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Achieving accurate measurements of inflammation levels in tissues or thickness changes in biological membranes (e.g., amniotic sac, parietal pleura) and thin biological walls (e.g., blood vessels) from outside the human body, is a promising research line in the medical area. It would provide a technical basis to study the options for early diagnosis of some serious diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis or tuberculosis. Nevertheless, achieving the aim of non-invasive measurement of those scarcely-accessible parameters on patient internal tissues, currently presents many difficulties. The use of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer systems appears to offer a possible solution. Previous studies using conventional ultrasonic imaging have shown this, but the spatial resolution was not sufficient so as to permit a thickness evaluation with clinical significance, which requires an accuracy of a few microns. In this paper a broadband ultrasonic technique, that was recently developed by the authors to address other non-invasive medical detection problems (by integrating a piezoelectric transducer into a spectral measuring system), is extended to our new objective; the aim is its application to the thickness measurement of sub-millimeter membranes or layers made of materials similar to some biological tissues (phantoms). The modeling and design rules of such a transducer system are described, and various methods of estimating overtones location in the power spectral density (PSD) are quantitatively assessed with transducer signals acquired using piezoelectric systems and also generated from a multi-echo model. Their effects on the potential resolution of the proposed thickness measuring tool, and their capability to provide accuracies around the micron are studied in detail. Comparisons are made with typical tools for extracting spatial parameters in laminar samples from echo-waveforms acquired with ultrasonic transducers. Results of this advanced measurement spectral tool are found to improve the performance of typical cross-correlation methods and provide reliable and high-resolution estimations.
Investigation lines to create new applications of piezoelectric electromechanical transducers in both time and frequency domains, seeking accurate measurement of internal physical magnitudes in diverse materials, are the subject of increasing research. This is because of their potential capability for solving numerous metrological problems in diverse scientific, industrial and medical areas. The use of spectral techniques applied to the raw measured data opens up the possibility of increasing the precision in the analysis of the electrical signals provided by this type of piezoelectric devices. Particularly useful applications are the precise metrology of internal distances and of plate thickness inside opaque pieces. Examples in the medical field would be the accurate measure of early inflammation levels in biological tissues, of possible preliminary changes in biological membranes thickness (amniotic sac and parietal pleura) and of thin walls in certain body tissues (for instance, blood vessels [
In the field of the membranes research and its applications, both frequency and time techniques (e.g., time domain reflectometry TDR) have been used to determine early membrane fouling that can be detected by effective thickness changes and variations in other membrane properties. The thickness variation can be measured with good resolution, in the case of membrane compaction and TDR [
Applications for diagnostic purposes of new metrological procedures based on piezoelectric transducer systems, working in the megahertz range, appear to offer possible solutions and thus allow the mentioned precise spatial measurements in tissues. However, reaching this objective in patients requires accurate estimation (in a non-invasive way) of scarcely measurable parameters related to internal tissues, which presents many difficulties with the current technological "state of the art". For instance the use of commercial echography equipment, for estimating spatial sizes from tissue images of internal organs, has serious limitations as the resolution is typically worse than 0.5 mm in such instruments (even at working frequencies as high as 7.5 MHz). Units working at higher frequencies, such as 20 MHz, are only adequate for analysis of superficial parts (like the skin, or for use in ophthalmology). Besides, their technological complexity is always high since at least a hundred ultrasonic channels are required: 100 piezo-transducers and their related Emission & Reception (E/R) electronic units. This complexity is detailed in the Section 3 where an efficient implementation of the pulsed electronic control stages for broadband ultrasonic array systems is addressed.
Additional studies based on echographic ultrasonic imaging units and also segmentation algorithms [
Therefore, specific techniques must be created, not necessarily involving significantly more complexity in the transducers and electronics technology. In fact, they could be based on only one ultrasonic channel (of a topology similar to only one of the "n" channels shown in the Section 3), but specifically intended for one-side echo-estimation into thin layers, membranes and laminated pieces. This can be achieved by adding sophisticated signal processing stages, which are focused on improving the accuracy in spatial measurements ranging around a few microns.
This new option should be applicable to facilitate a non-invasive early diagnosis objective, and also in the more general metrological field of thickness gauging [
Certain similar high-resolution applications of mono-channel and array ultrasonic transducer systems in other medical areas have been preliminarily explored (some of them, very recently) to make possible internal measurements and non-invasive diagnosis of some human diseases [
The entire piezoelectric transduction system, so composed, has been shown to be an efficient tool to extract information about tissues in a non-invasive way to achieve different new medical objectives: (i) to provide data for the diagnosis of some viral or degenerative diseases like cirrhosis [
These ultrasonic echo-pulses present rather complex time and frequency distributions making, a direct interpretation of the related tissue information, difficult, but just the spectral estimation is a general purpose tool employed to analyze with improved resolution complex or noisy radiofrequency time-signals. In fact, it has been probed as an effective option to obtain data hidden inside noisy echoes related to tissue structures, for instance in non-invasive thermometry [
Some research lines in spectral ultrasonic metrology are oriented at determining the average distance among scatterers, using high-resolution PSD (power spectral density) estimation [
In applying this processing tool to noisy bio-ultrasonic signals, some problems (derived from the rather complex nature of the acquired signals) can be analyzed. For instance, the echoes are not always of a clearly deterministic and totally regular type. In tissues, the required information could be mixed with noise and undesirable masking perturbations, so accuracy in measuring peak frequencies in echo spectra could be affected by unfavorable elements creating spurious frequency peaks on PSD.
In order to properly evaluate here these aspects and some advantages of this type of tools, several previously reported analysis procedures [
In this article, broadband ultrasonic procedures (using spectral techniques developed for other medical detection problems) are specifically modified and adapted to analyze their applications for accurate thickness estimation of sub-millimeter membranes, thin layers or walls. This will be studied in phantoms made of materials with acoustic properties similar to those encountered in biological tissues. The technology associated with the experiments involved is based on the integration of a piezoelectric transducer and related electronics into a whole metrological system working in the frequency domain. The main objective of designing the proposed system and procedure is to provide high resolution for the mentioned thickness measurements with mainly medical purposes. It will be explained as follows: along the article sections, the addressed topics are structured to develop three main objectives: (a) a description of the basic pulsed transducer systems to be applied in this work, of their design bases and of aspects of transduction and signal modeling; (b) the application of specific electronic and processing techniques for noninvasive metrology of distances and sizes inside thin tissues (detecting frequency alterations in ultrasonic echo-information); (c) the study of most important factors to be taken into account to establish our improved spectral analysis procedure. The final aim is increasing the basic axial spatial resolution and therefore the resulting precision in thickness measurements. For assessing it as future estimation tool for accurate medical diagnosis in biological membranes and blood vessels, resolutions, accuracy, and robustness aspects (including noisy conditions), will be considered.
Certain advanced processing options to estimate overtones location in power spectral densities are quantitatively evaluated for echo-responses acquired in laminar pieces with a broadband piezoelectric transducer of 10 MHz in nominal frequency, operated under transient electronic driving, and also with calculated echoes computationally generated from reliable multi-echo models.
The main objective of this comparative analysis is to determine the contributions of each option to the resulting potential resolutions of the complete thickness measuring system for opaque specimens, investigating its capability to provide spatial accuracies around 1 micron. The measurement resolutions so attained are compared with those obtained, using the same piezoelectric transducer and similar electronic transceiver hypotheses, but applying conventional signal processing methods in time and frequency domains, for the extraction of spatial parameters from ultrasonic echoes received in laminar samples. Concretely, some estimation results from using conventional cross-correlation techniques (well-known as useful time-delay estimators [
In the applications addressed in this work, for accurate thickness metrology, advanced spectral analysis of multi-echo signals is extended to evaluate the frequency peaks' behavior associated to the acoustical resonance induced into the inspected material and including its overtones. These are related with internal spatial parameters of a determined laminar sample, like a biological membrane, a sheet of a new material, or a sanguineous vessel wall. When a change occurs in the physical dimensions of the internal structure of such specimens, certain variations in the resulting ultrasonic echoes (coming from the major internal discontinuities) are also produced: in the echoes times-of-flight or in the density of echoes included into a fixed time period. Then, correlated alterations must also appear in the frequency spectrum of echo-traces obtained as response to a pulsed ultrasonic beam perpendicularly emitted to tissue external surface. This is due to concentrations or expansions in time of the reflected pulses, proportional to the magnitude of the changes to be sensed in the ultrasonic propagation direction [
In consequence, these modifications on the time waveforms can be detected as precise changes in the location of overtones related with the fundamental internal resonance in the analyzed medium, which are tied to the internal spatial parameters to be estimated. Thus, these spectral changes must be very finely analyzed to find their relation with internal alterations of some dimension, originated by particular tissue pathologies. It has direct clinic implications, associated for instance to inflammation, vessel wall widening, tissue density changes, or thermal dilatation by blood irrigation variations; but before making a robust application of the extended technique to advanced medical diagnosis (detecting light changes in membranes and walls), some pending research aspects have to be solved and quantitatively evaluated under laboratory conditions. Particular adaptations of our previous estimation techniques to laminar samples must be introduced, and aspects related to frequency resolution of the ultrasonic procedure intended for spectral metrology purposes must be improved.
Along the paper sections, a study is performed about results obtained for thickness estimation, by adaptation of different temporal and spectral techniques (classical and also of high-resolution) to echo-waveforms acquired from a real thin wall phantom, constructed
Scanning ultrasonic methods based on the combination of multiple piezoelectric transducer systems (as it is depicted in the block diagram of
The diverse implementations of these rather complex ultrasonic methods have made possible a very ample commercial implementation of conventional echography equipment in hospitals for general purpose diagnosis applications. They are based on displaying, at different colors or gray levels, distinct echo-amplitudes associated to density changes detected by the ultrasonic beam during its propagation through a human organ or a particular tissue. In addition to classical imaging technologies, some proposals were reported to provide more specific ultrasonic tools for certain tissue characterizations or facilitate complementary diagnosis of human diseases [
By using this last type of characterization tools, complementary and useful information about biological tissues can be easily extracted, which could make possible (in the future) more precise diagnosis methods of viral or degenerative diseases; for example by a non-invasive estimation of elastic modules or of thermal distribution into tissues from time and/or spatial changes in echoes.
These current research lines would be in conditions of defining solutions for an early detection of some types of tumors or degenerative lesions in the near future. In these cases, the parameters being analyzed before performing the display of the measurement results can be (instead of the classical echo amplitude) the ultrasonic speed, the times-of-flight between echoes, the complex amplitude or phase of the echo-spectra, changes of material stiffness or of distances between internal scatterers,
The general topology of a basic mono-channel ultrasonic system, using a bidirectional piezoelectric transduction for measuring internal characteristics into biological tissues, is depicted in the acoustical impedance of the radiated medium (which ranges around 1.5–1.6 × 106 Kg m−1 s−2, in soft tissues), using λ/4 coupling layers of impedances properly chosen for interfacing with tissues. the electrical impedance of emitting and receiving electronics, by means of adding electrical matching and tuning networks for interfacing with the high-voltage (HV) driving (supplied from special pulse generators) and with the broadband receiving electronic subsystem.
the acoustical impedance of the radiated medium (which ranges around 1.5–1.6 × 106 Kg m−1 s−2, in soft tissues), using λ/4 coupling layers of impedances properly chosen for interfacing with tissues.
the electrical impedance of emitting and receiving electronics, by means of adding electrical matching and tuning networks for interfacing with the high-voltage (HV) driving (supplied from special pulse generators) and with the broadband receiving electronic subsystem.
Some tissues introduce high acoustic attenuation for frequency windows located into the rather narrow working bands of the internal piezoelectric transducer vibrators. Besides, there is other important reason imposing the broadband condition on the detection transducers: the ultrasonic responses have to be of very short duration, to be capable of discriminating internal reflectors located in close positions.
Thus, the involved ultrasonic device must to be of broadband type, which is usually attained by introducing acoustical losses in the piezoelectric vibrators. As a direct consequence, the broadband piezoelectric transducers employed for biological measuring applications must have:
high efficiency, good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and a driving with high-voltage electrical pulses [ a multilayer internal structure, due to the original rather narrow frequency bands, in the piezoelectric ceramics, must be drastically increased by sticking: (i) one or two mechanical coupling layers in the ceramic frontal face [
high efficiency, good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and a driving with high-voltage electrical pulses [
a multilayer internal structure, due to the original rather narrow frequency bands, in the piezoelectric ceramics, must be drastically increased by sticking: (i) one or two mechanical coupling layers in the ceramic frontal face [
All these desired aspects, for the ultrasonic transducers responses, are function of the characteristics of the piezoelectric vibrator and its front and back mechanical layers contained in the transducer; but also strongly depend on the parameters in the electronic generator of the HV driving pulses (pulser), the electrical matching and tuning networks, and the input impedance in reception electronics. Some of these circuits can be of non-linear character, which complicates the analysis and design of the transducer systems, but by a proper choice of electronic parameters and a specific design of transducers for each application, an optimization could be achieved in amplitude and bandwidth of the measurement echo-signals [
There are complex dependences among all the electrical and mechanical parameters of transducers and electronic stages needed for non-invasive metrology [
A global model for achieving an accurate simulation of the responses expected in transient regime, for the emission/reception stages of pulsed piezoelectric transducer systems was proposed in [
This circuital model considers distinct contributions to transducers responses, appearing in the practice when they are connected to real electronic units, and related to:
Non-ideal impedance elements in the grounding of the circuital branch containing several series semiconductor elements Di, under high peaks of current: (ΔZon). Parasite inductive impedances from cabling (L4 and L5), and some critical segments of printed circuit tracks (L1-L3) in the HV pulser board (which becomes relevant under HF conditions).
Non-ideal impedance elements in the grounding of the circuital branch containing several series semiconductor elements Di, under high peaks of current: (ΔZon).
Parasite inductive impedances from cabling (L4 and L5), and some critical segments of printed circuit tracks (L1-L3) in the HV pulser board (which becomes relevant under HF conditions).
In piezoelectric and ultrasonic parts, some models are used: (a) Two transmission lines (MLe and MLr) representing mechanical layers for acoustic impedance matching with the propagation medium (Rf) in emission and reception. (b) Effects of very simplified diffraction, reflection and attenuation in the inspection medium (in the gain of a dependent voltage source representing external propagation). (c) Two PSpice piezoelectric modelling blocks in
The main improvement included in this modeling part is based on considering a quadratic approach for the frequency dependence of the mechanical losses into transducers resonators. This is an option, alternative to the classical linear-dependence implementations [
The PSPICE implementation of this quadratic approach allows the introduction of frequency-dependent parameters in the transmission-line with losses T1 appearing in the
For properly optimizing echo-responses related to a particular metrological design in this area, the modeling guides summarized in Section 3 must be used, but for the rather academic comparative analyses to be made in this work, a simpler, operative and repetitive way to obtain adequate echo patterns is to directly simulate the typical echo-waveforms, in an analytical way from a mathematical expression. Another useful solution, giving repetitive and reliable bio-echo-patterns, is by using the classic phantoms, e.g., of plastic material, in this case emulating arterial walls and thus producing real experimental echoes.
In the more typical ultrasonic inspection of vessel tissues, the echoes length used are quite short, as can be appreciated in
