text:
Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 376152, 10 pages
Classification of Prolapsed Mitral Valve versus Healthy Heart from Phonocardiograms by Multifractal Analysis
1Research and Development Department, Innovation Center of the School of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 73, 11120 Belgrade, Serbia
2Department of Telecommunications and Information Technology, School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 73, 11120 Belgrade, Serbia
3Department of Telecommunications, ICT College of Vocational Studies, Zdravka Čelara 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Received 27 December 2012; Revised 11 April 2013; Accepted 25 April 2013
Academic Editor: Reinoud Maex
Copyright © 2013 Ana Gavrovska et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Phonocardiography has shown a great potential for developing low-cost computer-aided diagnosis systems for cardiovascular monitoring. So far, most of the work reported regarding cardiosignal analysis using multifractals is oriented towards heartbeat dynamics. This paper represents a step towards automatic detection of one of the most common pathological syndromes, so-called mitral valve prolapse (MVP), using phonocardiograms and multifractal analysis. Subtle features characteristic for MVP in phonocardiograms may be difficult to detect. The approach for revealing such features should be locally based rather than globally based. Nevertheless, if their appearances are specific and frequent, they can affect a multifractal spectrum. This has been the case in our experiment with the click syndrome. Totally, 117 pediatric phonocardiographic recordings (PCGs), 8 seconds long each, obtained from 117 patients were used for PMV automatic detection. We propose a two-step algorithm to distinguish PCGs that belong to children with healthy hearts and children with prolapsed mitral valves (PMVs). Obtained results show high accuracy of the method. We achieved 96.91% accuracy on the dataset (97 recordings). Additionally, 90% accuracy is achieved for the evaluation dataset (20 recordings). Content of the datasets is confirmed by the echocardiographic screening.
1. Introduction
Cost effectiveness in cardiovascular monitoring represents one of the great challenges [1]. Besides traditional auscultation, phonocardiography has become a valuable diagnostic tool. It has shown a great potential for developing low-cost computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems [2–4]. Efficient phonocardiography analysis can decrease the necessity for more complex methods.
Phonocardiograms (PCGs) represent digital records of heart sounds that are believed to yield valuable clinical information. One of the major concerns regarding phonocardiograms is recognizing and understanding such relevant information. So far, very little work has been reported on automatic detection of relevant clinical information and diagnosis through phonocardiography.
This paper represents a step towards automatic detection of one of the most common pathological syndromes, so-called mitral valve prolapse (MVP), using phonocardiograms and multifractal analysis. Even though the examination of existing pathological syndromes is possible by observing and listening to the PCGs, it is believed that automatic detection of a possible abnormality is of great importance. It is also important to draw attention of a physician or an examiner to such cardiac events.
Characteristic midsystolic click with possible late systolic murmur represents a typical auscultatory finding when MVP is diagnosed [5–10]. In phonocardiography, this property is described in terms of the pathological functionality of mitral valve leaflets. Time domain visual analysis of such clicks is a demanding and an error-prone process. The process of examination of each beat separately within a PCG record is also time consuming.
The dynamics of nonstationary medical signals, such as cardiosignals, may be analyzed by different signal processing tools, where fractals, multifractals, and wavelets are of particular interest [11–16]. The nature of self-similarity enables finding features on one scale which resemble the features from another scale, despite the complexity of the analyzed object or system dynamics.
So far, the multifractal analysis shows to be suitable for investigating heartbeat dynamics [15]. Multifractal behaviour of the cardiovascular system is investigated through analysis of Hölder exponents and fractal behavior using different approaches, such as detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and self-affine fractal variability analysis of heartbeat dynamics [17, 18], local variability analysis [19, 20], analysis of healthy and pathological dynamics from the aspect of respiratory rate variability [21] and brain activity in healthy patients [21, 22], analysis of Hölder exponents using laser Doppler flowmetry technique [23], analysis of progressive central hypovolemia influence [24, 25], estimation of heart rate variability (HRV) large deviations [26], and arrhythmia [27]. Many variations of cardiosignals are examined using multifractality, age-related changes [28, 29], as well as changes in heart dynamics: before and after particular treatment [30], for different human races [31], body positions [23], and during wake and sleep phases [32, 33]. Heartbeat dynamics is compared between a group of healthy patients and a group of patients with heart failures [17]. The records of the heart failure group show a loss of multifractality and narrowing of the multifractal spectra. Long-range multiscale properties are investigated for congestive heart failure (CHF) disease and primary autonomic failure (PAF) disease. Differences in singularity spectra of the heart rate signals are shown for healthy, CHF, and PAF group [34].
Very little research is reported in the literature regarding phonocardio diagnostics from the multifractal viewpoint. Multifractality in heartbeat dynamics can be considered through acoustic heartbeats. Both global and local (interbeat) techniques are introduced in heartbeat dynamics for detection of abnormalities [35]. Although the global-based concept, such as Legendre multifractal spectrum, seems to be blind to subtle features in case of large heart rate deviations [26], we show in this paper that this is not the case with detection of PCG records of patients with PMV in a dataset consisting of records from both healthy patients and patients with PMV.
We propose a novel approach for distinguishing PCGs that belong to patients with PMVs and healthy patients, based on a multifractal analysis. Multifractal analysis is used in a global manner (without click event segmentation in the time domain).
The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, the dataset acquisition procedure is shortly explained. Section 3 gives the fundamental background of PMV and phonocardiogram morphology in patients with PMV. Furthermore, it provides an introduction to the fundamentals of multifractals and their suitability for medical signal analysis. In Section 4, we propose an algorithm for distinguishing records with PMV and healthy records using phonocardiography. Obtained results are presented in Section 5. Finally, we give conclusions based on the proposed algorithm.
2. Data Acquisition
In the study, 117 children (7–19 years old) contributed to acquisition of 117 recordings. There were 54 male and 63 female patients (, ). No multiple-day recordings were made. From this dataset, 97 recordings (, ) are used for setting of the parameters of the classifier. The rest of the recordings are included in the validation study.
Auscultation and phonocardiogram acquisition were performed at the Health Center "Zvezdara", Belgrade, Serbia, using an electronic stethoscope (3M Littman 4100WS electronic stethoscope, Figure 1). All patients were in a sitting position during standard auscultative examination in the morning session (09–12 h AM). Data acquisition starts when a physician determines that the child is calm. During the recording of a PCG, patients did not perform any physical activity (or intellectual activity such as reading). Phonocardiogram acquisition was made by an expert in the standard cardiology protocol. Low-quality recordings (due to patient movement or similar reasons) have been rejected as nonrelevant. Only healthy children and children with PMVs were selected for generating the dataset used in this paper. Besides the PMV, children with other cardiac diseases like acute infection, anemia, or tachycardia are excluded from the experiment. Such recordings are not a part of the analyzed dataset.
The recordings were carefully examined by the pediatric cardiology expert. An additional examination (echocardiographic confirmation) was made at the University Children Hospital, Belgrade, Serbia, for the patients in the test dataset (97 recordings). The test PCG dataset was further divided into two groups:(i)healthy group (children with healthy hearts) and(ii)PMV group (children with PMVs).
Echocardiography was used in order to confirm content validity of the groups. There are 49 children in Healthy and 48 children in PMV group.
Each phonocardiographic recording lasts for 8 seconds. PCGs were recorded with a sampling frequency of 8 kHz, with 16 bit amplitude resolution. The recordings were converted to wav format and downsampled to 1 kHz for further analysis.
3. Background
3.1. Prolapsed Mitral Valve (PMV) or Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) Is Also Known as Systolic Click Syndrome
It is a common valvular disorder and is often benign. However, it is also assumed as a disease which may cause serious cardiac disorders [5, 6]. There is no accordance regarding the prevalence of MVP: as reported in [5] the occurrence of MVP ranges from 5% to 15% and even up to 35%, while in [6] MVP is around 2-3%.
Various symptoms, including electrocardiographic (ECG) repolarisation, have been associated with PMV. A physician is most likely to use his stethoscope for initial PMV detection by auscultation (and phonocardiography). Auscultation still represents an important tool in pediatric cardiology. The misperception of a wide range of nonspecific symptoms led to the practice of acquiring screening echocardiograms from patients [6].
In phonocardiography, PMV is usually manifested via a midsystolic click, as an isolated cardiac event or just before the systolic murmur (heart noise) appearance. The click syndrome is sometimes difficult to notice in the systole, and its detection depends on the skills of the physician [7]. Systole is defined as an interval between two fundamental heart sounds, S1 and S2 (i.e., tic-tac), visualized in a quasiperiodic phonocardiogram. An example of a PCG signal recorded on a patient with PMV is shown in Figure 2, where large amplitudes correspond to S1 and S2 sounds. S1 sounds are found after an electrocardiogram's R waves. Fluctuation in between such large peaks (heart beats) does appear to be interesting. A click as a singularity may be found difficult to follow in intervals between S1s and S2s (i.e., within systoles). This click existence is not always apparent to an average eye/ear.
There is a possibility of fault prognosis provided by phonocardiography, leading to misleading conclusions whether the signal corresponds to a healthy patient or a patient with PMV. Searching for specific cardiac events and features associated with PMV diagnosis in PCGs is an error-prone task. Such cardiac events within PCGs are crucial, indicating that findings may not be benign.
In early research of PMV treatment, in the 1970s, echocardiography was seen as an excellent method for diagnosing PMV. Echocardiography as a specific, noninvasive technique, can provide visualization of both mitral valve leaflets [8, 9]. Clinical features of the MVP, which can be associated with the click (click and murmur), as previously noted, are related with echocardiographically documented findings [10]. Bearing in mind the availability of appropriate equipment, the reliability of PMV detection is expected to increase. This paper deals with the global difference between a Healthy group and a PMV group of PCG recordings, due to the fact that the difference between these two groups is not often obvious.
3.2. Multifractals in Medical Signal Analysis
Self-similarity behaviour is an interesting property, found in many natural objects and phenomena. For instance, the structure of river networks, a cloud, the nervous system of humans, the structure of a tree, cauliflower, and so forth, have self-similar property: by observing such structures in different scales (almost) the same shape arises. Such objects (structures) are known as fractals, because they can be characterized by noninteger (fractional) dimension [11]. The fractal dimension numerically describes how the irregular structure of objects and/or phenomena is replicated in an iterative way from small to large scales or vice versa and can be used for objective comparison and/or classification of different complex structures. The fractal dimension can be estimated in different ways. One simple but efficient method is known as the box-counting method. This method involves the use of -dimensional grid of nonoverlapping boxes of the side length ε within the space occupied by observed structure and counts the number of boxes, , covering the structure. The grid dimension equals , where is an appropriate Euclidean dimension: , 2 or 3, for line, surface, or volume, respectively. If boxes of recursively different sizes are used for covering fractal object, the limiting value of , when tends to zero, follows the power law: that establishes the fractal dimension to be estimated [11, 12]. For artificially generated fractals, generated by using some predetermined rules, fractal dimension is scale invariant, that is, it has the same value regardless of the observation scale. Such objects are known as monofractals [12, 13]. Conversely, natural fractals are characterized by fractal dimension which varies depending on the scale. Such objects are referred to as multifractals.
Multifractals are derived as an extension of fractals that is appropriate for situations where a unique dimension is not enough. They were introduced by Mandelbrot in the 1980s for the purpose of measuring turbulent flow velocity [11]. In analysis of the regularity of a flow with velocity , irregularities are concluded to be found. These events such as rapid singularity changes occur in different instants (from the Lebesgue measure in R3 space viewpoint). Hölder exponent is assigned to each signal point . Therefore, each exponent value, , corresponds to an appropriate set of points, . Multifractality can be seen as a wide range of Hölder exponents. Mapping, , defines a multifractal spectrum of a signal, in a way that for each fixed value (set of points ), the Hausdorff dimension is calculated. Hölder exponent, , is a measure of irregularity of a function at observed point (a local feature). There exists a polynomial of order , (x), and such a constant K, so stands for all the points in the neighborhood of . The spectrum is calculated using multifractal formalism: where is a real parameter used to describe the singularity of structure and determines the multifractal dimensions , is a nonlinear function, and is a constant. For strongly singular structures are emphasized, for less singular structures are emphasized, while for , equals information dimension.
There is yet another approach for introduction of multifractality. Fractal dimension, , can be defined for a set of Hölder exponents of points that are within the range . Such set may be considered monofractal. Legendre transform can be used for the relation between function and a multifractal dimension, : Parameter represents an approximation of the Hölder exponent, , where maximum of spectrum corresponds to the Hausdorff dimension, [13]. In order to point out the multifractal formalism and thus to explain the alpha as an approximation of Hölder exponent, we have introduced the expression (4).
