text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 6, 2010
|Filing date
|Jun 14, 2005
|Priority date
|Jun 14, 2005
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Tengiz Tkebuchava
|Original Assignee
|Tengiz Tkebuchava
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (32), Non-Patent Citations (3), Referenced by (23), Classifications (22), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to catheters designed to deliver therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents to specific areas of the body and, more particularly, to positionable, direct-injection catheters that can access a specific region of the heart via veins or arteries of the body.
2. Background Information
Diseases of the heart are the major cause of non-accidental death in people over the age of 65 and are the second most common cause for people aged 45-64. A common form of heart disease is ischemic heart disease, which is caused by blockage, or partial blockage, of blood vessels leading to the heart resulting in slow deterioration and eventual death of heart cells. Although there are several treatments available for ischemic heart disease including angioplasty and bypass surgery, these treatments are unavailable for many patients and, for others, they offer only temporary relief.
One promising treatment is the introduction, via a catheter, of specific medicants directly to the heart and/or related blood vessels, such as angiogenesis-promoting substances or gene therapeutic agents. Catheter delivery has the potential to deliver the therapeutic agent or agents by physically placing them exactly where they are needed. Typically, catheters are introduced into the body via the femoral artery and then directed to the heart or other areas. Catheter delivery requires that the catheter be both flexible so as to bend where necessary to follow the blood vessels or arteries and sufficiently rigid so as to be controllable for accurate targeted agent delivery. What is still needed, however, is a catheter that is both flexible and controllable.
Another form of heart disease is abnormal heart rhythms (cardiac arrhythmias). There are a variety of causes of arrhythmias; for example, cardiac valve disease, ischemic heart disease, and rheumatic heart disease may all cause arrhythmias. The contraction of the heart is governed by electrical signals which originate in the right atrium and then are transmitted throughout the heart creating a coordinated heartbeat. Problems arise when other parts of the heart generate electrical signals which are out of phase with the normal signals or when the transmission of the correct signals is perturbed by defects in the conduction system. These difficulties can be overcome by the selective destruction of abnormal cells that are the origin of the electrical problems. This can be accomplished by chemical agent ablation with appropriate chemical agents delivered to the critical part or parts of the heart by means of a suitable catheter. What is still lacking, however, is a mechanism to administer ablating chemical agents accurately to specific areas of the heart using a catheter.
While catheters are a remarkably efficient devices for delivering various kinds of is drugs to the heart and associated blood vessels, there still are disadvantages associated with their use that either restrict the use of catheters to patients whose bodies can accept such treatment, or conversely, increase the risk of an adverse outcome for the patient.
For example, the passage of the catheter through veins or arteries, especially through femoral arteries, can result in abrasions particularly at locations where the veins or arteries bend sharply on their way to the main coronary blood vessels. Further, once the catheter is inserted, the distal end of the catheter must be positioned exactly for accurate delivery of medication or other treatments via an extendible needle that is retracted during travel of the catheter to the final destination. There is a risk, in that once extended, the needle may scratch or perforate tissue by inadvertent or incorrect movement of the catheter tip. This is particularly problematic in applying an extendible needle to the right ventricle's wall, as it is quite thin and easily punctured. Any over-penetration or abrasion by the extendible needle or underlying catheter can cause bleeding and the formation of blood clots, which are potentially dangerous to the patient. To reduce the potential for clotting, the patient is frequently administered an anticoagulant such as heparin. While this precaution may reduce the chances of accidental blood clotting, it also creates a potential for uncontrolled bleeding internally, which is an equally dangerous situation to be avoided. What would be of great value to both patients and physicians is a device to deliver therapeutic or diagnostic agents, directly to a specific area within the heart, without the need for a blood thinner.
Targeted delivery of a gene therapy agent in a restricted region of the body can be used to modify cells in a desired region of the body. This technique, known as somatic gene therapy, is able to genetically express a therapeutically or diagnostically useful protein. Gene therapy can be a direct in vivo process in which genetic material is transferred to cells in the desired region of the patient's body. Alternatively, cells from the targeted region can be harvested, genetic material transferred to the cells, and the modified cells thereafter implanted back into the patient's body.
When using the direct in vivo method, a major concern is to avoid inserting the agent into a rapidly dividing cell population. This situation would substantially reduce the duration of the desired DNA transgene expression when using certain viral vectors such as the common adenovirus vectors. It is important, therefore, that the desired transgene or desired DNA is targeted so that, (1) only the desired cells will receive and express the gene, and (2) the gene will not be systemically distributed.
Currently, gene therapy for the heart muscle is still in the development stage. There have been studies of experimental gene therapy in rats by direct injection of DNA into the myocardium. The direct injection has caused inflammation, apparent myocyte necrosis, and scar tissue-formation along the needle tracks. Gene transfer using adenovirus vectors injected into pig hearts has been shown to be highly efficient in regions immediately adjacent to the injection, but evidence of gene transfer occurred only in a small region of the myocardium. A prominent inflammatory response has been associated with these injections, in part because current procedures utilizing catheters require that the catheter be inserted at the femoral artery. In order to overcome these difficulties, it is desirable to have the mechanism to insert a catheter into a body using an artery in an arm, such as a brachial artery or a radial artery. Catheter entry via an artery in the arm allows the patient the ability to walk immediately after an operation simply by keeping the pierced portion of the upper arm in an appropriately outstretched or elevated orientation. Moreover, injection through a brachial or radial artery eliminates potential abdominal-region pain. In order for a catheter to be administered through the brachial or radial artery, the catheter would have to be designed to accommodate the specific needs of subclavian insertion.
Direct injection catheters also may be used in treating disease of other parts of the body. They may be used for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease, which is due to insufficient blood flow to the legs. This procedure delivers recombinant adenovirus expressing an angiogenic peptide or protein to cells of the skeletal muscles via a catheter.
Thus, in spite of the interest in catheter-based treatments, there clearly still remain a number of important difficulties in effectively using this technique. The need for accurate positioning of the distal end of the catheter for delivery of the treatment medium is clear, but this is related to the ability to direct the distal end. Current catheter technology allows the bending of the near distal end in one direction only, thereby limiting the positionability of the tip. Another difficulty is in maintaining the distal end in contact with the tissue to receive treatment for the duration of the delivery activity. Too frequently, once positioned, the distal end moves, and in so doing, scratches or perforates the tissue to be treated thereby promoting bleeding. It is desirable also to effect the treatment delivery in as short a period of time as possible. Another limitation is the volume of liquid that can be passed through the lumen(s) at the distal end of the catheter. Simply pumping liquid at a higher pressure causes other problems because of the recoil of the catheter and hence movement away from the delivery site. It is, thus, highly desirable to provide a catheter capable of accurate positioning, one that allows the distal end to be anchored firmly against the tissue being treated, which can deliver the required quantity of one or more than one treatment agent rapidly but at low velocity, with minimal systemic loss, maintaining the agent in contact with the target tissue for the time required for treatment, which can be operated by a technician with minimal training, and requiring no special assisting technology. Such a catheter should eliminate the possibility of myocardial perforation and valve damage, even when applied to relatively thin wall thicknesses, such as the right ventricular wall.
This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a positionable, direct-injection catheters that can access a specific region of the heart or other organ (including the difficult to reach endocardial surfaces) via veins or arteries of the body, including through an artery or vein in the arm, such as a brachial or radial artery or subclavian vein, to provide targeted delivery and release of therapeutic or diagnostic agents, including gene therapy agents over discrete periods of time in a controlled manner minimizing accidental abrasion or perforation of bodily organs. In particular the catheter of the present invention enables access to (via the subclavian vein) and treatment of the thin myocardium of the right ventricle of the heart. Subclavian insertion also means that the catheter length is substantially reduced, which provides for the catheter to be precisely controlled for accurate delivery while offering the degree of flexibility required for the catheter to bend where necessary to follow the blood vessels or arteries.
The catheter of the present invention is provided with one or two needle shafts, which may be located within respective sheaths that extend axially along the interior of the lumen of a main catheter shaft. This main shaft is bendable in one or two orthogonal planes to provide steering. Each needle shaft carries, at a distal end thereof a penetrable element or "needle" that is normally retracted within the distal tip of the main shaft during travel to the target organ, but is subsequently deployed by action of a handle-mounted trigger mechanism to extend the needles into the organ's wall. Each extended needle is curved (by means of memory metal-construction) to an angle of approximately 70-80 degrees relative to the shaft's axis of extension, to enter the organ wall in a flattened trajectory that both reduces the chance of puncture through the wall and anchors the needles into the wall during injection (for reduced chance of pullout under pressure). To deliver desired therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents each needle is provided with a plurality of apertures which provide for more complete agent delivery rapidly, while maintaining a low delivery velocity to effect treatment delivery in as short a period of time as possible without the problems caused by high velocity delivery. Typically apertures are provided along the medial side of each needle as well as the tip. The main shaft's lumen can also carry an agent, such as a dye or a guided smaller tube or catheter having, for example a sensor or probe. The shaft tip may include an integral probe for blood pressure, and the like. Each needle can include an internal sensor, such as a DNA sensor. Signals can be transmitted down the shaft to the handle, and whence to a monitor using a variety of techniques.
In an illustrative embodiment, the needles are arranged to that when they are extended from the distal tip of the catheter shaft they curve away from each other in a contralateral fashion at the selected angle and, thereby attach themselves to the targeted tissue and anchor the catheter in place for the duration of treatment.
The invention description below refers to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures. It should be understood that these drawings only depict preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, thus, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following general definitions are provided for terms of common usage herein, but such terms should be taken broadly to include a variety of equivalent structures and or functional elements where appropriate:
Catheter, as used herein, refers to a tubular medical device for insertion into canals, vessels, passageways, or body cavities usually to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids or to keep a passage open.
Lumen, as used herein, refers to the bore of a tube, as of a hollow needle or catheter; also as used herein, may refer to the cavity or passageway of a tubular organ, such as a blood vessel.
Memory metal, as used herein, refers to a highly elastic metal that has the tendency to hold its chosen shape despite significant application of deformation thereto. A common type of memory metal is commercially known as "NiTiNOL", which is used in a vast variety of applications in medical implants and a variety of medical instruments, such as a martensitic instrument used in open heart surgery to measure the inner diameter of the coronary vessels. The use of shape-memory metal element for a particular purpose generally requires the setting of a custom shape in a wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, tubing, or bar. Shape setting is typically accomplished by constraining the memory metal element on a mandrel or fixture of the desired shape and applying an appropriate heat treatment. The heat treatment parameters chosen to set both the shape and the properties of the part are critical, and usually need to be determined experimentally for each desired part's requirements. In general, temperatures as low as 400 deg. C. and times as short as 1-2 minutes can set the shape, but generally one uses a temperature closer to 500 deg. C. and times over 5 minutes. Rapid cooling of some form is preferred via a water quench or rapid air cool (if both the parts and the fixture are small). Higher heat treatment times and temperatures will increase the actuation temperature of the part and often gives a sharper thermal response.
Shaft, as used herein, refers to a hollow elongated cylinder, such as a tube.
It should also be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.
Catheter Insertion and Use
As described below, the catheter is manipulated, and the catheter's distal end 132 is provided with agents using a positioning handle 150 that can be conventional, or uniquely designed for the requirements of the catheter 130. Briefly, the handle includes a plurality of triggers or controls 152, 154 that operate extension of the needles and steering of the distal end at one or two points. The handle 150 may also contain a hub 156 for connecting a fluid source (dye markers, etc.), electrical connections or (in an alternate embodiment) guiding-in smaller-diameter catheter (not shown). The hub can lead to a central, enlarged lumen within the catheter 130 described further below. A guided-in, smaller-diameter catheter or tube can contain a distal sensor tip or probe that measures one or more predetermined characteristics or vital signs (for example, intracardial blood pressure, pH, DNA, etc.) in an illustrative embodiment. In one embodiment, the tube is connected to a monitor. The pressure is displayed on the monitor by moving waves and digital numbers. Thus, it gives information about the position of the needle: whether it is located in the heart cavity or inserted into the wall. This detector is able to indicate when the needles is not inserted properly into the organ wall or have jumped out of the organ wall during an injection or have spontaneously moved. Thus, these features allow prompt correction of the position of the needle and therefore wasting of a drug is avoided. The detected information is electronically transferred into any ordinary monitor in the hospital room.
Likewise the handle can contain other wired or wireless connections 158 to appropriate monitors (see below) that are operatively connected to sensors that reside variously at or near the distal end 132. Significantly, the handle contains one or more ports 160 in fluid communication with the extensible needles at the distal end 132. Such port(s) receive the delivery end of an appropriate syringe 162 or other fluid-injection mechanism (a powered and/or timed injector, for example). The handle 150 is discussed in further detail below.
Reference is now made to
Referring now to
That is, since each needle 310, 312 may be provided with several tiny orifices or apertures, preferably on the medial sides of the needles and at the tips 320, 322, clogging of each needle lumen is reduced, and a desired agent may be delivered more quickly, avoiding the necessity of using high injection pressure in the injection area, which spares cells of the targeted tissue from being damaged. Additionally, the agent dispersed via the multiple apertures more completely infiltrates tissue preventing back leakage from the entry point of the needle, thus, reducing, or eliminating, systemic loss. This is an important point since some physicians perform 20 transendocardial injections placed 1 cm apart between the viable (healthy) and infarcted areas. This means that more volume of injectate is delivered to targeted tissue per injection. Note that a single injection of a therapeutic agent from a catheter of the present invention infiltrates more tissue target area than is possible using existing catheters, which means that multiple endocardial penetrations are avoided, or eliminated. Injections via the needles of existing catheters lead to "islands" of cells in the myocardium, providing a substrate for electrical instability and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Moreover, studies have shown that reduced injectate volume from 100 to 10 microliters improved microsphere retention, and a trend toward improved viral transfection associated with smaller injection volumes. It is to be expected that a dispersed distribution of the injectate in the tissue (not sack-like accumulation) by the catheter of the present invention should enhance the therapeutic result.
It should also be clear that the multiple needles 310, 312 provided in this embodiment allow for the simultaneous delivery of multiple therapeutic agents (drugs), diagnostic agents, or a combination of drugs and diagnostic agents. The catheter 130, according to an illustrative embodiment, also provides for determining the location of any therapeutic agent in a target tissue, since it allows simultaneous injection both of a drug and a marker (for example, Evan's blue) or two different drugs. The advantage of this consists in delivering two therapeutic agents, e.g. a gene and cells (endothelial progenitor or stem cells, or any other gene/cell combination) which will not only express a synergistic effect but might also show good results using reduced doses of the drugs.
