this work.
I am creating these photographs in order to take an unflinching look at aging and mortality. Both my maternal grandmother and my mom died while in the final throes of dementia. I am terrified of developing Alzheimer's disease and I get nervous whenever I lose my keys or forget a person's name. Photographing geriatric animals enables me to immerse myself in my fear of growing old. These images reflect my fears and hopes about what I will be like when I am old.
I also want my images to inspire greater empathy toward animals, particularly farm animals. It is very rare for a farm animal to actually live its full natural lifespan given that most of these animals experience brutality and death early in their lives. By depicting the beauty and dignity of these creatures in their later years, I want people to see farm animals differently and to challenge the way these animals are currently treated.
Download Artist Statement.
Elderly Animals Film
The following short film was created by Walley Films about Isa's Elderly Animals project. Filming was done in San Antonio, Texas and in Kendalia, Texas in May 2011. Warm thanks goes to Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation for letting Isa and the Walleys film at their sanctuary.


text:
A kidney stone disintegrating system includes a computer-controlled aiming system. The disintegrating system includes a reflector containing water through which the reflector is coupled to a living body having a kidney stone. The reflector is a portion of an ellipsoid and a spark gap generator is located at one focus of the ellipsoid. An electrical energy source is connected to the spark gap generator for generating a spark which in turn generates a shock wave in the fluid. Three motors are connected to the reflector for moving it in respectively X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions to locate the reflector so that the kidney stone lies at the second focus point thereof. A pair of ultrasound transducers are carried by an articulated support comprising a plurality of pivotally interconnected arms. Precision potentiometers are provided between the arms to indicate the relative positions thereof, and electrical potentials from the potentiometers are connected to a computer. The signals and the computer are connected to a monitor having a screen to display the kidney stone, and particularly the position thereof as determined by the two transducers. The computer is connected to the three motors to position the reflector in accordance with the positions of the transducers to locate the reflector with the second focus point coinciding with the kidney stone. Controls are provided for causing generation of a spark with the resulting shock wave focused on the kidney stone to destroy the kidney stone.
1. A disintetgrating system for calculi such as kidney stones comprising a reflector, a fluid medium in said reflector coupling said reflector to a living body having calculus therein, means providing a spark gap in said reflector, electrical energy means connected to said spark gap means for generating a spark in said gap means to generate a shock wave in said fluid medium, motor means connected to said reflector for moving said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus, ultrasound transducer means, movable support means for said transducer means permitting manual movement of said transducer means for ultrasonically locating said calculus, electric signal means connected to said transducer means for indicating the position thereof, computer means, means electrically connecting said signal means to said computer means, means electrically connecting said computer means to said motor means to position said reflectior in accordance with the position of said transducer means to effect focusing of said shock wave on said calculus, and means for operating said electrical energy means to generate a spark in said spark gap means to produce a shock wave focused on said calculus, to disintegrate said calculus, and further including means connected to said body to develop a pneumogram thereof, and means electrically connecting said penumogram means to said computer to effect movement of said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus continuously with the breathing of said body.
2. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said motor means comprises three motors respectively connected to said reflector to move said reflector on the X-axis, on the Y-axis and the Z-axis.
3. A system as set forth in claim 2 and further including electrocardiogram means connected to said body, and electric means interconnecting said electrocardiogram means and said computer to ensure generation of a spark only during a predetermined portion of the pulse wave of said body.
4. A disintegrating system for calculi such as kidney stones comprising a reflector, a fluid medium in said reflector coupling said reflector to a living body having a calculus therein, means providing a spark gap in said reflector, electrical energy means connected to said spark gap means for generating a spark in said gap means to generate a shock wave in said fluid medium, motor means connected to said reflector for moving said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus, ultrasound transducer means, movable support means for said transducer means permitting manual movement of said transducer means for utlrasonically locating said caluculus, electric signal means connected to said transducer means for indicating the position thereof, computer means, means electrically connecting said signal means to said computer means, means electrically connecting said computer means to said motor means to position said reflector in accordance with the position of said transducer means to effect focusing of said shock wave on said calculus, and means for operating said electrical energy means to generate a spark in said spark gap means to produce a shock wave focused on said calculus, to disintegrate said calculus, means connecting said computer means to said energy means to effect firing thereof only when said reflector is in proper position to focus said shock wave on said calculus, and further including means connected to said body to develop a pneumogram thereof, and means electrically connecting said penumogram means to said computer to effect movement of said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus continuously with the breathing of said body.
5. A system as set forth in claim 4 and further including electrocardiogram means connected to said body, and electric means connecting said electrocardiogram means to said computer to effect firing of said emergy means only during a predetermined portion of the pulse wave of said body.
6. A disintegrating system for calculus such as a kidney stone comprising a reflector, a fluid medium in said reflector for coupling said reflector to a living body having a calculus therein, shock wave generating means to generate a shock wave in said reflector, electrical energy means connected to said shock wave generating means to generate a shock wave in said fluid medium, motor means connected to said reflector for moving said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus, ultrasound trnasducer means, movable support means for said transducer means permitting movement of said transducer means for ultrasonically locating said calculus, electric signal means connected to said transducer means for indicating the position thereof, computer means, means electrically connecting said signal means to said computer means, means electrically connecting said computer means to said motor means to position said reflector in accordance with the position of said transducer means to effect focusing of said shock wave on said calculus, means for operating said electrical energy means to produce a shock wave focused on said calculus to disintegrate said calculus, means connected to said living body to develop a pneumogram thereof, and means electrically connecting said penumogram means to said computer to effect movement of said reflector to focus said shock wave on said calculus continuously with the breathing of said body.
Kidney stones, and also naturally-occurring stones in the bladder and the ureter can be exquisitely painful, and often require surgical relief. Excision or destruction of stones in the bladder and sometimes in the ureter can be relatively easily accomplished, but removal of stones from the kidney is a major procedure.
Removal of stones from the kidney is a very serious and traumatic procedure. A large incision is made in the body. The kidney is essentially removed from the body and cut open. The stone or stones are then removed, whereupon the kidney is sutured and returned to the body, with the body then being sutured. Typical recovery time is on the order of six months.
Chemotherapy is available as a non-invasive therapy for uric acid stones. In this therapy the urine is alkalized. The existing stone thus is dissolved over a substantial period of time, and in most cases the patient can be cured before his condition becomes acute. However, the patient's condition is often already acute when the stone is discovered, and immediate surgery is imperative. Attempts at chemical dissolution of other types of stones have not been successful.