The usual laboratory ultrasonic practice for research in this biomedical field uses distinct types of biological phantoms with internal walls or reflectors approximating tissues under study in what regards their echo-responses. For computer simulation of these responses in propagation media, some authors explain the nature of the ultrasonic signals normally acquired from biological materials, using a model consisting of structures regularly spaced among them [
In a similar way, for the cases studied in this work (layers, walls and membranes), a very simplified modeling (easier to apply than those mentioned in Section 3.2) would be sufficient, only for the effects of our comparative analyses of the proposed thickness measurement technique. Here, the echo-signal waveforms could be considered as a superposition of several (regularly spaced) similar single echoes (with the same or opposite polarities); they would be originated from the interaction among an emitted ultrasonic pulse and its successive reflections by walls or layers in bio-membranes or blood vessels.
A simple and useful modeling, for direct emulation (without needing to use the complex model of Section 3.2) of generic multi-pulse echoes (for reference waveforms), could be obtained by approaching our problem to a set of ideal wall echoes separated by a regular distance; and then, the whole echo-trace would be constructed by a sum of successive and repetitive pulses received from the reflecting walls (each pulse having a different time-of flight, depending on the distance and reverberation number).
For this approach, the emitted unitary pulse can be mathematically modeled as in [
Finally, each elemental echo, produced by the interaction of the emitted pulse
Two examples of multi-pulse echo-waveforms, simulating ultrasonic signals acquired from different kind of biological tissues, are shown in
Other more realistic reference patterns to study distinct processing methods are waveforms acquired from our phantom (two walls of latex with a fluid inside) or from an artery, as shown in
Finally, in those cases where a more accurate consideration of the unperturbed exact waveform, related to the used transducers, was needed, then this requirement could be attained by considering the model previously described in Section 3.2 for the distinct stages of a transducer system.
By emitting short ultrasonic pulses into thin walls or layers, with an emitter/receiver system (based on a broadband multilayer transducer properly matched to an efficient pulsed electronic transceiver (like that briefly described in Section 3)), it is possible to estimate the thickness of many pieces with good accuracy. This objective is finally achieved by a special digital processing of the echoes obtained in the ultrasonic reception process, after successive reflections on both faces of the inspected specimen.
For this, parametric algorithms previously developed by the authors to perform harmonic spectral evaluations of biological multi-echo waveforms are here adapted and improved. The aim is to achieve the high frequency resolution required for solving the commented necessities of internal spatial measurements in the medical field. The first advance is an improved algorithm permitting us to apply a new auto-regressive technique in overtones to estimate physical properties of interest for the analysis of wall thickness in blood vessels or of the inflammation level in some tissues.
This type of difficult analyses have an increasing interest for a possible early diagnostic of some diseases and for an accurate estimation of the physical parameters required for the calculation of elastic properties in (rather thin) walls or layers. Some data about thickness estimation will be shown, which were obtained by digital processing of echo-traces acquired in our laboratories (from latex phantoms mimicking vessel properties and also by numerical simulation). It confirms the promising performance for our improved spectral technique in blood vessel characterization. This would propitiate a powerful diagnostic tool, e.g., for early detection of cardiac attacks or of aneurism risk, aspects nowadays receiving a growing attention from medical researchers. Results to be shown in this work suggest clear improvements in the resulting resolutions for this type of measures, in comparison with classical options. In particular, time cross-correlation and non-parametric frequency techniques (currently used to estimate the delays existing between pulsed echo-signals) are considered for the comparisons.
There are some research works reporting laboratory ultrasonic experiments for estimation of wall thickness in blood vessels (for instance: carotid and femoral arteries), with the aim of obtaining an early diagnostic of relevant vascular problems [
The measurements and evaluations required to validate (under laboratory conditions) the mentioned researches were made on phantoms constructed for instance with latex tubes; and in some scant cases, human arteries are also preliminarily characterized in this way [
Some ultrasonic procedures have been proposed and applied for evaluating layers and sheets thicknesses, with well-established measurements solution working in time domain; nevertheless, more accurate methods are still needed to respond to new challenges in this technological topic.
In the following paper sections, a new measurement procedure is proposed, capable of detecting the thickness of arterial walls or biological membranes, with an improved resolution. It is based on the use of a modified auto-regressive spectral analysis, for estimating spatial aspects from ultrasonic echoes. The procedure is based on improving and extending a technique proposed in [
Ultrasonic estimation procedures have been largely investigated as non-invasive tools for diagnosis of some diseases as was detailed in Sections 1 and 2. A research line with promising results is the ultrasonic estimation of thermal distribution in phantoms, and in this context (for other medical necessities) proposals of specific methods have been made by extracting data of interest from internal parts in tissues. They apply direct-time and spectral procedures, looking for the detection of possible morphological alterations from their effects on delays induced on echoes patterns. Such are the cases of: (a) applying the conventional time cross-correlation operator [
The spectral techniques to be applied in the current work are introduced looking for the solution of new detection problems, with echoes in some way not very different than in previous applications and with similar perturbations as the induced noise and speckles. This could difficult a good discernment among the searched information (of spatial type, in the current case) and undesirable contaminations masking the echoes arrival times (magnitudes to be measured). Thus, an evaluation of reliability for this processing tool would be required before a proper application in a medical diagnostic context.
In consequence, for our particular analyses about thickness estimations, distinct time and frequency domain procedures will be employed to compare their respective responses for improving the current precision levels of conventional ultrasonic methods [
For the time domain case, the cross-correlation operator was chosen as the best option to compare echo-signals for distinct thicknesses in latex phantoms emulating different phases of the cardiac pulse in arteries; this technique appears as the tool to measure delays with better results [
A second option for thickness estimation will be tested here, using frequency-domain analyses (of complex echo-signals) proposed for detecting changes on other physiological parameters, like texture and temperature in tissues. They use to be directly related with variations in echo-delays [
In this sub-section, some selected analysis tools implemented in time and frequency domains, for achieving accurate estimations of thickness variations, are proposed and briefly summarized. For obtaining in the
The delay evolution can be calculated dynamically from the shifts produced in the signals, related to a possible continuous change in the wall thickness. A measure of the delay between
The main limitation of the thickness estimations based on this operator (though they are intended for advanced delay detection) is the resolution employed to acquire the high-frequency ultrasonic echoes. This reduces the final resolution for the searched diagnosis parameter (in our case, the wall thickness in blood vessels, or tissue inflammations for early detection of infections).
An optional alternative to using cross-correlation is by estimating Shifts into the Power Spectrum (in
A quite simple spectral estimation method of non-parametric type, known as "
In the present work, this method will be used to easily measure frequency shifts in overtones related to time-delays between two pulsed signals contained in the same trace (echoes belonging to the two spatial interfaces); but this option shows some limitations in resolution derived from the implied FFT algorithm. For overcoming this resolution constraint, other spectral analyses, but already of parametric types will be here used. The main advantage of using parametric methods for PSD estimation is the achieving of a better frequency resolution without introducing distortion effects due to the windowing.
In order to perform "Parametric analyses", some auto-regressive (AR) models can be assumed:
In this first parametric method, the data sequence is modeled as the output of a discrete linear system with a transfer function defined at the z domain in the following way:
The output of this system is an autoregressive process of order
Results obtained using a variant of this AR parametric method, focused on increasing resolution in other distinct non-invasive procedure also based on ultrasonic estimation, have been presented in [
The minimum square error,
There are three interesting advantages of using the Burg method for estimating the AR model parameters: (i) a higher frequency resolution, (ii) a stable AR model, and (iii) a better computational efficiency.
Our solution to achieve high-resolution in the proposed thickness estimation problem, is completed by adapting to the processed waveform registers (that involves to extract rather short-time windows from the acquired echo-signals) a procedure similar to the employed in techniques of other processing areas. It consist in decomposing each total echo-trace in small fractional time-windows related to each wall or membrane to be analyzed, and then extending their lengths (before and after of the occurrence of each segmental window); null-value samples are added in number enough to attain a signal of
PSD estimations, calculated with the above described parametric and non-parametric methods for a two-echoes signal related to a broadband piezoelectric transducer centered around 9,5 MHz, are shown in
It can be appreciated that: (a) the Periodogram option presents the widest frequency peaks among the three PSD methods, producing a rather poor resolution in the peak frequency determination; (b) our method (using the Burg PSD estimates) provides the narrowest frequency peaks, so optimizing the spectral discrimination for overtones locations, and, in consequence, the potential spatial resolution.
With the aim of calculating in the laboratory the variation in thickness of a latex phantom, emulating the dynamic of the walls in arterial vessels, an experimental setup was constructed, which provides the A-Scan echoes (originated from the wall) needed to estimate wall spatial dimensions. For simulating a cardiac pulse in a controlled way, an elastic latex tube was intercalated in a dynamic circuit (see
In addition to the non-invasive thickness measure, elastic parameters in tube walls can be estimated, providing complementary information with a high diagnostic value to assess blood vessel states. For echoes detection during the wall displacements, a broadband ultrasonic probe (Olympus V312SU, 10 MHz in nominal frequency and 70% in bandwidth at 6 dB) was operated in the pulse-eco mode, to generate near-field ultrasonic beams perpendicular to the tube wall, as shown in
For different pressure values, many A-Scans were acquired at 80 MHz in sampling frequency.
The fluid used in our experiments was water, with impedance and velocity similar to blood. Low amplitude speckles from sub-wavelength scattering in blood vessels are not significant in comparison to the clear echo-signals coming from the wall interfaces. In the real vessels walls, micro-reflectors appear, but always it is possible to discriminate the two echoes related to the Intima-Media Thickness (IMT); in fact approximated IMT estimations are currently used in some vessel diagnosis with high-frequency ultrasonic imaging units, but yet with a limited resolution [
Measuring the delays between the two echo-pulses in each one of the so acquired A-Scans, by means of a conventional cross-correlation algorithm, the successive displacements, originated in this wall by the externally induced pressure changes, can be approximately calculated in the time domain:
The set of all 150 echoes acquired from the first wall in the latex tube (meanwhile the internal pressure changes) are shown in
While measurements were taken, the internal pressure in the latex tube was periodically varied, to artificially create successive wall displacements similar to those encountered in the real blood vessels.
The effects of the periodic vessel widening on the wall displacements are evident, but possible related contractions in wall thickness are still not visible in this initial graphical analysis of acquired A-Scans.
The time-resolution obtained with this estimation direct-method corresponds (in the spatial domain) to 35–45 microns, on the same order than some results previously reported [
The first new technique to be applied is defined also in the time domain, and is implemented by means of the classical delay detection method, based on time cross-correlation operations ( In the In the
In the
In the
From these data, the applied basic cross-correlation method is already capable of detecting that, at the same time that the tube is being inflated, their walls result compressed in a certain amount; but the value estimated by means of the current method (≈22 μm) still presents an important error of at less ≈ ±11.2 μm,
As a first conclusion, this clearly improved resolution (of 11.2 μm) respect to the direct-time method (45 μm), still does not provide sufficiently accurate results to fulfill our initial purpose of analyzing with enough accuracy the changes registered, during a cardiac cycle, on the thickness of the vessel walls under study. On fact, due to this limitation in resolution, some methods based on cross-correlation (for other applications) often must refine their direct results by applying some additional statistical or interpolation techniques [
As a second attempt for increasing in a major amount the mentioned spatial resolution, we will apply some methods based on spectral analyses of the echo-responses in the frequency domain. There is a resonance frequency related to the original state of wall thickness,
This reference value in the frequency will be disturbed by any wall thickness variations. The changes in this frequency due to wall thickness modifications are given by:
In the extended spectral analysis presented in this work, the change in the 10th harmonic peak value will be used for deriving the thickness estimations: Δ
The more simple options in the frequency domain are based on non-parametric spectral analysis methods, being the Periodogram option one of the most used. As a typical example, a result obtained for the A-Scan line n° 26, applying this spectral option, is depicted in
Resulting peaks in spectrum overtones calculated with our parametric procedure are clearly narrower than with calculations based on the "Periodogram". By analyzing the 10th overtone in
The ultrasonic estimation of distances inside biological materials, using our approach, is based on the resulting resolution and accuracy for the frequency location in echo overtones of the fundamental resonance. Thus, some alterations in results could appear for not so ideal cases as in
As future perspective, if a finer frequency step were used, perhaps spatial resolutions could be achieved improving the found value of 0.9 μm for our approach, even up to one order of magnitude.
The proposed autoregressive parametric spectral procedure and related ultrasonic system were applied in the laboratory to estimate shifts in PSD overtones of echo-waveforms acquired in a latex tube with a 10 MHz PZ-transducer. Guides were given for technological implementations capable of achieving high-resolution estimation of micro-changes in vessel walls, layers or biological membranes. This presents a growing interest as a complementary tool for future early prevention of cardiovascular accidents.
The application viability of an integrated transducer system, designed for this spectral procedure, was confirmed to detect with accuracy wall thickness changes in a vessels phantom. By improving a parametric algorithm developed by the authors, increasing its sampling frequency for thickness measures, a very good spatial resolution was attained. This was applied to evaluate changes in the phantom, clearly better than with non-parametric spectral techniques. It may be applied for non-invasive calculation of elastic properties in vessel walls, improving the precision currently obtainable with conventional cross-correlation techniques. Models and design rules of transducer systems for this purpose were summarized.
The overtone curves provided by our modified parametric spectral method are clearly narrower than those calculated with the "Periodogram option". For instance, by using the 10th overtone with a reasonable frequency definition of 19.5 kHz, a spatial resolution of (±0.9 μm) was achieved, clearly improving the spatial performance of the methods based on the periodogram or pure cross-correlation operators.
Results calculated from multi-pulse echo-signals received by a wideband transducer (in the 5–10 MHz range) from a laminar opaque phantom, have shown resolutions better than 1 μm. This was performed for a wall lightly modified in thickness (up to 15 μm) by using periodic inner pressure changes (from an initial value around 0.95 mm). By simulating echoes from a 30 MHz broadband transducer (for a wall thickness of 100 μm), with corrupting noises ranging from 40 dB to 3 dB, it was shown that for SNR higher that 3 dB, noise influences in the thickness estimations are not significant. Nevertheless, new efforts and rigorous overtones analyses with ultrasonic echoes acquired from well-controlled sanguineous tissues patterns are needed, to optimize the potential resolution of this thickness estimation proposal. Its possible clinical limitations must be also evaluated. In particular, its applicability in a clinic context and the performance into real tissues (with "
Work developed in the frame of the Project CONACYT-FOMIX (Estado de Veracruz) N° 128572, Mexico, and in part sponsored by the Spanish National Plan (Projects PN-DPI2008-05213 & DPI2011-22438). Our acknowledgment also to the R&D institutions in which laboratories these research works have been developed: IPN (México), CSIC (Spain) and URU (Uruguay).
Schematic diagram of the systems developed for ultrasonic echo-imaging using arrays of
Blocks of a monochannel measurement ultrasonic system using piezoelectric transduction.
Echo waveform in typical pulsed ultrasonic inspections, measured with a 10 MHz transducer, at the interface between water and a low acoustic attenuation material mimicking an arterial wall.
Simulated multi-pulse echoes based on a simple mathematical model of regularly spaced reflectors, emulating: (
Examples of echo-signals measured with broadband ultrasonic transducers of central frequency f0 = 10 MHz: (
PSD estimations by applying a non parametric technique (Periodogram) and our two parametric options based on the Yule Walker and Burg methods.
Thirty five time-waveforms belonging to echoes experimentally acquired from the nearest wall to transducer of an elastic latex tube, filled with water under dynamic internal pressures.
Display in color scale of all 150 echoes from the first tube wall, showing coarse wall changes.
Cross-correlation of echoes in the A-Scans number 26 and 38, for: (
Periodogram of echoes coming from the same tube wall considered in
PSD of the tube wall echo related to the A-Scans number 26, 32 and 38 using our method.
|SNR = 3 dB
|SNR = 6 dB
|SNR = 20 dB
|SNR = 40 dB