As will be discussed below, accurate placement of the needles 310, 312 into desired tissue is further made possible by the ability to bend the catheter using the positioning handle 150 located at the proximal part of the catheter's tubular shaft. The handle 150 accurately positions the needles 310, 312 by positioning the catheter's distal tip 330 where the needles are to be located. This provides for highly accurate, repeatable agent delivery directly into a specific tissue site. Furthermore, the needle(s) may be repositioned to a different wall of the organ for agent delivery to multiple tissue sites. Where the ability to bend the distal end of the tubular catheter shaft in at least two distinct bending sites is provided, positioning and repositioning of the needle(s) in an arc of approximately 180 degrees is achieved. This positioning of the needle by shaft bending eliminates the need to rotate the needle 180� to reposition it and therefore the bending mechanism reduces the risk of unintentional scraping or puncturing of the myocardial tissue with the tip of the device or needles.
Note that the addition of a special radio-opaque marker 340 (for example) on the distal tip 330 of the catheter 130, as desired, allows one to determine the position of the catheter tip easily on an X-ray screen. Moreover, this ability facilitates the definition of the rotation and angle of the position of the distal end of the catheter of the present invention. This design also allows the determination of whether the needles 310, 312 are extended or retracted.
Also, the ability of the catheter of the present invention to provide an accurate, rapid, and reliable cell transplantation into the septum or near-conducting-system-area will allow the replacement of existing pacing therapies or the treatment of specific arrhythmias. The ability to approach such areas for cell transplantation, as provided by the catheter of the present invention, also complements pacemakers or other devices in the treatment of heart failure by supplementing the sinoatrial or atrial-ventricular nodes or improving refractoriness in conditions such as long-QT syndrome.
Catheter Structure and Function
Having described some basic considerations regarding the function and use of the catheter 130 according to an embodiment of this invention the structure of the catheter is now further described with reference to
Also illustrated on the handle 150 is a trigger assembly 152 for retracting and extending (arrows 464) the needles 310 and 312 from the tip 330. Note that it is expressly contemplated that the trigger mechanism 152 can be bifurcated to selectively extend each of the needles 310, 312 separately in alternate embodiments. The implementation of the linkage between the trigger assembly 152 and the elongated shafts 470 and 472 of the respective needles 310 and 312 can be any acceptable interconnection and is, this shown as a series of dashed lines 474 in
The precise arrangement of injection ports on the handle 150 is highly variable. In this embodiment a pair of ports 160 and 488 is provided, each port being capable of accepting a different syringe (162 shown) containing a different agent. In such an arrangement, at least two discrete agents can be simultaneously delivered to needles 310 and 312. To accomplish this, the tube 483 is shown alternatively connected to the needle shaft 472. Thus, in one arrangement, the port 160 is adapted to deliver an agent to the shaft 470 and needle 310 and the port 488 is adapted to deliver an agent to the shaft 472 and needle 312. In an alternate arrangement, the one port 160 (for example) delivers an agent to both shafts and needles via (for example) a Y-connection 492. Appropriate fluid gates and valves (not shown) can be employed to control which port delivers and agent to a given needle. In addition, in alternate embodiments, it is contemplated that the handle may, itself store supplies of agent onboard. By way of example a handle with a variety of desirable steering, dose-metering, dose-indicating and trigger functions is taught by the "SteeraJet™" percutaneous catheter injection system available from MicroHeart of Sunnyvale, Calif.
Note also that the trigger assembly 152 may be spring-loaded and/or include various locking mechanism and safety catches (not shown) to prevent unintended extension on a needle and/or lock an extended needle in place as desired. While also not shown the handle can include a locking base between the shaft 410 and handle's distal end 486. Such a base would include various connectors to enable the functional parts (electronic, fluid-transmitting and mechanical) to be attached to of the shaft 410 of the catheter to be quickly attached to and released from the handle.
The handle's proximal end 495 includes a proximal hub 156 that allows injection of an agent (fluid or gas) to the tip via the shaft's main lumen 496. The hub can comprise an electrical connector for various functions in certain embodiments. Alternatively, the proximal hub 156 allows insertion of a smaller catheter (not shown) that is guided via the shaft's lumen 494 to the tip 330. Such a smaller catheter can include one or more probes, sensors or mechanisms on its distal end. Alternatively, such a smaller catheter can include another fluid-delivery tip.
As discussed further below the tip of the needles 310, 312 and/or shaft tip 330 can include solid state, electronic sensors that are operatively connected to the handle. The handle includes an electrical connection (or connections) 158 that transfers signals from one or more sensors to a monitor 498 of appropriate type. In an alternate embodiment, the connection can be made via a wireless implementation 499 employing (for example) radio-frequency communication/data transfer operating in accordance with IEEE Standard 802.11(a, b, g, etc.).
The length L of the catheter shaft 410 is highly variable, and depends, in part, on the chosen path for insertion into the body and target organ. In one embodiment, the length L is between approximately 60 centimeters and 80 centimeters, but other lengths are expressly contemplated. The approximate diameter D of the shaft, in one embodiment is a standard 6-7 French.
Reference is now made to the catheter shaft (410) cross sections of
In another embodiment of the catheter shaft (410) cross section (
Alternatively, the needle shafts 470, 472 may be simply passed through the main lumen 496 of the shaft 410 with no surrounding sheath as shown in the embodiment of
As shown in
The choice of projection angle and projection length is chosen, in part, upon the nature of the tissue into which the needles are intended to project and the material performance of the needles themselves. Where a tissue surface is relatively thin, a high angle and short length of projection are desired. However, the angle should not be 90 degrees or greater at the juncture of the tip because this would prevent desired penetration of the needles into the adjacent tissue upon extension—in other words, the needles may simply glance the surface of the organ. As shown generally in
Because the needles extend at a controlled angle in contralateral directions, the depth can be fixed at a given maximum (i.e. depth/extension adjustment is typically unnecessary) with relative assurance that the organ wall is not being punctured. Rather, the needles extend within and along the inner thickness of the wall for maximum exposure of agents to areas of treatment. This is particularly significant for treating a thin postinfarction region, the right ventricle, or the septum. Patients having smaller and thinner cardiac walls generally represent a high risk and need a special approach for the injection catheter treatment. Other catheters are not recommended for use in myocardial regions estimated to be less than 6 mm thick due to the potential for cardiac perforation or ventricular tears. Using the catheter of the present invention under such circumstances, however, presents no such contraindication.
In an exemplary embodiment, the needles 310, 312 have a size of a standard, slim 28-26 G. Other sizes and shapes are expressly contemplated. The needle tips 320 and 322 have a characteristic chisel shape in this embodiment that ends in a tip aperture 730 (
Referring further to
Likewise, the shaft's main lumen 496 can be provided with a blood pressure sensor 760, or another device, such as a tissue-proximity sensor that determines when contact has been made with an organ. Signals from this sensor can be transmitted down the shaft using a conductive material 762, such as metal or graphite powder doped into the shaft wall.
Note that the materials used to construct the catheter shaft 410 and various internal sheaths can be widely varied. In general they should be non-allegenic and biocompatible, and should avoid flaking or release of materials in to the body. A variety of plastics including certain polyethylenes are suitable for this task. Appropriate non-stick coatings such as PTFE may be applied to exterior and interior surfaces of catheter components where appropriate.
The above-described catheter exhibits a number of clear advantages over prior art implementations. Unlike other catheters, the catheter of the present invention does not need any assisting monitoring, preliminary electromechanical left ventricular mapping, guidewire, guide-in-guide steerable delivery system, nor pressurized heparinized saline flush to operate the device.
Studies have shown that intramyocardially administered adenoviral vector itself causes only mild inflammation but no effusion, and only the higher doses of AdVEGFs cause extravasation of plasma to the pericardium so that a combined therapy might have the priority versus a single therapy, a situation well suited to the catheter of the present invention.
The small outer diameter of the shaft of the catheter will not contraindicate its use in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. Moreover, it will allow use of other than the femoral access site, such as the radial artery on the arm in case the patient is diagnosed with Leriche syndrome or other atherosclerotic impairments or cannot be restricted in moving since after the puncture in groin the patient would be obliged to stay in bed for a certain period of time.
The design of the catheter provides for contrast media to be injected through its central lumen to enable coronaro- or ventriculography, thus, accelerating the overall procedure. The needles are impregnated with a special material (parylene, polyimide, or teflon coating) in order to avoid inactivation of adenovirus vector infectivity, hence the device provides for more catheter/vector compatibility. The innovative technology/design of the catheter, as described, improves clinical, economic, and patient satisfaction outcomes.
The simple design of the catheter makes its use easy and easy to learn avoiding special long training courses, having expensive assisting devices, or the need for an assistant. A syringe attaching site is designed in a way that it makes it equally useful for both right- and left-handed operators.
The forgoing has been a detailed description of certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, a variety of handle designs and interconnections with the catheter shaft can be implemented according to alternate embodiments. The number of lumens and the size and arrangement of these lumens can also be varied. The number of needles and the manner of extension and retraction can be varied as well. In one alternate embodiment each of the two needles can be deployed separately, by a separate trigger action. In another embodiment, only one curved needle of the general function, form and shape described herein may be employed. Further, in another embodiment, three or more curved needles of a general function, form and shape described herein can be employed at the catheter tip, all being operated simultaneously or separately in various alternate embodiments. Also, while body apertures are shown on both needles, in an alternate embodiment only one of the needles may contain body apertures. Alternatively, the size, number and/or locations of apertures for each needle may vary depending upon the type and amount of agent to be delivered from each needle. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by way of example and dot to otherwise limit the scope of this invention.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 18, 1986
|Jul 26, 1988
|American Hospital Supply Corporation
|Flexible tip cardiac pacing catheter
|Jun 11, 1993
|Aug 2, 1994
|Catheter Research, Inc.
|Variable shape guide apparatus
|May 2, 1994
|May 30, 1995
|Bavaria Medizin Technologie Gmbh
|Catheter for injecting a fluid or medicine
|Apr 5, 1994
|Nov 7, 1995
|Faxon; David P.
|Catheter for delivering therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents to the tissue surrounding a bodily passageway
|Apr 30, 1997
|Jul 13, 1999
|Lesh; Michael D.
|Systems and methods for ablating body tissue
|Feb 12, 1999
|Apr 17, 2001
|Pharmaspec Corporation
|Methods and apparatus for delivering substances into extravascular tissue
|Aug 26, 1999
|Jul 3, 2001
|Biosense, Inc.
|Intracardiac drug delivery device utilizing spring-loaded mechanism
|Jul 27, 1998
|Sep 25, 2001
|Acist Medical Systems, Inc.
|Catheter having flow diffusing tip
|Apr 11, 1997
|Oct 16, 2001
|Transvascular, Inc.
|Catheters and related devices for forming passageways between blood vessels or other anatomical structures
|Sep 10, 1999
|Nov 27, 2001
|Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.
|Minimally invasive gene therapy delivery and method
|Feb 6, 2001
|Feb 12, 2002
|Elan Corporation, Plc
|Needle and method for delivery of fluids
|Jan 6, 2000
|Aug 13, 2002
|Tyco Healthcare Group Lp
|Tissue mapping injection device
|Jun 13, 2001
|Aug 12, 2003
|Tricardia, L.L.C.
|Catheter for drug injection in cardiovascular system
|Dec 21, 2000
|Feb 17, 2004
|Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
|Drug delivery catheter with retractable needle
|Feb 28, 2001
|Apr 6, 2004
|The Regents Of The University Of California
|Catheter system for delivery of Therapeutic compounds to cardiac tissue
|May 23, 2003
|Apr 27, 2004
|Biocardia, Inc.
|Catheter drug delivery system and method for use
|Feb 3, 2000
|May 4, 2004
|Alfred Cuschieri
|Multiple hypodermic needle arrangement
|Jul 5, 2000
|Aug 3, 2004
|Ballard Medical Products
|Multi-lumen endoscopic catheter
|Mar 14, 2002
|Dec 7, 2004
|Jamil Mogul
|Steerable diagnostic catheters
|Feb 22, 2002
|Jul 18, 2002
|Maria Palasis
|Lateral needle-less injection apparatus and method
|Feb 12, 2002
|Aug 29, 2002
|Rex Medical
|Apparatus for delivering ablation fluid to treat lesions
|Apr 16, 2003
|Sep 11, 2003
|Biosense Webster, Inc.
|Injection catheter with multi-directional delivery injection needle
|Jul 16, 2002
|Jan 22, 2004
|Clifford Currier
|Central venous catheter having a soft tip and fiber optics
|Jul 21, 2003
|Feb 5, 2004
|Gianni Plicchi
|Catheter system for performing intramyocardiac therapeutic treatment
|Sep 24, 2004
|May 26, 2005
|Vahid Saadat
|Left atrial access apparatus and methods
|Sep 20, 2004
|Aug 11, 2005
|Palmaz Julio C.
|Medical devices having MEMs functionality and methods of making same
|Jan 27, 2005
|Jul 27, 2006
|Scimed Life Systems, Inc.
|Multiple needle injection catheter and method of use of same
|Apr 4, 1995
|Oct 12, 1995
|Faxon David P
|Catheter for delivering therapeutic agents
|Feb 5, 1998
|Aug 12, 1999
|Biosense Inc.
|Intracardiac drug delivery
|Jul 9, 2002
|Jan 23, 2003
|Myocardial Therapeutics, Inc.
|Methods for controlled depth injections into interior body cavities
|Sep 26, 2003
|Apr 15, 2004
|Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
|Flexible polymer needle catheter
|Aug 26, 2004
|Mar 24, 2005
|Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
|Systems and methods for detecting tissue contact and needle penetration depth using static fluid pressure measurements
|"Notification of Transmittal of the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, or the Declaration" of International Application No. PCT/US2006/021879 with an International Filing Date of Jun. 5, 2006.
|Sherman, "Cellular Therapy for Chronic Myocardial Disease: Nonsurgical Approaches" Basic Appl Myol 2003, pp. 11-14, 13(1), The Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
|Steerajet Product Detail, Microheart, Inc., Date: Prior to Filing, 2 pages, Sunnyvale, California.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 4, 2008
|Jun 25, 2013
|Mazor Robotics Ltd.
|Bone drilling cannula
|Apr 22, 2011
|Mar 4, 2014
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Expandable catheter system for peri-ostial injection and muscle and nerve fiber ablation
|Jan 28, 2013
|Jun 3, 2014
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Peri-vascular tissue ablation catheter with support structures
|Mar 10, 2011
|Aug 19, 2014
|The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
|Catheter assembly
|Jan 3, 2012
|Jun 16, 2015
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Expandable catheter system for fluid injection into and deep to the wall of a blood vessel
|Oct 18, 2013
|Sep 15, 2015
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Methods ablating tissue using a catheter-based injection system
|Dec 4, 2013
|Nov 10, 2015
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Transvascular methods of treating extravascular tissue
|Aug 2, 2011
|Jan 19, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Expandable catheter system for peri-ostial injection and muscle and nerve fiber ablation
|Jun 30, 2014
|Feb 9, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Peri-vascular tissue ablation catheter with deflection surface support structures
|Aug 24, 2011
|Mar 8, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Expandable catheter system for vessel wall injection and muscle and nerve fiber ablation
|Nov 20, 2013
|Apr 5, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Transvascular catheter for extravascular delivery
|Jun 30, 2014
|Apr 26, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Peri-vascular tissue ablation catheter with unique injection fitting
|Apr 30, 2014
|Dec 27, 2016
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Peri-vascular tissue ablation catheter with support structures
|Nov 4, 2015
|Jan 10, 2017
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Transvascular methods of treating extravascular tissue
|May 14, 2015
|Jan 31, 2017
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Transvascular method of treating hypertension
|Jul 31, 2015
|Oct 24, 2017
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Methods of ablating tissue using a catheter injection system
|Mar 4, 2008
|Sep 11, 2008
|Mazor Surgical Technologies, Ltd.
|Bone drilling cannula
|Mar 10, 2011
|Sep 15, 2011
|The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
|Catheter assembly
|Sep 26, 2011
|Jan 19, 2012
|Biocardia, Inc.
|Drug Delivery Catheters That Attach to Tissue and Methods for Their Use
|Apr 22, 2011
|Oct 25, 2012
|Fischell Innovations Llc
|Expandable catheter system for peri-ostial injection and muscle and nerve fiber ablation
|Oct 18, 2013
|Feb 13, 2014
|Ablative Solutions, Inc.
|Methods of treating atrial fibrillation
|Sep 30, 2014
|May 21, 2015
|Biocardia, Inc.
|Radial and trans-endocardial delivery catheter
|Jun 3, 2015
|Dec 10, 2015
|Pigott John P
|Intravascular catheter with drug delivery system
|U.S. Classification
|604/164.01, 604/264, 604/117, 604/272
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Nov 15, 2013
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Mar 14, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Mar 14, 2014
|Surcharge for late payment
|Oct 2, 2017
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YR, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2552)
Year of fee payment: 8