There are procedures for removing stones from the bladder which do not require cutting of the body. The first known of these is an invasive procedure in that the necessary device is inserted through the urethra. A correlary approach to ureteral and kidney stone disintegration is known as the percutaneous approach. A needle is inserted through the skin to the renal pelvis, the collecting area of the kidney. The needle is hollow and a guide wire is inserted through the needle into the kidney. The needle is then removed, and successively larger tubes are run in over the guide wire, leaving a fine tube 8 mm in diameter. Viewing and stone cracking apparatus then are inserted through this tube to crack or disintegrate the stone. The approach is still invasive and traumatic to the patient.
In both the percutaneous approach and the insertion through the urethra, an electrohydraulic impulse is provided. A high energy capacitor is discharged establishing a hydrodynamic wave which destroys the concretion upon contact. In either of these approaches the electrode must be in close proximity to the stone, and a cystoscope having an optical telescope is utilized to visualize the spark-generating electrodes.
Ultrasonic waves on the order of 27 KHz are used as an alternative technique to disintegrate bladder stones. An optical device and an ultrasound converter are carried by a hollow steel probe which is inserted through the urethra. High frequency electrical energy is transformed into mechanical energy by an ultrasound converter and carried by a hollow steel probe which must be in contact with the bladder stone.
With both electrohydraulic impulses and ultrasonic disintegration of bladder stones it was initially necessary for the energy source to be very close to or to effect physical contact with the stone. Although this did require invasion of the body, major cutting of the body was not necessary.
One approach has been made to the non-invasive breaking up or disintegration of kidney stones in the body as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,942,531 Hoff et al and 4,311,147 Hausler. The first of these patents is exemplified in a machine commerically available in the Federal Republic of Germany from Dornier System GmbH. A few of the Dornier machines are now in use in the United States. Such machines are quite large since they require the patient to be immersed in a tub of water in a crouched, face-up position. Two dimensional X-ray procedures are utilized to determine the position of the stone by moving the patient. The machine includes an underwater spark gap shock wave generator which lies outside of the patient's body and at the first focus point of an ellipsoidal reflector. The patient is moved around in the water bath by several mechanisms utilizing a two-dimensional X-ray technique until the kidney stone is positioned at the second focal point of the ellipsoid. Since X-rays are used only radio opaque stones can be located. The shock wave is then generated, and passes through the water bath and through the patient's body to convey the energy to the kidney stone. The kidney machine requires a 40 square meter room 3 meters in height. The machine base is 6 meters by 1 meter. The cost of such a machine, which may be expected to rise with inflation, is on the order of 2 million dollars, plus ten percent of the price of the machine each year for a service contract. The service contract includes the cost of the technician who must be on hand at all times when the machine is in operation. It is contraindicated if the ureter is blocked, since the material must pass out through the ureter. It is also unsuccessful with radio transparent or translucent stones, since they cannot be located by X-ray techniques. It must be emphasized that precise aiming of an external shock wave is necessary since energy focused into an air or gas pocket in the body can cause damage to interface tissue.
Efforts have been made to produce a physically smaller machine which does not require immersion of the body of the patient in a tub of water. One patent showing such an effort is Forssmann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,989. The structure in this Patent utilizes an ellipsoidal reflector coupled to the body through a liquid-filled cushion and having an energy absorber and reflector on the back side of the body. A three-dimensional X-ray aiming technique again is used.
Efforts have been made to utilize ultrasound techniques for aiming, see for example the co-pending patent application of William R. Shene, Christopher Nowacki, and Alfred G. Brisson, Ser. No. 666,770, filed Oct. 31, 1984 for "KIDNEY STONE DISINTEGRATOR". An earlier effort at ultrasound aiming which was abandoned in favor of X-ray aiming is found in Chaussy, "Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy", Beruhrungsfreie Nierensteinzertrummerung durch extrakorporeal erzeugt, fokussierte Strosswellen", Beitrage zur Urologie, vol. 2 (Karger, Basel, 1980), ISBN 3-8055-1901-X Translation Copyright 1982 by S. Karger AG, P. O. BOX, CH-4009 Basel, Switzerland. Printed in Germany by Ernst Kieser GmbH, D-8900 Augsburg ISBN 3-8055-3620-8,128/328 pages 1-112, see especially pages 38 and 39 and FIG. 21. In accordance with the Chaussy disclosure, the ultrasonic transducers were fixed in the structure of the ellipsoidal reflector and operated through the water bath coupling the spark gap to the body containing the kidney stones. It appears that Chaussy abandoned attempts at ultrasonic aiming in favor of X-ray aiming.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an aiming system for an extracorporeal kidney stone destruction system which utilizes three dimensional ultrasonic aiming connected through a computer to mechanism for moving an ellipsoidal reflector to position it so that the kidney stone to be destroyed is at the second focal point of the reflector, a shock wave generating spark gap being at the first focal point.
The aiming system of the present invention utilizes an ultrasonic imaging technique. This technique uses focused ultrasonic energy in the reflectance mode to provide the information used to construct the image. The reflectance mode means that the ultrasonic energy is sent out from and reflected back to the same transducer or two transducers located in close proximity to each other. This ultrasonic energy is transmitted in the form of a very short pulse (T<3 uS) of a specified frequency. This pulse of energy travels out from the transducer into the tissue. When the ultrasonic energy comes in contact with the boundry between two substances with different acoustic impedances a portion of the ultrasonic energy is reflected back in the direction of the original pulse. This energy is detected when it reaches the transducer and the time it takes the energy to go out and return is determined. Since the speed of ultrasound in tissue is relatively constant the distance to the reflecting surface can be determined. The portion of the energy not reflected at this boundry continues on and parts of this remaining energy will be reflected back at deeper tissue interfaces. This technique gives all of the information required i.e. direction and distance, to construct a picture of the tissue in the plane of the ultrasound travel.
The aiming system used in the machine built by the Dornier company in West Germany is based on the use of X-ray rather than ultrasound. X-ray equipment operates in the transmittance rather than the reflectance mode. This means that the X-ray generator is placed on one side of the patient and the detector is placed on the other side of the patient. The X-rays are transmitted through the patient and part of the X-ray energy is absorbed by the tissue. Different types of tissue absorb X-ray energy in different amounts. Therefore the amount of energy arriving at the detector is dependent on the type of tissue between the generator and detector. This information is adequate to construct a plain view image. However, because it operates in the transmittance mode, no depth information is available. Therefore, to obtain precise information of the location of a calculus in three dimensions, two X-ray systems located in the same plane at ninety degree angles to each other must be used. This is the technique used in the Dornier machine. X-ray radiation aiming works only with radio opaque calculi. Stones that are transparent or translucent cannot be located.
