text:
Search Results
Entries tagged with "
Google Phone"
March 30, 201010:55 PM
Invasion Of The Hand Computers tagged "Google Phone"
We have to give up on the idea that there's a difference between being "online" and what we're experiencing on our mobile devices. They're both "online" and it's only going to be a short while where the experiences of being... Read more
March 8, 2010 9:26 PM
The Lines Continue To Blur (At Breakneck Speed) tagged "Google Phone"
Some still look sideways when thinking about mobile. Some are just kidding themselves. Our world is changing faster and faster. The writing is on the wall. Marketing Charts had a fascinating news item today entitled, Mobile Facebook, Twitter Growth Explodes,... Read more
January 10, 2010 7:52 PM
Media Hacks Podcast #23 Is Now Live tagged "Google Phone"
Episode #185 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. It's also episode #23 of Media Hacks. We have the whole gang present (with the exception of Chris... Read more
January 10, 2010 7:32 PM
SPOS #185 - Media Hacks #23 tagged "Google Phone"
Welcome to episode #185 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast. This is also episode #23 of Media Hacks. We have the whole gang present (with the exception of Chris Brogan who was too busy at CES... Read more
January 6, 2010 3:44 PM
The Google Phone Is Really About This... tagged "Google Phone"
A computer that is in every person's hand that connects them to information and everyone else in the world. Too many people think that the launch of the Nexus One (the Google phone) yesterday was Google's competitive move against Apple's... Read more


text:
Artist description:
its a very fat lady gaga plz rate and comment
Flash Draw Created Nov 03, 2010 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2010 kaylin985621.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
chicgirl678 Nov 30, 2010
she looks kind of fat but its ok :D
kaylin985621 Nov 03, 2010
i did very terible very terible
Page 1

subset: commoncrawl


text:
You are here
Networking: Whether Online or Offline Make Sure You Have a Plan
Networking: Whether Online or Offline Make Sure You Have a Plan
Last month, I flew out to San Diego to attend the Small Business Development Centers' national conference. While I was planning what to pack… swimsuit, sunscreen, beach shoes; my thoughts turned to how to gain the most benefit and make the best connections from the trade show, presenters and other attendees I would meet from around the country. This is something I have to put some effort into because although it may come as a surprise, networking hasn't always been my "thing". I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm an introvert but I'm definitely not turning cartwheels at the prospect of having to initiate numerous conversations with total strangers either.
What helps me through this process is something I learned from a friend and colleague. For about a decade now I've known Toni Teague*; a very kind, generous, intelligent woman who is a consummate professional and educator in the field of leadership. Toni always lifts spirits and imparts knowledge wherever she goes. Several years back I worked with Toni to bring a leadership experience to a group of high school students in the Central Ohio area. It was here that I first heard her share this "tidbit" on networking:
"It's not what you know; it's who you know,
It's not who you know, it's who knows you
It's not who knows you, it's who, who you know knows
And what who knows you, knows about you."
Take a minute… re-read that a couple of times and let it sink in. This statement drives home the importance of being aware and purposeful in your interactions. Have you been networking, or in the social media world, socializing purposefully? Or have you been focusing more on who you know than on making sure those that know you, know what they should about you?
Do your business partners, clients and customers know everything they should know about you? If they were to run into someone looking for the service or product you provide, would they know enough about whom you are, what you do and what you can provide to recommend you?
Networking is about more than schmoozing and collecting enough business cards to wallpaper your office. As you go forth and mingle at after hours or Facebook, Twitter and Google + your friends, colleagues, and customers make sure to spend some time, before that next networking opportunity, in person or online, to determine:
- Who do you think would make an important and beneficial addition to your network?
- For each of the additions you identified in number 1, what should they know about you and your business?
Knowing the answer to these questions will help you be more focused when working a room or your online networks and prepare you to effectively and efficiently share the information you want your contacts to know about you and your business.
Lastly, after you've done all the work to build your connections don't forget to devise a plan to regularly cultivate your relationship with them to ensure they're there when you need them.
Have some tips for developing business relationships? Comment and share!


text:
About the Leaders & Innovators Profile Series
Each Tuesday, beginning in May 2005, Matt Roush, editor of the Great Lakes IT Report, has featured a different Leader & Innovator – nominated by you and other members of our community. Innovation and leadership should be celebrated and encouraged.
Leadership and innovation are what fuel Michigan's – and America's – economy. And even as Michigan's economy is undergoing transformation, leadership and innovation are key to bringing the necessary changes.
These were the attributes that Lawrence Technological University sought to celebrate when it developed the Leaders & Innovators profile series, a series brought to life with the participation and support of WWJ Newsradio 950, the GreatLakes IT Report, and Grant Thornton LLP.
Innovators often look at problems from a different perspective. Great solutions sometimes seem unworkable, foolish – even impossible.
True innovation also requires leadership – leadership to follow a path that is different, unexplored, and sometimes lonely.
However, when leadership and innovation are combined, we can change industries, solve age-old problems, invigorate a struggling economy, and improve the quality of our community and world.


text:
You're looking for a bus from Flöha to Oberneuland-Rockwinkel? Then you are in the right spot! The route of your choice can be found in the timetables of . There's generally inexpensive tickets available, just make sure not to book at short notice and avoid times of unusually high demand if possible. Our recommendation for you: Look for a good route as early as possible and compare and contrast offers. It's simple: All that's left for you to do is to click on the "Find Now" button and book your journey!
Current ticket prices
Bus stops in Flöha and Oberneuland-Rockwinkel
Find out more details about the service on your bus from Flöha to Oberneuland-Rockwinkel and returnIt's not hard to find an affordable bus ticket for a trip from Flöha to Oberneuland-Rockwinkel – finding the best one, however, can be a bit more trickyBut don't worry: CheckMyBus is here to assist you! On our webpage, you can compare the offers of numerous coach operators. If you're in a hurry, simply pick the fastest bus. If you want to save money, go for the cheapest option. We recommend you also take a look at the individual amenities: If the provider of your choice offers a free WiFi connection, then answering your e-mails or checking your Facebook timeline will be no problem whatsoever. If you want to take skis or snowboards, on the other hand, make sure that bulky luggage transportation is available. Gone are the days when you had to pay extra for good service: Most features such as wireless internet, electrical outlets or the transportation of a regular size suitcase are free of charge. You'll soon see that taking the bus is just as convenient as travelling by plane or train!
Flöha and Oberneuland-Rockwinkel: Useful Info
These are the possibilities for your onward journey
Here's a selection of possible connections for your onward journey. Simply click on the one of your choice and you'll find all the details about your bus route!
Coach connections
International coach connections