In general, multifractality is verified in the literature as effective concept in analysis of medical signals and images [13, 15, 16]. Legendre singularity spectrum can be calculated for different values ofαand shows a global aspect of the content in a medical signal. It results in a smooth concave (decaying) function of Hölder exponent, f(α), that gives a general information about behavior of the analyzed set of points. A simple and efficient method for estimating the multifractal spectrum is the histogram method (and it is based on the box-counting method) [16].
Figure 3 gives an illustration of the box-counting technique as a basis for the histogram method. It is applied to a given structure S (e.g., to a part of the PMV record, Figure 2), which is then divided into the nonoverlapping boxes of size ε so that . Each box is characterized by measure μ() (here the signal level is used as a measure , Figure 3(a)). The coarse Hölder exponent of the subset , corresponding to given measure , is calculated as By changing the box size, Figure 3(b), the value of the coarse Hölder exponent changes as well. In the limiting procedure, as box size tends to zero, Hölder exponent α at a specific location, within the observed signal (structure), becomes more precise. The Hölder exponent describes the local regularity of structure . Finally, the distribution of α exponents, f(α), that is, the multifractal spectrum (Legendre spectrum) is determined. The multifractal spectrum describes the global regularity of observed structure. In this paper, the estimation of Legendre spectrum (based on the box-counting technique) is performed using FracLab software [36].
4. Healthy versus PMV Phonocardiograms-Multifractal Explanation
4.1. Initial Examination
We considered 97 PCG records that belong either to healthy patients or patients with PMV, where diagnoses are confirmed by the analysis of phonocardiograms and echocardiograms (echos). There are 49 recordings from 49 healthy children and 48 recordings from 48 children with PMV.
In Figure 4, we show curves of multifractal spectra calculated for healthy children (49). One can notice the multifractality of the PCGs.
Multifractality is also evident in the group of children with PMVs. In order to compare the spectra between the groups, Legendre multifractal spectra for PMV recordings are calculated under the same conditions as spectra of the healthy patients. A certain number of PMV recordings were displayed as points (as "monofractals," Figure 5). Spectra calculation under the same conditions is based on the use of predefined parameters which are calculated for healthy patients. The parameters are related to alpha values corresponding to healthy recordings, calculated by [36]. Multifractal spectrum curve, , could not be displayed for a certain number of PMV signals. This implies that previously calculated set of values determined for the healthy patients do not correspond to the abovementioned PMV recordings.
Since the spectra are calculated under the same conditions that correspond to healthy recordings, the fact that only PMV signals were displayed as points is used in the classification algorithm. Each phonocardiogram that is displayed as a point is automatically classified as a signal that belongs to a patient with PMV. The rest of PMV signals (24 recordings) were displayed as curves in the multifractal domain. Our goal is to further examine their multifractal spectra in order to make a distinction between them and Healthy group. The 73 signals from both groups are shown in Figure 6, where they are presented by multifractal curves. The similarity between the spectra in Figure 6 is expected since the distinction is difficult to make by eye/ear.
4.1.1. Feature Analysis—Healthy versus PMV Classification
Obtained multifractal spectra curves , () are sets of points , , . We examined several features of such sets: shapes of the curves for Healthy and PMV group (width of a curve and area under a curve), location of maxima, characteristics of a curve shape for large alpha values, and so forth. Figure 7 shows an example of a multifractal spectrum curve with tested characteristics: width , area , alpha value of the maxima (), and slope of the curve .
Width of a spectrum is calculated as a difference between alpha values in ending points of the curve as . Area A is calculated among lines , and a multifractal spectrum curve. If a signal spectrum is displayed as a single point, area A and width W will be zero. Figure 8 shows calculated and values for 97 patients. The relevance of these features for threshold settings may be seen in their sorted presentation. By visual inspection, we notice a range of areas (and widths) where most of the signals (both normal and PMV) concentrate.
In order to compare the similar multifractal spectra, in the proposed approach we move the maxima of all the curves to the point . The location of this point, MaxPos, is calculated as an average of all maxima locations, αMAX. This gives a better insight into the shape characteristics of the curves. For the comparison of the multifractal curves, the Legendre multifractal spectrum with maximum value 1 is calculated for every signal.
In the analysis of multifractal spectra, we noticed that relative changes of curve shapes on their right sides may carry valuable clinical information in accordance with the multifractal theory. Actually, we noticed that the slope angles as features of the curves may be relevant (Figure 9). The slope parameter for a curve is calculated as The parameter is assumed to be significant, and it is used in the classification procedure. When multifractal spectrum of a signal is displayed as a point, the slope parameter has zero value.
4.2. Proposed Algorithm
We propose a two-step algorithm for distinguishing healthy records from PMV ones, based on the Legendre multifractal spectra. According to the feature analysis of the curves, we noticed that the slope parameter may be decisive. We also noticed that most of the spectra fall within a narrow range of area values.
For obtained multifractal spectra curves, we apply a two-step algorithm:(1)dividing spectra into two sets based on area feature, A, and(2)differentiation in two classes (Healthy and PMV) based on the slope parameters calculated for both of the sets (obtained according to area values in the previous step).
The first step in the classification is realized using the threshold , for dividing curves into two sets. For , curves that have large area values are selected. They can possibly be considered as outliers when displaying the spectra. Most of the curves are selected for . We arbitrarily chose the first intersection of area trends in Figure 7 for the threshold value (0.55). The curves selected for and are represented in Figures 10 and 11, respectively.
In the second step of the algorithm, parameter θ is calculated for curves from both sets (shown in Figures 10 and 11). If , the slope θ is compared with predefined slope threshold . If slope value θ is less than the threshold value, recording is automatically classified as a recording with a click syndrome (PMV class). This is shown in Figure 12.
If , the slope parameter θ is compared with the predefined threshold . If slope parameter θ is less than the threshold, recording is classified as PMV. Otherwise, it is classified as an element of the Healthy class. In the case of , by visual inspection, we also noticed that most of the curves have values lower than the MaxPos value. Spectra displayed as points have higher values () than the MaxPos. In the proposed algorithm, values (and MaxPos) are not used for the classification. The relevance of parameter is still questionable.
All threshold values (, , ) are chosen empirically, by observing the spectra with respect to particular tolerance (offset) when determining the value. Empirical lines of separation are set by examination. Figures 12 and 13 represent calculated slope parameters for the set of curves with large area values () and small area values (), respectively. In Figure 12, twelve values of slope parameters are showed for 12 curves (), where four among them belong to PMV class.
The slope parameter is relevant for the other group, as well. In Figure 13, the rest of PCG signals (61 recordings) are presented via slope values. We can freely add 24 PCG recordings to this group of signals, since they were not manifested as multifractal curves (area A and slope parameter θ have zero value; threshold is real positive constant).
5. Simulation Results
5.1. Results of the Proposed Algorithm
In the set of 97 PCG recordings, we achieved an accuracy of 96.91%. Obtained results of the simulation are shown in Table 1.
Even in the case of overlapping of the spectra curves, the algorithm gives excellent results in differentiating PMV recordings from healthy recordings. In Figure 14, three misclassified spectra are shown, and two correctly classified spectra for each group. For the purpose of presentation, we keep colors for signal differentiation (blue—for Healthy and red—for PMV recordings).
In the validation study, we analyzed additional 20 PCG recordings that were not used for setting the thresholds (naive dataset). Totally, 20 children (, ) contributed to the realization of this dataset (one patient - one signal). Their class (healthy or PMV) affiliation was not known to the authors during testing the dataset. The results in validation study will be explained in the following subsection.
5.2. Echocardiographic Confirmation and Validation Results
The examination of recorded PCG dataset is followed by echocardiographic examination at the University Children Hospital in Belgrade. It is confirmed which of 117 recorded phonocardiograms belong to which (Healthy or PMV) class. Our analysis is performed only on these groups. In standard phonocardiographic analysis, cardiology experts may have uncertainties among such dataset which are resolved with the echocardiographic study.
As previously mentioned, we tested 20 additional PCG signals provided by the physician, using the proposed algorithm (test) with the fixed thresholds. Our algorithm gave satisfying results in comparison to the echocardiographic study. The validation results are presented in Table 2. All 10 PMV recordings were predicted correctly as PMV. Two out of 10 healthy recordings were misclassified.
The proposed procedure is shown to be efficient and simple. Even though the box-counting technique is sometimes neglected because of masking the singularities, the proposed algorithm has overcome this limitation.
The multifractal spectra calculation is also simpler for realization than wavelet-based methods. Particular anomaly is detected using characteristic features of the multifractal spectra curves. Figure 9 points out the part where parameter is large. The click syndrome is expected to have an effect on the right side of the spectra unlike the recordings from the healthy group, where such clicks have not been found (or where the particular behaviour in the systole is not a long-term event).
Even though the whole recording was used, large amplitudes in time domain that correspond to S1s (and S2s) are not relevant in the proposed classification procedure, which is based on multifractal analysis. The existence of nonregular cardiac events (possible clicks) affects the right side of multifractal spectra curves as opposed to the regular heart sounds (S1s and S2s). Time localization of the clicks was not a part of this analysis.
This and similar approaches can indicate signal irregularities to users of electronic stethoscopes without large experience or skills in auscultation and phonocardiography. In this way, the misinterpretation of phonocardiograms may be significantly decreased.
6. Conclusion
We have been primarily focused on the criteria for obtaining the clear distinction between patients with diagnosed PMV and healthy patients using phonocardiography. We have tested 97 PCG recordings, where each record is 8 seconds long, with downsampled frequency of 1 kHz. Echocardiographic examination confirmed clinical findings in PCGs. proposed algorithm achieves high accuracy (96.91%). In the evaluation step of the study, we used additional 20 PCG signals from another set of patients (20 children). Only two signals were misclassified according to the echocardiographic examination.
At this point, the research about automatization of the thresholds has not been finished. Nevertheless, there are clear indications about the direction of future research, especially with respect to robustness. We want to emphasize that each record is obtained from a different patient and gives a representation of a different "pumping machine" (heart) function. Therefore, the features, thresholds, and generally the algorithm can be considered robust for a large population. An increase of the training dataset may set thresholds more accurately.
Further research will be primarily oriented towards further evaluation. This involves the use of additional classes of signals (signals belonging neither to Healthy nor PMV group). We believe that applying well-known signal processing techniques may contribute to the development of a cost-effective computer-aided diagnosis system based on phonocardiograms. Decreasing the use of complex equipment for screening by efficient low-cost approaches may be of great importance. It is necessary to have large datasets of phonocardiograms for this purpose with confirmed diagnosis and labeled cardiac events.
Conflict of Interests
The authors of this paper do not have a direct financial relation with any commercial software mentioned in the paper that might lead to a conflict of interests for any of the authors.
This research is partially funded by the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development through the project of Integrated and Interdisciplinary Research Program, no. III44009. Authors are grateful to MD Vesna Bogdanović from Health Center "Zvezdara", Belgrade, Serbia, for providing data and medical support for the presented research.
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- A. Humeau, F. Chapeau-Blondeau, D. Rousseau, P. Rousseau, W. Trzepizur, and P. Abraham, "Multifractality, sample entropy, and wavelet analyses for age-related changes in the peripheral cardiovascular system: preliminary results," Medical Physics, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 717–723, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
- M. Rudinac, M. Ušćumlić, S. Rudinac, B. Milovanović, I. Reljin, and B. Reljin, "Fractal and multifractal analysis of heart rate variability," in Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Telecommunications in Modern Satellite, Cable and Broadcasting Services (TELSIKS '07), pp. 325–328, Nis, Serbia, September 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
- E. Wesfreid, V. L. Billat, and Y. Meyer, "Multifractal analysis of heartbeat time series in human races," Applied and Computational Harmonic Analysis, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 329–335, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
- A. M. Diosdado, H. R. Cruz, D. B. Hernández, and G. G. Coyt, "Analysis of correlations in heart dynamics in wake and sleep phases," in Proceedings of the 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS Cité Internationale, pp. 23–26, Lyon, France, August 2007.
- R. Hernández-Pérez, L. Guzmán-Vargas, I. Reyes-Ramírez, and F. Angulo-Brown, "Differences in the stability of the heart interbeat rate during wake and sleep periods," Fluctuation and Noise Letters, vol. 10, pp. 405–416, 2011. View at Google Scholar
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- J. G. Samaniego, L. R. Juárez, J. M. V. Arcos et al., "Phonocardiograph signals acquisition and analysis system," in Proceedings of the 1st International Congress on Instrumentation and Applied Sciences, Cancun, Mexico, October 2010.
- J. L. Vehél, FracLab, http://fraclab.saclay.inria.fr/.