Both the ultrasound and X-ray techniques have their own advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage of the X-ray technique is that it provides very accurate information that is rather easy to interpret. The image of the calculus is visible in both X-ray monitors and one need only align the patient so that the calculus is in the proper position on both screens and the aiming of the shock wave is complete. The disadvantage of the X-ray aiming technique is that the equipment is very large and very expensive. This means that a machine like the Dornier unit that uses the X-ray techniques requires a dedicated room in the hospital and it is a major project to install and to maintain the machine. The expense of the machine is also so great that it limits the machine to either major hospitals or stone treatment centers. A second disadvantage of the X-ray technique is that it exposes the patient to repeated doses of ionizing radiation which is known to be harmful. The operator of the machine must be isolated from the X-ray radiation. One of the advantages of the ultrasound technique is that it uses no ionizing radiation and is therefore safer for the patient. Another advantage of the ultrasound technique is that the equipment is far less expensive, smaller, and easier to maintain. Therefore a machine built around the ultrasound aiming technique is smaller, less expensive to purchase, and less expensive to maintain than the Dornier unit. The major disadvantage of the ultrasound aiming technique is that the image is not as clear or nearly as easy to interpret as the X-ray image. This is especially true in the case of calculus because they do not image well when using ultrasound. Therefore for ultrasound to be a practical imaging method for this type of machine a technique must be developed to make the image easier to interpret.
As stated above. when ultrasonic energy traveling through the body encounters a boundry between two tissues of differing acoustic impedance a portion of that energy is reflected back to the transmitting source and the remaining portion of the energy continues on deeper into the body. The amount of energy reflected back is directly proportional to the difference between the acoustic impedance of the substances at the boundry. The acoustic impedance of a renal stone is very different from the acoustic impedance of the surrounding tissue. Also the stone presents two boundaries one as the energy enters the stone and a second as the energy leaves the stone. Since the portion of the energy that is reflected is proportional to the differences in acoustic impedances a very large portion of the energy is reflected at the tissue stone boundry. This means that very little energy passes out into the tissue behind the stone and therefore no echoes return from behind the stone. This causes a shadow to appear behind the stone on the B-scan image, and noting this shadow is one of the easiest ways to find the location of a stone. The stone will be on a direct line drawn through the shadow in the direction of the transmitting and receiving transducer. Therefore, although the stone does not produce an excellent image in itself, its presence can be shown by the acoustic shadow that it causes.
In order to produce an acoustic shadow behind the stone a B-scan image is required. A B-scan image is an image that shows position on the X-axis versus depth into the body on the Y-axis. Two of the more popular techniques used to produce a B-scan are the Linear scan and the Sector scan. The Linear scan uses a series of transducers arranged in a linear array and each transducer is pulsed in sequence. The result is an image that is a rectangular shape with one side representing distance and the other side representing depth into the body. The Sector scan uses a single transducer array where the beam is electronically steered in a sweeping motion from a single point of origin. The image produced is in the shape of a slice out of a pie with the depth into the body shown by distance from the point of origin. For our purpose the Sector scan is the choice. This is due to the size and shape of the transducer.
One of the advances in imaging technology is a digital image enhancement technique known as a compound image. This technique has been made possible on a large scale basis by the advancements in microcomputers and solid state digital memories. Until recently the cost of this equipment would have made this technique cost prohibitive for the present invention. The compound B-scan image is produced by combining two or more individual B-scan images of the same area of the body. Each of the individual images is taken from a different location on the body which gives several views of the same area from different angles. These views are then combined into one image that retains certain qualities of each individual image. The qualities of each individual image that are either retained or not retained are determined by the mathematical process that is used to combine the individual images into a single image.
To create a compound B-scan image each individual image must be broken down into a matrix of points. Each point in the matrix represents a point of light on the image. The number of points in the matrix determines the resolution of the final image. A typical matrix would consist of 256 points in the X-axis and 256 points in the Y-axis. This means that each individual B-scan image consists of 65,536 points of light. Each of these points of light is represented by a number stored at a location in a digital microcomputer memory. The value of each number gives the brightness of each location in the image. To combine a number of these individual B-scan images into one image each pixel location or point of light on each image must be examined by the computer and the numerical value of each of these locations in each of the images must be used to determine the value for each pixel location in the final image. The mathematical process used to combine these images will have a tremendous effect on the information conveyed by the final image. Three popular combination processes are:
In this technique the computer checks each pixel position in each individual image and places the maximum value found into that position in the compound image.
In this technique the computer checks each pixel position in each individual image and places the average of the values found in the individual images into that position in the compound image.
In this technique the computer checks each pixel position in each individual image and places the minimum value found into that position in the compound image.
The minimum detection technique is the best technique for the present invention. This is because any acoustic shadow that is present in any of the individual B-scan images will be preserved in the final compound image. Because each of the individual images was made from a different transducer location the acoustic shadow produced by a stone will be at a different angle in each image. When all of the images are combined into one image using the minimum detection technique all of the shadows will be present but each will be at a different angle. When a line is drawn through the length of each of the shadows it will pass through the center of the stone. If a line is drawn through two or more shadows on a compound image the point on the image where the lines intersect will be the center of the stone. Therefore this method allows the location of the center of the stone to be accurately determined even though the shape of the stone is not visible on the image.
The vast majority of the effort required to implement the technique described above on a day to day basis in the clinical environment is handled by the computer that is built into the machine. Once the machine is connected to the patient the computer automatically obtains a B-scan from each transducer and combines these images to form the final scan.
This compound scan is analyzed by the computer and if a shadow pattern is found it draws the lines through each of the shadows and superimposes these lines over the scan. The operator can see the intersection of the lines superimposed over the B-scan image and he or she will make the final determination if the destruction of a stone should be attempted. If no shadow pattern is found in one compound scan the transducers are moved and a second scan is made. Successive scans are made until a stone shadow pattern is found.
When a shadow pattern is recognized the computer superimposes a pattern over the compound B-scan that allows the operator to position the stone exactly in the second focal point of the ellipsoidal reflector. The operator sees a crosshair type display. He or she then uses a set of switches to instruct the computer to move the reflector until the center of the crosshair display is directly over the intersection of the lines drawn through the shadows. Because the computer knows the exact positions of the transducers and the reflector this will position the stone directly in the second focal point of the reflector.
