text:
Posts Tagged 'AGCO'
Massey Ferguson Wins Award for Long Standing Contribution to Zambia's Development
Massey Ferguson has been recognised by the government of Zambia for its enduring contribution to the country's commercial development.
Vice President, Guy Scott presented the farm machinery manufacturer with the Award for Long Standing Brand at Zambia's 50th Anniversary Independence Ball in Lusaka.
Massey Ferguson tractors, harvesting machinery and farm equipment have been helping to develop the country's agriculture for over 60 years. Today, the brand and its familiar red-liveried machines continue to play a major role in Zambian farming.
MF tractors are the country's top selling models with an estimated 20% market share. Massey Ferguson is also an integral part of AGCO's Future Farm and Training Centre initiative based at Chalimbana near Lusaka.
"This Award Ball gives the government an opportunity to congratulate individuals, families, companies and brands on their impact on the economic, social, historical and financial development of our country," commented Vice President Scott. He said that the government wished to recognise and commend those who have demonstrated "prolonged existence and performance within the areas of commerce, trade and industry and, specifically, those who have maintained excellence and continuity over the years."
Receiving the award on behalf of Massey Ferguson, Sue Chuzu, Marketing and Communications Manager, AGCO Zambia said: "It's a great honour and privilege for us to receive the award. We would like to thank the farmers who have supported Massey Ferguson throughout its long presence in Zambia and also the Zambian government for creating a conducive environment which has helped agriculture to thrive."
Massey Ferguson was one of only four organisations to receive the Long Standing Brand Award
AGCO Joins National Technician Accreditation Scheme
AGCO is pleased to announce that technicians employed by dealerships handling one or more of its four principal machinery brands within the United Kingdom and Ireland will be able to register on a nationally-recognised technician accreditation scheme developed and backed by the AEA and IAgrE, with support from BAGMA.
Known as the Landbased Technician Accreditation scheme (LTA), the programme has become available to all AGCO dealer technicians following independent assessment and accreditation of the training and facilities provided by AGCO to technicians supporting its Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra farm machinery brands.
The move to have AGCO's training programmes recognised at a national level, accredited to the same standards of other leading farm machinery manufacturers and suppliers, was spearheaded by Freddie Pullan, Manager, Technical Training UK and Ireland for AGCO Ltd.
"The LTA Scheme provides a clear and accepted means of benchmarking, monitoring and assessing the competence of technicians employed nationwide within the landbased sector," commented Mr Pullan. "AGCO was keen to ensure that the training it provides to technicians employed by Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra dealers matched this standard, providing a clear and documented career path for AGCO apprentices and technicians wishing to progress within the agricultural engineering industry."
In consultation with scheme administrator, IAgrE, AGCO's training programmes were scrutinised and fine-tuned to ensure that they satisfied the accreditation criteria laid down by the LTA scheme. Independent assessment was carried out on behalf of IAgrE by consultant, David Kershner, with accreditation centre approval being granted to AGCO, taking effect in September 2014.
Agricultural engineers employed by AGCO dealers are now able to follow a nationally-recognised four-tier progression from apprentice (LTA1) through to master technician (LTA4), passing through technician (LTA2) and advanced technician (LTA3) tiers as they progress.
Upward movement from one tier to the next involves satisfactory completion of a range of general and product-specific training courses across a number of different categories, as laid down by the LTA scheme. All technicians attaining LTA3 standard become eligible for IAgrE membership and Engineering Technician (Eng Tech) registration, on payment of an annual fee.
"AGCO is committed to supporting an initiative which provides encouragement and recognition for dealers and technicians who voluntarily commit to continual professional development." commented Mr Pullan. "We believe that the Landbased Technician Accreditation scheme will bring sustained improved efficiencies within dealers' service departments and further boost customers' perceptions and confidence in technicians working on their tractors and other farm machines,"
"We are delighted that AGCO has joined the LTA scheme," commented Alastair Taylor, chief executive of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE). "The move will give service engineering technicians employed across the AGCO network the opportunity to gain professional recognition nationwide for their important work.
"We very much look forward to welcoming AGCO's first LTA3 technicians as members of IAgrE as well as handling their registration as Engineering Technicians with the Engineering Council. It is only right and proper that skilled technicians performing such important work are recognised as professionals. We believe that AGCO customers will reap the benefit of having their farm machinery serviced by technicians who are at the top of their game."
AGCO Dealer Bryant Tractors Celebrates 35 Years of Service in New Zealand's Northland Region
From the Auckland Harbour Bridge to the northern-most tip of the New Zealand, AGCO dealer Bryant Tractors has proudly served the Northland Farming industry for 35 years.
From humble beginnings employing just four people, the locally owned Whangarei business owned and operated by Murray Bale and Keith Martin is the largest independent agricultural dealership in New Zealand's Northland region.
Celebrating their success and thanking their loyal and large customer base, the Bryant Tractor team invited over 320 guests to a function at Whangarei's Toll stadium.
Guests enjoyed a buffet dinner, live entertainment and listened to the inspirational story of New Zealand Paralympic champion swimmer, Cameron Leslie.
The spacious facilities of the Northlands Rugby Union home ground also allowed Bryant tractors to display a large range of the latest AGCO products which guest were able mill around while catching up over a social drink or two.
Congratulating the Bryant Tractors team for their long history of service, Guest Speaker AGCO NZ Manager Peter Scott outlined AGCO's Vision of the Future and an overview of the NZ tractor market.
Commenting after the event, Peter said "Bryant Tractors has been a fixture in the local agricultural industry for a generation, consistently providing the Northland region with professional service and support and offering a range of AGCO products that meet the demands of modern farming practices in New Zealand."
Attending the event customers Ian and Coleen Taylor took the opportunity to pass on their best wishes to Murray and Bryant tractors staff.
"We thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the machinery Bryant Tractors had on display, it is amazing what a change there has been even in our lifetime! We were very interested to hear the story of AGCO, its impressive results, with such rapid growth throughout the world. We look forward to seeing what is coming off the production line next," Ian and Coleen Taylor said.
Murray and Keith thanked their customers and made special mention of past and current staff who have contributed to the success of Bryant Tractors including co-founder Bill Bryant.
AGCO congratulates Bryant Tractors for 35 years of dedicated professional service and looks forward continuing a successful partnership in the vibrant New Zealand agricultural industry.
Vision of the Future – Melbourne, Australia 2014
Vision of the Future, Melbourne 2014, showcased Massey Ferguson's range of machinery and technology solutions for grounds care applications right through to modern broad acre farming operations.
With 4,500m2 of exhibition space and over 80 display units, information kiosks and multimedia displays all under one roof, Vision of the Future was a great opportunity for agricultural operators across the APAC region to see the latest in Massey Ferguson products and Fuse technologies before the busy Harvest period.
Running over three days, the event unveiled new Massey Ferguson products as part of a wider global release.
Vision of the Future – Melbourne featured a glimpse of the new generation of Massey Ferguson products now available in Australia and New Zealand, including the New 74-82 HP MF4700 Global Series and Massey Ferguson's most powerful tractor yet, the new 270-370 HP MF8700 Series.
260 Massey Ferguson dealers from across the region along with over 400 customers were also introduced to the global series concept, unique in the farm machinery industry and a major component of Massey Ferguson's Vision of the Future.
Massey Ferguson's parent company, AGCO has already started the Global Series investment in new facilities and systems that will create a highly flexible network of manufacturing plants, enabling major units and complete tractors to be produced and assembled at multiple locations throughout the world to meet the demands of local markets.
"This is an exciting time for Massey Ferguson and our customers as we embark on a new generation of products that offer features and quality that will make them very attractive to Australian and New Zealand farmers and operators," says Simon Hole, Director of Marketing, AGCO Australia.
Product specialists, parts specialists, dealers and finance representatives were available with the latest information and product knowledge about the exciting Massey Ferguson range and the future of Global Series.
Also featured at the event was the exciting and ongoing development in technology products.
Taking the central stage across the three day event, Fuse technology Product Manager Jeremy Duniam outlined the huge benefits of technologies currently available on Massey Ferguson products and the enormous market potential these products have, as well as their positive impact on the profitability and efficiency of farming worldwide.
"Fuse is a new generational open approach to precision agriculture for Massey Ferguson products. Fuse connects the entire crop cycle from enterprise planning to planting, crop care, and harvesting and grain storage. For Massey Ferguson customers it means access to seamless advance technology and data management that can be integrated into their current operations and service providers with immediate benefits and improvements in efficiencies into the future. It is an exciting time for advanced technologies", Jeremy said.
Dealers and customers also got the opportunity to be amongst the first people in the world to test drive the new MF4700 Global Series, with several MF4708 models available at an off site testing location.
The Vision of the Future event was a huge success and the Massey Ferguson team at AGCO Australia thanks all APAC attendees, many of whom travelling from around Asia Pacific, New Zealand and regional Australia, for their positive participation in the event.
New AGCO Dealer Dedicated to Supporting Innovation in Local Farming
Farmers and contractors in the Wimmera region of Western Victoria, Australia have a new partner supporting their businesses.
Traction AG has been appointed as the AGCO Dealer for the export focussed broad acre district that produces cereal, pulse and oilseed crops as well as some livestock.
New Dealer Principals Kym Grosser, Frank Delahunty and Peter Blair combine a vast range of expertise with backgrounds in engineering, machinery sales, business and farming. The Traction AG team have over 150 years of experience and are passionate about machinery that delivers performance, efficiency and productivity.
Celebrating the opening of the Horsham premises, 160 local farmers and contractors were invited to enjoy a social evening and meet with the Traction AG staff and AGCO representatives.
The event was a great opportunity for attendees to see the exciting AGCO range of products and speak with Traction AG staff and AGCO representatives about innovations and technology that can help them drive efficiencies in their farming operations.
AGCO Area Sales Manager West Victoria, Chris Browne was impressed with the increasing interest in efficient farming practices.
"It was great to see some new and familiar faces at the event and hear a lot of positive views on the increasing importance of technology and improved efficiencies in farming practices in the Wimmera region. There is a lot of enthusiasm for products that tick all the boxes in broad acre farming which is increasingly about economies of scale", said Chris Browne,
Traction AG Business Manager Will de Fégely was keen to catch up with guests and also spoke of the increasing significance local farmers are giving to efficient farming systems
"It was a good opportunity for farmers to meet our staff and get a look at our new premises as well as the range of AGCO products. The region has increasing demand for technology that will drive down costs in broad acre farming. With our Horsham and Nhill branches, we are looking forward to meeting this demand for a complete product range that exceeds the expectations of customers and is backed up by reliable service support and a global parts network", Will said.
Traction AG is set to open their Nhill branch in October during the Nhill Show. The team is looking forward to a bright future supporting the Wimmera farming community with products and service support that meet the demands of modern operators in the region.


