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It may not surprise many Arcadia Chamber members that Forbes recently ranked the state of California a very low 41st out of all 50 states on the Forbes' 2012 ranking of The Best States for Business and Careers. More details about that later.
Despite the challenges created by the state, local communities can overcome offset the challenges — Duarte was recently named most business-friendly city in Los Angeles County with a population of under 60,000 by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). Whittier was recognized for cities over 60,000. The awards recognize cities within the County that are proactively promoting business-friendly programs and services in the interest of attracting and retaining good quality jobs for their residents.
The LAEDC will begin the process of selecting the most business-friendly city this year by sending a letter to the mayors and city managers of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County in May/June. There is no fee for applying for this award. It would be nice to see Arcadia earn that distinction. Let us know in the poll on the bottom right side of this page if your experiences with the City of Arcadia and the state of California would cause you to classify each as business friendly or business unfriendly. And please leave any additional comments below this article.
The LAEDC rankings are based on the following criteria:
- Demonstrated commitment to economic development as a priority
- Excellence in programs and services designed to facilitate business entry, expansion, and retention
- Economic development activity over the past three years
- Competitive business tax rates and fee structures
- Availability of economic incentives
- Effective communication with and about business clients
In the past year the City of Duarte, which was a MBFC finalist in 2010 and 2011, has:
- Amended its Filming Ordinance by becoming one of the first cities to adopt the California Film Commission's Model Ordinance and Guidelines for Best Practices in Film Regulations and Policies
- In response to the voices of local struggling businesses, the City adopted a 12-month suspension of Code Enforcement on selected temporary sign regulations
- The Duarte City Council entered into a contract with "Nextdoor" to establish a private social networking site for local neighborhoods to foster neighbor and citywide social communication. The network will also provide communication between residents and the local business community.
- The City of Duarte has a pro-business attitude mindset that is shared by its entire staff and is driven by the overarching desire to encourage economic development, bolster the city's economy, and create a better Duarte for residents and employees alike.
- The City Manager, Community Development Director and other key Staff outreach to the business community through regular business visits. Duarte supports quarterly business seminars on topics such as business management and website development, hosts job fairs that focus on local businesses and workforce development, networking breakfasts, and provides adequate staffing for its one-stop permit center in order to streamline the development process. It also funds the Duarte View Newspaper, which provides local businesses with affordable advertising opportunities. These city-funded services provide Duarte businesses with critical assistance and exposure as an added benefit offered at little to no cost.
- Duarte has set the standard that every employee be dedicated to the economic development goals of the City, with the Planning Department staff acts as economic development liaison for businesses desiring assistance. This assigned team is dedicated to implementing the recently adopted City of Duarte Economic Development Strategy. Recent customer satisfaction indicate that they were "extremely satisfied" with the service received and with the "knowledgeable staff."
- Adopted in July 2011 by the City Council, the City's plan incorporates input from the Duarte Economic Development Commission. Through the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, the City has shown their support for the LA County Economic Development Strategic Plan.
- #43 in Business Costs
- #41 Best States for Business
- #40 in Regulatory Environment
- #37 in Economic Climate
- #30 in Labor Supply
- #25 in Quality of Life
- #1 in Growth Prospects
Forbes notes that California's $2 trillion economy would be the ninth biggest in the world if it were a country. The state represents 13% of the U.S. economy. Yet, some companies have given up on the Golden State. Comcast shut down its Northern California call centers this year and eliminated 1,000 jobs, citing "the high cost of doing business in California." Campbell Soup is shutting down its Sacramento factory—eliminating 700 jobs—and moving production to Texas, Ohio and North Carolina. Forbes' top-ranked state Utah, has nabbed recent expansions by California companies, including Adobe Systems, Ebay and Electronic Arts.
The magazine describes California as " littered with problems." It ranks last in Pollina Corporate Real Estate's study of the states with the best financial incentive programs and state economic development efforts. Its A1 bond rating from Moody's on general obligation debt is the second lowest of any state—only Illinois is worse. The regulatory environment is fourth worst per the Mercatus report. The recent unemployment rate of 10.1% is the third highest in the nation. In addition to a heavy tax burden, energy costs are 33% above the national average.
Although the state has been under duress from the dramatic fall in home prices and the reduced tax revenues for the state, Forbes suggests the outlook is "relatively bright." The economy is projected to expand 3.6% annually over the next five years—ninth best among states. Forecasted job growth of 2% ranks in the top third. While many companies and individuals flee California, others are drawn in by the concentration of highly educated workers and by the fact that California is home to 10% of the 1,000 largest U.S. public and private companies. Another plus is the $36 billion in venture capital money invested in California companies the past three years, which is four times the total of any other state. And of course, there is always the weather.
Other California stats listed by Forbes:
- Population: 37,888,400
- Gross State Product: $1,959 B
- Governor: Jerry Brown
- Median Household Income: $58,872
- Mean Temperature: 62
- Cost of Doing Business: 6.3% above nat'l avg
- College Attainment: 29.9%
- Net Migration (2012): 158,800
- Moody's Bond Rating: A1
- Projected Annual Job Growth: 1.5%
- Unemployment: 10.1%
- Median Household Income: $58,872
- Household Income Growth: 0.8%
- Right to Work State: No
- Union Workforce: 18.2%
- Median Home Price: $309,900
- Foreclosures: 3.2%
- High School Attainment: 80.6%
- College Attainment: 29.9%
- Graduate Degrees: 10.7%
- Poverty Rate: 16.6%
- Crimes per 100,000 Residents: 2,995
- Net Migration (2012): 158,800
— By Scott Hettrick


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Credit Advice
Have a question? Have advice to share? The combined knowledge and experience of everyone in the Credit Karma community can help you. Enter your question or help others below to get started!
QuestionPosted in Credit Cards
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Theres no such thing as "too many"
Its how you use them that counts.
Plain and simple, activate and Keep the card. If its a store card. then use it for things like gifts. Remember to pay it off when you get the bill beacuse the interest will be more than the discount. Then put it away in a drawer and only use it a few times a year when you are planning to spend the money anyway. Store cards carry the highest interest so they are the most expensive to have. But they add diversity to your Credit history so you want a few. Even if you never use it again, it will raise your Credit to income ratio and your Available credit.
as a rule of thumb: You want to have "Available Credit" (total of all your credit card limits) equal to a years income, and never owe more than 1 months income on balances.
learn a little more about this stuff, check out the articles and posts and take control of how you manage yoru credit and your on your way.
Good luck
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I have one installed in my Wii few years ago and I really like it so much. It is so simple and I don't need to press any button or changing IOS to load backup. Now I cant find this channel and I don't know the name of channel. (Im attempting to install this launcher in my friend's wii). (It doesn't said like Neogamma or else) Fortunately, I found one on youtube that is exactly same as in my Wii. Can you find it for me? Thanks!
back up disc loader error msg - YouTube
(beginning of this video)