text:
|Numéro de publication
|Type de publication
|Numéro de demande
|Date de publication
|6 oct. 2009
|Date de dépôt
|9 juin 2006
|Date de priorité
|30 juin 2004
|État de paiement des frais
|Autre référence de publication
|Numéro de publication
|David Anthony Pickett, James Russell Lusk
|Cessionnaire d'origine
|David Anthony Pickett, James Russell Lusk
|Exporter la citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Citations de brevets (31), Citations hors brevets (7), Référencé par (3), Classifications (19), Événements juridiques (5)
|Liens externes: USPTO, Cession USPTO, Espacenet
This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/881,079 filed on Jun. 30, 2004, now Pat. No. 7,074,177, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of external counterpulsation.
2. Background of the Invention
Cardiac disease remains a significant health problem in the United States and in the world. Although there are a variety of pharmacological and interventional therapies to treat cardiac disease, many patients are not adequately helped by traditional treatments. In particular, the impaired healths of many cardiac disease patients create a substantial risk of morbidity and mortality for interventional therapies such as coronary bypass surgery. Unsuitable coronary anatomy, prior revascularization attempts or other comorbid conditions may still preclude less-invasive therapies such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Thus, the development of non-invasive therapies may provide additional health benefits to patient populations that cannot tolerate or have gained limited benefits from traditional treatments.
External counterpulsation (ECP) is a technique that has demonstrated effectiveness in treating angina and congestive heart failure (CHF). ECP is an outgrowth of research from the 1950's directed at augmenting the low cardiac output of patients with advanced cardiac disease. External counterpulsation is a noninvasive procedure whereby cuffs are placed around the lower extremities of the body, inflated during the filling phase of the heart, and rapidly deflated during the contractile phase. During the filling or diastolic phase of the heart, the chambers of the heart are passively filled with venous blood before the next contraction. By rapidly inflating the cuffs during diastole, venous pressure is increased in the peripheral regions of the body and venous blood return to the heart is enhanced. This increased ventricular filling or preloading results in an increased ejection of blood from the ventricles during the next systolic phase, which can enhance the cardiac output. Increased arterial pressure during diastole may also enhance filling of the coronary arteries. The rapid deflation of the cuffs during the period of systole or contraction lowers the peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) which the heart pumps against and further enhances cardiac output. A reduction in PVR lessens the workload of an impaired heart by decreasing the effort used to maintain the forward flow of blood. To further enhance limb compression, portions of the limbs may be compressed sequentially from the distal limbs to the proximal limbs, rather than all portions simultaneously, to increase venous return of blood to the heart. The synchronization of inflation and deflation with the resting and contractile phases of the heart has been shown to increase blood flow to many vascular beds, including the coronary arteries. Furthermore, by increasing the diastolic pressure component of the mean perfusion pressure of the body tissues, the systolic pressure component used to maintain mean perfusion pressure may be reduced to further lower the workload of the heart. When external counterpulsation is performed, plethysmographic tracings of the blood pressure waveform will show a decrease in the systolic peak and an increase in the diastolic peak. A diastolic-to-systolic effectiveness ratio, calculated by dividing the peak diastolic amplitude by the peak systolic amplitude, is commonly used to measure the hemodynamic changes induced by external counterpulsation.
Interestingly, although the standard ECP treatment consists of thirty-five hours of treatment over seven weeks, the benefits of ECP persist beyond the thirty-five hours during which ECP is applied to a patient and may benefit more than just the cardiovascular system. It has been hypothesized that the limited duration of enhanced blood flow may increase the shear stress in the endothelial walls of the vasculature. Shear stress is considered a major stimulus for angiogenesis and may upregulate the production of growth factors such as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Hepatocyte Growth Factor. This shear stress also increases endothelial release of nitric oxide, which may have vasodilatory, anti-platelet, anti-thrombotic, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects on the vasculature. Research also suggests that nitric oxide may have beneficial antioxidant effects.
One embodiment of the invention is an external counterpulsation system that advantageously employs smaller balloons and cuffs applied to limited areas of the body to produce counterpulsation. With smaller balloons, lower inflation pressures can be used in the device because high pressures are not needed to provide high airflow rates for inflation and deflation of smaller balloons. A smaller cuff and balloon size also allows for better fitting of the device to the patient. An improved fit increases the degree of compression in body areas and provides a greater yield of blood flow for the limited compression area.
By using lower pressures to perform the external counterpulsation, the ECP system has no need to prematurely decompress the balloons during a premature ventricular contraction (PVC). Premature decompression is not required because the PVC is no longer contracting against high inflation pressures that result in a higher workload for the heart.
One embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of inflatable bladders and cuffs, where each bladder has a surface area of about forty square inches for compressing the body of the patient. The bladders are held against a patient's body by cuffs that have a width of about six inches. The superior-posterior knee regions, the inguinal regions and the buttocks are the preferred areas of compression. Compression of remaining portions of the legs and pelvic region are not required. The bladders are inflated by an air compressor that is limited by a pressure regulator to pressurizing the bladders to a maximum of about 160 mm Hg to about 220 mm Hg. Inflation of the bladders is controlled by valves that open and close to inflate and deflate the balloons. These valves may be integrated into a table used to treat the patient. In turn, the valves are controlled by a valve controller that generates control signals based upon the ECG signal received from the patient. In one embodiment of the invention, an external ECG monitor attached to the patient provides the ECG signal used to generate the control signals. The ECG output from the external ECG monitor is attached to the ECP system through an ECG input connector that accepts ECG output from any of a variety of external ECG monitors. Alternatively, the ECP system has an integrated ECG monitor that is attachable to the patient to provide an ECG signal.
The ECG output is received by the ECP system and the signal is squared to amplify the signal and to make the signal deflections positive. This squared ECG signal is sent to a programmable logic controller (PLC) that identifies the peaks in the squared ECG signal and generates valve control signals coordinated to the timing of the peaks. In one embodiment of the invention, a first control signal is initiated about 280 milliseconds following the detection of a peaked signal and is transmitted to the valve controlling the inflation of the lower thighs. Forty milliseconds after the first control signal, a second control signal is sent to a valve controlling the upper thighs and forty milliseconds after the second control signal, a third control signal is sent to the valves controlling the buttocks. The three control signals stop about 370 milliseconds after the initiation of the third control signal. Alternatively, the timing of the first control signal may be calculated based upon the duration of the contractile cycle of the heart, which is inversely related to the heart rate. In this alternative embodiment, the delay interval before first control signal shortens as the heart rate increases, thereby allowing treatment of patients with higher baseline heart rates.
In one embodiment of the invention, the ECP system continues to generate control signals independent of whether an ECG signal is detected during the control signal cycle. Thus, the ECP system will maintain inflation during a premature ventricular contraction. The ECP system does not have to prematurely deflate because the lower pressures used for ECP do not impose a significant increase in workload to the heart. Alternatively, the valve controller can cancel the control signal cycle upon detecting a signal and restart the control signal cycle with the newly detected signal.
In one embodiment, the valves that control bladder inflation are air assist pilot valves that are actuated from an air compressor that is separate from the air compressor providing pressure to the bladders. Use of two separate air compressors to provide pressure for two different purposes allows efficient selection and adjustment of each air compressor for each purpose and minimizes the total heat, pressure and noise generated.
The cuffs used in the lower pressure ECP system have several features that facilitate use of the cuffs for ECP. The cuffs have a buckle roller to promote tightening of the cuffs when attaching the cuffs to the patient. The cuffs also have a buckle shield to prevent pinching of the patient's skin during cuff tightening. The bladders may be reversibly attached to the cuff to allow changes in cuff materials in consideration of the skin ailments that the patient may have. Alternatively, the bladders may be formed by a portion of the cuff material adhered to a single piece balloon material. This alternate cuff is cheaper to manufacture and can be advantageously used as a disposable cuff.
Further embodiments of the invention have wheels and handles so that the system can be easily moved. Other embodiments may also have a pressure source connector for connecting an external source of pressurized air to the ECP system so that the air compressors in ECP system can be shut off or even eliminated from some embodiments of the invention. External sources of compressed air are provided through an outlet in the walls of some clinics or hospitals. In further embodiments, air valves are integrated within a single unit of the ECP system so that a patient lying on any surface can be treated by the system and the patient does not need to lie down on a table specifically designed for ECP.
One method of using the ECP system comprises attaching the cuffs and bladders of an ECP system to the upper-posterior portions of the knee, the inguinal areas and the buttocks of the patient. The chest leads of an external ECG monitor are connected to the patient and the ECG signal output of the ECG monitor is connected the ECP system. The ECP system is turned on and a treatment duration is set. The programmable logic controller begins detecting signal peaks in the squared ECG signal. In one embodiment of the invention, the programmable logic controller initiates a first control signals about 280 milliseconds after detecting a signal peak. The first control signal is sent to the valve that controls pressurization of the bladders compressing the upper posterior knees. This first control signal is followed about forty milliseconds later by a second control signal transmitted to a valve controlling the bladders that compress the inguinal regions. After about another forty milliseconds, a third control signal is sent to the valve pressurizing a third set of bladders that compress the buttocks. After about 370 milliseconds from the start of the third control signal, all three signals are terminated and the bladders are deflated. The programmable logic controller repeats the cycle until the treatment period ends. Alternatively, the first control signal can be initiated after a variable delay interval based upon the duration of average of the last eight contractile cycles of the patient.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein, when considered together with the attached drawings and claims.
The structure and operation of the invention will be better understood with the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying illustrations, in which:
Despite the availability of ECP systems for several years and its reimbursable status under Medicare and health insurance plans, use of ECP has been hindered by several limitations in the existing technologies and the methods used to perform ECP. Existing ECP systems are large, noisy and complicated to operate. The air pressures used to inflate the existing systems are high and can cause discomfort or even pain to the limbs of patients undergoing treatments. The high pressures also cause the air in the ECP system to heat up, further adding to patient discomfort. The high pressures also cause a rapid jerking of patients' limbs during inflation, as well as a repetitive chaffing that can worsen skin conditions and cause musculoskeletal pains. Patient discomfort may result in noncompliance with the treatment and discontinuation of ECP before the conclusion of the standard seven-week treatment.
Existing ECP machines require high inflation pressures for several reasons. These machines use large inflation bladders placed against a large surface area of the limbs to attempt the greatest degree of limb compression. Larger bladders require higher volumes and higher pressures of air to obtain adequate airflow rates and limb compression. The high pressures can cause excessive skin irritation that an operator may attempt to alleviate by providing padding between the patient and the bladder. This additional protective padding in turn requires even higher pressures in the ECP system to provide sufficient compression of the limbs. The larger bladders of existing ECP systems also require larger air fill lines to provide satisfactory inflation and deflation airflow rates. Large air fill lines are additional air reservoirs that necessitate increased fluid volumes and pressures to operate the system and increase the noise and heat generated.
Another consequence of the high pressures in existing ECP systems is the required detection of premature ventricular contractions and the subsequent premature deflation of the ECP machine. A premature ventricular contraction (PVC) is an abnormal heartbeat that occurs earlier than expected when compared to regular heart activity. During an ECP treatment, a PVC causes the heart to pump against a high peripheral vascular resistance or afterload created by inflation of the ECP system. This severely increases the workload of the heart so much that existing ECP systems avoid compression during PVC's by detecting PVC's and prematurely deflating the bladders. A typical ECP patient, however, has advanced heart disease with an increased frequency of PVC's in their heart rhythms. In patients with frequent PVC's, the efficacy of ECP is reduced by frequent deflation caused by frequently detected PVC's.
The high cost of existing ECP systems has also limited the availability of these systems. Existing ECP systems have built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) modules for providing a synchronization signal to the system and built-in plethysmographs for monitoring the pulse waveform. Treatment centers, however, likely have pre-existing stand-alone ECG monitors that can provide the synchronization signal. Using a stand-alone ECG monitor would allow the operator to use a machine that he or she is already familiar with using and provides a synchronization signal that is updateable as the stand-alone ECG monitor is replaced. Likewise, treatment centers already have stand-alone plethysmograph devices, but the waveform information provided by plethysmographs is not needed if the operating parameters of the ECP machine are not derived from the waveforms.
Existing ECP systems are also complicated to operate. Existing ECP systems require the operator to take several steps and make several decisions before the initiation of an ECP treatment. These ECP systems require the operator to set several timing intervals on the machine, including the delay interval between a heartbeat and the onset of bladder inflation and the duration of the inflation. Operators also have to set the bladder inflation pressure. Setting all these parameters may delay the start of a treatment session and can make a treatment session less efficient or effective if the operator sets the wrong parameters on the machine.
Use of existing ECP systems is also made difficult by the numerous cuffs and air lines that must be connected to operate the system. Errors in connecting cuffs to the air lines or attaching cuffs to the limbs may delay the start of the treatment session and reduce the effectiveness of treatment. High pressure ECP systems also require cuffs designed to handle high bladder inflation pressures. These cuffs are not designed for patient comfort or ease-of-use by the operator. Because cuffs designed for high inflation pressures are also expensive to manufacture, the same set of cuffs have to be used by several patients in order to lower the usage cost of an ECP system.
To address these limitations in existing ECP systems, one embodiment of the invention contemplated is an ECP system comprising small bladders that inflate at lower pressures and where the bladders are positioned at limited sites of the body but still produce effective circulatory augmentation despite the smaller body surface area compressed. By using smaller bladders with smaller cuffs, effective compression of these sites is increased because the smaller sizes allow deeper and more tightly fitted contact of these body areas. Also, because of anatomical narrowing or creasing, some anatomical sites are not effectively reached by large bladders fastened to large cuffs. The term "contact", as used herein, shall be given its ordinary meaning and shall also include the ability to transmit force to a patient through other layers or media, if any, between a bladder and a patient. Advantageous areas to compress with a smaller cuff and bladder system include the superior-posterior knee and inguinal regions of the body. The compressibility of the femoral vein, the principal deep vein trunk in the leg, is greatest at these two sites, but the use of this invention is not limited to this particular purpose or rationale.
By developing an ECP system employing lower inflation volumes, not only can lower pressures be used, but the timing of the inflation and deflation cycles can be simplified. Timing intervals become easier to maintain because there is less need to move large volumes of compressed air in and out of the bladders in a short time interval. This allows the duration of bladder inflation and the delay intervals between sequential inflation of the bladders to be preset in a low-volume ECP system.
Another benefit of an ECP system using lower volumes and pressures is that bladder deflation during PVC's is unnecessary. With an inflation pressure of about 160 mm Hg to about 220 mm Hg, an ECP system does not need to deflate the bladders when a PVC occurs because the heart is not longer contracting against a supra-physiological blood pressure. Furthermore, the ECP system is simplified because there is no need to differentiate between a sinus beats from PVC's. More importantly, a low-pressure ECP system eliminates the inefficiency of the ECP session caused by excessive deflation from detected PVC's.
In addition to angina and congestive heart failure, other uses for an ECP system may include but are not limited to adult and pediatric congenital heart disorders, pregnancy-related heart failure, ischemic bowel disease, peripheral vascular disease including carotid insufficiency and skin ulceration, Alzheimer's, cerebrovascular accidents, dementia, acute renal failure, chronic renal insufficiency and failure, liver disease, weight loss, alopecia, limb ischemia, sepsis and shock. Those skilled in the art are familiar with other conditions that may benefit from use of ECP.
The control signal is transmitted through a control line 38 to table 40 for controlling the opening and closing of air valves that inflate and deflate the bladders. Pressurized air from ECP system 22 is transmitted to table 40 by a air line 36. From table 40 the air is directed to the air valves which distribute the pressurized air using bladder air lines 48 to the right leg cuffs 42, left leg cuffs 44 and buttock cuffs 46 that hold inflatable bladders. The controller may optionally have an on/off power switch 24 to control power to the ECP system 22 and/or a timer switch 26 that sets the treatment time.
One embodiment of the pressurized air subsystem is depicted schematically in
One embodiment of an electrical power system for the ECP system is shown in
