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Kibbutz Yiron, a member of the United Kibbutz Movement ("Takam"), was founded in May of 1949, after the War of Independence, as one of a row of settlements set up to strengthen the border with Lebanon. Yiron is located in the Upper Galilee, 690 meters high, close to Mt. Meron. It is an area is blessed with streams, water sources and nature reserves, and the view from any direction is breathtaking.
The geographical location of Yiron allows one to feel the four yearly seasons, not only in change of temperatures and weather, but also as nature changes her colors and smells. Summers are mild, and winter sometimes brings snowfall, to the delight of the Kibbutz children!
Kibbutz Yiron is a traditional Kibbutz, and is not privatized. The community places an emphasis on community life, mutual help and giving. The members eat all of their meals together in the dining hall, except for Shabbat evening when each family gathers together in its own home. There are, however, a large number of residents living on the Kibbutz who primarily share the Kibbutz lifestyle but who at the same time, maintain independent, private family lives – and function as independent economic units. All residents pay into the Kibbutz and avail themselves of Kibbutz services such as the dining room, community center, library, swimming pool and community programming. Laundry and electricity are billed to each individual family.
The Israeli government defines Yiron as a preferred zone, which means that certain discounts and other benefits apply, including a 13% income tax discount after residing one year in the area.
Local Employment
The Kibbutz economy includes different types of agriculture including seasonal crops in the Hula Valley, fruit orchards, grape vineyards for wine, and an area packing house. There is a unique plant nursery which grows rare plants as well as plants and trees indigenous to Israel. The Kibbutz also raises chickens. Kibbutz industries also include hi-tech Pascal Technology and Yiron Furniture, which specializes in self-assembled furniture. Yiron is a partner in the Galilee Hills Winery, and they operate a visitor's center and store adjacent to the winery.
Yiron also runs a tourist vacation center called Shalva B'Har ("Peace on the Mountaintop"), next to an Agam Hai (a natural lake), which is also open as a tourist attraction and offers vacation activities.
Accessibility to Employment
Yiron offers employment opportunities throughout the Kibbutz, in its various industries and branches. In addition, approximately 50% of the Kibbutz members work in their professions outside of the Kibbutz in neighboring cities or Yishuvim, including Tzefat, Kiryat Shmona and Maalot.
Education / Youth
Kibbutz Yiron places a great emphasis on children's education. For preschool children, there is a baby nursery, a nursery school and a kindergarten, which are all run in true Kibbutz spirit, with large outdoor yards and an emphasis on imagination and creativity. Elementary school children study at the Psagot School, a democratic ecological school located on the outskirts of the Kibbutz. Psagot serves Yiron and an additional three Kibbutzim in the area (Malkia, Sassa and Bar-Am). High school children travel to nearby Kibbutz Sassa (10 minutes), and attend the Branko-Weiss Anna Frank High School. The regional council supplies school bus transportation to and from school. The school day is from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Yiron also has a wide range of after-school activities for children, including programs and activities during school vacations. The youth are also active in the HaNoar Halomed v'Haoved youth movement.
Yiron is a 30 minute drive to Kiryat Shmona, 30 minutes to Rosh Pina, and 30 minutes to Tzefat. Egged bus service does not reach the Kibbutz.
Olim Services
The Kibbutz provides a warm welcome to any Olim coming to Yiron, and in fact, Yiron is used to opening its doors and its arms to all newcomers.
The majority of the Kibbutz members are Israeli, but there are also as a number of recent and less-recent Olim from Scotland, England and the United States. The Kibbutz is also active in recruiting young residents, and Yiron currently hosts a Garin Tzabar (30 new Olim soldiers) as well as an Israeli Scouts Garin.
Amenities / Services
In the spirit of traditional Kibbutz life, Yiron has full dining room, laundry, childcare and healthcare services. There is a small store with basic groceries and other goods for Kibbutz residents and vacationing tourists. The Kibbutz also has a library, playgrounds, sports field, tennis court, exercise room, billiard room and swimming pool. Kibbutz residents can take advantage of a local cosmetician and hairdresser.
The Clalit health clinic is open daily and staffed by a nurse, with twice weekly doctor's visits. Rivka Ziv hospital in Tzefat is nearby, in case of emergencies. There is also a special caretaker who is in charge of homecare for elderly members and physically disabled members.
Community and Religious Life
The community and cultural life on the Kibbutz is rich and varied. On weekends, there is an active social room, with a variety of meetings and activities. Hikes and outings for all the Kibbutz members and residents are held a few times a year. Holidays and memorial days are celebrated together as a community. Among the cultural offerings on the Kibbutz, one may take out a yearly subscription to the theater and attend the plays that are performed in the area.
Real Estate
Kibbutz Yiron has a communal neighborhood, "Nof Aviv" in the planning, but no building has yet begun. Options for Olim interested in Yiron include renting a home on the Kibbutz and living as residents. Young families who are interested can apply for Kibbutz membership, instead of residency. In addition to young families, Yiron is developing an option for retirees to move onto the Kibbutz, which would include a one-time absorption fee of $35,000 per family.
Amenity Name


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Moonridge Mountain
From $100 / night
Description from the manager
Description from the manager
Bedrooms: 2/
Bathrooms: 2/
Sleeps: 4/
Type: House
Book this 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in City of Big Bear Lake today! A total of 4 people can sleep here comfortably.
Guests can enjoy a deck, outdoor grill, and parking space among other amenities offered by this rental.
Travelers are sharing their opinions on this property. It has an overall rating of 4/5 thanks to an average of 4 reviews.
Costs vary, with the average weekly rate as low as $700.00 to as high as $3,150.00, depending on travel dates.
The owner responds to 85% of inquiries and last updated the property's calendar today.
About the manager
About the manager
Big Bear Cool Cabins
Big Bear Cool Cabins
- Response rate: 85%
- Response time: Within a day
- Calendar updated: today
Overall rating:
3.9 / 5.0
Proximity to TripAdvisor's Top City of Big Bear Lake Attractions
Proximity to TripAdvisor's Top City of Big Bear Lake Attractions
Reviews (3)
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subset: commoncrawl


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A home healthcare provider affiliated with Lancaster General Health, PinnacleHealth System and Reading Health System will now be known as Affilia Home Health.
Previously, Affilia operated under three separate names: VNA Community Care Services, PinnacleHealth Home Care and Reading Health Home Care.
Affilia provides services in the home on an intermittent basis. Patients who need skilled care receive one or more of the following services: nursing, medical social work, home health aide services, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Affilia will cover all or part of nine counties in southcentral and southeastern Pennsylvania and has offices in the Harrisburg, Coatesville, Lancaster, Pottsville and Reading areas.
The Harrisburg office can be reached at 717-963-6570. More information about Affilia can be found on its website: www.affiliahomehealth.org.


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BRIDGETON — Sections of Laurel and North Streets will close for an unspecified number of days while crews repair sewer mains there beginning on or around Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to a notice from the Cumberland County Utilities Authority (CCUA).
Michael Fernandez of the CCUA said on Thursday that part of Laurel Street just past North will close during the day, along with a section of North up to where it drops off to the railroad yard.
Fernandez said crews should be placing metal plates over work areas at the end of each work day so that drivers can use the roads at night.
"There should be nothing open (at night)," he said of sections begin repaired. "We're trying to minimize any obstructions."
After repairs are finished, he said, the areas will be repaved.
He added that repairs may cut across driveways during working hours, but that they too should become passable at night.
Fernandez said he could not yet tell when the crews would finish the project.
"We're hoping it won't take long, but unfortunately I can't give an exact date," he explained.
"We found a pretty deteriorated piece of pipe," Fernandez said, and the CCUA decided to fix it now "rather than risk it becoming catastrophic."


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Mike Krzyzewski Keeps Up With the Times (and Titles)Posted by Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) on April 10th, 2015
With Monday night's fifth career NCAA Championship, Mike Krzyzewski's legacy took another long stride into the history books of the college game. In what he has called the most enjoyable season of his 40-year coaching career, Kryzyzewski showed his versatility as a head coach by leading Duke to the greatest of heights by utilizing a makeup unlike any of his previous champions. The 68-year old deserves all the credit he has received for his prolonged success, winning in three completely different eras of the sport by adapting to the standards of the times. His first two title teams (1991 & 1992) were won when programs could be built around long-term stars like Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill. When his 2001 team, led by Shane Battier, Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy, Jr., won Krzyzewski's third championship, the lure of the NBA had gutted much of the young talent from the college game. The last decade has brought the one-and-done rule to college basketball, and at least initially, Duke did not seem to be an interested party — Krzyzewski's 2010 national champs featured five upperclassmen starters.
Since that fourth national title, the Blue Devils had crashed and burned with their last two high-profile freshmen — Austin Rivers (2012) and Jabari Parker (2014) were unwilling participants in huge NCAA Tournament upsets of Duke by Lehigh and Mercer, respectively. Theirs were the reference points going into a campaign when Coach K welcomed the nation's top recruiting class of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen by signaling that he was all-in with the modern recruiting strategy focusing on one-and-dones. Krzyzewski masterfully molded the young Blue Devils around an elite offense and a gradually improving defense all the way to another championship run.
We attended a private scrimmage session in Cameron Indoor Stadium back in October and shared our observations on what we witnessed here. While the freshmen's raw talent was obvious, we came away from the practice session concerned with how the two Blue Devils' veterans would handle the robust attention and acclaim that the newcomers were already getting. Quinn Cook was one of the players who didn't play well that day, but he soon morphed into exactly what the Duke coaching staff wanted him to be — a big brother, supporter and go-to teammate for the four rookies. As a result of Cook's deference, Krzyzewski called the senior "as good a leader as I've had in my 35 years at Duke." Think about what that means from a guy who has coached the likes of Laettner, Ferry, Hurley, Battier and Dawkins. Rasheed Sulaimon, the other veteran who struggled in that October scrimmage, was ultimately kicked off the team, an event that seemed to bring the eight remaining players together down the stretch of the season. Read the rest of this entry »


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google adwords promo code
I registered for google Adwords some days back but didn't enter a promo code.
Can i still enter one?
If i can, does anyone have the code available so i can use it?
Thanks everyone.
Re: google adwords promo code
There are many types of Google Coupons but you would be referring to the ones for the new account and normally you can use them within 14 days of opening an account.
You can buy them from ebay as well.
|All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 12:09.