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Hey! This thing is still a Work in Progress. Files, instructions, and other stuff might change!
Dual Extrude Both Extruders at Once for Replicator
by Thor3D, published
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This is a script and instructions on how to run both extruders at the same time to get two objects printed at once.
This may have been the starting point for ditto printing on dual extruder MakerBots, but it has probably been superceded by the ditto function in Sailfish Firmware.
How it Works
-the script basically changes every extruder movement for 1 extruder ( an E000) to an extruder control movement for both extruders (A000 B000). Dimension/5D has to be enabled for this to work.
Work Flow
-Generate gCode as per usual but use start.gcode with Dimension based Anchor
-Run the generated Gcode thru the script
-open the gcode with ReplicatorG and print
Settings that need to be changed
-dimension needs to be turned on in Skeinforge so the we get an E000 code
for extruder movements.
-the ReplicatorG34/machines/Replicator.xml file needs to be changed so the maxfeedrate on A and B is 4600 instead of 1600 so skeinforge does not throw a fit everytime you generate gcode. I arbitrarily picked 4600- if someone knows the proper number let me know.
-in skeinforge alterations tab- remove Redundant Gcode needs to be unchecked otherwise the warmup of the 2nd extruder gets removed
-there are two version of the gcode conversion script- one for XP another for Vista and Win7- in the Win7 version you need to edit the script to change the file name that is being converted each time(if someone has a way to do a file dialog like the XP version let me know)
-you can either:
-use the dimension based start.gode all the time
-create profile that uses it the dimension based start.code
-use the "use default start/end.gcode" setting in the generate print dialog to control which one you use
-the startup gcode also has some warmup tricks I am currently testing. The bed seems to be the slow spot in the warmup so I turn it on at the start of the script. I don't wait for it to be warm at that point simply turn it on, I use 105 degrees in case it is already warm. Then once the homing is done. I wait for it to warm to 100 then turn it to 110 without waiting(I don't think the bed has to be at 110 before we start printing). Then the extruders get turned on and we wait for them to be ready.
Know Issues
-the anchor gcode of the startup-gcode need some work.
-Mac and Linux people are out of luck for the time being- the conversion code is pretty straight forward if someone wants to convert it
Thanks to Rob Giseburt for the advice on how to start the process.
Let me know if you find any issues.
You may also want to check out http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24195 by JoeyC He made a derivative that is written in C.
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Hi, do you know how to do this on reprap? I have tried your gcode on my modified prusa i3, but it had no effect.
Hi Osoba,
We haven't done this on any style of Reprap before, but the core ideas should be the same as long as your controller is designed to handle commands for both extruder motors at the same time. You should just have to use the script to modify your Gcode, but it may vary as some printers and firmwares may use different variations of Gcode commands, so double check the used commands are recognized by your printer. You may want to read through your Gcode after it is modified and confirm that it is controlling both extruders with commands that match the original Gcode.
This is probably outdated. If you want to use this your best bet is probably to install sailfish and use the ditto function. Press a couple of buttons on the LCD and you can get both extruders going.
THIS IS SERIOUSLY AWESOME. With a little hacking, you could add some distance between the two print heads and print two objects the size of 1/2 of the Replicator's print bed!!!
Can we assume prints should be raft less? Or can a raft be used that is very small, as long as there is no overlap?
I use a raft so seldom I never even thought about it. There is no reason a raft would not work, you can turn the margin down and it might not be a problem if the overlapped a little bit.
This is quite clever. Admittedly it only applies to one very specific case (printing multiples of something narrower than the distance between extruders) but I can think if times when it would be a huge win. For example, I recently printed 100 tank treads and this would have saved a huge amount of time. And I just spent a day printing at the Orlando Mini Maker Faire (http//http://www.orlandomaker.comwww.orlandomaker.com) and with this trick I could have doubled the number of little doohickies I gave away. And, of course, this trick is just COOL!
This is surprisingly more practical than I thought.
I think, eventually, the best place for this would be in the Multiply plugin of skeinforge.
Great work!
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, April 19 (UPI) -- Haiti is appealing to member nations of the Caribbean Community, or Caricom, for help in its ongoing food price crisis, Haitian officials said.
President Rene Preval asked Caricom countries for an unspecified amount of financial aid, Haitian radio reported, following last week's protests over rising food costs.
Prices for staples like rice have double in the last year, prompting demonstrations that left five people dead last week.
Preval said shortly after the protests the Haitian government would subsidize some basic foods until the country could begin producing more food supplies at home and rely less on costlier imports.


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Tim Tebow Hate Leaves John Elway Looking Like a MoronNovember 29, 2011
Tim Tebow doesn't care who talks trash about him. Even if it is his own boss.
Approximately one week after Broncos executive vice-president of football operations, John Elway, said "no" when asked if he felt any closer to finding his quarterback of the future, Elway finds himself defending his comments.
ESPN has the quotes of the former Broncos and Hall of Fame quarterback saying to NFL.com:
"I was surprised in the fact that people took it to be a negative answer and it really wasn't a negative answer," Elway said Monday on the same show, according to NFL.com. "That's where I was taken aback. It wasn't meant to be a strike at Timmy at all."
"It was just a reality check of where we were at the time, and it wasn't a negative because I tried to follow it up with all the positive things we were doing and tried to point out some things we needed to get better at."
We've applauded Elway's concerted effort to be more open and honest with the fans about the things he and the Broncos are doing (his Twitter account included) but this is where he shows that he's got as much to learn about being an executive as Tebow does about throwing the football.
We've basically gotten to the point where we've become accustomed to hearing "Tebow does it again."
Denver is 5-1 with Tebow under center and one game behind the Oakland Raiders in AFC West.
People can hate or love Tebow all they want, but the wish-wash from Elway is just stupid.
This is a franchise that hasn't been to the postseason since 2005. They've had one winning season in the last five years and have won only one postseason game since winning the Super Bowl in 1998.
Since Elway's retirement after the 1998 Super Bowl win, the Broncos have gone through four different leading passers: Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton.
The only one that consistently won games was Plummer, who went 42-22 in the regular season and led the Broncos to the postseason three of his four years under center.
The sample size on Tebow is certainly very small, but for a guy who took the Broncos to the playoffs 10 of his 16 years in the league, Elway has to realize that standing behind someone who is winning isn't going to kill him.
Elway doesn't need to blow smoke up Tebow's rear end, but what's wrong with supporting him openly for once? We know Tebow isn't going to rest on his laurels. Heck, Elway and Fox's decision to go with Kyle Orton for as long as they did is arguably the biggest mistake of the year.
Tim Tebow isn't the only one facing a learning curve with a new job in Denver. Elway would be wise to realize his current quarterback and organization is stronger with the two of them together than it is with Tebow going it alone.


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South Carolina > Statewide > Probate Court
Closing Agreement 328ES - South Carolina
|Closing Agreement Form. This is a South Carolina form and can be used in Probate Court Statewide .
|Get this form for FREE as a print-only pdf
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF: ________________________ IN THE MATTER OF: ____________________________________ (Decedent) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) IN THE PROBATE COURT CLOSING AGREEMENT CASE NUMBER: ________________________ TO: THE HONORABLE ______________________ PROBATE JUDGE The undersigned, being a beneficiary of the Estate of _________________________, (the "Decedent"), hereby acknowledges and agrees to the following: 1. I have received copies of the inventory and all closing documents relative to the estate. 2. I am familiar with the Estate or ___________________________ and am familiar with the assets the Decedent owned at the date of his/her death and the expenditures made and the income or loss experienced by the estate during the period of administration. I am satisfied that I am receiving in value what I am entitled to under that Last Will and Testament of the Decedent owned, but in the aggregate, I am satisfied that I am receiving everything I am entitled to under the Decedent's Will. 3. I acknowledge I have the right to come before the Probate Judge and have a hearing as to the distribution of the assets of the estate of the Decedent. I also acknowledge I have the right to ask questions of the Personal Representative and/or the Estate's attorney, if any. Since I am satisfied with what I have received, I hereby knowingly waive that right and ask the Court to expedite the closing of this estate so the Personal Representatives can be discharged and that all beneficiaries can receive their share of the estate. 4. I agree that a detailed review by the Probate Court of the Decedent's estate file is not necessary to protect my interest in the estate. Dated this________ day of ________________, 20______. SWORN to before me this , 20 day of Signature: Print Name: Address: Notary Public for South Carolina My Commission Expires: Telephone (Work): (Home): (Cell): E-mail: Relationship to Decedent/Estate: Form #328ES (1/2014) 62-3-912 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com


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- Score:
- rated 4.08 / 5 stars
- Views:
- 249,561 Views
- Share Links:
- Genre:
- Comedy - Original
- life
- ninja
- swords
- portalhistory2001
Credits & Info
- Uploaded
- Jul 8, 2001 | 4:36 PM EDT
- Daily Feature July 9, 2001
If you liked this, check these out!
Plenty more like this here!
Author Comments
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars
LoL i think its funny how u did this with ninja's.... u should so another one with snipers or something hehe
Rated 3.5 / 5 stars
A good cartoon...
I liked it, good graphics, sound, and effects. Over all I liked it.
Rated 1.5 / 5 stars
not tooooo shabby
it was purdy good but not as humorous as i'd hoped.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Very Very Good!
That was an excellent piece of work and very very fucking funny! You wouldn't mind if I copied down the author's words do you and keep it in my computer? But anyways, a very good movie!! Next worst case scenario should be somthing of bigfoot or some other monster. Still lovin' this movie!
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars
Cracked me up!
I thought this was was really funny. Can't wait to see more!


