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Police search for suspect in assault, robbery
HUNTINGTON -- West Virginia State Police were searching for a man who Sgt. G.N. Losh said tricked his way into one man's home Thursday night.
A man living in the 3000 block of 8th Street Road suffered a few bumps to the head when he was assaulted by another man, who claimed his vehicle had broken down in the area just before 10 p.m., Losh said.
Once inside the home, Losh said the man assaulted the victim and fled the area with an undetermined amount of cash. A gun was involved in the assault, but no shots were fired, Losh said.
The victim was treated on the scene by Cabell County EMS responders.
Troopers and K-9 units were canvassing the area Thursday night, as well as talking to neighbors to see if they could provide any more information about the suspect.
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As Posted On: Joystiq
Unity Technologies, licensor and proprietor of the popular 3D engine Unity, co-founder and COO Nicholas Francis revealed he will step down from the company. His next project: making games.
"So I will be leaving Unity in order to join your ranks and dedicate myself to creating games," Francis writes on the Unity site. Francis says that in more recent time he's actually felt more fulfilled when creating things in Unity, rather than working on the engine itself. "As great as it has been building Unity, I have come to feel that actually using it is what really scratches my itch. On days where I can just get into the zone and fidget around with some shaders, gamecode, a custom editor tool or whatnot, I feel really fulfilled."
Francis has yet to reveal what his new project is, whether he'll found a studio or, well, anything about what he's up to, really. But we're almost positive it'll be a mobile game … running on the Unity engine.
Unity co-founder Nicholas Francis leaving to make games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

subset: commoncrawl


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A new poll shows that 20 percent of Barack Obama's supporters would vote for John McCain if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination. Similarly, 19 percent of Hillary's supporters would vote for McCain should Obama be running against him. And people thought the GOP was split!
This fracturing in the Democratic Party is yet another result of identity politics. Once people have chosen a candidate solely because of gender or race, there's no ideological commonality to reconcile different voter blocs within the party. If a Hillary voter's favorite Hillary policy is that she's a woman, what need is there of Obama's healthcare plan? The same dynamic holds on both sides. If an Obama supporter is solely concerned with his candidate's racial composition, what sway does Hillary's troop withdrawal hold?
The nasty tenor of the Democratic race is another factor, and here the blame lies squarely with the Clinton camp. From the start, Bill Clinton has missed no opportunity to demean Obama, either by diminishing his credentials or reducing him to a black phenomenon (by, say, comparing his South Carolina victory to Jesse Jackson's). Hillary picked up where Bill left off. She made too much of Obama's relationship with Tony Rezko, and she shamefully played up any reference to race or cultural exoticism.
This is ugly stuff. At least the Republican crack-up-that-wasn't was ideological. Rush Limbaugh and company pointed to a handful of policy decisions they felt rendered John McCain unfit. This meant there was room to patch things up. When dealing in degrees of political conservatism, one side can budge, the other can give, a few pledges can be made, and so on. Hillary Clinton can't turn black and Barack Obama can't become a woman. Even the most fervent "change"-peddler wouldn't promise that much. (At least until Pennsylvania.)


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Roots of social action in prayer, says Duke Chapel dean
The Rev. Luke Powery, the dean of Duke Chapel, urged members of Durham Congregations in Action to remember prayer for the spiritual foundation of their social action work. Powery was the guest speaker at DCIA's annual banquet meeting Tuesday night at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church. DCIA is an interfaith group of 62 congregations.
Powery talked about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s spiritual foundation for the drumbeat of his work – prayerful listening. The roots of social engagement are learned in prayer, Powery said.
"God speaks, but do we listen?" he asked. Silence and an open ear are required, he said.
"God provided the interior resources for King to do his social justice work," Powery said. Prayer and protest are intertwined, he said, and prayer was vital to the Civil Rights movement. The first task of any prophet is to listen, he said.
"So what is the spiritual foundation of your justice work?" Powery asked the DCIA members gathered before him. MLK has a national memorial, he said, but a living memorial may come in the form of a bowed knee or turned ear.
There is still a lot of work to be done in Durham, Powery said.
"What we do know also is one cannot expect to succeed publicly if you fail privately," he said. "While you engage in action, do not clip your spiritual roots."
In other business, DCIA re-elected its officers, who are: the Rev. Ginger Brasher-Cunningham of Pilgrim United Church of Christ, president; Hank Eichin of Holy Cross Catholic Church, vice president; LaNella Smith of New Creation United Methodist Church, secretary; and Bob Newlin of Parkwood United Methodist Church, treasurer. Continuing board members are Charles Byrd of Westminster Presbyterian, the Rev. Joe Harvard of First Presbyterian, the Rev. Warren Herndon of City of Joy Ministries, Joy Mickle-Walker of Shambhala Buddhist Center, the Rev. Taylor Mills of Trinity United Methodist, the Rev. Julio Ramirez-Eve of Iglesia Emanuel, and the Rev. Brad Troxell of the Congregation at Duke Chapel.
DCIA also awarded funds raised at the 2012 Durham CROP Hunger Walk to local agencies, including Changing a Generation Outreach, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern N.C., Genesis Home, Housing for New Hope, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Meals on Wheels, Mt. Calvary UCC Food Pantry, Society of St. Andrew, Threshold, Urban Ministries of Durham and YO:Durham.
For information about DCIA, visit www.dcia.org.


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Apple seems to have a plan — you might even call it a cunning plan — to put pressure on Microsoft and Windows 8 in the one area that the company doesn't want pressure put — price.
Windows doesn't come cheap. The OEMs that build PCs typically pay Microsoft around $50 for every Windows 7 Home Premium PC sold, and when you consider that you can buy a PC for under $300, that makes Windows a very expensive component. But if you think that $50 for Windows is expensive, this is nothing to how much you have to pay if you want to upgrade a PC to run the latest version of Windows.
A quick trip over to NewEgg.com shows that an upgrade copy of Windows 7 Home Premium is $109.99 — saving you $10 compared to the recommended retail price of $119.99. This is how much Microsoft thinks it should cost you to be able to keep your operating system up to date.
Apple on the other hand has chosen to think differently. Starting with Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' the company decided to offer single-user upgrades for $29 and 'Family Packs' which can be installed on five Macs for $49.
That seemed like an incredible deal, and it was. The low price resulted in upgrade sales over the first month hat were double what Apple saw for Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' over a similar period following its release.
But now Apple is cutting the price of the upgrade once again. At last week's WWDC 2012 keynote speech it was announced that the OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' single user upgrade will retail for $19.99. To put this price into context, I remember a time when Apple used to charge iPod touch owners a whopping $9.99 for iPhone OS updates (back before the operating system was called iOS) — the exact same updates that all iOS device owners now get or free.
The plan here is hardly subtle. While Microsoft continues to charge customers the earth for upgrades, Apple wants to try to persuade people who, for one reason or another, are dissatisfied with Windows to make the switch to Mac. Low cost operating system upgrades that give owners a way to keep their Macs running the latest version of OS X will appeal to those who like to squeeze as much life as possible from their initial hardware investment.
For those people who don't need Windows – and there seems to be an increasing number of them — this lure of cheap upgrades could be compelling.
Another side-effect of what Apple is doing here is that it is devaluing the operating system in preference to looking at the hardware and the operating system that make up a computer as a single product. Apple can afford to virtually give away OS X upgrades because it sold owners the Mac in the first place, and at a handsome 30+ percent profit margin. Microsoft on the other hand is reliant on sales of Windows — both new licenses and upgrades — to buoy its bottom line, while OEMs aren't in a position to do anything at all because they're already crushed and barely scraping a profit from selling the PC in the first place.
It wouldn't surprise me if in a few years Apple is offering OSX updates to users for free. Microsoft has yet to detail Windows 8 pricing, but given that Apple has already shot across their bow with Mountain Lion pricing, I would hope that there is some effort on the part of Microsoft to make Windows cheaper for hose people who are loyal to the platform.


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In line with the discussion here on RAR and WAR earlier this week, Matt at Pittsburgh Lumber Co. runs the numbers using the CHONE projections and sees the Pirates as a 76 win team in 2010.
And speaking of CHONE projections, FanGraphs has made them available in easily digestible form on each of their player ages, right down to WAR projections for 2010. And for good measure, they also have an interesting interview with Sean himself.
Meanwhile, at Baseball Digest Daily, Dave Golebiewski looks at Ian Snell's fall from grace.
And at the Hardball Times, Jeff Sackmann looks at our ridiculous two-year roster turnover.
Meanwhile, former BCT and PiratesReport beat writer John Perrotto has himself an awesome new gig; editor-in-chief at Baseball Prospectus. It's well deserved, so a big congrats...