text:
Rare Footage of Civil War Veterans Doing the Rebel Yell
Description:In this exclusive clip from the 1930s, Confederate veterans step up to the mic and let out their version of the fearsome rallying cry.
Category:Education & Howto
Added:2 years ago
0 likes, 0 dislikes
Embed / Iframe code:
Make your selection, copy and paste the embed code above.
Standart sizes: Custom size:
What is the problem?
Please do not abuse this section. The videos ,which are on investigate list, are manually checked by editor.
Security code:(is not case-sensitive) can't read
Write a comment
at least 10 characters, up to 400 characters
400 characters remaining
Security code:
(is not case-sensitive) can't read

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kramer Manages Bidirectional Ethernet to Serial Conversion
New Kramer Tools for the communication pipeline give installers the ability to control their AV devices from up to 40 PC hosts
The FC-21ETH, FC-22ETH and FC-24ETH are members of the new Kramer family of high-performance, easy-to-use, bidirectional hardware and software interface systems. The FC-21ETH, FC-22ETH and FC-24ETH can enable control of RS-232 and/or RS-485 controllable machines via an Ethernet LAN. These products give installers the ability to implement simultaneous control over several AV devices (the number depends on exact model) spread throughout an installation by offering bidirectional Ethernet to serial conversion. Each product operates as a network server, which means they accept network connections, but do not initiate them.
The FC-21ETH, FC-22ETH and FC-24ETH all support network connectivity, which allows users to connect a Kramer (or other) device via its RS-232 or RS-485 port to an Ethernet LAN. These products are also able to control up to three RS-232 devices and one RS-232/RS-485 device/s (FC model dependent) via Ethernet from a PC and can control a device from multiple Ethernet points (up to 40 PCs or remote controllers), via a LAN or the Internet. In addition, these products include Windows® based Virtual Port software for setting up virtual ports on a PC.
The FC-21ETH, FC-22ETH and FC-24ETH also feature easy setup and configuration of the FC devices through their built-in web pages (compatible with most common web browsers), remote firmware upgrades, and 1U rack space with the optional rack adapters.
The FC-21ETH and FC-22ETH are in stock and available at a U.S. list price of $450 and $540 each and the FC-24ETH will be available in the market shortly.