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We'll be in Moab mid-May, Arches and Canyonlands NPs. I'm the ultimate mosquito magnet. Do I need my 100% deet? Are there any other loathsome insects to worry about?
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Mosquitoes in Moab in May?
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I was there in mid-May a few years ago and the only thing I remember about weather in Moab was that it was breezy.
I don't remember mosquitos at all.
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Because it's so dry there aren't as many bugs as other places. Maybe a few flies, that's about it ... you won't need DEET.
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I go to Moab all the time during all seasons and since I AM THE ULTIMATE MOSQUITO MAGNET I can tell you I never use repellant.
Have fun
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Yay!! But sorry, Dayle, that's MY title!
In places with high mosquito populations, I smother myself in DEET all day long, including first thing in the morning, in the shower stall after I dry off, unclothed, so I won't miss a spot since mosquitoes actually sneak under my clothes to bite me, ignoring everyone else in my vicinity. What can I say? They love me!! I'm a magnet!!
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Mosquitos require water, you aren't likely to find much of either around Moab.
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I don't think you have to worry too much about mosquitos around Moab unless you are planning on camping down by the river.
Now what everyone here has not mentioned are the biting gnats (no-see-ums). They can make your trip miserable if you are not prepared.
Their season is usually from around May 15th to June 15th....though depending on the weather they might come out sooner and I have had them attack on back trails around Moab even into late July.
You may hear people say they have never seen them there....and that may be true. But they are there.....very localized. Meaning you might run into on one part of the trail and then just a quarter mile away they are no where to be seen. And it depends on the direction of the wind (if any).
You will not run into them in town but if you go out on the trails....you need to be aware of them. Last year....my wife and I got out of the Jeep heading for Aztec Butte up on Island in the Sky and only walked about 4 steps and had to bail out of that hike. That was around June 30th.
These little things are worse than mosquitos as you can not really see them to swat them. DEET does NOT work against them. Some folks say that 'Skin so Soft' (by Avon) works but other folks say it is not effective. I have some of my friends say that they use that 'pure vanilla extract' that people bring back from Mexico and that it works....I have yet to try that so I do not know if it really does or not.
Everyone's body reaction is different to these biting gnats. You will not really feel too much pain if any when they bite you....but about a day or so later you will start itching. My wife develops dark red spots and no welts .....I react the opposite....no red spots but LARGE welts.
The best thing you can do is wear long sleeves and pants and have a net over your head. At least have these with you on your trip...you may or may not need them. DO NOT get a mosquito net for you head.....the holes are too big and they can fly through those. Coleman makes a 'No-See-Um' net for about 5 dollars those work great....but the also make the mosquito net also...make sure you check which on you are purchasing.
I don't want to be an alarmist....you may not run into them. But you should be prepared. Just get the inexpensive head net and take lightweight pants and long sleeve shirts...like Columbia makes.
I live across the street from the Colorado National Monument...and we get them every year. Pretty much all over the Four Corners region on the trails.
Hope this gives you a little more insight on what you might encounter.
I hike a lot in Moab and Bluff the whole year round....
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I don't think you have to worry too much about mosquitos around Moab unless you are planning on camping down by the river.
I don't think there's a problem with mosquitoes even on the river in May ... we once did a 7 night canoe trip in late May down the Green River, 117 miles to where it meets the Colorado, then caught a jet boat back to Moab. Camping every night, of course. Saw more rattlesnakes (one) than mosquitoes (zero). They need standing water to breed and the river is flowing.
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I was just down in Negro Bill Canyon (next to the river) last weekend...and yes...there were mosquitoes already out because of the warm weather. Here is one fellas experience camping in the campground next to the river.....albeit in late June ~
There is some speculation that the name 'Moab' comes from a Paiute word meaning "mosquitoe water" because of all the mosquitoes that were abundant near the Colorado River.
Bill H. ~ I am sure you did not run into any of them on your trip......but I was just there the other day....at the river...and they are already out...
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Yikes! Well, I will bring my DEET and the proper apparel, but I hate having to do that as even when one wears the breathing sports apparel, it's still hotter than sleeveless shirts, etc. I'll take a look at the nets too.
Re the noseeums, I'm familiar w/them from USVI. I've never seen them luckily. Reminds me of chiggers which I've suffered, and of fleas which I got when one of my dogs died.
Those photos are really fabulous! My husband wants to go to Mesa Verde one day, but it's such a long drive. Have to consider it though when I see photos.
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Try the OFF clip on repellant which has a fan. If it doesn't work for you, then try a DEET repellant.
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Please don't let my comments discourage you. I have never seen a mosquito anywhere around Moab except sometimes when I hike near the river. And you may not run into any biting gnats. I am just a big proponent of always being prepared ......
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You really need two days to do Mesa Verde, IMOP.
I guess I forgot about the Green River and Colorado River having water. lol. I don't think you will run into any bugs, but as reddawg points out, you could. Most of my visits to Utah have been over Memorial Day Weekend(May-so about the same time frame you will be there).
I have no idea about the EX Officio shirts and pants-typically used by a lot of fishermen. Some of them are supposed to be bug replnt. I do have the EX Officio underwear, and I can tell you they are by far the best thing on the market for keeping you dry and cool. So, I would think their shirts/pants might actually work on the bugs. I think they only last for like 50 washes or something like that. They are good for wicking moisture, so might be something you would want in Moab anyway.
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Thanks, I won't be too discouraged! I have to deal w/this all the time. I walk my dog in the woods every morning, and in summer, I wear light pants and long sleeves for that. It's funny how bugs go for some people and not others. Mosquitoes will even bite my hand with bare legs and arms of others available. Sheesh! What can I say? Be prepared is my motto.
I agree about needing two days for Mesa Verde. Is it a scenic drive though? I gathered it would take about 3 1/2 hours to get there.
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I didn't even see one mosquito all week!
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Thanks for the great trip report and I'm so glad you made the most of your trip in spite of the broken wrist! I didn't think you would have problems with mosquitos, at least that was another good thing.
Happy travels,
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I've spent extensive time in Moab and have never come across a mosquito. On the other hand, Reddirtdawg is correct about the no-see-ums.
My scalp still itches at the thought! Those invisible little monsters spread their misery all over southern Utah in May and June. They go for the ears, face and scalp.
Most of the time, you are unaware they are even biting until the insane itching starts. Avoid Juniper and scrub brush. We were just devoured a couple of weeks ago while staying at GSENM and Capitol Reef...an experience I will never get passed.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
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A 25-nation group supervising Kosovo's democratic progress says its oversight will end in September.
The decision, announced Monday in Vienna by Pieter Feith of Kosovo's International Civilian Office, was expected but is still a milestone in easing Kosovo's path toward eventual EU and NATO membership.
The ICO is the executive arm of the International Steering Group, encompassing the United States, the EU and other countries.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. That came after almost 10 years under a U.N. umbrella after a NATO bombing campaign that aimed to stop Serbian attacks on Kosovo's independence-seeking ethnic Albanian majority.
Significant Serb-Albanian tensions persist, but Feith and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci expressed optimism they could be eased.