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Once every 400 years, wizards from all around Midgård gather to compete in the traditional WOOT sports and games festival. At least they say it's every 400 years… There usually aren't that many left to talk about it afterwards.
Nevertheless! Speed, strength, stamina, staff length – the powers of a true magick master will be determined at the games. But the competition is brutal; who will be the wizard champion of the world?
Magicka: WOOT allows players to join their favorite robed rapscallions as they make their way to a wizarding competition, only held once every few centuries in the land of Midgard. Aspiring sorcery athletes can face each other in the "Olympus Onslaught" PvP maps, trying to out-survive one another in the ever-changing Elemental Roulette arena, or try to stave off trench-foot in the Pool of Undeniable Moisture. Once those grudges are settled, wizards of all nations can band together for the Triathlon of Terror, skating across a strangely fiery patch of ice and dodging bottomless pits. We should probably mention that nobody told the monsters the Triathlon was in progress, so your chances of survival are pretty slim.
Using a slew of quasi-legal new sporting goods and magicks exclusive to challenge and PvP modes, wizards everywhere can compete for the gold, which they really need ever since they forgot how alchemy works.
- 4 new PvP maps
- 3 new Challenge maps
- 10 new Sporting Goods items, including dumbbells, water bottles, and the Elevennis Racket
- New "Athletic Techniques" magick, including Performance Enchantment and the crowd-pleasing Wave
- Waves upon waves of nasty creatures who hate teamwork, wizards, and robes
- The satisfaction of not having spent any money


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Help with flexibility if possible
Hopefully I'm not too old for this, but I'm starting a martial art that does a lot of rolling and break-falls, and trains outdoors.
However, due to being on computers and out of shape, I have -zero- flexibility, and it doesn't seem to be improving that much since I started about 3-4 weeks ago. Basic rolls I used to do 5-7 years ago are almost impossible now.
Anyone have any suggestions for regaining some flexibility? This sucks, and I hope this improves, because I am starting to feel like I'm wasting the instructor's time. :(
Don't know man... I google it tho and found some exercises:
if you ride your bike regularly, take an extra 10 or 15mins so you can do stretches before, midway or after the ride.
alternatively, lose the seat with backrest and sit on a stool.
This reminds me of a fancy term, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (or PNF), I read about in Silent Sports magazine many years ago. It basically builds on existing flexibility to increase range. Here's one link which has some good info on PNF (#6 in the list) and other exercises. I incorporated PNF into my routine years ago and it seems to have helped...mainly for biking (especially my hammies). I can't speak for its effectiveness for martial arts. A physical therapist friend of mine confirmed it as a good means to increase flexibility.
Have you considered getting a young and energetic girlfriend?
Don't feel like you're wasting the martial arts instructor's time. You're paying for his classes. He should be used to working with adults who aren't as flexible as kids.
+1 for Yoga. May want to consider a BEGINNER class or just get some DVDs. I just did my first class Friday with my sister. Wasn't beginner and whooped my ass, but it sure felt good (besides the pain, of course).
+2 for yoga. Get a DVD, mat and block. It will do the trick
Massage and yoga.
Yoga and patience. It takes time to increase flexibility.
|All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:53 PM.


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Munich, July 13 (IANS) German giants Bayern Munich's coach Pep Guardiola has said it was midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger's decision to leave the football club and join English rivals Manchester United.
German international Schweinsteiger joined United on Sunday after spending 17 years at Bayern, rising through the youth ranks to become one of the best midfielders of his country, winning the World Cup last year.
Guardiola said it was an "honour" to manage the 30-year-old, after confirming his reasons for leaving and thanked him for his service to the Bundesliga champions.
He joined United for a fee of 15 million pounds ($23.2 million) after making 500 first-team appearances for the German club, scoring 67 times. Guardiola revealed the decision to leave was made by the midfielder.
"It was Bastian's personal decision. He wants to have this experience. But many, many thanks to Basti," Guardiola was quoted as saying by dailymail.co.uk on Monday.
"It was a big honour for me to be his manager. We talked prior to the season and I said: "You decide, Basti"."
Schweinsteiger explained his move on a video posted to his Facebook account, saying he wanted to gain experience with a new club.


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The appearance of advertisements and product information on this site does not constitute an endorsement by Equipment World Magazine, and Equipment World Magazine has not investigated the claims made by any advertiser. Product information is based solely on material received from suppliers.
The Case 570 M XT Turbo Wheel Loader is equipped with an 80-net-horsepower (60 kW) engine and features a new 93-inch (236 cm) bucket along with a range of attachments to provide versatile performance. The 570M XT Turbo is ideally suited for work in rental, building construction, roads, utility, agriculture and landscaping applications.


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I saw the winmo 7 video other day in youtube. It looks great but it was like a dejavu for me. I have sony erricsson Xperia X1, in that we have a panel called Media experience, it is more or less the same as new winmo interface. (for those who haven't seen it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEQt8tGUuYg )
The only differences are that instead of txt showing you where you are (each time you get in a folder the name of the txt goes on top, that way you know where you are) in Media experience it shows you an icon
notice the icon on the right ( music icon) indicates that you are in music player. Oh yeah and unlike winmo7 it is in the left side. The thing that this is missing is the clock on the background (i photoshoped it) and the weather widget.
HTC UI is great but it also slows down the phone, that's why I prefer titanium. I was wondering if somebody could figure out a way to put a clock and weather widget with it. Some other pics,


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Vikings strike Thunder twice
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College dropped a doubleheader Sunday at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, 14-2 and 16-6.
Leading hitters in the doubleheader for the Thunder included Donnie Roberts, who was 4-for-7 with a double, and Richard Jubie, who went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Tony Klaas was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Cody Anderson and Joe Broneak were the losing pitchers in the first and second games, respectively.
The Thunder host Vermilion Community College Wednesday at Braun Park. The first game is set for 3 p.m.