text:
Clarke hoping to lure PSG's Lugano to West Brom
West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke wants defender Diego Lugano at The Hawthorns.
The 32-year old Uruguay captain is keen to depart Paris Saint-Germain this summer and has reportedly opened talks with the Baggies about the possibility of heading to England's West Midlands.
Former Fenerbahce star Lugano was sent on loan to Malaga last season and is keen to leave Paris permanently.
"What else can I say? There is nothing to say yet. I will return to PSG and do the pre-season with the intention of leaving," he told Urugol earlier this month.
"I haven't decided where yet. I will return to France, but I will be trying to leave."
Click here to reach the No1 destination for hard news and exciting gossip on West Bromwich Albion

subset: commoncrawl


text:
WASUSA is broken down into three Regional Point Organizations: Western, Central and Eastern. Below you will find a map of the USA color-coded according to our three regions.
Mike Boone: email@example.com
Melinda Chappell: email@example.com
Click on the "Buy Now" button for the $675 installment. Please note that there is a transaction fee from Paypal equal to 2.2% + .30/transaction. The total deducted for this transaction will be $690.50.


text:
Volleyball: Vero Beach wins fifth consecutive district title
FORT PIERCE — Winning district championships is becoming second nature for Vero Beach High School's volleyball team, but it still has a special feeling.
Subscribe to TCPalm
Ready to subscribe to TCPalm? Choose between a Premium or Digital subscription below.
Need Help? Call us at 1-877-710-6180.
Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm / Saturday: 6:30am-10:30am / Sunday: 7am-11am


text:
January 2013, TruckingInfo.com - Department
By Don Jerrell, HNI
HNI's Don Jerrell shares what he learned about DataQs (FMCSA's method of challenging erroneous CSA points) at a recent ATA Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council meeting.
Tags: Compliance, CSA, DataQ, HNI
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
The expert, Mark Betner from CITGO, will answer your questions
The expert, Rence Oliphant from Hendrickson, will answer your questions
TruckTech+ Provides Diagnostics to Fleets and Dealers
ALK Adds HOS Manager to PC Miler
Wisconsin Releases 511 Travel Information App
VentAiRator Vented Visors


text:
Toggle navigation
About the Museum
il Fools
April Fool Archive
Origin of April Fool's Day
Top 100 April Fools
April Fool FAQ
10 Worst April Fools
Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
Instant Color TV Hoax
Eruption of Mt Edgecumbe
San Serriffe
Taco Liberty Bell
Satirical Art Hoaxes
Loch Ness Monster
Student Pranks
Satirical Candidates
Tall-Tale Creatures
Hoax Photos
Hoax Photo Archive
Hoax Photo Tests
Fake Viral Images
Deleted Details
Real Photos (that look fake)
• Middle Ages
• Early Modern
• 1700s
• 1800s-1840s
• 1850s-1890s
• 1900s
• 1910s
• 1920s
• 1930s
• 1940s
• 1950s
• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s
• 21st Century
• 2014
Hoax Museum Blog: Identity/Imposters
The Fix-a-Flat Faker —
When a doctor starts injecting bathroom caulk into your buttocks, I think that's a good sign he/she isn't entirely on the up-and-up.
Fake Fix-a-Flat nurse arrested, charged with manslaughter in Fla. client's death
BROWARD — Oneal Morris, the transgender woman charged in two counties with injecting people seeking fuller figures with a toxic concoction which included Fix-a-Flat, on Thursday was charged with manslaughter in the death of a Broward County client. Morris,…
Fri Jul 27, 2012
Comments (1)
Was Abby Farle a Chick-fil-A sock puppet? —
Wikipedia defines a
sock puppet
as "an online identity used for purposes of deception." And it looks like the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A just got caught red-handed using one. The sock puppet in question was one "Abby Farle" whose Facebook profile picture showed her to be a teenage girl. But there were some odd things about Abby. For a start, her Facebook account was only created a day ago, and during her brief time on Facebook her sole activity appeared to be defending…
Wed Jul 25, 2012
Comments (4)
The Crown Prince Regent of Thulia, 1954 —
In February 1954, Gerald Wayne Barnes, a 26-year-old dishwasher, was arrested and charged with forging his employer's name on checks. Barnes offered an unusual defense. He didn't deny the crime, but he insisted that the Santa Monica superior court had no jurisdiction over him because he was the Crown Prince Regent of Thulia — a vast kingdom stretching from Kansas to the Oregon Coast (but not including land south of San Francisco). Barnes claimed that this kingdom had been given to his…
Thu Jun 28, 2012
Comments (1)
Forest Boy Confirmed as a Hoax —
Quite a few have suspected "Forest Boy" might be a hoax, ever since he showed up at a youth emergency center in Berlin
last year
(Sep 5, 2011). He said he had been living in the woods with his father for the past five years. That story, authorities have now determined, is false. He's actually a 20-year-old man from the Netherlands who went missing a few days before showing up in Berlin. His real name is Robin van Helsum. He was IDed by former classmates after his picture was recently…
Fri Jun 15, 2012
Comments (1)
The Script Kiddies Strike Again —
There's a long history of hoaxers finding ways to slip fake stories into newspapers. Back in 1864 Joseph Howard tried to
manipulate the New York stock market
by sending fake Associated Press telegrams to newspaper offices. The telegrams claimed Lincoln had decided to conscript an extra 400,000 men into the Union army. Several papers printed the fake news. The stock market panicked, because the news suggested the Civil War was going to drag on for a lot longer, and Howard (who had…
Mon Sep 12, 2011
Comments (1)
Mr. Man on the Street Strikes Again —
I wrote about Greg Packer, aka the phony Man on the Street, in
Hippo Eats Dwarf
: In 2003, media critics noticed that the same man kept popping up time after time in "man on the street" interviews. Greg Packer, a highway maintenance worker from upstate New York, was quoted by The New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the London Times, and other publications. He also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. But he was always…
Thu Nov 05, 2009
Comments (1)
Wanted: Serial Fake Student Gary Stearley —
First Coast News
: Notre Dame law students were sent an e-mail from Notre Dame officials on Friday stating a person identifying himself as Gary Stearley is posing as a law student and is not actually enrolled at the university... Gary Stearley has been involved in fake identity scams before and Notre Dame police suspect this is the same person... Stearley was arrested back in 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida for impersonating a physician's assistant, as well as trespassing and…
Tue Nov 03, 2009
Comments (2)
Another fake cancer victim —
Yet another cancer hoaxer unmasked. Jonathan Jay White claimed to be a 15-year-old from Idaho suffering from Anaplastic Astrocytoma (a kind of brain cancer). He gained a lot of supporters online, including Lance Armstrong, who sent him a number of gifts. But it now appears that Jonathan Jay White never existed. Details at
Wed Jul 22, 2009
Comments (1)
Vinayak Gorur, sous chef —
On May 13, 2009 the Ahwatukee Foothills News ran an
about Vinayak Gorur, a local guy who, at the age of 21, had become the youngest ever sous chef at the upscale Compass Restaurant in downtown Phoenix. But a few days ago, the paper ran an
, admitting that Gorur wasn't really a sous chef at the Compass. Gorur had invented the entire tale. Why isn't clear. A few things evidently went wrong in the paper's fact checking process. First, they never called the Compass…
Mon Jul 20, 2009
Comments (14)
Another case of a phony veteran —
Jack Livesey claimed he was in the Parachute regiment of the British Army, did five tours of duty in Northern Ireland, and won a military medal. He was a guest of honor at the 25th anniversary commemorations of the Falklands War. But the British Ministry of Defense says, "Jack Livesey (DOB 15/05/54) only served in the British Army in the Army Catering Corps from December 1971 until April 1974." Livesey also claims he was a miltary adviser to Saving Private Ryan, though he wasn't paid…
Fri Jul 03, 2009
Comments (4)
Woman insists she isn't a man —
Shifa Patel wore a full-length robe and hijab to her job as a secretary at a Muslim Girls' school in Lancashire. This concealed her features. But when pictures of her dressed in a shirt and trousers began to circulate at the school, concerned parents thought she looked like a man and demanded she be fired. Patel insisted she wasn't
faking her gender
, that she really was a woman, and even had a doctor's certificate to prove it. But to no avail. The complaints continued, and she…
Mon Jun 22, 2009
Comments (4)
Castro's son hoaxed by fake woman —
Fidel Castro's son, Antonio Castro, has learned the hard way the truth of the saying, "On the internet, the men are men, the women are men, and the children are FBI agents." A cuban exile, Luis Dominguez, created a fake online persona -- "Claudia, a 27-year-old Colombian sports journalist" -- and used it to conduct an online relationship with Castro's son. He did it, he said, to expose the opulent lifestyle of the Castros.
From the BBC:
Claudia made contact with Antonio and they…
Wed Jun 17, 2009
Comments (3)
Online Pseuicides —
Howard Swains recently reported in
on the phenomenon of
fake online deaths
. He writes: Many online tales of death and suffering are works of complete fiction, "pseuicides" dressed up as real-life catastrophes. Some are contrived to titillate or garner attention, some result from something more serious, and some are the result of a uniquely modern psychiatric disorder known as Munchausen by internet. And: In two investigations between 2007 and 2009, I encountered countless…
Tue Jun 09, 2009
Comments (7)
The Next Mr. Rogers? —
18-year-old Michael Kinsell has a dream of being the next Mr. Rogers. Last year he started telling people at his school that he was filming a show called
Michael's Enchanted Neighborhood
, and that it was going to be aired on PBS. The show was modeled closely on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
From pointweekly.com:
Each show will begin much as Mr. Rogers' did, with Kinsell singing a song, "It's a Lovely Day Today to Play," as he puts on a sweater and sneakers. Then a "neighbor," such as an…
Fri Jun 05, 2009
Comments (3)
Disgusting Fake Doctor —
A man has been arrested in Spain for posing as a fake doctor. He was performing breast and buttock augmentations in his home, which was reported to be filthy (full of numerous pets). Plus, he was using veterinary tools to inject liquid silicone. The reason real surgeons haven't used liquid silicone since the 1960s is because it can cause discoloration, open sores, and gangrene. [
Fri Apr 17, 2009
Comments (11)
Homeless Decoys —
The City of Toronto plans to pay 100 people $100 each to
pose as homeless people
for a day. Each person will first attend a 30-minute training seminar on how to convincingly look homeless. The reason: the decoys will act as a "control measure" during the city's upcoming survey of the homeless population. I guess I don't sufficiently understand the methodology of conducting surveys, because this doesn't make any sense to me.
Mon Mar 23, 2009
Comments (16)
The Dalai Lama Twitters and then is gone —
February 1:
The Dalai Lama joins the micro-blogging service Twitter and starts posting updates, which soon almost 20,000 people are following.
February 9:
Twitter announces that the Dalai Lama's account is a fake and cancels it. This
explanatory message
was posted on the Twitter blog: One of the essential doctrines of Buddhism is Impermanence. The word expresses the notion that everything we can experience through our senses is in flux, constantly changing, and ceasing to be—nothing…
Wed Feb 11, 2009
Comments (4)
New York Times Hoaxed —
The NY Times apologized for printing an email from the Mayor of Paris in which he criticized Caroline Kennedy's bid for Clinton's senate seat. You see, it's easy to put a fake email address in the "From" field, so it's the Times's policy to always check that the person who seems to have sent them an email actually did so. But they didn't do that in this case, and now the Mayor is denying he wrote the email. The Times is "reviewing procedures" to make sure something like this doesn't…
Tue Dec 23, 2008
Comments (2)
Fictitious McCain Adviser Exposed —
Martin Eisenstadt, who describes himself as a former campaign adviser to John McCain and a Senior Fellow of the Harding Institute, has been in the news a lot lately. First it was for outing himself as the guy who leaked the story about Palin not knowing Africa was a continent. Now it's for being non-existent. The
NY Times
has the details. Turns out that Eisenstadt is a fictitious character created by two filmmakers, Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish. Media outlets fooled: MSNBC, The New…
Thu Nov 13, 2008
Comments (8)
McElhone in movie about James Barry —
The Guardian reports
that Natasha McElhone is slated to play Dr. James Barry in an upcoming film to be titled
Heaven and Earth
. Barry was the nineteenth-century British woman who disguised herself as a man in order to become a doctor. (See my post from
earlier this year
.) The film is apparently focusing on the rumored romance between Barry and Lord Somerset: James Purefoy, recently seen as Mark Antony in the TV series Rome, will play Lord Somerset, a diplomat who sacrifices his…
Tue Sep 23, 2008
Comments (1)
Page 1 of 8 pages
Last ›
Dedicated to the exploration of hoaxes, mischief, and misinformation throughout history.
Categories & Galleries
April Fool's Day
Art Hoaxes
Fake Viral Images
Hoax Photo Test
Loch Ness Monster
Student Pranks
More »
Follow Us
Get updates by email:
via Feedburner
All text Copyright © 2015 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.


