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Myocardial Recovery Using Ventricular Assist Devices
Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes
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Background— Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are important bridges to cardiac transplantation. VAD support may also function as a bridge to ventricular recovery (BTR); however, clinical predictors of recovery and long-term outcomes remain uncertain. We examined the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of BTR subjects in a large single center series.
Methods and Results— We implanted VADs in 154 adults at the University of Pittsburgh from 1996 through 2003. Of these implants, 10 were BTR. This included 2/80 (2.5%) ischemic patients (supported 42 and 61 days, respectively). Both subjects had surgical revascularization, required perioperative left VAD support, and were alive and transplant-free at follow up (232 and 1319 days, respectively). A larger percentage of nonischemic patients underwent BTR (8/74, 11%; age 30±14; 88% female; left ventricular ejection fraction 18±6%; supported 112±76 days). Three had myocarditis, 4 had post-partum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), and 1 had idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Five received biventricular support. After explantation, ventricular function declined in 2 PPCM patients who then required transplantation. Ventricular recovery in the 6 nonischemic patients surviving transplant-free was maintained (left ventricular ejection fraction 54±5%; follow-up 1.5±0.9 years). Overall, 8 of 10 BTR patients are alive and free of transplant (follow-up 1.6±1.1 years).
Conclusions— In a large single center series, BTR was evident in 11% of nonischemic patients, and the need for biventricular support did not preclude recovery. For most BTR subjects presenting with acute inflammatory cardiomyopathy, ventricular recovery was maintained long-term. VAD support as BTR should be considered in the care of acute myocarditis and PPCM.
Ventricular assist devices (VADs) have a long history as essential bridges to transplant (BTT) for patients with end-stage congestive heart failure, and more recently as long-term destination therapy for nontransplant candidates.1,2 For transplant candidates, VAD therapy can improve survival post-transplantation.3,4 Hemodynamic unloading and myocardial rest after VAD placement may lead to recovery of native cardiac function, allowing for removal of the device without cardiac transplantation.5–11 VAD support is also associated with decreases in neurohormonal activation, alterations in myocyte calcium handling, and improvement in the proinflammatory cytokine milieu.12–20 Histological analysis of the explanted heart at the time of transplantation demonstrates decreased fibrosis and myocyte size after VAD placement.16,21,22
Despite these salutatory changes as a result of VAD support, the frequency of bridge to recovery (BTR) in subjects supported long term remains low. Additional data are needed to predict long-term outcomes of BTR patients and the extent to which observed ventricular recovery is sustained. The subjects most likely to benefit from a BTR strategy remain poorly defined. We sought to further define the characteristics of successful BTR patients and their long-term outcomes in a large single center series.
Study Design and Data Collection
This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. All subjects who underwent VAD support as intended BTT from 1996 to 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. Pediatric patients and those receiving only devices designed for transient support were excluded. Subjects received 1 of 3 VAD systems: Thoratec VAD (Thoratec Corp), Novacor LVAS (World Heart Corporation), or Heartmate LVAS XVE (Thoratec Corp).
Statistical Analysis
The clinical characteristics of subjects who underwent BTR were compared with the remaining (BTT) subjects. For BTR subjects, clinical outcomes and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by transthoracic echocardiography were reviewed. Data are expressed as mean±SD. Continuous variables were analyzed using Student's t test. Categorical variables were analyzed using ANOVA. All tests were 2-tailed. A probability value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows, version 12 (SPSS, Inc).
Recovery Assessment
All 10 BTR patients and a subset of 36 BTT patients underwent specific echocardiographic weaning studies using automated border detection from mid-ventricular short-axis images and noninvasive arterial pressure, as previously described.5 These echocardiographic data were used as a principal identifier of LV recovery. Subjects were selected for screening if they were on support >30 days and if the clinician felt the patient had a reasonable chance for LV recovery, but no other criteria were prespecified. Initial echocardiographic weaning studies were performed approximately 1 month after transplant and repeated as necessary every 2 to 3 weeks until the time of explantation. Briefly, on-line beat-to-beat responses were recorded during 2- to 5-minute trials of decreased device flow to half. With transient low assist device flow, device removal patients had increases in echo stroke area and fractional area change that did not occur in VAD-dependent BTT patients. Estimates of preload-adjusted maximal power, a relatively load-independent index, were significantly higher in BTR patients compared with BTT patients. An increase in stroke area, >40% increase in fractional area change, or a preload adjusted maximal power >4.0 mW/cm4 with low device flow were associated with successful device removal.5
Additional evaluation of recovery involved exercise physiology with gas exchange analysis and invasive hemodynamics by right heart catheterization, both with the VAD rate lowered. Right heart catheterization was performed using the same VAD flow reduction protocol as for echocardiography. VAD flow was decreased by half; if this was tolerated for 3 minutes, heparin 5000 U was given intravenously, the VAD rate decreased to single strokes every 10 seconds, and hemodynamics reassessed.
Prevalence of BTR and Comparison With BTT
Between 1996 and 2003, a total of 161 VAD implants were performed at the University of Pittsburgh for planned long-term support. Of these, 7 were pediatric patients that were excluded from further analysis. Of the remaining 154 adult VAD implants, 10 (6.5%) were BTR, as recovery of ventricular function allowed successful removal of the device without transplantation (Figure 1). BTR patients were younger, more often female, and less likely to have ischemic cardiomyopathy when compared with the BTT patients; other measures of heart failure (HF) severity were similar between groups (Table). Additionally, BTR patients had higher serum transaminases but lower serum creatinine. Because of their very acute presentation, elevated transaminases in the BTR group were felt to be secondary to hepatic congestion or hypoperfusion. These values normalized after 1 month of ventricular unloading with VAD (aspartate transaminase in the BTR group improved from 568±593 to 59±29 U/L, P=0.02; alanine transaminase improved from 372±436 to 31±23 U/L, P=0.04) and remained normal until the time of device explantation.
Support time was similar between BTR and BTT patients (100±72 days, median 73, versus 125±127 days, median 89, respectively). Similar percentages of patients were supported with biventricular assist devices (BTR 50% versus BTT 40%). All BTR patients had Thoratec extracorporeal devices with the exception of 1 patient who had an implantable Thoratec IVAD, reflecting the majority of female patients with a smaller body surface area precluding larger implantable pumps. The remainder of the BTT patients had either Novacor (29%), Heartmate (14%), or Thoratec (17%) VAD for support of the left ventricle only. The majority of BTR subjects were taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (90%) and β-blockers (70%) at the time of explanation.
Recovery Assessment
For BTR subjects overall, recovery of function was generally seen by 1 to 2 months of support. Mean peak oxygen consumption with the VAD rate lowered to 40 bpm was 17±3 mL O2 · kg−1 · min−1. All underwent hemodynamic assessment before explantation. The mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was 12±5 mm Hg; mean cardiac output was 4.15±1.71 L/min on minimal support (hand pump once every 10 seconds).
BTR Cohort: Ischemic
Overall, 10 subjects were identified as BTR. This included 2 of 80 ischemic patients (2.5%). Both ischemic BTR subjects had new-onset HF after surgical revascularization for an acute myocardial infarction and required perioperative Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support, and were felt to be candidates for BTR because of their recent-onset of HF. Patient 1 was a 48-year-old man with an LVEF of 10% after experiencing an acute myocardial infarction and undergoing bypass surgery. Postoperatively, he was transferred to our institution on pressor support and an intra-aortic balloon pump. He was supported for 42 days with a Thoratec VAD. Patient 2 was a 52-year-old man with papillary muscle rupture and severe mitral regurgitation after acute myocardial infarction with an LVEF of 20%. He underwent mitral valve and revascularization surgery and postoperatively required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. He was supported for 61 days with a Thoratec extracorporeal LVAD.