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Collegiate Bests 1,500m: 4:19.99 | Mile: 4:40.84 | 3,000m: 9:06.64 | 5,000m: 15:49.57 | 10,000m: 33:38.35
2012-13 Outdoor (Junior) - Double SEC Champion (5,000 and 10,000 meters) ... SEC McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of Year across all sports ... NCAA Finalist in the 5K and the 10K ... Became the first ever Wildcat to win at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the same SEC Championships ... Set the SEC 10K record 33:38.35 in her firstever race at the distance ... Double NCAA qualifier ... Became the fourth fastest Wildcat all-time at 5,000 meters with more than a 30-second personal best time at the Stanford Invitational ... Ran a 1,500-meter PR at the Kentuckiana Border Battle ... Ran opening leg of UK's second-place DMR at Penn Relays ... Ranks No. 2 in SEC at 5K and No. 8 at 1,500 meters ... Named CATSPY's Miss Wildcat. Indoor (Junior) - NCAA Elite 89 Award recipient, given to the competitor with the highest GPA at the NCAA Championships ... First-Team All-American in the distance medley relay ... Second-Team All-American at 3,000 meters ... Ran opening leg for UK DMR to qualify UK for NCAA Championships with school-record time 11:00.33 ... Ran the second-fastest time in the SEC at 3,000 meters 9:06.64 at the UW Husky Invitational ... Became a top-5 Wildcat all-time at 3K and 5K ... Bested her PR two of the times she raced at 3K this season, with a 10-second personal best having come at UW ... Time of 9:06.64 at the Husky Classic was the third-fastest indoor time in school history. Cross Country (Senior) - Named an All-America, All-Southeast Region and All-SEC honoree ... finished in the top 25 at six-of-seven meets in 2012, and was in the top 50 at every competition this season ... Finished third at the SEC Championships and the NCAA Southeast Regional ... No. 37 finish at NCAA Championships gave her All-America status ... Awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. 2011-12 Outdoor (Sophomore) - Competed at 1,500 and 5,000 meters ... Season-best 1,500M 4:44.81 came at season-opening USF Bulls Invitational ... Ran 5K outdoor-best 17:20.15 at Texas Relays. Indoor (Sophomore) - Competed in the mile,3,000 and 5,000 meters ... Mile season-best 4:51.23 came at Kentucky Invitational ... Season-best 3K time 9:49.95 came at Rod McCravy Memorial Meet ... Season-best 5K performance 16:50.65 was recorded at UW Husky Classic. Cross Country(Junior) - The first Wildcat across the finish line in five of the team's six meets during the 2011 season ... Notched a season-best, second place finish at the University of Tennessee Cross Country Invitational with a time of 18:13.22 at the 5K distance to lead UK to the team victory ... Scored a top-25 performance at the SEC Championships with a 21:27.86 finish over 6K ... Finished a team-best time of 14:34.25 at the Belmont-Vanderbilt XC Opener over 4K finishing 11th to score 10 points en route to a team third place finish. 2010-11 Outdoor (Freshman) - Did not compete. Indoor (Sophomore) - Did not compete. Cross Country (Sophomore) - Ran a personal best time of 17:26 at the San Francisco Invitational ... Finished the San Francisco Invitational in second-place overall, and first on the team ... Suffered injuries preventing her from racing for half of the season ... Led Kentucky in two of the three races she competed in ... Earned back-to-back top-two overall finishes, coming in second at the San Francisco Invitational and winning the Iona College Meet of Champions just two weeks later. 2009-10 Outdoor - Did not compete. Indoor - Competed sparingly during the indoor season... Finished ninth at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet in the mile run with a season-best time of4:57.89. Cross Country (Freshman) - Finished among the top three for UK in each meet of first season in the Blue and White, claiming top team honors three times ... Earned both second and freshman team All-SEC honors at conference championships as the first Wildcat across the finish by completing the 6K course in 21:56 to place 14th overall ... At the NCAA Southeast Regional raced across the finish line first for the Wildcats, clocking in with a 6K time of 21:37 to place 34th overall ... At 5K Greater Louisville Classic finished second on the team and 16th overall, clocking in at 17:54.67 ... Placed seventh overall and second on the team at the 5K Old Timers Classic with a finish of 18:22 ... Earned Southeastern Conference Cross Country Freshmen of the Week honors after finishing first overall in opening collegiate cross country race at Eastern Kentucky, topping the next competitor by more than 37 seconds. High School 2009 Nike Indoor National 5K Champion with a winning time of 17:03 ... Two-time cross country Footlocker National Qualifier finishing 14th overall and All-American as a senior after placing 31st as a junior ... Finished in the top-10 of the Ohio state cross country championships on three occasions: placing fifth as a senior, runner-up as a junior and seventh as a sophomore ... Placed fifth at the track state championships as a junior in the 3,200m run after placing seventh overall as a freshman ... Owns school records in the 1,600m, 3,200m and 5,000m runs as well as a member of the 3,200m relay squad ... Four-year letterwinner in cross country and track ... Member of state qualifying cross country teams as a sophomore and freshman ... Ran on district champion cross country teams as a sophomore and freshman ... Member of 3,200m relay team that placed seventh at the Ohio state championships and runners-up at regional meet as a freshman ... Cross country MVP all four years and track MVP three years ... Athlete of the Year at Walsh Jesuit ... Chosen as a 2007 Cross Country All-Star by Akron Beacon Journal ... Coached by Bill Barger ... Played basketball as a freshman, sophomore and junior ... Member of All-State Academic team all four years ... Cross country scholar athlete all four years ... Member of National Honor Society and served as a student ambassador and student government representative ... Volunteered with Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Program, Saint Francis Xavier Communion for the Homebound and ElmCroft Nursing home ... Also served as a tutor for fellow students and participated in Special Olympics fundraising events. Personal Full name is Chelsea Marie Oswald ... Born Nov. 20, 1990 in Parma, Ohio ... Parents are John and Sharon Oswald ... Has one brother - Matthew and two sisters - Jessica and Shannon ... Major is biology ... Member of SEC Academic Honor Roll, Athletics Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List every semester at UK.


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|Saint Francis Medical Center earns ACR accreditation
Grand Island, Neb. — Saint Francis Medical Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Mammography is a specific type of imaging test that uses a low-dose X-ray system to examine breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women.
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.
About Saint Francis Medical Center
Saint Francis Medical Center is a nonprofit faith-based hospital serving Central Nebraska with state-of-the-art healthcare services. A new patient tower was completed in 2007 with 159 acute-care patient rooms, including the Family Birthing Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit and a 10-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit. Saint Francis also operates a Cancer Treatment Center in Grand Island and Hastings, a Skilled Care Unit and an alcohol and drug treatment center.
About Catholic Health Initiatives
Saint Francis Medical Center is part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 73 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2011, CHI provided more than $612 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With annual operating revenues of approximately $9.6 billion, CHI is the nation's third-largest Catholic health care system.


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Unlocking the Key to Deep Sleep
By Sarah Fenske
Making the Ferguson Commission Matter
By Danny Wicentowski
My Fake Boyfriend Became a Real-Life Crush
By Lindsay Toler
Rep. Jeffrey Pogue Bill Would Ban Unisex Bathrooms
By Danny Wicentowski
Darren Wilson Gives Speech to Nonprofit
By Danny Wicentowski
Angel Stewart and Other Victims of Violence Ask for Mercy
By Jessica Lussenhop
Obama Praises St. Louis' LaunchCode
By Lindsay Toler
By Lindsay Toler
You'd think it would be the former who's happier in his present situation. Think again.
Ain't no pep band to be found at East Side on Tuesday night, just the looping thump of Atlanta rap group Trillville and its underground hit single, "Neva Eva." The track gets the Flyers pumped during warm-ups; a glance at their half of the floor reveals virtually the entire team gyrating to the beat, cranked at full volume on the school's substantial, rafter-suspended sound system.
The entire team, that is, except for an expressionless Tommie Liddell, who, as always, looks as though he's about ready to slip into his jammies and count sheep, even as he ascends to rim level during a lay-in drill.
After the music cuts and starting lineups are announced, Liddell and his teammates huddle near center court and begin to sway in unison.
"Whose side? East Side! Whose side? East Side!"
If the Flyers' opponents are rattled come opening tip, that's the idea. When you play for the only high school in the most distressed little city in the nation, you find ways to turn that to your advantage.
"It's a cultural divide," says McCluer High School coach Erwin Claggett, the ex-Venice (Illinois) High and Saint Louis University great who coached Liddell this past summer in the Amateur Athletic Union, where Liddell and an all-star cast of area schoolboy ballers known as the St. Louis Eagles had the chance to tour the nation and test their skills against AAU squads in other states. "The mentality of players is different in Illinois. Where we at, it's almost like the country. Where I came from, where Tommie comes from, basketball is everything. Kids from Illinois have a me-against-the-world mentality."
On this January night in the East Side gym, Liddell will do no more than is necessary to lead the Flyers to a nail-biting, 51-49 victory over conference rival Belleville East. His final stats: sixteen points, nine rebounds, five assists. Impressive, but hardly dominating. In short, it's just the sort of preciously passive performance that causes the blood pressure of coach Dennis Brooks to rise.
"He likes to get the other kids involved," explains Brooks, who played at East Side in the 1960s and took over for legendary coach Bennie Lewis Sr. after the 1999-2000 season, the same year Darius Miles graduated. "But I'm looking for him to be a little more selfish."
High above the action on the floor sits a solitary Coach Lewis, retired from the helm but still an East Side constant, his excuse being the inclusion of his grandson, Bennie Lewis III, on Brooks' roster. Lewis won 519 games and four state titles, all in the 1980s, at now-defunct Lincoln High and then assumed the head job at East Side when the two schools consolidated into one after the 1997-98 campaign. Like just about every other Lincoln player, Darius Miles followed Lewis to East Side, where coach and superstar would close out their high school careers with a third-place finish in the 2000 Illinois state championships.
"That's gonna always be a thorn in Darius' side: He went there twice and didn't make it," Lewis reflects. "That's how they'll be judging around here. They'll say, 'You went pro and everything, but you didn't win the state championship,' which is our Super Bowl or NCAA championship."
Most observers give East Side a remote shot at making the Illinois Class AA state finals next month in Peoria. The favorite to win it all is hometown defending state champion Peoria High, led by Duke University-bound six-foot-seven point guard Shaun Livingston, who played in the two most recent KMOX Shootouts at the Savvis Center and has drawn comparisons to Magic Johnson.
If East Side is to make it, Liddell will have to assert himself more consistently on offense, a fact the eighteen-year-old is well aware of.
"When I'm walking the streets, people tell me to shoot more," says Liddell. "I just change the subject. I don't like taking a lot of bad shots."