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Cynthia Suffern holds a B.A. from the UNC Chapel Hill, a certificate in teaching English as a Second Language from Duke University, and an M.A. in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary.
Cynthia teaches English to speakers of other languages and she enjoys assisting international ministries. She has a passion to encourage others, especially women and youth, to love God with their minds and think clearly about the uniqueness of Christianity and the nature of God.
Cynthia is a member of the International Society of Women in Apologetics and speaks on a variety of topics in churches and conferences.
Cynthia's Speaking Topics Include:
Women in Christianity and Islam – Views of Women and the Image of God
Worldview Distinctions
Worldview Commentary in Newspaper Media
Reflections on The Problem of Evil as an Argument for God's Existence
The Moral Argument for the Existence of God
How Do Christians Encourage Cultural Change?


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Do it yourself? It's not impossible, and you'll save
A common theme when trying to save money is "do it yourself," but many car owners are hesitant to take that advice and attempt basic maintenance and repairs on their vehicles.
To a degree, those fears are legitimate, because vehicles are more complicated than they used to be. But many repairs and maintenance tasks are easy enough to complete, even for those without many tools or skills.
You could save significant money if you did. And saving money is only one advantage; you could save time, too.
"It takes a chunk of your day to deliver the vehicle to someone else," said Tracey Virtue, director of operations strategy for AutoMD.com, an auto-repair instruction site owned by U.S. Auto Parts Network.
Here are a few maintenance and repair jobs you might want to try:
- Replace engine air filter. The filter is easy to find under the hood and easy to replace, usually just requiring removal of a few screws from the filter box and swapping in a clean, $15 or $20 filter for an old, dirty one. That cost compares with possibly $50 or more if you have a repair shop do it, Virtue said.
- Wiper blades. Instructions for replacing blades are often on the package. "It's really easy and cheap to do it yourself," Virtue said.
- Light bulbs. Headlights, brake lights, taillights and turn signals all have bulbs that might occasionally need to be replaced. They are generally easy to access and require just turning a bulb with your hand to remove and replace it.
- Fuses. If something electrical suddenly stops working on the interior of the car, such as the dome light or dashboard lights, there's a decent chance it's a blown fuse, which is easy to replace.
- Headlight cleaning. Older cars can develop a haze over the headlights, which can be a safety hazard because it can reduce the driver's ability to see and make the driver's car more difficult to be seen by others. Do-it-yourself headlight restoration kits are relatively inexpensive and work well.
- Top off fluids. Check levels for wiper fluid, engine coolant, brake fluid and antifreeze. Is the fluid up to the fill line on the reservoir? If not, add more. Or find a shop that will top off those fluids for free, Oakes said.
- Replace a battery. Even those with minimal tool skills should be able to remove an old battery and replace it with a new one. And you can clean the battery terminals, using an old toothbrush and a paste made of baking soda and water.
-- from wire reports


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See nature
The group's aim is to introduce new members to the RSPB and promote interest om birds and wildlife conservation.
We have indoor meetings on the third Wednesday of each month from September to April. We also arrange day trips to birdwatching locations in the central belt of Scotland during the same months.
So, if you would like to have fun and meet like minded people contact us and help make a difference for birds and wildlife.
The Guide Halls, The Guide Halls, Lower John Street, HELENSBURGH
John ClarkTel: 01436 821 178E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/helensburgh
Found a sick or injured bird? The RSPCA (England and Wales), SSPCA (Scotland) and USPCA (Northern Ireland) are the national charities that help and advise on sick and injured birds and animals. The RSPB does not run bird hospitals or a rescue service.


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All three visitors are going to be in the GT class of 2010. The Hill and Attaochu commits bring the total class number up to 16.
Deon Hill, 6'0", 195 pounds, is expected to play A-back in Coach Paul Johnson's triple option offense.
Jeremiah Attaochu, 6'2", 225 pounds, is slated to be an outside linebacker new defensive coordinator Al Groh's 3-4 defensive scheme.
GoJackets.com will have more on these commitments throughout the day.


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Shweta Tiwari is an Indian film and Television actress, presenter, producer and model, born on October 4, 1980 in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. She was born to 'Nirmala' and 'Ashok Tiwari'. She is popularly known as 'Prerna' in 'Kasauti Zindagii Kay' and 'Sweety' in 'Parvarrish'. Brought up in Mumbai, she has done her schooling from 'St. Isabel Girls School' and received her Bachelor's degree from 'Burhani College', Mumbai. She has one brother Nidhaan, elder to her. Shweta started her career with serial 'Kaleerein' in 1999. She has also starred in commercials, plays and cameos in some TV shows. She has earned popularity with her notable role 'Prerna' in TV serial 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay'. After this success, she went on to act in other TV reality shows and television serials including 'Karam', 'Rishtey', 'Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat', 'Aane Wala Pal', 'Kaahin Kissii Roz', 'Daddy Samjha Karo', 'Yatra', 'Naagin', 'Ajeeb' and 'Dost'. She also participated in reality show 'Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao', 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa' and 'Bigg Boss 4', she was the winner of Big Boss 4. Apart from Serials, she has appeared in some Bhojpuri and Bollywood films. She also gave item number in film 'Dhoom 3'. Shweta Tiwari got married to 'Raja Choudhary' in 1998, but unfortunately their marriage ended with divorce in 2007. The couple have a daughter named, 'Palak Shweta Tiwari'. Palak lived with her mother. Shweta again got married to actor of 'Jaane Kya Baat Hui', Abhinav Kohli in July 2013.
Fast Facts
|Date of Birth
|October 4, 1980
|Full Name
|Shweta Tiwari
|Place of Birth
|Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh
|Years Active
|Marital Status
|Claim to Fame
|Kasautii Zindagii Kay (TV Serial)
|Most Popular On-Screen Character
|Prerna Sharma
|Actress, Television presenter
|Abhinav Kohli


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Top Definition
A guitar distortion pedal dating to the 60's. Synonymous with Jimi Hendrix.
Man, the way Jimi cranked that Fuzz Face fucking blew my mind.
بواسطة Tony إبريل/نَيْسان 10, 2005
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
A novice, or one who is unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of a certain group.
The new employee, being a fuzzface, did not realize he was supposed to clock in his time at the start of the day.
بواسطة Meliadoul يناير/كانون الثّاني 21, 2010
a man with stubble or an unkempt beard
If you weren't such a fuzz-face you wouldn't have a problem with itching when wearing a face mask.
بواسطة The Return of Light Joker أغسطس/آب 8, 2010
If you resemble Fuzz in any way. (Fuzz is a guy with fuzz hair :|)
Dude 1. Woah, that dude looks like Ad.
Dude 2. Woah, what a Fuzz Face!
Dude 2. Woah, what a Fuzz Face!
بواسطة Marc يونيو/حَزيران 29, 2004
The arbiter fuzz face is a guitar distortion pedal, but it wasn't used by Jimi Hendrix
some guy: Dude did you hear the guitar riffs Hendrix did with his fuzz face?
me: He used an Electro-harmonix Big Muff
me: He used an Electro-harmonix Big Muff
بواسطة guy who knows his shit better than you أغسطس/آب 20, 2006