BTR Cohort: Nonischemic
A larger percentage of nonischemic patients underwent successful BTR (8 of 74, 11%). The 8 nonischemic patients in the BTR group were age 30±14 years and 88% were female, with a mean LVEF 18±6%. Etiology was acute myocarditis in 3 (38% of nonischemic BTR cohort, 33% of myocarditis cases requiring VAD), peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) in 4 (50% of nonischemic BTR cohort, 44% of PPCM cases requiring VAD), and 1 had recent onset idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM, 12% of nonischemic BTR cohort, 3% of IDCM cases requiring VAD). Of note, histology at the time on VAD implantation revealed evidence of myocarditis in only 1 subject and nonspecific inflammation in 1 and was negative in the remaining 6. The subject with recent-onset IDCM was diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis while on VAD support. This was successfully treated, and his ventricle improved and he was subsequently weaned from the device.
Five patients were supported with Thoratec biventricular assist devices and 3 with Thoratec LVAD. Mean duration of support was 112±76 days (median 91 days). The mean duration of heart failure before device implant was significantly shorter in the BTR patients compared with the nonischemic BTT patients (0.9±1.1 months, median 0.4, versus 55.5±40.4 months, median 46.0, P<0.0005; Figure 2). Similar results were seen in comparison with ischemic BTT patients (duration of heart failure 30.2±36.9 months, median 16.5) or all BTT patients (duration of heart failure 44.0±47.2 months, median 31.0). BTR patients also had a smaller left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (56±11 versus 69±12 mm, P=0.04), likely reflective of the shorter duration of heart failure.
BTR Follow-Up
Overall, 8 of 10 BTR patients are alive and free of transplant, with a mean length of follow-up 1.6±1.1 years (median 1.5 years, range 3 months to 3.6 years). Both ischemic patients remain alive and transplant-free with follow-up of 8 months and 3.6 years (most recent LVEF 30% and 36%, respectively). Of the 8 nonischemic patients, LV function declined in 2 PPCM patients who required transplantation or repeat VAD support within 1 year. The most recent LVEF was 54±5% in the 6 nonischemic patients surviving transplant-free with follow-up of 1.5±0.9 years (median 1.5 years, range 3 months to 3.0 years).
Complete recovery of LVEF was evident before explantation in the 6 nonischemic patients surviving transplant-free, but not in the 2 patients who subsequently declined (LVEF before explantation 56±3% versus 39±2%, P=0.002). The 6 nonischemic patients surviving transplant-free maintained normal LVEF up to 3 years after explantation. The 2 ischemic patients recovered to LVEFs of 35% and 45%, respectively, before explantation. For these subjects, LVEF subsequently declined in the first month after device removal but then stabilized (Figure 3).
In this study, 6.5% of all adult patients implanted with a VAD for planned long-term support recovered ventricular function sufficient for device removal. The majority of these patients were nonischemic (80% of the cohort, representing 11% of the nonischemic patients), with the etiology in most cases being acute myocarditis or PPCM. This is consistent with the multicenter experience previously reported,6 which suggests BTR is predominantly seen in myocarditis and acute inflammatory cardiomyopathies such as PPCM. The high degree of biventricular failure in this recovery cohort, as evidenced by the large percentage requiring biventricular support, is not apparent in previous series. The present study demonstrates that the need for biventricular support should not preclude consideration of recovery.
The current report also suggests that clinical measures of acute illness, in particular duration of symptoms and LV diameter, are potentially important predictors of recovery. This article also demonstrates the limitations of histology for predicting outcomes. The majority of BTR subjects had no evidence of inflammation on myocardial histology at the time of implant, despite a clinical history suggesting acute inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Though histological evidence of myocarditis may suggest a potentially reversible process, a negative biopsy seems to have little predictive value.
The current report differs from the Berlin experience, which reported successful BTR in subjects with long-standing chronic dilated cardiomyopathy.10 No chronic subject (ie, history of heart failure greater than six months) was successfully weaned in our series. This may reflect a screening bias, as acute patients are may have been examined more closely for BTR than chronic subjects. Many chronic subjects, however, underwent echocardiographic weaning studies but failed to meet recovery criteria, and this cohort of "screened" BTT subjects had a duration of HF similar to that of the remaining BTT patients who were not studied (37±39, median 35, versus 45±48 months, median 30, respectively; P=NS). The finding that BTR subjects all had short durations of symptoms is consistent with the finding in nonischemic cardiomyopathy that dynamic recovery is common in recent-onset disease23 but extremely rare in more chronic disease. In addition to optimal medical therapy for heart failure, future adjunctive treatments, such as stem cells or tissue engineering with gene therapy, will be necessary to assist myocardial recovery in long-standing chronic cardiomyopathy and allow VAD as BTR to become an option for this subset of patients.
Despite the physiological improvements evident with VAD support, the number of BTR patients is low. This may be in part due to inadequate screening. Recovery of function, as defined by improvement in LVEF, was an early phenomenon that occurred within 2 months of VAD support. Routine assessment by transthoracic echo after 1 to 2 months of support would identify all the BTR subjects in the current study and appears to be the most useful clinical tool for more generalized screening for BTR. The 2 subjects who declined after BTR in this series had significant reductions in their LVEF noted within the first month after explantation. This suggests that the recurrence of LV dysfunction after BTR is unfortunately also an early phenomenon that appears soon after device removal restores normal loading conditions.
For subjects with acute onset of inflammatory myocarditis or PPCM, VAD support allows long-term restoration of cardiac function and avoidance of transplantation. Whether VAD support is therapeutic and facilitates recovery in this subset or functions as a bridge to spontaneous innate recovery remains to be determined. As knowledge of the mechanisms of VAD-induced ventricular recovery progresses, the therapeutic role of VAD support in acute inflammatory cardiomyopathy and the appropriate timing of support needs to be more clearly defined.
The results of this retrospective study must be interpreted with caution and considered primarily hypothesis-generating. The predictive value of LV size and the limited value of histology should be revaluated prospectively in a multicenter format. In particular, the absence of BTR in more chronic subjects may reflect screening bias and needs to be better delineated prospectively in a larger series.
In a large single center series, VAD as BTR was seen in 6.5% overall and in 11% of nonischemic patients and was most successful with acute inflammatory cardiomyopathy or PPCM. When used in acute inflammatory cardiomyopathy or PPCM, VAD support appears to allow long-term restoration of cardiac function and the avoidance of transplantation. VAD support as BTR should be an important component of the care of acute inflammatory myocarditis.
Dr McNamara is supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 HL75038 and K24 HL69912. Dr Simon is supported by National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award 2-T32 HL07820-06. Dr Gorcsan is supported in part by National Institutes of Health award K24 HL04503-01 and American Heart Association National Grant-in-Aid 0050587N.
Dr Kormos is on the medical advisory boards of Thoratec Corporation and World Heart Corporation.
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- Myocardial Recovery Using Ventricular Assist DevicesMarc A. Simon, Robert L. Kormos, Srinivas Murali, Pradeep Nair, Michael Heffernan, John Gorcsan, Stephen Winowich and Dennis M. McNamaraCirculation. 2005;112:I-32-I-36, originally published August 30, 2005https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.524124
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- Myocardial Recovery Using Ventricular Assist DevicesMarc A. Simon, Robert L. Kormos, Srinivas Murali, Pradeep Nair, Michael Heffernan, John Gorcsan, Stephen Winowich and Dennis M. McNamaraCirculation. 2005;112:I-32-I-36, originally published August 30, 2005https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.524124Permalink:


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|May 18, 1993
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|Sep 6, 1990
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|Sep 6, 1990
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|Jan E. Uddenfeldt, Alex K. Raith
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The present invention relates to a method in a cellular mobile radio system to select a dedicated control channel when communicating between a mobile station and the base station which is associated with this selected control channel for the future communication between the base station selected and the mobile station in the cellular system. More particularly, a mobile station in the system is using the proposed method to find a base station to communicate without unnecessary use of the equalizer provided in the mobile station.
The receiving circuit of a mobile radio apparatus normally includes a so-called equalizer which is operative to compensate for irregularities or deficiencies in the radio medium when transmitting radio signals from a base station. An equalizer is primarily used in receiving circuits for the purpose of reducing of multipath propagation in the radio medium. This is described, for instance, in WO 88/05981, which relates to a TDMA-system which includes so-called adaptive equalization. The setting of the equalizer incorporated in the radio receiver is contingent on synchronizing words that are sent simultaneously with the data words transmitted from the radio transmitter in time multiplex. With the aid of these synchronizing words, the equalizer can be set so as to equalize the dispersion properties of the medium upon receipt of the data words. Radio receivers which include equalizers are primarily used for high symbol rate communication (>100 kbit/s) the bit sensitivity of which due to multipath propagation is greater than the bit sensitivity of slower symbol rate communication.
The need for an equalizer is also determined by the nature of the surroundings, in addition to the symbol rate. The lowest multipath propagation effect is obtained, for instance, from a totally level landscape which is devoid of buildings.
The advantage of an equalizer is that it is able to equalize time dispersion in the signals received, provided that coherent detection is applied. The disadvantage of the equalizer is that it is relatively complex and has a relatively high power consumption.
The absence of an equalizer affords the advantage of enabling noncoherent demodulation to be applied, which results in a lower degree of complexity in the receiver and a lower current consumption. In addition, a robust receiver is obtained with rapidly varying radio channels, due to high vehicle speeds. The disadvantage lies in the fact that the demodulation cannot be carried out with time dispersion, which constitute a considerable part of the symbol time.
It is previously known in Swedish patent application No. 8902844-3 to connect or to disconnect the equalizer in the mobile station during a call in progression depending on the estimated time dispersion.
The present invention relates to a method to solve the problem of using or not using the equalizer in a mobile station before the call has .been set up between the mobile station and a base station, i.e., if possible to avoid the use of the equalizer during the "sleep mode" of the mobile station.
When a mobile station is in its "sleep mode" it steadily receives signals from surrounding base stations containing "dedicated control channels" (DCCH). Such control channels are called dedicated since once a mobile has chosen one such channel it is used only by that mobile for communication with the base station and no other mobile is permitted to use the same dedicated control channel. The DCCH is transmitted across a determined frequency from a base station throughout a certain cell in the cellular system. A so-called "overhead message train" (OMT) is communicated over the dedicated control channel (DCCH) and carries information about what base station the mobile is to communicate with during the further progress of a call.
Since use of an equalizer in the mobile implies increased power consumption in the mobile it is desirable to avoid use of the equalizer not only during a call in progress but also during the set up of a call (listening, registration and paging).
An object of the present invention is to provide a method to fulfill the above mentioned desiderata, i.e. to avoid the use of the equalizer in a mobile station during the initialization of call processing between the mobile station and a base station.
According to an exemplary method according to the present invention the mobile, upon receiving set of dedicated control channels DCCH, makes an investigation as to whether a base station other than that giving the DCCH with the strongest signal can be used without using the equalizer function if the base station giving the strongest DCCH-signal requires use of the equalizer function of the equalizer function.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simple cell structure in a cellular mobile radio system which uses the method according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows how a plurality of dedicated control channels are transmitted in the mobile radio system;
FIG. 3 illustrates the message format of a dedicated control channel and traffic channels in the mobile radio system;
FIG. 4 shows a flow chart illustrative of a method according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows a part of a mobile station to which the proposed method is applied.
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart illustrative of another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
The inventive method is intended for a- digital mobile radio system having time division multiple access, so-called TDMA. A known digital TDMA-mobile radio system in which the invention can be applied includes a plurality of permanent base stations and a plurality of mobile radio stations capable of communicating with one another over given radio channels. FIG. 1 shows a part of such a system with three cells C1-C3 and the corresponding base stations B1-B3. A mobile station M is moving (or standing still) at some distance from the base station B1 and at some shorter distance from the border of cells C1 and C2. Mobile M has not yet set up a call, i.e., there is no call in progress in mobile M, but mobile M is in its listening mode in order to be ready to receive any call (downlink) or to set up a call (uplink). Usually a call on either an uplink or a downlink channel is to be communicated by the base station B1 which is situated nearest to the mobile M.
Mobile M awaits calls by listening for a so called "overhead message" received across a dedicated control channel DCCH. There are a certain number of such control channels in the overall system each on a certain frequency. FIG. 2 shows the case where the system allocates 21 different frequencies as DCCHs and each of the base stations B1-B21 has its own frequency for its DCCH. Thus base station B1 transmits the control channel DCCH1 on frequency f1, base station transmits control channel DCCH2 on frequency f2 and so on. If the number of base stations is greater than 21, the frequencies f1 -f21 are reused in known manner.
FIG. 3 shows a TDMA-frame downlink format, for messages from base station to mobile station. A frame includes one slot for a dedicated control channel DCCH and two traffic channel slots. The DCCH is repeated in every frame and includes a 10-bit dotting sequence D and an 11-bit word sync sequence WS. The sequences D and WS are sent to permit mobile stations to achieve synchronization with the incoming data. Sequences D and WS are followed by Word A, Word B which are repeated five times. The signalling format of the DCCH is further described in "EIA Project Number 2215" (IS54) published by the Electronic Industry Association, Engineering Department, 2001 Eye Street, N.W. Washington DC 20006.
Before a call is set up, the dedicated control channel is used by a base station, while the traffic channels TCH in the frame are empty. Since the dedicated control channels DCCH1-DCCH21 all have different frequencies, the mobile M is able to detect all the messages transmitted over the DCCHs and radiated in the cell where mobile M is located even if the various DCCHs overlap in time. According to the above mentioned EIA-standard, mobile M enters the "Retrieve System Parameters Task" after power is applied. The mobile then is set to the preferred "System A" and after that the mobile carries out the "Scan Primary Set of Dedicated Control Channels".
As mentioned above, all the base stations in the system transmit OMTs across the dedicated control channels DCCH1-DCCH21 within their respective cell areas, but the signals sent on the DCCHs are frequently strong enough to reach neighbouring cells. Thus signals on DCCH2 and DCCH3 transmitted from base station B2 and B3 are strong enough to reach mobile M although mobile M is in the cell area C1, but near the border of cell areas C2 and C3.
In FIG. 1, suppose there is an obstacle X impeding for the radio signals transmitted from base station B1 to mobile M. This obstacle could be, for example, a populated area or a mountain. Nevertheless the strength of the signal across DCCH1 from base station B1 is stronger than the signals across DCCH2 and DCCH3 from base stations B2 and B3, respectively. But the time dispersion of the DCCH1 is higher than the time dispersion of the DCCH2. Consequently mobile M has to use its equalizer when receiving signals from the base station B1 but may not have to use the equalizer when receiving signals from base station B2. According to the present method, an investigation is carried out in the mobile M to determine whether or not it is necessary to communicate with the base station B1 giving the highest received signal strength when it is necessary to use the equalizer function for signals from this base station.
One embodiment of the inventive method will now be described with reference to the flow chart according to FIG. 4.
When power is applied to the mobile station M the mobile station starts the initialization procedure ("Start") in FIG. 4. First the serving system parameters are retrieved and the preferred system A or B is selected. This procedure is not treated here. After that, the mobile M scans the primary set of dedicated control channels as indicated at block 1 in FIG. 4. The mobile measures the signal strength of the received dedicated channels DCCH1-21 and ranks the signal strength of these channels as shown in block 2. After this, the mobile M tunes to the frequency of the strongest DCCH at block 3. The above mentioned steps are described in the above mentioned EIA-Standard, item 22.214.171.124.2.
The signal quality of the strongest DCCH, for example DCCH1, is detected by the mobile M without use of any equalizer function to investigate whether there is a need to use this function or not at block 4. The detection of the signal quality of DCCH1 is carried out, for example by making a bit error measurement in the channel decoder in known manner as will be described in more detail in connection with FIG. 5.
If the detection was correct ("Yes") the strongest measured DCCH according to block 2 is selected since there is obviously no reason to further investigate any other DCCH without use of the equalizer function at block 6.