The actual firing of the machine is initiated by the operator. The computer monitors the ECG of the patient, the status of the energy generator, the position of the reflector, and the operator controls. When the operator initiates the firing the computer checks all machine parameters and if all are within limits the computer causes the energy generator to fire in synchronization with the R-wave of the patients ECG. The machine continues to fire until the specified number of shots has been delivered. The operator has the capability to stop the procedure at any time.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view somewhat stylized showing the present invention apparatus as used by a doctor or technician on a patient and
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the invention.
As may be seen in FIG. 1 the present invention includes a table 10 on which a patient 12 lies on his back. The patient has previously been diagnosed as having one or more calculi such as kidney stones or stones in the upper ureter. The patient lies on his back on the table 10, and a portion of the table is relieved or cut away to expose the area of the patient's back immediately adjacent to the kidneys. The approach to the back is preferred as giving a relatively unobstructed approach to both kidneys. A reflector 14 (FIG. 2) is positioned within the cut out area of the table for engagement with the patient's back. The reflector is filled with water which engages with the patient's back either directly or through a diaphragm. The reflector is movable, as will be brought out in greater detail hereinafter, and is ellipsoidal. An ellipsoid is important in that it is a rotational geometric figure having two focus points. A spark gap generator 16 is positioned at the first focus point, and the reflector 14 is moved relative to the patient 12 so that the calculus or kidney stone 18 lies at the second focus point of the ellipsoidal reflector. Discharge of an electrical capacitor through the spark gap generator 16 causes vaporization of a certain quantity of water and corresponding development of a shock wave. The shock wave travels, partly directly and partly by reflection from the walls of the reflector to the kidney stone 18 through the water in the reflector and through the tissues of the patient's body. Aiming is critical, not only to insure that the kidney stone is at the second focus point where it will be subjected to the shock wave, but in that the shock wave can be injurious to the body of the patient if the second focus point is in an improper area of the patient's body, for example within an area filled with gas.
A base 20 is disposed immediately adjacent to the table 10 and is fixed relative thereto. The base 20 is provided with an upwardly extending cylinder 22 fixed thereon and having a sleeve 24 rotatably received therein. A sending device is incorporated between the cylinder 22 and the sleeve 24 to indicate the relative rotational position of the sleeve relative to the cylinder, the latter being fixed relative to the base. The sending device in a preferred example comprises a precise analog potentiometer which produces an analog voltage related to the position of the sleeve 24 relative to the cylinder 22. It is contemplated that a digital type resolver could be used, but there are many pivotal joints to be monitored as will be apparent hereinafter. If a digital type resolver is used, then there must be 12 wires out of each resolver, and a multiplexing system preferably would be used. This results in a considerably more complicated structure, although eliminating the noise problem inherent in analog devices.
An arm or shaft 26 extends straight up from the sleeve 24 in which it is fixed. At the upper end of the arm 26 there is another pivoted joint or articulation 28 joining a shaft or arm 30 to the arm 26, and allowing pivoting about the horizontal axis. The pivotal structure 28 again preferably incorporates a precise analog potentiometer. Both arms 26 and 30 are elongated, and a further elongated arm 32 is pivotally connected to the arm 30 by means of another precise analog potentiometer joint 34, again permitting pivoting about a horizontal axis. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the arms 26 and 30 extend upwardly, while the arm 32 extends downardly. At the lower end of the arm 32 there is another pivotal connection 36 including a precise analog potentiometer and pivotally connecting a relatively short arm 38 to the elongated arm 32. The joint 36 permits pivoting about a horizontal axis. At the lower end of the short arm 38 there is a pivot joint 40 for effecting pivoting about a horizontal axis, to which is connected a pivot joint 42 for effecting pivoting about a vertical axis. The joints 40 and 42 both incorporate precise analog potentiometers.
The pivot joint 42 is connected substantially midway of a relatively short, generally horizontal arm 44. At one end of the arm 44 (the right end in FIG. 1) a pivotal joint 46 permitting pivoting about a horizontal axis carries an ultrasound transducer 48. This transducer includes both a sending device and a pick-up device. At the opposite end of the arm 44 there is another pivotal joint 50 permitting pivoting about a horizontal axis, and supporting a relatively short vertical arm 52, having at its lower end a pivot joint 54, again permitting pivoting about a horizontal axis. The pivot joint 54 mounts an ultrasonic transducer 56 similar to the ultrasound transducer 48, both of the transducers 48 and 56 lying in a common plane. The pivot joints 46, 50 and 54 again incorporate precise analog potentiometers, just as all of the previously-mentioned joints.
The ultrasound transducers 48 and 56 are manually movable by a person 58 who may be a doctor, a nurse or a technician. The transducers remain in their common plane, but are movable up and down and sideways, and also may be swiveled due to the articulation of the support structure for the transducers, which support structure is hereinafter identified generally by the numeral 60. The various precise analog potentiometers provide analog information which in aggregate indicates exactly the positions of the ultrasound transducers 48 and 56. This information is used to position the reflector 14 as will be described more extensively hereinafter in connection with FIG. 2 and the balance of FIG. 1.
An electronic control unit 62 is mounted on the floor near the table 10 and support 20 and has an upwardly inclined control face 64 having various control members and indicator lights mounted thereon, and also having an EKG (electrocardiogram) video display screen 66 and a graphics display screen 68. A subjacent table surface 70 provides space for making notes, if desired. On top of the electronic control unit 62 there is mounted a monitor 72 having a video display screen 74 for displaying an image of the kidney stone that is to be destroyed.
The articulated support 60 and the transducers 48 and 54 are shown somewhat diagramitically in FIG. 2 as aimed at the kidney stone 18. Position information from the various precise analog potentiometers is fed by way of a conductor 76 to a main computer or CPU 78. Various aiming controls 80 are connected by conductor means 82 to the main computer 78, and these include controls causing the computer to act through a conductor 84 to operate a transducer switch 86. The transducer 48 is connected by a transducer output conductor 88 to the transducer switch, and the transducer 56 is connected by way of a transducer output connector 90 to the transducer switch. One or the other transducer, as determined by the CPU through the conductor 84, is connected at 92 to an ultrasound imaging machine 94. This machine provides scan position information to the CPU over conductor means 96, and also provides a video image out signal on a conductor 98 to a video digitizer 100. The video digitizer also provides a signal on a line or conductor 102 to the CPU 78, and the latter provides a signal back on a conductor 104 to the video digitizer. An output from the video digitizer is connected by a conductor 106 to the image monitor 72 to provide a computer enhanced image of the kidney stone on the video display screen 74 for observation by the operator 58.