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Saying no hard for 'Idol' judges Urban, Carey
Country superstar Keith Urban had no problem saying "yes" when "American Idol" producers approached him to be one of the judges on the latest edition of the music competition series.
After all, Urban and his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, are huge fans of the program. Plus, he had done similar work as one of the judges on the Australian version of "The Voice."
It was saying "no" after he was selected that was difficult.
"It's tricky because saying no to anyone is an awful thing," Urban says. "But I think it got easier. The other way I looked at it is that people come into this knowing being told no is just part of it."
Urban won't be alone making or breaking dreams as a first-time judge on "American Idol." He's joined by Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, with veteran Idol judge Randy Jackson rounding out the panel.
Auditions and eliminations will be held until the top 10 finalists are announced March 5-7.
Carey, too, had trouble in the early auditions telling some of the singers that they would not advance.
"I used to duck my head, like, 'No, thank you,'" Carey says, dropping her head to illustrate her point. "I had a very tough time with it because, as a kid, you get turned down a lot. And I was very young when I first started in this business. It's tough to get that rejection.
"We've all felt it, and I see some of these people who I know are talented but maybe not in the way that 'American Idol,' the biggest show of its kind, is going to be able to take them to their fullest."
Urban also faced rejection in the early days of his career. He says that instead of letting it get him down, he used it as fuel to make him work harder.
"The people that said, 'You'll never do this. You can't do that.' Those people have actually been far more influential in my motivation to achieve things. And so, hopefully, the way in which we say no to each of these artists is done in a way where it's not brutal or cold or callous.
"It's just being truthful for an artist that's gotta hear it. And a lot of the time they're surrounded by sycophantic people, or their family, who would tell them they're the most amazing thing, and they're not the most amazing thing. They're OK. They're not great. But they could be great, and hopefully we can help them a little bit get up towards it," Urban says.
For Minaj, saying no came a lot easier. She says when she watches music competition shows it bothers her when a person who wasn't talented gets a "yes" vote.
"I want to jump through the TV because I feel like for the people who are talented there, it kind of minimizes or takes away from how talented they really are. So when I came on, I didn't really have a problem with saying 'no' because I kind of felt like we're looking for the best of the best," Minaj says.
"I don't feel the need to send a person through just because of a great story or because there's something going on that may make people cry, because I feel like even the great singers have stories that may make us cry, but that shouldn't change our decision because it's kind of unfair to the ones who really are great."
As to the reports about Carey and Minaj not getting along, both performers stress that the situation got blown out of proportion. They say they admire each other's work and that any disharmony, which occasionally popped up, quickly faded.


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NICAO Outreach Information
The North Iowa Community Action Outreach Program provides information and referral services and access to emergency financial assistance for shelter and utilities. The United Way of North Central Iowa allocates funding for Emergency Shelter Assistance, Utility Deposits, GED, and Educational Scholarships. A variety of other applications can be completed at the Outreach Centers depending on the availability of funds.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance provides financial assistance with winter heating costs by paying a portion of the primary heating bill and may also assist by paying for emergency furnace repairs or furnace replacement in life-threatening situations for eligible households.
Emergency Financial Assistance may be available to eligible households to assist with emergency rent, mortgage payments or utility bills as well as with security deposits. Repayment may be required.
The NICAO Family Resource Center also provides FREE Tax Preparation Services! A partnership between NICAO and the North Iowa Tax Coalition exists to provide free income tax services to income eligible--low to moderate income households in February and March. These services will take place at the Family Resource Center at 1190 Briarstone Drive, Mason City. Beginning in 2012, there will also be locations in Franklin, Winnebago and Kossuth counties. For more information on this service please call 641-423-7766.
County Outreach Specialists
Please click on the link above for Outreach Office locations. Office days and hours vary for each location so please call ahead.


text: Will the real Raptors please stand up? By Zarar Siddiqi Apr 2, 2009 The Bosh-Howard matchup rarely disappoints. Raptors 99, Magic 95 A man can try to watch a game on tape-delay without knowing the score, he can try to avoid all human contact, he can answer the phone with a warning instead of a hello, he can not check his email, he can cover his ears in… Read more »


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EMF cap and Ball Revolvers
Tools and Technologies
> EMF cap and Ball Revolvers
August 17, 2008, 07:28 AM
Anyone know who makes the "EMF" cap and ball revolvers. They sure look sweet looking and have real nice prices as well.
If you enjoyed reading about "EMF cap and Ball Revolvers" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join
today for the full version!
August 17, 2008, 11:57 AM
Pietta. good stuff though. They are kinda like cimaron
August 17, 2008, 05:57 PM
Are you sure? I wasn't aware Pietta made a Walker.
August 18, 2008, 02:46 PM
why don't you call EMF and ask them?
No doubt they will tell you.
I bought a 58 Remmy from them and it has been a really good gun.
August 18, 2008, 08:22 PM
Mykeal is right Pietta never made a Walker or any Dragoons. But EMF does sell Both mfg. by Uberti. EMF is Primarily a Pietta dealer, don't mean they won't import what sells. I have still yet to buy from them But have seen there Revs and are A+++ grade.
August 20, 2008, 01:43 PM
Emf is in Santa Ana, CA. i went down there a few months ago. Nice shop. you guys are right they do carry a mixture the walkers and dragoons are Uberti. However they mostly carry Pietta. Like the 1851's are all pietta. The fit and finish though is really good. I can say its probably just as good as Cimarron. If i had my choice between the two. I would probably go with the best price one. As the quality is really good. As you guys know all of the new piettas seem to be really good right out of the box. Well now take a company that takes this pietta right out of the box. and cleans up the works. Cleans up the finish and presto you have a really good shooting gun. Just like cimaron.
September 23, 2008, 09:56 PM
I have 5 EMF Pietta's. This company is a keeper. I will not buy from anyone else, unless they (EMF) do not carry what I'm looking for.
Super people. When you order from them, tell Becky that Jess sent you.
Best regards.................IR
September 24, 2008, 12:44 AM
Yep; my 1860 from EMF just a couple of months ago is a beautiful Pietta.
September 24, 2008, 03:16 AM
Emf is in Santa Ana, CA. i went down there a few months ago. Nice shop.
Scrat let's go down there Thursday tomorrow mornin' say after (9:00am)
You close to the 5 FWY or 15FWY?
I wanna go see them up close and personal...bring some plastic.
1900 ? Ste 1-D Santa Anna right?
Quickdraw McGraw
September 24, 2008, 07:05 AM
I like their website (http://www.emf-company.com/)! :D
If you enjoyed reading about "EMF cap and Ball Revolvers" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join
today for the full version!
vBulletin® v3.8.6, Copyright ©2000-2016, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.


text:
Palermo (Sicily), Italy -- December 31, 2000-January 6, 2001
We wish to inform you of the up-coming Third International Conference on The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena ("INSAP III"). This meeting will explore mankind's fascination with the sky by day and by night, which has been a strong and often dominant element in human life and culture. The conference will provide a meeting place for artists and scholars from a variety of disciplines (including Archaeology and Anthropology, Art and Art History, Classics, History and Prehistory, the Physical and Social Sciences, Mythology and Folklore, Philosophy, and Religion) to present and discuss their studies of the influences that astronomical phenomena have had on mankind.
The first two meetings (Castel Gandolfo, 1994; Malta, 1999) successfully brought together for the first time people from just such a range of disciplines to address topics of common interest. Papers from the first meeting were published in "Vistas in Astronomy" (1995) and in "Leonardo" (1996), and those from the second will appear shortly in book form. These papers (described on our Website under "the First (or Second) INSAP Conference") give an idea of the range of subjects presented at these meetings. A similar publication is planned for the third meeting.
The meeting will be held overlooking the Mediterranean, a few minutes from the center of Palermo, and will start with a New Year's Eve (and Millennium Eve) banquet December 31, 2000. The meeting rooms will include ample space for display (and sale) of works of art by attendees. Full information on INSAP III and on the earlier conferences, and an application form for the upcoming meeting, can be found on our Website (http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~white/insap) or obtained from the undersigned. Attendance will be by invitation from among those applying. All presentations and discussions will be in English.
This Conference is sponsored by the Palermo Observatory, the Vatican Observatory, and the Steward Observatory, and is hosted by the Palermo Observatory as part of the bicentennial of the discovery there of the first asteroid, Ceres, on the nights of January 1-3, 1801.
Please circulate or post this announcement.
Prof. Salvatore Serio, Palermo Observatory (Chair, Local Organizing Committee) (email@example.com)
Dr. Rolf M. Sinclair, Chevy Chase MD (International Organizing Committee) (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Prof. Raymond E. White, Steward Observatory (International Organizing Committee) (firstname.lastname@example.com)