If the detection was not correct ("No") the signal quality of the strongest DCCH, i.e., DCCH1 must be detected with the use of the equalizer function at block 7. The investigation of "Detection correct?" according to block 8 is carried out in the same manner as according to block 5.
If the detection was not correct ("No") some error has happened and the procedure according to blocks 1-5 must be repeated. This case is not treated further but it is assumed for the following discussion that there is a correct detection ("Yes"). If the detection was correct ("Yes") the mobile is tuned to the frequency of the next strongest DCCH, for example, DCCH2, see block 9, and according to the ranking made previously (block 2).
After this, the signal quality of DCCH2 is detected at block 10, but now without any equalizer function. The detected signal is investigated by error detection in the same manner as previously described according to blocks 4 and 7.
If detection was correct, the next strongest DCCH, i.e., DCCH2, is selected for the future communication and the mobile communicates with the base station B2 without the need of an equalizer regarding registration, paging and call set up over the traffic channels TCH at Block 12.
If the detection was not correct, the mobile selects the DCCH1 with the strongest signal using the equalizer function and the future communication takes place with the base station B1 at block 13.
FIG. 5 illustrates a part of the mobile receiver including the units which are involved when carrying out the present method. An analog-digital converter 1 has connected thereto two quadrature channels I and Q having modulating signals within the baseband from the radio-frequency input circuits, not shown here.
These circuits include a local oscillator, a phase shifter (90�) and a lowpass filter. Also included in the mobile are the usual RF-demodulator, receiver frequency synthesizer and signal level meter (not shown). Thus, two quadrature components within the baseband are obtained over the outputs I1 and Q1 of the analog-digital converter in sampled form (e.g., in the form of samples whose interspacing corresponds to the sampling rate). These two components are applied as one input magnitude to a correlator 2 of known design, the other input pair of which (real and complex) are connected to a memory unit (PROM) which stores in complex form the synchronizing word SW transmitted on the transmitter side. As previously mentioned, this word is transmitted within the so-called training interval. The correlator 2 thus effects correlation between the received synchronizing word SW transmitted over the radio channel and the actual synchronizing word SWo itself, the channel impulse response obtained being transmitted from the output of the correlator 2 to a parameter calculator 5. The impulse response is used for channel estimation with regard to monopath and multipath propagation and also with regard to the extent of such propagation, as explained in more detail below.
In the mobile receiver described in the above mentioned Swedish application, an evaluator is connected to the correlator 2 and functions to evaluate the otained impulse response for the burst received in the time slot of a traffic channel TCH.
Preferably, the present method is applied to another embodiment of the mobile receiver likewise described in the above mentioned Swedish application. According to this embodiment, which is shown in FIG. 5, the time dispersion of the dedicated control channel burst is evaluated by measuring a combination of the field strength received (=RSSI) and the result of bit error measurement in the channel decoder. The channel decoder 21 is able to evaluate the bit by e.g., error detecting codes of the demodulated base band signal and to provide information relating to this bit error content to the microprocessor 30 of the mobile. A decision circuit 10 measures the power of the I and Q components of the non-modulated signal.
The method can now be carried out by programming the microprocessor 30 according to the flow chart of FIG. 4.
The decision circuit 10 delivers a control signal to the two switches 23, 24 which connect demodulator 3a and disconnect demodulator 3b and vice versa to the subsequent channel decoder 21. Initially, demodulator 3a is disconnected.
When power is applied to the mobile station its microprocessor controller 30 executes the initialization procedure. First the serving system parameters are retrieved which means that the preferred system A or B is selected. This procedure as specified in the above mentioned EIA-publication is not further treated here. Depending on the choice made, the scanning of the dedicated control channels belonging to the preferred system starts at block 1 in FIG. 4.
The receiving frequency synthesizer 25 is ordered by the microprocessor 30 to generate the frequency f1 which corresponds to the first dedicated control channel. When the frequency is stable, the signal level meter 29 measures the signal strength and the microprocessor 30 stores the value. The same procedure is performed for the frequencies f2, . . . f21 corresponding to the remaining dedicated control channels and a ranking based on the signal strength is finally made by the microprocessor 30 at block 2. The synthesizer 25 is then ordered to tune to the frequency f1 with the highest signal strength level, and the mobile will then make attempts to synchronize to this channel at block 3.
With the mobile synchronized to this channel and the equalizer function disconnected, the channel decoder 21 detects the signal quality without the equalizer function (block 4, FIG. 4) and the microprocessor 30 determines if the received DCCH 1 burst signal is acceptable or not (block 5, FIG. 4).
If the detection was not correct, microprocessor 30 sends a signal to the decision circuit 10 in order to connect the equalizer function. The decision circuit delivers a control signal to the switches 23, 24 to connect demodulator 3a and to disconnect the demodulator 3b (block , FIG. 4). At about the same time, the microprocessor 30 delivers a signal to the channel decoder 21 ordering the decoder to make a new signal detection of the DCCH1 burst. This ordering and switching can be carried out during a time interval between the two DCCH bursts in subsequent frames according to FIG. 3. Thus channel decoder detects the quality of the DCCH1-signal of one frame (frame 1) Without the equalizer function (demodulator 3b connected) and the same DCCH1-signal of the subsequent frame (frame 2) with the equalizer function (demodulator 3a connected).
If the microprocessor 30 determined that the error detected signal from the channel decoder 21 was correct, microprocessor 30 delivers an order signal to the receiver frequency synthesizer 25 of the mobile to tune to the next strongest dedicated control channel, for example, DCCH2, according to the ranking previously made (block 2). Microprocessor 30 then orders the decision circuit 10 to operate the switches 23, 24 so as to disconnect demodulator 3a and to connect demodulator 3b to the channel decoder 21. At the same time, microprocessor 30 orders demodulator 3b to be tuned to frequency f2 of DCCH2 (next strongest), at block 9, FIG. 4.
The channel decoder 21 now makes a new error detection of the demodulated DCCH2-signal (without equalizer) and transmits the result to the microprocessor 30 (block 10). If the microprocessor 30 determines that the detection is correct, microprocessor 30 orders the receiving frequency synthesizer 25 to lock on this frequency f2 in order so that subsequent communication is carried out on this frequency f2 (block 11, FIG. 4). The mobile M will thereafter communicate with base station B2 without use of the equalizer function at block 12.
If the microprocessor 30 determined that the detection was not correct, i.e. the detected signal had a bit-error rate that was too high, microprocessor orders the receiver synthesizer 25 to tune back to frequency f1 and subsequent communication takes place between the mobile and base station B1 (block 13, FIG. 4) on that frequency.
The training of the equalizer in demodulator 3a when using detection with equalizer at blocks 6 and 7 can be made by a training sequence constituted, for example, by a synchronizing word which can be available on the digital control channel.
Another embodiment of the inventive method is shown in FIG. 6 in which the same functional blocks as those shown in FIG. 4 have the same designations. The flow chart of FIG. 6 differs from the flow chart according to FIG. 4 in that blocks 6-8 have been omitted and the initial detection of the signal quality now is made while using the equalizer function (block 4).
Thus blocks 1-3 which are described in the EIA-standard item 18.104.22.168.2 are the same as in the flow chart according to FIG. 4. Instead of detecting the signal quality without the equalizer function as in the previous embodiment, the signal quality of the strongest DCCH, for example, DCCH1 is measured with the equalizer function at block 4. If the detection is correct ("Yes") an attempt will be made by the mobile to use another dedicated control channel, for example, the next strongest (DCCH2) but without the use of the equalizer function. Accordingly, the mobile receiver is tuned to the next strongest control channel (block 9) and the signal quality is now detected without the use of the equalizer function (block 10).
If the detection is correct ("Yes" at block 11) the next strongest control channel DCCH2 is selected, otherwise ("No") the mobile selects the strongest control channel DCCH1 (blocks 12 and 13, respectively).
The functional steps in blocks 3 and 9 are not limited to the strongest and the next strongest control channel.
The inventive method is not limited to the above described embodiments in which the dedicated control channel DCCH2 having the second strongest signal is selected when tuning the RF-receiver in the mobile station (block 9, FIGS. 4 and 6), but could be tuned instead to the third strongest signal, i.e., dedicated control channel DCCH3 from base station B3. Likewise, the procedure can continue by using a third dedicated control channel DCCH3 instead of returning to the strongest dedicated control channel DCCH1 according to block 13, FIGS. 4 and 6.
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|Feb 23, 1999
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|Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
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|Dec 17, 2001
|Jun 19, 2003
|Nokia Corporation, Espoo Finland (2)
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|May 28, 2004
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|U.S. Classification
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|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Jan 15, 1991
Owner name: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET L M ERICSSON, S-126 25 STOCKHO
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:UDDENFELDT, JAN E.;RAITH, ALEX K.;REEL/FRAME:005566/0631
Effective date: 19901220
|Sep 26, 1996
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Nov 17, 2000
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Nov 18, 2004
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