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Written on: 21/06/2013 by jcsj_7 (1 review written)
I purchased 2 PCs, one of them 10 days ago. Another 5 months ago. What made me come back is how well organized & well done job you do.
Firstly, the fact that it's so easy to build your PC online. And the customer Service is pretty good when you need it.
Also the fact that Since the past 5 months a lot of the hardware and software have changed, and been updated. It's great to know that you are indeed buying a PC that's actually up to date.
I would prefer for the order and building processing times to be shorter than 10 working days, but then again, that's only me being anxious as we're told it does take about that time. We can also check progress on the website & get emails with order updates.
Thank you. I'll buy from you again!


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This is like the Gehrig and Ruth of the Victoria's Secret linep: Miranda Kerr and Candice Swanepoel lingerie pictures doubled up for at least twice, if not a million times normal leering lust factors. Wow. I'm taking my time just to process the countless wonderments beneath the bras and panties of these two uber-sexy super models. It's like Christmas in August and there's nothing but hotness under the tree. Take a moment, or a couple hours, and ogle slowly, at your own pace, until fully catatonic. Enjoy.
Miranda Kerr and Candice Swanepoel Victoria's Secret Lingerie Photoshoots
Tagged in: victoria's secret, lingerie, photos, candice swanepoel, miranda kerr
Around the Web