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under pressure
Overfishing puts a strain on land-based wildlife in Ghana
What does demand in Europe for African seafood have to do with the fate of a wild leopard on the plains of Ghana? According to research published last fall in the journal Science, there is a link between the two that is both clear and distressing.
The West African nation of Ghana once had a thriving fishing industry. But, according to the study, dwindling fish stocks due to trawling by foreign fishing fleets have caused an increase in the "bush meat" trade—the illegal hunting of wild game—filling the protein and economic gap in the Ghanaian food chain. Researchers say that declining marine resources for Ghanaians have led to the extinction of almost half the species studied in some wildlife reserves. It is the first study to provide empirical evidence of an association long suspected by many conservation groups.
"This study provides the strongest link yet between a local fish supply with immediate, dramatic effects on bush meat hunting and terrestrial wildlife," said lead author Justin Brashares, assistant professor of ecosystem sciences. "If people aren't able to get their protein from fish, they'll turn elsewhere for food and economic survival. Unfortunately, the impact on wild game resources is not sustainable, and species are literally disappearing from the reserves."
Conservation groups, fisheries researchers, and African leaders have blamed subsidized foreign fleets for helping to accelerate the downturn in the fish supply. The study notes that the European Union (EU) maintains the largest foreign presence off the coast of West Africa, with EU fish catches increasing twenty-fold from 1950 to 2001, and financial subsidies jumping from $6 million in 1981 to more than $350 million in 2001.
"Other studies have shown that EU subsidies artificially increase the profitability for EU ships to fish in African waters," said Brashares, who began this work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge. "If it weren't for this financial support, these studies suggest, it wouldn't be worthwhile for EU fleets to head to West Africa."
Brashares collaborated with researchers in Africa and from the University of British Columbia in Canada, the Ghana Wildlife Division, and the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York.
He compiled census data recorded by park rangers from 1970 to 1998 for 41 species of larger mammals at six savanna nature reserves in Ghana. These animals included buffalo, antelope, jackals, lions, elephants, monkeys, and baboons. The information was compared with the supply of fish in the region during the same time period, as determined by data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The researchers found a stunning 76 percent drop in the abundance of the 41 species studied. Some of the smaller reserves saw local extinctions —defined as no recorded sightings for two years— of nearly half of those species.
At the same time, the supply of fish in Ghana ranged from 230,000 to 480,000 tons in a year, and varied by as much as 24 percent between consecutive years.
The researchers found that years with a lowerthan- average supply of fish had higher-than-average declines in land-based wildlife abundance. This relationship was seen regardless of other potentially confounding factors, such as weather, political cycles, and oil prices.
They also found that low fish counts were linked to higher hunter counts by park rangers. The higher numbers of hunters seen in the reserves were, not surprisingly, closely related to the increased rate of wildlife decline.
To check the impact on the marketplace, the researchers started surveying sales and price information for bush meat at 12 local markets throughout Ghana in 1999. Over the next four years, they found that the monthly supply of fish in the markets was negatively linked to both the price of fish and the volume of bush meat sold there.
Conservative estimates put the regional bush meat trade at 400,000 tons per year. Brashares noted that the figure is almost certainly an underestimate, since many animals are butchered or smoked by the time they get to market, making them difficult to identify.
Experts say some of Ghana's problems date back to 1982, when the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established economic exclusion zones that entitled countries to exclusive use of all marine resources 200 miles off their shorelines. This meant that Ghanaian fishing boats, which had traditionally fished all along the coast of West Africa, would have to pay other countries for access to foreign fishing grounds, something the economically struggling country could not afford.
Without interventions, the lapse of resources could result in widespread human poverty and food insecurity.
At the same time, Ghana's enforcement of its own exclusion zone is weak, making it difficult to assess the level of illegal fishing by foreign fleets. Many conservation experts say that the fish licensing agreements Ghana and many other African countries have with the European Union and other industrialized nations are tailored to benefit the non-African fleets.
"These agreements are extremely unfair," said Daniel Pauly, professor and director of the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia and one of the world's leading experts on global fisheries. Pauly was not connected to this study.
Pauly and other researchers tell of industrialized nations holding economic and other aid packages to Africa for ransom during negotiations for fishing license agreements. "If you have a very powerful economy negotiating with a weak one, then it's very difficult for weak ones to say no," he said.
As a result, said Pauly, the terms of the agreements are unusually generous to the foreign fleets, typically giving a certain number of boats access to the fishing grounds for a specified period of time, with no limits on the catch. "It's as if someone gave you three shopping carts for a day at a supermarket and told you that you wouldn't need to go through the cashier," he said. "Of course, people wouldn't go to the potatoes; they'd go to the meat department."
It's an issue that one outspoken West African leader, John Atta-Mills, the former vice president of Ghana who recently failed in his bid for the presidency, has brought up in the past. He pointed out in a February 2004 article in National Resources Forum that Ghana's fishing sector currently employs about 20 percent of the country's total labor force, but it's rapidly declining.
"Unemployment for fishers has significant social and economic impacts since Ghanaian fishers are generally poorly educated and landless, with few other options for income generation," wrote Atta- Mills. "Many unemployed fishers have migrated to the cities looking for work that is simply unavailable and have been unable to improve their economic conditions."
Part of the decline could be attributed to overfishing to feed a growing population—a three-fold increase from 6 million in 1957 to nearly 18 million in 1996—as well as habitat degradation. But Atta- Mills specifically cited the intense harvesting of fish by the EU fleet and called for policy reform to minimize the impact of foreign fleets on West African marine resources.
The authors of the paper say that reforming EU policy will not completely resolve the problems of diminishing natural resources in Ghana and other West African nations, but it is a solution that can be enacted quickly.
"Other solutions, such as developing a sustainable regional livestock and agriculture resource, are essential but could take decades to implement," said Brashares. "I don't think we have that time."
The authors said without interventions, the collapse of both aquatic and terrestrial resources would likely result in widespread human poverty and food insecurity in the region.
"At a time when regional protein shortages are evidently impacting not only local people but also driving a region-wide collapse of biodiversity, it seems questionable that foreign governments should be using their taxpayers' money to subsidize the mining of developing countries' fish stocks," said Balmford. "Given the EU's expressed concerns about the bush meat trade, phasing out subsidies to their own fleets offers at least a short-term route to limit the trade while simultaneously enhancing local fishers' livelihoods."


text:
"Three judges have agreed that hacker Gary McKinnon can appeal to the
House of Lords against his extradition order to the US"
"According to the charges brought against him in 2002, McKinnon's hacks
caused more than $900,000 (£450,000) in damage to various computer
networks; in the case of one military network, administrators had to
spend three days cleaning up after the breach"
'Gary McKinnon was arrested in 2002 following charges by U.S.
prosecutors that he .. causing $700,000 worth of damage'
'Once you're on the network, you can do a command called NetStatNetwork
Statusand it lists all the connections to that machine .. There were
hackers from Denmark, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Thailand Every night.'
"McKinnon exploited unpatched vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows to
break into the servers, authorities said at the time"
'Using commercially available software, Mr McKinnon probed dozens of US
military and government networks. He found many machines without
adequate password or firewall protection'
'He was caught after US military agencies detected system intrusions
which were traced back to the UK'
"I'd instant message them, using WordPad, with a bit of a political
diatribe. You know, I'd leave a message on their desktop that read
'Secret government is blah blah blah.'"
So the alleged intrusion detection was a Wordpad file .. they found Gary
in the end because he'd used his own email address to download a remote
desktop program called RemotelyAnywhere and installed it on passwordless
machines and sent the admin wordpad messages .. :)
"The Americans have a secret spaceship?" I ask.
"That's what this trickle of evidence has led me to believe."
"Some kind of other Mir that nobody knows about?"
"I guess so," says Gary.
"What were the ship names?"
"I can't remember," says Gary. "I was smoking a lot of dope at the time.
Not good for the intellect."