In November Liddell signed a letter of intent to attend St. Louis University on a full basketball scholarship, eschewing offers from bigger, more established programs. Unlike the athletically freakish Miles, going straight to the pros was not a serious consideration for Liddell. While his all-around talents and athletic ability are prodigious, he's still a work in progress, and he knows it.
Lewis thinks Tommie needs to get faster. Claggett says he needs to get stronger. National high school talent scout Bob Gibbons thinks he needs to play harder. Mark Melvin of Illinois-based Cutting Edge Recruiting says his outside shot needs work. Brad Soderberg, who will be Liddell's head coach at Saint Louis U. next fall, thinks he needs to shoot more often. And Miles, an acquaintance of Liddell who comes back to visit East Side a couple of times a year, thinks he needs to get tougher.
"He don't got no killer instinct," Miles says of his alma mater's current go-to guy.
Three individuals who are certain Liddell has what it takes to make the NBA are SLU alum Claggett ("No question in my mind"), SLU coach Soderberg and Lidell himself, who offers a terse, confident "Yep" when asked if he's got the juice to go pro one day.
Sponsor Content


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July 28, 2015
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard says the rig was drilling for oil and gas in 3,000-foot depths around 10 a.m. Tuesday when the wave hit.
Petty Officer Manda Emery says the platform was knocked 55 feet, and one of three watertight chambers in one of the rig's six floatation columns began taking on water.
Emery says the platform is being kept level and there is no spill. None of the 116 crew members was injured, and there have been no evacuations.
The rig is about 130 miles from Galveston.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Andy Kendrick says the well is being drilled for Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
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A prosthetic device which includes a biocompatible carbon film firmly adherent to a substrate. The carbon preferably is turbostratic and is preferably very thin, e.g., less than about one micron. The thin carbon biocompatible film is dense and covers at least that portion of the substrate which will be in contact with body tissue and/or fluids to insure against physiological rejection and degradation of the prosthetic device. The carbon can be deposited on a variety of substrates, including low temperature substrates, in situ, without adversely affecting the mechanical properties of the substrate. The prosthetic device of the invention is formed by triode sputtering vacuum deposition at a relatively low temperature to achieve the desired results with respect to the deposited carbon and the substrate and with respect to the required adherence therebetween.
1. The method of forming a prosthetic device having a substrate, comprising:
forming a plasma beam and directing the beam toward a carbon cathode circumscribed by an anode, the cathode and anode being remote from the site of formation of the plasma beam,
sputtering the carbon cathode by said beam while cooling the cathode and anode and operating the cathode at a high voltage and a low current;
directing said sputtered carbon onto a substrate at a temperature of below about 250� C. without degradation to form a biocompatible carbon coating firmly adhered on the substrate, and
operating the method at a pressure of about 10-4 mbar to about 10-2 mbar.
2. The method of forming a prosthetic device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon cathode consists of graphite or pyrolytic carbon, and wherein the carbon deposited on the substrate is turbostratic.
3. The method of forming a prosthetic device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon cathode and anode are cooled by water conveyed through conduits contiguous therewith.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is flat and is rotated about the carbon cathode and about itself for uniform distribution of the sputtered carbon thereon.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is tubular and is rotated about its axis for uniform distribution of the sputtered carbon thereon.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is suture yarn and is rotated about a frame for uniform distribution of the sputtered carbon thereon.
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising masking portions of the substrate so that the sputtered carbon only is deposited on unmasked portions.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a polyester resin and the temperature at the substrate is maintained at about 80� C. to enhance the adhesion of the sputtered carbon to the substrate.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is polytetrafluoroethylene and the temperature at the substrate is maintained at about 180� C. for about one-sixth of the desired carbon coating thickness, and then at about 40� C. for the balance of the coating of carbon, to thereby enhance the adhesion of the sputtered carbon to the substrate.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carbon sputtered onto the substrate has a thickness of not more than about 1.0 micron.
11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of polyester resins, polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone, polyacetal resins, polyurethanes, polyethylene, cobalt-chromium alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, and wherein the carbon sputtered on the substrate is turbostratic.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the carbon cathode is sputtered in an atmosphere having a pressure of about 10-3 mbar.
13. Apparatus for depositing a film of biocompatible carbon firmly adherent to a substrate of a prosthetic device, comprising:
(a) a first chamber for receiving an inert gas;
(b) means in said first chamber for ionizing the inert gas and issuing a plasma beam therefrom;
(c) a second chamber open and connected to said first chamber at one end thereof for receiving the plasma beam, and including a carbon cathode positioned at the other end of said second chamber remote from said one end, an annular anode circumscribing said carbon cathode, means about said second chamber for collimating the plasma beam and directing the collimated plasma beam toward said carbon cathode to sputter carbon atoms therefrom, and means mounted in said second chamber for holding a substrate and moving the substrate in the path of the sputtered carbon to form a firmly adherent carbon coating thereon;
(d) means within and about said second chamber for operating said second chamber at a low pressure;
(e) electrical means connected to said cathode for operating the cathode at a high voltage and low current;
(f) heating means positioned in said second chamber and in proximity of the substrate for heating the substrate to a desired level; and
(g) means for cooling the carbon cathode and anode.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said electrical means comprises an electrical source for maintaining the cathode and anode at a voltage of at least about 500 volts and at a current of not more than about 0.3 amps.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said means for cooling the carbon cathode and anode comprises:
(a) a first annular conduit contiguous with the outer perimeter of the anode;
(b) a second annular conduit in contact with the carbon cathode; and
(c) means for conveying cooling water through said conduits.
16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein a plurality of substrates are simultaneously coated with sputtered biocompatible carbon, and wherein said means for holding and moving the substrates comprises:
rotatable means mounted at the bottom of the second chamber;
a housing removably mounted on and rotatable with said rotatable means which extends upwardly therefrom and about said carbon cathode,
support means for each substrate releasably connected to said housing for holding a substrate thereon during sputtering of the carbon, wherein said support means rotates with said housing about said carbon cathode and is rotatable, at the same time, about its own axis,
means connected to said rotatable means for rotation thereof, and
means positioned in said second chamber for frictionally engaging each of said support means to effect rotation thereof about its own axis as said housing rotates with said support means about said carbon cathode.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein each of said support means for the substrate comprises:
(a) a disk having a convex rear wall and a concave front wall; and
(b) a frame mounted on the concave front wall of said disk for releasably connecting the substrate thereto; and wherein
(c) said frictionally engaging means is an annular rail engaged by the bottom of each of said disks.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said substrates have a flat cross-sectional shape.
19. The apparatus of claim 13 for coating biocompatible carbon on a tubular substrate of a prosthetic device, wherein said holding and moving means for the substrate, comprises:
a rotatable spindle mounted in said second chamber in the path of the sputtered carbon for mounting the tubular substrate thereon, and
drive means positioned in said second chamber for rotating said spindle so that sputtered carbon is uniformly deposited on the exposed surface of the rotating tubular substrate.
20. The apparatus of claim 13 for coating biocompatible carbon on a substrate of suture yarn, wherein said holding and moving means for a substrate of suturing yarn comprises:
a frame mounted in said second chamber in the path of the sputtered carbon, including a pair of transversely spaced rods having a plurality of grooves therein for receiving the suture yarn as it is rotated on said rods, wherein said grooves are aligned between rods in such a manner that the yarn turns slightly as it continuously travels from one groove to another therebetween;
means connected to one of said rods for rotation thereof; and
means connected to said frame for transferring the suture yarn coming off one end of one of said transverse rods to thereby continuously rotate said suture yarn until it is coated to the desired thickness with firmly adherent biocompatible sputtered carbon.
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 07/464,629 filed Jan. 3, 1990, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/391,658 filed Aug. 8, 1989 (now abandoned); which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/080,205 filed July 22, 1987 (now abandoned); which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 06/801,753 filed Nov. 26, 1985 (now abandoned); which is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/799,561 filed Nov. 20, 1985 (now abandoned); which is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/545,292 filed Oct. 25, 1983 (now abandoned).
This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 545,292, filed Oct. 25, 1983.
The invention relates to a prosthetic device having a thin continuous biocompatible film of carbon firmly adherent to a substrate, and to a method of and apparatus for forming the prosthetic device.
Prior to the present invention, a satisfactory prosthetic device having a thin continuous film of biocompatible carbon firmly adherent to a substrate has not been generally available. Existing carbon films have not exhibited adherence to their substrate or have not been in a form which is biocompatible. Another deficiency of prior art carbon coated prosthetic devices is that the mechanical properties of the substrates have been adversely affected by the methods and apparatus employed to form the films thereon.
Representative of the prior art techniques for coating a carbon film on a substrate of a prosthetic device include chemical vapor deposition, thermal evaporation by means of an electron beam and ion plating.
In early chemical vapor deposition techniques for forming prosthetic devices, a source for carbon was decomposed at relatively high temperatures and the carbon was deposited in thick layers (e.g., at least 25 microns) on a substrate (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,526,005; 3,685,059 and 3,707,006). Since these techniques typically employed high temperatures e.g., in excess of 1000� C., it was necessary to select substrate materials which were not adversely affected by the high temperatures employed during the process. As a result, the substrate materials employed for the making of prosthetic devices were limited. To this day, such high temperature techniques cannot take advantage of the desirable properties of available low temperature substrate materials.
Efforts to overcome drawbacks attendant to high temperatures have included initially coating the substrates with high temperature organic polymers and then depositing the carbon thereon (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,334). Such techniques are relatively complex and have not met with significant success.
The described prior art techniques also have been relatively costly and have produced a layer of carbon which has not satisfactorily adhered to the substrate. In use it has been found that the carbon layer tends to separate from the substrate and allows body fluids and tissue to attack and degrade the prosthetic device.