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Bowmanstown Transfer Station proposal is topic at Palmerton Area Democratic Club meeting
The topic for the Palmerton Area Democratic Club on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. will be the Bowmanstown Transfer Station Proposal.
William Ravert, President of the Bowmanstown Borough Council will be the featured guest speaker and will answer questions about the controversial Transfer Station proposed for the old Prince Paint site in Bowmanstown.
Upcoming Meet the Candidates Nights of the Palmerton Area Democratic Club:
*Tuesday, March 9, 7 p.m.-From the Federal Campaigns, representatives from the offices of Senator Arlen Specter and challenger Congressman Joe Sestak as well as representatives from the 11th Congressional District race from Congressman Paul Kanjorski and challenger Corey O'Brien.
*Tuesday, April 13, 7 p.m.-Candidates from Pennsylvania state and local races will be invited to introduce themselves.
The area covered by the Club includes Palmerton, Bowmanstown, Towamensing Township and Lower Towamensing Township. Meetings are monthly, the second Tuesday of the month, September to May, 7 p.m. at the Fireline Hotel, Bowmanstown. Newcomers are welcome.
To learn more about the Palmerton Area Democratic Club, contact President Sarina Berlow at 610-826-4152 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Last week, Advocate.com reported on an encounter between drag queen/die hard Wendy Williams fan Erickatoure Aviance and the producers of the talk show host's daytime gabfest.
Aviance was told she couldn't appear on camera or ask Williams a question during the show's "Ask Wendy" segment because of a strict no costumes policy. This after Williams gave several interview, including one to Advocate.com, in which she expressed a deep love and personal connection with the drag community.
Fast-forward one week to an interview with Williams in the New York Post . The former radio show host with a gift for asking anything and everything of her guests described her over-the-top look to a Post reporter.
Williams is "5' 11" in flip-flops, 6'4" in the 5-inch Christian Louboutin's she favors," boasts surgically enhanced double-D breasts and brags about the fact that she has more than 20 wigs, some specifically for the show, and some just for day wear.
In her words, nothing makes Williams more uncomfortable than being in a room with a woman who is taller than her. She says if it happens, she ducks into a corner and teases her hair that much higher.
"I get angry is there's any woman in the room bigger than me," she says. "I hate it. If I'm not the tallest when I walk in a room I will go and tease up my wig."
At the end of the interview, when asked by the reporter how she feels about nay-sayers who think mainstream America might not be ready for Williams, she offers this bit of wisdom.
"I'll always be comfortable being me, because at the end of the day I don't know what it's like to cater to one personality to get something I need. I've always been the outsider, the misfit."


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|[PATCH] Standalone mode problems with restart and keep-alive
Download (untitled) / with headers
text/plain 541b
text/plain 541b
The standalone server has problems re-acquiring the port on restart on *BSD (including Mac). Also, the single-threaded server waits on a keep-alive to the exclusion of other incoming connections. This latter problem plagues Firefox on the first hit, since FF tries to use more than one connection to speed the first frame response. So, FF asks for /toc and /perlintro at the same time and then hangs on /perlintro waiting for the /toc connection's Keep-Alive timeout. Thirdly, this patch changes the "$ARGV[0]" to "shift" in sub server.
Download patch2
application/octet-stream 843b
application/octet-stream 843b
Message body not shown because it is not plain text.


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This was a tough decision. There is nobody that I am super excited about; however, there are a few that I am really pulling for. Couldn't help but be super excited for Bargs when he was playing so well this year, but always felt like it was a tease and I never fully committed.
In the end I chose Calderon because he has been a great professional for this team and has resisted all reasons to pout or sour when others were injected into the starting line-up or trades fell through. Just respect the guy.


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|05 Dec 2011
Atheros Wifi adapter doesn't work with "n" router
I have an HP pavillion desktop (s5360f) with Atheros 802.11 a/b/g/n Dualband Wireless Module and D-Link router DIR-615. My numerous Laptops and iPhons / iPads work fine, but this desktop which is further away from the router (in another room, about 20 meters) only shows 1-2 bars of wifi. First I bought a big additional D-Link antenna (7Ghz) but it didn't really help - sometimes connction shows 3 bars. I was told this antenna should help a lot. Then I checked with my router settings and saw that the HP uses "g" connection when everything else uses "n". I even set it to only use "n" but still it shows the HP using "g". I updated the driver (Atheros 22.214.171.124 for AR5B91), but it didn't help. I have "n" enabled in Atheros in Device manager.
Now I'm lost and can't think of anything else that can be a problem and / or how to fix it... I don't have any thick walls between the router and the HP, my iPhone seems to work in this room just fine...
Please help!
|My System Specs
|05 Dec 2011
Out of curoisity, are you suffering any symptoms of lack of signal qualities (glitchy video/slow connectivity)?
And what speed does the HP Desktop show it being connected at?
|My System Specs
|06 Dec 2011
Thank you for your fast response!
Yes, when it shows 1-2 bars surfing the web is normally a little slow on it's own but when I'm downloading something at the same time - almost impossible. I never have this with other computers. I actually just checked with my laptop at the same location, same OS, wifi settings but Atheros AR9285 - has great connection, uses "n".
I'm not sure how to check for speed... when I open Network and Sharing Center and look at wifi properties it shows 130 Mbps (yeah, right!), Vistumbler shows 25-40% signal. Is that what you were asking about?
|My System Specs
|06 Dec 2011
Well, here's my quick fix/problem locator tip: buy yourself a little usb wireless dongle. Plug it in, set it up (you can get them for only like $20), and see what it sees.
|My System Specs
|Thread Tools
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I do not think this is possible, but it is worth a shot anyway. Is there a way that I can create/save multiple network connection "profiles" for the wireless adapter in my laptop? For work, I often connect to our device routers to program them before they go to the customer. I connect to...
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The HTC Inspire 4G launched with AT&T back in February and since then we have seen prices sliding rather quickly. It was just a matter of days when Amazon lowered the price down to $60 where things settled out for a little while. And then Radio Shack made the big move all the way down to $30 just a few days back. Well, it looks like Amazon Wireless has followed and have begun offering the handset for $29.99 on a two-year agreement. And lastly, for those wondering, at present the Inspire 4G is still priced at $99.99 if you are shopping direct with AT&T.
Via [Amazon Wireless] and [GottaBeMobile]