A buckle 122 with a buckle roller 124 attaches to one end of cuff 44. Buckle 122 comprises a frame 127 with a slot opening 129 for insertion of a cuff end, the slot opening 129 having dimensions of about Ľ inch to about ľ inch in one direction and about six inches in second direction. Buckle roller 124 is a tube with an internal diameter larger than the diameter of buckle frame 127, permitting buckle roller 1124 to turn freely. Buckle roller 124 can reduce the effort needed to tighten cuff 44 on the patient by allowing cuff 44 to slide through the slot opening of buckle 122 with reduced friction against buckle frame 127. Buckle 122 and buckle roller 124 are made from any of a variety of rigid materials well known in the art, including but not limited to a metal or a plastic. Buckle shield 126 may be made of the same type of material as cuff material 120. Optionally, buckle shield 126 may be made stiffer with any of a variety of materials attached or adhered to buckle shield 126, including but not limited to a thin polycarbonate. Buckle shield 126 attaches to the inner surface 121 of cuff material 120 to provide protection from buckle 122. Buckle shield 126 may reduce the pinching of the skin on the patient when left leg cuff 44 is tightened. Hook fastener 130 and loop fastener 132 are attached to the other end of cuff material 120 by stitching, gluing, or any of a variety of methods well known in the art and incorporated by reference herein. Hook fastener 130 and loop fastener 132 are used to fasten right leg cuff 42 or left leg cuff 44 when the cuff is tightened on the patient. In one embodiment, the width of right leg cuff 42 or left leg cuff 44 is approximately six inches with a circumferential length of approximately 30 to 45 inches. In another embodiment, cuffs 42, 44 have a width of about three inches to about eight inches and a circumferential length of about twenty to about sixty inches. Cutouts are optionally provided in cuff material 120 for vascular access or any other procedure requiring access to body areas covered by cuff material 120.
In one embodiment, buttock cuff 46 comprises buckle 122 and optionally further comprises buckle roller 124 and buckle shield 126 as previously described. Cuff material 120 is made of any flexible non-stretch material able to withstand repeated inflations of bladders 64. In one embodiment, the non-stretch material comprises a 600 denier polyester cloth as used in backpacks. Hook fasteners 130 and loop fasteners 132 are attached to the other end of cuff material 120 by stitching, gluing, or any of number of methods well known in the art. Hook fasteners 130 and loop fasteners 132 are used to secure buttock cuff 46 when cuff 46 is tightened on the patient. The width of buttock cuff 46 is approximately 6 inches with a circumferential length of about 60 inches. In another embodiment, cuff 46 has a width of about four inches to about ten inches and a circumferential length of about fifty to about ninety inches. In another embodiment, buttock cuff 46 comprises a plurality of bladders 64 from about one bladder 64 to about four bladders 64. Cutouts are optionally provided in cuff material 120 for vascular access or any other procedure requiring access to body areas covered by cuff material 120.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, hook fastener 130 is attached to cuff material 120 at one end and one surface of cuffs 42, 44 and 46 and loop fastener 132 is joined to cuff material 120 at the opposite end and opposite surface, allowing securing of cuffs 42, 44, 46 to the patient by wrapping one end of a cuff over the other end of the same cuff to by coupling hook fastener 130 to loop fastener 132. Buckle 122, buckle roller 124 and buckle shield are not required in this embodiment of the invention.
In one embodiment, leg cuff 150 comprises buckle 122 and optionally buckle roller 124 and buckle shield 126 as previously described. A self-adhesive hook 145 and loop fastener 146 is attached to cuff material 144 near bladder wall 142. In one embodiment, only one side of self adhesive hook and loop fastener 146 is attached to bladder wall 142. The topside of self-adhesive hook and loop fastener 146 is self-adhesive and covered with a wax paper-type protector. This allows the operator to remove the protector and adhere the end of left leg cuff 150 to the self-adhesive when securing the cuff to the patient. This configuration permits leg cuff 150 to be fitted to the patient and yet allows the removal of leg cuff 150 as medical needs dictate by separating the hook fastener from the loop fastener. In another embodiment, both hook fastener 130 and loop fastener 132 are preattached to leg cuff 150. The width of leg cuff 150 is approximately six inches with a length of approximately thirty to forty-five inches. In one embodiment, leg cuff 150 comprises self-adhesive non-slip material 148 on the inner surface of left leg cuff 150, of material and attached as previously described. Cutouts 131 are optionally provided in cuff material 144 for vascular access or any other procedure requiring access to body areas covered by cuff material 144. This embodiment may also be particularly suited for use as a disposable cuff because of the simplified design and lower cost of manufacturing, but the embodiment is not limited to this particular use.
In one embodiment, buttock cuff 154 comprises buckle 122 and optionally buckle roller 124 and buckle shield 126 as previously described. A self-adhesive hook 145 and loop fastener 146 is attached to cuff material 144. The outer surface of self-adhesive hook and loop fastener 146 is self-adhesive and covered with a wax paper-type protector. This allows the operator to remove the protector and adhere the end of buttock cuff 154 to the self-adhesive after tightening on the patient. This configuration permits buttock cuff 154 to be fitted to the patient and yet allows the removal of buttock cuff 154 as desired by separating the hook fastener from the loop fastener. In another embodiment, both hook fastener 145 and loop fastener 146 are pre-attached to buttock cuff 154. The width of buttock cuff 154 is about six inches with a length of about sixty inches. In one embodiment, buttock cuff 154 comprises self-adhesive non-slip material 148 on the inner surface of buttock cuff 154, of material and attached as previously described. Cutouts are optionally provided in cuff material 144 for vascular access or any other procedure requiring access to body areas covered by cuff material 144. This embodiment may also be particularly suited for use as a disposable cuff due to the simplified design and lower cost of manufacturing, but the embodiment is not limited to this particular use.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, hook fastener is joined to cuff material 144 at one end and one surface of cuffs 150, 154, 156 and a loop fastener is joined to cuff material 144 at the opposite end and opposite surface. This configuration allows the securing of cuffs 150, 154, 156 to the patient by wrapping one end of a cuff over the other end of the same cuff. This embodiment does not require buckle 120 and may further simplify the cuff design and lower the cost of manufacturing.
Although the preferred embodiments of the invention described above have used inflatable bladders and cuffs to provide the compression for ECP, one skilled in the art can adapt other compression mechanisms to provide ECP treatment using limited compression to the upper-posterior knees, inguinal regions and buttocks of a patient. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,116 to Lewis, herein incorporated by reference, discloses the use of electromechanical actuators in cuffs for compression. These electromechanical actuators can be adapted as ECP compression members to supply a total compression surface area of about 240 square inches or less to the upper-posterior knees, inguinal regions and buttocks.
Other embodiments of the invention include but are not limited to the use of other gases or liquids as an inflation fluid, including but not limited to water, nitrogen or helium. Helium has a lower fluid density and viscosity compared to atmospheric air and can advantageously provide higher fluid flow rates at the same pressures. Other gases or combination of gases may also be used. Because of the cost of helium, an embodiment of the invention using helium may further comprise a closed fluid system whereby deflation of the bladders occurs by venting the valves into a reservoir rather than to the atmosphere. One such closed system for ECP is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,621 to Zheng et al., herein incorporated by reference. The fluid vented to the reservoir is then recompressed and stored in air tank 52 for reuse in inflating bladders 64. Other alternative embodiments of the ECP system are described below.
In some embodiments of the invention, a temperature-controlled ECP system is provided. A temperature-controlled system may be desirable for some patients with skin conditions or for use in critical care or surgical environments, including but not limited to stroke treatment, hypothermia, cardiovascular surgery and neurosurgery. In one embodiment, heating and/or cooling coils may be embedded or applied to the cuffs or bladders. In a further embodiment of the invention, a reversible heat pump is attached to a set of temperature coils in the cuffs so that cooling or heating may be performed with the same set of coils. In another embodiment, the gas or liquid inflating the bladders may be cooled or heated to provide temperature control. Any of a variety of temperature control systems, as is known in the art, may be used to provide a temperature-controlled ECP system.
In one embodiment, illustrated in
To utilize one embodiment of the ECP system previously described, a patient is laid on table 40 and two right leg cuffs 42, two left leg cuffs 44, and buttock cuff 46 are placed on the patient. An off-the-shelf ECG monitor is connected to the patient to provide an ECG signal. ECP system 22 is then powered up using on/off power switch 24. The treatment duration for the patient set on timer switch 26. Start switch 28 is then pressed to start the treatment. The intervals between the detection of a QRS complex and the initialization of the first output or control signal from PLC 80 is determined by the average heart rate over the previous series of QRS complexes or over a previous period of time. By basing the delay interval of the first control signal on the R-to-R interval, a patient population with a greater range of resting heart rates may be treated. It is contemplated that patients with resting heart rates up to about ninety beats per minute (bpm) can undergo treatment, but patients with resting hearts rates up to about 110 bpm may be treated. The duration of the first output, the duration and intervals of the subsequent outputs originating from the detected QRS complexes are preset or calculated by the system. In one embodiment, the delay interval is 25% of the average of the last eight peak-to-peak intervals of squared ECG signal. The inflation pressures of bladders 64 are also preset by the system to a maximum of about 200 mm Hg. In the event of a power failure, ECP system 22 will stop operating and not restart unless start switch 28 is pressed. Air valves 58 will also revert to normally closed positions and vent bladders 64 during a power outage when no control signals are provided by PLC 80. To stop the treatment before the time ends, on/off power switch 24 is pressed. The time remaining for treatment on timer switch 26 does not change due to stops or power failures.
A signal from the ECG monitor is sent to ECP system 22 through ECG input connector 29. The signal goes to ECG timing board 92 where it is amplified and relayed to programmable logic controller 80. Programmable logic controller 80 sends a signal to air valves 58 controlling right leg cuff 42 and left leg cuff 44 placed on the lower thighs or upper posterior knees. Approximately forty milliseconds later, programmable logic controller 80 sends another signal to air valve 58 controlling right leg cuff 42 and left leg cuff 44 placed on the upper thighs or inguinal regions. After another approximately forty milliseconds delay, the programmable logic controller 80 sends a signal to two air valves 58 controlling buttock cuff 46 placed on the buttocks. The signals terminate generally at the same time after a fixed interval following the detection of the QRS complex in that cycle.
With the air assist provided from mini air compressor 96, the signals from PLC 80 opens air valves 58. The pressurized fluid from air compressor 50 passes through air tank 52. The fluid then passes through pressure regulator 54. The pressure is set at a limit of about 155 to about 240 mm Hg by pressure regulator 54. In one embodiment of the invention, the pressure is preset to 200 mm Hg. Pressure buildup over about 700 mm Hg is vented by pressure relief valve 56. When air valve 58 opens, it closes the exhaust port and allows pressurized fluid to inflate balloon 64. After a preset time of about 450 milliseconds from the start of lower thigh inflation, the signals from programmable logic controller 80 are stopped. When the signals stop, air valves 58 close at about the same time and vent the pressures in balloons 64. Valves 58 allow balloons 64 to inflate if there is power and signal from programmable logic controller 80. Any interruption of power will cause air valve 58 to close and exhaust balloons 64. The venting of balloons 64 is a fail-safe in case of power loss. This cycle is repeated until the treatment period finishes.
In a further embodiment of the invention, right leg cuffs 42, left leg cuffs 44, and buttock cuff 46 are placed on the patient. Right leg cuffs 42, left leg cuffs 44 and buttock cuff 46 are tightened by inserting the cuff end into buckle 122 and pulling the cuff end tight. Once tight, the cuff ends are pressed to fasten hook fastener 130 to loop fastener 132. Preferably, right leg cuffs 42, left leg cuffs 44, and buttock cuff 46 are tightened to give effective treatment. Use of buckle 122 and buckle roller 124 facilitates tightening of the cuffs by the operator. The buckle shield 126 reduces pinching of the patient's skin by buckle 122. Balloons 64 of right leg cuffs 42, left leg cuffs 44 and buttock cuff 46 are connected to balloon air lines 48. Balloon air lines 48 both inflate and deflate balloons 64. Balloon 64 is held in place on right leg cuff 42, left leg cuff 44 or buttock cuff 46 with hook fastener ring 112 and loop fastener 132. This allows balloon 64 to be independently replaced without having to replace right leg cuff 42, left leg cuff 44 or buttock cuff 46. Using hook fastener ring 112 and loop fastener 132 allows attachment of balloon 64 to the cuff without the use of cuff pockets. Balloon wall 110 can transfer the pressure to the patient without any reduced effect from added layers of material and result in more efficient treatment while using less pressure.
Alternatively, if cuffs that are adapted for disposability are desired, left leg cuff 150, right leg cuff 156 and buttock cuff 154 may be used. Cuffs 150, 154 and 156 are tightened in the same manner as previously described. The operator removes the adhesive protector from self-adhesive hook and loop fastener 146 and presses the portions of cuffs 150, 154 and 156 overlying self adhesive hook and loop fastener 146 to adhere fastener 146 to another portion of the cuff. Cuffs 150, 154 and 156 may be unfastened and refastened using the hook and loop fastening of self-adhesive hook and loop fastener 146. Vascular access to the femoral arteries and veins, or a vascular catheter already placed therein, are accessible through access openings in cuff material 144.
While embodiments of this invention have been particularly shown and described with references to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention. For all of the embodiments described above, the steps of the methods need not be performed sequentially.
|Brevet cité
|Date de dépôt
|Date de publication
|10 avr. 1942
|24 oct. 1944
|Blanche B Rosett
|Therapeutic device and method of constructing same
|14 juil. 1965
|1 oct. 1968
|Frank F Reed
|Means and method for stimulating arterial and venous blood flow
|25 nov. 1970
|11 avr. 1972
|Medical Innovations Inc
|Process and apparatus for synchronous assisting of blood circulation
|20 avr. 1970
|2 mai 1972
|Edwin G Vail
|Cardiovascular assist device
|17 janv. 1973
|21 mai 1974
|M Apstein
|Programmed venous assist pump
|15 févr. 1973
|14 janv. 1975
|Spielberg Theodore E
|Therapeutic cuff
|2 mai 1973
|28 janv. 1975
|Nicholas R Rotta
|Fluid pressure controlled means for producing peristaltic operation of series-connected inflatable chambers in therapeutic devices, pumps and the like
|28 sept. 1973
|18 févr. 1975
|Avco Everett Res Lab Inc
|External cardiac assistance
|10 déc. 1976
|30 mai 1978
|The Kendall Company
|Compression sleeve
|4 juin 1980
|1 mars 1983
|The Kendall Company
|Compression device with pressure determination
|25 mars 1986
|28 juin 1988
|Biomedical Engineering Development Center of Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Science
|Combination device for a computerized and enhanced type of external counterpulsation and extra-thoracic cardiac massage apparatus
|7 déc. 1990
|5 mai 1992
|Proctor Richard D J
|Method of and apparatus for producing alternating pressure in a therapeutic device
|27 févr. 1995
|10 sept. 1996
|Vasomedical, Inc.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|28 avr. 1995
|5 nov. 1996
|Bullard; Horace
|Method for exercise and simultaneous movement of blood by external pressure
|22 oct. 1997
|7 déc. 1999
|Vasomedical, Inc.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|18 aoűt 1998
|17 sept. 2002
|Paul Shabty
|Computer-based control for a counterpulsation device using noncompressed air
|7 oct. 1999
|17 déc. 2002
|Medical Compression Systems (Dbn) Ltd.
|Portable ambulant pneumatic compression system
|8 nov. 1999
|3 juin 2003
|Vasomedical, Inc.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|10 nov. 2000
|8 juil. 2003
|Vasomedical, Inc.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|8 déc. 2000
|16 sept. 2003
|Michael P. Lewis
|External counterpulsation unit
|18 aoűt 1998
|18 mai 2004
|Cpc America
|Counterpulsation device using noncompressed air
|29 janv. 2001
|22 juin 2004
|Revivant Corporation
|Cardiac assist method using an inflatable vest
|29 avr. 2002
|3 aoűt 2004
|External counterpulsation cardiac assist device pressure applicators having an outer shell which resists deformation
|30 juin 2004
|11 juil. 2006
|David Anthony Pickett
|High-efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for performing the same
|9 nov. 2001
|25 juil. 2002
|Hui John C.K.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|9 nov. 2001
|8 aoűt 2002
|Hui John C.K.
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|10 mai 2001
|14 nov. 2002
|Rastegar Jahangir S.
|External counterpulsation cardiac assist device
|8 déc. 2000
|21 nov. 2002
|Lewis Michael P.
|External counterpulsation unit
|12 sept. 2002
|13 mars 2003
|Paul Shabty
|Computer-based control for a counterpulsation device using noncompressed air
|12 mars 2003
|31 juil. 2003
|Zhensheng Zheng
|High efficiency external counterpulsation apparatus and method for controlling same
|7 oct. 2003
|7 avr. 2005
|Loeb Marvin P.
|Devices and methods for non-invasively improving blood circulation
|Bonetti, et al., "Enhanced external counterpulsation for ischemic heart disease," Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 41, No. 11, pp. 1918-1925, 2003.
|Bonetti, et al., "Enhanced external counterpulsation improves endothelial function in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease," Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 41, No. 10, pp. 1761-1768, 2003.
|Lakshmi, et al., "Relation of the pattern of diastolic augmentation during a course of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) to clinical benefit (from the international EECP patient registry [IEPR]," The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 89, pp. 1303-1305, Jun. 1, 2002.
|Linnemeier, et al., "Enhanced external counterpulsation for the relieft of angina in patients with diabetes: safety, efficacy and 1-year clinical outcomes," American Heart Journal, vol. 146, No. 3, Sep. 2003.
|Michaels, et al., "Left ventricular systolic unloading and augmentation of intracoronary pressure and Doppler flow during enhanced external couterpulsation," American Heart Association, Inc., pp. 1237-1242,Sep. 3, 2002.
|Werner, et al., "Changes of cerebral blood flow velocities during enhanced external couterpulsation," Acta Neural Scand, pp. 405-411 2003.
|Werner, et al., "Pneumatic External Couterpulsation: A new noninvasive method to improve organ perfusion," The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 84, pp. 950-952, Oct. 15, 1999.
|Brevet citant
|Date de dépôt
|Date de publication
|3 sept. 2009
|27 mars 2012
|David Anthony Pickett
|Suprapatellar external counterpulsation apparatus
|8 mars 2012
|12 nov. 2013
|David Anthony Pickett
|Suprapatellar external counterpulsation apparatus
|3 sept. 2009
|4 mars 2010
|David Anthony Pickett
|Suprapatellar external counterpulsation apparatus
|Classification aux États-Unis
|600/17, 600/16
|Classification internationale
|Classification coopérative
|Classification européenne
|30 mars 2010
|Certificate of correction
|4 avr. 2013
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|19 mai 2017
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|3 oct. 2017
Free format text: 7.5 YR SURCHARGE - LATE PMT W/IN 6 MO, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2555)
|3 oct. 2017
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YR, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2552)
Year of fee payment: 8