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TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- The Florida Supreme Court threw out half of a lawsuit challenging a $10 fee for auto emissions tests that used to be required in six counties.
Thursday's ruling came two years after the state stopped the tests -- and five years after the lawsuit was filed.
Because an agency regulation was involved rather than a statute, the fee challenge should have gone through administrative channels rather than directly to court, Justice Peggy Quince wrote for the court.
The opinion was unanimous with the exception of Justice R. Fred Lewis, who agreed only with the result.
But the ruling doesn't affect a second count in the lawsuit, which challenged the statute itself, according to Alan Wachs, the Jacksonville lawyer who filed the suit in July 1997.
From 1991 through 2000, an estimated 5 million people in three counties in South Florida, two counties in the Tampa Bay area and Jacksonville had to get their cars tested for tailpipe pollution. It cost $10.
The lawsuit argued that the emissions testing statute put a $10 cap on the fee and directed the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to charge no more than the cost of administration.
Wachs filed a class-action suit, seeking a refund of about $47 million for the years 1994 through 1997. If it had been successful, refunds would have varied from county to county and could have ranged from just a couple of dollars to $12, he said.
In 1998, the law was changed and the $10 fee was placed in the statute. Wachs amended the lawsuit to challenge the law itself. That part of the lawsuit, which covers 1998 through 2000, is still pending in trial court.
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Claire Burke writes
Campaigners in Essex are joining forces with the group Cure the NHS to lobby for improvements at Basildon Hospital, the BBC reports.
And a high court judge has quashed part of an NHS consultation process vital for introducing "long overdue" changes to children's heart surgery services in Leeds and across the country, the Yorkshire Post writes.
That's all from us today, we'll be back in the morning.
Claire Burke writes
Writing for the BMJ David J Hunter, professor of health policy and management, says from 1 April the NHS in England will never be the same again. He writes:
Behind the NHS brand and logo a gradual and insidious hollowing out of what has up until now been a largely publicly provided service will get underway and gather pace. The notorious, and scantily revised, section 75 regulations governing the progressive dismantling of the NHS—replacing publicly run and accountable services with a mixed economy of care largely delivered by for-profit corporations—are the whole point of the act. They "take the brakes off and allow competition to freewheel," introducing EU competition law into the NHS and thereby putting more and more services out to competitive tender and embedding market competition as the driving force in the NHS.
Gradually, the ethos of the NHS as a public service will be eroded and replaced with a different set of values. Whether this is motivated by naked greed, as Reynolds believes, or neoliberal dogma permeating the political system, the end result will be largely the same and not in the public interest.
Elsewhere health commentator Roy Lilley writes in his newsletter that:
Today is important because it is the last opportunity I will have to write to you before Easter and April 1st; the day the NHS is Liberated, set free. Some would say cast-off. To those of you who will be leaving the NHS, may I say 'thank you'. I know many of you will be leaving with a feeling of relief - good luck to you with whatever is next. Many of you will be leaving us with anger and disappointment ... Whatever your frame of mind, think about this; you have been part of the most envied health system in the world. It is not perfect but you have played your part in its pursuit of excellence and its place in history. There is so much for you to be proud of and so much for you to be satisfied with. Well done. For those of us who are left there are some difficult days ahead.
Sarah Johnson writes
Writing for Comment is free, Roger Taylor highlights Jeremy Hunt's dangerous belief in a single 'truth' about hospitals. He says the government's response to the Mid Staffs report addresses regulators first and patients second and that this has to be reversed.
A single assessment can be a useful tool. But not if you begin to believe it is the "truth" about quality or that you have made "an assessment that fully reflects what matters to patients". After all, there are roughly 50 million NHS patients in England, ranging from infants to old people with dementia. You might be able to fully reflect what matters to some of them; or partially reflect what matters to all of them. But, as Abraham Lincoln would have said, had he worked in the NHS, you are never going to assess all of what matters to all of them.
Sarah Johnson writes
Last night was the first in a landmark eight-part series on the BBC - Keeping Britain Alive: the NHS in a Day - which was filmed by 100 camera crews across the country on a single day in the NHS.
We were told that one day equals 1.5 million patients, 1,500 deaths, 2,000 births, 400 strokes.
The first episode also revealed how the NHS copes with the growing demands of obesity, old age and cancer among others.
The BBC has a linked piece which described two medical professionals' insights into their work.
In a review for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston wrote of the series:
It's impossible to really complete a portrait of today's NHS, but this will probably get closer than anything before. An extraordinarily bold project, about an extraordinary institution.
And, Alice Jones wrote for the Independent:
This was a celebration of healthcare heroics, without Danny Boyle's dancing nurses – or a visit to Mid Staffs. Hospital staff talked pragmatically to camera about budgets, but faced with patients, their compassion won every time.
Claire Burke writes
Sheena Byrom, an independent midwifery adviser, argues that maternity services need to take stock of the Francis report too. In a piece for the NHS Voices blog she says:
Highlighting the woeful prioritising of cost over care, the report brought to mind the marvels and frustrations I've encountered during the course of my 35 years working in the NHS.
These frustrations, I believe, have been a consequence of continuous 're-disorganisation', institutionalised bureaucracy, the introduction of competition, and managing the NHS as a product.
She continues:
A study I was involved in on the impact of paperwork on workload for midwives and obstetricians in maternity services in north west England revealed a sense of overburden and stress due to the increased focus on documentation and tick boxes, mainly to reduce risk or 'getting into trouble'. The general feeling was that maternity care was 'record-centred' instead of 'patient-centred'.
This focus on risk aversion and risk management processes appears to dominate the system and certainly impacts on the culture in the working environment. In maternity services, this risk aversion culture is actually exacerbating risk in many ways.
Lunchtime headlines
Clare Horton writes
Here's a run through some of the healthcare headlines from around the web this lunchtime:
• Telegraph: Regulator accused of passing failing hospitals
• BBC: Parental 'problem behaviour guide'
• East Anglian Daily Times: Disgraced dentist who invoiced NHS for work on dead patients jailed for 18 months
• Pulse: Telehealth pathfinder schemes struggle to recruit patients
• GP online: Monitor to review fairness of GP contracts
• Nursing Times: Practice nurses 'as good as GPs' at treating low complexity cases
Clare Horton writes
Mary Riddell writes for the Telegraph today on the NHS reforms being introduced next week. The move to one of the biggest shake-ups in NHS history is, she writes, "attracting hardly more attention than a tonsillectomy at Scunthorpe general". Most of the shadow cabinet believe that, the economy apart, the next election will be won or lost on health, says Riddell, and she calls for a bold response from Labour. She writes:
An NHS set up to treat sick people who die young is no longer able to cope with a Methuselah generation of the very old, whose plight will worsen as more cuts in local government spending mean even fewer carers and more elderly people thrown, against their wishes, into hospitals where even good or adequate care cannot help them to thrive. Voters will put up with many slights but they will not ultimately tolerate any Government that plays God with the lives of the most frail.
The Tories have had their chance to redeem a failing NHS with the reforms that go live on Monday. Now it is over to the Opposition. On the economy, Labour is mistrusted. On immigration, Lynton Crosby still hopes to exploit fear. But on health, Mr Miliband has the chance to save money, lives and the only service that, even in this shameful week, can still brand itself One Nation. Will he dare?
Clare Horton writes
Kate Murray reports for SocietyGuardian today on the closure of specialist brain injury services. Critics fear that highly specialised NHS services sacrificed for the sake of short-term cost savings, says Murray, while staff describe cuts as "heartbreaking". Brain injury charity Headway says it is seeing cost-cutting of acute and post-acute services for people affected by brain injury across the UK, and those needing support are being abandoned by the system.
Professor Mike Barnes, a specialist in neurological rehabilitation and chair of the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum, tells Murray that 3,000 beds for acute brain injury rehabilitation across the NHS and private providers is already "grossly inadequate" and new commissioning arrangements will only make that worse. He says:
It's frankly a bit chaotic at the moment. We can't get a clear answer from anyone on who is going to be commissioning what and when. We are starting from a low baseline and when you add in that chaos and, even worse, shutting a unit like Bath, we have real concerns. There is no doubt it will lead to further gaps in provision and further very patchy provision.
What the papers say on the government's response to the Francis report
Claire Burke writes
The Independent's editorial on Jeremy Hunt's response to the Francis report describes it as "only a start". It says:
In setting out his response, the Health Secretary went some way to tackling the issues identified by Mr Francis. Jeremy Hunt set out plans for a beefed-up, Ofsted-style, Chief Inspector of Hospitals; for an end to confidentiality clauses which silenced whistleblowers; for a legal "duty of candour" for hospital boards; and for the slashing of bureaucratic box-ticking for nurses. All such measures are to be welcomed – although it beggars belief that many of them were not always the norm.
... Even taken together, however, the impact of these changes will be limited so long as key parts of the NHS are so inefficiently staffed. Labour's health spokesman, Andy Burnham, yesterday blamed cuts in the number of nurses for falling standards of care. There is certainly an issue with quality in the NHS. A recent watchdog report concluded that a staggering 27 per cent of hospitals and care homes are failing to meet minimum standards. But staffing numbers do not tell the whole story. The question is one of efficient organisation, rather than the length of the roster. And simply hiring more nurses will not, by itself, end a culture which treated patients and their families with such contempt that, in the words of one grieving relative, cruelty was normalised.
It is attitudes, then, as much as systems, that must change if patients are not to be left so appallingly neglected as they were in Mid Staffordshire.
The Telegraph's editorial says calls for power to be stripped from producers and given to patients. It asks:
... do Mr Hunt's reforms, worthwhile as they are, represent the "turning point in the history of the NHS" that he promised yesterday? We doubt it. The sad truth is that shuffling around the regulators, or imposing a new "duty of candour", will do little to push through the fundamental changes in behaviour that are necessary. It is good news that those managers who fail could be barred from such work (including, one hopes, Sir David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, who bears his share of the blame for Mid Staffs). But it is hard to see how Mr Hunt can impose his cherished "zero-harm" culture on a monolithic health service where patients are all too often denied compassion, or even basic nutrition.
BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle asks whether patients are the problem. He writes:
... in some ways the changes ignored the elephant in the room: the changing nature of the patient population.
It is an open secret that hospitals in the 21st Century are full of patients that should not be there.
A combination of the ageing population and advances in medicine have meant that there is a growing number of frail, elderly people who need intensive care and support.
But all too often that is not available in the community, and so they end up in hospital as an emergency case.
Writing for Comment is free, student nurse Geraldine Williams asks the health secretary: why would we go into a profession that every day deals with life and death at its most core if we didn't care?
Clare Horton writes
On the network today, we've two pieces looking at the culture of the NHS. Lubna Haq, director of healthcare consulting at Hay Group, looks at how the health service can create a culture of compassion in response to the Francis report. While Murray Anderson-Wallace, says there are three traps to avoid as health organisations focus on what they will do to improve culture in the wake of Francis. Anderson-Wallace, an executive producer for PatientStories and a research associate for the Centre for Innovation in Health Management at the University of Leeds, warns:
Truly awful things have happened in British hospitals, but we need to be careful how we define the problem of NHS culture or we will end up with the wrong solutions.
Morning headlines
Sarah Johnson writes
Good morning and welcome to the daily live blog from the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network. Throughout the day, we'll be bringing you news, comment and analysis from around the web.
The Guardian reports this morning that patient groups have said the NHS care overhaul measures proposed by Jeremy Hunt don't go far enough. The health secretary plans to name and shame failing hospitals and bar failing managers from the service after the Mid Staffs scandal.
There is also an interview with Ruth Carnall, the departing chief executive of NHS London who admits: "There isn't a job in the system that I want."
The Telegraph has a story saying arguing parents could damage their baby for life. A study has found that parents who argue in front of their baby cause them lasting damage because they are likely to suffer from stress in later life.
It has also reported that Britain is 'worst in Europe' for child deaths.
And, the BBC has reported that MPs have said that the NHS emergency set-up is unclear. They have warned that the government's overhaul of the NHS in England mean it is "not clear who will be in charge in the event of a health emergency".
If there's a story, report or event you'd like to highlight – or you would like to share your thoughts on any of the healthcare issues in the news today – you can get in touch by leaving a comment below the line or tweeting us at @GdnHealthcare.