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Search for missing Fitchburg boy to resume Saturday
There are 36 comments on the Sentinel & Enterprise story from Jan 8, 2014, titled Search for missing Fitchburg boy to resume Saturday. In it, Sentinel & Enterprise reports that:
A search planned for Saturday to find more information on the disappearance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver has taken a step further this week, with a private investigator and handlers of search-and-rescue dogs committed to helping.
Join the discussion below, or Read more at Sentinel & Enterprise.
#21 Jan 9, 2014
Of course you have chest pains Lynch. You don't exercise or eat well. You sit on a recliner all day stuffing your face with junk food and write stupid letters about how social services doesn't provide enough free stuff for you.
Nobody feels sorry for you because your head looks like a white head on the top of a fat greasy zit just waiting to pop.
In your demented mind you are winning because us tax payers allow you to stuff your face and do nothing and then when you have a tummy ache or angina you call an ambulance and go to the ER all on our dime.
You say thanks to the EMT for giving you a nitro pill (which anyone with a serious heart problem has already) you lay your obese body in the ER and get a the standard procedures for someone having a heart attack (meanwhile your EKG shows you are full of shit and there is nothing wrong). Then they send you home with Gomez and you say YEEEEHAH more free special treatment paid for by others we rock!
On the way home you tell Gomez to pull over at the store 24 hoping to create a fake altercation with police buy a bunch of salty junk food and do it all over again.
#22 Jan 9, 2014
Lynch I can't possibly respond to your question because I've never had a family member (let alone a 5 year old boy) go missing for months without noticing it.
Since: Feb 10
Location hidden
#23 Jan 9, 2014
I couldn't agree with you more Nope, but I think you missed the sarcasm. This city has an unleashed mutt chasing cop cars and using this tragic event to bark uncontrollably at them and I was just giving him a treat. Sorry!
#24 Jan 9, 2014
No problem Stamos. Rational people see this for what it is.I read these stupid stories about family members who walk onto the search wearing flip flops and trade them to a kid for some boots so they can walk in a snow bank, slip, fall and call an ambulance........ High maybe???
#25 Jan 9, 2014
I watch NECN news and although they are reporting about the searches in Fitchburg they fail to mention the hard work of the past and future candidate for Mayor. He has been leading the charge and screaming a rally charge against the inept local, state and federal investigators!
Where is the justice??? This is a very important person, Mr. Lynch never lies!
#26 Jan 9, 2014
WONG should be fired !what an incompetent
#27 Jan 9, 2014
What is the burns involvement? Her sponsors, screw you wong.
Since: Feb 10
Location hidden
#28 Jan 10, 2014
Lynch, I'm thinking you might want to bring along your binoculars?
#29 Jan 10, 2014
Hope you are feeling better today. And I agree since you are using your real name I would say no one should be using your name to post with.
As for the rest of us don't believe the poster is the same person just by the name. Everyone is using everyone's name now.
Lynch you do know there was a recent story on the morning talk show stating that numerous people are now advised by their physicians to stay off SOCIAL MEDIA web sites such as Topix and Facebook because the content makes them upset and affects their health.
They made a good point that everyone has CONTROL of what to allow into their life and what not to allow.
There is now a new epidemic called "Social Media Addicts" and these people have a feeling that they always have to stay in touch even with strangers thru the websites. This causes anxiety when they do so.
These people are now known to be lonely people, needing attention and they feel they need the security of socializing even though they don't have the proper social skills to do it in public so the internet is the best substitute.
They also found that social media is a necessity for these people even though it is isn't for a normal person. They become addicted to social media and it is like a drug to them.
If you cannot let go of Topix because it affects your health then you need to seek counseling because of Social Media Addiction. These people become "panic stricken" and "physically ill" if they cannot post on an every day or routine basis.
Something just clicks in their mind that they have to check in to see what people are saying even though they know they will not like what they see.
REMEMBER, you have CONTROL of what to allow into your life and what not to allow.
#30 Jan 10, 2014
Now Lynch please dont get upset and frustrated if people on Topix DISAGREE with you on the issues here.
This doesnt make them bad people, they are just expressing their opinion the same as you do.
This is what makes people DIFFERENT ! They dont have to be the same as you and agree with you on everything.
Now I know you will be on Topix reading this because you are addicted to social media which I would advised you not to be on anymore because it affects your health.
#31 Jan 10, 2014
On a side note has anyone heard how things went in court today for Mr. Oliver? I hope he was awarded custody of his kids because the poor man has been going through some difficult times. Nothing can cheer you up more after a long day of drug dealing than coming home to a house of strange kids that you abandoned.
United States
#32 Jan 10, 2014
Hey Lynch, I think Mike Hartwell just gave you a nice backhander on the Jeremiah Oliver page! LMAO! LMAO! No one says stupider stuff that you do Lynchie!
#33 Jan 10, 2014
Laugh it up funny boy but we will be there in the morning. It's like an Easter egg hunt and if we find him we will keep him and get free money from the state. Cha ching!
#34 Jan 10, 2014
Mr. Hartwell didn't say anything about me. That site is not run by me nor by anyone that I know. Sorry, you are wrong again.
#35 Jan 10, 2014
Wong should re dung now ,it is not fit and fun in fitchburg ,vote for me or jtn
#36 Jan 16, 2014
Kevin, have you been telling the searchers that you are working for the FBI?
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text:
Dumpster Rentals in Wichita, KS
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text:
O-Gauge Lot Of 3 Plasticville Buildings Bermuda Ranch Police Dept. & Station
- Sold for: Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
- Item Category: Toys, Dolls, Games & Puzzles
- Source: eBay
- Sold Date: Mar 08, 2013
- Channel: Auction House Sell similar item on eBay
the ranch has a hole in the rear wall & 1 front windoe by garage is deformed the police dept.is missing the roof vent & 1 light the station is in excellent condtion these are glued together i do combine shipping tracking # is included