Attempts to modify existing chemical vaporization techniques continue. Recently, it has been suggested that catalysts be used to lower processing temperatures. However, such suggestions add to the complexity and costs of the process and result in films which, in use, have experienced undesirable degradation and separation from the substrates intended to be protected.
Other techniques which have been tried and which have not met with success include electron beam evaporation and ion plating of carbon on a substrate. It has been found that the infrared radiation generated by the electron beam evaporation technique causes degradation of the substrate. In addition, the pressures used are so low that the carbon atoms tend to flow in a very straight line and do not uniformly coat a substrate which normally has a morphologically complex surface.
Further, with the electron beam technique, the deposited carbon is not biocompatible and does not firmly adhere to the substrate. The carbon on the substrate is in form of graphite which has been found not to be biocompatible. Also, the deposited carbon tends to separate and is removed from the substrate during use causing body fluids and tissue to attack and degrade the prosthetic device.
With respect to the ion plating technique, it is a modification of vacuum evaporation in which the substrate is held during the deposition at a high negative potential so that it is bombarded by positive ions, in order to improve the adhesion and the structural properties of the film. Obviously this technique cannot be advantageously employed with electrically insulated substrates, like polymers. In fact, it is difficult to electrically bias non-conductive desirable substrates, such as DACRON (a polyester resin), TEFLON (polytetrafluoroethylene) and other relatively low melting polymers.
Thus, available prosthetic devices and techniques are beset by drawbacks. There is a need for prosthetic devices which have a thin biocompatible carbon coating firmly adherent to the substrate, such as low temperature DACRON and TEFLON, etc., and which are relatively simple and inexpensive to produce.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a new and unique prosthetic device which includes a biocompatible carbon film firmly adherent to a substrate. The carbon preferably is turbostratic and is preferably very thin, e.g., less than about one micron. The thin carbon biocompatible film is dense and covers at least that portion of the substrate which will be in contact with body tissue and/or fluids to insure against physiological rejection and degradation of the prosthetic device. The carbon can be deposited on a variety of substrates, including low temperature substrates, in situ, without adversely affecting the mechanical properties of the substrate. The preferred substrates include fabrics of medical grade DACRON and TEFLON which have relatively low softening points, and non-refractory metals, such as Haynes 25 alloy.
The prosthetic devices of the present invention include valves, particularly cardiac valves, grafts and patches, including vascular grafts, tubular prostheses, sutures, catheters, otologic prostheses, tendon and ligament prostheses, dental implants, jaw replacements and other prosthetic devices for the repair or replacement of bones and joints.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a new and unique method of and apparatus for forming the prosthetic devices of the present invention, wherein the carbon is deposited on the substrate, in situ, at a low temperature and pressure and in a manner which enhances the adhesion of the carbon and does nor adversely affect the properties of the substrate.
Preferably the prosthetic devices of the invention are formed by triode sputtering vacuum deposition which achieves the desired results with respect to the carbon and the substrate and the required adherence therebetween. In the triode sputtering vacuum deposition of the present invention there is provided an upper and remote ionization chamber for generating a plasma beam of an inert gas containing positively charged ions of high energy, a lower sputtering chamber, including a carbon source (target) spaced from the ionization chamber which is negatively charged and surrounded by an anode, an intermediate magnetic coil about the sputtering chamber for collimating the plasma beam, and a substrate of the prosthetic device positioned within the sputtering chamber and in proximity to the target for receiving the carbon atoms sputtered from the target by the bombarding ions of the plasma beam.
In the present invention, the ionization of the inert gas and generation of plasma is achieved in an ionization chamber which is remote from the target. Since the substrate is in relative proximity to the target, and remote from the ionization chamber, the substrate is insulated from the high temperatures used to generate the plasma. Accordingly, the present invention minimizes transfer of heat to the substrate.
Additionally, means are provided for cooling the target and the anode which further serves to minimize the transfer of heat to the substrate.
Furthermore, the present invention employs a high voltage, low current (preferably direct current) to the target (carbon cathode) which further reduces the heat generated in the lower sputtering chamber.
Another feature of the invention is to operate the sputtering chamber at low pressures so that the force and speed of the sputtered carbon is not deterred by its environment.
Thus, the present invention operates at low temperatures and pressures so that the substrates are not adversely affected and the sputtered carbon firmly adheres thereto.
Another feature of the present invention is that either graphite or pyrolytic carbon can be used for the target. In either instance, the carbon deposited on the substrate is a biocompatible carbon which is turbostratic in structure.
Another feature is that regardless of the configuration of the substrate, e.g., flat or curved, the invention produces a thin, uniform, dense film of turbostratic carbon thereon. This is accomplished by movably positioning the substrates within the sputtering chamber to insure uniform deposition of carbon.
Still another feature of the present invention is that specific temperature gradients can be used at the substrates to improve adherence of the biocompatible carbon being deposited thereon.
In each embodiment of the invention there is obtained the desired prosthetic device including a biocompatible film of turbostratic carbon of the desired thinness and uniformity, deposited on and firmly adherent to a substrate so that the device has and maintains its integrity.
The following is a detailed description together with accompanying drawings of illustrative embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation apparent to those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a triode sputtering vacuum deposition apparatus for carrying out the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the triode sputtering vacuum apparatus of FIG. 1 wherein the bell jar (ionization and sputtering chambers) is hydraulically raised from its base to expose the target and surrounding anode;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein the bell jar has been rotated out of the way for purpose of loading substrates to be coated and for removing coated substrates;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sputtering apparatus of FIGS. 1-3, illustrating the ionization and sputtering chambers, the target and anode, and an internal housing including disks for holding the substrates to be coated;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower rotatable ring of the apparatus of FIGS. 1-3, upon which the internal housing is placed, and an upper stationary ring for engaging and causing the disks to rotate about their centers as the housing and disks are rotated by the lower rotatable ring about the longitudinal axis of the bell jar;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 illustrating the electric circuits and heating, cooling, hydraulic and vacuum systems utilized by the invention, along with showing the plasma beam generated in the ionization chamber centered and directed to the target area;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a disk and frame for holding a substrate which is to be coated in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the coated substrate of the invention after it has been removed from the disk and frame shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 8A is a cross sectional view of the coated substrate of FIG. 8;
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a component for a cardiac valve encased within the coated substrate of FIG. 8;
FIGS. 10, 11, 11A and 12 are similar to FIGS. 7, 8, 8A and 9, but illustrate the use of a disk and frame (FIG. 10) for coating a masked substrate which allows the substrate to be coated only over selected portions (FIG. 11 and 11A) for use in a ring of a mechanical cardiac valve (FIG. 12);
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an apparatus of the invention for coating tubing, e.g., vascular tubing, which can be positioned in the apparatus of FIGS. 1-5;
FIG. 13A is a cross sectional view of the coated tubing prior to inversion;
FIG. 13B is a cross sectional view of the coated tubing after inversion;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another apparatus of the invention for coating suture yarn which also can be positioned in the device of FIGS. 1-5;
FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the frame and suture yarn of FIG. 14; and
FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of the coated yarn.
Referring first to the illustrative embodiments of the invention of FIGS. 1-9, there is shown a triode vacuum apparatus 10 (FIGS. 1-7) for coating a substrate 2 with a thin, uniform, dense coating or film 4 of biocompatible carbon firmly adherent to the substrate 2 (FIGS. 8 and 8A) for use in a prosthetic device 6 (FIG. 9).
The apparatus 10 (FIGS. 1-6) includes a bell jar 12 mounted on a hydraulically operated telescoping arm 13 for moving the jar 12 to and from a base 14. The bell jar 12 has an upper ionization chamber 16 and a lower sputtering chamber 18. Positioned in the sputtering chamber 18 when the jar 12 is closed (FIGS. 1 and 4) is a target 20 which provides a source for the biocompatible carbon and which is circumscribed by an anode 22. Also within the closed sputtering chamber 18 is a removable support structure or housing 24 for the substrates 2 to be coated by the carbon (FIG. 4). This illustrative apparatus is of the general type marketed by Balzers AG of Liechtenstein under Model BB 800 033 PE 7503.
The ionization chamber 16 generates a plasma beam 28 (FIGS. 1 and 6) of concentrated ionized particles which are drawn to the target 20 for sputtering carbon onto the substrates 2. The chamber 16 includes a filament 30 at its upper end, an auxiliary anode 32 at its lower end having a central opening 34 therethrough and an intermediate inlet 36 for an inert gas, such as argon, which forms the plasma beam 28. The argon gas flows from a source (FIG. 6) through a valve controlled conduit 38 connected to the inlet 36 and into the ionization chamber 16, wherein the heated filament 30 ionizes the argon into concentrated positively charged ions which are drawn through the opening 34 of the auxiliary anode 32 into sputtering chamber 18 to the target 20. As the argon ions are drawn through the sputtering chamber 18 they are collimated into the shape schematically illustrated in FIG. 6 by a magnetic field coil 40 centrally positioned about the outer wall of the sputtering chamber 18. As desired gases in the sputtering chamber 18 can be removed by a vacuum pump connected to a vacuum outlet 44 in the base 14 via the valve controlled conduit 46 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Throughout the operation the vacuum pump maintains the sputtering chamber 18 at low pressures so that the environmental effect on the force and speed of the sputtered carbon is minimal.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the target 20 and the substrates 2 are spaced from the ionization chamber 16. Accordingly the heat generated in forming the plasma beam 28, in substance, does not reach or adversely affect the substrates 2.
The target 20 and anode 22 are mounted within and on a stand 48 affixed to the base 14 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 6). The target 20 is positioned within a cylindrical cavity 50 and is circumscribed by the annular anode 22.