text:
If I could find just one word to describe the music of Bruce Springsteen, it would NOT be "sleepy." But, I know one celebrity who didn't get the memo.
This person was spotted snoozing at the Boss's Madison Square Garden concert this week! Thanks to technology, nearby fans started Tweeting pictures.
The mystery catnapper: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. That guy's a HUGE fan of Bruce, too! (Hey hey, that wasn't a weight joke.)
CLICK HERE for more about the potential VP sleeping beauty.


text: Check out the latest personal media player from Philips, the GoGear Ariaz. The Ariaz features Full Sound technology which delivers crystal clear enhanced audio, a 2 inch LCD display, a cleverly designed rocker key for easy navigation, FM radio and support for MP3/WMA audio as well as MPEG-4 video. You'll also get ergonomically designed buds that feature turbo bass air vents, for deeper, stronger bass and angled acoustic technology for a full on music experience. The player will be available with 4, 8 and 16 GB of storage space from April at 79 euros, 99 euros and 129 euros respectively. [Pocket-Lint]


text:
One hundred and ten years ago, a semi-professional baseball player and part-time railroad engineer named George "Stormy" Kromer got sick and tired of losing his hat when he stuck his head out his locomotive's window. He asked his wife Ida, an expert seamstress, to make him a hat with a ball cap's bill, a flap to keep his ears warm, and something - anything - to make sure it didn't get blown away. Ida went to work and the Stormy Kromer Cap was born. It wasn't long before Michigan's railroad engineers and barnstormers were sporting Ida-made hats secured by tight two-inch thick fabric strips and bragging about them to lumberjacks and hunters. Stormy Kromers have been a North Woods style staple ever since.
Still based in the blue-collar town of Ironwood, the Stormy Kromer company has changed little in the last century, which is all the more reason to buy their carefully constructed goods. The highlight of the line is the Original Benchwarmers series, which offers NFL fans a chance to support their team by wearing their colors (the blue and red hats work for fans of the Patriots, Bills, Texans, and Giants). The green and gold Stormy benchwarmer is a mainstay at Packers games - and with good reason. The low-key hat looks sensible in both the bleachers and the boxes and, despite being made for December, is light enough to wear all season long.
And the wind will never blow it away. [$50; StormyKromer.com]