text:
River City Rumble Trailer (2004)
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I've learned all sorts of things in my 20s. One of the skills that I've conveniently cultivated and slowly acquired over the past decade is cooking. I started out in college as a complete novice, barely baking brownies out of a box correctly, to now being able to confidently tackle all sorts of advanced recipes. In retrospect, I don't really remember how or when I mutated from a novice to skilled, but I do know that I definitely had some help along the way. If you're interested in honing some tricks in the kitchen, wanting to brush up on your skills or just plain needing a little inspiration, there are a few opportunities here and in Atlanta to fuel your fire for good food and the pleasure of cooking.
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• Vena Kim, owner-operator of Yoguri, is a self-confessed foodie on a mission to spread the word about good food.


text:
ေအာင္ျမင္ပါေစလို႕ ဆုေတာင္းလုိက္ပါတယ္ ဖန္ေတြေရ။
Sunday, November 30, 2008
ေအာင္ျမင္မႈအတြက္ အဆင္သင့္ျဖစ္ေနေသာ ျခေသၤ့မ်ား
ေအာင္ျမင္ပါေစလို႕ ဆုေတာင္းလုိက္ပါတယ္ ဖန္ေတြေရ။
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Lumen Paperback
by Ben Pastor
Part of the Martin Bora series
Equal parts wartime political intrigue, detective story, psychological thriller and religious mystery, Pastor's debut follows a German army captain and a Chicago priest as they investigate the death of a nun in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Stunned by the violence of the occupation and by the ideology of his colleagues, Bora's sense of Prussian duty is tested to the breaking point.
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288 pages
- Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
- Publication Date: 01/01/2011
- Category: Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews.
Review by bcquinnsmom
Lumen is an interesting book. It is a novel of crime fiction, but the actual crimes and their solutions tend to take a back seat to the main character, Captain Martin Bora of the Wehrmacht Intelligence division. Bora is recently arrived in Cracow, just after the German army has invaded Poland, and finds himself involved in an unusual case involving the Abbess Kazimierza, a nun who supposedly has prophetic powers and who at times bears the stigmata. He had seen her before her death when he would accompany his superior officer Colonel Hofer, who went to see the Abbess on personal matters, so when she is killed, Bora is assigned to look into the case. He is assisted in his work by Father John Malecki, an American priest who has been assigned by the Vatican to investigate claims of her mystical abilities, and then later to examine the circumstances of her death. Bora is young, still in his 20s, newly married, and has left his wife behind in Germany. But his investigative prowess does not actually take center stage in this novel -- although he's quite good at what he does -- it is his gradual awareness of growing doubts about a cause that supports mass killing, cover ups, racial superiority and the deaths of innocent people which make Bora stand out as a character. He's a scrupulous person whose sense of duty doesn't necessarily extend over the full range of Nazi ideology and practices, and his own moral compass makes him a target for potential enemies in the SD (the Sicherheitsdienst -- Security Service), who were responsible for overseeing and carrying out many of the atrocities perpetrated against the Polish people. And there's no room in the Wehrmacht for a "young captain with scruples," according to his commanding officer Colonel Schenck: "If you start feeling sorry so early on, Bora, you're screwed. What should you care? We have our orders and the SD have theirs. It was only an accident that you didn't have similar orders. And these Polack farmers -- they aren't even people, they're not even worth reproducing. I can see you're perturbed, but believe me, don't start caring...We're all in it. If it's guilt, we're all guilty. This is the way that it is. "Scenes change quickly in this novel, and the action is offered up from different perspectives throughout the story. The investigation into the death of the Abbess lasts from beginning to end, while other mysteries crop up in the meantime adding to the crime elements of the novel. At the same time, it's a solid piece of historical fiction, examining the psyche of a man who finds himself in a situation where normal laws don't apply and the world seems to have gone crazy. There are, believe it or not, bits and pieces of humor in spots, but overall, given the circumstances, there's little to smile about during this time. Pastor's novel is no lightweight thriller; she's written a much edgier story of a dark time in history.Definitely recommended. Lumen is supposed to be the first in a series of books about Martin Bora, so I'll look forward to the second.
Review by janerawoof
Ostensibly a mystery, the murder of a saintly Polish abbess. But the main thrust of the book is the character study of the protagonist, Captain Martin Bora of the Intelligence Division of the Wehrmacht. He is asked to investigate the murder. Often, the man is torn between his Prussian devotion to duty and when his orders become too brutal, his innate humanity.