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Aug 24, 2010
|Priority date
|Dec 14, 2005
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|James A. McEwen, Michael Jameson, Kenneth L. Glinz
|Original Assignee
|Western Clinical Engineering, Ltd.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (58), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (27), Classifications (4), Legal Events (2)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/346,846, filed Feb. 3, 2006, now abandoned which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/304,363, filed Dec. 14, 2005.
This invention pertains to pneumatic tourniquet cuffs commonly used for stopping arterial blood flow into a portion of a surgical patient's limb to facilitate the performance of a surgical procedure, and for facilitating intravenous regional anesthesia.
Typical surgical tourniquet systems of the prior art include a tourniquet cuff which encircles the limb of a surgical patient and a tourniquet instrument which is releasably connected to an inflatable bladder within the tourniquet cuff through a length of tubing, thereby establishing a gas-tight passageway between the cuff and the tourniquet instrument. The tourniquet instrument contains a pressurized gas source which is used to inflate and regulate the pressure in the tourniquet cuff above a minimum pressure required to stop arterial blood flow distal to the cuff, for a duration suitably long for the performance of a surgical procedure. Many types of surgical tourniquet systems have been described in the prior art, such as those described by McEwen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,099, U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,494, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,477 and McEwen and Jameson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,415 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,589.
A number of different types of disposable tourniquet cuffs are known in the prior art. These cuffs are intended to be used within sterile surgical fields, and are typically sterilized at the time of manufacture. Examples of multi-layer disposable cuffs in the prior art are described by Robinette-Lehman in U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,635, and in commercial products manufactured in accordance with its teachings ("Banana Cuff" sterile disposable tourniquet cuffs, Zimmer Arthroscopy Systems, Englewood Colo.), and by Guzman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,206, and in commercial products manufactured according to its teachings ("Comfortor™ Disposable Gel Cuff", DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., Warsaw Ind.). A two-layer disposable cuff of the prior art is described by Spence in U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,304. Other disposable cuffs of the prior art have been constructed using multiple layers of costly materials such as cloth/thermoplastic laminates and gels. The use of multiple layers of such materials in prior-art cuffs has increased their overall thickness and stiffness, making these cuffs difficult for a surgical user to apply consistently. Thicker and stiffer cuffs of the prior art may also degrade performance after cuff application so that higher tourniquet pressures may be required to reliably occlude blood flow; this is undesirable because higher tourniquet pressures are associated in the surgical literature with a higher risk of patient injury.
Typical tourniquet cuffs of the prior art include a sealed inflatable bladder that encircles the limb and communicates pneumatically with a connected tourniquet instrument through one or more cuff ports, a stiffener that helps direct the expansion of the bladder radially inwards towards the limb and helps prevent any twisting or rolling of the cuff on the limb, and one or more fasteners that secure the cuff around the limb.
In order to facilitate the attachment of fasteners and cuff ports, the manufacture of prior art cuffs having multiple layers typically includes several labor-intensive operations, some of which require a high level of skill, quality and consistency on the part of manufacturing personnel. These operations can include sewing fastener materials to an outer cuff layer, adding a structural reinforcing patch to the outer layer, sealing one or more ports to a layer forming part of the inflatable bladder, and sealing layers around a perimeter to form the bladder.
Cuff layers consisting of compatible thermoplastic polymeric materials are typically joined together using a radio frequency (RF) welding process, which uses a combination of heat and pressure to cause compatible polymers to flow together by molecular diffusion. Welding operations to make cuffs of the prior art are typically completed in multiple steps, each of which typically requires the involvement of manufacturing personnel. For example, some cuffs have inflatable bladders formed from two separate sheets of thermoplastic coated material that are sealed around a perimeter using an RF welding process. Gas passageways into the bladder are typically formed using single or multiple ports welded to one layer before the bladder is formed. Each port provides a gas passageway into the bladder through a reinforced structure that is attached to tubing extending outside the sterile surgical field for connection to a tourniquet instrument. During the manufacturing process, the port is typically attached to one side of the bladder in a welding operation before the bladder is formed, to prevent the opposite bladder surface from being welded at the port location.
Many tourniquet cuffs of the prior art include a thermoplastic stiffener, which helps direct the expansion of the cuff bladder radially inward toward the limb when pressurized and helps reduce any tendency of the cuff to twist when pressurized or to roll distally down a tapered limb. The absence of a stiffener can lead to a reduction of the efficient application of pressure to the limb and thus can lead to an increase in the level of pressure required to stop blood flow past the cuff and into the limb. Also, the absence of a stiffener can lead to additional stresses in the outer cuff surface due to less constrained bladder expansion.
In many commonly used types of tourniquet cuffs of the prior art (such as Zimmer ATS sterile disposable tourniquet cuffs distributed by Zimmer Inc., Dover Ohio), a non-inflating sheath contains a stiffener outside an inflatable bladder. This configuration helps constrain the expansion of the bladder inwardly into the soft tissues of the limb encircled by the cuff when the cuff is pressurized, and helps prevent any twisting or rolling of the cuff on the limb. A second type of stiffener configuration involves increasing the thickness and rigidity of the material forming the outer cuff layer, to obtain a stiffening function from the outer layer in a two-layer cuff design (for example, as described by Eaton in U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,582, and in tourniquet cuffs distributed by Oak Medical, Briggs, North Lincs, UK). The outer layer of these prior-art tourniquet cuffs serves both as a stiffener and as one side of the inflatable bladder. The thick outer layer extends to all of the cuff edges, and includes an area for sealing the inner layer to the thick outer layer to form an inflatable bladder, resulting in the bladder always having a bladder width that is less than the width of the stiffener; this is undesirable because cuffs having narrower bladder widths require higher tourniquet pressures to stop blood flow, and higher tourniquet cuff pressures are associated with a higher risk of patient injury. Also, this second type of stiffener configuration in cuffs of the prior art, in which the stiffener forms part of the inflatable bladder, greatly limits the extent to which the cuff can expand inwardly into soft tissue when the cuff is pressurized; this limitation increases the pressure required to stop or occlude blood flow in the encircled limb, especially in obese patients and patients having large amounts of soft tissue. Further, the thick and stiff edges formed at the side edges of these prior-art cuffs may have a tendency to buckle towards the limb when the bladder is pressurized, leading to a potential soft-tissue hazard. A third stiffener configuration in tourniquet cuffs of the prior art includes an unsecured stiffener located within the inflatable bladder (for example, as described by Goldstein et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,518, by Spence in U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,304, and as seen in "Color Cuff II" sterile disposable tourniquet cuffs distributed by InstruMed Inc., Bothell Wash.). In this configuration, the stiffener is unsecured within the bladder and does not constrain the expansion of the outer cuff surface. This reduces the effectiveness of the stiffener in directing cuff pressure toward the encircled limb across the width of the cuff, and it reduces the extent to which the cuff can expand inwardly when pressurized, thereby making its performance more sensitive to variations in application technique and thereby leading to the possible need for higher tourniquet pressures to stop blood flow past the cuff and into the limb, particularly in patients having large amounts of soft tissue and in patients with poor muscle tone. Further, an unsecured stiffener within the cuff bladder is not as effective as a secured stiffener in helping to prevent the cuff from twisting or rolling on the limb. In addition, to reduce the limitations of performance that are inherent in a cuff having an unsecured stiffener within the inflatable bladder, the width of the stiffener in prior art cuffs must be as close as possible to the bladder width; this can impair cuff performance and requires precise alignment of the stiffener during manufacture.
Many cuffs of the prior art include velcro-type fastening elements, commonly referred to as hook and loop fasteners. The most common configuration consists of a hook-type fastening strap adapted for engaging with a loop-type material on the outer surface of the cuff to form a releasable velcro-type attachment when the cuff encircles a limb. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,758 Glover describes a multi-layer tourniquet cuff having a bladder contained within a flexible covering and a backing plate, and a fabric strap of loop-type material attached at one end to the outer side of the backing plate, for releasably engaging with a strip of hook-type material permanently mounted to the outer side of the backing plate. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,518 Goldstein et al. describe a two-layer tourniquet cuff having a hook or loop fastening strap for engaging with an outer cuff surface of loop or hook material. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,582 Eaton describes a tourniquet cuff having two sheets joined at the sides and ends to form an inflatable bladder, wherein a fabric strap of hook-type material is attached to the outer sheet of the cuff by welding or by an adhesive, and wherein one end of a loop-type fabric tongue is attached to the outer cuff sheet by welding or by an adhesive. Eaton '582 further describes a flange that passes through an opening in the fabric tongue to help reduce the potential for a user accidentally pulling the fabric tongue off the outer sheet while tightening the cuff about a patient's limb. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,304 Spence describes a tourniquet cuff having a bladder with inner and outer walls and a fastening strap with anchored and free portions, wherein the anchored portion is attached to the outer wall of the bladder with a velcro-type connection and wherein the free portion is adapted to be releasably anchored by a user to the outer wall with a velcro-type connection. Spence '304 includes a hole in the fastening strap to allow the cuff port to help permanently secure the fastening strap, as described previously in Eaton '582.
Some tourniquet cuffs of the prior art include secondary fastening elements to provide increased safety and to facilitate cuff application. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,431 McEwen describes a tourniquet cuff having a primary fastening means to secure the bladder and a secondary fastening means which is independent of the primary fastening means. McEwen '431 provides increased safety by ensuring the bladder remains overlapped and secured in a substantially circumferential direction by the secondary velcro-type fastening means even if the primary fastening means is not engaged or becomes ineffective while the cuff is inflated. The primary fastening means of McEwen '431 further facilitates cuff application and alignment of a cuff end by providing a velcro-type patch near the cuff end for releasable attachment of the end to a surface of the cuff. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,549 Bellin et al. describe a tourniquet cuff with a hook-type patch attached to a loop-type cuff surface near an end by welding, adhesive or sewing, wherein the patch facilitates releasable attachment of the cuff end to the surface to secure the cuff around a limb. The two-layer tourniquet cuff described in Spence '304 includes primary and secondary fastening means similar to McEwen '431, wherein a velcro-type fastening patch facilitates releasable attachment of a cuff end to a mating velcro-type cuff surface as in Bellin '549 so that the overlapping portion of the cuff is secured in a substantially circumferential direction around the limb, and wherein a velcro-type fastening strap engages with a mating velcro-type surface of the cuff to secure the cuff around the limb.
To help secure the end of the cuff in contact with the limb and to aid in cuff alignment during application, a number of cuffs in the prior art include a tie strap attached near one end of the cuff. Typical cuffs which include a tie strap are described by McEwen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,547 and by Robinette-Lehman in U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,635. A tie strap allows a surgical user to achieve a snug application of the cuff to the limb, and when tied helps assure that the overlapping portion of the cuff remains aligned, thus helping to prevent twisting, telescoping and rolling of the cuff when inflated, and thus helping to assure the most effective transmission of pressure from the cuff to the limb. Prior-art tourniquet cuffs include tie straps that are attached to cuffs in a variety of ways, including sewing or bonding to a surface of the cuff. It is not desirable to attach the tie strap to the cuff surface facing the patient's limb, where such attachment may distort the cuff surface and thus lead to uneven pressure distribution and possible soft-tissue injury. An alternate method of attaching the tie strap to the end of a cuff is shown in Goldstein et al. '518. Some prior art cuffs such as Spence '304 do not include a tie strap, but such cuffs are less conveniently applied, and may result in an applied cuff that is less snug and less effective in transmitting pressure from the cuff to the limb.
Some prior art cuffs carry marking visible to a surgical user, as described for example by McEwen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,010 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,431. Typical markings carried on tourniquet cuffs of the prior art have included labels sewn to cuff components and ink lettering and symbols marked on cuff surfaces but such markings have increased per-unit manufacturing costs. Some tourniquet cuffs of the prior art are marked by manufacturers to indicate that they are intended for single use only. Unauthorized reprocessing and reuse of such tourniquet cuffs in multiple surgical procedures may be hazardous for patients. However, such marking on prior-art cuffs may be easily removed or obscured if the cuffs are reprocessed, leading to the possibility that surgical staff may unknowingly use disposable tourniquet cuffs that have been reprocessed in a manner not authorized by the manufacturer and hazardous to patients.
For safety and effectiveness of pressure application, it is desirable that the length of tourniquet cuffs be individualized so that the size and circumference of the patient's limb at the desired cuff location can be taken into account. It is important that the sealed inflatable bladder of a tourniquet cuff completely encircles the patient's limb at the desired cuff location. This is accomplished in the prior art by providing cuffs that overlap around the limb at the desired cuff location so that the bladder encircles the limb. When a cuff is applied to a patient's limb and overlapped upon itself, the amount by which the cuff overlaps is the circumferential distance in the overlapped region between the end edges of the cuff. Too small an overlap of the cuff may compromise the uniform application of pressure around the limb if the bladder of the cuff does not completely encircle the limb, may result in inadequate occlusion of the underlying blood vessels and may lead to unexpected cuff release during surgery. Too much overlap of some prior-art cuffs may make cuff application more difficult, may lead to higher pressure being required in the cuff to occlude underlying blood vessels, may decrease cuff stability when pressurized, and may result in injuries to underlying soft tissues. As a result of safety-related concerns about too little overlap or too much overlap of prior-art tourniquet cuffs, the AORN (Association of periOperative Registered Nurses) has recommended that such cuffs should overlap by at least three inches but not more than six inches.
In general, it is desirable to construct the thinnest tourniquet cuff possible for a given application. Thinner cuffs have smaller differences in circumference between inner cuff surfaces and outer cuff surfaces when encircling a patient's limb, in comparison to thicker cuffs. Such smaller differences in circumference reduce folding and wrinkling at the inner cuff surface. This reduces the possibility of wrinkling, pinching, bruising and other injuries to the skin and soft tissue encircled by such cuffs. Further, thinner cuffs tend to be less rigid than thicker cuffs and thus allow a surgical user to apply the cuff more snugly and more easily to the limb.
The manufacturing and assembly process of prior art cuffs consists of numerous cutting, sewing, and sealing operations which require substantial investment in both equipment and skilled operators. The manual labor component of cuff assembly is high, especially where multiple sewing and sealing operations are required. It is therefore desirable to reduce the skill and time required by the cuff assembly process, while continuing to utilize readily available manufacturing equipment. A reduction in the amount of time and skill required to manufacture tourniquet cuffs can be accomplished by reducing the number of manual assembly operations. This may include the elimination of numerous sewing operations, and the consolidation of multiple RF sealing steps into a single operation. Reducing the number of manual operations provides a savings not only in the labor to construct a cuff, but also provides the potential for the automation of a number of steps leading to the single cuff sealing operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,547 McEwen et al. describe a method for automating the cuff manufacturing process by constructing the top layer of the cuff in a continuous strip having varying thickness to provide the stiffening functions described previously while not limiting the inward radial expansion of the bladder. McEwen '547 describes a custom manufacturing process which allows the bottom and top layers to be joined in a continuous process, whereby the edge of the inner layer is folded over the outer layer and sealed. The end edges of the cuff are sealed at various intervals to allow the construction of cuffs of a variety of lengths. The stiffened top layer therefore extends to the ends of the resulting cuff. Manufacturing the tourniquet cuff described in McEwen '547 requires a high level of investment in automated manufacturing equipment and processes, and necessarily requires a high volume of cuff manufacture to produce low-cost cuffs.
There is a need for a disposable tourniquet cuff which overcomes the hazards, problems and limitations of performance associated with prior-art cuffs as described above, and which can be manufactured at substantially lower cost with few changes to existing manufacturing equipment and processes.
Cuff 10 is pneumatically connected to tourniquet instrument 18 via cuff port 20, cuff tubing 22, cuff connector 24, instrument connector 26 and instrument tubing 28. Tourniquet instrument 18 supplies pressurized gas for the inflation of cuff 10 and is capable of inflating cuff 10 to a pressure that will occlude the flow of arterial blood in patient limb 12 distal to cuff 10.
The perimeter of a sterile surgical field 30 encloses surgical site 14, a portion of patient limb 12, tourniquet cuff 10, and a portion of cuff tubing 22. Cuff tubing 22 is of sufficient length to permit cuff connector 24 to be releasably mated with instrument connector 26 outside of sterile surgical field 30. In the preferred embodiment shown, cuff 10 is a single port cuff, where cuff port 20 provides a single pneumatic passageway into the inflatable portion of cuff 10. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described in the preferred embodiment may also be applied to tourniquet cuffs having more than one port, such as those described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,099, No. 4,479,494, and No. 5,254,087.
As described below, cuff 10 is constructed of materials that are appropriate for a single-use sterile disposable tourniquet cuff. To permit cuff 10 to be used in a sterile surgical field, cuff 10 is sterilized at time of manufacture by exposure to a sterilizing agent within a sterilizing process determined to be safe and effective. To prevent deterioration of the cuff, and to maintain the integrity of the pneumatic passageways within cuff 10, a sterilization agent and process that will not harm the materials or components of cuff 10 is selected by the manufacturer. In the preferred embodiment cuff 10 is sterilized by exposure to gamma radiation or electron beam radiation.
The cost of materials and labor are important considerations in the manufacture of tourniquet cuffs intended for a single use and then disposal. To minimize the cost of materials and assembly of cuff 10, materials are selected which are not intended to withstand exposure to subsequent sterilization and cleaning processes. The subsequent sterilization or cleaning of cuff 10 by agents and processes commonly used in health care facilities, such as ethylene oxide gas sterilization, hydrogen peroxide gas sterilization, high temperature and pressure steam sterilization, sterilization by other chemical agents, and pasteurization, are all capable of adversely affecting the integrity of the materials and pneumatic passageways of cuff 10.
Cuff 10 includes marking such as symbols or letters to indicate safe cuff overlap length. When cuff 10 is applied around a limb and overlapped upon itself, cuff overlap length is the circumferential distance in the overlapped region between the end edges of the cuff. The safe overlap length is a length that is greater than a predetermined minimum cuff overlap length and less than a predetermined maximum cuff overlap length. The predetermined minimum cuff overlap length is the length by which the cuff must overlap upon itself to ensure the inflatable bladder completely encircles the limb. The predetermined maximum cuff overlap length is the maximum length that the cuff can overlap upon itself and remain stable on the limb when inflated. Marking is also included to indicate to a user that cuff 10 is intended for a single patient use and is to be discarded after use. Marking may also be present to identify the manufacturer of cuff 10 and indicate a manufacturing lot number.
The preferred embodiment includes marking to indicate minimum and maximum cuff overlap lengths and marking to indicate that the cuff is intended for a single use these markings are permanently formed in selected welded areas of cuff 10 as described further below. This permanent marking can be easily read by a user and cannot be easily obscured or removed from the cuff without causing damage to the cuff. Unlike other marking methods, marking formed in the welded areas of the cuff does not increase the per-unit manufacturing cost of the cuff because no additional materials or processes are required. Typical prior art cuffs include marking printed with ink onto labels which are then sewn onto the cuff or printed with ink directly onto the cuff, and marking indicating single use printed onto the sterile packaging in which the cuff is provided to the user. Additionally, marking within bonded areas of a cuff is described by McEwen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,547.
Printed cuff packaging can be easily lost or thrown away and sewn on labels can be inadvertently or intentionally removed from these prior art cuffs. Marking printed with ink directly on the cuff may be obscured, and ink fragments may come loose and contaminate the surgical field. If a cuff is not clearly marked as intended for single use a user or third party could unknowingly attempt to re-manufacture and re-sterilize the cuff contrary to the original manufacturer's instructions thereby producing a cuff that is possibly hazardous to patients.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many conventional methods exist for joining the thermoplastic polymers that comprise the materials of cuff 10. Joining processes can be separated into two broad groups: adhesive bonding, and thermal or solvent welding. In an adhesive bonding process, an adhesive layer is applied between two or more materials and when cured, the adhesive holds the materials together at their surfaces. In a thermal or solvent welding process, the surfaces of two or more materials are made fluid by applying either thermal heating or a solvent, which allow the thermoplastic materials to molecularly diffuse into one another forming a weld. For molecular diffusion to occur the thermoplastic polymers being thermally or solvent welded must be sufficiently compatible. Thermal or solvent welding will not occur between incompatible materials, for example, polyurethane and polyethylene. Thermal welding can be accomplished by numerous methods, including direct heating (e.g., hot gas, infrared, extrusion), induced heating (e.g., radio frequency (RF) or dielectric welding), and frictional heating (e.g., ultrasonic welding). In the preferred embodiment and as described below, the thermoplastic polymers comprising components of cuff 10 are joined together by the dielectric welding process, in which materials are brought together under pressure in a die and radio frequency energy is applied to temporarily melt a portion of the thermoplastic materials causing them to weld together in a selected area. Dielectric welding relies on the principle of dielectric heating to induce heat in thermoplastic materials placed within an alternating electromagnetic field. The amount of potential heating generated is dependent upon the dielectric properties of the thermoplastic materials, known as loss factor or dissipation factor. Thermoplastics with a relatively high dissipation factor such as polyurethane can be readily dielectrically welded, while thermoplastics with low dissipation factors such as polyethylene can not be readily welded by this process. While thermoplastic polyethylene will not heat substantially during the dielectric welding process it will still provide a conductive path through which the alternating electromagnetic field will propagate allowing welding to occur in adjacent materials.
Some materials that comprise components of cuff 10 are attached by stitches formed from nylon thread. It will be apparent that other types of mechanical fastening methods such as stapling and riveting could be used to attach selected components of cuff 10. Unlike joints formed by adhesive bonds and welds described above that can form gas-tight seals, materials that are sewn together or otherwise mechanically fastened generally do not form gas-tight seals between components.
To reduce manufacturing equipment and labor costs it is desirable to manufacture cuff 10 in a single dielectric welding operation. This requires that the thermoplastic polymers comprising the components of cuff 10 be prevented from welding at selected surfaces. Preventing thermoplastic materials from welding together can be accomplished by several methods. One method involves coating the surface of a thermoplastic material with a material that prevents the molecular diffusion into another otherwise compatible material. Another method involves selecting thermoplastic materials that have markedly different dissipation factors, preventing one or more of the materials from heating during a dielectric welding operation. As described above, both methods may be employed in the manufacture of cuff 10.
Referring to the components of cuff 10 shown in
Top sheet 34 is a thin flexible nylon loop material adapted for secure engagement with the hook material of securing strap 32. Top sheet 34 is coated on the inner surface with a thermoplastic polymer. This thermoplastic polymer coating prevents the passage of gas through top sheet 34 and allows top sheet 34 to be joined to cuff port 20, bottom sheet 36 and to stiffener 38 as described below. In the preferred embodiment the thermoplastic coating on top sheet 34 is polyurethane. It will be apparent that securing strap 32 could be comprised of a loop material and top sheet 34 could be a hook material. It will also be appreciated that other velcro-type materials, including adhesives that have velcro-type properties, could be selected to comprise securing strap 32 and top sheet 34.
Bottom sheet 36 is made of flexible woven cloth coated on the inner surface with a thermoplastic polymer. The thermoplastic polymer coating prevents the passage of gas through bottom sheet 36 and allows bottom sheet 36 to be joined to top sheet 34 as described above and below. In the preferred embodiment the thermoplastic coating on bottom sheet 36 is polyurethane. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other thermoplastic polymers, polyvinylchloride for example, may be used as coatings on top sheet 34 and bottom sheet 36 providing they can be joined with sufficient strength to maintain the integrity of cuff 10 when inflated.
As shown in
Tie strap 16 is a soft fabric ribbon material that is shown in
Secondary fastener 40 may be formed of hook material similar to the hook material that comprises securing strap 32. Secondary fastener 40 is attached to the outer surface of bottom sheet 36 and engages with the loop material of top sheet 34 to retain cuff 10 in an overlapped position around the limb. Secondary fastener 40 facilitates cuff application and alignment of the cuff by providing a means for securing cuff 10 in an overlapped position around patient limb 12. After secondary fastener 40 is engaged, then securing strap 32 may be separately engaged by the user to secure and maintain cuff 10 in the overlapped position around patient limb 12. Secondary fastener 40 and securing strap 32 are independent of each other because each is separately capably of securing cuff 10 in the overlapped position around the limb in the absence of the other The independence of secondary fastener 40 and securing strap 32 provide increased safety by helping to assure that cuff 10 remains overlapped and secured in a substantially circumferential direction if either securing strap 32 or secondary fastener 40 is not engaged or becomes ineffective while the cuff is applied to limb 12. As shown in
Stiffener 38 is made of a gas impermeable thermoplastic polymer sheet cut to a rectangular shape to fit within the perimeter of bladder perimeter weld 42 shown in
Stiffener 38 is less flexible than top sheet 34 and bottom sheet 36 but is flexible enough to be wrapped around a limb (for example, 0.020″ thick polyurethane/polyvinylchloride alloy sheet or polyethylene sheet). The properties of stiffener 38 are selected such that the forces required to bend stiffener 38 across its width are significantly greater than those required to bend top sheet 34 across its width by an equal amount. When secured circumferentially around the limb as shown in
The width of stiffener 38 is less than the width of inflatable bladder 44 when cuff 10 is laid flat. The width of stiffener 38 determines the degree to which bladder 44 can expand (or reach) to apply pressure into the limb. Unlike prior art cuffs that have a stiffener extending beyond the width of the inflatable bladder, cuff 10 has greater reach and thereby results in lower limb occlusion pressures than those obtainable with prior art cuffs. In the preferred embodiment a surface of the thermoplastic polymer that comprises stiffener 38 is compatible with the thermoplastic coating of top sheet 34 and is welded to the inner surface of top sheet 34 by the dielectric welding process described above. Stiffener 38 is prevented from welding to the inner surface of bottom sheet 36 by an incompatible coating which is applied as described below to either a surface of stiffener 38 or to a portion of the inner surface of bottom sheet 36.
Welds that attach the inner surface of top sheet 34 to stiffener 38 form gas-tight seals at their perimeters and define a non-inflatable portion or portions of top sheet 34. In prior art cuffs with floating or unattached stiffeners within the bladder the outer surface of the bladder is free to expand outward away from the limb when the cuff is inflated. This expansion or "ballooning" of the outer surface of the bladder is undesirable, especially in areas where velcro-type fasteners are mated to the outer surface to secure the cuff around the limb. In the preferred embodiment non-inflatable portions of top sheet 34 and stiffener 38 remain in substantially the same plane and do not balloon outward when the cuff is inflated thus providing a more secure attachment area for velcro-type fasteners.
The perimeters of stiffener retaining weld 52 and cuff port weld 46 define a non-inflatable portion of top sheet 34. This non-inflatable portion of top sheet 34 does not form part of inflatable bladder 44 and pressurized gas does not contact this portion of top sheet 34.
The length of securing strap 32 may also be increased to permit a greater area of engagement of the hook and loop materials of securing strap 32 and top sheet 34 within the non-inflatable portion of top sheet 34. If the area of hook and loop engagement is sufficiently large to maintain cuff 10 secured around a limb when inflated, the attachment at location 56 may be eliminated.
When cuff 10 is secured around a limb and inflated, securing strap 32 comes under considerable tension. The amount of tension securing strap 32 and its attachment location is dependent upon the circumference of the limb and the pressure to which bladder 44 is inflated. In the configuration of cuff 10 shown in
As shown in
The attachment of securing strap 32 within the non-inflatable portion of top sheet 34 allows loads to be transferred from securing strap 32 to stiffener 38 by stiffener retaining weld 52. Top sheet 34 may be joined to stiffener 38 in additional locations to aid in the transfer of loads from securing strap 32 to stiffener 38.
When cuff 10 is configured as shown in
Tie strap 16 is permanently attached to cuff 10 by tie strap retaining weld 48 shown in
Cross section 4 from
Referring to
Cuff port 20 is joined to the inner surface of top sheet 34 and outer surface of stiffener 38 at the location of cuff port weld 46.
As shown in
As shown in
The cross section of cuff 10 shown in
To reduce material costs cuff 10 may be configured as shown in
Securing strip 66 is coated on one surface with thermoplastic polymer material. In
Stiffener 38 may also be bonded to the inner surface of top sheet 34 at the locations of securing strip perimeter weld 68 and cuff marking weld 70, 72 and 74 to form non-inflatable portions of top sheet 34. It will be apparent that marking to indicate minimum and maximum cuff overlap lengths could be formed on securing strip 66 prior to its attachment to top sheet 34.
A portion of securing strap 32 is non-releasably attached to securing strip 66 at location 76. Securing strap 32 may be attached to securing strip 66 by sewing or welding. The length of securing strap 32 may also be increased to permit a greater area of engagement of the hook and loop materials of securing strap 32 and securing strip 66. If the area of hook and loop engagement is sufficiently large to maintain cuff 10 secured around a limb when inflated, the attachment at location 76 may be eliminated.
A hole formed in securing strap 32 as described above allows cuff port 20 to pass through securing strap 32. As shown in
The embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use, and thereby enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention.
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|U.S. Classification
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Owner name: WESTERN CLINICAL ENGINEERING LTD, CANADA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MCEWEN, JAMES;JAMESON, MICHAEL;GLINTZ, KENNETH L.;REEL/FRAME:019430/0714
Effective date: 20070612
|Jan 28, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4