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Nov 6, 2001
|Filing date
|Sep 20, 2000
|Priority date
|Jun 25, 1998
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Jeffrey N. Roe
|Original Assignee
|Amira Medical
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (16), Non-Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (47), Classifications (8), Legal Events (6)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 09/104,749 filed Jun. 25, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,082.
The present invention relates to a device that measures chemical or biochemical components (analyte) in an aqueous fluid, such as whole blood, interstitial fluid or industrial solution. In particular, the invention relates to a test device that includes a substrate incorporating a conductive surface film onto which a drop of aqueous fluid is placed. The presence and/or concentration of an analyte, e.g., glucose, is determined by Raman or infrared spectroscopy whereby radiation is detected from the metallic film, and analyzed for the analyte.
Numerous devices have been developed to test for presence and quantity of analytes in aqueous samples, such as whole blood or urine. The patent and technical literature of the last thirty years is replete with inventions which utilize a reagent strip containing a dry chemistry reagent system, that is, a system in which the wet chemistries are imbibed into an absorbent or bibulous medium, dried, and later reconstituted by fluid from the test sample. The reagent strips contain an indicator which changes color, depending on the presence or concentration of a particular analyte in a biological fluid applied to the strip. These strips may be read visually by reference to a color standard or calorimetrically by an instrument calibrated or programmed to detect a certain color. These strips use reduction chemistries, or an oxidizable dye or dye couple. Some of the strips include an enzyme, such as glucose oxidase, which is capable of oxidizing glucose to gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. They also contain an oxidizable dye and a substance having peroxidative activity, which is capable of selectively catalyzing oxidation of the oxidizable dye in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. (See, for example, Phillips et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,346.) Examples of these devices have been described to test for glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, calcium or albumin in whole blood, and for protein, ketones, albumin or glucose in urine.
Dry chemistry reagent strips incorporating enzyme-based compositions are used daily by millions of diabetics to determine blood glucose concentrations. The NIH sponsored study, the Diabetes Complications and Control Trial, demonstrated conclusively that careful control of blood glucose levels can significantly reduce the incidence of serious complications of diabetes such as vision loss and kidney malfunction. Most diabetics must test themselves periodically in order to make appropriate adjustments to their diet or medication. It is thus especially important for diabetics to have rapid, inexpensive, and accurate test strips for glucose determination.
The technologies embodied in the products which have been developed to date have certain limitations from the perspective of the end user and/or the manufacturer. There is, therefore, a need to overcome some of the limitations of currently available testing systems. Specifically, the embodiment of dry chemistry reagent systems in test strips adds sufficient cost to each test strip as to make them too expensive for some diabetics to use on a daily basis. Technology that eliminates the chemistry added to a test strip would reduce cost to the user and allow simpler manufacturing process for production. A direct measurement system would reduce the annual cost of the measurement dramatically by eliminating much of the reoccurring disposable cost.
Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy are analytical methods that provides qualitative and quantitative information on chemical species such as glucose because the presence and intensity of absorption or emission maxima correlate with the presence and concentration of a functional group within the chemical species. A hand held optical instrument that employs these techniques to measure blood glucose directly without chemistry strips would allow inexpensive testing for people with diabetes.
The major restriction of Raman and IR (including NIR) spectroscopy is the high detection limit of the method which results in the techniques not determining low concentrations of trace chemical species such as glucose. For IR spectroscopy, the key to determining the concentration of a trace chemical species is to increase the intensity of the absorption. This can be done by either a pre-concentration technique (evaporation or transfer into a second matrix) or using a long path length through the sample for the IR beam (long path cuvette, multireflection cuvette, multireflection ATR, optical fibers). The pre-concentration step is time consuming and may change the sample. The longer path length requires a large sample size and will also increase the absorbance of the background. For Raman spectroscopy, the key to determining the concentration of a trace chemical species is to increase the intensity of the emission which may also be accomplished with a pre-concentration technique but has the same drawbacks.
Surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIR) and Surface-enhanced Raman (SER) techniques can be used to increase the absorption and emission of the chemical species respectively without the drawbacks stated above. This is because it has been shown that chemical species on or near rough metal surfaces achieve a higher absorption or emission of light. Roughened surfaces of colloidal silver, gold, and copper have all been shown to give increased Raman and IR signals in the presence of trace chemical species such as glucose and the process is reversible when the chemical species is taken away. SEIR has been shown to give IR absorption gains of 50 fold and SER has been shown to enhance the ordinary Raman signal by 1.4 million fold. The ability to enhance the glucose signal by these factors because the sample window has a layer of colloidal metal will allow practical detection of solution glucose at physiological concentrations without added chemistry on the test device.
Since the signal enhancement is restricted to the chemical species near the vicinity of the surface, the interface can be selectively monitored without interference from the solution background. There are many different forms of substrate suitable for surface enhancement of IR or Raman signal; these forms include, for example, colloids, electrodes, coated microspheres, fumed silica and acid etched metal surfaces.
Phillips et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,346 describes a system wherein a whole blood sample is applied to the device and indicator development occurs in the presence of the colored components of the sample. Measurements of the color change in indicator are made at two distinct wavelengths to eliminate the interferences from the presence of colored blood components.
Muller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,889, describes an apparatus for infrared spectroscopy using two different wavelengths to effect a quantitative measurement in biological medium specifically for the determination of products of metabolism. The level of blood glucose can be determined through absorption analysis of infrared wavelengths absorbed in a glucose containing samples. This approach requires high concentrations of the target component due to the low signal of the technique and the dual wavelength nature of the measurement.
Kaiser, U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,676 describes a method of determining the content of metabolic products in blood using a laser beam that is guided through an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) plate which is placed directly against the skin. Knudson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,421; Knudson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,951 and Braig, WO 95/31930 describe infrared spectrometric noninvasive methods for measuring the concentration of blood glucose. The methods detect the absorption of infrared radiation by glucose in human tissues.
Braig, U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,941; Clift, WO 91/18548 and Clift, WO 93/09421 describe techniques of applying infrared radiation having multiple wavelengths to measure glucose in blood without interference from overlapping components. Short bursts or pulses of radiation are employed to prevent burning of the tissue.
Berger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,673, describes an apparatus for measuring analytes in blood and tissue using Raman spectroscopy. The method is suitable for in vitro and in vivo transdermal blood analysis.
Alsmeyer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,836, describes a method of applying radiation having multiple wavelengths to a sample containing an unknown constituent. Analysis of a sample of unknown constitution often produces data that are perturbed by conditions prevailing at the data collection site. By analyzing multiple variables in a matrix format, a calibration function to determine constituent concentration can be obtained that adjusts for operational variability associated with the measuring apparatus and other changes in the measurement volume.
Despite the advances in conventional devices and methods, the art is still in search of improved techniques for analysis of biological fluid samples, and especially for analysis of glucose in blood. In particular, there is a need for a portable, inexpensive, and easy to use device for glucose detection that does not require chemical reagents.
The present invention is based in part on the recognition that surface-enhanced spectroscopy is particularly suited for quantitative analysis of analytes in biological liquid samples.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention is directed to a device for testing a biological liquid sample for the presence or concentration of an analyte that includes:
(a) a substrate defining a surface which has electrically conductive particles disposed thereon, wherein the surface is adapted to accommodate the liquid sample;
(b) means for generating radiation and directing the radiation to be incident on said surface of the substrate so that radiation is emitted from the electrically conductive particles; and
(c) means for detecting the emitted radiation.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a device for testing a liquid biological sample for the presence or concentration of an analyte that includes:
(a) a matrix having electrically conductive particles that are incorporated in the matrix or that are disposed on a surface thereof, wherein the matrix is permeable to the liquid biological sample;
(b) means for generating radiation and directing the radiation to be incident on matrix so that radiation is emitted from the electrically conductive particles; and
(c) means for detecting radiation that is emitted from the metal particles.
By means of the method of this invention it is possible, for instance, to determine glucose in human whole blood rapidly and dependably. It is also possible to measure other blood components such as ethyl alcohol, urea, uric acid, lipids, hemoglobin, creatininie and peptide decomposition products.
In a preferred embodiment the device includes a transparent window that is coated with silver colloid on a sample application side. Blood can be applied to the window in the form of a drop, smear or film and the glucose concentration determined after multispectral analysis from the side opposite the silver colloid. The reading or measuring for the presence/concentration of the glucose is accomplished by detecting the change in reflectance of multiple wavelengths from the colloid layer. The test device can be wiped or washed after blood application for repeat blood application and measurement if desired. If the test device window is scratched or damaged it can be replaced, otherwise the entire system is reusable. No reoccurring disposable cost is incuned for multiple readings.
The devices of the present invention are simpler to use and are less expensive to manufacture relative to most devices previously available. This is especially important for diabetics who rely on blood glucose testing multiple times per day to keep their disease under control.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a device for analyzing body fluids wherein the device includes a transparent substrate layer;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a device for analyzing body fluids wherein the device includes a fiber optic interface; and