text:
chine crushers companies
new stone crashers from chine manufacturers,Crusher Machine
Mining crusher machine>new stone crashers from chine manufacturers new stone crashers from chine manufacturers. Stone Crusher Machine Price,Alibaba 199684 Results ...Read More
Mobile Rock Crusher For Sale Of Chine
Manufacturing Companies that have Mobile Rock Crusher for Sale in China ... mobile rock crusher for sale of chine Videos: mobile rock crusher for sale of chine FAQS: 1. Is a mineral a rock or a rock a mineral?,Yahoo Answers ...Read More
concrete crusher 4 sale chine sbm
concrete crusher 4 sale chine sbm . HOME NEWS&INFO PRODUCT SOLUTIONS CONTACT US ABOUT US PURCHASE; Products. Crushing Plants. Grinding Mill. ... SBM: Primary Jaw Crusher Manufacturers in China, offer Primary Jaw Crusher for sale in India for primary, secondary crushing in Quarrying, mining plant.Read More
Chine Cone Crusher Manufacturer with High Quality,XSM
XSM is a manufacturer of construction and mining equipments in China, and provides machines for stone crusher Chine Cone Crusher Manufacturer with High Quality and processing plant. here You can find more information about this machine ...Read More
chine crushers companies
shanghai zenith crushers,zenith stone crusher machine company in ... 26 May 2013 ... zenith mining and construction company,Crusher South AfricaZenith Crushers China,Crusher Machine Manufacturers,Zenith ...Read More
stone crasher chine « mines crusher for sale
stone crasher chine Description : Stone Crusher, Stone Crusher Products, Stone Crusher Suppliers Stone Crusher, You Can Buy Various High Quality Stone Crusher Products fromRead More
Stationdeconcassage made in chine
WHAT WE DO? We are the world's leading industrial company in the mining and aggregates industries and in the flow control business. SBNITH is quite experienced in construction, milling and mining industry.Read More
chine crushers companies,crusher equipment,grinding ...
shanghai zenith crushers,zenith stone crusher machine company in . may 26, 2013 zenith mining and construction company crusher south africazenith crushers china,crusher machine manufacturers,zenith shang zenithRead More
Equipment Crusheng En Chine,Crusher Mills, Cone Crusher ...
les concasseurs en occasion en chine , Machinery. Find information of les concasseurs en occasion en chine, mobile crushing and sizing equipment and quarry. effects of iron content in magnetite ore for coalRead More
crushing plant case gold plant commission crushing chine
crushing plant case gold plant commission crushing chine manufacturer in Shanghai, China. crushing plant case gold plant commission crushing chine is manufactured from Shanghai Xuanshi,It is the main mineral processing solutions.Read More
chine jaw crusher
Stone Crushing Machine,Made-in-China. 11618 products ... Good quality Mobile stone crushing machine Mobile jaw crusher is used to crush the large material and screen the crushed materials primarily.Read More
mobile rock crusher for sale of chine,YouTube
More details:http://goo.gl/Pajuu7 More About mobile rock crusher for sale of chine, Please Visit:http://goo.gl/Pajuu7 mobile rock crusher for sale of chine SAM is a professional manufacturer and exporter of mining equipment, such as: crushing plant, mobile crushers, grinding mill ...Read More
crusher machines in chine
Stone Crushing Machines In ChinaCrusher USA CachedAbout stone crushing machines in china-related information: machinery manufacturers of crushers (breaker), jaw crusher, impact crusher (impactor), ball mill, grinding ...Read More
Mobile rock crusher for sale of chine,Crusher Unit
Small rock crushers for sale spare parts manufacturers,suppliers . small mining equipment small rock crusher for sale-on this product details page, you can find comprehensive place of origin, jiangxi, china (mainland )Read More
crushing plant manufacturers in china Grinding Mill China
Home»Applications»crushing plant manufacturers in china. Applications » best selling mobile crushing plants for contractors » Roll Crushers Able to Size Coal » Ukraine Mining Industry ... crushing plant manufacturers & crushing plant suppliers directory.Read More
stone crusher mschine
stone crusher mschine. Crushers , Engineered Products. These crushers are designed to handle a wide range of crushing applications ... debris, crushed or broken concrete and asphalt, sand & gravel and quarried stone. ...Read More
Stone crusher from Chine,CGM Crushing Plant
Stone Crusher-China Stone Crusher Manufacturers Stone Crusher manufacturers directory,trade platform for China Stone Crusher manufacturers and global Stone Crusher buyers provided by Made-in-China.comRead More
chine crushers companies
Chinese Soybean Crusher Plans to Cancel Brazil Order. March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Shandong Chenxi Group Co., a Chinese soybean crusher and trader, said it plans to cancel orders for almost 2 million metric tons of Brazilian ...Read More
chine crushers
Crusher, Jaw crusher, China Crusher, Grinding Machine, Top manufacturers of Crushers (Breaker), Jaw Crusher, Impact Crusher (Impactor), Ball Mill, Grinding Mill, Raymond Mill, Sand Making Machine, Sand Washing Machine ...Read More
concrete crusher 4 sale chine sbm,Crusher,Crusher Plant,Jaw ...
concrete crusher sale chine, ZENITH Crushing & Screening. concrete crusher sale chine 18 Apr 2011 China, Shanghai, company Crusher Aggregate Equipment For SaleClosed circuit impact crusher 42 quot x 42 quot 4 barRead More
how to build a gold mining crusher,YouTube
More Details : http://pakistancrushers.com/contact.php Gulin company is one high-tech enterprise, which involves R&D, production, sales and service as well. ...Read More
Next Post: Technology Equipment Used In Coal Mining


text:
Dawn Askin and Amelie Blais
Team Quebec second Amelie Blais and Team Manitoba Dawn Askin in the Bronze medal game loss vs at The 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, February 18-26, Red Deer, Alberta. The Canadian Womans Curling Championship.
1,443 views
1 fave
0 comments
Taken on February 26, 2012


text:
Yes, please send me the Swedish mattress so I can relieve my back, neck, joint and muscle pain! I am sending $495 under your computerized safe fund transfer.
I want to control the world! Rush me your secret software for obtaining royalties on every check written, every credit card charge, every book, movie, painting, newspaper, every telephone call, in encrypted format! (I understand Governments are extra.)
Sure! I want to grow more hair. Please send in plain brown wrapper, your revolutionary minoxidil and tretinoin treatment creme so I will never again suffer the torment of bad hair days!
Help!I'm homeless in Seattle! Tell me where to turn!
UFO Abduction Insurance! Hurry! Protection for the next century!
This site has been accessed at least times since Dec 18, 1994.