text:
Northumberland's official printed visitor guides encouraged visitors to increase their holiday spend by 8.4% in 2013, research shows.
Overall, users of the Northumberland Holiday Guide and the Days Out and Attractions Leaflet are estimated to have spent £53m in the county during 2013, £4.1m of which can be directly attributed to use of the guides.
This research, combined with the large demand Northumberland Tourism is currently experiencing for the 2014 editions of their publications, means there is still an important place for print.
Over 21% of readers booked a trip after reading the Northumberland Holiday & Short Breaks Guide.
Due to high demand in 2014, the print run will be increased for the 2015 edition with an extra 20,000 being printed.
The study also revealed the Days Out and Attractions leaflet, of which 250,000 are printed and distributed each year, influenced 31.2% of users to visit attractions or places they hadn't previously thought of.
Jude Leitch, general manager of Northumberland Tourism said "In these days of tight budgets we can only invest in marketing activities that we know will show a significant return for Northumberland.
"Both of these documents have again shown their worth and we're delighted that they are attracting significant numbers of new visitors to our county and, once here, inspiring them to do and spend more.
"Our print materials complement the inspirational content available online at visitnorthumberland.com and, given these results, we intend to continue to produce the Northumberland Holiday Guide and Attractions & Short Breaks Leaflet for the foreseeable future."