The EKG monitor 66 previously referred to is connected by suitable wires 108 to the patient. The particular connections are not specifically shown since these may be any of the common electrodes universally used in the taking of an electrocardiogram. The information from the EKG monitor is connected through suitable conductor means 110 to the main computer 78. The purpose for this is that for patients' safety, the shock wave for destroying the kidney stone is applied only during a particular part of the cardiac wave to insure against damage to the heart or possibly induced fibrillation thereof.
The computer 78 is connected through suitable conductor means 112 to the graphics monitor for allowing the operator 58 to view various operating parameters. An impedance pneumogram apparatus 114 is provided which is connected to the patient as shown schematically by lines 116. The impedance pneumogram apparatus develops a pneumogram which is fed to the computer at 117. The purpose for this is that the position of the kidney stone changes relative to the supporting table as the patient breathes. The total process of disintegrating a kidney stone takes on the order of one hour, and it is obviously impossible for the patient to hold his breath for the entire time, or even for selected periods of time during the hour. As a result, information as to the change in position of the kidney stone with breathing is fed into the computer, and this causes constant correction of the position of the reflector 14 beneath the patient, whereby always to keep the stone 18 at the second focus point of the reflector.
Fire controls 118 which may include a manual start push-button, a selector for the number of pulses to be delivered and a stop button are connected through conductor means 120 to the computer 78.
The computer 78 is connected through a line or suitable conductor means 122 to a stepper motor control circuit 124. The stepper motor control circuit is individually connected to three stepper motors 126, 128 and 130, respectively comprising an X-axis motor, a Y-axis motor and a Z-axis motor. The motors are all in predetermined fixed positions as determined by a support 127 which is fixed relative to the floor, and hence relative to the table 10 and the support 20. The motors are connected through individual linkages to a common linkage 129 connected to the reflector 14 for controlling the position of the reflector as determined by the computer 78.
An energy generator 132 comprises essentially a voltage source and a capacitor which charges, and then is discharged through a conductor 134 to the spark gap 16 to generate a spark under water, causing vaporization of water and development of a shock wave at the first focus point of the reflector, which energy is concentrated on the kidney stone at the second focus point to effect disintegration of the kidney stone. The condition of the energy generator, and particularly the charge on the capacitor is connected through a line 136 back to the computer 78, and another line 138 connects the computer to the energy generator to control firing thereof as determined by the computer.
In operation of the apparatus as heretofore shown and described, the ultrasound transducers 48 and 56 are moved manually in their common plane. It is simple to approach from the top as illustrated herein, but is equally possible to approach from beneath the patient, or from the side thereof. Similarly, although two ultrasound transducers have been illustrated, it is possible to operate with one ultrasound transducer sequentially positioned in either of two right-angle, common-plane positions with the images from the transducer being fed sequentially into the main computer 78. In any event, the image information from the transducers is selectively supplied by way of the transducer switch 86 to the ultrasound imaging machine 94, and ultimately to the image monitor 72. The operator 58 can observe the image and can "zero in" on the kidney stone 18. Information from the ultrasound imaging machine 94 and from the video digitizer 100 is provided to the main computer 78, which in turn acts through the conductor means 122 and stepper motor control circuit 124 and the respective motors 126, 128 and 130 to position the reflector 14 beneath the patient so that the second focus point of the ellipsoidal reflector coincides with the position of the stone 18. The impedance pneumogram developed by the apparatus 114 is fed to the computer 78, and instantaneous control over the motors 126, 128 and 130 is effected to cause the reflector to move in synchronism with the patient's breathing whereby to maintain the kidney stone at the second focus point, not withstanding the change in position of the kidney stone with the patient's breathing.
With the reflector properly positioned relative to the stone, and the stone viewed as being at the proper spot by means of the image monitor 72, the operator manipulates the fire controls 118. The fire controls include a control for determining the number of pulses that will be delivered, and also includes a push button or the like start control. The start control does not instantaneously cause firing of the energy generator 132, since the computer also processes information from the EKG monitor to ensure that firing will take place only during a particular portion of the patient's pulse pattern. The line 136 from the energy generator ensures that the computer will not try to fire the energy generator until the latter is fully charged. Thus, when the energy generator is fully charged and ready to fire, and the fire control start control has been operated, and the EKG monitor indicates the proper position in the patient's pulse pattern, the energy generator fires to discharge a spark across the gap of the spark gap apparatus 16. This causes instantaneous vaporization of the water in the reflector 114 in the vicinity of the spark gap, thus generating a shock wave at the first focal point of the reflector 14. The energy of the shock wave passes through the water and through the tissues of the patient and is focused on the second focal point which is coincident with the position of the kidney stone 18. The energy generator as it recharges will fire successive spark generating charges as determined by the number of pulses selected on the fire controls.
The operator then restudies the imaging monitor and the graphics monitor to determine the condition of the kidney stone so that treatment may be terminated when the stone has been disintegrated. It will normally take several sequences of spark generation, extending up to a period of on the order of one hour, although sometimes less. Disintegration of the kidney stone or calculus results in reduction of the stone to powder, somewhat similar to the breaking up of a piece of chalk into a powder. The powder resulting from the stone subsequently is flushed from the kidneys or urethra along with urine excreted, and this process may be speeded up by intake of more than the usual amount of fluids.
Aiming and use of the kidney stone disintegrator as now disclosed and described herein avoids the past necessity of an extended and often exquisitely painful wait on behalf of a patient to see if the stone will pass from the kidneys or ureter by itself, or at least move to a nonpainful position. It further avoids the necessity of surgery or other invasion of the human body, thereby avoiding a long convalescence and the ever present danger of infection.
The specific example of the invention as herein shown and described is for purposes of illustration only. Various changes in structure will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and will be understood as forming a part of the present invention insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
St. John's
Rock solid beer scene in NewfoundlandNewfoundland is a place where tradition runs deep. The capital, St. John's, was settled in the 16th century, and the province's long history prior to joining Confederation in 1949 means it has grown up
New Year's Travel Resolutions(Credit: Visit Holland) Call me cheesy, but I love making New Year's resolutions. Usually mine involve something restrictive (going gluten-free has been a popular one for me) and something fun - like learning how to make a mean Thai curry.