text:
The NBA lockout continues, with the first two weeks of the season officially cancelled. What's a basketball player to do? If you ask LeBron James, the answer just might be "FOOTBALL!" Mr. Cleveland – er, uh Miami – may become Mr. Seattle…as a SEAHAWK!
According to the Miami Herald, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told LeBron there's a place for him on their team. The uniform has already been made!
Is this for real? What position would James play? Does he have ANY football experience? CLICK HERE for the story.


text:
Hotels in Dubai
Featured Hotels in Dubai
Arabian Park Hotel
Conveniently located in Oud Metha Road, Arabian Park Hotel is less than 10 km away from Dubai International ... Read More
Tulip Inn Royal Suites Ajman
Located in Ajman and overlooking the Gulf waters, Tulip Inn Royal Suites Ajman offers contemporary accommodation ... Read More
Al Majarah Residence 2 Sharjah
Al Majarah Residence 2 Sharjah is a popular choice amongst travelers in Sharjah, whether exploring or ... Read More
Moevenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate – Dubai
Set in a prime location of Dubai, Moevenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate – Dubai puts everything the city ... Read More
Dream Palace Hotel
This design hotel in the heart of Ajman's business district offers spacious rooms with a modern design. ... Read More
Safari Hotel Apartments
This hotel is within walking distance to local businesses and area attractions such as Lulu Center, ... Read More
Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort And Towers
More than 200 palm trees and landscaped gardens surround the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort. Stroll ... Read More
Dubai Apartments - The Greens - Al Sammar
Dubai Apartments - The Greens - Al Sammar is conveniently located in the popular Tecom area. The hotel ... Read More
Al Kawakeb Hotel
Al Kawakeb Hotel is conveniently located in the popular Deira area. The property features a wide range ... Read More
Zaineast Hotel
Zaineast Hotel is a popular choice amongst travelers in Dubai, whether exploring or just passing through. ... Read More