text:
Watch These Trick-or-Treaters Getting Scared — Daily Distraction
Halloween is here, finally! But just because you've got a sweet zombie outfit on doesn't mean that some clever homeowner might not turn the tables and give YOU a major fright.
Halloween is here, finally! But just because you've got a sweet zombie outfit on doesn't mean that some clever homeowner might not turn the tables and give YOU a major fright.
It seems like Halloween brings out the worst in racist individuals because two white girls go black-face and tweet about it. On Monday, I published the story of the Travyon Martin and Zimmerman blackface paint costumes but this takes things to another level.
On AMC's 'The Walking Dead,' our planet is overrun with flesh-eating zombies. And while Snooki, Donald Trump, John Mayer, Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan aren't quite pretty enough to play the undead, we have the fix for that.
We've zombie-fied those annoying individuals to make them picture-perfect, and even given them appropriate new names -- just in time for Halloween.
What would you do if your little ghost or goblin went to a neighborhood house to trick-or-treat this Halloween, and instead of candy they came back with a note explaining that they might be a little too chubby for candy?
I just got done laughing so hard while watching kids react to being told all their Halloween candy has been eaten. Jimmy Kimmel ask parents to prank their kids for Halloween by hitting them where it hurts, candy.
We all had a blast at the 2013 Pumpkin Parade at the Courtland Center mall in Burton and want to thank everyone who attended. Click through to see and download pictures from the event.
We get it now. The fact that Halloween has become a socially acceptable excuse for women (and some men) to dress as provocatively as possible without getting arrested isn't some sad commentary on modern society. No, it's much more than that.
Brains. How do we eat them? How do we use them? Sometimes sharing innovative ideas is more important than human survival.
Its good to see people can still be creative with Halloween costumes and not be so slutty.
Basically once Labor Day has passed, we spend our time gearing up for Halloween, which means apple cider, carving pumpkins, and loads and loads of terrible scary movies. The only problem is that there are bad scary movies and then there are *bad* scary movies, and the only way to tell the difference between the two usually involves sacrificing 40 minutes or so of your life.
Sometimes we all have to have a roommate to help out with daily bills, but when 'Jigsaw' from the 'SAW' movie series is your bunk partner things get awkward.