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Edmonia Lewis Facts

Known for: Edmonia Lewis was a neoclassical African American and Native American sculptor, friend of abolitionists, and sculptor. Her sculpture, often with Biblical themes or themes of freedom or of famous Americans including many abolitionists, experienced a revival of interest in the twentieth century. She often depicted African, African American, and Native American peoples in her work. Much of her work is lost. She is particularly recognized for her naturalism within the neoclassical genre.
Occupation: sculptor
Dates: born July 14 or July 4, 1843 or 1845; died September 17, 1907
Also known as: Wildfire, Mary Edmonia Lewis (she rarely used her first name)

Also see: Edmonia Lewis Image Gallery

Edmonia Lewis Biography

Edmonia Lewis was one of two children born to a Native American mother and an African Haitian father, a "gentlemen's servant." Her birthdate and birthplace (New York? Ohio?) are in doubt. She claimed her birthplace was upstate New York.

Edmonia Lewis spent her early childhood with her mother's people, the Mississauga band of Ojibway (Chippewa Indians). She was known as Wildfire, and her brother as Sunrise. When they were orphaned when Lewis was about 10, two aunts took them in. They lived in northern New York state.

Education

Sunrise, with wealth from the California Gold Rush, financed first a prep school education for Edmonia Lewis, and then an education at Oberlin College, beginning in 1859. There, in 1862, two white girls accused her of attempting to poison them. She was acquitted, but still subject to verbal attacks and a beating by vigilantes. Oberlin's administration refused to allow her to enroll the next year to complete her graduation requirements.

New York

Edmonia Lewis went to New York to study with sculptor Edward Brackett, introduced by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Her first bust was of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a white Bostonian who led black troops in the Civil War. She sold copies of the bust, and was able with the proceeds to move to Rome.

Rome

In Rome, Lewis joined a large artistic community that included other women sculptors such as Harriet Hosmer, Anne Whitney, and Emma Stebbins. She began to work in marble, and adopted the neoclassical style. Concerned with racist assumptions that she wasn't really responsible for her work, Lewis worked alone and did not become an active part of the artistic community that drew buyers to Rome. Among her patrons in America was Lydia Maria Child, the abolitionist and feminist.

Sculpture

She had some success, especially among American tourists, especially for her depictions of African, African American, or Native American people. Egyptian themes were, at the time, considered representations of black Africa. Her work has been criticized for the Caucasian look of many of her female figures, though their costuming is considered more ethnically accurate. Among her best-known sculptures:

Forever Free (1867) - a black woman and black man celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation

 Hagar in the Wilderness (1868) - the Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah and Abraham, mother of Ishmael

The Old Arrow Maker and His Daughter (1872) - depicting Native Americans

The Death of Cleopatra (1875) - depicting the Egyptian queen

Edmonia Lewis created the more realistic "The Death of Cleopatra" for the 1876 Philadelphia Centenniel, and it was also displayed at the 1878 Chicago Exposition. Then it was lost for a century. It turned out to have been displayed on the grave of a race track owner's favorite horse, Cleopatra, while the race track became first a golf course then a munitions plant. With another building project, the statue was moved and then rediscovered, and it was restored in 1987.

Later Life and Death

Edmonia Lewis converted to Roman Catholicism in Rome in 1868.

Edmonia Lewis disappeared from public view in the late 1880s. Her last known sculpture was in 1883, and Frederick Douglass met with her in Rome in 1887. A Catholic magazine reported her as alive in 1909, there was a report of her in Rome in 1911.

For a long time, no definitive death date was known for Edmonia Lewis. In 2011, cultural historian Marilyn Richardson uncovered evidence from British records that she was living in the Hammersmith area of London and died in the Hammersmith Borough Infirmary on September 17, 1907, despite those reports of her in 1909 and 1911.


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Es gibt einige positive Kritiken, wie z. B. die von Entertainment weekly:
Since their 2003 debut, Youth & Young Manhood, Kings of Leon have veered between two styles. There's the Lynyrd Skynyrd-biting good ol' boys who love hot rock & roll, cold beer, and fast girls. Then there are the Grammy-winning artists with stadium-size ambitions to be the South's answer to Radiohead or U2. They split the difference on their seventh album, and the result is their richest, most textured effort yet.
Kings of Leon's transformation from the Southern Strokes to the Southern Maroon 5 is all but complete with their seventh album, WALLS—an acronym for We Are Like Love Songs, thus continuing the band's curious streak of five-syllable album titles. And even by the standards of the arena-pop hit-chasers they've become, and not the down-and-dirty guitar band they once were, WALLS is a grating, overly slick disappointment.


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getting ranked / 1 posts found
But Why The Internet?
It's easy for me to think that the Internet is the perfect medium for business in today's day and age. I use the Internet each and every day to continue to grow my business.
But how do I show this to a prospective client who is firmly grounded in the flesh and blood world?


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The best way to find out about our auditions is to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as we always share information through our social media outlets.
We also post any open auditions here and on Arts Jobs.
A good way to get to know our Artistic Director better and develop your puppetry skills is to go on one of our training courses. Take a look in the workshops section for more details.
You can also email casting_at_symbol_theatre-rites_fullstop_co.uk if you'd like to join our training mailing list. We will then update you with news of future courses.


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The Senate Finance Committee pushed ahead Wednesday on a comprehensive health care bill. The panel hopes to finish the legislation by week's end. It then will be combined with a bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee this past summer. Some highlights:
WHO'S COVERED: Around 95 percent of Americans. Illegal immigrants would not receive government benefits.
COST: Nearly $900 billion over 10 years.
HOW IT'S PAID FOR: Fees on insurance companies, drugmakers, medical device manufacturers. Additional tax levied on insurance companies, equal to 40 percent of total premiums paid on insurance plans costing more than $8,000 annually for individuals and $21,000 for families. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. A fee on employers whose workers receive government subsidies to help them pay premiums. Fines on those individuals who fail to purchase affordable coverage.
REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Everyone must get coverage through an employer, on their own or through a government plan. Exemptions for economic hardship.
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: Not required to offer coverage, but companies with more than 50 full-time workers would pay a fee if the government ends up subsidizing employees' coverage.
SUBSIDIES: Tax credits for individuals and families making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which computes to $88,200 for a family of four. Tax credits for small employers.
BENEFITS PACKAGE: All plans sold to individuals and small businesses would have to cover basic benefits, including primary care, hospitalization and prescription drugs. The government would set four levels of coverage, the least generous of which would pay an estimated 65 percent of health care costs per year; and the most generous of which would cover an estimated 90 percent.
INSURANCE INDUSTRY RESTRICTIONS: No denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions. No higher premiums allowed on basis of pre-existing conditions or gender. Limits on higher premiums based on age and family size. Limits on allowable co-pays and deductibles.
GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: None. Would create nonprofit, member-owned co-ops to compete with private insurers.
HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: Self-employed people and small businesses could pick a plan offered through new state-based purchasing pools. Employees would be generally allowed to keep their work-provided coverage.
CHANGES TO MEDICAID: Income eligibility levels standardized to 133 percent of poverty ($30,000 a year for a family of four) for all parents, children and pregnant women. Childless adults making up to 133 percent of poverty ($14,400 for an individual) would be eligible for the first time. The expansion would be delayed until 2014.