The target 20 can comprise graphite, pyrolytic carbon or a combination thereof. Surprisingly and unexpectedly in each embodiment the carbon sputtered onto the substrates 2 is in a biocompatible form, namely turbostratic. In the illustrative embodiment (FIG. 4), the target 20 is cylindrical and comprises a graphite base 52 upon which is positioned an outer layer 54 of pyrolytic carbon.
To produce the required adhesion of the deposited carbon without adversely affecting the substrate 2, high voltages and low currents are used for the target 20 by the electric source (FIG. 6). Also, the target 20 and anode 22 are water cooled. By so doing, heat from infrared radiation from the target 20 and anode 22 is minimized.
It has been found that the relatively high voltages, e.g., at least about 500 volts and preferably about 1000 to 3000 volts, provide the energy needed to properly adhere the sputtered carbon to the substrate and a suitable deposition rate, while low direct currents, e.g., about 0.05 to 0.3 amps., minimize infrared and ultraviolet radiation. On the other hand, low voltage levels adversely affect the adhesion of the carbon to the substrate without meaningfully changing the generation of infrared radiation and high currents produce infrared and ultraviolet radiation that can adversely affect the substrates 2.
It also has been found that circulating cooling water from a source through an annular conduit 56 contiguous with the outer perimeter of the anode 22 and an annular conduit 58 beneath the cavity wall and in contact with the target 20 minimizes the generation of detrimental heat.
To further control the environment within the bell jar 12 and to enhance coating of the substrates 2, there are provided electric quartz heaters 55 mounted on the inner wall of the sputtering chamber 18 and about the mounted substrates 2, and a conduit 57 helically wrapped about the periphery of the outer wall of the sputtering chamber 18 through which water can be conveyed. The use of the heaters 55 and the conduit 57 to enhance the operation of the apparatus 10 will be explained in detail hereinafter.
Removably and rotatably positioned within the sputtering chamber 18 is the internal housing 24 for the substrates 2 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The housing 24 and related structure are designed to facilitate the coating of the substrates 2 with a dense thin film of turbostratic carbon from the sputtered target 20. As will be presently described, such structure positions the substrates 2 relative to the target 20 and simultaneously rotates such substrates 2 at predetermined rates about their axis and the longitudinal axis of the bell jar 12 to optimize uniform coating thereon.
More particularly, the housing 24 is cylindrical and is supported at its lower end on a rotatable cylindrical ring 59 driven by a belt driven roller 60 and supported by idler rollers 62. The roller 60 is connected to the upper end of a shaft 64 rotated by a belt 66 which is driven by a motor (not shown). The idler rolls 62 are connected to the upper ends of shafts 68 which are connected at their lower ends to the base 14.
The housing 24 extends upwardly from the lower rotable ring 59, about the target 20 and anode 22 and into the upper portion of the sputtering chamber 18. In the upper portion of the housing 24 there are six equal spaced circular openings 70. A cylindrical rail 72 is secured to the inner wall of the housing 24 and traverses the openings 70. In the rail 72, there is a notch 74 centrally positioned in each opening 70 for allowing access to an annular slot 76 in the rear wall of the rail 72.
The described structure of the housing 24 is adapted to receive disks 78 which hold the substrates 2. Each disk 78 has a shaft 80 centrally connected to its convex rear wall which is removably seated in the notch 74 and adjacent slot 76, and a hanger 82 extending upwardly therefrom to facilitate carrying, holding and storing of the disks 78. Each disk 78 also includes a frame 84 on its concave front wall which is secured to the disk 78 by a screw or other means 86 and which is used to hold the substrate 2.
Within the housing 24 and at the base of the openings 70 is a separate stationary ring 88 having rods 89 depending therefrom which are connected at their lower ends to the base 14. As illustrated in engaging the rail 72, the disks 78 tilt slightly forward with their lower ends frictionally engaging the stationary ring 88. As a consequence, when the housing 24 is rotated within the sputtering chamber 18, the disks 78 simultaneously rotate about their axis and the longitudinal axis of the bell jar 12 for uniform coating of the substrate 2. In addition, the disks 73 are tilted forwardly toward the target 20 and positioned a predetermined distance therefrom to optimize uniform coating of the sputtered carbon onto the rotating substrates 2.
The disks 78 can be used to secure a variety of substrates 2. Referring to FIGS. 7 through 9 a rectangular shaped substrate 2 is secured in a correspondingly shaped frame 84 on a disk 78 by screws or other means 94. After forming the biocompatible carbon film 4 on the substrate 2 in accordance with the present invention, the coated substrate 2 is removed from the frame 84 and can be wrapped around and secured to a stent of a cardiac valve, for example, to form the prosthetic device 6 shown in FIG. 9. In doing so, biocompatible carbon coated sutures, which are preferably also prepared in accordance with the present invention as hereinafter more particularly described, can be used.
Certain prosthetic devices require only portions of the substrate to be coated with a biocompatible carbon film. For example, cardiac valves may have only a portion of the valve exposed to physiological fluids, or it may be desirable to have portions of the prosthetic device attached by tissues after implantation. Those portions not exposed to tissues and fluids or portions which are desirably attached to tissues are masked prior to coating. In such instance the triode sputtering vacuum process of the invention will provide a carbon film only on the unmasked portions. More specifically, and as shown in FIG. 10, the frame 84 has masking segments 98 overlaying the substrate 2. As a result, the present invention will provide a substrate 2 including coated and uncoated portions 99 and 100 (FIGS. 11 and 11A) which can be used to form a ring 101 (FIG. 12) for a cardiac valve comprising a substrate 2 having coated and uncoated regions 99 and 100, respectively.
In addition to the valve components 6 and 101 just described, the present invention can be used for producing grafts and patches, tubular prostheses, sutures, catheters, otologic prostheses, tendon and ligament prostheses, dental implants, jaw replacements and other prosthetic devices. The prosthetic devices of the invention are especially useful as implants because they are biocompatible with body fluids and tissue. The implanted prosthetic devices of the invention resist physiological rejection and degradation. In each embodiment of the invention, the prosthetic device consists of or includes a substrate 2 with a thin, uniform, dense film or coating 4 and 99 of biocompatible carbon adherent thereto. See illustrative FIGS. 8A and 11A.
In the present invention, a wide variety of substrate materials can be used, however, the invention is particularly well suited for substrates comprising organic polymers having relatively low softening points. The substrates includes DACRON which exhibits a change in elasticity at about 150� C. Therefore, it is preferred when coating DACRON to have the substrate exposed to temperatures no higher than the range of 80�-90� C.
TEFLON is another suitable material which has low softening point substrate. TEFLON can withstand temperatures of about 250� C. before softening. It is preferred to limit the temperature in proximity of a TEFLON substrate to no more than about 160�-180� C.
Other low temperature materials which can be used for the substrate include silicone, polyacetal resins (DELRIN), polyurethane, low density polyethylene, and non-refractory metals, such as Haynes 25 cobalt-chromium alloys, titanium and titanium alloys.
The thickness of the substrates will vary depending on the form of and type of material. Substrates in the form of woven or knit fabrics, such as DACRON or TEFLON fabrics used in cardiac valves typically are from about 0.1 to 1.0 mm in thickness, and desirably 0.3 mm.
As stated, the carbon films or coatings of the invention deposited on the described substrates are biocompatible, continuous, uniform, dense and cover at least those portions of the substrates which are in contact with physiological fluids that can degrade uncoated substrates.
The carbon film preferably is thin within the range of about 0.2 to 0.8 micron. Films having a thickness exceeding the preferred range tend to separate from the substrate and/or take too long to produce. Films below the preferred thickness may not uniformly cover the substrate surface.
The carbon film of the invention is dense, e.g., 2.2 gm/cm3, and preferably is turbostratic because this form of carbon is known to be biocompatible. The carbon film of the invention also strongly adheres to the substrate so that the coated substrate is able to repeatedly flex without separation of the film. The adhesion is tested in accordance with the ASTM 03359 standard procedure.
The process of the invention is admirably suited for forming the described biocompatible film on a wide variety of prosthetic devices consisting of or including coated substrates. To highlight the advantages of the invention, the following describes the process utilizing the illustrative embodiment of the apparatus 10 for forming the prosthetic device as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, including low temperature substrates of medical grade DACRON and TEFLON.
Referring first to medical grade DACRON, the substrates 2 to be used are rectangular in shape as shown in FIG. 8. Prior to initiating the operational phase of the process, the DACRON substrates are cleansed by a non-corrosive solvent.
The cleansed substrates 2 are mounted by the frame 84 to the disks 78 (FIG. 9) and the loaded disks 78 are mounted on the rail 72 of the housing 24 (FIGS. 4 and 5). In so doing, the disks 78 tilt forward.
The bell jar 12 is raised from its base 14 by the hydraulically operated telescoping arm 13 and rotated on such arm 13 away from the base 14 as shown in FIG. 3. The housing 24 with the assembled disks 78 are placed on the lower rotatable ring 59 and the lower ends of the tilted disks 78 frictionally engage the stationary rail 88 positioned within the housing 24. The bell jar 12 is then rotated over the housing 24 and lowered by the hydraulically operated telescoping arm 13 about the housing 24 and into sealing engagement with the base 14 (FIGS. 2 and 1).
The sputtering chamber 18 is then evacuated and maintained at low pressure levels (10-4 mbar-10-2 mbar and preferably 10-3 mbar) by a vacuum pump via the outlet 44 and conduit 46. This is done to enhance the adhesion of the sputtered and the deposited carbon on the substrates 2. At such low pressure levels, the sputtered carbon atoms maintain their high energy level.