text: Okay, this is my first post, as you can see. I scrolled through several pages to see if I could find my answer but struck out. I did learn one thing though, good riding mowers are expensive. I believe I have about 5-6 acres to cut (guessing). About 2/3 flat and the other 1/3 hilly, but not bad hilly. There's a little carpet bermuda in the front and back from sod. The bermuda in the back is fenced in and cut with a walk behind mower. The rest is bahia, coastal bermuda, centipede, and weeds, all mixed. This was cow pasture at one time. For everything except the fenced in area I use a Craftsmen 42" with a Kohler 19hp twin. It takes me forever to cut it...maybe 6 hours (maybe I have more than 5-6 acres cause sometimes it seems like it's all day - then again, sometimes I cut a tad more than others). It's weird shaped as well. I cut it weekly for about 9 months out of the year. I want to speed this up, so I visit Sears again. They have the Craftsman 25hp B&S 48" cut for $2199 after a mail in rebate. I was thinking this would allow me to go faster and cut a little more each round I made. Then again, it doesn't seem like it could speed it up that much. 6 more hp and 6 more inches??? I'm thinking I need 60" to get the job done. But I can't see spending $5000 or more. I can't hardly see spending $3000. So, I thought about a pull behind mower. We have a Kawasaki Mule that could pull a mower. Or for that matter I could pull it with the Craftsman I have now. (I'd probably sell it though.) Can I get some tips on what to do and possibly where to look for a pull behind??? Thanks!


text:
The Seat Exeo is a restyled version of the previous generation Audi A4. So while it may not represent the latest in engineering development, it is essentially Audi quality on a budget.
But is the Exeo cheap enough to enable Seat to crack the notoriously picky – and shrinking – Mondeo-sized D segment?
Well, the Exeo is priced from £17,740. Our initial reaction is that this is too much – it's over £2,000 more than an entry-level petrol-powered or .
Seat Exeo engines
However, with one exception all Seat Exeos come with the latest 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine from the Volkswagen Group. Featuring common rail injection technology, and available with 138bhp or 168bhp, these engines are fast and economical. A combined fuel economy of 51.4mpg is possible (according to official figures), with CO2 emissions as low as 143g/km.
The Seat Exeo is also generously equipped. There are four trim levels – S, SE, Sport, and SE Lux. Every version gets dual-zone climate control, alloys, and USB connectivity amongst the standard kit. SE additions include rear parking sensors, auto lights and wipers, and auto dimming rearview mirror. SE Lux features full leather.
Sport versions of the Exeo get sports suspension, sports seats, and larger 18-inch alloys. This specification is also available with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, representing the performance flagship of the range at £19,410.
Exeo options
Options available on the Exeo include DVD sat nav, double-glazed windows, and a 'hi-tech solar sunroof'. Read the Which? guide to car options to see the extras that add value when it comes to selling your car.
The Seat Exeo arrives in the UK this spring.
Which? Car email
To be kept in the loop on all the manufacturer offers and great car deals we spot each week, sign up for our Which? Car email – delivered to your inbox every Friday, and including all our latest news and first drive reviews, too.
All the latest car news
For daily consumer news, subscribe to the here.
If you have an older web browser you may need to copy and paste this link into your newsreader: https://www.which.co.uk/feeds/reviews/news.xml . Find out more about RSS in the Which? guide to news feeds.


text:
Teaching 'Fuck' in Japan
Description:*Warning* This video contains a ridiculous amount of swear words, for educational purposes. -- Probably.
Category:Amateur & Other
Added:3 years ago
0 likes, 0 dislikes
Embed / Iframe code:
Make your selection, copy and paste the embed code above.
Standart sizes: Custom size:
What is the problem?
Please do not abuse this section. The videos ,which are on investigate list, are manually checked by editor.
Security code:(is not case-sensitive) can't read
Write a comment
at least 10 characters, up to 400 characters
400 characters remaining
Security code:
(is not case-sensitive) can't read