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21st Century College English: Book 2. Unit 2 Part A. Why They Excel. Unit 2: Part A. Pre-reading Activities Intensive Study Exercises Assignment. Pre-reading Activities. Preview Pre-reading Listening. Pre-reading Activities: Preview. Preview.
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.
Unit 2 Part A
Why They Excel
What is the aim of education? This question depends completely on culture. Every society has a set of deep cultural attitudes that are clear to the majority of its members – so clear, in fact, that they may seem like the only right way. And the deep cultural attitudes of any society are reflected in its system of education. The three texts in this unit explore some of the different ways culture affects education. Not only surface differences like the content of the lessons or whether the students stand up when the teacher enters the room, but also on deeper levels that are rarely discussed or even thought about — until two cultures meet in a classroom.
First Listening
Before listening to the tape, have a quick look at the following blanks to prepare yourself to listen for the figures.
Asian and Asian Americans make up only ________ of the US population, but they come up to ____________________ of the undergraduates at Harvard, _______ at MIT, _______ at Yale and _____________ at Berkley.
First Listening
Asian and Asian Americans make up only ________ of the US population, but they come up to ____________________ of the undergraduates at Harvard, _______ at MIT, _______ at Yale and _____________ at Berkley.
more than 17%
over 27%
Second Listening
Read the following words first to prepare yourself to answer the questions to the best of your ability.
talent effort money concentration ambition intelligence pressure sacrifice
tradition discrimination
Second Listening
— Why are these statistics "amazing"?
— What's the explanation?
Radio Announcer: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Just Statistics, our weekly collection of odd statistical facts. Did you know that Asians and Asian Americans make up only 2.4 percent of the US population? 2.4 percent, that's right. And did you know that more than 17 percent of the undergraduates at Harvard are Asians and Asian Americans? Isn't that amazing! But that's not all: Asians and Asian Americans make up 18 percent of the student body at MIT, 16.5 percent at Yale and over 27 percent at Berkeley! Those are among our best schools, ladies and gentlemen — how do those Asian and Asian American students do it?
Text A:
Why They Excel
by Fox Butterfield
Why They Excel
by Fox Butterfield
1 Kim-Chi Trinh was just nine when her father used his savings to buy a passage for her on a fishing boat that would carry her from Vietnam. It was a heartbreaking and costly sacrifice for the family, placing Kim-Chi on the small boat, among strangers, in hopes that she would eventually reach the United States, where she would get a good education and enjoy a better life.
2It was a hard journey for the little girl, and full of risks. Long before the boat reached safety, the supplies of food and water ran out. When Kim-Chi finally made it to the US, she had to cope with a succession of three foster families. But when she graduated from San Diego's Patrick Henry High School in 1988, she had straight A's and scholarship offers from some of the most prestigious universities in the country.
3"I have to do well," says the 19-year-old, now a second-year student at Cornell University. "I owe it to my parents in Vietnam."
4Kim-Chi is part of a wave of bright, highly-motivated Asian-Americans who are suddenly surging into our best colleges. Although Asian-Americans make up only 2.4 percent of the nation' population, they constitute 17.1 percent of the undergraduates at Harvard, 18 percent at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 27.3 percent at the University of California at Berkeley.
5Why are Asian-Americans doing so well? Are they grinds, as some stereotypes suggest? Do they have higher IQs? Or can we learn a lesson from them about values we have long treasured but may have misplaced – like hard work, the family and education?
6Not all Asians are doing equally well; poorly-educated Cambodian refugee children, for instance, often need special help. And many Asian-Americans resent being labeled a "model minority," feeling that this is reverse discrimination by white Americans – a contrast to the laws that excluded most Asian immigrants from the US until 1965, but prejudice nevertheless.
7The young Asians' achievements have led to a series of fascinating studies. Perhaps the most disturbing results come from the research carried out by a University of Michigan psychologist, Harold W. Stevenson, who has compared more than 7,000 students in kindergarten, first grade, third grade and fifth grade in Chicago and Minneapolis with counterparts in Beijing, Taipei and Sendai. On a battery of math tests, the Americans did worst at all grade levels.
8 Stevenson found no differences in IQ. But if the differences in performance are showing up in kindergarten, it suggests something is happening in the family, even before the children get to school.
9 It is here that various researchers' different studies converge: Asian parents are motivating their children better. "The bottom line is, Asian kids work hard," Stevenson says.
10 The real question, then, is how Asian parents imbue their offspring with this kind of motivation. Stevenson's study suggests a critical answer. When asked why they think their children do well, most Asian parents said "hard work." By contrast, American parents said "talent."
11 "From what I can see," criticizes Stevenson, "we've lost our faith in the idea that we can all get ahead in life through hard work. Instead, Americans now believe that some kids have what it takes and some don't. So we start dividing up classes into 'fast learners' and 'slow learners', whereas the Chinese and Japanese feel all children can succeed in the same curriculum."
12This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students' outstanding performance. It springs from Asians' common heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5th-century-BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius's primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves.
13Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians' success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role — an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family, not just for themselves. One can never repay one's parents, and there's a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West.
14There's yet another major factor in this bond between Asian parents and their children. During the 15 years I lived in China, Japan, and Vietnam, I noticed that Asian parents establish a closer physical tie to their infants than most parents in the United States. When I let my baby daughter crawl on the floor, for example, my Chinese friends were horrified and rushed to pick her up. We think this constant attention is old-fashioned or even unhealthy, but for Asians, it's highly effective.
15Can we learn anything from the Asians? "I'm not naive enough to think everything in Asia can be transplanted," says Stevenson. But he offered three recommendations.
16 "To start with," he says, "we need to set higher standards for our kids. We wouldn't expect them to become professional athletes without practicing hard."
17 Second, American parents need to become more committed to their children's education, he declares. "Being understanding when a child doesn't do well isn't enough." Stevenson found that Asian parents spend more time helping their children with homework or writing to their teachers than American parents do.
18 And, third, our schools could be reorganized in simple but effective ways, says Stevenson. Nearly 90 percent of Chinese youngsters say they actually enjoy school, and 60 percent can't wait for school vacations to end. This is a vastly more positive attitude than youngsters in the US express. One reason may be that students in China and Japan typically have a break after each class, helping them to relax and to increase their attention spans.
19"I don't think Asians are any smarter," says Don Lee, an Asian-American student at Berkeley. "There are brilliant Americans in my chemistry class. But the Asian students work harder. I see a lot of wasted potential among the Americans."
(975 Words)
— (cost of a ticket for) a journey by ship or plane from one place to another
—a place where one is safe from a particular danger
—succeed in getting somewhere usu. in time to do sth., or in doing sth.,or getting sth. wanted
Will you be able to make it to the meeting on time?
—manage successfully; be able to deal with (sth. difficult, unpleasant, etc.)
a. giving or receiving parental care although not related legally or by blood
v. to bring up
— have (sth. good) because of (sth./sb.)
— an unusually large number of
More to learn
Kim-Chi is part of a wave of brilliant, ambitious Asian immigrants who are rushing into our best colleges.
— a fixed general image, characteristic, etc. that is believed to represent a particular type of person or thing
More to learn
like the general impression created by some typical Asian Americans
— put into a particular kind or class; describe as
His rival labeled him a cream puff.
U.S. immigration laws against Asians
Asians' overseas migration has been limited by both natural and artificial factors. The Chinese, earliest to arrive, and the Japanese were long victims of racial discrimination. They suffered from the discriminatory laws that limited and excluded the Asian immigrants from the United States. The Chinese Exclusive Act in 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years. In 1965, a law was passed to allow immigrants from Asia to the United States.
— a person or thing that has a similar function or position in another place or organization
— (tend to) become similar or identical
More to learn
The structure it is/was … that/who … can be used to emphasize the main point of a sentence.
More to do
It was for the benefit of the old people in the neighborhood that we organized this volunteer group.
It is only when we look back that we realized how far we have come.
It is his secretary who does all the work.
More to learn
It is on this point that various researchers' different studies become identical.
— the deciding or crucial factor; the essential point
— fill … with …(a kind of idea, feeling, etc.)
Churchill tried hard to imbue Englishmen with patriotism.
—have the right qualities or skills required for success
More to learn
Americans now think that some kids have the right qualities required for success and some don't.
—while at the same time; while on the contrary
Whereas the elephant weighs about 3,600 kg, the blue whale weighs up to 130,000 kg.
More to do
—while at the same time; while on the contrary
Whereas the word "youngster" has a cheerful connotation, "offspring" sounds rather clinical.
Whereas Confucianism emphasizes family ties, Protestantism teaches individual responsibility.
— result from; have one's origin in
—a connection, relationship, or feeling that links a person with another person, a place, etc.
More to learn
Asian parents take more bodily care of their infants than most parents in the U.S. do.
American parents should take on more responsibilities for their children's education.
— be very excited about sth. and eager for sth./ to do sth.
— the length of time between two dates or events or during which sth. exists or functions
—the inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or coming into being