text:
Your Letters: Snow removal helps us do our jobs
I would like to commend all the people who do such a great job of cleaning their sidewalks and steps for all paper, mail carriers and delivery people.
I know sometimes it is hard to do with all the snow we are getting this year, but it makes everyone's job so much easier when you take the time to sweep or shovel off your steps and sidewalks. So many people clean up to their steps, but forget to do the steps. This can be very dangerous for us, as when they are covered with snow, it is not always easy to tell where the step is and could result in a sprained or broken ankle for someone, including yourself or a family member.
Those of you who clean a path from your place to your neighbor's and also from your sidewalk to the street are truly going the extra mile. You have no idea how much this helps us and how much time it saves us and how many steps it saves us. Also, please remember, when you have a tube or box that we need to drive up to, it needs to have the snow removed from around, in front off and past it, so we are able to drive up to it and please, keep it cleaned out of snow. I know it gets to be a tiring job this winter, but we have to do it ourselves for our own carriers. I find that if I take the broom, I can usually just sweep the snow off the steps at my house, unless, of course, we get a lot. It is so much easier to do before people walk on it and pack it down. Hope everyone has a great winter and a great rest of the year.
Helen Allee


text:
The Secret Women Never Tell Men There's a secret women never tell men about their swimwear. Women love men's Speedo Swimwear. A demure woman may blush at the sight of a buff guy in bright red Speedo swimwear who passes by tanned and toned on a sandy beach. You can count on it though, her eyes follow him until he's barely a speck on the horizon. Then, there are the women who feel no apprehension about giving dramatic black Speedo swimwear a wink, a nod, a whistle even. There's something about a man in Speedo swimwear that has the unmistakable effect of turning a dignified woman into a passionate inferno.
Men's Speedo Swimwear - Not Just For The Young Older men are often reticent about their swimwear. If you ask a woman what she thinks of an older man with the daring to wear men's Speedo Swimwear, she'll sigh and then tell you how much a man's body is appreciated when graced with men's Speedo Swimwear. Now really. What woman wants to see a man in lackluster baggy swimwear when men's Speedo Swimwear fires her imagination?
Shopping for Men's Speedo Swimwear Most men are not generally fond of shopping. Especially, when they are shopping for the very best fashions in swimwear. Speedo is a brand men are familiar with. The Speedo collection offers a wide range of colors and styles from which to choose. Take note of the variations in the fabric designs. While the fabric is comfortable and easy to wear, there's no compromise on styles that vary from sleek to chic. Men's Speedo swimwear are made for functionality as well as for eye-catching appeal. Shop for several of the wonderful items in the Speedo collection. One is never enough.
Where To Buy Men's Speedo Swimwear For the fastest easiest route to finding all of the most recent Speedo collections, Nuwear has what men are looking for. It doesn't get any easier than the click of a mouse to discover the broad selections Nuwear offers. Why go through endless hours of searching when Nuwear is the one-stop shopping choice?
Like Us
On Facebook
Follow Us
On Twitter
Watch Us
On YouTube
Like Us
On Google


text:
- Fast Secure Delivery
- Need the perfect gift? Use our Gift Finder
- Customer Care: 0843 123 1234
Sabotage Mug
Need a new mug with a lot of style?
Look no further than this must-have Sabotage mug! This mug featutes a regal design with the message 'Sabotage is not Chic' as set text. Treat yourself to this amazing mug and impress your friends and colleagues with your classy style!
This mug makes a great gift or personal treat for any Made In Chelsea fanatic, whilst looking great with this mug in their hand they can also enjoy a delicious brew in it..........Classy!
Technical Details
- This mug features the message 'Sabotage is not Chic' as set text.
Please note:
- The mug is made from ceramic
- Hand Washing is recommended
- 10oz Mug


text:
Slam Bolt Scrappers Devs Fire Hose Games
Into the War Room It was drizzling outside when I entered the Cambridge complex that houses the office of Fire Hose Games. Inside, the patter of raindrops on the windows was easily audible over the hushed phone conversations and general bustle of indie game magic in the air. In one corner, a mountain of soda can 12-packs stood unyielding against the white wall.
"Let's head to the War Room," said Eitan Glinert, the studio's founder and head. We had some scrapping to do.
The folks at Fire Hose are so busy because they're hard at work on their debut title, Slam Bolt Scrappers for the PSN. It's a prodigious mix of fighting game, cartoon graphics and tower defense, and chances are you've heard of it if you were paying attention to E3, PAX, or most other conventions this year.
The War Room is where they conduct their "serious business," according to Glinert, which apparently involves playing tons of video games - they line the shelves, along with almost any system you can name.
As we settled in to play the Alpha build of Scrappers, I couldn't help but notice that the loading screen said something about hobbits. Glinert assured me it was placeholder, though he couldn't help but allow his love of the One Ring to color his next joke.
"Do you want me to answer every single question with a reference to hobbits or Isengard?" he asked. "Yeah, as you can see, there's this ring you need to destroy, by building a tower - which is talking about the Eye of Sauron, really," adding that he hopes they don't get sued. He was kidding.
It's Not Tetris The most obvious comparison to draw when you first see Scrappers in action is Tetris, but in fact, the games have little in common. Glinert stressed this over and over. "If you think of this game like Tetris, you are going to get destroyed." Of course, as we settled into our versus match, he destroyed me anyway, but he had an unfair advantage, being its creator and all.
It does take a while to wrap your brain around exactly what you're supposed to be doing. Up to four players control tiny, winged construction men and Vikings, flying around the screen and punching everything in sight to acquire Tetrino-shaped blocks. The blocks are then physically dropped into place with the ultimate goal of crafting towers of squares. The squares, once created, form shields and weapons that attack the other players' towers (or enemies, in the campaign).
Glinert summed it up nicely: "You're trying to build blocks (like when you're little) while kicking over your opponent's blocks. And your blocks grow weaponry that help you with the kicking," he said. "We think that most of life's conflicts are best solved through violent punching."
"We're Indies" Glinert is a recent MIT graduate, making him probably a genius, and while Scrappers is the first effort from Fire Hose, he's no stranger to game development. Before founding Fire Hose, he created Immune Attack, an educational game for high school students, and AudiOdyssey, a DJ game that uses the Wii Remote and is "totally accessible to the blind," according to him. In creating those games, he learned that he wouldn't be happy until he formed his own studio.
"I didn't want to go back to being told what to do and having someone sitting on top of me that knew less about making games than I did," he said. "So I figured, what the hell, why not start a startup? I was at MIT, there were smart people around."
Among the MIT graduates at the studio are development alumni from Harmonix, Bethesda and Irrational, guys who worked on games like Guitar Hero 2, Oblivion and Fallout 3. They're a diverse and talented group, and they're happy to be indie developers. So how did they end up under the publishing thumb of Sony Online Entertainment?
"It's really hard being an indie developer and coming out with a game and not being screwed, to be honest," Glinert said. "We talked to publishers that were like, 'Yeah, work with us, and we'll own you.' And it was like, fuck no! We're indies. We want to remain independent." SOE, he told me, is allowing the studio full creative freedom over Scrappers, and that's all they really care about.
Would-Be Do-Gooders Scrappers actually started life - over two years ago - as a game about architecture. When Glinert founded the studio, he wanted to make quasi-educational games that would have a "positive impact." They've deviated from that a little, but they're enamored enough with their current creation to not really mind.
As the game evolved through five different iterations over two years, the architecture principles went out the window in favor of a brawler defense game inspired mainly by Smash Bros., Castle Crashers and World of Goo, according to Glinert.
The team loved building huge structures in the Goo games, but they wanted to create something where players could do more than just build. "It would be cool if you could have a more masculine version where you beat each other up, or something," they thought. Thus, Scrappers was born.
"We Cannot Afford to Come Out With a Shitty Game" "I'm actually amazed at how bug-free that session was," Glinert said, as our cooperatively built tower finished off a giant drill-hurling robot. "That was really encouraging." The game is hectic, colorful and fun, and the layers of polish they'll apply between now and its early 2011 release may just bump it up to star status.
"Our rep is everything," Glinert said. "We cannot afford to come out with a shitty game."
"I mean, we have a good game, but there are plenty of people who have good games who nobody ever finds out about, right? Look at Minecraft. How long was that out before somebody noticed?"
When I asked him whether they'll always be an indie studio, he didn't seem worried about it. "If we weren't indie, but we could still make the games we wanted to make, I wouldn't care," he said. "It's just a label. As long as I'm doing what I want to do and we're making the games that we want to make, that's good enough."