text:
From kimonos to manga, this sketchbook offers a refreshing look at Japan in charming watercolours depicting temples in Kyoto and the striking modernist architecture of Tokyo, women in elaborate traditional kimonos and girls in eccentric pop culture fashions.
This is Japan today, rendered by a watercolorist's eye in vibrant yet soothing poetry of colour.
My Japanese Sketchbook is a highly personal account of a country that exerts great fascination in the West. Fontaine's fresh text and contemporary sketches capture the essence of this land of contrasts and contradictions perfectly.
About the Artist
Cloe Fontaine is a talented young architect. In her travels that have taken her across the globe, she has compiled sketchbooks of her impressions. She has published seven books in her native France, and recently worked with UNESCO. She is a regular contributor to Figaro Maison. An exhibition of her illustrations was held in Paris' Grand Arch.
Series: Sketchbooks Ser.
Audience: General
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 136
Published: 26th May 2004
Publisher: Editions Flammarion
Country of Publication: FR
Dimensions (cm): 21.7 x 27.3 x 2.0
Weight (kg): 0.798
Edition Number: 1


text:
It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our uncomplicated sign up form and login to the website.
This step is discretionary but will dramatically raise your chances of getting interest from other Christian members on the site. Write about yourself, your pasttimes and upload some good photos of yourself.
Use our website's cutting-edge search to discover members who meet your criteria. Or just leaf through listings of Christian singles and discover folks that take your fancy.
Found someone who ticks all the boxes? Send a note to them or just a wink and see what they say. With a little luck you'll be on your way to an amazing adventure.
It'll only take a few minutes