text:
The 'Working for Free' Debate From One Artist
Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm Pat Pope and I'm addicted to reading negative comments and abuse hurled at me on the Internet. For the sake of my own sanity, this is me going cold turkey.
Last week I made the mistake of writing one of those open letters you hear about. I wrote it in response to a request from Garbage's management company that they'd like my permission to use a photo that I took and I own in a book they intend to publish and sell for money. But they'd like to not pay me.
Since it went out on the Internet, it's caused a huge debate, and within that debate I've been called a "whiney weener", a "sh*tty douchebag", and an "egomaniac", and I've been encouraged to "watch your back" because "we will find you".
I found it quite hard to read those comments, not least because I'm English and I'm not sure what two of them actually mean. For the sake of balance, I've also been described as an "Internet warrior" and someone who is "standing up for the little guy", so it wasn't all terrifying, some of it was just a bit mad.


text:
It's not Christmas until you put up the tree. We loaded up this weekend and went out to get the tree for my humble little abode. Cold blue skies and a stiff north breeze had no effect on our disposition other than to make cheeks rosy and prompt a pinched grin once the deed was […]
Tag Archives | ornament
Make a holiday memory
By Floyd Ingram | 9:30 AM | December 12, 2013 | Business, Living, News, Opinion
- Largemouth bass regulation could change on area lakes, reservoirs June 23, 2015
- Houston ponders budget shortfall June 25, 2015
- CDF hosts fishing rodeo at Legion Lake June 25, 2015
- Hood passes gavel at NAAG convention June 26, 2015
- Supreme Court extends same-sex marriage nationwide June 26, 2015
- GED offered at WIN, Excel June 29, 2015
- Chickasaw jobless rate plummets June 29, 2015
- FLOYD INGRAM: Giving your very best June 28, 2015
- Roberts is Miss Mississippi, Molly May named to Top 10 June 28, 2015
- TWO TOOTS: 2015 Business Of The Year June 28, 2015
- Daniel Drown: Great article about this timeless masterpiece that...
- Greg Schmidt: This is good news because this is one of the most ...
- Barbara Swanson: I found this amazing site to make a living online....
- Kansas and Mississippi become 8th and 9th states to allow carrying without a permit - Crime Prevention Research Center: […] The Kansas and Mississippi governors hav...
- Tg007.net: if you want the town to grow stop taxing the busin...
aberdeen amory Army arrest Baptist Baseball basketball Bruce business Calhoun City Calhoun County chickasaw Chickasaw County Christmas city County Court crime education Eupora featured fire floyd football houlka Houston ICC ingram Jones Mantee Mississippi Money Moore MSU Okolona police Pontotoc Prairie school schools Smith Tupelo Vardaman west point Woodland


text:
Articles in the Korean news and entertainment Category
Korean culture, arts and heritage, Korean movies »
pay per click advertising
Since the late 1990s, Korean film industry has made startling progress, and is now Korean movies enjoying unprecedented popularity. While Hollywood movies dominate over 80% of the world movie market, Korea is one of few countries which is capable of both movie production and distribution.
Korean movies
Up to the mid-1990s, the Korean movies industry had barely maintained a minimum share of audiences under the screen-quota system, which required Korean movies theater to show domestic films for a minimum number of days each year. However, beginning with …
Korean songs and lyrics, Super Junior »
Korean Songs and Lyrics: Super Junior – No Other. A bubbly and romantic song featured in Super Junior Vol. 4 Bonamana (Repackage Version). Ever since beginning promotions with No Other last week, there has been nothing but positive comments. This song certainly brings back the memories especially for fans who loved their songs like Haengbok in the past. You can learn Korean language through Korean songs and lyrics too! How can you not fall in love with them after watching this music video (if you haven't)?
Korean songs and lyrics, Super Junior »
Korean Songs and Lyrics: Super Junior K.R.Y – Coagulation. A very touch song featured in Super Junior fourth album, Super Junior Vol. 4 Bonamana. Sporting hot new looks for the highly anticipated comeback, this time the group has created their own genre dubbed "SJ Funky" to describe their groovy main track BONAMANA composed by Yoo Young Jin. Don't forget! You can learn Korean language through Korean songs and lyrics too! Check out the song and music video below…
Korean news and entertainment »
Korean news and entertainment »
The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) announced Sunday (Mar. 14) it will build a green building that emits zero carbon exhaust in Seo-gu district of Incheon. This so-called zero-emission building will produce its own environment-friendly, renewable energy to be used for heating and cooling and running the place…
Korean news and entertainment »
The National Bike Association under the 'National Council of Sports for All' (President, Yu Chun Jae) presents the '2010 Jeju International Bike Challenge' on the sub-tropical island of Jeju, South Korea from March 27th to 28th. Participants will race along the 200㎞ coastal road that winds along the edge of this beautiful volcanic island. The racing course for the competition is the best of its kind, encompassing the coastal road of Jeju and the Hallasan Mountain path located 1100m above sea level…
Girls Generation, Korean songs and lyrics »
Korean songs and lyrics: Girls Generation – Oh! Well, the following video may cause you to sing, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! oppareul saranghae
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! mani mani hae" to random people. (p/s: I like the ending) Girls Generation Vol. 2 – Oh! which was release on 28 January 2010. Girls Generation dominated 2009 with their mega hits Gee and Genie and now they're setting off a whole new K-pop craze with their second full-length album Vol. 2 – Oh!
Korean songs and lyrics »
Korean songs and lyrics: Kyuhyun – 7 Years Love. Well, after listen to Kyuhyun – Listen…to you (Pasta OST), this is another song sung by Kyuhyun. Korean boy band Super Junior's one and only mangnae, Kyuhyun sang the song "7 years' love" in the 20th anniversary album of Yoo Youngseok. Do you have 7 years long love experience? It was quite hard for Kyuhyun the first time he recorded the song (read more in Bugs Music Interview). However, he sounded great, with his powerful and expression-filled vocals…
Korean movies »
Korean movie: "Jumunjin" is year 2010 movie of great director Ha Myeong Joong. The movie was intended to film last year and released in this summer, however, because of some problems, it was released on January 21, 2010. The movie is named after the Korean town Jumunjin in northeastern Gangneung City, Gangwon-do, South Korea (movie will be based in the town of Jumunjin). It is about a love story between 3 people who live in Jumujin, but there will be some modification in the plot because of the filming delay…
Korean news and entertainment »
Interview with Super Junior Kyuhyun: Korean drama OST – Pasta OST (Bugs music). During the first broadcast of Korean drama: Pasta, Kyuhyun aroused the sensibility of the home theater viewers with "Listen…to you", which is the main title track for characters Choi Hyunwook (Lee Sunkyun) and Seo Yookyung (Gong Hyojin) inserted as their Love Theme. Kyuhyun's sweet, mellow voice is in a perfect harmony with the lyrics, which are about a man's heart that's always carefully listening to the story of his loved one…