text:
Mapping quantitative trait loci for canine hip dysplasia in German Shepherd dogs
- 390 Downloads
- Citations
Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a common hereditary developmental disease of the coxofemoral joints. CHD is characterized by subluxation of the femoral head and deformation of the acetabulum leading to a painful osteoarthrosis. Analyses of mode of inheritance have shown the involvement of a major gene in expression of CHD in German Shepherd dogs. Thus, a whole genome scan for quantitative trait loci (QTL) was performed in German Shepherd dogs. For this purpose 11 paternal half-sib families, including a total of 459 purebred German Shepherd dogs with sires, dams, and offspring, were genotyped for 261 microsatellites. These markers were equidistantly distributed over all 38 autosomes and the X chromosome with an average marker distance of 11.7 cM. The mean observed heterozygosity of the marker set was 50%. The CHD status for the dogs was scored according to the official rules of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. At the genome-wide level of significance at p < 0.05, QTL for CHD were located on nine different canine chromosomes: 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 16, 19, 26, and 33. The minimal QTL regions containing the CHD genes spanned on average 5 Mb with a range between 1 and 8.2 Mb. Chromosome-wide level of significance at p < 0.05 was found for QTL on 19 chromosomes. Further analyses can now be performed to refine these map positions of QTL already identified in German Shepherd dogs.
Supplementary material
- Abecasis GR, Wigginton JE (2005) Handling marker–marker linkage disequilibrium: pedigree analysis with clustered markers. Am J Hum Genet 77:754–767PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Abecasis GR, Cherny SS, Cookson WO, Cardon LR (2002) Merlin – rapid analysis of dense genetic maps using sparse gene flow trees. Nat Genet 30:97–101PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Brass W (1989) Hip dysplasia in dogs. J Small Anim Pract 30:166–170Google Scholar
- Brass W (1993) Hüftgelenkdysplasie und Ellenbogenerkrankung im Visier der Fédération Cynologique Internationale I. Kleintier-Prax 38:194Google Scholar
- Chase K, Lawler DF, Adler FR, Ostrander EA, Lark KG (2004) Bilaterally asymmetric effects of quantitative trait loci (QTLs): QTLs that affect laxity in the right versus left coxofemoral (hip) joints of the dog (Canis familiaris). Am J Med Genet 124:239–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Chase K, Lawler DF, Carrier DR, Lark KG (2005) Genetic regulation of osteoarthritis: A QTL regulating cranial and caudal acetabular osteophyte formation in the hip joint of the dog (Canis familiaris). Am J Med Genet 135:334–335CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Fingerlin TE, Boehnke M, Abecasis GR (2004) Increasing the power and efficiency of disease marker case-control association studies through use of allele-sharing information. Am J Hum Genet 74:432–443PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Flückiger MA, Friedrich GA, Binder H (1998) Correlation between hip joint laxity and subsequent coxarthrosis in dogs. J Vet Med A 45:199–207CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Frost-Christensen LN, Voorhout G, van den Brom WE, van den Broek J, Hazewinkel HAW (2002) The value of clinical and radiological evaluations to diagnose and predict hip dysplasia in young Labradors. Proc European College of Veterinary Surgeons, Vienna, pp 202–383Google Scholar
- Guyon R, Lorentzen TD, Hitte C, Kim L, Cadieu E, et al. (2003) A 1-Mb resolution radiation hybrid map of the canine genome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100:5296–5301PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hamann H, Kirchhoff T, Distl O (2003) Bayesian analysis of heritability of canine hip dysplasia in German Shepherd Dogs. J Anim Breed Genet 120:258–268CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hedhammar A, Olsson SE, Andersson SA, Persson L, Pettersson L, et al. (1979) Canine hip dysplasia: study of heritability in 401 litters of German shepherd dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 174:1012–1016PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Henricson B, Norberg I, Olsson SE (1966) On the etiology and pathogenesis of hip dysplasia: a comparative review. J Small Anim Pract 7:673–688PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Henricson B, Ljunggren G, Olsson SE (1972) Canine hip dysplasia in Sweden. Incidence and genetics. Acta Radiol Suppl 319:175–180PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Ingvarsson T, Stefansson SE, Gulcher JR, Jonsson HH, Jonsson H, et al. (2001) A large Icelandic family with early osteoarthritis of the hip associated with a susceptibility locus on chromosome 16p. Arthritis Rheum 44:2548–2555PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Janutta V, Distl O (2006) Inheritance of canine hip dysplasia: review of estimation methods and of heritability estimates and prospects on further developments. Dtsch tierärztl Wochenschr 113:6–12PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Janutta V, Hamann H, Distl O (2006) Complex segregation analysis of canine hip dysplasia in German shepherd dogs. J Hered 97:13–20PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Kong A, Cox J (1997) Allele-sharing models: LOD scores and accurate linkage tests. Am J Hum Genet 61:1179–88PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Leighton EA (1997) Genetics of canine hip dysplasia. J Am Vet Med Assoc 210:1474–1479PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Leppänen M, Maki K, Juga J, Saloniemi H (2000) Factors affecting hip dysplasia in German shepherd dogs in Finland: efficacy of the current improvement programme. J Small Anim Pract 41:19–23PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Lingaas F, Heim P (1987) En genetisk undersøkelse av hofteleddsdysplasi i norske hunderaser. Norsk Veterinærtidsskr 99:617–623Google Scholar
- Loughlin J, Mustafa Z, Dowling B, Southam L, Marcelline L, et al. (2002) Finer linkage mapping of a primary hip osteoarthritis susceptibility locus on chromosome 6. Eur J Hum Genet 10:562–568PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lust G, Williams AJ, Burton-Wurster N, Pijanowski GJ, Beck KA, et al. (1993) Joint laxity and its association with hip dysplasia in Labrador retrievers. Am J Vet Res 54:1990–1999PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Mabuchi A, Nakamura S, Takatori Y, Ikegawa S (2006) Familial osteoarthritis of the hip joint associated with acetabular dysplasia maps to chromosome 13q. Am J Hum Genet 79:163–168PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Madsen JS, Reimann I, Svalastoga E (1991) Delayed ossification of the femoral head in dogs with hip dysplasia. J Small Anim Pract 32:351–354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Mäki K, Janss LLG, Groen AF, Liinamo AE, Ojala M (2004) An indication of major genes affecting hip and elbow dysplasia in four Finnish dog populations. Heredity 92:402–408PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Richman M, Mellersh CS, André C, Galibert F, Ostrander EA (2001) Characterization of a minimal screening set of 172 microsatellite markers for genome-wide screens of the canine genome. J Biochem Biophys Methods 47:137–149PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sargan DR, Aquirre-Hernandez J, Galibert F, Ostrander EA (2007) An extended microsatellite set for linkage mapping in the domestic dog. J Hered 98:221–231PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Riser WH (1975) The dog as a model for the study of hip dysplasia. (Basel: Karger)Google Scholar
- Roby P, Eyre S, Worthington J, Ramesar R, Cilliers H, et al. (1999) Autosomal dominant (Beukes) premature degenerative osteoarthropathy of the hip joint maps to an 11-cM region on chromosome 4q35. Am J Hum Genet 64:904–908PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Smith GK, Gregor TP, Rhodes WH, Biery DN (1993) Coxofemoral joint laxity from distraction radiography and its contemporaneous and prospective correlation with laxity, subjective score, and evidence of degenerative joint disease from conventional hip-extended radiography in dogs. Am J Vet Res 54:1021–1042PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Todhunter RJ, Zachos TA, Gilbert RO, Erb HN, Williams AJ, et al. (1997) Onset of epiphyseal mineralization and growth plate closure in radiographically normal and dysplastic Labrador retrievers. J Am Vet Med Assoc 210:1458–1462PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Todhunter RJ, Acland GM, Olivier M, Williams AJ, Vernier-Singer M, et al. (1999) An outcrossed canine pedigree for linkage analysis of hip dysplasia. J Hered 90:83–92PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Todhunter RJ, Mateescu R, Lust G, Burton-Wurster NI, Dykes NL, et al. (2005) Quantitative trait loci for hip dysplasia in a crossbreed canine pedigree. Mamm Genome 16:720–730PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Vezzoni A, Dravelli G, Cobari A, De Lorenzi M, Cirla A, et al. (2005) Early diagnosis of canine hip dysplasia. Eur J Comp Anim Pract 15:173–184Google Scholar
- Vitale MG, Skaggs DL (2001) Developmental dysplasia of the hip from six months to four years of age. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 9:401–411PubMedGoogle Scholar