text:
NanoMegas SPRL
|NanoMegas SPRL Patent applications
|Patent application number
|METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING CHARACTERISTIC PEAK SIGNALS IN ANALYTICAL ELECTRON MICROSCOPY - A method and system are disclosed for improving characteristic peak signals in electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurements of crystalline materials. A beam scanning protocol is applied which varies the inclination, azimuthal angle, or a combination thereof of the incident beam while spectroscopic data is acquired. The method and system may be applied to compositional mapping.
|METHODS AND DEVICES FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT CRYSTAL STRUCTURE ANALYSIS BY ELECTRON DIFFRACTION - A method and device for electron diffraction tomography of a crystal sample, which employs scanning of the electron beam over a plurality of discrete locations of the sample, in combination with a beam scanning protocol as the beam converges at every discrete location (


text:
Nadya Toto
My Montreal: Fashion designer Nadya TotoNadya Toto is the living embodiment of her designs: pretty, self-possessed and laced with refinement. With her F/W 2015 collection, she brings to the fore signature dress designs, handmade lace and elegant zipper-less ease.
Blending fashion with entertainmentA little bit of Vegas glitz hit the Montreal scene Wednesday evening as Sensation Mode staged a cruise collection catwalk show at the Casino de Montréal.
The Grande Braderie turns 20For 20 years and 40 seasons, the Grande Braderie de la mode québécoise has been running at Bonsecours Market. Hundreds of designers and tens of thousands of fashionistas have ransacked the racks in search of Quebec designer bargains.
Montreal Fashion Week reviews: By Thomas, Mélissa Nepton, Pedram Karimi, Nadya TotoFrom By Thomas, a cool coat and cooler clutch. PHOTOS, PIERRE OBENDARUF THE GAZETTE The first great thing at Montreal Fashion Week, edition fall winter 2013/14, came early on from Natasha Thomas and her By Thomas label.
Montreal Fashion Week: Let the truth be toldA fierce model at by Thomas. PHOTO PIERRE OBENDRAUF, THE GAZETTE Early February, with an Arctic windchill outdoors, and a big chill indoors at the cavernous Arsenal: Montreal Fashion Week, edition fall-winter


text:
By Joseph Pratt
The Pike County Fair is revving up for its annual demolition derby, which will run two nights and draw in the attention of their crowds with mowers, street cars, compacts and more.
The Pike County Fair's Schedule lists Friday, Aug. 1 for "smash it class, minis, street stock, and mod mowers," which is set to begin at 7 p.m. The same schedule lists Saturday, Aug. 2 for "smash it class, clean up mod class, minis and mod mowers," which will also begin at 7 p.m.
Chris Brust, Pike County Fair Board secretary, assists in organizing the demolition derby. Brust has been involved with the board for 10 years, has served as secretary for 8 years and has a 40-year history with the fair in various capacities.
"The demo derby at Pike County Fair usually goes over really well," Brust said. "We are one of the largest demo derbies that Smash It Demo Derbies puts on in a year. We sometimes have upwards to 80 cars or so during a Saturday evening show. We do lawnmower races, also, along with the derby. It is a good time."
The demolition derbies are organized by Smash It Demolition Derbies, which operates out of London, Ohio. The organization oversees the demolition derbies of 40 out of the 80 county fairs in Ohio. Tim Clark oversees company operations.
"Everyone likes watching derbies, because you don't really know if a car is going to flip over, catch fire, or if it is a great big hit. It is the excitement of not knowing what to expect," Clark said.
Clark is also excited to showcase a "power wheel" category, which is for kids, ages 4-8, operating battery powered vehicles.
More information can be found at www.smashitderby.com.
Joseph Pratt can be reached at the Portsmouth Daily Times 740-353-3101, EXT 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.


text:
4977 Highway 76 EastChatsworth, Georgia, 30705USA
Hans Bakker
Phone: 8002277211
Phone2: 7063707025
Fax: 7064229113
Visit Website
Contact Us
Sign up now to receive the free weekly newsletter, and more!
Expanding Our Scope
Copyright © 2015 Rodman Media. All Rights Reserved. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.


text:
He called his mother "Goober" and his father "Bobbo," affectionate names...
Young Professionals
Economic Development
Whizzard, already a hit in British bars, uses infrared sensors to let...
LeBron James leads Cavaliers to 94-82 win over top-seeded Hawks, 2-0 lead...
More than 20,000 bottles to be replaced
Kris Jenner thinks Kylie Jenner is an "amazing" singer and has what it...
The federal NDP will reinstate door-to-door delivery and get rid of super...
Daily delivery of The Hamilton Spectator to schools, educational programs...
— As the carriage circled the hill, Billy the Irish cob glanced back at...
For two weeks this summer I made it my mission to improve my eight-year-old son's tolerance of vegetables.
I called it "veggie boot camp." He called it torture.
My approach was simple. Every lunch and dinner I prepared at least three vegetables. Of those, he needed to select and consume two of them.
His approach was simple, too. Every lunch and dinner he moaned and complained and ate everything else on his plate first, leaving the dreaded vegetables for last. He'd then painfully and slowly force himself to eat them, often while threatening to mutiny.
Which gives the impression that my son is a horrible eater. Actually, he's just the opposite. The kid devours sushi, chimichurri, mole ... basically anything with gobs of flavour. He's an adventurous eater who generally will try nearly anything. He most definitely is not your plain pasta and chicken nugget sort of kid.
Except when it comes to vegetables. For the past year or so, he has tended to get most of his produce in the form of fruit. I lived with it for a while, but this summer decided the easy living was over.
While the vegetable boot camp was hardly a pleasant experience for anyone involved, it did result in real progress. After two weeks, my son now regularly eats vegetables at every lunch and dinner. He doesn't do it enthusiastically, but he does it. At this point in our lives, I'm good with that.
Early in the process, I found that roasting just about any vegetable dramatically improved my son's response to it. This makes sense. Roasting concentrates flavours and caramelizes the natural sugars in produce. So to help other parents with veg-averse children, here are two of my son's favourite (by which, of course, I mean most likely to be gagged down) roasted vegetables.
If you'd like to make both of these vegetables at once, you can roast the tomatoes at 500 F (the same temperature as the carrots) rather than use the broiler. They will take slightly longer than if you broiled them. Put them in the stove right after flipping the carrots.