text:
A blog devoted to the band RUSH: Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson
Tue, Jun 30, 2015
In just a couple of weeks on March 1st, a special Clockwork Angels: Watchmaker's Edition of the audiobook for Clockwork Angels: The Novel will be released. The special package is designed by Hugh Syme and contains the unabridged audiobook along with a WORKING clocktower . Author Kevin J. Anderson received his author's copy and just posted a detailed description along with photos over at his blog:
... The seven CDs of the novel are specially packaged, and include a special booklet created by Hugh Syme and me, a Rush/KJA/Clockwork Angels timeline, a mini poster ("I can't stop thinking big"), and a full-color clocktower to hold it all. Neil just wrote today to say "It really is a nice piece of work. Prettier than I could have hoped, from every side, and inside, too. Fine materials and finishes. The individual CD jackets are lovely, and the Timeline is a clever touch. I am proud of this piece of work. (And it does keep good time!)" ...
The special Clockwork Angels: Watchmaker's Edition releases on March 1st and is now available for pre-order through Amazon at this location.
-- Back to Top of Page --
Follow Rush is a Band:
Facebook |
Twitter |
RSS Feed
Blog |
Blog Archive |
Rush Tour |
Rush Albums/Lyrics |
Rush Merchandise |
Contact |
Donate |
Links |
About |
Poll Archive |
Site Search |
Privacy Policy


text:
to explore
sign up (free!)
Also on these boards
Related Pins
Love this plaid + sheer polka dot combination. Been tinkering with dress ideas in this combination since yesterday! Looks like I'm on track. Balmain.
Balmain Spring 2014 - Details blue and gold quilted dress with trumpet skirt and gold details
Balmain Spring 2014 RTW - Details - Paris Fashion Week - Runway, Fashion Shows and Collections - Vogue // beautiful blue pattern


text:
to Raye6696 & combatcutie
to Raye6696 & combatcutie
Happy birthday Raye6696 & combatcutie . have a wonderful day
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person
-Andy Rooney-
Happy birthday, Raye6696 & combatcutie!
Current Pools: Masterchef 6
Upcoming Pools: So You Think You Can Dance 12 (July 20), Big Brother 17 , Face Off 9 (July 28), America's Got Talent 10
Pool Participants: Get your reality show report card here!
Yearbook Title, Spring 2015: The FORT's Amazing Spreadsheet Wizard & Avatar Artist
OMG, that cake looks AH-MAZING!!! My mouth is watering looking at it!
Happy, Happy Birthday!!
Sending very Happy Birthday wishes to Raye6696 & combatcutie!!! Hope both of you are having a great day!!!
Happy birthdays!
Count your blessings!
Happy Happy Birthdays!!!!
... and the combat cake is amazing! Take a big bite!
"The way to become boring is to say everything." Voltaire
" The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. "
Mohandas Gandhi