text:
JERSEY SHORE - Matchups in wrestling dual meets can even leave veteran coaches shaking their heads trying to explain the results.
Jersey Shore, Muncy and Warrior Run found themselves in the same championship pool on Saturday at the Jersey Shore Duals after each placed second in the initial round-robin rounds, and in the afternoon session of the tournament, the three District 4 schools took turns beating on one another. The Bulldogs handled Warrior Run, 45-27, Muncy edged Jersey Shore, 38-33, and the Defenders bounced back for a 51-24 win over the Indians.
"It was crazy, especially the score differentials between us three," Jersey Shore coach Shawn Weaver said. "You don't ever see that really, but it's high school sports and a kid can go from a total high to a total low with a flip of a coin."
All three teams finished a long day of wrestling with 3-2 records against a well-rounded 11 team field.
"It was interesting there if you compared the scores," Warrior Run coach Wayne Smythe said. "Just because Team A beats Team B and Team B beats Team C doesn't necessarily mean Team A will beat Team C. It just shows you how you wrestle is extremely important and not how you wrestled against someone else."
Greensburg Salem, Cedar Cliff and Wyoming Valley West were the pool winners. Greensburg Salem opened up the championship round with a 33-27 win over Cedar Cliff before clinching the tournament title with a 31-30 win over Valley West. The victory over Valley West was determined by Criteria H (most first points scored). Valley West then lost another tight one in what became the match for second place, losing to Cedar Cliff, 34-30.
Valley West entered the tournament ranked No. 18 in the Class AAA dual meet rankings by papowerwrestling.com, while Greensburg Salem and Cedar Cliff were honorable mention selections.
"Our goal when we started this tournament was to make it better every year and bring some good teams in here," Weaver said. "I feel like the top six or seven teams here can compete and we all can get some quality matches for one another and that is the point of a dual meet tournament."
The Defenders (9-4), who wrestle four times this coming week, beat Muncy for the second time this season. Warrior Run jumped out to an 18-0 lead on the strength of their lower weights before Muncy tied the score with three consecutive victories. Warrior Run answered with a six-bout streak which included Muncy forfeits at 160, 195 and 220.
Elias George bumped up to 170 pounds for the Defenders and picked up a first-period fall that made the score 30-18 with five bouts remaining.
The senior went 5-0 for Warrior Run during the tournament, making the bump to 170 pounds twice.
"I've been surprised by what I have been able to do this year because I've always been uptight about it," George said. "This year is my senior year so I don't have another year left, so I have to go out and get it.
"I want to make this year memorable and make it as far as I can."
The youthful Indians (10-7), who expect to have a full lineup next week for the first time this season, went 3-2 during the 10-hour day and clinched a berth in the District 4 Duals tournament. Muncy hung with pool champion Valley West for the majority of their match before falling 44-29, but did earn an impressive 38-33 win over Jersey Shore.
"We had a good day today," Harer said. "We did better than I expected because we don't have everybody back yet."
State-ranked Dakota Nixon beat Jersey Shore's Colton Killion, 6-5, at 152 pounds which helped the Indians build a 35-9 lead against the Bulldogs that nearly vanished. Nixon surrendered the opening takedown but took a 4-3 lead after two periods and added a takedown in the third period.
"Neither one of those guys were at full strength today," Weaver said. "I know Dakota was pretty sick and didn't look like himself and Colton's ankle is pretty sprained. It was neat to see those guys gut it out and it was good wrestling."
Jersey Shore closed to 35-33 after a Muncy forfeit at 220 pounds because of an injury to Scott Appleman, but 285-pounder Nick Roberts cemented the Muncy win with a 7-3 decision.
The Bulldogs did complete their rally against Warrior Run after falling behind 21-9. Killion again was in the middle of a hard-fought match at 152 pounds and this time he came up with a narrow 4-2 victory that tied the match at 21-all with five bouts remaining. George gave Warrior Run the lead one final time before the Bulldogs closed with four consecutive falls.
The Bulldogs' rally against the Defenders was set in place by buzzer-beating wins by Bryce Charles at 285 pounds and Chris Bashaw at 138.
Canton picked up its lone pool victory after receiving a forfeit from Phoenixville. Phoenixville dropped out of the tournament earlier this week.
The Warriors lost to Central Dauphin East (41-37) and Wallenpaupack (42-26) during the championship rounds.
Canton's Connor Route earned his 100th carer victory during the tournament.
Pool A Standings:?Greensburg Salem 3-0; Jersey Shore 2-1; Canton 1-2; Phoenixville 0-3
Note: Phoenixville forfeited out of the tournament
Pool A scores: Greensburg Salem 34, Jersey Shore 24; Jersey Shore 46, Canton 19; Canton forfeit over Phoenixville; Greensburg Salem forfeit over Phoenixville; Jersey Shore forfeit over Phoenixville; Greensburg Salem 53, Canton 21
Pool B Standings:?Cedar Cliff 3-0; Warrior Run 2-1; Central Dauphin East 1-2; Tunkhannock 0-3
Pool B scores: Cedar Cliff 42, Warrior Run 27; Central Dauphin East 55, Tunkhannock 17; Cedar Cliff 39, Central Dauphin East 33; Warrior Run 60, Tunkhannock 15; Cedar Cliff 52, Tunkhannock 15; Warrior Run 45, Central Dauphin East 22.
Pool C Standings: Wyoming Valley West 3-0; Muncy 2-1; Wallenpaupack 1-2; Clarion 0-3
Pool C scores: Valley West 49, Wallenpaupack 24; Muncy 47, Clarion 21; Valley West 68, Clarion 6; Muncy 36, Wallenpaupack 33; Wallenpaupack 33, Clarion 27; Valley West 44, Muncy 29
Championship Pool scores
(1st through 3rd): Greensburg Salem 33, Cedar Cliff 27; Greensburg Salem 31, Valley West 30 (Greensburg Salem wins on Criteria H, most first points scored); Cedar Cliff 34, Valley West 30.
(4th through 6th): Jersey Shore 45, Warrior Run 27; Muncy 38, Jersey Shore 33; Warrior Run 51, Muncy 24.
(7th through 9th): Central Dauphin East 41, Canton 37; Wallenpaupack 42, Canton 26; Wallenpaupack 43, Central Dauphin East 30.
(10th through 12th): Clarion 39, Tunkhannock 31; Phoenixville forfeit.
(Other score): Jersey Shore 50, Tunkhannock 21.
First place: Greensburg Salem; Second place: Cedar Cliff; Third place: Valley West.