text:
Raliegh burner ftw I've wanted one for a while but thought I couldn't spend the money if I wasn't going to ride it , so bought a mountain bike instead
I have one already - use it for stunts and travel
I have one already- use it for stunts
if i had a BMX i would use it for stunts and travel
if i had a BMX i would use it for travel
i would ride it for a joke
probably wouldn't ride it
would only ride it in life/death situations
I would not ride one under any circumstances
Raliegh burner ftw I've wanted one for a while but thought I couldn't spend the money if I wasn't going to ride it , so bought a mountain bike instead
Yeah I'd probably hog the pavement with it and scare old people by cycling past them really fast.
Fuck in hell! Broken femur, that is savage. Fair play to mid 90s.
'Go read a fucking book, you piece of shit.'
If you wanna see some crazy BMX riding check this out.
My bus goes by a skate park on the way into work, and every person I see going along the road (most of them don't even really peddle, just peddle enough to 'drift' down the road casually leaning on it, like some kind of 'cool' guy) I think "what a twat". I have a Scott Aspect Hardtail mountain bike, that's good enough for me. I want to peddle it not to flips on it
The mind of the believer stagnates. It fails to grow outward into an unlimited, infinite universe.
They've actually brought out bikes for adults recently.
Pretty cool, right?! I don't think they'll catch on, personally.
When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.
That has pink writing on it, therefore its a girls bike, thats your best bike that is.
Sig awaiting witty quote from someone.
this is how I rolled when a junior...
Stunts and Travel did amuse me, great thread.
For sure I would use one if I had it, that one Shaolinsubz posted is mental. You got to be the big pimping sweet dealing girl hater to roll about in that bad boy.


text:
Kylie Jenner Injured on a Trampoline
A day of fun with her sisters turned into a trip to the ER for Kylie Jenner on Tuesday (February 4).
The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" cutie posted a photo on Instagram, showing her holding her nose, with the caption "in the hospital thanks to @khloekardashian. (Look at her page for the reason why). my mom said 'never thought I would take u to the doctor for a trampoline accident at this age' this means war Khloe. Ps. It was painful taking this photo."
In response to the post, Khloe took to Instagram to post several shots of the duo and their sister Kim all jumping on the trampoline. One picture showed Kylie landing in a awkward way.
Captioning that particular photo, Khloe wrote, "Kylie this is proof you did it to yourself! Sorry not sorry! Just kidding I am sorry my little bug a boo!! Let the war continue!!!!"
Stay Iinked to GossipCenter for all the latest on Kylie's condition.
Photo Credit: Instagram


text:
PPRNet - Primary (Care) Practices Research Network
"PPRNet has been a game changer for us on our quality journey. We had been getting the quality reports quarterly and loved them but found we needed more. We needed the ability to get that data monthly to help us facilitate a more proactive approach in care management. After several failed attempts to get the data other ways, I was having a conversation during an onsite visit with PPRNet and was told, maybe there is something we can do to help. Within probably a week or two, Steve had contacted me letting me know how they could help. For a very reasonable fee they are able to provide us monthly data, that has helped us focus on areas we identified as opportunities for improvement, and allowed us to be more proactive. We greatly appreciate all the time and effort PPRNet has spent in helping practices like us improve the quality of care we can provide to our patients. We seriously don't know what we would do without them. So PPRNet, hats off to you! We appreciate all you do for us. "
Stephanie Hollman, Outpatient Clinical Officer, Crete Area Medical Center
"Salina Family Healthcare Center has been a PPRNet member for just under four years now. As a federally-qualified community health center, we have reporting requirements to our funding agencies. These clinical outcome reports are doable in Practice Partner, but time consuming. The PPRNet reports have saved our clinic about a week's worth of staff time in reporting these clinical outcomes over the last 3 quarters that we have reported to the federal government. I look forward to using PPRNet reports to an even greater degree in the future for quality improvement in our clinic and see PPRNet as an integral part of the patient-centered medical home model."
Robert Kraft, MD, Associate Director, Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program
"I'd recommend the custom reports to anyone and everyone! If half the stuff I have to do was as easy to set up my work day would be so much less stressful. I think the custom monthly reports have elevated the PPRNet data to a truly actionable item list. My practice works directly off the PPRNet report. It is our worklist. Before the custom monthly reports, I used the PPRNet data as a more general roadmap to quality improvement activities because there was a bit of a delay in data collection and reporting. Now, completely different and the data is more robust than I could ever create with PP reports (Crystal or Patient Inquiry) and I have a LOT of experience with Crystal reporting."
Mike Mignoli, MD, Mike Mignoli Internal Medicine
"PPRNet has been essential to our practice navigating through the alphabet soup that has come our way. Their reports have be instrumental in us completing PCMH, CPCI, PQRI, MCMP. MU and several others. The customized monthly reports have really brought our practice together and helped our sense of teamwork and enhanced our sense of accomplishment as we improve the health of our patients."
Robert Cowherd, MD, PhD, Cowherd Family Medical Center
"The processes that we have instituted over the years, mainly utilizing PPRNET education, PLR reports, Practice Reports (the graphs), helps us focus on quality indicators that we need to improve on. Also the research projects we have been involved in have helped either directly or cross fertilize the team's knowledge and ability to improve our quality data in many other areas. So, it is so much more than the "reports" - the PPRNet model in general works for us when it comes to improving our incentives!"
Tim Tobolic, MD, Byron Family Medicine
"Being involved in PPRNet has reenergized our practice. Having real data to look at that tells us where we are doing well and what we need to work on is extremely valuable, plus the PPRNet improvement model really works."
Sue Andrews, MD, Family Practice Partners
"We are now in our 7th year as members of PPRNet and have found it to be very valuable for both resident education and quality improvement. We have shared our data in the extensive measures collected in diabetes with the Cedar Valley Area Diabetes Task Force that has met for 14 years to foster education and quality improvement. This over all data has also allowed us to successfully participate in the Collaboration on Quality(COQ) program that Wellmark(BCBS) has had the past 3 years in Iowa and South Dakota, which is a "pay for performance" project. It has also given us the data we need to structure educational programs based on documented need, both in CME planning and for resident educational conference. The individual patient level data is very helpful both in tracking needed patient appointments and tests and individual provider feedback through the "patient registry" function. Each quarter our Quality Improvement Committee reviews the PPRNet data and structures 3 or 4 new goals based on perceived and documented areas for attention. Thanks for the opportunity to work with you at MUSC that operate PPRNet ."
John E. Sutherland, M.D,Executive/Program Director Emeritus (Retired), NE Iowa Medical Education Foundation/FM Residency


text:
This is so obscure i hesitate to blog about it, except that it took me so long to figure out that i'd love to save somebody else the trouble. You won't care unless:
- You're designing an XML Schema definition (.xsd) to validate an XML file
- You're defining an element to contain regular text, or multiple elements, in any order, from zero to many times
Here's an example: suppose you have a plain text description of events that includes people, places, and Bible references.
Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law (Matt 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41)
You want to link person references with a Link element, Bible references with a Reference element, and otherwise leave the plain text as is. This results in something like this (using square brackets since otherwise WordPress gets confused):
[Link]Jesus[/Link] heals [Link]Simon[/Link]'s mother-in-law ([Reference]Matt 8:14-17[/Reference]; [Reference]Mark 1:29-34[/Reference]; [Reference]Luke 4:38-41[/Reference])
Now imagine several of these in the same element, so potentially you can have any arbitrary sequence of Links, References, and plain text, in any order, any number of times. Describing this with a BNF grammar is trivial:
LinkRef ::= Link | Reference
TextItem ::=Â ( text | LinkRef )+
A cursory reading of the XML Schema description (which i'd never actually done before, instead depending on XMLSpy which generally lets me avoid thinking that hard) might make you think grouping models like
choice, and
all in conjunction with attributes like
minOccurs and
maxOccurs would do what you need. But there's a surprisingly complex set of interactions between these, that i still don't really understand, and so what seemed so simple proved surprisingly hard. Here are a few examples of what i tried, where XMLSpy's validation model for XSD files (which i'm assuming is correct) wouldn't allow it:
- while
allis for an unordered group of elements, it's restricted to
maxOccurs=1. So it doesn't handle unbounded occurrence (though it does allow
minOccurs=0, e.g. optionality). Furthermore, it can't be nested inside other model groups like
choicegroupings can be neither optional nor unbounded.
- trying to specify multiple occurrences of both Link and Reference, each both optional and unbounded, is flagged as an ambiguous model.
The solution i finally discovered (after embarrassingly many other permutations, more by trial and error than anything else):
- define a LinkRef
groupthat allows a
sequenceof either Link or Reference, both optional and unbounded (zero to many occurrences)
- the TextItem (enclosing parent) element allows an optional and unbounded
sequenceof LinkRef
For the more visually oriented, here's how it looks in XMLSpy:


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I had to wake up at 7 am to teach my class today -- a disgusting time for me -- but I did it, got to class on time, and gave a wonderful lecture. But then I had to face an almost 2 hour ride back to NYC, at a time when I was ready for a nap. I was driving along, a little drowsy,wondering if I'd have to pull over and sleep, when I came upon a big, bright yellow sign on the verge that read "BUMP."
Good God, I thought, the NY highway people know just what it is that I need to get through this drive... and how kind of them to recommend it right at this moment! Who says government never helps us out?


text:
Sienna Miller and Jude Law have ended their engagement, months after he apologized for an affair with his children's nanny
It's all over, Yes this is it. Break up. The on-off couple, Sienna Miller and fiance Jude Law, finally calls it over. They ended their engagement after both sides cheating one another.
A London-based representative for Miller refused to comment on the story. Simon Halls, Law's publicist, also refused to give comment. Well, the wounds of love can only be healed by the one who made them right?!.


text:
Just under a year ago I reviewed the Lumix DMC-TZ7, then the latest model in Panasonic's successful line of long-zoom compact travel cameras. As you can probably tell from the 65 comments, it has been a popular review, as was the Lumix DMC-FZ38). However, we could have a new contender for the most popular camera review, because today I'm taking a look at the TZ7's successor, the much-anticipated Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10.
The long-zoom compact market is, as I have remarked before, extremely competitive, and there are several very impressive new cameras launching within a few weeks of each other, such as the excellent Ricoh CX3 or the Canon SX210 IS. The TZ7 has been the camera to beat in this field for the past year, so Panasonic has gone all out to make sure that the TZ10 is loaded up with enough features to keep it at the top of its market sector for the rest of this year.
The TZ10 has a 14.5-megapixel multi-aspect CCD sensor with a maximum image size of 12 megapixels, a high quality 12x optical zoom f/3.3-f/4.9 Leica lens equivalent to 25-300mm, an extra-sharp 3in 460k monitor with a wide angle of view, 720p HD video recording with stereo audio, optional manual exposure and a built-in GPS receiver for automatic location recording, with a database of over half a million named locations and landmarks worldwide. An optional kitchen sink accessory is rumoured to be launching at the beginning of April.
Externally at least the Lumix TZ10 is virtually identical to the TZ7. This is no bad thing because Panasonic got the ergonomics pretty much right with the previous model, and the few changes for the TZ10's design are only slight improvements. The strong all-metal body is exactly the same size and nearly the same shape, although the small handgrip is a different and slightly more comfortable shape and the controls on the top panel have been rearranged. The mode dial, which I criticised for being too loose, has been stiffened up and now turns with a firm click. The only outward signs of the changes within are the raised hump on the top panel that presumably houses the GPS satellite antenna, and a few extra notches on the mode dial. The rear panel also now has an extra button that enables adjustment of exposure parameters in the manual exposure modes.
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ10 12.1 MP Digital Camera$69.99 View Item
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7/DMC-TZ10 12.1 MP Digital Camera - Silver$55.00 View Item
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7/DMC-TZ10 12.1 MP Digital Camera - Black - With Extras!$177.45 View Item
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7/DMC-TZ10 12.1 MP Digital Camera - Black$199.99 View Item
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7 / DMC-TZ10 12.1 MP Digital Camera - Black 7POI$109.99 View Item
Cliff, not sure what you mean by "new" low ISO of 80 when the TZ7 also has ISO 80 ?, anyway, another interesting review.
A thorough review, well done. But I'm confused by your 'major concern' about battery life: the words major concern seem pretty strong for me, and 80 shots, is this not a massive flaw? Yet this concern, despite its gravity, seems brushed under the carpet in your review. It's almost as if you're secretly hoping that you received a bad battery, or that it's just not true, as I gather this site has normally been very pro-Panasonic. But 80 shots? Surely this is devastatingly poor performance. Could you please shed more light on this, I'm depply puzzled by the lack of gravity you assign to this alleged show stopper!
"The TZ10's image quality is, I must admit, slightly disappointing."
"I do have one very major concern about the TZ10, and that is battery duration."
The battery life of the TZ6 is also pretty abysmal and there was me hoping for a firmware update to fix this issue. I was also suspicious of the reason why it was never reviewed, with its higher pixel density and smaller sensor size in comparison to every other TZ model released thus far. The TZ10 may also exhibit poor design/manufacturing process? I hope this isn't true.
Still having a great time using my TZ5. Lasts about 300 shots.
The battery news is bad for those who want full-time GPS. I think, though, that I'd use it infrequently and have always carried a spare battery on those adventures.
OTOH - a full day of playing tourist would probably run through several batteries if I were using the TZ rather than my DSLR. I'm thinking of a boat trip, Westminster to Hampton Court, that provided wonderful shots of buildings, bridges, etc. that I cannot identify.
I'd be using batteries faster than I could recharge them. And turning the GPS on intermittently is a pain owing to the time it takes to re-acquire the birds. Maybe I'll skip the 10 in favor of the 8 and live with the smaller screen and motion JPEG.
Never mind. I like the LCD a lot. I'd probably get the 10 for the improved stabilization and manual controls and leave the GPS off mostly. That suggests waiting for 6-12 months for the price to drop. OK with me. My ZS-3/TZ-7 works fine, thank you.
How on earth have Panny managed to screw up the image quality after getting it so right with the TZ7 (which I own)?
Battery on my TZ7 seems fine and barely drains when the camera is switched off for months.
@johnbaker - Do you have any numbers from other cameras with build in GPS to compare with? Would be quite useful before making such a drastic conclusion.
I agree that 80 shots pretty much makes GPS a bit of a gimmick in this case though. It will at least still do around 300 shots with GPS turned off, but then you could just as well buy a camera without the integrated GPS.
... you ask the question is there anything this camera does not have...? Yes... a viewfinder...
Quite so, Terry and for me a dealbreaker. I'll stick with my FZ18 for now.
..and to repeat my comments on the CX3 review, please get busy Cliff on the other new travel compacts.
Bertie, the FZ18 is excellent, I had one, but you cannot carry it everywhere in a pocket or in a trouser belt case. I have a TZ7 which I am very pleased with, would not change it for a TZ10.
Any indication as to what the 'optional' kitchen sink accessory launching at the beginning of April will be?
Dodger - Cliff, I like others were a bit disappointed with the image quality results for the TZ10 in your excellent test. I was planning to upgrade my Fuji S5700 perhaps for the TZ10.Not so sure now!!In your opinion, why is it that the TZ10 appears not to be a significant improvement over the TZ7? Was this a pre - production camera used in the test? Is it because we have reached the best quality available from this compact size sensor. Or are Panasonic simply over complcating things with all the new features.?
Ray Hopper - I'm hoping to get the new Canon SX210 and the Samsung WB1000 in very soon. Are there any others you'd like to see?
Kevin Dyas - The clue is in the date. What else happens at the beginning of April?
Dodger - No, this was a normal production camera.
i am looking to buy a compact with high zoom capicity digital camera with possibility to buy a dedicated uderwater housing (for example i do not think the ricoh has one). is there anything better than the Panasonic tz10?
hoping u get the new samsung WB2000.。。
Cliff, thanks for the review -- any chance you'll be looking at the new Sony DSC-HX5V? It has an equally impressive feature list (if not more).
It just boggles the mind why camera makers are still increasing Pixel Density... I have short-listed a few models with "lower" Pixel Density, that I'd like to see tested: Casio EX-FH100, Sony HX5, Fuji F80, Samsung EX1/TL500... Thanks.
Chris - my list of travel compacts is exactly the same as Gus's, plus the Samsung TL350
Could you please tell me the time it takes from a totally off camera to a geotagged picture? I'm curious to know approximately how much time it takes to acquire GPS signal. Am I looking at under 10 seconds or over a minute? Thanks for the review!
@Eric Landry: So long as it's turned on (via a dedicated switch), the GPS is on permanently, even when the camera is otherwise turned off. As such you should get a lock straight away and it's just a case of waiting for the camera to boot up and take the picture. The GPS does drain the battery, though, so you might well want to turn it off. In which case, I don't know how long it might take.
is it confirmed that the samsung WB2000 will have an underwater housing?
Cliff, I own a TZ7 and I can use Scenes & optical zoom during vedeo recording. I'm afraid you were wrong about that in the review.
I don't particularly want a GPS in my camera, nor do I care about 2 extra megapixels... Would I be better off buying a TZ7 instead, since it is £100 cheaper..? Or are there other improvements that makes the TZ10 worth it..?
More information -
Trusted Reviews is part of the Time Inc. (UK) Ltd Technology Network
Get TrustedReviews' award-winning reviews and advice delivered to your inbox for free!