text:
An exemplary method includes detecting a change in position, measuring cardiac output after the detecting a change in position and, based at least in part on the measuring cardiac output, deciding whether to increase a cardiac pacing rate. An exemplary method may rely on activity in lieu of or in addition to position to decide whether to increase a cardiac pacing rate. Various exemplary methods aim to compensate for orthostatic effects such as those associated with dysautonomia. Various other exemplary methods are disclosed along with various exemplary devices, systems, etc.
1. A method of controlling a cardiac pacing rate, said method comprising:
detecting a change in position;
upon detecting a change in position, initiate adjusting the cardiac pacing rate, wherein an adjustment of the cardiac pacing rate is characterized by a rate of change as a function of time;
measuring cardiac output after the detecting a change in position; and
based at least in part on the measuring cardiac output, deciding whether to adjust the rate of change of the cardiac pacing rate.
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. The method of
8. The method of
9. The method of
10. The method of
11. A method of controlling a cardiac pacing rate, said method comprising:
detecting a change in activity;
upon detecting a change in activity, initiate adjusting the cardiac pacing rate, wherein an adjustment of the cardiac pacing rate is characterized by a rate of change as a function of time;
measuring cardiac output after the detecting a change in activity; and
based at least in part on the measuring cardiac output, deciding whether to adjust the rate of change of the cardiac pacing rate.
12. The method of
13. The method of
14. An implantable pacing apparatus comprising:
a sensor operative to detect movement of a patient;
a pacing circuit to deliver pacing stimuli to the patient at a cardiac pacing rate;
a sensing circuit to acquire information related to cardiac output; and
control logic to initiate adjusting the cardiac pacing rate upon movement of the patient, wherein an adjustment of the cardiac pacing rate is characterized by a rate of change as a function of time, and to determine cardiac output upon movement of the patient, and to decide whether to adjust the rate of change of the cardiac pacing rate based on the determined cardiac output.
15. The apparatus of
16. The apparatus of
Subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to cardiac pacing and/or stimulation therapy. Various exemplary mechanisms concern compensating for orthostatic effects or dysautonomia.
Dysautonomia is highly correlated with progressive CHF and renal disease such as those due to complications of diabetes. The correlation is due in significant part to side effects of various aggressive and long-term pharmacological treatments for CHF and diabetes. For example, diuretics are a mainstay of many CHF treatment regiments and orthostatic hypotension is known to be a progressive effect of excessive diuresis. More specifically, ACE inhibitors are known to cause or to worsen orthostatic hypotension.
With respect to the mechanics of underlying various orthostatic responses, consider that, in a supine position, approximately 25% to 30% of the circulating blood resides in the thorax. When a person assumes an upright position from a supine position, a gravity-mediated downward displacement of 300 ml to 800 ml of blood occurs to the abdomen and extremities. A change to an upright position thus causes a drop in blood volume of about 25% to 30% for regions that were flush with blood in the supine position, with 50% of this change occurring typically in the first few seconds of standing. This rapid redistribution of blood causes a decline of venous return to the heart and a decrease in cardiac filling pressure. In turn, stroke volume, and therefore cardiac output, declines approximately 40% due to the decline in venous return. In a normal individual, the decreased venous return to the heart can effect circulation in a manner that triggers baroreceptors in the carotid arteries and in the aortic arch, which, in turn, stimulate a sympathetic response and inhibit a parasympathetic response. Arteriolar constriction, venous constriction, increased skeletal muscle tone, and an increased heart rate are the normal hemodynamic responses to increased sympathetic tone caused by a drop in arterial pressure and cardiac output. Orthostatic stabilization is normally achieved in one minute or less, with a gradual tapering of heart rate.
With dysautonomia, the sympathetic nervous system may fail to respond adequately to decreasing blood pressure and, consequently, heart rate may not increase. This type of failure is an example characteristic of progressing dysautonomia. A patient with an inability to adjust to such position changes (i.e., impaired orthostatic stabilization) is often diagnosed as having orthostatic hypotension. If severe or otherwise problematic, a patient may be fitted with a pacing device capable of compensating for inadequate orthostatic control.
While various pacemakers are capable of compensating for inadequate orthostatic control, usually via enhanced rate responsive pacing (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,642 and PACE 2000; 23 [Pt II]: 1809-1811, which are incorporated by reference herein), a need exists for improved mechanisms, especially for patients with progressing CHF. In particular, a need exists for algorithms that can respond to conditions prior to, during or after a change in position. As described herein, various exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., address these need or other needs.
An exemplary method includes detecting a change in position, measuring cardiac output after the detecting a change in position and, based at least in part on the measuring cardiac output, deciding whether to increase a cardiac pacing rate. An exemplary method may rely on activity in lieu of or in addition to position to decide whether to increase a cardiac pacing rate. Various exemplary methods aim to compensate for orthostatic effects such as those associated with dysautonomia. Various other exemplary methods are disclosed along with various exemplary devices, systems, etc.
In general, the various methods, devices, systems, etc., described herein, and equivalents thereof, are suitable for use in a variety of pacing therapies and/or other cardiac related therapies.
Features and advantages of the described implementations can be more readily understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The following description includes the best mode presently contemplated for practicing the described implementations. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the implementations. The scope of the described implementations should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims. In the description that follows, like numerals or reference designators are used at times to reference like parts or elements throughout the description.
Exemplary mechanisms (e.g., presented as methods, devices, systems, etc.) pertain generally to dysautonomia compensation. In particular, when a patient changes activity level or position, dysautonomia may cause or prevent proper, responsive cardiac function. Various types of dysautonomia are described as well as various exemplary mechanisms for compensation.
Exemplary Stimulation Device
The techniques described below are intended to be implemented in connection with any stimulation device that is configured or configurable to stimulate nerves and/or stimulate and/or shock a patient's heart.
The right atrial lead 104, as the name implies, is positioned in and/or passes through a patient's right atrium. The right atrial lead 104 optionally senses atrial cardiac signals and/or provide right atrial chamber stimulation therapy. As shown in
To sense atrial cardiac signals, ventricular cardiac signals and/or to provide chamber pacing therapy, particularly on the left side of a patient's heart, the stimulation device 100 is coupled to a coronary sinus lead 106 designed for placement in the coronary sinus and/or tributary veins of the coronary sinus. Thus, the coronary sinus lead 106 is optionally suitable for positioning at least one distal electrode adjacent to the left ventricle and/or additional electrode(s) adjacent to the left atrium. In a normal heart, tributary veins of the coronary sinus include, but may not be limited to, the great cardiac vein, the left marginal vein, the left posterior ventricular vein, the middle cardiac vein, and the small cardiac vein.
Accordingly, an exemplary coronary sinus lead 106 is optionally designed to receive atrial and ventricular cardiac signals and to deliver left ventricular pacing therapy using, for example, at least a left ventricular tip electrode 122, left atrial pacing therapy using at least a left atrial ring electrode 124, and shocking therapy using at least a left atrial coil electrode 126. For a complete description of a coronary sinus lead, the reader is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,254, "Coronary Sinus Lead with Atrial Sensing Capability" (Helland), which is incorporated herein by reference. The coronary sinus lead 106 further optionally includes electrodes for stimulation of autonomic nerves. Such a lead may include pacing and autonomic nerve stimulation functionality and may further include bifurcations or legs. For example, an exemplary coronary sinus lead includes pacing electrodes capable of delivering pacing pulses to a patient's left ventricle and at least one electrode capable of stimulating an autonomic nerve. An exemplary coronary sinus lead (or left ventricular lead or left atrial lead) may also include at least one electrode capable of stimulating an autonomic nerve, such an electrode may be positioned on the lead or a bifurcation or leg of the lead.
Stimulation device 100 is also shown in electrical communication with the patient's heart 102 by way of an implantable right ventricular lead 108 having, in this exemplary implementation, a right ventricular tip electrode 128, a right ventricular ring electrode 130, a right ventricular (RV) coil electrode 132, and an SVC coil electrode 134. Typically, the right ventricular lead 108 is transvenously inserted into the heart 102 to place the right ventricular tip electrode 128 in the right ventricular apex so that the RV coil electrode 132 will be positioned in the right ventricle and the SVC coil electrode 134 will be positioned in the superior vena cava. Accordingly, the right ventricular lead 108 is capable of sensing or receiving cardiac signals, and delivering stimulation in the form of pacing and shock therapy to the right ventricle. An exemplary right ventricular lead may also include at least one electrode capable of stimulating an autonomic nerve, such an electrode may be positioned on the lead or a bifurcation or leg of the lead.
Housing 200 for stimulation device 100 is often referred to as the "can", "case" or "case electrode", and may be programmably selected to act as the return electrode for all "unipolar" modes. Housing 200 may further be used as a return electrode alone or in combination with one or more of the coil electrodes 126, 132 and 134 for shocking purposes. Housing 200 further includes a connector (not shown) having a plurality of terminals 201, 202, 204, 206, 208, 212, 214, 216, 218, 221 (shown schematically and, for convenience, the names of the electrodes to which they are connected are shown next to the terminals).
To achieve right atrial sensing, pacing and/or autonomic stimulation, the connector includes at least a right atrial tip terminal (AR TIP) 202 adapted for connection to the atrial tip electrode 120. A right atrial ring terminal (AR RING) 201 is also shown, which is adapted for connection to the atrial ring electrode 121. To achieve left chamber sensing, pacing, shocking, and/or autonomic stimulation, the connector includes at least a left ventricular tip terminal (VL TIP) 204, a left atrial ring terminal (AL RING) 206, and a left atrial shocking terminal (AL COIL) 208, which are adapted for connection to the left ventricular tip electrode 122, the left atrial ring electrode 124, and the left atrial coil electrode 126, respectively. Connection to suitable autonomic nerve stimulation electrodes is also possible via these and/or other terminals (e.g., via a nerve stimulation terminal S ELEC 221).
To support right chamber sensing, pacing, shocking, and/or autonomic nerve stimulation, the connector further includes a right ventricular tip terminal (VR TIP) 212, a right ventricular ring terminal (VR RING) 214, a right ventricular shocking terminal (RV COIL) 216, and a superior vena cava shocking terminal (SVC COIL) 218, which are adapted for connection to the right ventricular tip electrode 128, right ventricular ring electrode 130, the RV coil electrode 132, and the SVC coil electrode 134, respectively. Connection to suitable autonomic nerve stimulation electrodes is also possible via these and/or other terminals (e.g., via the nerve stimulation terminal S ELEC 221).
At the core of the stimulation device 100 is a programmable microcontroller 220 that controls the various modes of stimulation therapy. As is well known in the art, microcontroller 220 typically includes a microprocessor, or equivalent control circuitry, designed specifically for controlling the delivery of stimulation therapy, and may further include RAM or ROM memory, logic and timing circuitry, state machine circuitry, and I/O circuitry. Typically, microcontroller 220 includes the ability to process or monitor input signals (data or information) as controlled by a program code stored in a designated block of memory. The type of microcontroller is not critical to the described implementations. Rather, any suitable microcontroller 220 may be used that carries out the functions described herein. The use of microprocessor-based control circuits for performing timing and data analysis functions are well known in the art.
Representative types of control circuitry that may be used in connection with the described embodiments can include the microprocessor-based control system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,052 (Mann et al.), the state-machine of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,712,555 (Thornander et al.) and 4,944,298 (Sholder), all of which are incorporated by reference herein. For a more detailed description of the various timing intervals used within the stimulation device and their inter-relationship, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,980 (Mann et al.), also incorporated herein by reference.
Microcontroller 220 further includes timing control circuitry 232 to control the timing of the stimulation pulses (e.g., pacing rate, atrio-ventricular (AV) delay, atrial interconduction (AA) delay, or ventricular interconduction (VV) delay, etc.) as well as to keep track of the timing of refractory periods, blanking intervals, noise detection windows, evoked response windows, alert intervals, marker channel timing, etc., which is well known in the art.
Microcontroller 220 further includes an arrhythmia detector 234, a morphology detector 236, and optionally a minute ventilation (MV) response module (which is not shown in
Microcontroller 220 further includes a dysautonomia module 238 for performing a variety of tasks related to compensation for dysautonomia. This component can be utilized by the stimulation device 100 for determining desirable times to administer various therapies, including, but not limited to, ventricular stimulation therapy, biventricular stimulation therapy, resynchronization therapy, atrial stimulation therapy, etc. The dysautonomia module 238 may be implemented in hardware as part of the microcontroller 220, or as software/firmware instructions programmed into the device and executed on the microcontroller 220 during certain modes of operation. Such a module may include other capabilities related to other functions that may be germane to the dysautonomia. For example, such a module may include capabilities related to analysis of IEGMs (e.g., slopes, amplitudes, etc.) and/or determining cardiac performance, especially as it may relate to one or more pacing parameters.
The electronic configuration switch 226 includes a plurality of switches for connecting the desired electrodes to the appropriate I/O circuits, thereby providing complete electrode programmability. Accordingly, switch 226, in response to a control signal 242 from the microcontroller 220, determines the polarity of the stimulation pulses (e.g., unipolar, bipolar, combipolar, etc.) by selectively closing the appropriate combination of switches (not shown) as is known in the art.
Atrial sensing circuits 244 and ventricular sensing circuits 246 may also be selectively coupled to the right atrial lead 104, coronary sinus lead 106, and the right ventricular lead 108, through the switch 226 for detecting the presence of cardiac activity in each of the four chambers of the heart. Accordingly, the atrial (ATR. SENSE) and ventricular (VTR. SENSE) sensing circuits, 244 and 246, may include dedicated sense amplifiers, multiplexed amplifiers, or shared amplifiers. Switch 226 determines the "sensing polarity" of the cardiac signal by selectively closing the appropriate switches, as is also known in the art. In this way, the clinician may program the sensing polarity independent of the stimulation polarity. The sensing circuits (e.g., 244 and 246) are optionally capable of obtaining information indicative of tissue capture.
Each sensing circuit 244 and 246 preferably employs one or more low power, precision amplifiers with programmable gain and/or automatic gain control, bandpass filtering, and a threshold detection circuit, as known in the art, to selectively sense the cardiac signal of interest. The automatic gain control enables the device 100 to deal effectively with the difficult problem of sensing the low amplitude signal characteristics of atrial or ventricular fibrillation.
The outputs of the atrial and ventricular sensing circuits 244 and 246 are connected to the microcontroller 220, which, in turn, is able to trigger or inhibit the atrial and ventricular pulse generators 222 and 224, respectively, in a demand fashion in response to the absence or presence of cardiac activity in the appropriate chambers of the heart. Furthermore, as described herein, the microcontroller 220 is also capable of analyzing information output from the sensing circuits 244 and 246 and/or the data acquisition system 252 to determine or detect whether and to what degree tissue capture has occurred and to program a pulse, or pulses, in response to such determinations. The sensing circuits 244 and 246, in turn, receive control signals over signal lines 248 and 250 from the microcontroller 220 for purposes of controlling the gain, threshold, polarization charge removal circuitry (not shown), and the timing of any blocking circuitry (not shown) coupled to the inputs of the sensing circuits, 244 and 246, as is known in the art.
For arrhythmia detection, the device 100 utilizes the atrial and ventricular sensing circuits, 244 and 246, to sense cardiac signals to determine whether a rhythm is physiologic or pathologic. In reference to arrhythmias, as used herein, "sensing" is reserved for the noting of an electrical signal or obtaining data (information), and "detection" is the processing (analysis) of these sensed signals and noting the presence of an arrhythmia. In some instances, detection or detecting includes sensing and in some instances sensing of a particular signal alone is sufficient for detection (e.g., presence/absence, etc.).
The timing intervals between sensed events (e.g., P-waves, R-waves, and depolarization signals associated with fibrillation which are sometimes referred to as "F-waves" or "Fib-waves") are then classified by the arrhythmia detector 234 of the microcontroller 220 by comparing them to a predefined rate zone limit (i.e., bradycardia, normal, low rate VT, high rate VT, and fibrillation rate zones) and various other characteristics (e.g., sudden onset, stability, physiologic sensors, and morphology, etc.) in order to determine the type of remedial therapy that is needed (e.g., bradycardia pacing, anti-tachycardia pacing, cardioversion shocks or defibrillation shocks, collectively referred to as "tiered therapy").
Cardiac signals are also applied to inputs of an analog-to-digital (A/D) data acquisition system 252. The data acquisition system 252 is configured to acquire intracardiac electrogram signals, convert the raw analog data into a digital signal, and store the digital signals for later processing and/or telemetric transmission to an external device 254. The data acquisition system 252 is coupled to the right atrial lead 104, the coronary sinus lead 106, the right ventricular lead 108 and/or the nerve stimulation lead through the switch 226 to sample cardiac signals across any pair of desired electrodes.
The microcontroller 220 is further coupled to a memory 260 by a suitable data/address bus 262, wherein the programmable operating parameters used by the microcontroller 220 are stored and modified, as required, in order to customize the operation of the stimulation device 100 to suit the needs of a particular patient. Such operating parameters define, for example, pacing pulse amplitude, pulse duration, electrode polarity, rate, sensitivity, automatic features, arrhythmia detection criteria, and the amplitude, waveshape, number of pulses, and vector of each shocking pulse to be delivered to the patient's heart 102 within each respective tier of therapy. One feature of the described embodiments is the ability to sense and store a relatively large amount of data (e.g., from the data acquisition system 252), which data may then be used for subsequent analysis to guide the programming of the device.
Advantageously, the operating parameters of the implantable device 100 may be non-invasively programmed into the memory 260 through a telemetry circuit 264 in telemetric communication via communication link 266 with the external device 254, such as a programmer, transtelephonic transceiver, or a diagnostic system analyzer (e.g., wireless communication, etc.). The microcontroller 220 activates the telemetry circuit 264 with a control signal 268. The telemetry circuit 264 advantageously allows intracardiac electrograms and status information relating to the operation of the device 100 (as contained in the microcontroller 220 or memory 260) to be sent to the external device 254 through an established communication link 266.
The stimulation device 100 can further include a physiologic sensor 270, commonly referred to as a "rate-responsive" sensor because it is typically used to adjust pacing stimulation rate according to the exercise state of the patient. However, the physiological sensor 270 may further be used to detect changes in cardiac output (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,323, entitled "Heart stimulator determining cardiac output, by measuring the systolic pressure, for controlling the stimulation", to Ekwall, issued Nov. 6, 2001, which discusses a pressure sensor adapted to sense pressure in a right ventricle and to generate an electrical pressure signal corresponding to the sensed pressure, an integrator supplied with the pressure signal which integrates the pressure signal between a start time and a stop time to produce an integration result that corresponds to cardiac output), changes in the physiological condition of the heart, or diurnal changes in activity (e.g., detecting sleep and wake states). Accordingly, the microcontroller 220 responds by adjusting the various pacing parameters (such as rate, M delay, AV delay, W delay, etc.) at which the atrial and ventricular pulse generators, 222 and 224, generate stimulation pulses. A cardiac output sensor optionally provides information to the dysautonomia module 238 for orthostatic control.
While shown as being included within the stimulation device 100, it is to be understood that the physiologic sensor 270 may also be external to the stimulation device 100, yet still be implanted within or carried by the patient. Examples of physiologic sensors that may be implemented in device 100 include known sensors that, for example, sense respiration rate, pH of blood, ventricular gradient, cardiac output, preload, afterload, contractility, hemodynamics, pressure, and so forth. Another sensor that may be used is one that detects activity variance, wherein an activity sensor is monitored diurnally to detect the low variance in the measurement corresponding to the sleep state. For a complete description of the activity variance sensor, the reader is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,483 (Bornzin et al.), issued Dec. 19, 1995, which patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
More specifically, the physiological sensors 270 optionally include sensors for detecting movement and minute ventilation in the patient. The physiological sensors 270 may include a position sensor and/or a minute ventilation (MV) sensor to sense minute ventilation, which is defined as the total volume of air that moves in and out of a patient's lungs in a minute. Signals generated by the position sensor and MV sensor are passed to the microcontroller 220 for analysis in determining whether to adjust the pacing rate, etc. The microcontroller 220 monitors the signals for indications of the patient's position and activity status, such as whether the patient is climbing upstairs or descending downstairs or whether the patient is sitting up after lying down. Such information is optionally used by the dysautonomia module 238 for orthostatic control.
The stimulation device 100 optionally includes circuitry capable of sensing heart sounds and/or vibration associated with events that produce heart sounds. Such information is optionally used by the dysautonomia module 238 for orthostatic control. Circuitry may include an accelerometer as conventionally used for patient position and/or activity determinations. Accelerometers typically include two or three sensors aligned along orthogonal axes. For example, a commercially available micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) marketed as the ADXL202 by Analog Devices, Inc. (Norwood, Mass.) has a mass of about 5 grams and a 14 lead CERPAK (approx. 10 mm by 10 mm by 5 mm or a volume of approx. 500 mm3). The ADXL202 MEMS is a dual-axis accelerometer on a single monolithic integrated circuit and includes polysilicon springs that provide a resistance against acceleration forces. The term MEMS has been defined generally as a system or device having micro-circuitry on a tiny silicon chip into which some mechanical device such as a mirror or a sensor has been manufactured. The aforementioned ADXL202 MEMS includes micro-circuitry and a mechanical oscillator.
The stimulation device additionally includes a battery 276 that provides operating power to all of the circuits shown in
The stimulation device 100 can further include magnet detection circuitry (not shown), coupled to the microcontroller 220, to detect when a magnet is placed over the stimulation device 100. A magnet may be used by a clinician to perform various test functions of the stimulation device 100 and/or to signal the microcontroller 220 that the external programmer 254 is in place to receive or transmit data to the microcontroller 220 through the telemetry circuits 264.
The stimulation device 100 further includes an impedance measuring circuit 278 that is enabled by the microcontroller 220 via a control signal 280. The known uses for an impedance measuring circuit 278 include, but are not limited to, lead impedance surveillance during the acute and chronic phases for proper lead positioning or dislodgement; detecting operable electrodes and automatically switching to an operable pair if dislodgement occurs; measuring respiration or minute ventilation; measuring thoracic impedance for determining shock thresholds; detecting when the device has been implanted; measuring stroke volume; and detecting the opening of heart valves, etc. The impedance measuring circuit 278 is advantageously coupled to the switch 226 so that any desired electrode may be used. Such impedance information is optionally used by the dysautonomia module 238 for orthostatic control.
In the case where the stimulation device 100 is intended to operate as an implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) device, it detects the occurrence of an arrhythmia, and automatically applies an appropriate therapy to the heart aimed at terminating the detected arrhythmia. To this end, the microcontroller 220 further controls a shocking circuit 282 by way of a control signal 284. The shocking circuit 282 generates shocking pulses of low (e.g., up to approximately 0.5 J), moderate (e.g., approximately 0.5 J to approximately 10 J), or high energy (e.g., approximately 11 J to approximately 40 J), as controlled by the microcontroller 220. Such shocking pulses are applied to the patient's heart 102 through at least two shocking electrodes, and as shown in this embodiment, selected from the left atrial coil electrode 126, the RV coil electrode 132, and/or the SVC coil electrode 134. As noted above, the housing 200 may act as an active electrode in combination with the RV electrode 132, or as part of a split electrical vector using the SVC coil electrode 134 or the left atrial coil electrode 126 (i.e., using the RV electrode as a common electrode). Other exemplary devices may include one or more other coil electrodes or suitable shock electrodes (e.g., a LV coil, etc.).
Cardioversion level shocks are generally considered to be of low to moderate energy level (where possible, so as to minimize pain felt by the patient), and/or synchronized with an R-wave and/or pertaining to the treatment of tachycardia. Defibrillation shocks are generally of moderate to high energy level (i.e., corresponding to thresholds in the range of approximately 5 J to approximately 40 J), delivered asynchronously (since R-waves may be too disorganized), and pertaining exclusively to the treatment of fibrillation. Accordingly, the microcontroller 220 is capable of controlling the synchronous or asynchronous delivery of the shocking pulses. Shocking optionally relies on information related to orthostatic control (e.g., whether control is failing, a change has initiated arrhythmia, etc.).
Another plot 324 of heart rate (HR) versus time indicates an abnormal response to a change in patient position (Case II: Sympathetic Failure). In moving to a prone position (C) after some duration (B) in the supine position (A), heart rate does not increase immediately. Consequently, the patient is at risk of syncope (i.e., fainting). The inadequate autonomic response (sympathetic failure) is a type of dysautonomia.
Yet another plot 328 of heart rate (HR) versus time indicates another abnormal response to a change in patient position (Case III: Excessive Sympathetic). In moving to a prone position (C) after some duration (B) in the supine position (A), heart rate increases excessively. The excessive surge in sympathetic activity, or shift to an excessively sympathetic autonomic balance, is another type of dysautonomia.
Sympathetic failure dysautonomia is very highly correlated with progressive congestive heart failure and renal disease due to complications of diabetes. Thus, as described herein, various exemplary mechanisms aim to compensate for or monitor sympathetic failure dysautonomia. Other exemplary mechanisms aim to compensate for or monitor excessive sympathetic dysautonomia. Yet other exemplary mechanisms aim to compensate for or monitor various types of dysautonomia.
In Case II (Sympathetic Failure), the lack of sympathetic activity immediately after a change to a prone position (C) causes a drop in cardiac output (CO) and a drop in blood pressure (BP). Such a sympathetic failure may be defined as "orthostatic hypotension", which is usually associated with a drop of greater than about 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure over a three minute period following a significant change in postural position or a drop of greater than about 10 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure. In patients with orthostatic hypotension, the most severe decline in cardiac output occurs in about the first 30 seconds to about one minute after a change in patient position. Various exemplary mechanisms aim to increase heart rate where sympathetic response is inadequate. For example, pacing may be used to increase heart rate or autonomic stimulation may be used to inhibit parasympathetic activity or to increase sympathetic activity.
In Case III (Excessive Sympathetic), the excessive sympathetic activity after a change to a prone position (C) causes an increase in cardiac output (CO) and an increase in blood pressure (BP). As described herein, various exemplary mechanisms aim to increase parasympathetic activity or decrease sympathetic activity to compensate for the excessive sympathetic activity. Various exemplary mechanisms aim to cause some form of AV block (optionally with ventricular pacing) to thereby slow heart rate where excessive sympathetic activity occurs.
Some conventional pacing devices implement an orthostatic hypotension algorithm to compensate for an inadequate increase in heart rate.
A block diagram of the conventional method 504 includes a monitor block 510 that monitors patient position. A decision block 520 decides if a change in position has occurred. If the patient position changes, then the method 504 enters an implementation block 530 that uses a predetermined paced heart rate schedule to adjust the paced heart rate (see, e.g., the plot 502). If the patient position does not change, then the method 504 continues to monitor patient position in the monitor block 510.
The conventional method of
The plot 602 indicates that a decision to increase paced heart rate was made (E). At this point in time, the paced heart rate may be adjusted as in the conventional algorithm 500. Alternatively, as described in more detail below, the information or analysis related to cardiac output may be used to select a schedule or otherwise adjust paced heart rate (i.e., duration or rate).
A block diagram of such an exemplary method 604 includes a monitor block 610 that monitors patient position. A decision block 620 decides if a change in position has occurred. If the patient position changes, then the method 604 monitors cardiac function in a monitor block 630. Another decision block 640 then decides if the cardiac function is OK. If the cardiac function is OK, then there is no need to increase the paced heart rate and the method 604 returns to the patient position monitoring block 610. However, if the cardiac function is not OK, then the method 604 enters an adjustment block 650 that adjusts the paced heart rate.
A block diagram of such an exemplary method 704 includes a monitor block 710 that monitors patient position. A decision block 720 decides if a change in position has occurred. If the patient position changes, then the method 704 monitors cardiac function in a monitor block 730. An adjustment block 740 follows that optionally adjusts paced heart rate. Monitoring of cardiac function continues for some period of time (see, e.g., the duration (D) in the plot 702). Another decision block 750 then decides if the cardiac function is OK. If the cardiac function is OK, then the method 704 enters a return block 760, which may implement further adjustments to paced heart rate or simply return to the monitoring block 710. However, if the cardiac function is not OK, then the method 704 continues at the adjustment block 740 to further adjust the paced heart rate.
Another plot 812 of paced heart rate (PHR) versus time indicates that a second duration (D) occurs after a patient changes position (C) where adjustment to paced heart rate commences after the first duration (B) in a linear or non-linear manner. Such adjustment to paced heart rate may rely on proportional, integral or derivative (PID) control or other form of control.
An exemplary mechanism may therefore use a feedback loop to dynamically adjust the paced heart rate depending on cardiac output as an independent variable. In such an example, as a patient moves from a rest state to an active state (e.g., as indicated by patient position or other information), and a change in cardiac output is detected, the paced heart rate delivered to the patient is adjusted to maintain the cardiac output required for an active state. Such an exemplary mechanism may alternatively aim to maintain the cardiac output that existed during the patient's rest state.
In one example, a feedback loop adjusts the next delivered pace to reduce the difference between the previous (rest state or predetermined active state) cardiac output and the presently measured cardiac output. A pacing schedule may be applied and the mechanism may determine whether the cardiac output has stabilized at a predetermined output level. If not, the mechanism may measure the next state of cardiac output, and adjusts the pacing schedule in another attempt to match and stabilize the cardiac output.
A care provider may tune such an exemplary control mechanism for the orthostatic cardiac output paced rate during tilt testing for the patient. For example, during tilt testing, a care provider may produce orthostatic hypotension responses from the patient. In this example, a number of initial hypotension events can be used to tune a proportional gain factor (Kp); a number of next hypotension events can be used to adjust a derivative gain factor (Td), which acts to dampen overshoot of the proportional control; and, hypotension events can be used to adjust an integral gain factor (1/Ti) for purposes of final value offset. A care provider may repeat such a process one or more times, until the PID controller accurately and quickly responds to the orthostatic hypotension event.
In general, tuning of a PID controller may start by removing all integral and derivative action (i.e., setting Td=0 and 1/Ti=0). The proportional gain factor (i.e., Kp) can then be tuned to give a desired response, ignoring any final value offset from the set-point. A further increase in the proportional gain factor may be made and then the derivative factor tuned to dampen overshoot. Next, the integral gain factor may be adjusted to remove any final value offset. The process may be repeated as necessary to achieve as large as possible proportional gain.
If the decision block 914 decides that the measured cardiac output is not "on target", i.e., too large of an error exists between the target value and the measured value, then the method continues in an adjustment block 918 that adjusts paced heart rate. A delivery block 922 follows that delivers a pace to the heart according to the paced heart rate of the adjustment block 918. The method 900 then continues at the continuation block 926. Further loops may occur as required.
In general, if an orthostatic response (OSR) rate parameter is programmed to a value other than "off", an exemplary implantable device such as the device 100 performs according to the exemplary scheme 1000.
With respect to the wait state 1010, in a state set block 1002, the state is set to OSC-W. A rest time set block 1004 sets a rest time (RT) parameter to zero. The scheme 1000 then proceeds according to the wait state 1010. In the wait state 1010, an orthostatic compensation rate (OSCR) set block 1012 sets the OSCR to zero. A decision block 1014 follows that decides if the ActVar is less than a parameter ActVar50%. The value of ActVar50% may be determined by using an activity variance histogram or other historical activity information. For example, where a histogram is used, bin counts are added, starting from the lowest bin and continuing up until a count of 10112 (or 50%) is reached. The bin number when this count is reached is set to the ActVar50%. If the decision block 1014 decides that ActVar is less than ActVar50%, then the OSC-W state 1010 continues in another decision block 1016 that decides if LastAV is less than STHR. However, if the decision block 1014 decides that ActVar is not less than ActVar50%, the process continues in a rest time set block 1018 that sets RT=0. The paced heart rate is then set according to a set block 1070, which can be entered by the OSC-W state 1010, the OSC-A state 1030 and the OSC-P state 1050.
If the decision block 1016 decides that the LastAV is less than the STHR, then the OSC-W state 1010 process continues in a set block 1020 that sets the OSCR to zero. Yet another decision block 1022 follows that decides if the rest time has exceeded a set time. For example, if the rest time meets or exceeds about 100 seconds, then the process continues in an OSC-A state set block 1024. However, if the rest time does not meet or exceed the value, then the process continues at the paced heart rate set block 1070, noting that the change in state also leads the process to the paced heart rate set block 1070.
The OSC-A state 1030 performs a process whereby a set block 1032 sets the OSCR to zero. A decision block 1034 follows that decides if the LastAV exceeds the OLTA. If it does not, the process continues at the paced heart rate set block 1070. However, if the LastAV exceeds the OLTA, then the process continues in a wait block 1036, which may wait a time ranging from a fraction of a second to about 10 seconds. After the wait block 1036, another decision block 1038 decides if a last cardiac output value (LastCO) is less than the orthostatic cardiac output average (COTHR). If the LastCO is not less than the COTHR, the process proceeds to the paced heart rate set block 1070. However, if the LastCO is less than the COTHR, then a set block 1040 sets a pace counter (PCT) to zero and a state set block 1042 sets the state to OSC-P 1050. Thereafter, the process continues to the paced heart rate set block 1070. Thus, the exemplary OSC-A state 1030 includes a mechanism for deciding if cardiac output is insufficient. And, in response to an insufficient cardiac output, the exemplary OSC-A state 1030 transitions to the OSC-P state 1050 where orthostatic response pacing is initiated (e.g., under certain circumstances as may be decided by the PCT decision block 1054).
The OSC-P state 1050 performs a process that increments the aforementioned pace counter (PCT). A decision block 1054 decides if the PCT is greater than or equal to an OSC response duration (OSC RD). If the PCT is less than the OSC RD, then the process continues in a set block 1056 that sets the paced rate (PR) to a baseline rate (BL) plus an OSC response rate based on pace count (PCR). The process then continues at the paced heart rate set block 1070. However, if the decision block decides that the PCT exceeds the OSC RD, then a set block 1058 sets the OSCR to zero and a state set block 1060 sets the state to OSC-W 1010. The process then enters the paced heart rate set block 1070.
According to the exemplary scheme 1000, at every pacing cycle, ActVar is compared with ActVar50% and LastAV is compared with OLTA. Rest Time (RT) is the duration when ActVar is less than ActVar50% and when LastAV is less than OLTA. If the Rest Time (RT) duration is greater than zero, it is reset when ActVar is greater than or equal to ActVar50% or when LastAV is greater than or equal to OLTA. If Rest Time (RT) is greater than or equal to a duration of about 100 seconds (see the decision block 1022), the device shall enter the OSR-A state 1030 (per the set block 1024).
Once LastAV is greater than OLTA and the exemplary scheme 1000 is in the OSC-A state 1030, an increase in the current pacing rate to an appropriate orthostatic response (OSR) rate can occur. For example, the OSR indicated rate can be increased from the current pacing rate to the OSR rate by adding an appropriate delta value each pacing cycle until the rate reaches some limit. The delta value may be calculated once only, based on the initial current pacing rate, when the LastAV condition is met. In other examples, the delta may be determined pace-by-pace or on some other basis (see, e.g., the plot 812 of
As shown in
As in 1030, a decision block 1138 decides if the LastCO is less than COTHR. In response to the decision, the COCT counter or the COTHCT counter is incremented, blocks 1142, 1140, respectively. Another decision block 1146 decides if COCT exceeds a maximum count value and yet another decision block 1148 decides if COTHCT exceeds a maximum count value. If COTHCT exceeds the maximum count, then a set block 1150 sets a pace counter (PCT) to zero and a state set block 1152 sets the state to OCS-P (e.g., 1050 of
As shown in
As mentioned with respect to
To reduce the tachycardia caused by the orthostatic intolerance, a pacing lead is optionally placed at an appropriate afferent parasympathetic location (e.g., near the heart or remote from the heart), which is stimulated to increase parasympathetic activity and thereby reduce heart rate. Where such a lead is positioned near the heart, a set of pacing pulses may be used. One such afferent parasympathetic location is the carotid sinus. Other possible locations include the aorta and atria.
Although exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed methods, devices, systems, etc.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
Pic: Shutterstock
What's This?
Single mom of 4 shares an untouched photo to encourage women around the world.
Babies come armed and dangerous. Here's what to watch out for.
Read Parent24's Comments Policy
24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.
South AfricaCorporate
South AfricaHealth
South AfricaMurray & Roberts
HousesR 3 995 000
HousesR 4 490 000
HousesR 2 100 000