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a device for analyzing body fluids which includes a matrix having electrically conductive particles incorporated therein.
The invention is directed to methods and devices that employ surface-enhanced infrared absorption or Raman-scattering to measure analytes in liquid biological samples. While the invention will be described with respect to detecting glucose in human whole blood, it is understood that the invention is applicable to measure other blood components such as, for example, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, ethyl alcohol, urea, uric acid, lipids, hemoglobin, hemoglobin A1C, creatinine and peptide decomposition products. In addition, it is understood that the other biological fluids including, for example, interstitial fluids and urine can be analyzed.
FIG. 1A shows an embodiment of a device for detecting the presence of analytes in a biological fluid sample using surface-enhanced spectroscopy. The device comprises a substrate support 14 made of a transparent material which means that the material will transmit radiation at least at the measuring wavelength(s) employed. The substrate surface 14A contains electrically conductive particles. These particles provide surfaces to which analytes become associated thereby creating the environment for surface-enhanced spectroscopy. By "associated" is meant that the analyte can be, for example, located adjacent to the particles and/or can be chemisorbed thereon to induce surface enhanced spectroscopy. These particles can be present in any convenient form. For example, they can comprise individual islands on the substrate that are formed by evaporation. Alternatively, they can be present as colloidal particles in a transparent film that is cast onto the substrate. A preferred method of creating the particles is to fabricate a rough metal film on the surface of the substrate. By "rough metal film" is meant that the film includes metal particles on the surface onto which analyte can becomes associated. Situated and below substrate 14 is radiation source 12 which directs radiation 20 toward the substrate and situated on one side is radiation detector 18 which detects radiation 22 from the substrate.
To facilitate placement of the blood onto the surface, the substrate is attached to hollow receiving member 24 which is removable from the radiation source 12 and radiation detector 18 as shown in FIG. 1B. In use, one or more drops of blood are placed in the substrate surface through opening 24A of the receiving member. Thereafter, the receiving member is placed in position as shown in FIG. 1A using handle 15. The receiving member is held in place with flexible clamp 11.
For surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, the radiation source is selected to generate radiation having a wavelength that causes appreciable Raman-scattering in the presence of the analyte being measured. Although it is known that Raman-scattering occurs essentially at all wavelengths, typically, the radiation employed will be near infrared radiation since ultra-violet radiation often causes fluorescence. When the analyte being detected is glucose, the wavelength preferably ranges from about 300 nm to about 1000 nm. The scattered beam 22 is detected by detector 18.
In an alternate embodiment, the device includes radiation detector 16 which is positioned above substrate 14. Detector 16 is positioned at the end of reflexible clamp 11. The radiation detector detects scattered beam 23 which is emitted from the surface. It is necessary that receiving member 24 be fabricated of transparent material or that it has a transparent window 28 through which scattered beam 23 can travel.
The device of FIG. 1A can also be employed for surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. In this case, the radiation source generates an infrared radiation having a wavelength that causes infrared absorption in the presence of the analyte. Typically, infrared radiation having a wavelength that ranges from about 1 μm to about 15 μm is employed. Where the analyte being detected is glucose, the wavelength preferably ranges from about 6 μm to about 11 μm.
The surface area of substrate 14 is sufficient to accommodate a drop of biological sample, e.g., blood, which typically comprises about 1 μl to 10 μl in volume. The substrate typically is constructed of a transparent material such as, for example, acrylic, polycarbonate, styrene, quartz, ZnSe and germanium. The transparent substrate is so selected that it has only slight absorption in the wavelength region(s) of interest for the measurement. The transparent substrate can be constructed as a flat device such as a microscope slide. Alternatively, the substrate can define a trough, flow through, or well with a known volume.
When a rough metal film is employed it can be fabricated on the surface of the substrate by conventional means including, for example, magnetron sputtering and electron-beam evaporation. The metal typically comprises gold, silver, platinum, copper or alloys thereof. The film will typically have a nominal thickness of about 0.1 μm to 10 μm and preferably about 0.1 μm to 1 μm. The electrically conductive particles material are preferably made of gold, silver, platinum, copper, and alloys thereof, or they are carbon particles or they are coated microspheres that comprise silica particles that are coated with an electrically conductive material. The electrically conductive material particles typically range from about 10 nm to 10,000 nm and preferably from about 30 nm to 100 nm in size.
The device of FIG. 1A can employ conventional sources of radiation such as, for example, light emitting diodes, laser diodes, and tungsten halogen lamps, and conventional radiation detectors such as, for example, silicon, lead sulfide, InGaAs detectors for Raman-scattering and InSb and PbSe detectors for infrared absorption.
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention which employs a transparent matrix 38 having electrically conductive materials affiliated therewith to produce surface-enhanced spectroscopy. The matrix is positioned to receive radiation from radiation source 50 through excitation fiber 32, lens 34, and filter 36. Radiation from the matrix is collected by detector 52 through filter 40, lens 42, and collection fiber 44. The same sources of radiation and detectors as described for surface-enhanced Raman scattering and infrared absorption can be employed.
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a device, which is similar to the one of
FIG. 1A, that employs a transparent matrix having electrically conductive materials affiliated therewith. The device includes radiation source 42 and radiation detector 46 which is positioned in clamp 51. The device is designed to accommodate a detachable hollow receiving member 54 that includes matrix 45 with electrically conductive materials incorporated therein. In use, after blood is placed in the matrix through opening 64A of the receiving member it is positioned and held in place with flexible clamp 51 as shown. Radiation beam 60 is directed toward the matrix and reflected radiation 63 is detected by detector 46.
The term "matrix" refers to transparent material with sufficient structural integrity to support conductive particles either along a matrix surface and/or incorporated in the core of the matrix. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the matrix has electrically conductive particles 37 embedded in the matrix and has electrically conductive particles on surface 39. These electrically conductive particles can be formed in the same manner as the electrically conductive particles employed in the device of FIG. 1. The matrix must be capable of absorbing the liquid biological sample so that the analyte will become associated with the surface of the electrically conductive particles. Preferred matrices include, for example, porous membranes which are polymeric materials, and gels which are colloids in which the disperse phase has combined with the continuous phase to produce a viscous jelly-like product.
A method of preparing a suitable porous membrane having electrically conductive particles distributed throughout the membrane entails immersing a polymer membrane into a mixture containing electrically conductive particles and solvent, and thereafter removing the solvent. Preferred polymers include, for example, polyamides (e.g., NYLON), polysulfone, polystyrene, cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose. Another method of preparing the porous membrane containing conductive particles is to form a mixture containing monomers and/or partially polymerized polymers, conductive particles, and solvent and thereafter causing polymerization.
Suitable gels can be prepared by forming a mixture containing a suitable polymer, electrically conductive particles and solvent thereafter removing the solvent. Suitable polymers include, for example, polyhema, hydrogels, ethylmethylacrylate and polyhydroxy gelatin.
Devices of the invention preferably employ optical sources that produce radiation having multiple wavelengths and one or more detectors for reading the reflected signals. The detectors can incorporate filters or beam splitters to separate the different wavelength components in the radiation. Alternatively, the optical sources can comprise multiple radiation sources each producing radiation of a single wavelength and the radiation sources are activated sequentially. For any particular analyte, selection of specific multiple wavelength radiation where desired can be accomplished by standard mathematical techniques such as chemometric or statistical analysis.
Glucose has viable absorption peaks in a broad region from 1 μm-12 μm. The major absorbances are multiple peaks centered around 1.6 μm, 2.1 μm, and 9.3 μm with 9.68 μm being the strongest glucose absorption peak in this broad region. Because blood is a multi-component solution, multiple wavelengths are employed at not only the absorbance peaks of glucose, but also at the absorbance peaks of chemical species that overlap or interfere the absorption signature of glucose.
The devices preferably include an optic system with lenses to focus the light emitted onto the test area and to focus the reflected light onto a detector. This conserves energy and minimizes the amount of light required by the device to make the measurement.
When the liquid test sample is applied, a thin layer of the target analyte, e.g., glucose, covers the total surface. The penetration depth of the emitted light is larger than the thickness of the metal island film with target analyte absorbed. The amount of reflected light from the film will vary depending on the amount of target analyte in the test sample. The light will be detected with the appropriate detector and the signal analyzed to determine analyte concentration.
The optics modules are calibrated during the manufacture of the test device. In the preferred embodiment, calibration is based on the response produced by a specific set of calibration fluids. By doing this, there is no need to presort and test the LEDs, significantly reducing the cost of the optics module. In addition, this calibration step during manufacture allows the device to compensate for a wide area of variables normally found in reflectance systems. The specific calibration data for the test chips shipped with the test device are stored in the units read only memory.
A more traditional approach to calibration may alternatively be taken. A calibration algorithm, with several settings if necessary, could be programmed into the system if the test device has a longer projected life.
With the present device no prism or total internal reflection plane is required.
Although only preferred embodiments of the invention are specifically disclosed and described above, it will be appreciated that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.
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|Selena Chan
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|Womble M. Edward
|Raman spectroscopic monitoring of hemodialysis
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|Drachev Vladimir P
|Plasmonic and/or microcavity enhanced optical protein sensing
|Apr 11, 2005
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|Wendy Pryce-Lewis
|Quantitative measurements of concentration and solubility using Raman spectroscopy
|Sep 26, 2005
|Feb 9, 2006
|Intel Corporation
|Methods to increase nucleotide signals by Raman scattering
|Nov 8, 2005
|Mar 30, 2006
|Intel Corporation
|Methods and device for DNA sequencing using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)
|Jan 10, 2006
|Jul 27, 2006
|Intel Corporation
|Methods to increase nucleotide signals by raman scattering
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|Intel Corporation
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|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 2, 2004