The target 20 is cleansed by bombardment of the plasma beam 28, and the bell jar 12 is cleansed by removal of moisture and gaseous impurities. The cleansing of the bell jar 12 is accomplished by feeding hot water through the helical conduit 57 about the wall of the sputtering chamber 18 and such chamber 18 is evacuated by a vacuum pump to remove vapors and gases.
Also to enhance adhesion of the sputtered carbon on the substrates 2, the temperature within the sputtering chamber 18 is maintained at about 80� C. by the use of the electric quartz lamps 55.
At the same time the filament 30 is operated at a current of about 80 to about 90 amperes, and preferably about 85 amperes, and argon gas is fed into the chamber 16 via conduit 38 and inlet 36, whereupon a plasma beam 28 is generated consisting of high energy positively charged ions. The plasma beam 28 is drawn from the ionization chamber 16 into the sputtering chamber 18 where it is focused or collimated by the magnetic field coil 40 and directed to the target 20. The coil 40 also serves to minimize exposure of the substrate 2 to secondary electrons. For such purposes, the coil 40 is operated at about 12 amperes.
The high energy argon ions of the plasma beam 28 bombard the target 20 causing carbon atoms to separate from the surface of the graphitic or pyrolytic target and flow in the acute angular direction schematically shown in FIG. 4 at substantial speeds onto the substrates 2. The substrates 2 are rotated about the longitudinal axis of the bell jar 12 and about their own axis to enhance uniform deposition of carbon. Typically, rotation about the jar 12 is at the rate of about 4 to 5 revolutions per minute while the disks 59 rotate about 2 revolutions about their axis for each revolution about the jar 12.
During operation, the target 20 is maintained at high voltages and low direct currents, such as 3000 volts and 0.3 amps, by the electric source. The high voltages help generate a suitable number of sputtered carbon atoms of the desired high energy while the low currents minimize the generation of infrared and ultraviolet radiation. Also, during operation the anode 22 and target 20 are cooled by water flowing at about 20� C. through their respective conduits 56 and 58 to minimize the generation of heat.
To further reduce the amount of undesirable heat at the substrate 2, the ionization chamber 16 is at the upper end of the sputtering chamber 18 and spaced a considerable distance from the substrate 2. In this illustrative example, the ionization chamber 16 is about 25 cm from the substrates 2.
The described process is continued until the carbon film 4 uniformly deposited on the DACRON substrates is about 0.3 microns in thickness. To achieve this thickness, the process is operated for about 5 hours.
After the desired thickness of biocompatible carbon film is obtained, the argon gas feed is shut off. After the pressure in the sputtering chamber 18 is raised to atmospheric pressure, the bell jar 12 is opened and the housing 24 is removed from the base 14. Thereafter, the disks 78 are removed from the housing 24 and the coated substrates 2 are removed from the frames 84.
The prosthetic devices thereby obtained include the desired carbon film 4 on the substrate 2 with the necessary adhesion therebetween and without adversely affecting the substrate.
In coating substrates 2 of TEFLON essentially the same process is employed. However, to obtain optimum adhesion of the carbon film 4, it has been found that a temperature gradient at the substrates 2 within the sputtering chamber 18 is desirable. With TEFLON substrates, the quartz electric lamps 55 are operated so as to heat the environment at the substrates 2 to about 180� C. until about one-sixth of the total desired thickness cf the carbon film (0.3 microns) is deposited on the TEFLON substrates. Thereafter, heating of the substrate is terminated and the temperature in and about the substrates 2 is cooled down to and maintained at about 40� C. This is accomplished by shutting off the quartz electric lamps 55 and conveying cooling water through the helical conduit 57 about the outer wall of the sputtering chamber 18. Deposition of carbon to the full thickness of the deposited carbon was carried out under the same conditions already described, except that the anode current was reduced to about 0.1 amps. The operational time was about 8 hours.
The prosthetic devices obtained by the process produced the desired carbon films 4 on the TEFLON substrates 2 with the required adhesion therebetween and without adversely affecting the TEFLON.
Thus far there has been described, in some detail, the coating of flat substrates 2 for use in prosthetic devices. It is to be understood that the present invention can be used to provide biocompatible carbon films of a variety of prosthetic devices of different configurations, including tubular structures (e.g., vascular tubing and catheters) and yarns (e.g., sutures).
In FIG. 13, for example, vascular tubing 200 is coated with a carbon film 201 of the present invention (FIG. 13A). The illustrative apparatus 202 includes a drive assembly 204 comprising a gear mechanism 206 which rotates a spindle 208 having the tubular substrate 200 thereon. The drive assembly 204 is secured to the stationary rail 88 by a clamp 208 and bolt 214. A bar 216 of the assembly 204 is adjustably secured at one end to the clamp 210 by bolts 220 and 222 and at its other end to the gear mechanism 206.
The gear mechanism 206 is rotated by a rotable flexible cable 226 connected at one end to the gear mechanism 206 and its other end to the previously described idler roller. Rotation of the ring 59 by the drive roller 60 (FIG. 6) causes the idler roller 62 to rotate cable 226 which, in turn, rotates the gear mechanism 206. In so doing, the gear mechanism 206 rotates the spindle 208 and tubing 200 thereon.
In operation, the tubular substrate 200 is rotated during the sputtering process whereby sputtered carbon atoms from the target 20, as already described and illustrated (FIGS. 1-6), impinge on the tubular substrate 200 until a uniform thin biocompatible carbon film 201 is obtained. If desired the coated exterior surface of the tubing 200 can be inverted by inserting the tubing within itself to provide an inert coated interior surface. Also, this technique can be used for coating both surfaces of the tubing 200 by simply remounting the inverted tubing 200 on the spindle 208 and repeating the process to coat its "new" uncoated exterior surface.
In accordance with the described process tubing of DACRON was coated with the biocompatible carbon film 201 of the invention by rotating the tubing 200 about 5 revolutions per minute in about 9 hours under conditions similar to the described conditions for coating the substrate 2 of DACRON.
Biocompatible carbon coated yarns, such as sutures, also can be produced in accordance with the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 there is provided a device 300 for coating suture yarn 301 with a uniform, thin and dense adherent film of biocompatible carbon 302 (FIG. 16). The device 300, includes a frame 303 attached to a disk 304 secured by a clamp 306 to the stationary rail 88. The frame 300 includes vertical supports 308 and 310 with transverse rods 312 and 314 therebetween.
The lower rod 312 is rotated by a drive assembly 316 including a rotatable flexible cable 318 connected at one end to the lower rod 312 for rotation thereof, and at the other end to a gear mechanism 320, which, in turn, is rotatably connected to the previously described idler roller 62. As the lower rotatable ring 59 is rotated by the drive roller 60, such rotation is transferred through the idler roller 62, gear mechanism 320 and flexible cable 318 to the lower rod 312.
The rods 312 and 314 include grooves 321 therein for receiving progressive loops of the suture yarn 301 (FIG. 15) as it is rotated by the rod 312. As the rod 312 is so rotated, carbon is sputtered from the target 20, as previously described (FIGS. 1-6), and is deposited on and firmly adheres to the moving yarn 301 to form the biocompatible carbon film 302 (FIG. 16). The grooves 321 are arranged in spaced apart relationship along the rods 312 and 314. As the yarn 301 moves from one groove 321 to another, it is slightly twisted thereby progressively exposing uncoated portions of the yarn to the sputtered carbon.
There also is provided a threading assembly 322, including rotatable pulleys 324 and 326 supported by supports 328 and frame 303.
When the suture yarn 301 comes off the far end 329 of the rod 314 after being coated, it is engaged by the threading assembly 322 and transported to the near end 330 of the bar 314 for further coating as described above. The threading assembly 322 thereby provides means for coating the yarn 301 continuously until the desired coating thickness is obtained.
Following the steps of the described process, suture yarn 301 of DACRON was coated with the biocompatible carbon film 302 of the invention by progressive looping the yarn 301 over the device 300 for about 6.5 hours.
Thus, the present invention includes a wide variety of prosthetic devices, as well as methods of and apparatus for forming such devices. In its broader aspects, the invention is not limited to the specific described embodiments and departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.
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Proposed name would market itselfWritten by Matt Sussman | | firstname.lastname@example.com
When it comes to naming one's fantasy sports team, virtually everyone — yours truly included — is trapped in the pitfall of trying to be too cute. Trying to mix wit and relevance — all while trying to fit it within the 20-character limit — results in that episode of "Seinfeld" where Jerry keeps trimming his chest hair to even the sides until he goes overboard and completely shaves all of it. So I've made a conscious decision to go with "Suss' Sicilians," just for the kick I get out of people trying to pronounce it out loud.
The city of Toledo is in the same boat as it tries to name its new sports teams. The incoming hockey and arena football teams need names. And I can picture in my head just how this went:
At some point in the past, there was a meeting of the Committee to Decide the Names for the New Toledo Sports Teams (probably not the actual name of the committee, but like I said, let's not over think this). They were coming up with animals indigenous to the region: squirrels, frogs, robins, deer, mosquitoes, etc. They probably frequented Wikipedia often.
Then someone said, "Hey, what about the woodpecker? It could be pecker for short." Laughter ensued, but the kind of electric laughter that sets off an idea light bulb. The Toledo Peckers. At some point they extended an idea to the Toledo Peckerheads, and I'm sure what was again done in jest became catchy enough to stay on the list.
So now our city is all atwitter with the juvenile name potentially becoming reality. It could be my youth — which doesn't explain Ben Konop's objection — but the Peckerheads is a fantastic name for a minor league sports team, and for the first time in this newspaper, I am dead serious.