text:
The College of Music and the Arts at Azusa Pacific University offers an innovative arts community firmly grounded in the Christian faith, and dedicated to preparing students to excel as talented, artist-scholars in visual and performing arts and music. The college houses the School of Music and School of Visual and Performing Arts, which offer bachelor's degrees in art and design, cinematic arts, music, and theater, and master's degrees in music and art.
Find your program
Art and Design
Cinematic Arts
- Music Major (B.A.) (Emphases in Applied Music, Music Education, and Music Theory)
- Commercial Music Major (B.M.)
- Composition Music Major (B.M.)
- Music and Worship Major (B.M.)
- Performance Major (B.M.)
- Music Minor
- Composition, M.M.
- Conducting, M.M.
- Education, M.M.
- Performance, M.M.
News & Features
College of Music and the Arts
Pew Offers KII GMAT Prep Course for APU Students
The Pew College Society is offering an innovative training course for the GMAT exam this summer.
Elsewhere at APU
APU Closed for Independence Day
The university will be closed on Friday, July 3, for the 4th of July holiday.
Azusa Pacific University Joins Landmark Concussion Study
Azusa Pacific University's student-athletes will participate in the most comprehensive study of concussion and head-impact exposure ever conducted as part of a joint $30 million initiative by the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Jennifer Walsh Addresses Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
Jennifer E. Walsh, Ph.D., APU's dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of political science, wrote an op-ed ahead of the Supreme Court's same-sex ruling that appears in the Christian Post.
Jul 5
MFA July Residency – Department of Art and Design
July 5–July 24