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Sammy Smith has trained in the martial arts over 10 years and is a black belt from New York. She has crushed multiple competition forms and weapons grand champion records and continues to be the leading female double nunchuck competitor. Her innovative weapons tricks, clean basics and high-level kick combos keep her performances respected and exciting to watch. Her daily training sessions and attention to detail keep her constantly evolving. Sammy's teaching skills and commitment to give back makes Sammy a cool martial arts athlete.
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Nutrition Seminar Topics
The following is a list of 1-hour lectures. They all include an interactive component and each can be customized to meet your group's specific needs.
How To Improve Mood With Food
You've heard the saying "You are what you eat" but did you know that what you eat (or don't eat) can impact your mood and energy level? This seminar addresses which foods can help you feel your absolute best and which foods can contribute to stress, low energy and irritability. Includes information on brain chemicals that influence food choices and cravings, foods and nutrients that have a direct impact mood, and mood boosting snack and meal ideas
Top 10 Nutrition Myths Busted!
Is the sweet potato healthier than the white? Is high fructose corn syrup the worst of all sugars? This 1 hour seminar will explore some of the top diet and nutrition myths and put them to the science vs. reality test!
Eat This And That! (Enjoy & Understand Food Once and For All!)
Changing headlines, and a sea of nutrition information from various sources, can make understanding what and how to eat (realistically) down right confusing. This lecture will address the ever changing nutrition trends over the years and share the key components of an overall healthy diet. Participants will leave with a greater understanding and perspective of everyday food choices, and how to truly enjoy eating!
How to Become a More Mindful Eater (While Making Healthy Eating Mindless!)
Diets don't work- becoming a more conscientious eater does! This seminar will discuss how you can become more mindful and aware of your eating. However, with the best intentions, stress and busy schedules are the reality for many- so arm yourself with the secrets of how eating healthier at home, work and in restaurants can be totally mindless!
Getting Started: 5 Steps to Eating Healthier For Good!
Do you feel ready to improve your nutrition and how you eat? This seminar addresses all of the components of optimal eating, including the what, why, where, when and how! Whether you want to lose weight or simply eat better, this 1 hour presentation will cover the big picture and provide specific strategies to help get it done!
Raising Healthy Kids in a Junk Food & Diet Obsessed World
The home is the University of Eating- where children learn eating habits (the good and not so good). It's our job to teach them about good nutrition but also to have a very positive and healthy relationship around eating and food. When our kids are often enticed by many sweets and treats how do we teach them good habits without being a full on food police? This 1 hour presentation will address the challenges, and step by step, weekly, solutions to raising a healthy eater, even when you're not around. Specific kid-friendly meal ideas and snacks provided.
Eating Out & On the Go The Smart Weigh!
One in four meals is eaten outside of the home. Eating out does not have to sabotage your health goals if you know a few tricks of the trade! This 1 hour seminar will address common pitfalls and fat traps in restaurants so that you can always remain in the driver's seat wherever you go! It will also provide specific strategies for eating while on the run!
Healthy Holiday Survival: How To Prevent Your Diet From Going Into Hibernation
This lecture addresses the challenges and unintended consequences of this time of year, as well as, strategies to stay focused and on top of your nutrition game. Includes healthy holiday recipes.
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- First Financial
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- Holland and Hart


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- No Gloves, Mask or Protective Eyewear required
- Dries Invisible & Non Staining
- Will Not Attract Dirt on Furniture, Carpet or Clothing
- Human Food Grade Ingredients
- Refreshing Cedar Aroma
- 100% Kill rate to Fleas, Ticks, Mites, Bed Bugs & more
INDEPENDENT STUDY: Fleas, Ticks, Bed Bugs, Lice
Below are 3rd party lab results testing this product of fleas and ticks that shows 100% mortality.
As the top performing Natural Insecticide, BioDefense is strong and effective for Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Governmental, Equine & Dairy pest control.
Not for use on Plants
BioDefense Kills & Repels
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Mites
- Bed Bugs
- Wasps
- Yellow Jackets
- Ants
- Moths
- Scorpion
- Termites
- Silverfish
- Roaches
- Lice
- Spiders
- 100's of Insects
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13 of 14 people found this review helpful:
Helps with repelling fleas, mosquitos
By in Winterville, Georgia on 08/04/2013
Verified Purchase
My cat brought in a crop of fleas. I used this spray, and they seemed gone, but little ones appeared after a couple days. I also tried a commercial spray to no avail. But, I did not wash/spray every inch of every item in the house, and my vacuum can't get behind all furniture. I continue to spray every few days and there are less fleas. I don't feel the BioDefense gets the larvae, as the new fleas are tiny, and found in areas that I sprayed heavily. But I could be bringing more from outside. Don't have time/money to treat 10 acres right now. The cat has decided to live outside for now. I wanted to spray my cat, and contacted Wondercide as to safety. "It is the exact same formulation as Evolv, but is bottled/labeled seperately for compliance reasons." was the customer service reply. It seems to help the cat more than the other products used. Since it is therapeutic grade, it is supposed to be safe for cats. Don't use cedar around birds. Haven't flea combed her to check levels, but cat is not biting fleas and seems happier. No other flea product seemed to work well on her, as she's mostly outdoors so picks up more. It repels mosquitos on me. That is why I decided to use it on the cat. I now mostly reserve this product for me and the cat. I found a bottle of regular cedar oil in storage to dilute and spray the house, as the BioDefense is pricey for that on a repeat basis. I also have a container of soapy water with a clip light over in each room to trap fleas. This was the only way I have gotten rid of them in the past. I do not detect any scent but cedar in this. It is quite strong. After spraying heavily, I had to open windows to sleep. You might want to dilute or leave house for a couple hrs. After that, it smells pleasant, like a cedar wardrobe.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful:
Killed Wasps on contact
By Laura in Aiken, SC on 05/31/2014
Verified Purchase
Bought this for general pest control, especially roaches (I hate'em and I live in the South). While spraying around house went out on front porch to spray around front door and saw some mud daubers on back of one of the porch lights. Gave some quick sprays and went in quickly--I'm not stupid--and when I can back out there were four dead wasps on the ground under the nest and one dead one stuck on the nest. Kill was immediate. I like that I can use it around people and pets without worry.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful:
Effective, pleasent smelling
By Johnc in Northern NJ on 08/29/2015
Biodefense is good at killing insects almost immediately when sprayed directly. It smells good but it is not overpowering. It works good at keeping insects away from where you spray it. However, it does not last for long. After about a day the smell is almost gone and requires constant repeated applications to remain effective. It does a great job of repelling insects from coming near sprayed areas but not for long.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
Awesome Product!
By George in Spokane, WA on 03/25/2015
Verified Purchase
This works exactly as described. I even have purchased a gallon re-fill for this bottle.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
Effective for temporary relief
By Gail in Mt. Laurel, NJ on 08/18/2015
Bio Defense provided relief from the biting midges and mosquitoes. There was a slight smoky odor after usage but I attributed that to the effect on these pests. All in all, I was quite satisfied.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
indoor spiders etc
By Kim in kilgore, texas on 06/30/2016
I love this indoor natural spray. The odor is little strong but definitely not off-putting like the chemical bug killers I've used in the past. This kills spiders & bugs on contact and can be reapplied as often as needed although the residual on this seems to help with them coming thru the doors & windows or wherever they sneak in. I'm a big fan of this spray
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06/18/2014 Jenni from Sedona Az
QIs BioDefense - Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass a concentrated formula?
For spraying on cushions or mattresses, would I dilute this formula or use as packaged?
ABioDefense - Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass comes in a quart size reday to use bottle and the gallon can be used to refill that bottle or another bottle. It does not need to be mixed with water.
03/17/2014 Colonel from Stoney Fork, Ky
QIs there an IGR for lice?
We have been fighting a body lice infestation we picked up from a motel for 3 years now. Everything kills the adults (Permethrin and Malathion). But nothing breaks the life cycle. Non of that crap the CDC puts out works. I think we need an IGR. Help.
AUnfortunately, we do not have an insect growth regulator that is specifially labeled to control the growth cycle of body lice. However, we do have a product, BioDefense Indoor Insecticide that is a natural and organic contact insecticide that is 100% safe for children and animals. BioDefense does not have a wait to dry or re entry time and it kills all life stages of insects including lice.
08/08/2015 Anonymous from Las Vegas
QResidual of BioDefense - Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass?
A BioDefense - Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass has a residual of 2 weeks.
BioDefense - Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass has a residual of 2 weeks.
08/26/2013 Karen from West Grove, Pa
QWhat are the inert ingredients in BioDefense Indoor Insecticide?
AThe inert ingredient part of any product (including BioDefense Indoor Insecticide) is a trade secret and not disclosed to anybody.
05/26/2017 Jill from Carlsbad, Nm
QIs BioDefense Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass effective on black widows?
A BioDefense Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass kills spiders on contact. For more information on treating spiders with residual control products (and other methods of eradication) for a successful program, please take a few moments to review our article on How to Get Rid of Spiders.
BioDefense Indoor Insecticide - Lemongrass kills spiders on contact. For more information on treating spiders with residual control products (and other methods of eradication) for a successful program, please take a few moments to review our article on How to Get Rid of Spiders.
03/02/2016 Loren from Clermont, Fl
QIs BioDefense corrosive?
A No, BioDefense-Indoor Insecticide-Lemongrass is not corrosive. It is made with natural oils found in nature.
No, BioDefense-Indoor Insecticide-Lemongrass is not corrosive. It is made with natural oils found in nature.