text:
Essential Caribbean
AAA, 2000 - Travel - 126 pages
This value-packed, bestselling series has been redesigned and reinvigorated so that it now combines its time-tested features plus exciting new ideas -- all enhanced by easy-to-read layouts, a bolder look, and eye-catching covers.
-- Customers perceive the value of comprehensive coverage at an affordable price
-- At a glance topic organization makes it easy for readers to find what they need in a flash
-- New features such as In the Know and Essence of ... for popular destinations
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Anguilla Anse Antigua Aruba Barbados Basseterre beach Bequia Bonaire British Camival pre-Lentl Canbbean capital Caribbean Cayman lslands Cheap Closed Sun coast Q colonial coral crafts Creole Croix cruise-ship Curacao Daily dining dinner dishes Dive Dockyard Dominican Republic Dutch duty-free east Eastem Eastern Caribbean ferry fish French Antilles galleries Gardens Grand Bahama Grand Cayman Grenada Grenadines Guadeloupe harbor hikes Hill island Jamaica Kitts Leeward lslands Lucia Lunch Marine Park Martinique miles Mon.-Fri Museum National Park Nelson's Dockyard Netherlands Antilles Nevis north coast northem Ocho Rios Pitons plantation popular Port Puerto Rico Q Camival rain forest reef reggae resort Road Saba San Juan seafood Shirley Heights Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten snorkeling Soufriere souvenirs Spanish SSSl Street sugar Tobago Tortola tourist tours town trails trees Trinidad tropical U.S. dollar village Vincent visitors waterfront watersports Windward lslands


text:
Unfortunately, this job is expired as of 12/18/2015.
To continue in your search through the appropriate job categories, click either Administrative Staff, Higher Education Executives, Faculty, Post-Doc and Graduate Assistants, . You can also utilize "guess-free" keyword search tools with up to eight pre-defined criteria. Search for and Apply to academic postings directly from the site. Post your background either confidentially or overtly. Stand out and be discovered!
This position is eligible for the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) as an alternative to the Employees Retirement System.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is seeking a Program Director to perform research, evaluation, and analysis work that is necessary to address the agency's higher education mission. The selected applicant will evaluate proposals for new degree programs, review existing degree programs, participate in the oversight and management of grant programs, develop reports and recommendations on various higher education topics, and provide service to institutions of higher education and the general public.
Performs complex consultative services, research, evaluation and analysis work. Work involves providing data-driven analyses and recommendations on statewide higher education issues relating to academic quality, including improving the quality of higher education and increasing research at public institutions. Works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative, independent judgment, and decision-making. This position reports to the Assistant Director, Undergraduate Studies.
General Duties and Responsibilities:
Prepares reports on statewide higher education issues.
Makes recommendations to division leadership and communicates with college and university leaders.
Reviews, evaluates, and makes recommendations on proposals for new degree programs and assesses existing programs.
Recruits and selects expert reviewers from universities within the U.S. and Texas industry for research review and doctoral program assessment.
Conducts site visits for campus program reviews with external review teams.
Develops request for application announcements and oversees application and project approval processes.
Project and contractor management, including monitoring and overseeing expenditures, performance, and deliverables of contracted project efforts at institutions of higher education.
Serves as staff liaison to advisory committees.
Translates policy initiatives and statutes into Board rules and develops implementation procedures.
Monitors legislation by preparing bill analyses, fiscal notes, and educational impact studies as assigned.
Prepares written materials and presentations for quarterly Board Committee and Coordinating Board meetings.
Develops, organizes, and presents statewide workshops on issues of interest to higher education personnel.
Supports the development of all legislatively-mandated reports, coordinating with internal/external stakeholders of the agency.
Represents agency through public speaking engagements, as assigned.
Coordinate major projects from conception through implementation.
Develops presentations, studies, memoranda, and other documents.
Travels up to 10 percent of time, including overnight.
Performs related work as assigned.
Required Minimum Education and experience:
Master's degree from an accredited college or university.
Four years of work experience in teaching or performing administrative duties such as program development, policy development, or administration within colleges, universities, health-related institutions, government, foundations, associations, or related entities.
Experience monitoring and administering instructional programs in higher education and maintaining and analyzing data.
Doctorate may substitute for two year of required work experience.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of Texas higher education system, including community college, university, and health-related institutions.
Knowledge of higher education philosophy and institutional missions.
Knowledge of collaborative efforts between public secondary education and two-year colleges.
Knowledgeable of customer service deliverables.
Knowledge of higher education policy.
Skills in gathering, assembling, correlating, and analyzing facts to devise solutions to problems.
Skills in analytical thinking, interpersonal and leadership skills, and professional writing.
Skills in using personal computers and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, statistical software, project management software, and databases.
Skills in maintaining and analyzing data, including the use of SAS.
Skill in developing presentations, reports, and other documents.
Skill in troubleshooting and advanced problem solving.
Ability to present professional research data, agency recommendations, and reports at workshops, seminars, board meetings, hearings, and other public events.
Ability to interpret guidelines, policies, procedures, rules, and statutes; exercise sound judgment and discretion when applying relevant policies and procedures.
Ability to communicate in oral and written form to effectively communicate to a wide range of individuals.
Ability to demonstrate flexibility and adaptability toward changes in assignments and workload.
Ability to work under pressure, meet objectives, and successfully meet periodic, milestone, and final deadlines.
Ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships both internally and externally.
Doctorate from an accredited college or university.
Bachelor's degree or above with major college course work in education, statistical analysis, research and design methods, psychometrics, business or public administration, psychology, sociology, economics, or computer science.
Knowledge and experience with state and national policy issues in higher education.
Experience and proficiency with SAS programming and analysis with large-scale K-12, higher education, or workforce databases.
Experience and proficiency with SQL or other object-oriented programming and analysis with education databases.
Physical Requirements and/or Working Conditions:
Work is performed in a standard office environment and requires:
Regular, reliable, and punctual attendance at work;
Frequent use of personal computer, copiers, printers and telephones;
Frequent sitting;
Frequently works under deadlines, as a team member, and in direct contact with others.
|Employment Type:
|Higher Education Executives
|Degree Required:
|4-0 years
|$4,627 - $4,900
|Type of School:
|4 - Year / Masters Institution
|Application Requirements:
|Best if Apply By
You were inactive for over twenty minutes. To protect you, we have logged you out. Any unsaved data has been lost.


text:
When we saw yesterday that Mitt Romney had put out a statement denouncing the debt ceiling agreement, we thought, "Hmm… When was the last time we heard from him?"
Turns out it has been a long time and it was by design. Politico has coined a new term today — the "Mittness Protection Program" — to describe the silence coming from the Romney campaign. Why all the hush-hush? Conservative Republicans have issues with him and he's prone to gaffes. So if he keeps quiet and under the radar, the thinking goes, it helps his current status as leader among the Republican candidates.
That doesn't sound right.
"His strategy is clearly to play a lower profile so that he will draw less fire because he's got a number of issues that he would rather not address," Burson CEO and former Hillary Clinton adviser Mark Penn told Politico. "The tradeoff on that is if you're not out there being the frontrunner, it makes it easier for other people to catch up and get some traction with the press and maybe you wind up not the frontrunner."
"While Romney has always been a political opportunist, this week demonstrates that even when America's economy is at stake he doesn't have the courage to stand up to the Tea Party," former White House deputy press secretary and super PAC founder Bill Burton added.
The Washington Post published a story within the past hour saying that Romney's people have announced a new phase of the campaign that will continue to go after Obama about jobs and the economy while avoiding big confrontations with his actual Republican opponents. Can you fashion a campaign strategy to dodge your way to success? Seems unlikely.
[Image via]


text: The brash CEO of T-Mobile has caused the fourth-place wireless carrier to quickly grow its subscriber base by launching a flurry of disruptive initiatives, such as eliminating two-year cell phone contracts and overage charges. On Twitter Legere is considerably snarkier than your typical chief executive, regularly firing off pointed barbs directly at his competitors. —Victor Luckerson


text:
cutting the dock lines, debt free, falmouth cutter 22, living aboard, lyle hess dingy, minimalist, montgomery6'8", photography, sailing blog, sailing the San Juans, San juan Sailing
My friends thought I was nuts when I mailed a $600.00 check, my life's savings to a complete stranger to purchase a dingy I had never even seen a picture of that was 1500 miles away from me. Didn't seem strange to me at all but that's the beauty of the world I live in…my glass is half full.
Several days after the check arrived Tom sent me these pictures and very graciously offered to drive her 150 miles north to Sean from http://fullnby.blogspot.com/ who I also have never met in person but have been friends with for many years. I hoped he could help find her a ride close to WA, Sean knows everybody.
Through the kindness of strangers I hoped to get my little dingy home in time for my cruise. Sailors are an odd bunch for sure but the thing you cant deny is that they always pull together . The only thing you have to do to join this tight nit community is say the word sailing and your in for life.
The next email I received was from Sean saying the potato has landed. Apparently there is a sailing forum who Sean has pulled together to find more rides for the yet to be named dingy although potato has been mentioned more than once. The second email from Sean was more pictures, this dingy looks brand new Alan like its brand new.
To purchase a new Lyle Hess 6'8″ dingy costs $2000.00 a crate for shipping is $500.00 and shipping is $750.00 There is no way I could ever afford to purchase a dingy like this and it was at the top of my list because it was designed to ride turtle on my cabin top. I have searched almost every day for two and a half years for a good rowing dingy.
I might be the slowest person in the world when it comes to rebuilding and outfitting little Sookie but every job is done right and it shows. This dingy is icing on the cake and never would have happened it it wasn't for the kindness of strangers. Thank you to everyone who has and is helping and rooting to pass the potato. 🙂
Next project? an oven so I can make cookies and bread.
The leaves are turning and the mornings are cold, I watched Serena row away from the boat fighting the chop and pouring rain, someday I will get her a real rowing dingy. Change is coming… From the log of Sookie Salish Sea 2013
"He that can have patience can have what he will."
~Benjamin Franklin