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New York, NY (PressExposure) June 18, 2013 -- Apalon is excited to introduce an updated version of its versatile and most capable note-taking app ever - Notespad+ for iPad.
Available now in the App Store, the newest version of Notespad+ for iPad has been completely revamped to make it easier, smoother and faster than ever for users to write, capture, sketch, record or draw anything, anytime, anywhere, and so much more.
The app combines comprehensive writing, typing and drawing options along with wide-ranged selection of paper templates which now come in handy for FREE - users can choose from more than 50 styles to find a paper tailored to their needs, jot and sketch down anything that flashes through their minds. Basic, Education, Business, Sports, Paper Games, Photo Frames and Music categories will suit every age and occupation equally well.
With enhanced graphic rendering engine and improved handwriting capabilities, the digital ink now flows smoothly offering more intuitive and natural feel & flow of pen to paper. Generous set of pens, highlighters, stationery, colors and fonts all in one package offers endless customization options for different handwriting styles and habits.
Once written, notes, ideas, lists or drawings can be emailed, printed, and even saved in the cloud to Dropbox. Optimized data storage offers vast opportunities for users to maintain full control over personal notes and illustrations, enjoy greater efficiency, faster processing and safety of their precious ideas.
"We updated the app with focus on speed and utility, while making it easier to accomplish every note-taking endeavor one might have. More than a simple note taking app, Notespad+ is an all-round utility tool that can help to keep, organize and hold on to every tidbit of information: from ideas, brief memos, daily diaries, brainstorming results to details of life, knowledge or inspiration." - commented Peter Melnikov, VP of Apalon.
Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
Notespad+ 1.2 is $0.99 and available exclusively on the App Store in the Productivity category.


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Oh the irony.
The erstwhile 'beloved' Andy Griffith was no Andy Taylor after all;(
As great as he was on the old Andy Griffith Show, he is indeed flawed (in real life). Check him and Ron Howard ("Opie") out endorsing Obama's Marxist "change" agenda in this 2008 presidential election tv commercial:
warning: If youre a fan of the Andy Griffith and Happy Days tv shows this will surely sicken you. Wrinkler also takes a cheap shot at Palin.
He's trying to shore up his base, not convince the unemployed workforce that he has a viable plan.
I thought he was paraphrasing the bible when Jesus says; "If you love me, keep my commandments".
Paging Paul Shanklin; Paul Shankli, pick up the red courtesy phone.
Floated by the DUmp this morning.
Interesting to find there are ^no^ threads discussing #attackwatch.
I agree. That was an awesome movie. I saw it for the first time a few months ago on TCM.
Andy Griffith pulled that part of like no one else I can imagine. What a combination of "goofy" and scary.
The performance of a lifetime!
(Too bad Andy Griffith was a major leftist)


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Our support team will help you
A sailboat charter in Grado is a great choice for your next holidays. Located in the northeast of the Adriatic Sea, in the Province of Gorizia. Due to their cultural and geographical proximity Grado is often referred to as the northern relative of Venice.
Sailboats are great for those who enjoy a slower pace sailing, listening to the wind carry you through the sea. A sailboat will allow you to explore Grado and the Italian coast, all in great comfort while using very little fuel. Pick the sailboat that fits your needs best and get ready to enjoy everything that Grado has to offer!
We don't currently have any Sailboat to hire online in Grado .
Contact us and we'll help you to find Sailboat for hire in Grado.
Catamaran hire in Grado Motorboat hire in Grado Gulet hire in Grado


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The taxi-booking service Uber has received a boost after the high court ruled that its app was legal in London. Had it lost the case, the company would have been forced to change its service to comply with rules that protect black-cab drivers.
The transport regulator Transport for London (TfL) had brought the case after pressure from the city's black-cab and minicab drivers, who claimed that the Uber app was being used as a taximeter. The taximeter is a privilege afforded only to black-cab drivers in return for the extensive training they undergo to learn London's streets.
But Lord Justice Ouseley ruled that Uber's mobile service did not constitute a taximeter. "A taximeter, for the purposes of section 11 of the Private Hire Vehicles Act 1998 does not include a device that receives GPS signals in the course of a journey, and forwards GPS data to a server located outside of the vehicle, which server calculates a fare that is partially or wholly determined by reference to distance travelled and time taken and sends the fare information back to the device," his written judgment said.
Ouseley said that while the smartphone with the driver's app may be essential to enable the calculation of fares, that did not make it a device "for" calculating fares, which would breach the taximeter prohibition.


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Year Established:
Business Type:
Management Certifiation:
HB700type automatically soft hand sealing machine. The machine uses a unique structure, the PLC control center.
Fold material uses rotating cylinder. feeding uses stepping motor. precision delivery, complete set with the
parameters of machine interface, more intuitive and easy it Particularly increase integer unit. Mainly for sealing
non-woven bag


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Wtf is going on in it?
I just dont like it. The expression on his face makes me want to punch him.
Originally Posted by FiRez
most brainless game ever 5/10
it makes me lol
Originally Posted by Beezy
Wtf is going on in it?
generic anime girl 2/10
Originally Posted by Piper Az
weird...cannot comprehend. 5/10
Your boring story drops your grade down to an F.
Originally Posted by Shig
Interestingly enough, it's from an image of a colossal pixelated Mario. I pasted the full image in an avatar-sized template with the intent to center and resize the Mario part of the image, but this portion of the picture (which I hardly even noticed before) came up perfectly centered and sized in the template. I think it looks quite classy.
I support the subject of your avatar, but execution-wise, quickly-cycling animated gifs give me horrible recollections of 1997 Geocities webpages. 4/10, sorry. :(
I don't know why, but I like it. 8/10
Originally Posted by tehjaybo
lol trek 7/10
Love that group 10/10
Originally Posted by Ronabo
Akemi ?
Even though I haven't seen the anime in maybe 10 years :lol
Edit: stupid connection! As for the avatar above I say 9.1/10 I like the concept
Nah...I like it. 7/10.
7/10 meh
anime sucks 1/10
Originally Posted by Piper Az
teh Winnah! for a prize, i'll give you 11/10
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