text:
Tải bản đầy đủ
Cao đẳng - Đại học
Chuyên ngành kinh tế
APC312 Money Banking and Finance
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 1
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Student ID: 149078874/1
Student Name: Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh
Module Code: APC 312
Module Name / Title: Money, Banking and Finance
Centre / College: Banking Academy of Viet Nam
Due Date: 16 Jan 2015
Hand in Date: 16 Jan 2015
Assignment Title: Individual assignment
Students Signature: (you must sign this declaring that it is all your own work and all sources of
information have been referenced)
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 2
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Prepared by: Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh
Student ID: 149078874/1
Submission Date: 16 Jan 2015
Number of words:
Part A: 1,330
Part B: 1,516
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 3
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Part A: Discuss why banks need to be more regulated in terms of
risks they face compared to other financial firms
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 4
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
The differences in terms of risks between banks and non-bank financial institutions ... 5
Form and cost of regulations........................................................................................... 7
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 5
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
In recent decades, the entire world economy plunged into a depression owing to the
wholesale collapse of financial system. The root of financial problems can be explained by
absence or reduction of governmental controls that allowed financial institutions to operate
beyond its range of activities, which so-called 'deregulation'. Facing with the challenges in
stabilizing financial system and recovering the economy, the government was forced to step
forward in regulation, starting with regulating banks in terms of risks. This study will discuss
specifically the reason that banks need to be regulated in terms of risks they face compared to
other financial firms.
According to Herr and Kazandziska (2011, p.13), the financial system could be generally
divided into banks and non-bank financial institutions such as mortgage companies, insurance
companies, pension funds and investment banks…It is undeniable that banks offer wider
range of financial services than any financial institution. Banks accept deposits and create
credit, that is, banks circulate capital resources from savers (the surplus-spending units) to
borrowers (deficit-spending units) whereas non-bank financial institutions are not allowed to
take deposits from the public. Besides, banks also implement payment functions such as the
transfer of deposits, payment of cheques, credit and debit card…whereas non-bank financial
institutions play no direct role in payment system (Mbuya, 2008, p.22). This is also the
reason why banks are considered as the lifeblood of the economy. These two main activities
help to distinguish between banks and non-bank financial institutions as well as cause higher
level of risks and motivate for the entry of regulations in banking system compared to other
financial firms.
1. The differences in terms of risks between banks and non-bank financial institutions
The biggest difference in terms of risks between banks and non-bank financial institutions is
liquidity risk. Liquidity risk is a 'hot topic' in finance industry. It is the risk of not being able
to meet obligations in terms of funds demanded by clients (Faure, 2013). In the context of
banking system, it arises from both sides of the balance sheet of banks. Liabilities of banks
mainly are short-term funds of depositors which have to pay back on demand anytime,
especially sight deposits. Meanwhile assets of banks might be short or long term loans, but
whether short or long it also has longer maturity than liabilities. It is called 'maturity
mismatch' between assets and liabilities or can say that banks are engaged in the high degree
of maturity transformation (Howells, 2014, p.13). If the bank cannot balance assets and
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 6
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
liabilities, banks will face illiquid risk as banks cannot liquidate customers' unexpected need
for cash. When depositors doubts about the health of bank holding their money, they may
rush to withdraw cash from the bank. A "bank run" occurs leading to collapse of the bank.
Northern Rock - a British bank is a well-known example of liquidity crisis. Northern Rock
followed a 'reckless business model' where nearly 30% of its funding was bought-in shortterm wholesale funds that were used to finance long-term mortgage business (Financial
Times, no date). Such business model caused lack of liquidity and the bank run in 2007.
Unlike banks, non-bank financial institutions like life insurance companies only serves
customers at the liability side of balance sheet. It has a favorable liquidity position as illiquid
liabilities versus liquid assets, that is, life insurance companies just compensate the financial
risk as an agreement in event of untimely death of the policyholder which has long term
maturity while it can use pool of these funds to invest in liquid assets such as government and
corporate bonds which can sell anytime in case of unexpected event (Weert, 2011, p.23).
Hence, liquidity risk is higher for banks than non-bank financial institutions.
According to Altman (2013, p.548), liquidity risk tends to compound to other risks such as
credit risk, market risk…Credit risk is the risk that the borrower from a bank will default on
the loan/the interest payable or not perform in terms of the conditions under which the loan
was granted (Faure, 2013, p.93). Credit risk is inevitable so it remains biggest challenge for
banking sector. For example, the development of subprime mortgages market in US caused
credit crunch in 2008 since large number of borrowers was unable to meet their mortgage
repayments. This, in turn, result in liquidity crisis in banks (Davies, 2014). Market risk
arises when there is a decline in the market value of financial securities (share, debt and
derivatives) that caused by unexpected changes in market prices, interest rates…(Faure, 2013,
p.84). Competition in banking industry creates incentives for banks to expand their trading
activities by holding larger financial securities. This development leads to illiquid risk or
even collapse of the bank when there is a sudden decline in those financial instruments.
Indeed, by late 2007, mortgage-backed securities slumped in value, a lot of banks suffer
losses such as Citygroup: $40.7 billion, UBS: $38 billion, HSBC: $15.6 billion… (BBC,
2008). It threatens to liquidity of banks and led to the collapse of Northern Rock in UK. Nonbank financial institutions also face credit risk and market risk, however, banks demand
deposit so banks are subject to restrictions on their activities compared to other financial
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 7
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Furthermore, these risks affect not only one bank but also the entire banking system. The
collapse of one bank causes a loss of confidence in banking in general, creates bad debts for
other banks and widespread collapse (financial panics). This is called "systemic risk" or
"risk of contagion" (Howells and Bain, 2007, p.362). Besides, it would cause delay of
payment system resulting in significant disruptions in aggregate economic activity,
especially import and export activities which bring great economic benefits for all countries.
Thus, it requires to impose regulations to ensure stability and soundness of the payment
A special case for intervention of regulations in banking industry is to protect customers as
well as ensure the soundness of banking system from the informational imbalances or
'asymmetric information'. Asymmetric information occurs between depositors and banks.
Depositors are unable to define the bank holding their deposit is good or bad bank until they
cannot withdraw cash on demand. It causes adverse selection as customers have little choices
and have high demand in holding deposits as means of payment. Besides, as key player in
payment system, banks have incentives to use mobilizing funds from customers to invest in
risky assets to earn profits, which so-called moral hazard. On the other hand, banks also can
be the victims of asymmetric information. Borrowers have better information about level of
risks they engaged when borrowing money from banks. It is difficult for banks to appraise the
investment project of customers when they intended to hide the risky action. In the worst
case, asymmetric information would lead to the collapse of banks and then create a domino
effect on the stability of the entire financial system as economic crisis of 2008.
2. Form and cost of regulations
In order to protect customers and ensure the safety and soundness in banking system, some
regulations are imposed such as:
Restrictions on assets and activities: In the US, the Glass-Steagall Act (1933) prevented
commercial banks from engaging in securities trading with their client's deposits and
prevented investment banks from taking deposits. This is partly a response to a wave of
bank failures following 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression (Crawford,
2011, pp. 127-133).
Capital adequacy: In Basel Committee member (UK, US, Canada…), Basel I (1988)
required to express capital in relation to risk-adjusted assets. Basel II (2004) goes well
beyond by allowing banks to use 'internal risk-weightings' to calculate required
regulatory capital (Howells, 2014, p.237).
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 8
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Liquidity requirements: Basel III required two liquidity ratios: Liquidity Coverage Ratio
and Net Stable Funding Ratio (BIS, 2010,p.9).
Deposit insurance: In US, FDIC1 insures each depositor at a commercial bank up to a
loss of $100,000 per account (Mishkin, 2004, p.40).
Nevertheless, in the dark side of regulations, it creates adverse selection and moral hazard
problem. For example, safety of deposits motivates savers to deposit money into the bank
without reservation and tracking. Similarly, a belief that government acts as lender of last
resort is always willing to rescue banks from failure creating incentives for them to take
greater risks ('too big to fail' problem) (Howells and Bain, 2007, p.365). Besides, presence of
regulations is source of barriers to entry and compliance costs resulting in higher prices in
banking services.
Through analysis above, it is obvious that banks face more risks in business compared to
other financial firms. In unregulated market, it is easy to collapse and cause financial crisis
worldwide. Therefore, strict regulations are really necessary to limit banks' exposures to
risks. However, regulations also cover certain costs that require government to concern and
monitor in efficient manner.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in 1934 after the massive bank failures of 1930–1933, in
which the savings of many depositors at commercial banks were wiped out
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 9
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
1. Altman, E.I., Nimmo, R., Narayanan, P. and Caouette, J.B. (2013) Managing credit
risk: The Great Challenge for Global Financial Markets. 2nd edn. Canada: John
Wiley & Sons.
2. BBC (2008) Timeline: Sub-prime losses. Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7096845.stm (Accessed: 07 December 2014).
3. BIS (2010) Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and
banking systems. Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements.
4. Crawford, C. (2011) 'The Repeal Of The Glass- Steagall Act And The Current
Financial Crisis', Journal of Business & Economics Research, 9(1), pp. 127-133.
5. Davies, J. (2014) Global Financial Crisis – What caused it and how the world
responded. Available at: http://www.canstar.com.au/home-loans/global-financialcrisis/ (Accessed: 08 December 2014).
6. Faure, A.P. (2013) Banking: An introduction. 1st edn. Quoin Institute (Pty) Limited &
7. Financial Times (no date) Definition of liquidity crisis. Available at:
http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=liquidity-crisis (Accessed: 06 December 2014).
8. Her, H. and Kazandziska, M. (2011) Macroeconomic Policy Regimes in Western
Industrial Countries. New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library.
9. Howells (2014) Money, Banking and Finance APC312. United Kingdom: University
of Sunderland.
10. Howells, P. and Bain, K. (2007) Financial markets and institutions. 5th edn. London:
11. Mbuya, J.C. (2008) The Pillars of Banking. United Arab Emirates: MP.
12. Mishkin, F. (2004) The economics of money, banking and financial markets. 7th edn.
The United States of America: Addision-Wesley.
13. Weert, F.D. (2011) Bank and Insurance Capital Management. 1st edn. United
Kingdom: TJ International Ltd.
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 10
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Part B: Critically analyze the competitive conditions in the
banking industry
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 11
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Competitive approaches ................................................................................................ 12
Degree of competition in banking industry .................................................................. 14
The impact of regulations on competitive conditions in banking industry ................... 15
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 12
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
Banking sector plays a crucial role in economic growth of all nations through mobilizing and
allocating funds in the economy. Competition in banking sector, therefore, has received
researchers' attention worldwide. As Bandt and Davis (2000, p.1045) showed, competition in
banking sector has intensified significantly in recent years. Deregulation, technological
advancements as well as globalization phenomenon that allows foreign bank involved in
domestic banking markets are underlying causes of changing competitive conditions. This
study will analyze in detail competitive conditions in banking industry.
This study analyzes the competitive conditions based on three aspects: competitive
approaches, the degree of competition and changes in competitive conditions in banking
1. Competitive approaches
Interest rate competition
Interest rate is key tool to compete among banks for the need of increasing capital and
expanding market share because it affects the economic decisions of the public. When the
lending rates are low, it encourages the public borrow money from the bank and vice versa.
Similarly, high deposit rates will encourage the public deposit money into the bank and vice
versa. A bank earns a spread on the money it lends out from the money it takes in as a
deposit, which are generally known as interest rate spread (IRS) (Fuhrmann, 2014). In other
words, the difference between deposit and lending interest rates generates profits for banks.
According to Croushore (2012, p.233), competition from other banks limits the profits a bank
can earn by changing the spread. If a bank tries to increase its spread by paying lower deposit
interest rate than its competitors, then depositors will switch to other banks. If a bank charges
higher lending interest rate than its competitors, it will lose borrowers to cheaper competitors.
Competition keeps interest rates on both loans and deposits similar across banks. In Vietnam,
for example, VietNamNews (2013) reports that Vietnam financial market was witnessing a
rare phenomenon that is lending and deposit interest rate got so close each other. Interest rate
(over 12 month deposits) of Agribank climbed to 8%, Vietinbank up to 7%, Vietcombank
rose between 7 to 7.5%. The deposit interest rate race seems more stressful when
Techcombank raised the interest rate of less 12 month deposits up to 6.75-7.45% per year.
Besides, raising deposit interest rates, the banks also made efforts to cut their lending interest
rate, sometimes lower than their deposit rate. In the context of intense competition, interest
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 13
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
rate spread is too low even not able to cover operating costs so earning profits from interest
rate spread is close to zero. The competition in terms of interest rate among banks tends to
decrease. When interest rate competition does not attract customers, banks start a new
challenge on the track of services and utilities.
Products and services competition
In order to create competitive advantages, banks have created product differentiation and
product diversification. Products are differentiated on features such as size, design, prices,
and benefits…For example, HSBC India provides exceptional features on credit card like fuel
surcharge waiver and exclusive rewards programme. Unique benefit of a fuel surcharge
waiver helps customers save 2.5% fuel surcharge at any pump any place in India (HSBC,
2014a). The reward programme on HSBC credit card gives bonus points that customers can
redeem these points for an exciting range of redemption options including cosmetics,
garments, home appliances (HSBC, 2014b). As for product diversification, banks can offer
wider range of products to enable cross-selling. However, products in banking sector are very
susceptible to copy, it requires banks innovate constantly and promote the creativity of their
own. In terms of services, quality of services reflected in a transactional manner and
employees' behaviors (so-called business culture) are the first concern. The reason is that
while products are vulnerable to copying, business culture is assessed highly by customers
and brings long-term competitive advantages for banks. Nevertheless, it needs long time to
build; especially banks have extensive network and large number of employees, but will be a
key competitive advantage for customer retention in long-term. Besides, banks are also trying
to increase operational efficiency by enhancing employees' performance for the purposes of
cheaper banking services.
Technology competition
Technology adoption allows banks to provide services for customers at lower cost since there
is no distance between banks and customers anymore. Electronic banking like automated
teller machine (ATM) that have large number of booth and available for use 24/7 allows
customers implement transactions any time at anywhere. Electronic money (e-money) exists
in electric form, substitute for cash as well (Mishkin and Eakins, 2012, p.462). It is very
convenient for customers when buying high value goods. Thanks to these benefits, it brings
huge competitive advantages for banks that can take full advantages of it. In technology
competition, larger banks have more advantages than smaller banks. Larger banks have
strong economic potential and operate on both domestic and international levels so it can
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 14
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
cover high costs in adopting technology compared to smaller banks. For example, Citibank
have applied webcam banking that allows customers deal with enquires without meeting
bankers face to face. However, as estimated it is very costly so it just suitable for Citi's most
mature markets in the West (Citibank, 2013).
2. Degree of competition in banking industry
Bank size
According to G20 (2008, p.68), larger banks have more market power than smaller banks as
large banks have more competitive advantages than smaller ones. Large banks can take
benefit from their good reputation, economies of scale and ability to adopt modern
technology while maintaining financial stability; thereby allowing them to price their product
and services more competitively. Medium and small-sized bank, therefore, have trend to
merger and acquisition (M&A) to consolidate market share, increase market power and
reduce intensity of competition.
Number of banks
United Kingdom
Total number bank EU
Average % change EU
1,453 1,108
3,500 2,575 1,949
8,381 6,688 5,559
% decrease
Table 1: Number of banks and concentration ratios over the period 1990-2005 (G20, 2008)
The table above shows a significant decline in the number of banks in EU countries over the
period of 1990-2005 that reflected increased concentration in recent years.
Domestic banks versus foreign banks
The issue of competition is becoming more intense when domestic banks can expand to
foreign countries and vice versa, foreign banks also penetrate to compete with banks in
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 15
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
domestic market. According to Wu (2009, p.7), Eastern and Central European countries have
the highest average foreign bank penetration level based on total asset (43.76%). The high
level of foreign bank penetration creates competitive pressures on host banking system when
foreign banks always catch up with technology advancements, product innovation and
diversification…Thus, domestic banks need to improve product quality, upgrade technology
and optimize resource allocation so as to compete with foreign banks. However, foreign bank
penetration has improved efficiency of domestic banking system, which contributes to
economic growth.
The growth of universal banks
Universal banking refers to financial institutions that may offer the entire range of financial
services which is combination of commercial banking (deposit-taking, loan-making),
investment banking (issuing, underwriting, investing and trading in securities) and insurance
services (Suresh and Paul, 2010, p.521). German is a prototype for running the universal
banking system. There are many countries move towards universal banking afterwards such
as Canada, Switzerland, and India...The trend towards universal banking is to pursuit
economies of scale and scope, whereby result in cost savings and bring opportunities for
cross-selling, increasing customer base. However, it would spur intense competition in
banking system of countries that allow developing universal banks. High level of competition
could lead to instability or even failure of banking system. Especially the collapse of one
universal bank could have serious impacts for the entire financial system. Hence, despite the
growing popularity of universal banks in a global context, the United States, Japan continue
to prevent commercial banks from engaging in securities transaction and underwriting
(Cheang, 2004, p.46).
3. The impact of regulations on competitive conditions in banking industry
Regulation has a significant impact on competitive conditions in banking industry. In the
1980s, many countries undertook the deregulation of their financial systems. White and
Vittas (1986) summarized that the barriers being eroded include: restrictions on capital
markets, credit ceiling and exchange controls; and restrictions on foreign banks entry and the
activities of foreign banks in domestic markets (Mullineux, 1987, p.4). Reduction of these
barriers increased degree of competition in banking sector. As BIS (2001, p.24) showed,
deregulation of financial services led to dramatic increase of presence of foreign banks in
emerging economic in second haft of the 1990s. For example, in Latin America, the market
share of foreign banks rose to 40% in 2000 from an average of 7% a decade ago. Such thing
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 16
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
caused adverse selection and moral hazard problem due to unhealthy competition.
Consequently, it resulted in global banking crisis 2007/8 and left serious consequences to the
world economy. After the banking crisis, there are many suggestions to reform the regulatory
system for the purpose of making financial system healthier. One of them is Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 which was passed by US Congress. It required banks to hold
more capital to cushion against large losses, included strategies to keep companies from
becoming too big to fail and required that derivatives be moved onto exchanges for better
monitoring (Amadeo, 2014). Besides, reform package like Basel III was also passed by Basel
Committee to improve the banking sector's ability to absorb shocks arising from financial
and economic stress, thus reducing the risk of spillover from the financial sector to the real
economy (BIS, 2010, p.1). Nevertheless, the need to reform regulation in the wake of
financial crisis reduced competition among banks which in turn decreased operational
efficiency in banking sector.
To sum up, competition in banking industry varies from bank size to changes in regulations
across countries. It requires banks create more competitive advantages to compete with other
banks both on domestic and international levels. Competition helps banks operate more
efficient but it also caused financial loss when exist unhealthy competition among banks.
Hence, it is very hard to determine whether promoting competitiveness in banking industry is
bad or good for the economy, which in turn difficult for authorities to make right decisions
for economic growth.
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 17
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
1. Amadeo, K. (2014) Deregulation. Available at:
http://useconomy.about.com/od/glossary/g/deregulation.htm (Accessed: 14 December
2. Bandt, D. and Davis, E. P. (2000) 'Competition, Contestability and Market Structure
of European Banking Structures in the European Banking Sectors on the Eve of
EMU', Journal of Banking and Finance, 24(6), pp. 1045-1066.
3. BIS (2001) The banking industry in the emerging market economies: competition,
consolidation and systemic stability. Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements
4. BIS (2010) Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and
banking systems. Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements.
5. Cheang, N. (2004) Practices of Universal Banks and Macao's Banking Activities.
Monetary Authority of Macao, pp.45-61.
6. Citibank (2013) Web Cam. Available at:
(Accessed: 13 December 2014).
7. Croushore, D. (2007) Money and Banking: A Policy-Oriented Approach. United
States: Cengage Learning.
8. Fuhrmann, R.C. (2014) How Banks Set Interest Rates On Your Loans. Available at:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080713/how-banks-set-interest-ratesyour-loans.asp (Accessed: 11 December 2014).
9. G20 (2008) Competition in the Financial Sector. Available at:
http://g20russia.ru/load/780983084 (Accessed: 13 December 2014).
10. HSBC (2014a) Fuel Surcharge Waiver. Available at:
http://www.hsbc.co.in/1/2/personal/credit-cards/fuel-surcharge (Accessed: 13
December 2014).
11. HSBC (2014b) Rewards Programme. Available at:
http://www.hsbc.co.in/1/2/personal/credit-cards/rewards-programme# (Accessed: 13
December 2014).
12. Ly, T. (2013) Deposit, lending rates inch ever closer. Available at:
(Accessed: 12 December 2014).
13. Mishkin, F. (2004) The economics of money, banking and financial markets. 7th edn.
The United States of America: Addision-Wesley.
Money, Banking and Finance APC312 18
Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh - ID. 149078874/1
14. Mishkin, F. S. and Eakins, S, G. (2012) Financial Markets & Institutions. 7th edn.
The United States of America: Pearson Education International.
15. Mullineux, A.R. (1987) U.K. Banking After Deregulation. London: Croom Helm.
16. Suresh, P. and Paul, J. (2010) Management Of Banking And Financial Services. 2nd
edn. India: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd.
17. Wu, J., Jeon, B. N, and Luca, A. (2009) 'Foreign bank penetration, resource allocation
and economic growth: evidence from emerging economies', MPRA Paper, 34946
(22), p.7.
Tài liệu liên quan
Dictionary of Banking and Finance
Why study money, banking, and financial markets
Tài liệu MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN BANKING AND FINANCE PART 1 ppt
Tài liệu MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN BANKING AND FINANCE PART 2 pdf
Tài liệu MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN BANKING AND FINANCE PART 3 pptx
Tài liệu MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN BANKING AND FINANCE PART 4 pdf
Tài liệu Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Master of Banking and Finance doc
Islamic Banking and Finance in the European Union pptx
Islamic Banking and Finance: History Development ppt
towards a just monetary system a discussion of money, banking and monetary policy in the light of islamic teachings
Tài liệu bạn tìm kiếm đã sẵn sàng tải về
(419.45 KB) - APC312 Money Banking and Finance
Tải bản đầy đủ ngay