The business of minor league sports is not about the epic battle between mediocre athletes. It's all about spectacle. The Mud Hens have been a good baseball team lately, but would they really be as successful if the odd name were instead, say, the Toledo Bulldogs? (Fact: There are 543,201,373 teams in the world nicknamed "Bulldogs.") Our new sports team will have to cash in on that same spectacle, and it won't have the safety net of being name-dropped in a 30-year-old TV show.
Then think about the merchandise sales. People everywhere are going to want to get their gutter-minded hands on a Toledo Peckerheads hat. A Peckerheads shirt. Oh, heck, I'll say it: Peckerheads underwear. It may be a halfway dirty phrase, but the University of South Carolina probably doesn't object to the bonus revenue it receives from people buying Gamecocks memorabilia — especially because its hats don't have the syllable "Game" on it.
And it's not like Toledoans vest any deep passion for the team, unlike the Browns, Tigers or Ohio State football. We're all casual, fair-weather fans. So it's probably reasonable to keep that same light-hearted attitude with this team. It's not as if we're trying to rename the cemetery in which your ancestors comfortably rest to Peckerhead Memorial Park. We're talking about a sports team that already uses a goofy-shaped ball.
So if the name Peckerheads is too lowbrow for you, I understand, and support you in your means to block not only that name, but to also change the UT sports teams from the Rockets so we can keep the city void of any phallic symbolism whatsoever.
Visit Matt Sussman's sports blog at futonreport.net.


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Softball Drops Doubleheader to Boston College
April 18, 2014
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State softball team dropped just its second and third home games of the season on Friday, as the Boston College Eagles swept a doubleheader against the Wolfpack at Dail Stadium. The squad is now 21-3 in home contests this season.
The Eagles (25-18, 9-10 ACC) won a pitchers' duel in the first game, 2-0, before taking a 6-2 decision in the second game of the twin bill.
Boston College struck early in game one after Megan Cooley, the squad's leadoff hitter, singled to start the game and scored on a single to center field from Alana DiMaso to take a 1-0 lead. Jordan Weed added a solo homer in the top of the seventh for the only offense provided in the contest.
Both starting pitchers' turned in stellar performances, but BC's Nicole D'Argento was slightly better as she held the Wolfpack (28-13, 12-6 ACC) scoreless through seven innings. NC State's starting pitcher Emily Weiman also threw a complete game with the only blemish in her stats the runs scored in the first and seventh inning.
Seniors Kirsty Grant and Chelsea Tate, along with sophomore Lana Van Dyken each collected a hit in game one.
State took a 1-0 lead in the second game of the doubleheader as Grant hit a solo home run in her first at-bat. It was her fourth time facing D'Argento on the day, as the Eagles elected to start the same pitcher in game two. Grant smashed a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left field for her second round-tripper of the season.
Courtney Mirabella started the second game for the Pack and did not allow a runner to get past first base in the first three innings. The Eagles were able to figure the freshman out in the fourth as they scored three runs on two hits in the inning to take the lead 3-1.
Boston College added two more runs in the fifth and one in the seventh to extend its advantage to 6-1. Tate's homer in the bottom of the seventh made the score 6-2 which was the final tally.
NC State will return to action on Saturday, April 19 at noon for the series finale against Boston College.


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Just remember, this is NOT an Orleans Parish jury sitting in this courtroom! These jurors will listen to the tapes, hear the case, weigh the evidence before them, and not base their opinions on "oooh he looks like such a nice man" or "that crazy lady beeze trippin" or "the po-leece ALWAYS lie" or "My my, what lovely, beautiful, successful daughters he has sitting there behind him, I just can't bear to send their daddy to jail, so let's give him another chance" or whatever nonsense....so the "she's crazy" defense strategy was stupid right from the start...
This case is gonna be all about 3 things: whether or not it's "odd" to keep $90,000 of unreported marked cash in your freezer, whether or not bribery and money laundering are an acceptable part of a congressman's job, and whether or not it's "honorable" to enrich oneself and one's family through public service even if they are what Jefferson calls "private acts." It's not very hard to guess how most of MAINSTREAM AMERICA is going to fall on those issues, regardless of whether the people on that jury are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, black or white.
I honestly truly hope the defense tries to play the race card at some point during the trial -- they will find out REAL FAST, just how out of step the New Orleans mentality is when compared to the rest of mainstream American society, both among conservatives and even among those who voted for Obama!
It's always interesting when the veneer of these people is ripped off and they are exposed for what they really are and how they think, exactly the same as terrorists. And then, just like it was with the Klan (or the Palestinians, or for that matter with the Black Panthers or any other paramilitary or violent hate group): we have "those who act," the ones who actually hurl the bombs or kill their opponents, and then there are those who sit silently and support the violent radical ones, by doing and saying nothing. Or jumping on a soap box to talk about the abortion issue using this murder as a convenient soap box. Which was probably part of the original intent of the killer(s).
Also interesting to see conservatives trotting out the "one murder requires another" argument and engaging in that false equating of behavior -- well murdering the doctor is wrong, but he committed murders too, so let's talk about that instead. This is their way of saying, it's okay for the abortion opponents to do it, because everyone else is doing it too - funny, but that is essentially the same argument that opens the Pandora's box to "everything is permitted" liberalism!
Seems like the Supremes have taken both Tracie Washington and the 4th District judges back to school on this one. This is exactly what happens whenever the courts get turned into a circus sideshow. As another person noted earlier, there are plenty of untrained lay people who know better than Tracie, that you can't introduce new arguments when you appeal to a higher court. It's too bad Louisiana is so full of dim-bulb lawyers and judges, a lot of Northern or Federal lawyers would have eaten Tracie Washington for breakfast back there.
So many comments and only 1 or 2 posters here seem to get the real picture...the lack of even basic mental health services in New Orleans is just pathetic and inexcusable. Not just the state but also our local leadership has done absolutely nothing to address this problem. Also people should be looking into our local stats for heart attacks, which are way over the average post-K.
As much as I hate to sound negative, what this fantastic man has done with his own personal money is pretty much a damning reflection on Duplessis, Badon AND CWL, who have done little if anything to help their actual constituents in the area. Not to even mention Nagin. Where were they on this issue all this time? Asleep? On vacation? Shame on Duplessis and Badon for even showing up! They had NOTHING to do with this happening.
Their being here sends a bad message though. Why should the current city leadership in the East bother to do anything, when a private citizen like Mr. Davis can step up and do the work for them? It's the same attitude as when the city tells people to clean out their own storm drains -- years ago, the CITY used to clean them out for the citizens! Once they realized they could pass the buck, they STOPPED doing it, while still collecting the same S&WB taxes that used to pay for cleaning the drains out! Same thing as City Park just after the storm, where the city leadership shrugged and did NOTHING, and just let the park fester and decay, because they knew citizens and the Katrina Krewe people would come and clean it up. Leadership in this city is pathetic. As Mr. Davis has proven, if you want something done, do it yourself.
All you need to do is drive around the Freret Street area and compare what it was in the days under Gill Pratt (blight, abandoned buildings, litter) with what it's becoming under Stacy Head, and that tells you all you need to know about the two as council persons. The Wagner's Meat that had all the shootings and robberies there is finally gone, new businesses are opening up, homes are being renovated, streets are cleaner, there are brand new bus shelters so people don't have to wait for the bus in the rain.
Freret was trashy and an eyesore for years and Gill Pratt did nothing to help it. The area is mixed but predominantly black. How do all the racial anti-Stacy Head posters explain that, if Head is supposed to be so evil and bad for the city. Why can she bring about positive change in that area, when Gill Pratt and the Jefferson machine did not for so many years. You can't deny, more poor black people use the bus each day to get to work than whites. How is it that the supposed racist council person is the one who gets the new bus shelters built, but the black leadership for years and years did not?
1. Where is there anything in these emails that is a racial slur. She does not say the person in line is black, white, or purple. She calls her "this chick."
2. So, someone please show us one other context or instance where the word �chick� is used as a racial slur. Then I will believe that this comment of hers is racist.
Well if black people in this town are dumb enough to think that Stacy Head, Shelly Midura, or Arnie Fielkow would actually be stupid enough to say something overtly racist in an email, then there really is something wrong with our educational system down here, for someone to be dumb and ignorant enough to believe that. All we hear in these comments, is a couple of disgruntled black folk crying foul about these supposed alleged racist emails, oooh, what a scandal....which there are no details about...and which no one has anything specific to say about...well I say talk is cheap, bring it on. WHERE'S THE BEEF. SHOW ME THE MONEY. I would really like to see these supposed racist conspiratorial emails SPECIFICALLY. And then when it turns out that nothing is there, we will see EXACTLY how paranoid, unprofessional, and absolutely ludicrous this city's black community really is.
Funny thing, when my dad died, you know what he left my mom and us kids? Some modest stocks, and a bank account that earned INTEREST! Not useless jewelry that lost more than half its value the minute it was bought and worn out the store. Wow, and black people wonder why they can't get ahead in this country...hmmmmmmmmmmmm
The fact that they can lose so many sponsors and still not cut festival programming, only shows that the sponsors' money does not actually contribute anything to the festival at all, or to New Orleans culture, but rather probably goes to line somebody's pockets or feather someone's nest, or some other purpose. What exactly was that sponsorship money used for in years past, if it was obviously not needed to put on the Festival's programming? As a supposed "non-profit" organization, they ought to be made to open their books and explain. If that money was not needed, if losing those sponsors made no difference in presenting the festival, then where exactly did all that money go in previous years, and what exactly was it used for.
This is totally all about that building, and pulling the plug on the charter school as soon as possible. Coming soon, condos or else doctor's offices.