Roasted Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes
Makes 4 servings
Don't be put off by the amount of salt in this recipe; much of it drains off before the tomatoes are roasted. Salting the tomatoes helps draw out excess water, producing a better roasted tomato. These tomatoes can be served on their own as a side dish, or over pasta for a simple (but delicious) sauce.
2 pints (1 L) cherry OR grape tomatoes
2 tsp (10 mL) kosher salt
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp (30 mL) balsamic vinegar
½ tsp (2 mL) ground black pepper
Slice the tomatoes in half, then set them in a strainer. Sprinkle the salt over the tomatoes, then gently mix. Place the strainer in the sink or over a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Give the tomatoes a shake to discard any liquid that has accumulated in the strainer. Transfer the tomatoes to a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss well. Transfer the tomatoes to the prepared baking sheet, arranging them in an even layer.
Broil on the centre rack for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to brown and soften. Serve immediately.
Approximate nutrition per serving: 90 calories, 7 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 5 g sugar, 1 g protein, 490 mg sodium
Butter-Cumin Carrots
For reasons that befuddle me, my son consistently preferred when I used "baby" carrots in this recipe. It didn't matter how many times I explained that those carrots are just big carrots that have been cut down. But with kids it's all in the marketing, so I now use "baby" carrots for this recipe.
1 lb (450 g) baby carrots
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, melted
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt
½ tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
½ tsp (2 mL) smoked paprika
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 500 F (260 C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well to coat evenly. Transfer the carrots, scraping the bowl for any liquid and seasonings, to the prepared baking sheet, arranging them in an even layer. Roast for 15 minutes, then use a spatula to flip them and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and tender.
Approximate nutrition per serving: 90 calories, 4.5 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre, 7 g sugar, 1 g protein, 540 mg sodium
The Associated Press
Carpenter ants have a valuable role to play in an ecosystem. They tunnel through rotting wood,...
At FMC Truck Auto and Marine Repair in Stoney Creek they provide a full service automotive repair...
Insight Eyewear , in Beamsville, Ontario provides outstanding eye care services at unbeatable...
Derek Martin Criminal Law in Hamilton has been answering the legal needs of area residents for...
Up to 43% off Wing Fest Combos at Red Rockets
92% off Prescription Eyeglasses
Up to 38% off Admission to Wild Waterworks
Up to 60% off Window Cleaning
Half off Indian Cuisine
Guy Fieri Coffee Cup Packs
Wild-Caught Sockeye Salmon
Up to 64% off Chocolate Making


text:
One fringe benefit of having a hardcore gaming laptop for a few months is that I've been able to dig deeply into the new generation of multiplayer action games with all the settings cranked up to the max and enjoy some truly spectacular hours of online homicide. And do it without being tied to my desktop. There's something about playing Quake Wars in bed that's just so wrong, yet so right. Four CPUs, one man, a bed: It's like some kind of über-geek fetish fantasy.
The real pleasure, however, comes from just how solid this generation of multiplayer action is. With Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Team Fortress 2, and Unreal Tournament 3 forming the core of dedicated multiplayer action, and Call of Duty 4 and Crysis holding the flanks, we are positively swimming in top-flight game design for the online frag crowd.
To an outside observer, these games might all seem like more of the same in different wrappings. But to gamers who truly love online action, you couldn't have asked for three more radically different approaches than Quake Wars, TF2, and UT3. Each is like a musical composition in a different key.
In terms of pure personal appeal, Quake Wars is at the top of my list, since its use of classes and multiple fluid objectives manages to capture some of the feel of an ever-shifting battlefield. If the old Strogg/GDF matchup has grown a little tired, it's a minor complaint within a system that handles classes and their functions so well. What Team Fortress 2 lacks in objectives and complexity it more than makes up for with its fresh style, focused team play, and outstanding unit balance. And though I haven't logged time with the final version of Unreal Tournament 3, the material Epic has been showing certainly takes its work on Gears of War to the next level and places UT3 at the fast-and-frenzied instaspawn end of the spectrum.
It's simply wonderful, this late in the life span of the multiplayer action game, to see three teams wind up with such radically different approaches to the same concept. Only people who don't know the genre would see these titles as mere interchangeable carnage. That's like saying Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms all sound the same because they wrote symphonies.
Thomas L. McDonald has been covering games for 17 years. He is Editor-at-Large of Games Magazine .


text:
Developing Standards Based Report Cards for Florida's Fifth Grade Students
eBook (PDF), 61 Pages
Price: $1.99
Download immediately.
Schools must create thoughtfully designed grading and reporting systems that emphasize the formative and communicative aspects of grades while also maintaining focus on important learning goals. Through the use of this book, Florida's Fifth Grade Teachers, schools and School Districts can develop the necessary standards based report cards which assess the Sunshine State Standards used in Florida. Use of this tool can help to eliminate the harmful effects that grades cause. The use of this tool will guide in the development of grading systems that provide more chances for school success, more guidance, feedback, re-instruction and encouragement. This book is a requirement for schools and school systems ready to take a quantum leap toward establishing an improved assessment system for the elementary school.
Available in PDF Format
Ratings & ReviewsLog in to review this item
There are no reviews for the current version of this product
There are no reviews for previous versions of this product
Product Details
- Copyright
- Creative Concern Publications (Standard Copyright License)
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Creative Concern Publications
- Published
- March 13, 2013
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 61
- File Format
- File Size
Formats for this Ebook
|Required Software
|Any PDF Reader, Apple Preview
|Supported Devices
|Windows PC/PocketPC, Mac OS, Linux OS, Apple iPhone/iPod Touch... (See More)
|# of Devices
|Flowing Text / Pages
|Learn more about ebook formats and e-readers
Your notification has been sent
Lulu Staff has been notified of a possible violation of the terms of our Membership Agreement. Our agents will determine if the content reported is inappropriate or not based on the guidelines provided and will then take action where needed.
Thank you for notifying us. We will email you with the results and/or actions taken as a result of the investigation if you chose to receive confirmation.
We were unable to complete your request.
We were unable to complete your request.
- Developing Report Cards ,
- Dr. Richard Hughes ,
- Education ,
- Educational Assessments ,
- Primary Schools ,
- Standards Based Reporting ,
- Grades ,
- Non-graded report cards ,
- report cards ,
- report card development ,
- fifth grade ,
- measuring systems ,
- Reporting Grades ,
- Schools
Listed In
More From
see more >
Constructing Tests Paperback:
Character Counts: An... eBook:
The Art and Science of... eBook:
The Multidimensional... eBook:
School Leaders Making... eBook:
Age Verification
The page you are attempting to access contains content that is not intended for underage readers.