text:
Brother Roger of Taize : Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters) Paperback
by Marcello Fidanzio, Brother Roger Schutz
Brother Roger Schutz (1915-2005) was the beloved founder of Taize, an ecumenical monastic community in France, dedicated to reconciliation among Christians and all peoples.
In recent decades Taize became a pilgrimage site for young people from around the world.
This book presents the best of his airitual writings. "Very few people in a generation manage to change the whole climate of a religious culture, but Brother Roger did just this.
He changed the image of Christianity itself for countless young people; he changed the church's perception of the absolute priority of reconciliation...And he did this without any position of hierarchical authority." --Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury 2003 - 2012
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 128 pages
- Publisher: Orbis Books (USA)
- Publication Date: 01/02/2006
- Category: Christianity
Free Home Delivery
on all orders
Pick up orders
from local bookshops


text:
In another article, we did reviews on some of the Best Dog Pooper Scooper that is available on Amazon. We received a few emails from our readers, requesting reviews on the Best Pooper Scooper For Grass. We have since referred to our original article, did some reorganizing the information there, and we have a selected a winner for the Best Pooper Scooper For Grass.
Best Pooper Scooper For Grass
There are several factors that we look out for before we suggest the Best Pooper Scooper For Grass. There are several contenders, but we decided against choosing the Pooper Scoopers that scoops up the poop using spring-loaded jaws. The reason is pretty simple: If the grass around your area is tall, you will have a very hard time trying to figure out where the poop is. More often than not, the grass will impede your vision. Hence, though those Pooper Scoopers can still be used, it might not be the best option.
We then narrowed down our choices to Rake Pooper Scooper because the Rake Pooper Scooper allows the user to comb through the entire lawn, even if your lawn hasn't been mowed for eons. It can sieve out the dog's waste very easily as you sweep the Pooper Scooper down the lawn.
We have picked the Best Pooper Scooper For Grass, and it is the Dog Pooper Scoopers, Lawn Saver Design by Jibber Gear.
Dog Poop Scoopers, Lawn Saver Design
There are other rake Pooper Scoopers in the market, but we have chosen this simply because of the design of the Pooper Scooper For Grass. The metal tines are sturdy enough not to squish moist stool, which is a bonus should your dog be suffering from a bout of diarrhea.
This Dog Pooper Scooper for Grass ensures that your work is cut short when you pick up your dog's waste. It is easy to operate, easy to clean, and it picks up left over waste that you might have missed out because of the grass in the lawn. The simplistic design of this Dog Pooper Scooper is so sturdy and it is made from solid wood. The materials are tested to withstand against the elements, hence it is ok for the owner to leave the Dog Pooper Scooper in the open.
It works awesome on grass, sand, chips and even on asphalt. The long handle is perfect for owners who hate bending down just to sweep up the waste. Other Dog Pooper Scooper for Grass might require the owner to visually spot the waste before they scoop it up. For this model, you just have to know the estimated area where the dog's poop is, and you can sweep the rake Pooper Scooper over it. This rake can go over the whole grass, grabbing any left over bits of stool that you may have forgotten. This is simply the Best Pooper Scooper For Grass !
Pros: Will not squish moist stool. Doesn't require you to visually spot the poo before you pick them up.
Cons: None.
Our Rating: (4.9 / 5)
There are several contenders for the Best Pooper Scooper for grass, and here are some of the alternative choices from Four Paws.
Four Paws Sanitary Dog Pooper Scooper, Rake
This is also a rake pooper scooper that works well in yards or grassy places. This contender for the best pooper scooper for grass is made entirely out of rust resistant material. The handle is made of rubber, and it is really easy to operate this rake pooper scooper.
This Four Paws Sanitary Dog Pooper Scooper is about 32 inches tall, hence most owners wouldn't need to bend over and pick up the dog's poop!
Pros: Rust resistant material.
Cons: Simple design.
Our Rating: (4.7 / 5)
Four Paws Large Dog Rake Set
Another rake pooper scooper buy Four Paws, this highly rated pooper scooper for grass works best if your lawn is constantly mowed. The rakes are short but effective in picking up poop that you might have missed out.
This is actually excellent for scooping up your dog's waste in the yard. The materials used in this pooper scooper is extremely durable, and the base is made of stainless steel, hence it wouldn't rust at all.
This highly rate rake pooper scooper is in fact one of the best selling pooper scooper on Amazon, and the reasons are pretty simple. It is both affordable yet able to deliver what it promises to do, which is to effectively clean up your yard!
Pros: Effective and durable.
Cons: Rakes are short, hence requires you to have visual of the poo.
Our Rating: (4.8 / 5)
Four Paws Grass Wire Rake Dog Scooper
This is the best selling rake dog scooper by Four Paws on Amazon. It is specially designed for easy pet cleanups in both grassy and sandy areas. The metal prongs are delibrately spaced to allow quick passage through heavily grassed areas.
The handle is made of rubber, hence it is comfortable to operate this dog pooper scooper for grass
This is in fact one of the best contenders for the Best Dog Pooper Scooper for grass. The only reason why we decided against choosing this is because of the wide spacing between the metal prongs. If your dog poop is small, it might not be able to scoop them up.
Pros: Rubber handles.
Cons: Metal prongs are wide, hence will not pick up small pieces of poo.
Our Rating: (4.6 / 5)
After reviewing the best pooper scooper for grass, it sets us thinking, what happens after we pick up the poop from the grass? We will have to dispose of it, yeah? There are actually specialized disposal system that helps to remove the waste, and you can find a review of them here.