text:
Meantime it seemed good to go to the woods for nuts, and on the mossy grass under a sweet chestnut tree the five were sitting.
The American sweet chestnut appears likely soon to be wiped out by blight.
For instance, there is some antagonism between the American sweet chestnut and Asiatic chestnuts.
Our native chestnut and its little brother, the chinquapin, are the American cousins of the sweet chestnut of southern Europe.
It includes the beeches and oaks, and the sweet chestnut (Castanea).
The Japanese, ordinarily, does not make a good union with the American sweet chestnut.
The grown-up Lamb moved gracefully across the moss and settled himself against the trunk of the sweet chestnut.
But the cool rain dripping from the hazel and sweet chestnut leaves fell pleasantly on his uncovered head and flushed face.
This is very noticeable in some firs, and in the bark of the sweet chestnut (Castanea), of Thuja occidentalis, and other trees.
In one species (P.327 macrostachya), the nut is eatable, and very much resembles that of a sweet chestnut when boiled in milk.


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Barron's, the venerable U.S. investing weekly, went negative on Sears Holdings Corp. in August, 2009, when the shares were around $65 (U.S.) apiece. Sales have declined in every quarter since, and the company has seesawed from profit to loss.
The company's Sears and Kmart nameplates "are considered also-rans, with too many tired stores in disadvantaged locations, subject to a slow bleed in sales," Barron's says.
Why, then, does the newspaper say, There's much more to Sears than meets the eye, and suggest the stock — now trading around $50 — "could be worth close to $100?"
In short, Barron's is casting its lot with those who see controlling shareholder Eddie Lampert as conducting an orderly and profitable slow-motion liquidation of the company. If he's successful, Barron's opines, the shares could reach the century mark.
I'm aware of the theory. In February, 2011, when Sears was trading above $90, I wrote a column for The Globe and Mail that ascribed a recent run-up in share price to a short squeeze, where those who borrow shares to bet the company will fall buy them instead to cover their positions. "This rising price action often has very little to do with the fundamental quality of a company," I noted, adding "investors are well-advised to go shopping somewhere else for a retail stock."
An old college friend who read it messaged me to suggest that I didn't understand Mr. Lampert's particular genius, and shareholders would be rewarded as he extracted the value of Sears Holdings' vast real estate positions.
My reaction, as it usually is when I'm told a struggling retail or restaurant chain is instead a real-estate play, is: Okay, but when? And how much value will be eroded through the current business as we wait?
In Sears Holdings' case, anyone who bought the stock at close to $100 is underwater by half as they wait for the plan to be executed. (Not to mention those who bought in 2007 at around $190.)
Barron's however, is making an intriguing case that the wind-down is ready to proceed, based on a corporate structure that places some of the company's more valuable brand names in a special partnership that is not a guarantor of the company's debt.
Meanwhile, bulls make the Zeller's argument — Sears Holdings' properties are carried at decades-old amounts on the balance sheet, and many of the stores have below-market leases that could be bought out by the landlords or by another user.
Of course, Barron's also notes Sears Holdings' shares aren't cheap. As the article was prepared, the company's enterprise value — market capitalization plus debt — was 11 times its EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; recent gains, including a 6 per cent jump Monday, now place the multiple at 13.1 on a forward basis, according to Standard & Poor's CapitalIQ.
That's just a hair behind Whole Foods Market Inc. and easily more expensive than Home Depot Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. (under 10) Target Corp., Gap Inc. and Nordstrom are all between a 7 and 8 EV/EBITDA multiple.
That's a high price to pay to buy into a secret liquidation plan.Report Typo/Error
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Near Earth Asteroid 2011 MD narrowly misses EarthDramatic video by Andre Paquette shows the brightness of Asteroid 2011 MD oscillating as it races among the stars. The video contains 1058 frames of 2s each, taken with a 14" SCT @ F/1.9 and a QSI 583 video camera. You can see the asteroid's brightness undulating up and down, suggesting rotation. The asteroid flew past Earth on Monday, June 27th. At closest approach the space rock the size of a house was only 12,000 kilometers above Earth's surface.
Copyright 2010 R3LOAD


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Don't Expect A Second-Term Obama To Take On Israel
New on REDRESS INFORMATION & ANALYSIS website:
ARTICLE 1 - "Four More Years Of The Same: Don't Expect A Second-Term Obama To Take On Israel."
SYNOPSIS - Jonathan Cook says Obama's policy towards Israel and the Palestinians will be the same as in his first term, with policy determined by Zionist pressure and concern for future Democratic Party prospects.
LOCATION (URL) - http://tinyurl.com/bhx69yy --
ARTICLE 2 - "'It's time for Palestinians in Israel to stand firm against the Bantustan plan of Oslo': the one-state solution and rebuilding the Palestinian national movement: an interview with Awad Abdel Fattah."
SYNOPSIS - Jonathan Cook interviews Awad Abdel Fattah, head of the National Democratic Assembly in Israel, offering a Palestinian-Israeli perspective on the one-state solution and rebuilding the Palestinian national movement.
LOCATION (URL) - http://tinyurl.com/acutbsl --
Redress Information & Analysis Website - http://www.redress.cc Newsblog - http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com YouTube feed - http://www.youtube.com/redressvideo blip.tv channel - http://redress.blip.tv Twitter channel - http://twitter.com/redress
Redress Information & Analysis is dedicated to exposing injustice, disinformation and bigotry and to providing thought-provoking interpretations of current affairs.


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Will Removeable of Staples After a Facelift Improve the Tightness in my Face
Will Post- Facelift Staple Removal Improve Skin Tightening?
Doctor Answers 18
Staple removal after a facelift will not make it tighter.
Staple removal after a facelift will not make it tighter. It has no bearing on the end result of your surgery.
Skin Staples and Face lift Tightness
Learn more: http://drnichter.com/advances-minimal-scar-facelift-surgery-lite-lift/
Facelift - Will Post- Facelift Staple Removal Improve Skin Tightening?
I think you're asking if the feeling of tightness you have after a facelift will be improved (relieved) once the staples are out? If so, then the answer is - not really. It feels tight because (1) it IS tight, (2) swelling under the skin contributes to the tightness, and (3) some of the small nerves that go to the skin were cut as a part of the facelift and, as a result, you have some loss of feeling in the area. For reasons that are unclear, that often translates into a feeling of tightness. Once the staples are removed there will be only a slight release of tension. The staples simply align the skin and are only in for a few days (around 10, usually). The feeling of tightness will abate over time and you will eventually feel normal...but that's related less to the staples than to many other factors.
I hope that this helps, and good luck,
Dr. E
Learn more: http://www.bodysculpture.com
You might also like...
Staple removal after Facelift will not improve skin tightening
The staples were used to close the skin and if used properly were not used in a way to tighten the skin during closure. The tightening was most likely done with sutures placed under the skin in the SMAS layer.
Hopefully there will be no change is skin tension after staple removal. If anything, if the staples were placed under tension, the skin could become looser.
Discuss your concerns with your surgeon
Learn more: http://drseckel.com/surgical-procedures/face-lift/
Removing staples won't tighten skin after Face Lift
No, removing the staples won't have any effect on the degree of tightening after a Face Lift. It's just a quick way to close the incision and by itself offers no advantage or skin tightening proiperties. Staples were used primarily for closure, within the scalp, but have been replaced with suture closure, in many instances, for a more aesthetic scar.
Learn more: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whats-Your-Number-The-Palmer-Code/53723954087
Staples are you're friends
no, don't worry. they don't hurt coming out. and remember if its not tight now, when the swelling goes down you may feel too loose. hang in there.
No, unfortunately removing staples will not improve tightness
No, unfortunately removing staples will not improve tightness. The tightness will continue to improve as you heal and the swelling goes down. Good luck1
Learn more: http://www.facialplastics.info
Staple Removal and Skin Tightness after Facelift
By "improve skin tightening" I assume you mean reduced skin tightness. Staple removal will have no effect. The skin tightness will decrease as swelling resolves. Some of that tightness is secondary to the temporary loss of skin sensation.
Removing staples will not tighten face
Removing your surgical staples won't produce further tightening of you face. This early from surgery you still have some healing to do in addition to swelling that will subside.
Learn more: http://www.drlamperti.com/facial-plastic-surgery/facelift-midface-lift
Removal of skin clips after facelift should not change "tightness" of face
Removal of skin clips after facelift should not change "tightness" of face. Time, reduction in swelling and relaxation of tissues will result in some relaxation of the face and neck tissues that typically eliminates the overly tight sensation that some people have after undergoing facelift.
Stephen Weber MD, FACS
Learn more: http://weberfacialplasticsurgery.com/facelift-necklift/
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


text: Could possibly make it a regular thing. Summer rides are scarce. Do a Recon this Summer, it's mostly easy stuff but so what! I've got a mate just west of Parndana with 140 acres, might see what he has to say. KI Kaper:slurp..................... Also Pt Lincoln via the Ferry is on my list this Jan/Mar sometime too.