text:
EDMONTON - "Nail Yakupov is very happy Edmonton is picking No. 1. If it's going to happen, he'd be very happy to play for a team like that with all the talent they're putting together. I know he wants to play for the Oilers. I know his work ethic and I know his desire to be No. 1. He told me he'd be very happy to play with a team like that, with such a great future, for the next 10 years."
-Igor Larianov
Nail Railovich Yakupov answered the phone Sunday night in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Russia, and said that's true. That's exactly what he told the Russian legend Igor Nikolayevich Larionov who also happens to be his agent.
When the bingo balls fell and the 29th-place Edmonton Oilers won the NHL Draft Lottery to pick first in the draft for the third consecutive year, he said he was ecstatic.
"I definitely want to go to Edmonton and play for the Oilers for sure," said the player Central Scouting and every other scouting service and credible draft projector has had No. 1 all year.
"I've played in Canada, in Sarnia, for the last two years. I love the people. I very much want to play for a Canadian team like Edmonton. I want to play for those guys!
"If they draft me, I will work very hard to make the team, give it everything I've got to work hard and play for the Oilers.
"I want to be No. 1.
"No. 1 is No. 1.
"I don't want to be second or third."
There. Just like Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he said it. And that's what Steve Tambellini wanted to hear.
The Oilers general manager said it the day after he won the lottery when he returned to Edmonton for his post-season media session.
"Getting to know Yakupov is going to be big going forward.
"When I talked to Taylor Hall, he was very comfortable talking about being the No. 1 pick. If you are the first overall pick, playing in a Canadian market, you have to have special qualities. You have to have maturity and confidence. You have to have courage aside from all the talent they're blessed with.
"Same thing happened with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, only in a different way. His poise came through. He wasn't phased by anything. He's a humble, thoughtful, young man, confident beyond his years in a great way. He exudes leadership.
"That's what you have to find out, whether they're from Russia or Sweden or Canada. We have to know what Yakupov's family is like, what his teammates think of him, his coaches ...
"How does he react to this scrutiny?"
Certainly, Tambellini, president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe and head scout Stu MacGregor will want to look in his eyes when he says the words, but he was saying them to your correspondent Sunday from his home in Nizhnekamsk, a city of 250,000 about 800 kilometres and a 90-minute flight east of Moscow.
Actually, Yakupov has already met the Oilers.
"I met the guys when they played in Detroit," he said. "I met Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Shawn Horcoff, Ryan Smyth and other guys. John Vargo, one of our team doctors in Sarnia, who knows Horcoff, called him and asked if we could come to the game and go down and meet the guys after the game in the dressing room. It was great."
Yakupov scored 49 goals in producing a 101-point season with Sarnia in 2010-11 and followed up with 31 goals and 69 points in an abbreviated 42-game season with the Sting this year.
"I didn't have 100 points," he said of his second season in junior. "But I did not play 25 games this year. I can't say my season was bad. And I won a silver medal at the world junior in Canada. That's my best medal."
Yakupov said while he didn't play in the Edmonton pool of the world junior championship, he was completely overwhelmed by his experience in Calgary.
"It was a great atmosphere and a great game against Canada," said the right winger who, although he failed to score, registered nine points for the Russians, including three in the 6-5 semifinal win over Canada.
"We lost the final to Sweden. I think beating Canada was our gold-medal game. We gave everything against Canada.
"For me, beating Canada was so great. It was so huge to beat Canada in Canada. I don't have words.
"I was so nervous against Canada. It was a big game for me in my life. I wanted to kill those guys. I wanted to hit guys and ... for me, playing that game against Canada was everything."
The Nail (actually pronounced Nile but he's cool with it being pronounced Nail as it is spelled and as he expects he'll end up being called that throughout his hockey career) Yakupov we found in the mixed zone after that game certainly exemplified that.
Sunday on the phone from Russia he considered the 1-0 loss to Sweden in the game which followed.
"I look back at the final against Sweden and I was not nervous like I was against Canada.
"It would have been better to win gold, but I look back and it was a great tournament for me."
Yakupov suffered a knee-injury in that game and was out for five weeks.
When the Oilers sit down with Yakupov before the draft, or bring him to visit owner Daryl Katz like they did with Hall and Tyler Seguin or bring him here to have dinner at the home of Tambellini like they did with Nugent-Hopkins, one thing they'll definitely be asking him about is what happened in the playoffs, a first-round loss to Saginaw in which he didn't play well.
Late in the season, Mike Halmo of the Owen Sound Attack caught him with his head down and received a 10-game suspension for the hit which damaged Yakupov's shoulder and put him out for the final four games of the season. He returned for the first game of the playoffs.
"I'm OK. I'm not injured. The playoffs weren't about being injured.
"I'm not playing good in the playoffs," he admitted.
"That is true. But I was also playing nine minutes in a game, getting two, three, four shifts a period in the fourth game, the key game.
"I don't say my coach is bad. But I am on the bench."
Yakupov scored two goals and three assists in the six-game series and was a minus seven.
Talk to people in Sarnia and they tell you that Brandon Saad was a force for Saginaw in that series as his six goals and six assists would indicate. And Sting coach Jacques Beaulieu got heavily into line-matching against Saginaw coach Greg Gilbert who kept throwing that line out. That left Yakupov neutralized on the bench much of the time.
"We're not looking back. We're looking forward. He had a good year. Coming to camp ready to compete for his first year is what's important," said Larionov.
Asked if he thought his client would be ready to play in the NHL in his first year, Larionov offered a four-word answer.
"I have no doubt."
Everybody in the NHL is nervous about drafting Russians these days because of the KHL and situations like the one where Alexander Radulov skipped out on a contract in Nashville to play in the KHL.
That's another question Tambellini, Lowe, MacGregor and probably Katz will want to hear the answer to from Yakupov while looking in his eyes.
"There is a KHL team in my city," Yakupov said Sunday. "I like my city. I miss my city. My family, my friends and my girl are in this city. But for me, I know the best league in the world is the NHL. I just want to play there. And that's it. I want to play in the NHL and I want to play in the NHL all my career."
Larionov, who won three Stanley Cups with Detroit after centring the famed KLM line with Vlidimir Krytov and Sergei Makarov to win two Olympic gold medals and a bronze in the Olympics, four golds and a silver at the world hockey championships and the gold at the 1981 Canada Cup, playing for Russia in two others and a World Cup of Hockey as well, has huge credibility in the NHL.
And the member of the Hockey Hall of Fame says trust him on this.
"I know him and he's going to be fine. He speaks English now. Nail could have gone the KHL route and made some money, but he took a different path. He went to Sarnia two years ago. He likes the NHL style of game. If he didn't want to play in the NHL he wouldn't have come here to play junior for two years. He could have stayed in Russia to make money and take an easy path."
With Edmonton fans excited at the idea of having Eberle, Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Yakupov in a modern day version of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson, after reading the above words, that's going to have to be one whale of a package of players and picks Tambellini is going to have to get from somebody not to take this kid.
Follow me on Twitter.com/sunterryjones


text:
The truth is what James Reimer has accomplished so far really isn't all that rare.
Roughly once a season in each of the last 15 years in the NHL, a rookie goaltender has entered the league, played lights out and generated a buzz that he might be the next big thing in the crease.
Reimer's certainly getting to that point with the Toronto Maple Leafs, going 9-4-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in 16 NHL games.
Even his cynical head coach is getting on board, planning to play the 22-year-old as much as possible over the team's final 22 games as the Leafs continue an unlikely playoff push.
"I'm riding James," Ron Wilson said Wednesday, indicating the rookie will likely start three games in the next four nights, beginning Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.
"He's a young kid and he wants to be in every game. I think our team deserves to get that kind of goaltending and he deserves to play."
Just when that ride will end isn't all that clear.
According to data compiled by hockey statistician Gabriel Desjardins, Reimer is the 15th goalie since 1995-96 to begin his NHL career with a .925 save percentage or better after 15 games.
The list of those who have been here before includes a few who became regular starters (Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, Niklas Backstrom, Marty Turco) and others who were less successful but still have/had NHL careers (Patrick Lalime, Vesa Toskala, Brent Johnson, Ty Conklin, Alex Auld, Josh Harding).
A couple, like Reimer, still have an incomplete body of work (Steve Mason and Sergei Bobrovsky), while others (Erik Ersberg and Kevin Hodson) only shone in that first, brief taste of life in the NHL.
It's not the worst company to be in, and especially not given Reimer was not pegged for a long NHL career as recently as last fall. His hot start will likely guarantee plenty of ice time to show what he can do the rest of this season and into next year, even if maintaining this pace is unlikely.
"Obviously, I hope [my save percentage] stays at .934," Reimer said. "I mean, it is possible, but if it comes down, it's not like it's going to be a shock per se. It's just normal that it'll fluctuate.
"Honestly, I want it to be as high as possible because that gives our team the best chance and it looks good. But as long as we're winning, I don't think the stats really make a difference."
Because of how low-scoring the Leafs have been this season, however, how many saves their goaltenders have made has had a huge impact in terms of earning wins.
Toronto has a combined save percentage of only .895 with Jean-Sébastien Giguère or Jonas Gustavsson in goal, the equivalent of allowing 1.2 more goals against per game than Reimer's .934.
Even as the Leafs have fallen to 28th in scoring, they have continued to win games. Reimer is 5-1-2 since the all-star break, despite his team scoring only 19 times in those eight games.
"He hasn't cracked," Wilson said. "These are all tough games. They're low-scoring, tight hockey games and he's got to make five or six big saves a game and he's been doing it. He's only made a couple of mistakes since he's been up. You minimize mistakes like that, you give your team a chance to win."
Recent history suggests there's a drop off coming for Reimer. On average, the other goaltenders who excelled through 15 games saw their save percentages fall dramatically the more they played, going from an average of .931 to just .906 over their next 45 games.
Only time will tell if Reimer is one of the exceptions to that trend.
"It's been fun," he said. "It's been hard to kind of grasp the whole thing because it feels like every day something new happens. I'm still just trying to enjoy the ride."
Report Typo/Error