Great! Now people like the poor guy from Maryland, can help pay for the prosecution of the criminals who abduct them, rob them, take them to the Iberville projects and hold them at gunpoint while demanding the PIN numbers from their credit cards, and then shoot them! Make the tourists pay for that! This will be very helpful and efficient, to have the tourists also pay for the prosecution of the locals who mug them and take their money, snatch purses, or take valuables from their hotel rooms etc. After all the locals shouldn't have to pay for that!
Using the taxes to prosecute these criminals will also help tourism, because victims like the guy from Maryland will have to come back to New Orleans AGAIN for the trials, and spend even MORE money locally in our economy. It's a win-win!
Minds: excellent point. But nobody is going to call and say something strange is going on, if Phillips and Barnes knew each other (maybe had a business arrangement together) and if there was nothing at all strange going on in public when they were actually seen together that night, no one would call it in. Just imagine if instead of Barnes holding them violently at gunpoint, running around town, what if Phillips and Barnes knew each other, and the three of them were just all out together hanging out, at that point, eh? Something to think about. You probably wouldn't report that, if you saw it, until you heard about it the next day and recognized the car etc.
Plus, calling in and saying something strange was going on, that would be considered being "a snitch."
Big no-no in the culture.
I wonder if any of the confiscated computers come with kiddie porn on them.
Frankly, I have been seeing some really pimpy and ho-ey looking stuff going on around the corner of Rampart and Canal, Elks & Canal, Loyola & Common, etc., for MONTHS now, when I am down there in the afternoons -- in broad daylight. The fact that this is openly tolerated and allowed to continue, police and citizens routinely ignore it, and no one tries to stop it, or even bats an eye, it just tells me that people here in New Orleans actually really WANT prostitutes and pimps hanging out on the corner all the time. They must LIKE it that way!
This must obviously be the very type of BUSINESS that people want to attract in their CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. Otherwise, the police and the people would try and stop it.
All these people talking about these supposed "racially negative emails" need to get a life and look under a different rock for a different nonexistent scandal to invent. If there was such a thing in those emails, do you really think Tracie Washington would sit on it and do nothing? It'd be all over the media BY NOW.
If FEMA estimates it will cost $16 million, and the city/NORD says it will cost $70 million, one can only wonder and speculate where the discrepancy lies. Most likely the extra money represents funds that will need to be siphoned off from the project into cronies, non-profits and shell companies of the New Orleans political elites, who are hooked into the spigot. Until they figure out HOW to do that, the money will not be released, hence they've only spent $2.9 million so far, with frankly very LITTLE to show for it.
Who in their right mind books presumably millions of dollars worth of non-refundable deposits on musical performers, without a signed dated contract in hand from the venue where these acts are going to perform?
Jazz Fest books the Fairgrounds on contracts running for multiple years at a stretch, for years in advance! That was the first thing they did when the Fairgrounds new owners came in, was make sure they got the NEW CONTRACT for the Fairgrounds!
There are 19-year-old kids booking coffee shop shows for TUCP over at Tulane, who have more business smarts than this Rehage guy!
Who in their right mind books presumably millions of dollars worth of non-refundable deposits on musical performers, without a signed dated contract in hand from the venue where these acts are going to perform?
Jazz Fest books the Fairgrounds on contracts running for multiple years at a stretch, for years in advance! That was the first thing they did when the Fairgrounds new owners came in, was make sure they got the NEW CONTRACT for the Fairgrounds!
There are 19-year-old kids booking coffee shop shows for TUCP over at Tulane, who have more business smarts than this Rehage guy!
OMG this guy is just as bad as Sarah Palin!
We can kiss that levee money goodbye, at least until he is voted out of office. No way the Dems are gonna give any money to a state that elected this dimwit.


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Posted at: 12/25/2012 11:44 PM
By: Amanda Ciavarri
Police are wrapping up their investigation at the crime scene in Webster and letting people return to their homes.
Lake Road was reopened late Tuesday night.
As people have been returning to their homes, some have stopped to share what they saw and heard on Monday.
"I got a phone call at quarter to six saying don't go near the windows, stay away from the doors, just don't go outside at all."
Fran Beth says she wasn't sure exactly what was going on early Monday morning, but when her friend called her to tell her what she heard on the news, she became scared.
It wasn't long before help came, she looked out her window and saw the SWAT team with the armored car on her street.
"Then they back in my yard. There was like five of them in there full gear, machine guns or some kind of automatic guns, and he's pointing it with those little windows at the bottom of your house, and I'm thinking oh my god, he is under my house," said Beth.
Beth says that's when the SWAT team started banging on her door.
"I go to the door and they say go get in the truck, get in the truck," she said.
Beth says luckily her home wasn't damaged in the fire. She knows how lucky she and her neighbors are and says all the credit should go to the police and firefighters who helped them evacuate.
She says it is still hard for her knowing two fire fighters were killed and two others seriously injured.
"It takes a lot of the fun out of Christmas," Beth said.
This is just one of the many stories being heard from people who live on Lake Road.
Even those who didn't lose their homes say they know how lucky they are, but there were still a lot of tears because they know the terrible things that happened Monday were just down the street from them.


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Oracle announced today that Oracle's PeopleSoft Student Administration Integration Pack (SAIP) v9.0 has become the first student information system (SIS) to achieve official conformance certification with IMS Global Learning Consortium's Learning Information Services (LIS) v2.0 Beta 1 specification.
· The IMS Global LIS v2.0 Beta 1 specification certification tests are the first of its kind in providing third party vendor-neutral certification to open standards. Products that are certified to the LIS standards enable higher education institutions to reduce costs and complexity as they manage the exchange of information between student information systems and learning management systems (LMS). The LIS specification provides the industry with a definable yard stick to measure learning system interoperability.
· IMS Global granted PeopleSoft Student Administration Integration Pack v9.0 conformance certification upon completion of the final testing set forth by the LIS working group which consists of higher education institutions, vendors and partners who have provided feedback and support during LIS v2.0 specification development. Oracle has been an active member since the group's inception and holds multiple leadership positions.
· PeopleSoft Student Administration Integration Pack, part of Oracle's Academic Enterprise Solutions suite, provides an open, standards-based integration enabling higher education institutions to efficiently integrate and manage their various administrative and educational systems – streamlining business processes and decreasing implementation and maintenance costs for a greater return on investment (ROI).
· By achieving LIS conformance certification, IMS Global has validated that PeopleSoft Student Administration Integration Pack provides out-of-the-box integration between PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and major vendor-supplied and open source learning management systems that also conform to LIS specification.
· Since releasing PeopleSoft Student Administration Integration Pack in 2009, Oracle has issued several major updates to the product based on the evolving LIS specification and feedback from customers and partners in the LIS working group – ensuring the product met the latest industry standards.
· IMS Global provides a neutral, members-based forum that enables higher education leaders – including hardware and software vendors, educational institutions, publishers, government agencies, systems integrators, multimedia content providers and other consortia – to come together to advocate the use of technology to support and transform education and learning.
About IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global)
IMS Global, www.imsglobal.org, is a nonprofit organization that advances technology that can affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS members are leading suppliers, institutions and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS sponsors Learning Impact: A global awards program and conference to recognize the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability and quality.
About Oracle
Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.


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Robstown ISD suspends two security employees
CORPUS CHRISTI - Robstown Independent School District officials have suspended two security workers with pay while investigating accusations one strip-searched a student and another slapped a student.
The district suspended police officer Jessica Cantu last week after a 12-year-old female Seale Junior High School student said Cantu strip-searched her. The district suspended security guard Elizabeth Obregon after a 16-year-old female Robstown High School student said Obregon slapped her.
Cantu has worked for the district three months; Obregon is a 13-year district employee. Superintendent Roberto Garcia said both Cantu and Obregon say the accusations are untrue. Garcia wouldn't discuss the matters further, citing the investigations.
"Hopefully we can come to a conclusion next week," Garcia said. "We're putting all the stories together to make the determination of what happened."
The investigations are being conducted by each campus' respective principal and the district's police chief. Garcia said there are nine staff and student witnesses for the reported incidents.
If investigators find the employees committed the actions, the punishment could include suspension without pay, continued training, written reprimands or termination.
The district, which has eight campuses, employs two police officers and three security guards. The district police department was started this summer.
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ETA: I am currently working on a Ravioli using this pasta. Stay tuned for the next installment!
Step 1: The Ingredients
Serves 4 people
1 cup of Plain Flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
60g (2oz) Dark Chocolate
2 Tbsp Cocoa
1 Tbsp Icing (Powdered) sugar
Add all the ingredients into your food processor and process until mixture forms into a ball.
Step 3: The Rolling
Flatten pasta out with hands slightly and roll on widest setting in pasta machine. Fold over, and repeat, occasionally changing the rolling width. This stablises the dough for when you roll it thin. As it gets closer to the thickness you want, you can drop the folding over step.
If you don't have a pasta machine, you can roll this out with a rolling pin.
Step 4: The cutting
Once you get your dough to the thickness you want (i got it down to about 1mm) cut pasta into the length you require. I cut my pasta sheet in half. You can of course choose to not cut it at this stage, or cut after it has been put through the machine again.
In the pictures, I put the pasta through the spaghetti size cutters, however, I think it would make a better fettucchine.
So, cut your pasta at the size you want. If you aren't using a pasta machine you can roll the pasta sheet firmly and cut into the desired width and unroll the cut slices.
Maybe if the dough was cut differently it would look more appetizing to me.... but like this, no!
So i would assume it because of the Cocoa Butter more than anything, but as always, experimenter is worth the effort in my mind.
few years ago i made also chocopaste, but only pasta with chocolate sauce^^
the faster version...
noodle- chocolate lasagna noodle(duh)
ricotta filling- whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate chips, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate syrup, shredded coconut
topping- marshmallows, caramel, crumbled chocolate sponge, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup
Basically, What he said