text:
Rising economic stress behind protests in Brazil and Turkey
When times are good, people are happy to ignore politics, but, as the unrest in Sao Paulo and Istanbul attests, things can change dramatically
Tom Holland
Most Popular
There is a school of thought that all popular political uprisings have economic causes.
So, for example, the Communist Party's 1949 victory in China's civil war was attributable not to the justice of its cause, nor even to superior military strategy, but rather to runaway inflation under the Nationalist government.
Similarly, the Arab Spring of 2011 was triggered by the twin blows of rising food prices and a growth slowdown caused by the euro-zone crisis.
Closer to home, Hong Kong's 500,000-strong demonstration of July 1, 2003, may on the face of it have been a protest against the government's proposed anti-sedition law. But behind the discontent stood 8 per cent unemployment, declining incomes, and a deflationary trend that had seen the value of home-owners' properties fall by two-thirds in just six years.
As with China, Tunisia and Hong Kong in past years, so with the popular protests in Brazil and Turkey today.
Both economies benefited enormously from the long period of low interest rates and plentiful liquidity that followed the dotcom bust of 2000. Both became favourites with rich investors.
Famously, Goldman Sachs tagged Brazil as one of the BRIC emerging super-economies, along with Russia, India and China. Money duly poured in.
Yet despite being on the receiving end of the global commodity boom, growth rates in Brazil struggled to approach those of China or India. The high point came in 2010, when annual growth surged on a tide of liquidity to hit 7.5 per cent.
However, the influx pushed Brazil's currency higher, eroding the country's competitiveness. Meanwhile, the government instituted generous welfare programmes that pushed state spending up to 40 per cent of output, fuelling inflation and crowding out productive investment.
As a result, growth slumped below 1 per cent last year, and money began to flee the country. The local stock market has fallen 23 per cent so far this year. With international liquidity now tightening, commodity prices weakening, and the central bank forced to intervene to prop up the currency, Brazil's economic prospects are rapidly deteriorating even as discontent mounts.
In the 2000s, Turkey also emerged as an investors' darling. Following the lira crisis of 2002, the incoming government of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won praise for stabilising the currency, defeating inflation and bringing down interest rates.
Flushed with its success, the government embarked on a major investment programme of infrastructure spending, which helped push growth rates up to 7 per cent or more in the years preceding the financial crisis.
More recently, however, economics has taken a back seat to politics, as the government has launched a series of trophy projects, like a giant (15,000 square metres) mosque on one of the last green hilltops overlooking Istanbul and the proposal to build a shopping mall in place of the city's Gezi park which triggered this month's protests.
Unfortunately, with a low domestic savings rate, the spending has been funded largely with foreign debt, which has now climbed to 40 per cent of GDP. Much it is short-term.
Meanwhile, the euro crisis and the war in Syria have hit tourism revenues. The tens of thousands of Syrians that used to visit Turkey each week to go shopping have been replaced by refugees.
Last year, economic growth fell to just 2 per cent. Now, with short-term capital leaving the country in a hurry, financial stresses are multiplying. The local stock market is down 23 per cent in the last month alone, while the lira is sliding fast.
All of which demonstrates an old truth: when times are good, people are happy to ignore politics. But when the economy turns down, political grievances rapidly become a focus for mass discontent.
For unlimited access to:
Existing subscribers, login here
This article is now closed to comments
There are parallels between Turkey, Brazil and China. Positive review by international investors leading to high growth, and then government hubris with excessive spending on dubious government "investments" leading to low growth and financial instability followed by political instability.
Western democracies now have a worse track record of suppressing their own peoples' aspirations than any of the world's recent dictators. Tear smoke and police batons are the norm now for demonstrators under "freedom and democracy". Meanwhile their governments corrupted security agencies spy on their own people to a far greater extent than any Marxist government has done in the past.
Both Brazil and Turkey have known economic successes in the past decade, for which their governments deserve a good deal of credit. Yet, both also implemented wrong-headed policies that have led to economic hardship. Mr Holland mentions a number of them in this column.
That people are now protesting against the governments that put these policies in place is not just because they just want bread and games, it is because there is a direct, causal link between these governments and the impact of their policies on these people's livelihood, not because there is a couple of thousand fewer tourist visits.
To conclude that people mostly protest against the government in times of economic hardship is kicking in an open door. An equally uninteresting observation would be that people only complain about medical malfeasance, mistaken doctors, hospital errors and so on when they experience such things during an illness. While they are healthy, nobody complains. Rather obvious, I would say.