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Discussion in 'The Lobby - Misc Discussion' started by American_Transvestite, Jun 26, 2012.
"Server did not reply in time"....I guess that's the error message for a double post or something.
So close to the end of ADwD.
How you enjoying it? and the series as a whole?
I finally started reading ready player one. Should have a good hour or two later today to work on it. Seems promising.
Echo Park, by Michael Connelly. A Harry Bosch novel.
The book picked up...well, a while ago, and it's been hard to put down since. I've enjoyed the whole thing though--it's just constantly been getting better.
Overall I think the series is brilliant. Can't wait to see what happens next; too bad I'll have to wait a while. Although, I'm going to start watching the show very soon so that will help.
Take your time, no need to rush to join us legions of fans waiting the long wait for Winds of Winter The show is amazing, I'd recommend getting HBO before the season starts, they usually have every episode of the previous seasons on demand for your viewing enjoyment.
Pretty much this.
Except the no rushing part...that's impossible...it's too good hahah.
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson - Entertaining, fast read set in the Mistborn universe, quite liked it. Not as good as the Mistborn novels themselves or the Way of Kings though.
Finished it last night. Now onto other things to distract me for the next 4-6 years waiting for Winds of Winter to come out. *shaking/eye twitching*
Its pretty good book so far and some very interesting ideas get passed, I can't say I buy all of them though. I already got my methods of success down but I could see this book being beneficial to some who need help with the ladies.
Its about a man who travels with "pick up artists" and learns their techniques to picking up women, talks about the failures and successes as well. Some of these stories are pretty damn entertaining. Got it as a gift, but would buy.
Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye
It reminds me of Shirley Jackson and if you know who that is, you know it's a huge compliment.
I've read similar material before, but honestly I don't need a lot of it. The first reason being that women want sex/relationships probably even more than we do. I find if you just be interesting, show a slight interest in them and cast a large net they basically fall into your lap. The second being that there's more to life than getting laid all the time. I actually enjoy having nights off from women, to enjoy my music, gaming and academic pursuits. As long as I have a woman or two I can call up when I really need them, that's enough for me. As you said, it might be good for someone who is just starting out though.
Another thing is I think everyone is different as far as having their own method of successes, the book talks about different ways of doing it. What may work for one man will probably not work for another and vice verse. The book talks about ignoring the "target" that would never work for me, as I often I'm the one getting asked out or being pursued, however it does talk about closing the "deal". I feel like I could give this book to one my less fortunate friends and it would help them out tremendously though.
On the other hand this book brings up a good point too which I feel will probably get overlooked a lot, but also mentions to how constant casual sex could lead to a lack of respect for women. I wish the author would of gotten more into it, it really seems to be bugging him in the back of his head but he keeps pushing it away it seems.
The Ultimate Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
It's been a while since I read these books; so long in fact that I was unaware of the fifth book in the Hitchiker's trilogy, Mostly Harmless. They're still as laugh-out-loud funny as I remember them.
I haven't read Mostly Harmless. The collection I got many years ago had the four books and like you I wasn't aware there was a 5th one at the time. Plus, it seemed to conclude pretty well at the fourth.
I finished Passage by Justin Cronin last week. A massive book (1000+ pages). I'd definitely give it a thumbs up if you are interested in this sort of thing: partially thriller, partially post-apocalyptic science fiction, partially a story about vampires. There are cliches and such, but overall I think he handled it well and managed to get me interested in caring for some of the characters. Later I found out there is a sequel, and I'm not sure I like that.
I finished the latest Dresden novel just a few days ago, but it was so forgettable that I've forgotten the title already. Magic, blasting, swear words yadda yadda.
The Drop by Michael Connelly, a Harry Bosch novel.
About a third of the way through Moon of the Spider.
Let me know what you thought of it. I read the Sin War trilogy by the same author, which is considered today "Diablo canon" lore-wise as Blizzard stated. I can tell you a bit more about those if you want.
Oh, I've read them all. The only thing Diablo that I haven't read, as far as I know, is Sword of Justice, a 3-part comic book prequel to the events of Diablo III. Will get it if it's released in graphic novel form.
Anyway, The Sin War is, by far, the best of Knaak's work in the Diablo universe as far as I'm concerned. I'll have to finish this to be sure, of course, but I'd place this between Legacy of Blood and Kingdom of Shadow for now.
Have you read anything else from Knaak? I was thinking about checking out some of his other work afterwards; maybe his newest series Dragon Mound..
Just the Sin War trilogy - at a time I was very involved with the Diablo universe. I'm not anymore, not after Diablo III.
Can't blame you. It kind of ruined, well, everything that everything before it was building up to. Still, said novels are a good read and I would recommend them if you can get them as cheaply as I did (I can't remember how cheap, but it was well under $10 per paperback).
The Diablo Archive is an obvious recommendation as it contains four stories (two of them by Knaak), all of which are pretty good. Although, if you do get it, I'd almost recommend reading it backwards. The last story--a short 60 or 70-pager--is probably the least spectacular of the bunch and they get better the closer you get to the cover.
If taken very literally this thread would be an endless series of quotes of the first post. I'm reading the post above me!
Go To First Unread
Right now I'm reading The Neighbors by my favorite new author Ania Ahlborn. I read Seed which is another book by her. She's a new author and these two books are her only ones so far. They are highly entertaining and hard to put down. You can get them cheap, only a couple of bucks for the kindle version. If you like creepy horror stories, I'd highly recommend them.
I also recently finished Child of God by Cormac McCarthy. Very disturbing yet very good (what by him isn't?) book. I guess they just wrapped up the movie which will be interesting to see how true they stay to the book. I would think it impossible to make a movie about a necrophiliac serial killer but I guess they did.
Finished Moon of the Spider. Wasn't that good. Not sure why everyone talks about it so passionately; I found all of Knaak's previous works much better written.
I'm rereading The Hobbit. Just to maximize the movie experience!
77 Shadow Street - Dean Koontz
Burning through the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Man these books are so good and as funny as ever. This is one of the few books that I just enjoy reading to spend time with the characters and never want it to end.
Absolutely nothing. I'm working a ton and playing games in my free time, plus I have a bunch of books I want on my Christmas list, so I'm going to wait until next Tuesday before starting anything.
Nothing until some orders arrive.
My brother usually brings me several books for free when he visits (due to his line of work), so I should have something by late next week. I got dozens of free books at my home this way.
I will postpone my orders for after January the first. I'm never big on spending during the holidays (with the exception of small presents) and shopping, even online, seems more relaxed afterwards.
Memory of Light - 14th! and last book of the wheel of time series.
About half way through Deus Ex: Icarus Effect. Not bad, so far.
I'm about half way through The Wind Through The Key Hole, very entertaining book. There are a lot of complaints about The Dark Tower series and I understand them, the only thing that really irritates me is the cheesy dialog between Suzanna and Eddie, how the hell can somebody write that? If there's ever a movie or series or whatever, they're going to have to completely rework that cheese.
End Of Days - Robert Gleason. Critically acclaimed apocalyptic fiction. We'll see.
Just re-read The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson again after seeing the movie, and was totally confused, I remember understanding it much more the first time around. Now I'm going through Max Brook's Zombie Survival Guide, I wish I read it when I first got it, because all it does is remind me of The Walking Dead, like it was used to shape much of it, though I suppose that can be chalked up to common sense in dealing with zombies. Next up is either some more H.P. Lovecraft, or Phillip K. Dick I have laying around.
Less than 50 pages to go. Some awkward moments but overall I have a feeling it will be a decent book. Good to read before/during/after a play through of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to give you an ever broader perspective and pull you deeper into the world.
Just starting up The Blinding Knife by Weeks. Pretty excited to read it.
Finishing up the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey - I'm on Storm Rising, right now.
It's a bit embarrassing, but all I've read in a long time is the rule book and quest guide for Descent: Journeys In The Dark.
I've been on a very long reading dry spell lately. Just haven't felt the desire to curl up with a book at all lately.
Will be finishing Icarus Effect today, I suspect. Next is a bunch of comics books my sister got me for Christmas. Each one based off of one of the Avengers, I believe.
I've recently started reading this one too. I've heard it contains many stories -- not meant so much as a "how to" book. Which is good because I'm interested in hearing the stories, not learning odd techniques of picking up women. I'm already engaged.
Finished Justin Cronin's "The Passage" a few days ago and am well into the middle of the sequel, "The Twelve." I can tell you now, the story is a great read- fully deserving of the word "Epic." It is, simply, a vampire-apocalypse story done very very well. Highly recommended.
Vampire-apocalypse as in a world overrun with vampires?
The stories have a lot of lessons to it and I don't agree with the pick up techs cause they are so automated. There are some clever tips but as a whole its a lot like trying to pick up woman in general, you will get more rejection than acceptance. Still a brilliant book story wise.
Yep. The Passage starts off like Del Toro's "The Strain" with a whole lot of disease control and whatnot, but that changes quickly into a vampire-fest with all of North America being overrun by blood-suckers. The books have several story arcs with overlap in terms of family-surnames that span generations. A minor character in The Passage seems to get frontman status in The Twelve, which is interesting because his story seemed interesting in the 1st book. I like that Cronin gives all the characters a fair shake, even some of the vamps and other minor characters that get killed.
I read The Passage as I mentioned in a previous post, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I really cared for some characters in the end. It doesn't happen too often to me lately when I read books (or watch movies). Despite the post-apocalyptic and vampire themes being more than overused these days, I enjoyed it a lot.
I'll read the second one at some point in the future.


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Singularity: A New Platform for OS Research and Dependable System for Operating System
It is difficult for the academic communities to experiment with computer architecture. Singularity is designed to make it easier for researchers to test how operating systems and applications interact with each other. Singularity is a managed code operating system that could work as a laboratory for designing systems, extending programming languages, and developing new techniques and tools for specifying and verifying program behavior. It is designed from scratch when started developing with a question: what would a software platform look like it was designed from scratch with the primary goal of dependability? Singularity demonstrates the practicality of new technologies and architectural decisions, which should lead to the construction of more robust and dependable systems.