text:
From time to time the pastoral team will update you on relevant pastoral matters relating to our Christian lives.
We begin with 'Last Prayers' – traditionally known as 'Last Rites'.
Feb 2015
Death, especially our own, is a sensitive topic. Following mention of a parishioner recently receiving 'Last Prayers' it has become clear to the team that not all are aware special prayers (Ministry at the Time of Death – Common Worship: Pastoral Services) are always possible, whether in hospital, hospice or at home, either alone with a minister or with family members and friends present. In the Anglican tradition they are said by an ordained member of clergy from your own parish or by the hospital/hospice chaplain. They may include an act of penitence/reconciliation/absolution, laying on of hands, anointing with holy oil, Holy Communion, and/or commendation to Almighty God and blessing.
It is the most beautiful, reassuring and comforting act of worship and may be requested either by the person or by a family member or friend. When they are ordained, clergy vow to care for the dying – this is indeed a very special way to serve you.
Mar 2015
We started this section on 'final prayers'. On the same theme, a number of people decide they would like to be involved with organising their own funeral. It's true that for a great deal of people, they do not want to think about death and dying at all, however sometimes families left behind struggle with music choices, how people should dress for the occasion, amongst other things. Once again it is not a subject people want to think about, let alone talk about. At St Mary Oatlands we have discussed a number of funeral services with individuals and their families and it can be such a relief for the loved ones who feel they now have what their relative wants at the service.
May 2015
This extract is taken from reports (by Ros Binns and Muriel Agbaje) to the recent Annual Parochial Church Meeting:
This year will mark 40 years of training for Pastoral Assistants in the Diocese of Guildford – a role which has undoubtedly helped to transform Christian witness and service in our communities. This anniversary will be celebrated in Guildford Cathedral on 8th July. Pastoral Assistants are people from all walks of life who are trained to walk alongside others and keep them company when people are in need. As Christians with a certain amount of life experience, a mature faith, and good listening skills, Pastoral Assistants are trained by the diocese over a year and authorised in their ministry by the bishop.
Each year pastoral assistants from across the diocese come together for an annual training day, which in 2014 was entitled 'Pressure Points for Christians living and working in Guildford Diocese'. We looked at possible areas of pressure in ministry and considered them both practically and theologically. We also have a deanery training evening, which was a talk by Social Services making us aware of what services they provide to the community, which will help us direct people with specific needs to the appropriate help.
St Mary has four PAs: Muriel Agbaje, Rosalind Binns, Kim Groom and Francie Mcllwraith. In addition, two new Pastoral Visitors have joined the team this year – Barbara Martin and Doreen Clements. They have started visiting members of St Mary's congregation in Sunrise and are greatly appreciated.
We severally support families and children in First Steppers, Sunday Juniors, Family Praise and ALIVE at 10 and at Baptism services. Some of us also take part in Open the Book assembly once a month at Cleves school.
We conduct communion services in residential homes and occasionally on Thursdays in the chapel using the Reserved Sacrament. We take communion to the housebound and visit those in hospital or ill at home and support those who are bereaved (all these increased significantly in 2014). Francie runs a meditation group at Sutton Lodge and a caring and Sharing Group at St Mary. On a rota we conduct a service of worship for dementia residents at Sunrise. We are members of the PCC and are sidesmen, communion assistants, servers, readers, and intercessors.
Although this list of activities is extensive, members of the Pastoral Team at St Mary Oatlands feel privileged to support our diocese and community in this ministry. Training at Foundation Level starts in September (Mondays & Fridays).
If this is something you would like to talk about please do not hesitate to talk to one of the Pastoral Assistants.


text:
Just wondering what causes my screen to flicker, sometimes incidentally, at other times insanely running LMDE/cinnamon..
Often it happens when starting with the laptop (Pavilion g7 w/HD4000 + HD7670) and it does not occur anymore when I start a game like lbreakout2.. if the flickering was really bad those game screens might bump a little bit but not near as annoying and frustrating as happens on the desktop running windowed programs.
Because I tried to get rid of it I tried installing the closed ATI drivers, using the sgfxi script, which did not succeed but instead made the system completely unworkable instead. So I had to reinstall LMDE today and of course the flickering is back again..
Is this a common issue?
I never had this running Mint Olivia Cinnamon, but it was introduced after installing Petra Cinnamon..
Screen flickers
Archived topics about LMDE 1
Forum rules
- LMDE 1 has reached end of life (EOL) on January 1st 2016 and is no longer supported: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2832
- Instructions for upgrading to LMDE 2: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2830
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Screen flickers
Press any key to continue, any other key to quit
Re: Screen flickers
Trash wrote:I tried installing the closed ATI drivers, using the sgfxi script, which did not succeed but instead made the system completely unworkable instead.
If you don't mind helping sgfxi author in dealing with this issue and making sgfxi better, then please report it at this forum.
Before reporting, first update sgfxi as root:
and run this (also as root) to collect some info:
Code: Select all
sgfxi -U
and then attach the resulting .tar.gz file to your post.
Code: Select all
sgfxi --debugger
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


text:
On Monday night, the team of Shapiro Gettinger & Waldinger (commonly known as "Banks") defeated M&R Deli by a score of 2-0 to win the Mount Kisco Little League championship. It was another exciting year for the Mount Kisco Little League and its sponsors, the aforementioned Banks and M&R Deli as well as Bellizzi, Cassidy Flynn, Elks and Whalens, all local businesses.
While SG&W had a successful season, it could never match the successful multi-year stretch achieved by Ed Reilly who has served many years as the President of the MKLL. Thank you to Ed Reilly for his years of service.
The MKLL will wrap up its season this Thursday with MKLL end of year games (9 year olds vs. 10 year olds / 11 year olds vs 12 year olds) followed by awards and then a home run derby.
Pictures taken below are from the M&R Deli vs. Cassidy Flynn game which was the game before the championship game. Thank you to Art Nelson for providing pictures. My favorite one is the picture on the right which teaches the young men the value of sportsmanship.


text:
London, United Kingdom (PressExposure) July 03, 2012 -- The third annual WGSN Global Fashion Awards to be held at The Savoy in London on November 5th. Previously held in New York, the awards honour fashion's most inspirational and innovative who are pushing the boundaries, propelling the industry forward and setting the design agenda on a global scale.
WGSN Global Fashion Awards open for entries on the 4th of July 2012 and call for all individuals and businesses working across the fashion industry around the world.
Entries can be made online via http://www.globalfashionawards.com.
Award entries are free and attendance is by VIP-invitation only. The award categories focus exclusively on outstanding design across apparel, accessories, retail and e-tail. As well as rewarding the world's best individual designers, the WGSN Global Fashion Awards will also recognise the best specialist design teams in categories such as denim, intimates & swim, kidswear and sports & activewear.
"Our new category line-up offers more opportunities for designers and design teams, large and small, to have their work recognised on a worldwide scale" said Lauretta Roberts, WGSN Global Fashion Awards Director. "We are very excited to bring the awards to London for the first time. Renowned globally for its innovation in fashion, we believe London will perfectly capture the spirit of the WGSN Global Fashion Awards.
Winners will be selected by an expert panel of judges, including some of the most prominent people in the fashion and style industries, including designers, buying directors, stylists, merchants and marketing executives.
Former winner Sarah Curran, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of my-wardrobe.com said, "Winning the Best Customer Experience Award at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards was a phenomenal achievement for the business and is something that we are incredibly proud of. The award recognised a key part of the my-wardrobe.com brand's DNA which we have focused on since day one - the customer experience - on a global platform against incredibly inspirational peers in the retail industry."
"The WGSN Global Fashion Awards showcase the very best in fashion and retail design. The awards will inspire our audience and celebrate innovation from all four corners of the globe, from international superbrands to up-and-coming talent, from high-end catwalk design to the high street," said Julie Harris, Global Managing Director, WGSN. "The Global Fashion awards bring to life the design inspiration that sits at the very heart of WGSN."