text: Okay guys I know there are a lot of veterans here. I have a question. I have wanted to be a pilot all my life (and maybe one day go to space, but that is just an added + if I do, but don't know if it would happen), my grades were great, vision is beyond perfect and am in good physical shape. Now I came very close to signing up for the Air Force when I graduated high school. Unfortunately my parents flipped out and my father went ape on me considering such a decision. (Worried that I will die) After all this I was going to go but changed my mind because I was too worried that I would sign the paper for the wrong reason, (to piss off my father)and have regrets. Now I keep coming back to this again, so this is making me think I know it is what makes me happy and what I would like to do. I would love to do this as a job, want to help people, and do something meaningful not to mention fun. That is why I am wanting to become a fighter pilot preferably on the F-22 raptors. I would like to know what is entailed, what to expect from it, the lifestyle, and if it is okay to be thinking like this?


text:
Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker
Hybrid Guru
Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:38 am
Ontario, Canada
FLDG Dishwasher
Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
Kamado Kommander
Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:35 pm
Lexington, Ky.
Paul B. wrote:

Chimineas have long appealed to me, but I can't help but wonder if they're any good for grilling.
Most I've seen come with cooking grids, but the surface area and large open-air mesh of the "bulb" (that's what I call it - don't know what the real term is) make me think that (a) you'd lose quite a bit of heat sideways in windier conditions, and (b) it might be challenging to get a big enough fire going inside the thing so as to get enough hardwood coals that'd make for easy grillin'.
That said, maybe the trepidation is all for nothing, since I'm sure that with enough coals in there, one could do a couple of steaks or wings in one of them not too shabbily.
What's been your experience? I know that a kamado is clearly superior ... but is a chiminea even passable as a substitute for something like a kettle charcoal grill?
Ultra geek
Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:48 pm
Paul B. wrote:What's been your experience?
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Juice Lounge Franchise
- Investment LevelRs. 500,001 - Rs. 1,000,000
- IndustryFood and Beverage, Fast Food
Founded in 2005, Founder Amit Shital & Sumit Shital launched 'Juice Lounge' as a Unique Health Juice Bar for India. Within four years and a workforce of no more than five people, purely through word of mouth of our unique juices and quality, Juice Lounge expanded overseas as well as most of the major cities in India. Today, we don't just sell Juices, but Power Juices, Energy Boosters, Supplements, Shakes, Low Calorie Sandwiches, Pasta and Pizzas as well. We now have a workforce of over 200 employees who cater to over thousands of satisfied customers every week.
With various Business Models available one can choose from any of the following models
a) Juice Lounge Juice Bar selling Juices (Kiosk Model or OTC)
b) Selling Juices and Low Calorie Sandwiches (Kiosk or OTC)
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What sets Juice Lounge apart? We take a great deal of pride in our Juice Quality and customer obsession – providing them with all our focus, building mutual trust, maintaining top quality, offering an array of products and practicing consistent performance. Add it up and this is what the Juice Lounge experience is all about! Juice Bars have already become a craze in India; this is the right opportunity for you to sensibly invest your money in something that will give you amazing returns from day one. Only Juice bar to have presence in 2 Countries...28 Cities in India & Abroad... 36+ Juice Bars and Growing...


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JasperLabs and VoltDB Partner to Drive Dynamic Display Advertising and Creative Optimization
Jul 25, 2011, 09:00 ET from VoltDB
SAN FRANCISCO and BILLERICA, Mass., July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- JasperLabs, provider of the JasperAds advertising creative marketing solution, announced the selection of VoltDB as the technology cornerstone for its dynamic display advertising and creative optimization (DCO) platform. VoltDB's high-throughput relational database systems (RDBMSs) will house the critical transaction data used to drive JasperLab's highly targeted ad combinations. Additionally, the RDBMS will be the source of ad performance analysis based on customer-defined metrics.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110725/NE40419LOGO
To support its DCO platform, JasperLabs requires a database infrastructure that can capture and manage large amounts of ad viewer state data. Write throughput and scaling are critical to winning new customers, and to offering the ability to cost-effectively design, deploy and measure their digital ad campaigns. Equally important is the ability to handle high-performance read operations that drive a variety of real-time analytic reports and dashboards.
"DCO significantly increases the performance of digital ad campaigns; it's a game-changer for small- and medium-sized advertisers," said Stefan Lucyshyn, founder and CEO at JasperLabs. "VoltDB's extreme throughput and relational model give us the ability to iteratively test, tune and deploy an unlimited number of creative combinations for our customers. Using VoltDB, we can significantly increase the performance of ad campaigns at a fraction of the cost of other methods, and to scale our platform to meet increasing customer demand."
"JasperLabs is building a revolutionary and disruptive DCO platform that is gaining enormous interest from advertisers," said VoltDB CEO Scott Jarr. "VoltDB uniquely gives JasperLabs the database throughput and scale needed to optimize creative combinations and deliver a wide variety of customized, value-added services. We're very pleased that JasperLabs has selected VoltDB, and look forward to supporting future breakthroughs in the Company's DCO service platform."
About JasperLabs
Was founded by Stefan Lucyshyn to provide performance-based marketers with a turnkey creative solution. The JasperAds dynamic display and creative optimization platform allows advertisers and their agencies to create and optimize highly interactive banner ad campaigns, personalized in real time by tweaking separate creative elements based on consumer targeting and performance. This means marketers now have a cost effective display advertising solution to generate sales and leads. The SaaS based platform provides the scale needed by marketers and IT of all sizes.
About VoltDB
Designed by DBMS pioneer Mike Stonebraker for organizations that have reached the price/performance limitations of general purpose SQL databases, VoltDB combines the proven power of relational processing with blazing speed, linear scalability and uncompromising fault tolerance. VoltDB is the ideal database solution for high velocity database applications that require 100% accuracy and real-time analytics.
For further information about JasperLabs, please contact:
Stefan Lucyshyn
For further information about VoltDB, please contact:
Fred Holahan
SOURCE VoltDB