text:
|The Carrollton
|The Frankford
|The Akard
|Check Availability
|The Bachman
|Check Availability
|The Pearl
|Check Availability
|The Baylor
|The Inwood
|The Parkland
|Check Availability
|The Lofts
|The Stemmons
|Check Availability
Prices, specials, features and availability subject to change.
Contact for details (972) 362-0358
Contact for details (972) 362-0358
Downtown Dallas Apartments for Rent...Great Views...New Luxury Living by Baylor Hospital...On The Dart Rail
Broadstone Ambrose is a landmark of urban luxury in the heart of Downtown Dallas. Located in the dynamic Deep Ellum entertainment district, dozens of restaurants, art galleries, music venues and local pubs are just steps from your door. Hop on the nearby DART Rail and take in a Mavericks game at American Airlines Center, cruise over to Northpark Mall or stroll through Klyde Warren Park. With open concept lofts and a peaceful garden alcove, our apartments embody all the character and charm that make Dallas so livable. Discover the classic comforts and contemporary lifestyle at Broadstone Ambrose today.
Our lease terms are: 6 months, 7 months, 8 months, 9 months, 10 months, 11 months, 12 months (Please note that lease terms may vary, are subject to change without notice, and are based on availability. Inquire with property staff for complete details).
Pet Policy: A pet deposit of $400.00 will be required ($200.00 refundable and $200.00 non-refundable) and $15.00 monthly pet rent. Pet cannot exceed 60 pounds at full maturity. Pets are limited by breed. See sales associate for details.
Dogs Allowed. Cats Allowed. Pets Accepted. Call for service animal policy.
338 units
Check Availabilityor call
Monday: 9:00am-6:00pm
Tuesday: 10:00am-6:00pm
Wednesday: 9:00am-6:00pm
Thursday: 10:00am-6:00pm
Friday: 9:00am-6:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm
Alliance Residential Company
Don't have a Rent.com account? Create one.
Creating an account allows you to acccess your saved and contacted properties on any device. Already have an account?
Log In