Please verify your birth date to continue.


text:
This blog post lists out terms frequently referenced in Windows Azure Platform. They are presented in a hierarchical order based on the context shown in the following schematic. Each term is described concisely with key concept and pertinent information. The content is intended for IT pros and non-programmers.
A collective name of Microsoft's Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering which provides a programming platform, a deployment vehicle, and a runtime environment of cloud computing hosted in Microsoft datacenters
Essentially Microsoft cloud OS which provides abstractions and shields the complexities of implementing and managing collections of hardware, software, and instances
A Windows Azure service for executing application code based on a specified role including web role, worker role, and VM role
A service definition to deploy a VM with IIS 7 for hosting a web application
A service definition to deploy a VM without IIS for running application code in the background similar to Windows processes, batch jobs, or scheduled tasks
A service definition to upload a VM to cloud (i.e. Windows Azure Platform) for deploying an application with a custom or predictable runtime environment and provided as a last resort for addressing issues including:
A Windows Azure service for allocating persistent and durable storage accessible with HTTP/HTTPS (REST) and .NET
Binary Large Object for storing large data items like text and binary data
Structured storage in the form of tables which store data as collections of entities for maintaining service state
A page BLOB and formatted as a single-volume NTFS virtual hard drive to be mounted within a Windows Azure role instance and accessed like a local drive
Non-persistent storage local to a role instance
Owner of datacenter including hardware, software, and instances and ultimately the brain of the cloud OS
A self-initialized application deployed with the root partition of a Windows Azure Compute node to form the fabric
A self-initialized application deployed with the base image of a Guest OS to form the fabric
A user interface to configure IPsec protected connections between computers or virtual machines (VMs) in an organization's network, and roles running in Windows Azure
An add-on feature to Windows Azure subscription to cache Windows Azure BLOBs and the static content output of Compute instances at Microsoft's caching servers near what the content is most frequently accessed
A cloud-based relational database service with SQL Azure Reporting, a report generating service
To provide secure messaging and connectivity capabilities through firewalls, NAT gateways, and other problematic network boundaries and enable building distributed and disconnected applications in the cloud, as well hybrid application across both on-premise and the cloud
A hosted service providing federated authentication and rules-driven, claims-based authorization for REST Web services with integration with Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) like Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) v2
A subset of the on-premise distributed caching solution, Windows Server AppFabric Caching, for provisioning a cache in cloud to be used with ASP.NET or client applications for caching requirements
Capabilities similar to those of Biz-Talk to integrate Windows Azure Platform applications with existing LOB and databases and third-party Software as a Service (SaaS) applications
For building applications with a composite of services in the cloud and on premises, components, web services, workflows, and existing applications


text:
Office Location
Mailing Address
Shipping Address (FedEx, UPS)
Selected Recent Papers on Nanometals
Recent News
May 6, 2015. NC State University released a news entitled as 'Microcombing' Creates Stronger, More Conductive Carbon Nanotube Films which is based on a paper published by Dr. Zhu and his colleague: "Strong and Conductive Dry CNT Films by Microcombing," which was published online on May 4 in Small.
March 18, 2015. Dr. Zhu is awarded the 2015 TMS Leadership Award at the 2015 TMS Annual Meeting In Orlando, Florida. The citation read: "For outstanding leadership in the area of deforamtion physics and properties of nanostructured materials." This award recognizes "exceptional leadership in the national and international metallurgy and materials field."
Oct. 27, 2014. Weizong Xu suceeefully defended his Ph.D. thesis
Oct. 15, 2014. Dr. Zhu received the ASM International Albert Sauveur Achievement Award at am award ceremony at the MS&T meeting in Pittsburg, OH on Oct. 14, 2014. The citation reads:"For pioneering work on the fundamental understanding of deformation physics in nanocrystalline materials." This award, which was established in 1934, recognizes pioneering materials science and engineering achievements that have stimulated organized work along similar lines to such an extent that a marked basic advance has been made in materials knowledge.
July 2, 2014. NC State University released a news entitled as Inspired by Nature, Researchers Create Tougher Metal Materials which is based on two paper published by Dr. Zhu and his colleague: "Synergetic Strengthening by Gradient Structure," which was published online July 2 in Materials Research Letters, and "Extraordinary strain hardening by gradient structure," which is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
June 20, 2014. Dr. Zhu has been listed in "Highly Cited Researchers 2014" by Thomson Reuters, which is based on the "number of highly cited papers in one of 21 broad fields, 2002-2012. Highly cited papers rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and year of publication." Dr. Zhu is among 147 Thomsom Reuters Highly Cited Researchers in the field of materials science. Thomson Reuters owns the "Web of Science", which generates the well-known ISI citations. More information can be found here.


text:
Birthday Parties
Birthdays at Green Meadows are great for children from ages 3-12. Children can tour the farm, interact with animals, and explore the outdoors. Ideas for themed parties include field games, fairy forest, treasure hunt, pick-your-own berries, and planting seeds. We can also add on a hayride for $75. We will work with you to make your party special!
To make it a no-fuss day, you can have our chef cater the party with kid-friendly and healthy food. You can also bring your own meal.
The basic site fee is $100 for 2 hours for up to 15 people. Each additional hour is $50. Site fee includes use of our tent and our picnic tables. Please use this contact form to inquire about further details. If you would like to add an attendant to lead children around the farm and assist you in entertaining them in games you can do so for an additional $25/hr. Please inquire ahead of time to check for availability. Our ideas for themed parties are ideas that work well with our space, please note that supplies are the responsibility of the parent.


text:
Department 56 Winters Frost Collection
Department 56 Home Page
Christmas Treasures Home Page
Department 56
Winters Frost Collection
A sparkly blanket of pure white snow covers every tree, every building, and every lamp post. A magical moment is created by nature and recreated by Department 56. Winters Frost turns fantasy into reality by creating a real winter wonderland for the holidays.
Take a look at the new Village by Department 56 , Winters Frost , and capture the magic of winter.
Holy Night Church
Item Sku: 4020272
Holy Night Church
Light cord included, uses replacement bulb #53121.
Introduced 2011. Nativity in the front adds special winter glow to this beautiful addition to Winters Frost.
7.5H x 10.6W x 13.4L