text:
Set some indeterminate time after the world had first been ravaged by the undead, Land of the Dead opens with civilization in tatters. Zombies grossly outnumber their walking, talking food supply, and what few survivors are left have holed up in a handful of outposts scattered throughout the country. One of the most heavily fortified strongholds is Pittsburgh...or at least, an unnamed city modeled after Romero's hometown. Surrounded by water on three sides and only accessible by a single bridge, the Steel City seems like one of the only places on these shores that the undead can't sink their rotting teeth into.
Multi-millionaire kingpin Paul Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) doesn't just want to keep the zombies out, though; he makes sure that the huddled masses are locked in. Those select few blue-bloods who can afford the price tag set up shop in Fiddler's Green, an exclusive tower of condominiums complete with restaurants and a ritzy shopping mall. Everyone else...? Shanties. Kaufman keeps the dregs of his new society under control by depriving them of the essentials, shoving them under his thumb through his network of sex, drugs, and gambling. Anyone with the balls to stand up against Kaufman is quietly knocked off by his garbagemen, a group headed up by the eager-to-please Cholo (John Leguizamo) who sees these nasty little covert jobs as his ticket into high society.
Since the city's supplies of food, booze, and medicine have long since been exhausted, Kaufman sends his flunkies out in a heavily armored mobile fortress nicknamed Dead Reckoning to loot deserted stores and supermarkets. As supplies from surrounding areas continue to dwindle, Riley (Simon Baker) and his crew have to venture out further and further, trying to get their hands on the necessities without being overwhelmed by swarms of the undead. 'Course, zombies aren't all that bright, so easily distracted by bright, shiny things that Riley and company can usually walk away safely by launching fireworks into the air as they make their rounds.
Riley's had it with Pittsburgh, determined to head out to the deserted wastelands of Canada where there aren't any people or zombies to get in his way, and seeing Cholo's greed and arrogance knock off one of his men just makes him that much more hellbent on taking off. Cholo has duped himself into thinking this is his last time getting his hands dirty too, but when he's snubbed by Kaufman, Cholo swipes Dead Reckoning and threatens to shell Fiddler's Green if the big man doesn't fork over five million bucks. (Hey, you never know...) Kaufman seeks out Riley's help in getting his hands back on that roving fortress, assuring him that he'll be allowed free passage out of Pittsburgh if he can stop Cholo before the city's in smoldering ruins. With a trigger-happy hooker (Asia Argento) and a disfigured deadshot (Robert Joy) by his side, Riley agrees to bring an end to his one-time right-hand-man's reign of terror, but Pittsburgh has a whole hell of a lot more to worry about than one heavily-armed Latino. The zombies from Dead Reckoning's last raid have picked up a few new tricks, and the hulking Big Daddy (Eugene Clark) has assembled an army of the undead for a siege on Fiddler's Green.
If I'd spent the few years dozing off in a coma and woke up just in time to stroll into Land of the Dead after the opening credits, I don't think I would've guessed that it was a 64 year old George Romero standing behind the camera. It's
Aside from some of the ground rules of the undead, none of Romero's zombie films have had all that much in common with each other, and the fact that Land of the Dead is so different than the movies he'd shot decades earlier shouldn't have caught me as off-guard as it did. Even with all of the gut-munching splattered throughout, Land of the Dead more closely resembles a B-action flick than any of the previous three Dead movies. Grab a semi-automatic rifle, blast dinner plate-sized holes through a couple thousand rotting skulls, hop into your oversized tank, and head north to Canada. The end. Because Land of the Dead is such a lean, action-driven movie, there really isn't the time for most of its characters to be fleshed out beyond one-note cardboard cutouts, and that's a pretty dramatic shift from the three installments before it. The survivors, at least, are all essentially the same characters at the end of the movie as they are at the beginning, and they're neatly, cleanly divided into Good Guys and Bad Guys. The other Dead movies felt as if anyone could be torn apart at any time, but Land of the Dead plays more like a straightahead action flick: you can tell a few minutes in that the self-assured, noble heroes are all gonna walk away unscathed, and the grrr-boo-hiss villains will be gruesomely ripped apart and munched on. That persistent sense of dread from the other Dead movies would be sorely missed, but I really couldn't give a shit what happens to these forgettable, borderline-anonymous characters anyway.
Aside from Day of the Dead's Bub, the zombies in this movie are more advanced than anything we've seen from Romero, and that grated on the nerves of some Dead loyalists. With one glaring exception, it didn't really bother me all that much, though. After all, Bill Hinzman -- the very first Romero zombie -- picked up a rock to smash a car window in Night of the Living Dead, and the evolution of the undead over however many years of movie-time later doesn't seem out of place. My only gripe is that Big Daddy, the leader of the zombies, is too human. Hell, he's the most prominent zombie in the movie and is never once shown gnawing on anyone. I get that part of Romero's metaphor is that zombies really aren't that different from us, but...yeah, they kinda are, George, what with the rotting and flesh-eating and infecting all of us happy-meals-on-legs and everything. Aside from the whole cadaverous, cannibalism thing, some of the key undead just seem like slow-moving, dim-witted humans. I'm sure that's Romero's point, but I preferred it when they were painted more as a force of nature rather than some sort of tribe. Big Daddy probably deserves his own paragraph of endless bitching, but even without a word of dialogue, Eugene Clark somehow manages to overact every damn time he lurches in front of the camera. Every reaction he has to anything consists of a drawn-out, 240 decibal bellow, and it seems like half the time, that'd be followed by some sort of swooping crane shot as if this were The Shawshank Redemption or something.
The whole Dead Reckoning angle is a complete waste, and I would've rather had some of that time spent better establishing the state of society as a whole. Land of the Dead doesn't give a strong sense of how much time civilization has been in tatters, and although Romero is heavy-handed with the class struggle angle, he doesn't offer much of an impression how day-to-day life has really changed. The comparatively subtle social commentary Romero infused into his other zombie movies has been tossed out. Land of the Dead has its share of social and political commentary, but it's not mixed in all that deftly, so instead of subtext, there's just highlighted, quadruple-underlined text. Even my sixth time through, I'm still caught off-guard by how abruptly Land of the Dead trails off. The movie ends but doesn't really have an ending, and neither what passes for a climax nor its kinda weak conclusion really satisfy. What happens in the climax is fine, but...it just doesn't feel like a climax.
I'm being much harder on Land of the Dead than I would be if it had a different
How to summarize this long-winded write-up...? As many flaws as it has, Land of the Dead is beyond almost any argument one of the five or six best zombie movies ever filmed. The glossy production values and spectacularly gruesome kills give it a leg up on Romero's many imitators, but because it's by the man who wrote the template for the zombie film and because it pales in comparison to his masterpiece, I can't resist nitpicking more than it probably deserves. It's better described as 'brutal fun' than anything all that close to 'good', but the more I watch Land of the Dead, the more I warm up to it. Twenty years from now, Land of the Dead won't be bombarded with the sort of fawning praise that swirls around Dawn of the Dead, and it won't be nearly as polarizing as Day of the Dead. Land of the Dead may be the most disposable of Romero's zombie movies, but there's nothing wrong with a mindless action-zombie flick. Just go in knowing that that is what you're going to get, not Dawn of the Dead 2.
Video: The VC-1 encode on Land of the Dead looks identical to the HD DVD that Universal released back in 2006, but that's not a bad
Land of the Dead is presented on this single-layer Blu-ray disc at its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1, and I believe that's a first for Romero in forty years behind the camera.
Audio: Land of the Dead is a hybrid of horror and straightahead action -- two genres that are almost always a lock for first-rate soundtracks -- and its 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio track is extremely aggressive. The moans of the undead and the screams of their victims claw their way from every direction, and imaging and the numerous pans across channels flesh out an immersive and unsettling atmosphere. This is a movie whose story hinges on a thunderous, twenty ton mobile fortress armed to the teeth, and the overwhelming number of explosions and bursts of gunfire also serve up a hellish amount of bass. There were a few scattered moments where I expected a little more of a kick from the LFE, but the subwoofer still gets a pretty steady workout throughout. Land of the Dead's dialogue is never dominated by all the low-frequency devastation, and the film's sound effects are rendered with reasonably impressive distinctness and clarity.
The low-end did seem more pronounced in this lossless soundtrack than in the Dolby Digital Plus audio on Universal's HD DVD, but toggling back and forth between them, the two sounded fairly close to my ears. Land of the Dead also includes a DTS dub in Spanish alongside subtitles in English (SDH), Spanish, and French.
Extras: Land of the Dead carves up a few of the extras from the DVD and HD DVD for its picture-in-picture U-Control feature. It
All of the other extras from previous releases have been carried over, though, beginning with an audio commentary featuring George Romero, producer Peter Grunwald, and editor Michael Doherty. It's an unusually subdued track that almost never strays from the same few topics: describing whatever's happening on-screen, pointing out elements digitally added to or snipped out of the frame, or noting how a bit of gore differed from the theatrical cut. Romero did field a couple of the questions I had -- Can animals be zombified? Why fireworks? Was Dead Reckoning actually driveable? -- but there's nothing really insightful (Romero's tirade on sex and romance in horror is as close as it gets), and casual fans probably won't find it worth the hour and a half-plus investment.
There are also a few minutes' worth of extra footage -- although it looks like everything worthwhile had already been reinstated into this director's cut -- along with a two minute splatter montage. Both sets of footage are letterboxed and non-anamorphic in standard definition. Land of the Dead tosses on a set of before-and-after shots highlighting the digital effects work, and there's also an eight minute set of storyboard comparisons. "Scream Tests: Zombie Casting Call" is a minute-long effects test of CGI zombies dancing around, and Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright chime in with a zombie-cameo-diary that looks to give a pretty solid impression of what the shoot must have been like behind-the-scenes.
Conclusion: Land of the Dead -- a gory but otherwise surprisingly straightforward action flick -- falls somewhere in the middle of George Romero's first four zombie films. It's not even close to being a classic in the same vein as Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead, but even with its many flaws, I've still found myself watching Land of the Dead again and again, and the movie's grisly make-up effects and breakneck pace should make for a hell of a popcorn flick this Halloween. The reformatting of a few of the extras for a useless U-Control feature is kind of a drag, and it's not a compelling upgrade to the ravenous undead who already shelled out for the HD DVD a couple years back, but for zombie completists, the boost in image and sound quality over the DVD make Land of the Dead worth digging up again. Recommended.


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