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After just four years, the NPAP is having a positive impact around the nation. For the first time, individuals and organizations will be recognized for their exceptional efforts in implementing the NPAP and setting a standard for achievement. The new Champions Awards shine a national spotlight on those who have made a significant commitment to adopting plan strategies and have shown progress toward improving physical activity for their target audience.
Organizations being recognized with the new Champions Award are:
Space to Grow- Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands (Chicago, IL)
Space to Grow is an innovative program forged by a group of partners to transform Chicago's underused and outdated schoolyards into vibrant outdoor spaces that benefit students, communities and the environment. Public agency partners such as Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, City of Chicago Department of Water Management and Chicago Public Schools provide capital funding for schoolyard improvements. In its pilot year, Space to Grow renovated four schoolyards to create opportunities for entire communities to learn, grow and play outdoors, and to support the Chicago Public Schools' efforts to promote health and wellness and reinstate recess and daily physical education.
Get Fit Kauai (Kauai County, HI)
Get Fit Kauai is the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition of Kauai County. Since establishing its Built Environment and Safe Routes to School Task Forces, Get Fit Kauai has made tremendous strides in promoting physical activity through policy change, programs, and projects. The coalition has led successful advocacy efforts for three major policy changes, including a county Complete Streets resolution (2010), a statewide Safe Routes to School Bill that allocates funding from speeding traffic violations to counties for Safe Routes to School efforts (2012), and a county ordinance change to the subdivision code that requires sidewalks and shorter block lengths (2013). The coalition organized monthly Walk to School Days, with a total of 2,730 children and 743 adults across five schools participating last year.
Seguin ISD Student Health Advisory Council (Seguin, TX)
The organization was initially designed after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coordinated School Health model with a primary emphasis on promoting physical activity to students, faculty/staff, and the community. The model now primarily focuses on utilizing and implementing strategies and tactics within the education sector of the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) and has achieved a number of outcomes, including: Campus walking trails for nine schools constructed with improved connectivity/assess to city parks, improved FITNESSGRAM scores, named best District Student Health Advisory Council in Texas, and a bond election that resulted in $88.3 million of funding for new school and community improvements based on SHAC recommendations.
Honor Award:
The congress will also recognize Dr. Kenneth E. Powell with its first-ever Honor Award for lifetime achievement. For more than 40 years, Dr. Ken Powell has been an instrumental force in identifying physical inactivity as a public health issue and in advancing work and initiatives in public health and science on this topic. He worked in several positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and his leadership was responsible for initiating much of the essential physical activity and public health work there. Dr. Powell was instrumental in creating attention at CDC for a Physical Activity and Health Branch. The Physical Activity and Health Branch has made many contributions to advancing the field of physical activity and health, including hosting the first International Congress on Physical Activity and Health in 2006.
Dr. Powell's most recent publication in September 2014 on "The Evolution of the Physical Activity Field" is the lead article in the issue of Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance that is focused on the National Physical Activity Plan.


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Use of ICT in the Autonomous Learning Process: A Case Study in Cardiocirculatory Physiotherapy
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) promotes a methodological change in the university degrees, improved with no doubt with the help of the information and communication technologies (ICT). In the following article we present a multimedia material developed in the context of the Physiotherapy degree, whose goal is to guide and reinforce the student's learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The students' assessment of the material in the classroom through a pilot study showed us advantages and improvements related to the applied methodologies and the chosen format.
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Buckle up for the State Fair of Texas Auto Show!
As the largest new car auto show in the Southwest, this event showcases approximately 400 of the latest models from the world's leading manufacturers. Check out just a few of the models that will be on display during this year's show.
Chevrolet will unveil details of the all-new Duramax Diesel, which will power the 2017 Silverado HD, at the State Fair of Texas.
Recently the winner of the "Family Car of Texas" at the annual Texas Auto Roundup, a competitive car event hosted by the Texas Auto Writers Media Association (TAWA), the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica reinvents the minivan segment with an unprecedented level of functionality, versatility, technology and bold styling. Re-engineered from the ground up on an all-new platform, the Pacifica delivers class-leading gasoline and hybrid powertrains to the minivan segment. With more than 100 available safety and security features, the all-new Uconnect Theater rear seat entertainment system, tri-pane panoramic sunroof, and a full array of comfort and convenience technologies, the Chrysler Pacifica is a no-compromises minivan ideally suited for today's families. The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid offers up to 80 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) in city driving.
Building upon their rich heritage of performance, muscle cars and innovative engineering, the Dodge and SRT performance brands will showcase the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Taking the performance coupe world by storm, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat features the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine that produces 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque, a top speed of 204 miles per hour and a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified, quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.0 seconds on stock Pirelli P Zero tires. To top that, it also achieves up to 22 mpg on the highway. Add in the aggressive and functional exterior styling, race-inspired interior, and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat takes the muscle car segment to a level once unthinkable.
The FIAT brand display will feature the latest edition to the Fiat lineup, the all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider revives the storied nameplate, bringing its classic Italian styling and performance to a new generation. Paying homage to the original 124 Spider nearly 50 years after its introduction, the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider delivers the ultimate Italian roadster experience with driving excitement, technology and safety combined with iconic design. The 124 Spider is available in three trim levels: Classica, Lusso or, for performance enthusiasts, Abarth. The all-new Fiat 124 Spider is available at FIAT studios in North America now.
The Jeep brand returns to the State Fair of Texas Auto Show with a full lineup of new and award-winning SUVs. To celebrate the unparalleled history of the legendary Jeep brand, the display will feature the luxurious 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit and the ultimate in capability with the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk.
The Ram Truck display will feature the latest Ram models including the 2017 Ram Power Wagon. Engineered to conquer the great outdoors, the 2017 Ram Power Wagon receives all-new exterior and interior design elements to match its aggressive behavior and off-road biased lifestyle. Based on the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty 4×4 Crew Cab, the Power Wagon features a number of off-road-specific enhancements, including a unique suspension with more than two inches of lift, locking differentials and a 12,000-lb. winch, giving this beast a significant advantage over all production pickups. Ram Truck continues to build the longest lasting pickups with best-in-class claims in the areas which matter most to the brand's customers. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel delivers the industry's best fuel economy at 29 miles per gallon (mpg). Ram's Heavy Duty truck line owns best-in-class towing at 31,210 pounds and best-in-class torque at 900 lb.-ft.


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Welcome to Big Apple Express, the fastest growing messenger service in New York City. We have created a business model for the new era.
Good old fashion, "Customer service". Our motto is , ""There is no room for error". This makes our customer service, the best in the industry. And it is personal.
Our rate structure, will save you money over what you are spending now!
Sam T. Pritchard
Big Apple Express


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Leighton Meester A New Mom
Celebrity| |
Actress Leighton Meester is a new mom.
Details are scarce, but the tot is the first child for the former Gossip Girl star and her husband of over a year, actor Adam Brody. Reports suggest the baby girl was born last month. According to a birth certificate obtained by TMZ, the couple has called the baby Arlo Day. The private couple hadn't publicly acknowledged the pregnancy and representatives for both stars have yet to confirm the baby news. Meester and Brody wed quietly in February 2014.


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Ein Harod (Ihud) (Template:Lang-he) is a kibbutz situated in the Jezreel Valley near Mount Gilboa in northern Israel. It is under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council.
The kibbutz is close to the site of the crucial battle of Ain Jalut, the first major Mongol defeat in the Middle Ages.
It was formed in 1952 by an ideological split in kibbutz Ein Harod (founded 1921), with Mapam-supporting members forming Ein Harod (Meuhad) and Mapai-supporting members breaking away to create Ein Harod (Ihud), which joined the Mapai-affiliated Ihud HaKvutzot veHaKibbutzim. Today both kibbutzim belong to the same movement, the United Kibbutz Movement.[1]
Ein Harod Ihud is Israel's first "green" kibbutz. The kibbutz has introduced a whole series of environmental projects. Recycling bins have been installed for sorting waste and an ecological garden is being planted based on a model developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Technion. The kibbutz is switching to environmentally friendly detergents and has distributed a list of products not tested on animals. An energy survey has been conducted to identify alternative energy sources in the kitchen, laundry and ironing room. Energy consumption is being cut by using energy-saving bulbs and air conditioners, and installing electricity meters in homes and public buildings. The Ministry of Agriculture has approved funding for research on energy efficiency in milk cooling.[2]
- ↑ Ein Harod Meuchad Gems in Israel, February 2004
- ↑ Israel Ministry of the Environment - News
Template:Gilboa Regional Council Template:Coordhe:עין חרוד איחוד pl:Ein Harod


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Toll Free: (888) 223-2545
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Simple and homey, with classic round knobs and sturdy back plates, the Prairie door set is a great choice for any Craftsman, Cottage, or Colonial style home. Ideal for new construction, the entire set is finely crafted from solid forged brass to provide years of enduring quality and enjoyment. Dimensions: Round knobs measure 2" diameter. Back plates are 7 1/8" H x 2 5/8" W.Latch dimensions: Latch case: 7/8" diameter. Latch face plate: 2 1/4" H x 1" W.Standard door range: 1 3/8" to 1 3/4" thick.
How to install this product in a typical situation.
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